Dragon Child: The Journey Begins

Chapter 27

Mmmm! What do you call this? It's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten! Although I say that, but there really hasn't been much variety in my diet. It's mostly been raw or roasted meat, some fish, and a few berries for variety. This is something new, and I've never had anything even remotely like this!

"What is this called?" I asked. I had to learn how to make this.

"You really are a noble, huh. You've never had stew before? What, does it disagree with your taste buds or something? We are not making you anything else." Hanna replied.

"Not at all! This is simply delicious! You must tell me how it's made!" I told her.  I mean, if I told her that I hated it, she wouldn't let me have seconds!  It's just too good not to have more!

"Hmph. You sure aren't a normal noble kid." She said.

"Stew." I purred as I licked my lips.  This was simply the best thing I've ever put in my mouth! 

Wait, did she just call me a goat? I am a hatchling! H A T C H L I N G! I'm not some puny little goat! Hmph.  Well, I'm not gonna say it out loud. No need to start an argument with a crazy female. It will never end well.

We were currently sitting around a small fire eating the delicious stew after a long day in the torture box they call a carriage.  It wasn't just me and Hanna though.  There were three others with us.

One was a grumpy older man who always wore a frown on his face from the first time I saw him.  His name was George.  Hanna said he used to be a knight, whatever that means. She also said he was the strongest swordsman on their team, whatever that means. I mean, I guess it means he's pretty strong, but I'm not sure what a swordsman is.

The next one was shorter and younger. Well, I assume he's younger as he has less wrinkles, or rather no wrinkles, on his face.  His name is James. According to Hanna, he's their tracker.  Not really sure what it is that he tracks, though. Prey, maybe.

And the last one is Will. He's taller than James but just as young, or old. It's really hard to tell age with humans.  Hanna says that he's a ranger. I'm not sure what a ranger is, but I assume it means he shoots sticks in his prey, like Branch did. I assume that, because he is holding the same sort of stick that Branch had, plus he has a bag of sticks. Who really carries that sort of thing around?

He is also the one who made this absolutely heavenly meal! Mmm mmm.......stew. I can't help but to lick my lips again. I wonder if I can have fourths?

Anyway, Hanna said she's a thief, and I must say that it suits her personality.   She has two little 'daggers', as she calls them, tucked into her waist.  She also has more attached to her feet and back, and one in her chest, or so she's told me.  It's like she has a ton of teeth everywhere, just waiting to bite her prey. She told me that her specialty is locating and disarming traps.

Hanna informed me that she is a part of an adventure team.  It really sounds interesting.  I kinda want to join an adventure team!  It's really in the name. They must have grand adventures!

Of course, I wasn't really sure what an adventure team did. I mean, how does one go about finding adventures? It's not like they grow on trees or something! And so I asked.

This is what Hanna told me.

"Listen up kid. I'm gonna tell you the basics and I'm only gonna say it once. Save all your questions until the end. Got it?"

I nodded enthusiastically.   After all, this would tell me what an adventurer did and how they found adventures. And most importantly,  how I could become an adventurer.

"Someone can sign up to be an adventurer when they turn fifteen.

Once you sign up as an adventurer, you are assigned as an F rank. The ranks from lowest to highest are as follows.