Even at my current size it took us nearly a week to reach the nearest city. We had run into a few towns by that point. It usually took a while just to convince them I wasn't there to "eat them and their livestock and destroy their town". So, it was decided that when we finally did reach a major city instead of wasting half a day trying to convince them I'm not a rampaging monster, a few of the more skilled negotiators as well as two others acting as bodyguards would go in with the meat to make the trade.

It wasn't ideal and still took a long time since I had to stop so far away. This way though the city wasn't on edge, and we could get a more reasonable exchange of goods. That was the hope anyway I guess we'll have to see how it actually turns out.

Meanwhile on my back the animal hides were being slowly worked into leather. I honestly thought that the process would be at least a little simplified in a world with magic. I guess there are limits to the magic in this world. Either that or using magic lowers the quality somehow. Then again, I don't honestly know how leather is made normally so maybe it is simplified. Looks like I'll soon have leather tents on my back. At least their smart enough to not try building actual houses just yet.

It was almost a full day before they returned. To everyone's surprise they had a few extra people with them. Children mostly. From the look of their clothing, they seemed to be either homeless or orphaned, possibly both. They were startled at first when I introduced myself, but they weren't ever scared. They were understandably nervous sure but there was also a certain curiosity.

Talking with the lead trader I found out that my guess was correct. They were all from the city orphanage. It seems one thing is universal, once you reach a certain age nobody wants to adopt you. The adoption process was a lot more straightforward than it was back on earth. All they had to do was sign their name next to the name of the child they wanted to adopt in some giant book. It seems way too easy to adopt a kid if you ask me, but I decide not to dwell on it. Instead, I just use my gravity manipulation to lower the gravity near me enough for them to jump up onto my shell.

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I'm looking forward to having a bunch of kids running around. Mainly I'm looking forward to all the bumps, bruises, scratches, and so on kids seem to get all the time. It sounds wrong I know but a kid's tendency to get hurt should provide me with a steady supply of experience. Multiply that by thirteen kids and they basically brought back a walking experience farm. Speaking of farm, they also brought back a bunch of fruits and vegetables which all have seeds.

According to the farmers it's supposed to be the start of the cold season. The cold season has been starting later and later each year for some reason. It also seems to end earlier and earlier each year. I know why but since I still don't know what I'm supposed to actually do about it I keep my mouth shut and just listen to the farmers debate if they should plant some of the seeds now or wait. Eventually they decide to plant some of the seeds with the shortest growing time.

While they were debating, I decided to continue our journey. I took a wide arc around the city to avoid any unnecessary drama. After which I continued the same direction. The kids to their credit were more than happy to help with the daily chores. One little girl even took it upon herself to help Ralette with her babies. Not that Yuna wasn't helping already but I think she just liked being around someone even smaller than her. She was remarkably small for her age even among dwarves. Most of the children's time is spent running around and playing though. Which just as I predicted inevitably leads to them getting hurt.

It sounds bad to say that I'm happy to see kids getting hurt but it's never anything serious and I've been getting about five or six experience points a day because of it. Slow progress but still progress. In fact, I'm getting close to leveling up. The adventurers though haven't been making any progress, so they decided to ask if they can go do a few quests the next time we get near anyplace that might have a quest board. I have no objection though I do ask that they not take any quests that will take more than a day to complete as I don't plan to stay in one place for too long. They assure me it won't be a problem because most villages have simple kill quests for creatures nobody in the village is strong enough to deal with. This far on the outskirts of the kingdom we're apparently far more likely to run into a village than another city.

A few days later I spot the smoke from what I assume are chimneys. I'm still a long way away but I decide to stop here and let the adventurers continue on foot. Adventurers wondering into the village looking for quests isn't going to raise nearly as many concerns as a giant turtle just passing by. I plan to stay here for about a week. I figure it will take them a day or two to make it to the village on foot and another day or two to walk back leaving only a few days to accept and complete a quest.

A week isn't a long time admittedly but it's long enough that they will be in for a shock when they get back. I Just levelled up and I can already feel this is going to be my largest single growth spurt yet.