“It's no use,” Sera said as she felt the man struggle against her spell, “This magic is potent enough to restrain a bear.

“I’ll end you,” He snarled, “You made a big mistake missy, you ain’t sacrificing me!”

“Good job Sera!” Gerad said excitedly, “Now we can get a wish, where should we go to do the ritual?” He asked, approaching the Outworlder with an appraising gaze.

“Ritual?” Sera asked him, “Whatever do you mean? I’m not going to sacrifice him.”

Gerad groaned then, and the stranger’s struggling ceased, “He’s a wish, you could get anything! Bring someone back from the dead, become wealthy, sky’s the limit! Are you really going to throw that all away for this guy!?” He shouted, “He probably eats babies or something, let's just get the wish!”

“I already told you no, Gerad.” Sera said, locking eyes with the halfling, “Do not suggest it again.” She finished in a cold tone.

“Y-yes.” Gerad stuttered, bowing his head.

“If ya ain’t gonna kill me, let me go!” The Outworlder shouted, continuing his futile struggle.

“But I’m curious about you.” Sera said innocently, “And I know you’re curious about our world, again, I’m proposing an offer… but first, what is your name?”

He froze again, “It’s Joseph, and what happens if I say no?” He asked.

Sera smiled, rounding Joseph to face him head on, she then brought her face close to his helmet and said, “Nothing.”

“That right?” Joe asked her, "Fine then, no.”

Sera frowned, she had been hoping that this display would only reaffirm that she was trustworthy… oh no, had it had the opposite effect on him!? Sera stepped away from him, releasing the spell before sighing.

“I’m sorry, I thought that if I had you in the palm of my hand and still let you go, that it would get you to trust me.” Sera said honestly.

“Nah.” Joe replied, “That just pissed me off, I oughta blow both of yer heads off.” He continued harshly, “Dontchu ever do that again.”

Sera’s ears visibly lifted at that, “Again?” She asked hopefully.

“...You kept yer word.” Joe said simply, “Ya didn’t try to force it. That’s the only reason I changed my mind. If you wanna come with me, that’s fine.” He said, his tone bitter, “Ground rules, you’ll be restrained, both of ya, no magic in there either, ya hear?”

“Very well, if that is what it takes. Gerad don’t argue.” She said quickly as she saw the halfling’s mouth open, likely to complain, “We don’t have time, there’s still that fire we need to put out in the woods over there. Will you accompany us, Joseph?”

The Outworlder took a moment to consider.

“No.” He said flatly, “Go by yourself, I’ll wait an hour and if ya ain’t back by then, I’m leaving.”

“Okey dokey!” Sera said, skipping off toward the forest, “Come on Gerad, we have a time limit!” She shouted excitedly.

----------------------------------------

Joseph stared at the retreating backs of Sera and Gerad, pondering if it would be better to simply leave them behind. His gut told him that they’d definitely be back, so he wasn’t concerned that they were going to run off and let everyone know what he was. If Sera was restrained, that likely wouldn’t stop her from being able to use magic. What if she only made that offer because she needed him to get inside Betty? No, if that were truly the case she could have forced him to reveal how with that paralytic spell she had used.

A spell she had willingly dispelled in order to prove that she was being genuine. Sera had been right, if she’d wanted to sacrifice him, she could have done so with relative ease. Sera, whatever her true intentions were, did not mean him harm, at least it seemed. Maybe she really was more like Prolo?

That Gerad guy though, he was bad news, tried to convince Sera to sacrifice him anyway. The restraints would be doubled for that little prick. It would be better if he didn’t have to bring him at all, but they seemed like a package deal, and killing him at this point wasn’t an option, at least if he wanted to learn from Sera. He had a feeling that blowing the halfling’s head off wouldn’t sit right with her.

He had around an hour, if that, to truly decide on whether or not he would bring those two with him. Since he had the free time to think about it, he’d also make use of that dragon’s carcass. Those scales might be useful, and the horns could likely be very valuable. He wasn’t sure if they were ivory or some other material, but the hacksaw ought to remove them easily enough.

As he approached the body, he mulled over Sera’s offer. If she was truly as well intentioned as Prolo, then having her come along with him would be a God send for learning about Faenor. Perhaps that’s exactly what the Good Lord intended? Maybe…She was dangerous and acted like a total freak, but again, she had him in the palm of her hand earlier, and still chose to let him go free, after he had told her no.

He sighed, the benefits outweighed the risks, he’d be taking her with him. Gerad on the other hand… he’d not be coming with them. That would be the next condition he’d discuss with her on their return. Joe was willing to restrain the punk and drop him off by the road, but after that it would just be him and Sera. Once their mutual interests were satisfied, he’d drop her off at a place of her choosing, unless she gave him reason to distrust her.

Of course, that was if it could be assured that Gerad would keep his mouth shut about Joe. If not… well, they’d cross that bridge if they came to it.

Sera n’ Gerad could come up with a rendezvous point and continue on their little adventures after her trip with Joe was done. With his mind made up, he went to work on the dragon’s carcass, trying and failing to drive his knife through the tough scales of the creature. It was like he was trying to puncture steel with a sewing needle. It wasn't long before he gave up, sheathing his knife with a sigh.

There has got to be a way.

His eyes then found one of the wounds he’d inflicted with his shotgun, an opening in the flesh. On closer inspection, he saw that the bone within was completely unmarred by the shell that had opened up this hole. He wiped sweat from his brow, placing both hands on his hips as he considered his options. Clearly the bone was stronger than the scale, but if he couldn’t even pierce those, then the bone may as well be tungsten. It may be better to simply give up and save the hassle…

And yet, the possibilities of their application intrigued him greatly. If the bone was lighter than steel and stronger, he could replace some of the plates in his armor, or even enhance Betty’s hull with it. How the hell was he going to harvest it though? He had intended to saw off its horns, but the hacksaw may not be sharp enough to separate them.

Well, he could always just tow it along with him until he figured out what to do with it, or alternatively, he could hide it in those woods somewhere. He frowned, shaking his head. Hide it in the woods? By hand? Not happening, the corpse would just have to settle on being dragged through the grass for a bit. With that, he entered Betty, and shifted her around to the head of the corpse.

After that, he went back outside, and opened a small compartment beside Betty’s door. Inside lay a thick retractable steel hook, more than capable of pulling the dragon. He grabbed it, and grunted, pulling the thing toward the dragon’s skull. He knelt down on the snout, and drove the hook deep into the creature's slitted eye, pulverizing the organ and hooking it firmly in place. It wasn’t the most secure way to do this, but right now it was all he could think of. There was another hook he could use as well, one that sat in an identical compartment on the opposite side of Betty’s door. He retrieved that as well, and drove it through the other eye, latching the hook firmly into the socket.

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He then slapped the head of the dragon, “That isn’t goin’ anywhere.”

Joe still had some time left before Sera and her servant got back, so he used it to try and remove the horns. Much to his frustration, the horn remained intact, his saw refusing to find a foothold within the bone. If only he had installed one of those laser cutters before he got sent here, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Pah, as if he would have been able to install it at his great age. Well, sure he could now, but Earth was a dimension away and he wouldn’t be getting back any time soon. He left the dragon then, climbing the ladder that led to Betty’s roof. He then sat down at the edge, keeping an eye on the forest as time passed. When the hour had nearly ended, he saw Sera basically skipping toward Betty, humming a bubbly tune as she went. Gerad, for his part, was covered in soot and looked utterly miserable.

“Guessing, ya’ll did it.” He said, standing up, “I got another condition for ya.”

“Well aren’t you greedy?” Sera asked, “What is it?”

“Just you can come along, we ain’t bringing him with us.” Joe said, pointing at Gerad, “I don’t trust either of ya really, but him especially. I’ll take ya back to the trail and drop ya off, figure out where you’ll meet up once we’re done. Non-negotiable.” He finished, moving back over to the ladder, “And he better not go blabbing about me, or there’ll be serious problems. You control him right?”

Sera grinned, “Absolutely! We have a contract- if either of us breaks it, there’ll be serious repercussions.” She cleared her throat before looking at Gerad, “If you go talking about Joseph, I’ll break our contract and doom us both.”

Gerad seemed to pale at that, “You would go that far?” He gulped, “You aren’t serious are you?”

“Deadly serious, but you’re a good boy, you won’t talk about Joe, yes?” She asked him, pointing to Joseph.”

Was this some sort of magical contract? Would they both be immolated or cursed if they broke it? Sounded like mutually assured destruction, if that was truly the case then Sera really meant everything she had said earlier. Did she have a way of knowing if Gerad went back on his word? With all the magic crap going on nowadays, it wasn’t an impossibility.

“Elves are insane!” Gerad exclaimed, “You would ruin your life to throw a wish away!?”

Sera shrugged, “I gave my word.”

Gerad’s fists clenched, and begrudgingly he said, “I won’t say a thing, I swear.”

Joe had been around long enough that he could tell when someone was genuinely afraid. The thought of breaking this contract clearly uneased him, Joe doubted he’d rat him out now… at least not until this contract was fulfilled.

“Okey dokey!” She replied, flashing a thumbs up, “Gerad, how about we meet up in Shian in a year or two?”

“Woah!” Joe and Gerad yelled at the same time.

“A year or two?” Joe asked, “The hell are you on? A month or two tops, girly.”

“Elves.” Gerad groaned, “You realize that our contract becomes void after a year, right? And I might not be inclined to renew it if you go galavanting off with weirdos.”

“Hmm…” Sera placed a thumb on her chin, looking to the sky, “Is that a long time? The years don’t seem to last all that long to me.”

“It's a long time for me.” Joe said, descending the ladder, “I don’t think that’s likely.”

“You wouldn’t want to have me around for a long time?” She asked, knitting her brows together, “Did I become ugly this past week, Gerad?”

The halfling muttered a half-hearted reply.

“Look,” Joe said, “A month or two is all I need, after that we can part ways. I’ll tell you what you wanna know and you tell me what I wanna know, it shouldn't take years to get that done.”

“We’ll just see what happens!” She said, clapping her wrists together, “Alright, this was your condition, right?”

He nodded as he approached her, pulling out two zip-ties from his pouch.

“What are those?” She asked, “They look dainty… I think I could break those easily.”

“Doubt it.” He said, closing the two zip ties around her wrists, “Go on, try.”

Sera then strained against the bindings, looking perplexed by their resilience. Just as her face began to go red, she sighed, “What are these made out of?” She asked.

“Plastic.” He told her honestly, “Lightweight and stronger than you’d think.” He then turned, looking to Gerad before pulling out two more zip ties, “Your turn.”

Gerad then shook his head, “I’ll just go on foot. There’ll be work in Shian that can tide me over while I wait.”

“Suit yourself.” Joe replied, putting the zip ties away, “If you lay a trap for me when I drop her off, I’ll kill ya. Now git.”

“I’ll see you soon Gerad!” Sera said, wiggling her fingers at him, “Ta-ta!”

The halfling merely muttered in response, and moved back into the forest. Why go that way? Was there a trail in that section of the woods as well? Perhaps he just didn’t want to be out in the open?. He looked to Sera, who was staring at the hooked dragon corpse.

“I wanna harvest the scales n’ bone off of it if I can.” He explained, “I don’t have nothing that can cut it manually, so I’ll try usin’ a power tool later.”

“A power tool?” She asked, “I’m not sure what that is, but if you want to harvest the bone you’ll need something imbued with magic. The scales are a different story, if this ‘power tool’ is as sharp as I assume, then it may be able to saw through them.”

Imbued with magic huh? “Can you imbue magic into a knife or something?” He asked her, drawing his blade.

She shook her head, “The only race of people that can do that are the dwarves, and they aren’t likely to provide one to you, if they even decide to have an audience with you in the first place.”

“I talked with a dwarf around when I first got here. I couldn't speak Faesh then but I remember his name was Varig.” He said, “He got captured by goblins and I set him free, maybe that’d earn me some brownie points with em’.”

“Brownie points?” She asked.

“It's a saying.” He replied, “But if I can find that guy or some of his friends, think they’ll give me one for saving him?”

Sera shrugged, “It's hard to say, you’d need to go to one of their holds and ask for him specifically, and again, they’re more likely to chase you away if you approach for anything but trade. Dwarves are a solitary race.”

“We’ll put a pin in that then,” He said, “Let's get going, wanna get away from here in case yer boy-slave comes back here with friends.”

He seized her hands with one of his own, and pulled her toward the ramp. She put up no resistance, quickly following after him with that same skip in her step. How could anyone be so chipper about getting tied and kidnapped? Well… this really wasn’t kidnapping, she had wanted to come with him after all.

He had been so lucky meeting so many folk that didn’t want to sacrifice him. Morla, Varig, Prolo, and now Sera, he had to be running out of luck now. Then again, Morla and Varig had not been in any position to apprehend him, even if they had wanted to. Prolo and especially Sera had been in more advantageous positions, with Sera almost literally having him in the palm of her hand and despite that, she had let him go willingly. Maybe he shouldn’t be so harsh with her, he’d pulled those zip ties as tight as they could go. After he did his secret knock, he repositioned her, letting Sera move in first so he could keep an eye on her.

“Wow!” She exclaimed, her head turning this way and that as she was moved to the center of the room, “Look at all these gizmos! What is that thing over there?” She asked, staring at a tire iron hanging above his workbench.

“Tire iron.” He said, “Hold still, gonna loosen your ties.”

“Loosen them?” Sera asked, blinking innocently, “Do you trust me more already?”

Joe grumbled as he loosened the zip-ties, purposefully not answering her question. The truth was that he did, but he didn’t want her to know that yet. That, and the circulation to her hands were being cut off. It’d be alright to leave some slack, those thin arms of hers weren’t gonna break the ties.

“Also, just wanna get this out of the way now,” Joe said, “I ain’t gonna try anything weird with ya.”

Sera smiled, “I appreciate that, but you wouldn’t be able to, even if you wanted.”

He didn’t reply, pushing her toward the door that led to his living room and pushing it open. Sera went through, again assaulting him with a barrage of questions. He sat the chatterbox down on his recliner, backing away before crossing his arms. She didn’t even give him time to answer anything before she was already onto the next question.

“Slow down woman!” He yelled, “Yer givin’ me a headache.”

She blinked again before saying, “I apologize, this is just all so exciting. Did you build this wagon? How did you bring it with you?”

“Yep, took me a long ass time. As to how I got here, I don’t gotta clue.” He said honestly, “I was gonna ask if you knew anything about that.”

“You were either summoned by someone, or you ‘Slipped’.” Sera explained, crossing her legs, “Seeing as you’re here and not possessed, I’m guessing it was the latter.”

“I woke up in the forest here, no one was there to say hello so yeah, I guess I Slipped.” Joe said with a nod, “What I don’t get is why I’m young again.”

“Young again?” She asked, “You can’t be a day over twenty child, I saw your face, that beard can’t hide your baby skin.”

“I’m a hundred n’ two years old.” Joe said flatly, “Back on my world I looked like it too, but for some reason I ain’t old no more.”

For some reason, Sera stiffened, a frown appearing on her face, “Come again? You’re how old?” She said in a monotone.

“A hundred n’ two.” He repeated flatly, “I don’t care if you don’t believe me, it's the truth.”

“It's not that I don’t believe you,” She mumbled, hanging her head, “But that means you're a year older than even me. You’re my senior.”

Joe barely held back a snicker, for some reason he found that funny, “What, you mad ya can’t pull off the ‘wise old elf’ thing with me?”

“As a matter of fact,” She said, her head lifting to stare into his mask, “I am.” She finished, her face and tone mildly pouty.

“Well grow up,” Joe said, trying to keep his voice flat, “Kids like you oughta respect yer elders.”

She then stuck her tongue out at him, and he blinked in surprise. What kind of retort was that? She really was a kid.

After a moment of silence, Sera spoke again, “You mentioned pulling off the ‘wise old elf’ thing, but you’re a newcomer to our world, how would you come to understand that trait of my race?”

“Cause yer fictional, back where I come from. Dwarves, elves, all of ya aren’t real over on Earth, just in stories.” Joe told her, “That’s a common trope for y’all.”

“Fictional…” She said, lifting her bound hands to scratch her nose, “Do you think that one of your people came to Faenor, and somehow returned to your world, Earth as you call it? Spreading tales of our people when your world was still young?”

Joseph shrugged, “Not sure, makes sense to me though. Stories about elves go back a long way, can’t tell ya off the top of my head how far though…” Joseph paused, his brows knitting together as the gears in his head spun, “The word ‘elf’ is the same in Faesh as it is in English.”

“Is English your tongue?” She asked, receiving a nod from him, “That is curious, I believe we’re onto something!”

“Maybe…” He said, "Not sure if ‘elf’ is said differently in other languages or not, could still be a cosmic coincidence.”

“Other languages?” She asked, “You have more than one?”

“Oh, thousands.” He said, “I read in a book that y'all only got Faesh, why is that?”

“I…” She paused, “I’m not sure, that’s just how it's always been. The Overseer’s tongue is our own and there has been no deviations since.”

“Hold on,” Joe said, “Before we keep goin’, I wanna get out of here. Get cozy, I’ll be driving for about half n’ hour.”

“Could I watch you drive?” She asked, “I want to know how it is you get this in motion, is it powered by steam?”

Joe grinned beneath his mask, “I’ll tell ya, follow me, I can’t really leave ya alone out here anyway, who knows what you’d do.”

“Be bored!” She replied, “I wouldn’t touch anything without permission, I see now that this is not just a vehicle, but your home.”

The conversation carried on for a long while, for the entirety of the drive and well into the night.