The carriage arrived at a small town. On the outskirts, there were people tending their crops. They rode on top of their own gallis, pulling small plows behind them. The herbivorous dinosaurs were perfectly domesticated.
As for the town itself, it was built upon a hill and had wooden palisades at the top. They were tall spikes that grew rounded towards the tip. At the bottom of the hill, there were small stone walls to keep out the vermin, and for any person who considered climbing the over the stone, there was a ditch on the other side.
On either side of the gate, Elanore saw two guards towers made of wood. The gate stood open, and the guardsmen simply observed, not bothering to wave to the other guards below or call out.
The vampire looked towards Mathew. "Does this place have an inn?"
Once they crossed the lattice, Mathew pointed towards a long log building. "It's right there. This is a good place to rest if you're planning to head towards the capital."
"The capital? I thought that city in the forest was the capital?"
The man crossed his arms and shook his head. "Hardly, they wouldn't build the capital so far into that forest. You can consider that city like a frontier one."
Elanore looked towards their cat man driver. "Will I see more people like him there?"
"Yep, all kinds of people are in the capital, but if you want to see more beastmen, you're better journeying in the other direction."
"Back towards the forest?"
Mathew shook his head. "To be more precise, it would be southeast."
Gregory clicked his tongue. "Let the vampire figure it out herself. I won't spend more time around her if I can help it. Don't want to invite evil into our midst."
"Gregory!" Marine shouted.
The warrior grumbled. "What? It's true. We'd heard neither hide nor tail of a talking zombie with a magic weapon for how long? And what happens the moment she arrives here?"
Before Marine could berate him, Elanore stopped the girl with her hand.
"It's quite alright. I don't really mind. We shall be parting ways pretty soon anyway."
As if her words were the cue, the carriage stopped in front of the inn. Kiran pulled the reins of the gallis, and the dinosaurs settled down near the wooden structure.
The cat man hopped down from his driver seat and hobbled towards the back. He grinned. "Glad we all made it in one piece, and thank you for riding with us, miss."
Elanore shrugged. "Don't mention it. It's not like anything happened anyway."
Nonetheless, she wouldn't turn down the free gold coins that were flashed her way. She graciously accepted the offered gold pieces and climbed down with her wyvern.
Gregory sauntered off, and Mathew ran after him. It was Marine that stayed behind to have the last word with the energy drink addict.
The priestess bowed. "I apologize for Gregory. I have no idea what got into him."
"Really, don't mention it. Honestly, he might be the only normal one out of all of you."
Marine giggled and clutched her wooden staff close. "Well then, if opportunity and fate collides, I hope we will be seeing each other again."
"You act as if we aren't going to stay in the same inn."
Kiran bellowed a hearty laugh and placed a hand on Marine's shoulder. "Alright, it will be better if we leave her be."
Elanore watched the two of them walk into the building, choosing to wait outside with her wyvern.
"Mistress, something about this whole thing seems strange."
The vampire nodded, twirling the halberd in her hands before storing it away in her inventory. "Perhaps there was some truth to what Gregory said."
"What do you mean, mistress? If you ask me he is just…"
"I mean that monster showing up when it did. It is odd timing. There is no way something like this would be a coincidence. Doesn't it set off your detective senses? This makes me want to get a top hat…" Elanore touched the brim of her beloved witch hat and shook her head rapidly. "Actually, I could never replace this. This is the only absolute…"
The wyvern chuckled. "Mistress, it does look a bit strange when you are wearing that outfit."
"Does it?" Ella placed a hand on her witch hat and closed her eyes. She channeled her pink magic into it, and it disappeared from her head and into her inventory. "What about now?"
Naela acted swiftly. Seeing that her mistress had taken off her witch hat, the wyvern placed a hand on top of Ella's head. Naela grinned and started petting Elanore.
The vampire's cheeks flushed with red. "What are you…"
"I am returning the favor, mistress."
Elanore felt the wyvern's hand running through her hair, and the vampire swallowed. Those feelings from before bubbled up again, dropping into her core like a heavy hot plate. Her heart pounded, and her brain started to malfunction.
That was until Naela finally withdrew her hand. The wyvern grinned at Elanore, taking a deep exhale. "I never knew how sweet this kind of revenge could feel, mistress."
The heat on Elanore's cheeks wouldn't leave, especially when she turned her eyes towards people who'd started staring at the duo. "B-but, why? I was just talking about doing detective work! You are completely throwing off my mojo!"
Naela smiled and looked away. "Sometimes, one must go on the offensive when the adversary least expects it, mistress."
"Oh? I am your adversary now!?"
"A cute adversary…"
Blood rushed through Elanore's body river rapid's. Her pounding heart became like a great waterfall. The vampire grabbed onto Naela's hand and ran away from the center. She didn't even bother to verbalize the spells.
Mist pooled under her feet, and she took to the air. The two of them rose high into the sky, until every building beneath them became nothing more than a small speck.
"Mistress!? What are we doing!?"
Elanore stopped while the two of them were beneath the early light of the moon. The sun started setting over distant mountain ranges, but what the vampire focused more of her attention on was the pink eyes in front of her. That and the wyvern's growing panic.
The vampire watched Naela's wings sprout. Elanore listened to the sound of Naela's heartbeat, batting against her chest like a drum. The vampire paid attention to Naela's breathing watching it become more and more labored with each passing second. It was a perfect moment in time, and then it happened.
A loud explosion sounded beneath the ground below, and cracks formed over the landscape.