Ball of Nothing

They reached the lawless zone at the south of Endow Hill quicker than anyone could imagine. Ever since the sand walkers received their names, they were no longer ordinary sand walkers. The boost in power they received from Zero's names must have gotten them stronger and faster. There was no other explanation.

"I think Ela and Grigoria are now your tamed beasts," Bob yawned lazily on Zero's shoulder. They were currently camping a good distance away from the main road while Truen went to do reconnaissance and gather information about the territory.

Zero offered a chunk of meat to Bob who accepted it and transformed back to his human form to eat.

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked. He wasn't aware of doing anything special to tame them.

The dragon didn't know if he should sigh at Zero's lack of common sense or get used to it. He settled for doing both. Pointing to his master with the half-eaten chicken in one hand, Bob stared at Zero firmly.

"You have to be more conscious about forming contracts with magical creatures and beasts. You might not want to tame them but naming them is part of a contract forming ceremony. It might be a different kind of contract between us but your contract with Ela and Grigoria was done as a master-servant relationship because they were not very powerful beasts, to begin with. Naming them grants them power but also removes their freedom to decide what they want to do. It's a completely subservient relationship where beasts will throw their lives away for their master."

With horror, Zero looked over to the mounts who were resting and snoozing in the shade. "Did I enslave them without knowing by giving them names? I thought names made creatures stronger..."

Bob nodded. "It is true. For nameless creatures and beasts with the ability to absorb mana, naming them will make them stronger. Being given a name by a sorcerer will make them undergo a forced evolution to become stronger. However, the process of giving a name and transferring a part of the caster's mana is similar to a contract for summons. The only difference is that named beasts don't need to be summoned with a sacrifice. They're your travelling companions."

Looking at the two sand walkers, Zero felt extremely guilty. He didn't like slave traders but he didn't think that he would enslave two poor beasts unknowingly just by giving them names. He turned to Bob pleadingly. It was a good thing Truen wasn't here to know it.

"Is there any way I can un-slave them after we're done with Derby Desert?"

The dragon wanted to laugh. Un-slaving beasts was a very uncommon thing to do but since this was Zero, he should have expected it from his master.

"There isn't a way to un-slave a named beast. Once they have a name, their evolution is permanent."

Zero's face fell at that and the self-berating process started to kick in. The wisen dragon saw it and was quick to intervene. He only meant to tease Zero but he didn't want the doctor to spiral down the self-hating path.

Quickly correcting himself, Bob told Zero that it wasn't impossible.

"You can free them by fulfilling their wishes! Tamed beasts don't leave their master's sides unless their wishes have been fulfilled then it cancels the bond immediately."

Hearing this, Zero looked up. "Fulfill their wishes? How? I don't know their wishes..."

The dragon grinned and pointed to himself. "That's why you have me. Ela and Grigoria aren't complicated creatures. You'll be able to free them very soon after we return from Derby Desert. They are sand walkers, all you have to do is fulfil their instincts and natural desires then they can be free."

"Natural desires? What are they? How do you know that's going to be easy?"

The Eternal Dragon sighed and sidled up to Zero while taking another huge bite from his meat. "Think about it. What does an animal want to do the most? Unlike humans and other more intelligent creatures capable of language, they are not very difficult to understand."

Zero thought about it carefully. Bob was right. Unlike the more intelligent species who were able to talk and have opinions, most animals followed a very simple logic. They did everything to survive. Finding food, shelter and breeding were the very basis of their desires to preserve their species. Outside of that, bests don't really have much that they wanted.

"If I settle all their basic needs, will they really be satisfied? How long would that take?"

Bob looked over to the snoozing sand walkers. "Not very long if it is done right. Besides, you made a deal with the spriggan, right? It won't be difficult for him to find two suitable mates for these ladies when we get back. Once they are mated and properly cared for, the contract will be nullified."

Happy to hear that, Zero told Bob to finish up quickly. He could sense that Truen was returning and they had to clean up the mess before the naggy archer returned. Sometimes, Zero wondered what sort of person Truen was in his previous life. He wanted to know if being overly motherly was a natural part of Truen's character or was it the Great Gods who had influenced him to be this worrisome.

Truen returned on the dot and Zero gave a quick look-over. Bob was cleaned up and transformed back to his adorable mini-monster form. Zero quickly offered the elf a drink and smiled while he prepared lunch. The conversation with Bob was a secret for now.

"How was it?" Zero asked and Truen nodded.

"They have a town that we can reach in a few hours in the lawless zone. It's not the safest place to be but it would be better than sleeping in the wild out in the open where slave traders are looking for good finds. However, we need to spend a bit of money for protection fees and information."

Zero checked the shared inventory and showed Truen what they had. Most of the 600 binnites were still there. "Is this enough or do we need more? I can sell some things for more money if we need it."

Truen glanced at the money and shook his head. "They don't use the common currency. I've asked around. They have a currency of their own that we must trade with the innkeeper. I haven't found out the details but we will figure it out when we get there. If possible, I would like you to transform into something less attention-grabbing," he told Zero and looked at Bob.

"You're too cute. Make it less flashy. Both of you stand out too much."

When Zero and Bob heard it, they shared similar sentiments. Truen was truly a mother hen and they doubted that it wouldn't change. Still, they learned their lesson. It was better to do as told or Truen would not stop nagging. Zero changed his appearance and clothing to suit what Truen thought was less attractive and Bob simply became a dull black gecko at Truen's insistence.

Now that Zero was an elven boy slightly shorter than Truen with small eyes and freckles, he looked like Truen's younger brother or cousin. Bob looked like an ordinary pet gecko and flicked his tongue lazily as they mounted the sand walkers. Finally, they would be reaching the border between Endow Hill and Derby Desert.