Friendly Thievery

The eye was the size of a large plate, and it remained trained on Klein's figure as he looked down at the waters.

"Hehe... I'm uhh sorry? Here, you can have your water back" With a forced smile, Klein released the handful of water he was about to use and then stepped back before running away.

He made eye contact with Harold who was still inside his car, urging them to retreat.

As soon as he did so, an enormous pillar of water erupted from the once-calm river, displacing the river water for a moment. As water began to fall from the pillar, blue scales, razor-sharp teeth, and yellow-green serpentine eyes revealed themselves.

It was an Azure Razorback Water Snake.

A High-Grade Magical Beast.

Harold, upon witnessing the large monstrosity, immediately drove his car in reverse, getting as far away from the river as he could.

The Sea-Serpent simply stared at them, threatening the humans who dared to intrude upon its territory.

Once they were far enough away, Klein stopped running and looked back at the creature who still maintained its petrifying gaze.

Harold, Amelia, and their two children stared at the beast, sweating in fear, unable to utter a sound. It wasn't so much about its size or its otherworldly nature, but more so, that gaze...

They couldn't tear their eyes away.

Tap.

Klein accurately kicked a pebble on their car window, successfully managing to make them turn their gazes away.

"Right piece of work that one, make sure not to fall in love" Klein laughed as he pointed to his eyes and spoke in Common.

Then, the children began to cry. Harold used the time to reorient the car properly away from the river as Amelia comforted the kids.

Klein sighed, then with great reluctance, used [Soul-Link] to communicate again.

"Well, seems that way is a no-go. Too bad, I kinda wanted to know what was in the spooky creepy forest" Klein pouted for a second before approaching the family who still had yet to get their wits about them.

"So, is there any other way I can get to the library?" He smiled at them, and they simply stared blankly back.

Amelia was the first to regain her bearings. She was in the presence of a wizard, there shouldn't have been too much else that would boggle her mind, but that Sea-serpent's eyes had made it difficult to think.

"... Library?" Amelia then remembered that the young wizard's primary purpose was to go to the library. Thinking about it some more, she could understand his motives better.

When a foreign world crashes into your own, what other thing is there to do but to learn who they were and where they came from?

"I think... It might be better to seek help from the military first..." Amelia said between breaths, still not completely over the petrifying gaze of the beast.

"Military..." Klein rubbed his chin and then thought about it. He would probably need to learn to speak and read English better to access any of the knowledge of a library...

And this family already knew he was a wizard, so it would probably be better to travel with them...

"So, where can we find the alien warrior friends?" Klein asked, then continued, "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a small town somewhere that way" He pointed in the 10'Oclock direction.

"How about we get some breakfast there, stay for a while, and then try to find the military?" Klein said as he rubbed his stomach, completely unaware he had a cereal bar in his pocket.

He could have prepared the Rhinos to eat but their armor was hard to break, and their meat was too tough.

"Yeah, I think finding a town could do us some good... Provided it's still there..." Harold sighed, looking back at his kids. Harry had barely gotten over his fear but was comforting his sister with a trembling hand.

Klein caught the act, focusing on it for a moment too long, before he snapped out of his stupor and began to speak again.

"Right, so we should just-" Klein paused what he was going to say upon remembering a crucial detail.

His APC...

"Ahhhh! No no no. My glorious alien carriage!" Klein held his head in his hands in an almost exaggerated manner as he lamented.

He had left that thing close to the river where the sea serpent was.

He gazed longingly in the distance towards his treasured vehicle, and at the beast who had mostly retreated back into the water, leaving only its eyes above the surface, still staring in their direction.

He sighed regretfully, then turned back to the family in a stiff manner.

"D-do you think I could ride on your carriage roof?" Klein smiled harmlessly, pointing to the roof of Harold's car. 

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

It didn't take long for the group to see the town in the distance. They had driven over a mustard field and a grassy hill, found another modern road to drive on, before finally landing on cobblestone.

The town here, while damaged, didn't seem to have been affected as much by the cataclysm. 

The family disembarked from the vehicle not far from the town, unwilling to cause any disturbance. They brought their luggage from the trunk of their car too, deciding they might need it if they were to stay in the town.

Klein lead them through, occasionally passing by people who were putting their efforts into reconstruction.

The Earthen family looked around in curiosity at the vintage-type architecture and clothing people wore.

Klein also focused on some areas of the town which contained some odd artefacts. A tractor was now a feature of the town square, having destroyed what seemed to be a fountain beneath it. There was a crowd gathering around the strange thing and discussions ran rampant amidst the townsfolk.

Finally, the group stopped at the entrance of an inn which seemed to have managed to remain intact.

Ding-a-ling.

The chime of the entrance opened as Klein walked through, "Hey hey, is this place open for business?" He spoke with a smile, observing the interior, which seemed to mostly consist of rugged men with weaponry and thick muscles.

They turned their heads towards the newcomer in a damaged camo-outfit, ready to draw their weapons.

"Ah, mercenaries, good day! Owner, is there spare room here?" Klein smiled with a greeting, ignoring the hostility and made his way to the counter, beginning to cast something silently.

The couple tentatively followed him, their kids clinging to their legs as they looked around in fright. Needless to say, the group of them drew much attention from the way they were dressed and the things they carried.

"How many?" The owner at the counter was a middle aged man wearing a dirtied white shirt with his sleeves rolled to his elbows. He scanned the group with narrowed eyes and spoke gruffly.

"Ah... That..." Klein considered, then said "Maybe two?"

"We only have one" He said.

"That works too!" Klein smiled, finishing his cast on the pocket of a mercenary, accurately blinking the coins in them to his closed hand.

Clink. Thump.

Klein placed the coins on the counter with a friendly smile and reached out his palm for the key.