by Ryan DeBruyn
“Ohhh,” Mur groans. “That feel good now.” I smile and move the next few drops to his chest wound. Opening my eyes, I see it finish closing and turn into a greenish-white line.
“All done,” I say to Mur and tap him on the shoulder.
“Jeff Shaman!” Mur exclaims, and I just shrug in response, unsure what the distinction between Shaman and Infuser might be. Maybe they are the same? I will have to ask the goblin when we get back. . .
“We should get out of here and get back home,” I conclude and begin moving toward the portal. After exiting, Mur and I take a single step away from the tree before the sound of stones sliding down a rubble pile makes both of us turn to see what’s there.
“Humans,” Mur says and the growls emanate from his shadowed cowl ominously. He sniffs at the air. The noise already froze me, but the additional confirmation from the goblin’s nose is helpful.
“Tribe lose them,” I respond with the grunts as well, ensuring that we can’t be overheard. Instead of the path we are currently taking, we veer away and move directly away from the pile of rubble, not running yet, but walking fast.
Mur makes small hand gestures to indicate the direction the humans are trailing us from. I’m glad he is starting to understand those—even if pointing in the direction of our pursuers is a little obvious. We keep walking, hoping to find a method of escape. I consider splitting up but dismiss it for now. We aren’t desperate just yet.
A patch of overgrown grass is up ahead, and we speed-walk toward it. As we near it, I see a dungeon flag that’s set up somewhere in the middle. Mur holds up a hand and tilts his ear in the direction of the grass.
“Another human group there. Tribe go other way,” he grunts at me, and I begin to nod. Then I think about it. The grass will hide us from the group behind, and we know where the people inside should be. What if we were to run into the grass and then take an immediate right and exit out the side?
I explain this logic to Mur, and he takes an ‘anything the leader says’ pose, which isn’t as helpful as what I was hoping for. I would much rather have him point out flaws. Guess it’s a good plan then.
“Okay, tribe do this. If get caught, Mur leave Jeff. Honor oath?” I bark at him.
Mur nods emphatically, and we head into the long grass before turning right and charging in that direction. A quick check shows me that I can still see out of the grass into the ruins, and so I motion to my left, and we veer a little deeper in. The instant I can’t see out, I assume no one can see in and motion to straighten out our course again. Then I realize that, without a view of the grass’s outside, I can only hope the course correction was actually on target.
We continue jogging in the grass for what feels like far too long. I motion, and we steer back closer to the edge, or where the border should have been. Instead, we have gotten ourselves thoroughly lost. I take a moment to think, and lacking any better option, I infuse qi into my legs and jump up in the air in an attempt to clear the grass and get my bearings. Turns out we aren’t far from the edges of the long stalks.
I scan behind me and suck in a breath as I just barely see two paths tracing from the center of the area, and they are coming right for us. Shit. Are the trails the people that were following us? Or the group that was clearing the dungeon? I hit the ground and jump again, trying to discover what might be out there. The second jump confirms that the paths are coming from the flag near the center of the grass, but from this vantage, I can’t make out what’s coming! It can’t be a dungeon monster that got by them, though, right? If it’s humans, they can’t find Mur, or they will likely kill him. The chances are higher for it to be humans, so I make a split-second choice.
“Mur go. Head to basement,” I growl commandingly in Gartuski and see the goblin react instantly to the command and the direction I indicate with my arm. I leap a third time and trace the trails through the grass a moment longer. They don’t alter their paths and keep on coming as Mur starts off toward the nearest edge. I am already falling back to earth from my third qi-infused jump when my eyes meet those of Markus. I have just enough time to register his angry glare before he is hidden by the grass again. I land and spin, pulling my naginata from my subspace and cursing myself. The tail is Ride or Die!
Two men burst through the grass nearby, and their eyes fix on me. Then their eyes narrow, and both heads tilt. It’s tough to tell through the massive beard, but I think the one on the left is confused.
“Hey, kid,” the man with the beard calls. He’s wearing leather plate armor and carries an impressively large square-headed war mace, which he strings into his belt. “What has you out in this grass, and did you happen to see a monster nearby?”
Shaking my head, I jam the butt of my naginata into the dirt and show them the palms of my hands, attempting to convey that I am not a threat. The naginata is still pressed into one of my palms and held by a thumb, but from this position it would take a while to move it. The first man’s casual ease in sheathing a hammer that likely weighs more than I do makes me seriously wish to avoid a confrontation. The second man is wearing hardened leathers and has a bow with an arrow nocked and trained a little below my waist. Either he has one of my legs dead to rights, or he is relaxing his draw after seeing that the threat is just a kid. I can’t even be sure how they knew I was here.
“I’m sorry. I’ll explain. I was being chased by a group of goblins when I ran in here. I didn’t know a group was here. Perhaps you chased them off.”
The man with the bow lowers it fully and takes all the tension off the string. That’s when I get a better look at him. He is tall and lanky with long dark hair that trails down his back. Compared to the first man, this one doesn’t particularly look menacing with his clean-shaven face and relatively scrawny frame. That’s when my contacts [Identify] the man.
John Leigh
Rank: A-8
My brain does a little internal pause reading over the rank of this unassuming man. His long dark hair, oval eyes, and somewhat lanky appearance would have made me assume he was weak. But I should have known based on his above average looks. This man is a few steps from the S-ranks, and according to rumors at camp, people gain some level of attractiveness at higher ranks. That realization makes me turn back and check on the massive man next to him. As surreptitiously as I can, I watch him for long enough to trigger the contacts.
Lebashi Fang
Rank: C-8
The disparity is odd, and my face flicks back to the less assuming man. In that moment of inattentiveness, John has found a chocolate bar and is eating it absently as he observes my actions. After the first few bites, he tilts his head and looks over to Lebashi.
“Is it that you are so hungry you want some, or can you actually tell I am the leader?” John asks, his voice quiet but easily carrying to me.
Crap! I start thinking fast and don’t really come up with a good solution.
“Are you not John Leigh? The guy who is steps away from being a ranker? One of the most famous individuals in the Northern Territory?”
Lebashi smiles broadly, which is only noticeable because of the white squares that appear from the middle of his tremendous beard. He walks over and attempts to slap John on the back. But John moves out of the way, forcing Lebashi to catch himself with some hasty footwork before he overbalances completely.
“I’ve told you before that you are far too strong to just go randomly patting people on the back, Lebashi,” John grumbles as he continues to stare at me.
“But I’ve told you multiple times, boss, that people around here have heard of ya!” Lebashi exclaims, grinning and even tearing up a bit. I tilt my head at the large man, wondering how someone so large can sound so—cheerful?
“I don’t believe for a second that people know my name, Lebashi. I believe it even less that some random kid stumbled onto our camp knowing it!” John shouts, his chocolate bar now mush in his hand.
My eyes widen as I realize that my approach might have been the wrong one. Unfort
unately, there is no other path to take now that I am on this one. So instead of trying another avenue, I double down on my lie.
“I’m from Beach, sir. I was hoping to find an unmarked dungeon or a cleared one that respawned a bit early. Unfortunately, I ran into a goblin dungeon and was chased away. However, I can assure you that the people in Beach talk about John Leigh of the Sabres Guild quite highly.” That isn’t a total guess. Lebashi has a guild emblem on his armor, and if one is a member, they both are—probably.
John seems to relax slightly. After a moment, Lebashi indicates the oozing mess of the chocolate bar in his hand. John curses, pulls out a rag, and scrapes off the sticky substance that still clings to his hands despite the wrapper. After John finishes, he brings out another one and takes a bite.
“Sorry, I don’t particularly like being the subject of rumors or discussions I am not a part of.” John takes another bite and then gestures with a thumb over his shoulder. “Probably safer if you camp with us for the night and head back to Beach in the morning. There are a lot worse than goblins out here this late. No offense meant, but if you were running from one of them, I doubt you can handle other threats.”
I flush, not having thought about this rather glaring hole in my story. How weak must I appear to have been running from a goblin?
“There were a lot more than one of the things, sir. Why do you believe I was running from a single one?”
“Oh, our wards only indicated a single monster entering the grass field. We are currently taking out a rattler dungeon. We worried that one of them might be returning after a few days of hunting abroad. The wards aren’t exactly specific when announcing threats sometimes,” Lebashi explains casually as he turns back in the direction they came from.
“You coming?” John says, using his thumb to point over his shoulder again, back toward the dungeon flag.
“I’m sorry, but I need to be getting back. People might worry about me. Thanks for chasing away the goblins, though,” I say and try to act as sheepish about it as possible. If I show embarrassment about running from a single goblin foe, I should appear less suspicious. John shrugs and throws something at me. I catch it and find a Swiss chocolate bar in my hands. When I look back up, all I can see are the backs of the two men disappearing in the grass.
That could have gone a lot worse. I head off after Mur. Hopefully, Markus isn’t still out there, but I need to make sure my green friend is okay either way.
Chapter 46
September 6th, 151 AR
Jeff Turle
This is definitely the latest, or maybe earliest, I have gotten back to the Training Room. I can actually see a hint of orange beginning its battle against the night in the distance. My brain is a foggy mush after the night’s dungeon run and wild chase. Not to mention the desperate conversation with the two powerful Sabres.
Without a goblin at my side, the walk back is almost relaxing. I don’t have to worry about Mur being seen by others and can just travel the well-worn roads. I enjoy the rising sun as I meander down the street, recognizing that I am now in my area of the ruined Suburb. I’m just about to reach the neighboring house to mine when a boisterous voice startles me. Dread freezes me near the farthest corner of Larry’s house, and I even pull myself into the alley behind it to ensure I am hidden.
“If I had a wife and needed to get rid of her, I would just ask you guys to follow her,” Boyle booms into the early morning stillness. His statement wakes me up like a bucket of cold water over the head. My heart pounds into the pause the man leaves. “‘Cause you keep losing everybody you’re supposed to follow.” His laugh reverberates off the houses, and I can hear a few angry shouts to ‘be quiet’ from nearby neighbors. So they didn’t capture Mur and lost him? That could mean he made it into the Training Room, or it could mean they killed him and didn’t think anything of a random goblin. . .
“This is the same house we lost the brat by last time,” Esmerelda responds, and I hurriedly scan the area looking for any monster corpses. Finding nothing from this angle, I begin walking away as calmly as I can manage. My brain overloads itself trying to come up with solutions to the apparent problem. I can’t get into the Training Room if they are at my house. So then how can I confirm Mur is all right?
After a short period of time, I manage to force my reeling mind into some kind of order. I don’t know if they are planning to stick around and wait. For all I know, they are scanning it just like they did last time and will leave to continue on. I turn down a side street and approach the crumpled house from the ruins side. Over here, there are a lot of destroyed structures, and even some old rusty vehicles resting on their sides. I make my way to the back of a fallen garage and slide under a broken-down pickup truck that’s under all the wood. I didn’t even realize this truck was in here from the outside, but it’s actually what is holding up the rest of the building.
Once I am under the truck, I move around until I can see a sliver of my house through the pile of broken timbers. I can just make out Esmerelda and Boyle. There is a third figure in the shadows of the house. Unfortunately, from my current position, I can’t hear their conversation anymore. I can make out the boisterous Boyle from time to time, but only a word here and there. And without context, it doesn’t give me any hint.
I settle in to watch and wait. I can’t say how long it takes for the adrenaline running through my body to dissipate, but between one deep breath and the next, I fall asleep.
I wake up with a start. I haven’t slept outside like this in weeks, and it takes me a moment to remember where I am and why I am so cold. Once I come fully awake and recall why I am in the collapsed garage behind the basement, I try to see if I can make out anyone still standing around. I can’t see anyone, so I slide around on the concrete slab under the truck to change my vantage. Just as I’m about to conclude that the house is clear, I see a shadow move inside.
Once I see it, I don’t know how I missed it the first time. Someone is leaning against a piece of broken timber near the stairs. It’s impossible to tell if it’s a man or woman, but I suspect it has to be a member of Ride or Die. It seems like they will camp out at the house—which, admittedly, is a good plan on their part. They can’t know that they are blocking my access to something as valuable as the Training Room, but the thought that I will come back there in the future must be on their minds. I hope Mur is okay and safely down there with Crash.
I don’t have any options left to get in there myself to find out. I briefly entertain the idea of leading a group of monsters into the house, but honestly, that could cause many problems for the other residents. There is only one option remaining, and when I combine it with the news I need to pass along, I don’t like it.
I sneak out of my place in the garage and circle around the Suburb to use the hunters’ entrance. It’s become a bit of a habit now. I make a brief detour to check the message board. And I actually have to move some other postings before seeing that my message for Alrick is still there. I hope that Alrick is okay. My heart is starting to tell me that the hunter may not have made it through the battle after saving me. I counter that thought by reminding myself we were closer to the Etobicoke suburb, so he could have just joined a hunting group there.
As soon as I near the Star Bucks’ building, I feel someone watching me, and it doesn’t take me long to find Jamie glaring at me from behind some foliage. I quicken my steps and enter the building. To my surprise, someone stops me almost instantly and asks for identification and my business. I blink, my mouth opening and closing for a few seconds before realizing this is my first time entering the guild through the front door without the local chapter heads. Of course they have someone who acts as an attendant. Guess I got used to my roof access privileges.
“Right. Yep. I am here to see Veronica, Jacque, or Darren,” I state and watch the young man’s eyes widen as his face grows stern.
“Do you have an appointment?” he asks, his mouth pressing into a very straight line and his eyes narr
owing again. I don’t want to answer that, mostly because I don’t have an appointment, but also because I didn’t expect to need one. I try to think of something to say that won’t sound dumb or arrogant.
“I don’t, but they’ll see me,” I mumble sheepishly, attempting and failing to make my pronouncement less crazy-sounding. I can tell by the dismissive look the young man gives me that his impression of my disheveled and dirty clothes isn’t helping either. He goes as far as to cover his nose and that’s when I realize I’m definitely not getting in.
Without much deliberation, the attendant pushes me through the doors. A cursory [Identify] tells me not to resist, as he is D-rank and likely able to tie my body in a knot if he so chooses. Shaking my head, I sprint off, hoping that Jamie didn’t notice my prompt exit. I enter the alleyway and use my liquid to bound up the metal staircase. I am at the top in record time, and I move to Veronica’s garden. I am in luck, and she is there.
“You’re in a hurry,” she exclaims, probably a little startled by me bouncing onto the roof and sprinting toward her.
“Sorry, that adventuring group is still tailing me even though they were paid their restitution,” I respond, my voice as high as hers. “One of them is watching the building, and the attendant threw me out.”
Veronica’s eyes go wide, but she clearly gets why I am in a hurry after that short explanation. We enter the staircase, ensuring it is locked behind us before we descend to the lower levels. Today, she takes me to the seventh level and right to her room. As soon as she walks through the door, she begins speaking again.
“Jessamyn, please get Jacque or Darren up here as soon as you can,” Veronica commands, and I flick my head around to find Jessamyn scrubbing black stains out of the carpeted part of the floor. Ignoring my own blush, I focus on a question. Why is the other girl in Veronica’s room doing that? Jessamyn isn’t cleaning staff, right?
