Labyrinth of Fright (Underdog Book #5): LitRPG Series

by Alexey Osadchuk

  Pinebogey turned his head where I pointed. There, on the broad set of front gates a number of thin vines were fancifully woven into a design any monster hunter would recognize.

  Chapter 21

  FORESTON GREETED US with hustle and bustle. Foxfolk society getting on with its day-to-day life. Somewhere out there, three days’ journey away, blackbloods took down whole hunting villages in the forest. But here, gangs of little kiddos were scurrying up and down small streets without a care in the world. Ladies talked merrily about their undoubtedly important minutiae. Criers insisted we drop by the stalls and taverns that employed them. I even saw a group of foxfolk busy cleaning up garbage.

  I wonder how many inhabitants this place has. There were at least a few hundred in front of me right now. And they were just going to market, to work or running other errands.

  The procession of two outsiders accompanied by a guard unit drew the townsfolk’s attention but didn’t exactly stir up a fuss. A bearded guy and a nulled kid are nothing of interest. They probably think we’re a couple explorers passing through.

  “A-hem,” I drawled a near whisper. “If I were to tell my classmates that I saw a foxman sweeping a street, they’d just laugh in my face.”

  “I’m sure when this city was still thriving, there was no need for trash collectors,” Pinebogey said at half volume, nodding at the foxes with brooms and wide dustpans.

  “I was under the impression they were always in demand.”

  “Turn your attention to these slabs,” Pinebogey tapped his right foot on the ground. “What do you see?”

  “Just what you said,” I shrugged. “Stone slabs. They look like gray marble.”

  “In point of fact, they’re wood,” a triumphant smile blossomed on my pal’s bearded face. He even puffed out his chest as if he had personally laid every piece of the intricate mosaic.

  For a while I trudged in silence, studying the complex designs on the roadway. A few times I even scraped it with my boot sole, hoping to chip a bit off a corner. My efforts only amused Pinebogey. Same with a few of the guards, who were listening closely to our conversation.

  “There’s no sense in trying,” Pinebogey shook his head. “It’ll never work. At the very least, for the next few years, while this city is still alive, the road cannot be damaged.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw our escorts get on edge. The headman even frowned. They wanted to hear what we’d say next. I got that. Some brand-new mage just said that their home city had only a few years left to live.

  But their reactions did not go unnoticed by Pinebogey either. We traded fleeting glances. This would be a good time to drive up our value and say things we definitely wanted the heads of the houses to hear. And not just them. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover Pinebogey’s words spreading around the whole city at breakneck speed.

  “You know better than me, Primordial,” I shrugged innocently and saw a few of the guards get thrown off. They clearly weren’t expecting our conversation to take that particular turn. I also noticed the headman looking anxious, despite his recent glacial calm. I’d bet my right hand he really wanted to order us to shut up, but for some reason couldn’t work up the nerve.

  “So then, what’s the deal with these slabs?” I purposely took the conversation down a different path. Behind us, I heard a barely audible sigh. The headman’s right ear twitched. My heart can sense that someone will get a send-up today for that disciplinary infraction.

  “Oh my friend, these are not mere slabs,” Pinebogey picked up on my game. “As I already said, this city is a single organism cultivated for one purpose: to defend and safeguard its inhabitants. It also has many features. For example, all trash such as fallen leaves, filth including the inhabitants’ waste is absorbed at night by the living pavement. If you look closely, you’ll see that all the walls and roofs as well as the glass in some windows are made out of the same material.”

  I looked around. There were homes hanging off the broad trunks of the sequoias with stone-like bark. From far away, they looked like the kind of mushrooms that grew on tree trunks, just enormous. Though following the logic of the creators of this city, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that was exactly what they were.

  The mushroom houses were pressed up tightly against one another, spiraling up the sequoias to their very canopies like a never-ending snake. And the bonnet roof of each house was blanketed in a layer of dark green moss. The roofs then served as paths the foxfolk used to walk up to the higher levels.

  Suddenly looking straight up, I placed a hand on my forehead like a visor. Heh… I can only imagine how great the view is for the foxfolk that live among the treetops.

  “An ideal city for defense,” said Pinebogey. “Everything here has been thought out down to the smallest detail. Underground springs, wells and fountains mean the townsfolk will never be without water. And between the edible sap, vegetables and legumes ― it would be very hard to starve to death in here.”

  Pinebogey nodded to the right.

  “My senses tell me that the armory glade used to be behind that wall of trees there.”

  “Armory glade?”

  “Yes,” Pinebogey confirmed. “The trees there were once used to grow armor and weaponry. Arrows, bows, darts, shields.”

  I found myself rubbernecking to try and catch a glimpse of the peculiar trees. Just think! How cool would it be to plant even one of them in your garden?! Heh… Walk out in the morning and there’s a bow and set of armor hanging off the branches.

  “But alas, I cannot sense them,” Pinebogey shook his head mournfully. “They are dead. All that’s left now is dry old stumps.”

  A few of our escorts also turned their head that direction. Based on their elongated faces, the fact there had been something called an armory glade right under their noses was news to them.

  And now, I got to the main questions. As a matter of fact, our entire conversation was leading right here.

  “So does that mean the city is dormant?” I asked. “What will happen when it awakens?”

  Pinebogey looked at me pensively. To be frank, his stare made me a bit embarrassed.

  “It will start to restore everything that has perished over the years. It will take away what need not be here. Water will flow in the fountains and springs again. The gardens and orchards will again bear fruit. Small animals, birds and insects will return. It will take a very large amount of energy…”

  “Do you think it will be possible?” I asked, looking sullenly at my buddy and knowing what it would require.

  “Yes,” Pinebogey nodded confidently. I could read pleading and hope in his eyes.

  Our conversation, which had begun in a half-joking manner, had outgrown that into something more complex and important. I understood what Pinebogey wanted to say to me. In a sense, he changed as soon as he entered this forest. He looked like a homeowner returning to his dwelling after a long absence to find it in complete ruin.

  I took a heavy sigh. Then I looked around and, wincing, asked:

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely,” a happy smile appeared on Pinebogey’s face.

  I just snorted and grumbled out:

  “Then I’ll have to help you…”

  If the escorts did notice the shift in our tone, they didn’t assign it much importance. But they should have. Their charges had just decided the fate of Clan Sharpear in its entirety, and this forest as a whole.

  It was impossible not to give a tender smile when looking at Pinebogey’s elated face. But it also made me sad. I now had an unexpected problem on my hands. I would have to find a new keeper for the Stone Forest.

  When we reached the Yellow Tree, which turned out to be a desiccated old giant sequoia, Pinebogey puffed up angrily. I already knew he had a particular weakness for these wonder trees. And so, just in case, I put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. The thing I wanted least of all right now was to calm down an outraged forest avatar.

  “Wait here
for the elders,” came the headman, pointing to a cracked open door carved into the base of the trunk. “You can rest up and drink some water in there.”

  “Are we prisoners?” I decided to clarify before crossing the threshold.

  “Not yet,” the commander of the guard answered curtly, then decided to add: “It’s standard procedure. All newcomers must go through it.”

  I just snorted and stepped inside the odd little room. Behind me came Pinebogey, muttering something to himself in annoyance. The door closed right behind him, cutting us off from the outside world. If they think this piece of dry wood can hold us, they are deeply mistaken.

  Before we’d even taken a proper look around, we heard scraping sounds on the opposite wall. That put me right on guard because my mouth filled with bitterness at the same time. A second later, a slumping figure jumped out of the gloom.

  Hm… Pinebogey and I traded glances. Our old friend, the foxman who looked like a rat.

  “Master Eric, you’re late,” he said with a creaky voice. I saw mockery and expectation in his animal eyes.

  Curious…

  “Good sir, I do not know your name,” I said with a frown. “But you and your master are to blame. You left us in the woods with injured men, and children.”

  “That isn’t what I’m talking about,” he dismissed casually. “And yes, forgive me for the oversight. My name is Nimble of House Whitebelly.”

  “Then would you mind telling us what you are talking about, Sir Nimble of House Whitebelly?”

  “With pleasure,” the foxman gave a slight nod. “I was referring to the fact that you, Captain Takeda and another two of his Majesty’s soldiers were supposed to have arrived here several weeks ago. I would like to know why you are so late and what exactly has become of Captain Takeda and his men.”

  I felt a tingle run down my spine.

  “You must be mistaken,” I said coldly. “I’ve never heard that name before in my life.”

  The foxman snorted.

  “Commendable, Master Eric. In order to reassure you and save us all precious time… I swear that I am a loyal servant of his Majesty Egbert the Seventh, who the people know as the Steel King! That settle you down?”

  The Great System immediately confirmed the veracity of his words, making me think feverishly. I had no time at all, so I came to the conclusion that I would have to speak only the truth and behave myself accordingly.

  I breathed a heavy sigh and, putting on a sorrowful face, stated:

  “Alas, but Captain Takeda fell in battle alongside his warriors.”

  The gray fox squinted.

  “Curious… Who could have possibly defeated one of the Steel King’s greatest champions?”

  “A Blackblood Mother took him under control when we entered the explorer village, which had already been wiped out. Then she ordered her children to kill us as well.”

  My answer was honest, though I was wheedling a bit, pretending to be an inexperienced kid dragged forcibly off to the Dark Continent. As I spoke, I was keeping a close eye on the foxman’s body language and facial expression. Now, with my Will, there was a lot to pick up. For example, this Nimble knows the answers to all these questions perfectly well.

  “That raises a logical question,” the foxman continued. “Why wasn’t the Blackblood Mother able to take control of you as well?”

  “For the same reason Magister Sato was unable to do so!” I shot out challengingly. I wanted to hope I was pulling off the proud self-assured dolt act.

  “To teach the brute a lesson, I had to activate one of the most powerful spells I got from the monster hunters,” I folded my arms across my chest and stuck out my jaw slightly.

  Right when I mentioned Magister Sato, Nimble gave a skeptical smirk. I had to pretend not to notice. But when I mentioned my victory over the Blackblood Mother, the gray fox gave a slight nod. He did not merely believe me… He knew exactly what had happened! He was just testing me.

  “And what happened after that?” Nimble distracted me from my thoughts.

  “I went back to the village. I was hoping to find the bodies of my companions but alas, the spell was just too destructive. After that, I set off down the Morta river toward Narrow Lake. But they never actually told me our final destination.”

  “What made you choose to come this way?”

  “Hm… Captain Takeda mentioned at one point that we were going to the lands of the foxfolk. And so I thought… I didn’t have much of a choice.”

  “You chose right,” Nimble said with a smile.

  Heh… I guess he believed me after all.

  “However…” he suddenly said. “One thing is still unclear.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “You must have diverged from the river at some point to get here, in the middle of the continent. How did that happen?” the foxman slightly squinted.

  “How do you know that?!” I objected with false indignance. To myself meanwhile, I was thinking that Nimble definitely believed me otherwise why would he reveal what he knew so early? Now he will try to feign sympathy and make friends.

  “Oh forgive me, Master Eric!” he threw up his arms. “You simply must understand where I’m coming from. There’s a lot riding on this. After all, you and I are working to the same end and serving the same King.”

  Now, now… Carry on.

  “The thing is, we were made aware of your mission. And so a small unit of warriors from our house went down the river to the explorer village to meet Captain Takeda. There they discovered just ashes and charred bodies. The commander didn’t believe at first that a great warrior such as Isamu Takeda undoubtedly was, had perished. But in the end, his body was found on the roof of a surviving house.”

  I was sincerely surprised. That creep had a thick hide.

  “He escaped the blaze?” I asked with concern in my voice. “Then why didn’t my beast smell him?”

  “No surprises there,” the foxman reassured me. “The captain had some artifact with him, which he managed to activate. Our mages said it could make its bearer undetectable to wild animals.”

  Ah, that’s right. Takeda had stolen an amulet from the captain of the ship that took us to this continent. So that’s why Gorgie couldn’t smell him. And here I thought it was because of all the dead bodies.

  “I feel sincere pity for the captain,” I said sadly, which earned me yet another skeptical smirk from the foxman. Either he doesn’t know I can easily read his body language, or he isn’t even trying to conceal his emotions.

  “So you must have known the purpose of the expedition and my part in it, right?” I asked head-on.

  “I can’t say we knew about you in particular,” the foxman answered eagerly.

  Curious. Why is he being so open? Actually, it makes sense. He wants to get on my good side quickly so he can complete the King’s mission. I find that easy to believe, especially knowing who Egbert the Seventh really is. Nimble knows that, too. Honestly, I will keep pretending to be a simpleminded commoner sent by the Steel King to revive the order’s former glory for the purpose of combatting Darkness.

  “But as for Captain Takeda’s expedition,” Nimble continued. “We knew about it a whole year ago. And I learned your name from a messenger amulet made out to me, which was found on Takeda’s body. He managed to record a message before he died and leave detailed instructions about the mission and you in particular. He also wanted me to tell you that I am now in charge of the mission.”

  “That’s great news!” I exclaimed sincerely. What a rogue. “It pleases me to know that we can now restore the order of monster hunters to its former glory and complete his Majesty’s mission!”

  Nimble cringed again. Heh… He doesn’t seem to even suspect what I am capable of.

  “Good sir Nimble,” I said, feigning willingness. “My friend and I are at your complete disposal! I’m sure you’ve already been convinced by what you’ve seen in your hunting village, but Master Pinebogey despises Darkness and all its creations
just a fiercely as we do!”

  Pinebogey, having been playing a silent shadow all that time, took a step forward and gave a short nod.

  “At your service, good sir Nimble!”

  It took me some effort not to laugh. Such a great talent for acting was going to waste.

  Seemingly, our righteous vigor and zeal had caused the foxman great embarrassment.

  “So then,” I continued, not letting him find his footing. “When do we start the hunt?”

  “The hunt?” the foxman asked in surprise.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “I need ghostly crystals. Without them, how am I supposed to raise my reputation? And without reputation, as I’m sure you realize, I will be unable to access the order’s secrets.”