Arn

After kindly showing Marshall the error of his ways, Arn was eager to move on. Every minute he delayed increased the chance that the kobolds would be able to put together an insurmountable defense. He filled his quiver from the room’s store of arrows and headed towards the far door.

Walking through the entryway, he slowed. It felt as though his body was pushing through thick film, but it wasn’t a negative experience. His weariness cleared as his head pushed through, and the soreness he was feeling from wearing his armor for an extended period lifted. The damage done to his left arm was healed in an instant and even the dirt that he had collected fell off of his attire.

System Alert:

You’ve entered Area III of the dungeon.

Beware! Foes will be stronger in this area, but the Karma gained from kills have increased.

“Well, hello Trainer. That was quite a good show you put on. I’m glad you’ve improved.” The words left Arn speechless.

What was once an empty room, was lined with kobolds. Each stood in a mixture of plate and chainmail armor along the wall. There was a definite military bearing among the warriors present. Looking for the one that spoke, Arn’s stomach dropped.

It was Igalt, Arn’s once-pupil and current commander of the kobold forces. His experience with the lizard was far from pleasant. Igalt was a warrior who exemplified the brutality of his people perfectly. One particular session ended with him literally peeling back Arn’s skin and tearing out his spine. Another involved pinning their trainer to the ground with spears and shoving a sword down his throat to see how far it would go before they cut open his neck.

“You’ve put up a valiant effort,” the kobold said, “but unfortunately I've been asked to put you down. I would have loved to see how you could have gone, but our chief disagrees with the elders’ decree.”

Taking a slow step back, Arn hit a cave wall. And of course we’re locked in.

Look left! Lucius yelled from his position on Arn’s quiver.

Sparing a glance over the kobolds’ heads, Arn saw his salvation. A purple door glowed softly behind a line of soldiers.

“Can’t run?” Igalt shrugged his shoulders mockingly, “Looks like The Divine has decided your fate. Still, I'm older and so much more benevolent than before. I’ll give you a fighting chance. You can fight my men, but one against thirty is so unjust. The other option is to fight just one opponent.”

How fucking cliché. “I’m not a fool, obviously I pick option two. I’m guessing that means I have the honor of fighting you?”

The kobold snorted and grinned wickedly, “Now that sounds incredibly boring. Why would I want to stroke my own ego by beating someone so beneath me. No, if I remember anything from our sessions, Trainer, it’s that a good battle should require both fighters at their best, fighting for every inch. I won’t fight you, I’m not responsible for your release. That failure lies at the feet of the younglings.”

At that moment, another kobold was roughly shoved towards the center of the room. Her left eye was swollen shut, and she could barely stand. Signs of a beating were obvious on any skin she had showing under a tattered gambeson. A roughly sharpened spear was thrown at her feet to complete the pathetic ensemble.

Not one of mine, and definitely not a warrior. What the fuck is he thinking?

“Now then,” Igalt continued, “we can’t have the young pay for their idiotic mistakes. A good society must ensure that good parents take responsibility for their children's actions. As such, the mother of the Punts, Carbon, has so graciously agreed to take on that role as their father is recently deceased. She’s rather stupid, so the game is simple. If she kills you, then the children will be forgiven, and all can return to normal. If you kill her, then the children will die, and you will be given the chance to state your case directly to the elders. Begin whenever you’re ready.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Carbon immediately picked up her spear and charged Arn. Her steps were heavy and she almost fell twice during her run. Still, Arn swatted the weapon aside with his longsword and kicked the kobold to the ground.

Running was no longer an option. He wasn’t going to let the trainees be killed. They’d risked their lives, he knew letting him escape meant their lives were in the hands of the elders. Yet he hoped that their punishment would be lessened if he put up enough of a fight.

His cockiness in forcing Marshall to heal them all but guaranteed their death. They definitely saw the whole thing. How the fuck should I’ve known they were listening!

Carbon was quick to her feet, wounds that had barely scabbed over began bleeding once again. She was too close to use her spear effectively, and Arn ended up pushing her forward onto her face this time.

Arn took the opportunity to look around the room. The soldiers remained stoic, their shields raised and spear tips lowered to the ground. Igalt was clearly bored, as he was having a conversation with a retainer beside him.

I have an idea, lead her to the door. Lou had moved from his place on the quiver and was now hiding behind Arn’s shield, using the arm strap as a perch.

Doing as he was told, Arn shoved the crying kobold in the right direction. He didn’t enjoy being rough, but felt that any poor acting would give him away. Carbon reacted by dropping her spear and lunging at him, receiving a punch to her gut for her efforts.

“It’s getting pathetic Trainer. Either kill her, or let her kill you. Make your choice and let me move on with my day.” The commander’s taunts infuriated the twins’ mother and she let forth a flame breath in his direction.

Two of the kobold warriors from the circle stepped into the flames path and stabbed their spears into the heat. The tips of the spears sprang forward a moment before impact, a mushroom of energy forcing the fire to dissipate.

That’s new.

Her failed attack finally seemed to break Carbon’s spirit. She looked over at Arn and pleaded, “Please, they only did as they thought was right. Their father raised them on stories of honor and they made a stupid decision.”

As she cried, she swung wild haymakers in Arn’s direction, the blows tearing the cloth of his brigandine, but doing no real damage.

Arn didn’t immediately react, instead, he continued to back up towards the door. When he reached the line of soldiers, he felt a pressure on his back.

“Gotta stay in the circle Trainer.” one of the warriors said.

He took a deep breath and finally responded to Carbon, “Fuck your kids, and fuck all you ugly ass lizards.” As he spoke, Arn swung his longsword and stabbed it into the eye opening of the nearest soldier's helmet.

The reaction of the others was immediate. Several warriors stabbed him in the sides, the blows way more powerful than he imagined. The wind was knocked out of him and he fell forward over the dead kobolds body.

Carbon also took the opportunity to attack Arn. She landed on his back and began ripping into his exposed back, finding bits where his gear didn’t cover him and the gambeson was exposed. She yelled into the crowd, “Kill us both and spare my children!”

Sorry, I think this next bit is going to really hurt. Lou apologized.

Nothing new there, get it open? In the commotion, the owl managed to reach the latch and put his full body weight into opening it.

I think so!

At this point, the commander moved forward and answered the female kobold, “How heroic! That is true parenting! You both die, and the kids live, I love it!” As Igalt released a fire breath of his own, Arn felt the temperature in the room grow.

The warriors near him backed up, which worried him even more. Usually, kobold flames wouldn’t hurt others of their kind. This flame certainly felt different. Igalt’s red vein shone brightly near his neck, and the fire itself combusted in places as it streamed forth.

Before it hit, Arn rolled Carbon over himself and replaced her with the dead warrior. Then, they were engulfed. Flinging himself into the door, he felt a pop and sizzle as his body went to the all too familiar process of heat fusing with his armor.

Carbon and Lou were the first to pass the doors threshold, Arn practically flinging the kobold to keep her from the flames. Arn’s burning carcass soon followed.