24
Semi-pro Tagonist IV
Once the party reached the forest, their progress slowed significantly. After several days of leaping and running, training and delving, Hiro was exhausted. The rest of the group seemed similarly burnt out as well. The days had gotten more and more quiet as everyone had less and less to say. Magnus had taken to using a flight spell to fly over the treetops ahead of the group. At the end of the day, they found him asleep in the planned campsite. Dianne had started to stomp forward angrily, but Jacob lay a hand on her shoulder and whispered something to her, and she backed down.
Finally, one morning after the days had blurred together to the point Hiro had lost track of them, Magnus came crashing back through the trees.
“The village is just ahead."
Theodore glared at him, “We knew that; the plan was to arrive there at nightfall today.”
“No, it's just ahead, as in, a couple of hours, not half a day.”
That was unexpected but not entirely surprising. The royal family had sponsored a team to establish a village out in the frontier in the ongoing effort to claim the land faster than the neighboring kingdoms. That the expedition team had stopped in a spot besides the assigned location and settled was almost standard practice. The news had the same effect on the weary group that a full night's rest might have. Everyone was suddenly excited and had a bounce in their step once more.
“Any sign of the demon magic?” Jacob asked the wizard.
“Haven’t checked yet; we can rest for a day, can't we? I mean, even if we find the demons right this second, none of us are fit to fight.”
Jacob wavered for a moment before Dianne stepped in.
“That sounds like a good idea. We can talk to the locals and see if they've seen anything, eat some real food, and regain our strength.”
Jacob inclined his head to her, “Very well, let's get there quickly so we can rest longer. We start the investigation at sunrise.”
A couple hours of travel were completed in just one as the group raced through the dense forest, each with their own style of travel. Hiro watched, fascinated; he had grown in strength, and he could now see and understand the rapid movement of those of Theodore's level.
Magnus took back to the air and flew off back the way he had come. Theodore grew glowing golden wings, crouched, and lunged forward, crossing a hundred feet in nearly an instant. Jacob was more sedate in his movement, but still impressive; he stretched this way and that for a moment, ran in place, and then leaned forward into a superhuman sprint, each footfall somehow finding just the right spot to avoid getting entangled in the brush. Dianne and Hiro were suddenly alone.
She waved to Hiro, “Come on, hurry up; there might not be any food left in the whole village if we let them at it for too long.”
Their relationship had been changed during this trip. Hiro had always been hoping for something to happen between them, and Dianne had seemed receptive. The past few days, though, she had taken a different attitude toward him. Now she was still friendly, but somehow distant. It felt like an opportunity had been missed.
They ran together to the village and found the party had waited for them before entering. Jacob said it was to present an image of unity. Why they needed to appear unified when entering a village under the rule of their own kingdom, Hiro couldn't say. But it meant that they hadn't missed out on any food, so he didn't question it.
Despite their quiet regrouping outside of the village, most of the people of the village had gathered outside and prepared to receive them. As they approached, an old man with a long beard stepped out from the crowd and bowed deeply to them.
“Greetings, Milords, Milady. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
The man's words were polite and welcoming, but something in the lines of his face spoke of worry; even Hiro could see it.
Jacob spoke for the party, “There has been a prophecy of danger in this area. Demon magic has been felt.”
A ripple of uneasy murmurs rolled through the villagers. Even the old man looked honestly surprised by that, so something else besides demons must have him worried about the visit then.
“We have seen no sign of Demons, Milord. What did the Seer see exactly?”
“Quite a lot, actually, but we cannot speak of it in the open. Demon magic being involved means we have to exercise the utmost caution in all things. I'm sure you understand.”
“Oh yes, of course. How can we assist you, milord?”
“We will need to talk to each of your villagers separately, in private. How many of you remain?”
“Seventy-three, milord.”
“Seventy-three?! A full hundred were sent; how have so many been lost?”
“Monster attacks—this area of the frontier seems particularly dangerous, Milord. You certainly will need an escort and guide when you go to investigate.” The old man seemed hopeful as he said that.
Hiro almost pointed it out, but Theodore bumped him with an elbow, drawing his attention. When Hiro looked at the paladin, he shook his head almost imperceptibly. What exactly was all this cloak and dagger for?
Jacob continued, “That indeed seems wise. For today we will rest and meet with the villagers; tomorrow we begin the investigation. Are you the original leader of this settlement?”
“I am not Milord; Mayor Josef sadly was lost in a bandit attack on the road. I reluctantly took the mantle of leader when no one else stepped forward.”
“Then what is your name, sir?”
“I am Shale Milord."
“Just Shale? What class?”
“Shale Messenger Milord, but it has been many years since I delivered a letter.”
“Then we are in your care, Shale Messenger. Please, shall we retire indoors? I have more I would like to discuss with you. I'm sure my companions can find refreshment and news among your fine villagers.”
Shale clenched his jaw a moment before nodding, “This way, Milord, please.”
Once Jacob and Shale had disappeared into one of the completed houses, Dianne spoke up.
“Ok, we split up and find out what they know. Get some of them alone and pressure them to tell the truth without Shale hovering over them. Don't leave the village alone, and don't get caught with your pants down. Just because they are weak villagers doesn't mean they can't stab you in the kidney when you look the other way.”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
There were some serious trust issues going on. But the plan was a good one, and everyone split up to find some food and poor unsuspecting villagers to interrogate. Hiro lingered for a moment in the square as the others left. Just as he was about to wander off and pick a random passerby to question, someone tugged his sleeve. He looked down to find a small girl staring up at him with innocent eyes.
“Are you an adventurer?”
Hiro chuckled, “Something like that.”
“Are you going to kill my friends?”
Hiro gaped in shock at the girl, “Of course not, why would I kill your friends?”
“Promise?”
“I promise I won't hurt your friends. Where are your parents?”
“Will you protect them if your friends try to kill them?”
Hiro furrowed his brow in confusion at the girl. Why was she asking things like this? What had happened to her?
“My friends aren't going to hurt yours. Why do you think they would?”
“My friends are scary. Adventurers might want to kill them.”
“I'll tell you what: if you take me to your parents, I promise I won't let anyone hurt your friends.”
The little girl smiled widely, “Deal! Papa is this way!”
She quickly ran off, and Hiro had to jog to keep up, even with his enhanced body. The village was small, so it wasn't long before Hiro found himself in front of a bald man chopping firewood.
“Who's this?” The man asked his daughter.
“This is my new friend. He’s an adventurer… But he's a good one; he promised to protect my friends.”
A look of disgust fell across his face. “They aren't your friends, Cyn; they're monsters.”
The girl stamped her foot and glared, “They are too my friends; you’re just jealous because you don’t have any friends!”
With that she ran off into the nearby house, completely forgetting her new friend.
The man sighed, “Sorry about that. I'm Hunter. So who are you really? Did you come with that group from the capital?”
Hiro gave a strained smile, “Hi Hunter, I’m Hiro. Yeah, I'm… a new adventurer of sorts with them. We are looking for demons that are supposed to be around here… What did that little girl mean about people wanting to kill her friends? Is she alright?”
Hunter shook his head. “She's fine… Demons, huh? Haven’t seen anything like that. Plenty of monsters, but no demons.”
He seemed to hesitate before deciding to continue on with a deep breath, “If you all get time, there is something you could do for us… if you want us to survive long enough to build this cursed village anyway.”
Hiro raised an eyebrow. “Something besides hunting down demons?”
Hunter laughed bitterly, “Shale… he's consorting with monsters. Just last night he made us carry four of our wounded to offer up to the dungeon… They were twisted into undead abominations... All that because we were attacked and wounded by those same monsters, mind you.
It's disgusting and unnatural.”
Hiro felt sick. Undead dungeons were always stamped out as quickly as possible once they were found. Hunter was right; they just weren’t natural. They were always filled with twisted mockeries of monsters. Worse though, any undead dungeons that got ahold of a person started using them against the adventurers, who would then be forced to cut down their fellow humans. Oftentimes they even looked like people the adventurers knew. Whatever god had created the undead had a sick sense of humor.
“Alright… We’re after demons… but I’ll make sure we kill the undead before we go as well. Shale knows about them? And he didn't say anything… maybe that is what he was hiding.”
Hiro was only thinking out loud, but Hunter answered him anyway.
“I don't know where Shale came from; no one does. But there is something strange about him. He's strong… too strong. Be careful around him. He is hiding a lot; this dungeon is probably the least of it.”
Hiro nodded thoughtfully. If he could, he would bring one of the others to meet Hunter. They were meant to learn everything they could separately, but Hiro knew enough to know that he was not smart enough to figure this all out on his own. The fate of over seventy people rested on Hiro and his party. More than that, if the Seer was correct, then it was possible that the entire kingdom would feel the impact of these events.
Hunter tried to invite Hiro inside to eat with them, but he had too much on his mind to be hungry. Instead he went to look for one of the others to ask their opinion. It was getting late, though, and the village was mostly indoors, resting from the day's work and feeding the visitors. Hiro wandered through the streets lost in thought for a while until someone called out to him.
“Hiro, what are you doing? Are you alright?”
It was Dianne. She had just stepped out of one of the houses where a couple stood in the door waving and wishing her well. Dianne had a way with people; she would know what to do. Hiro called back and pulled her to the side, where he explained what he had learned. As he told his story, Dianne looked more and more thoughtful, but not worried. That was reassuring; Hiro was worried, but Dianne would solve the problem, just like she always did.
Once he finished his story, Dianne waited a moment to make sure there wasn’t anything else before responding.
“So… What is the problem?”
Hiro wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. “Uh… what?”
“What is the problem?”
“The problem? The problem is that this Shale guy is working with monsters and giving villagers to them. No one even knows where he came from.”
Dianne nodded, “What about the demons? Is Shale working with demons?”
“No, they don’t know anything about the demons.”
“Right, so Shale and the monsters are a problem… but not OUR problem.”
“Our problem? These people need help.”
“Maybe, but that isn’t why we are here. Talk to Jacob after we deal with the demons; maybe we can help them after that. Until then, our problem is the demons. That is all we need to worry about.”
Hiro stared at Dianne with barely contained anger.
Dianne sighed, “Fine, let's go talk to this Hunter.”
When they knocked on the door, Cynthia was the one who answered.
“Hi Mr. Adventurer. Is this your girlfriend? Is she nice? Papa, Mr. Adventurer is back.”
Hiro was too overwhelmed to speak. Dianne just rolled her eyes and called into the single-room home.
“Mr. Hunter? I have a few questions if you have a moment.”
A muscular woman appeared in the door. “Are you the new friends Cyn won't stop talking about? Come in; we only just started dinner; there's plenty to go around.”
The dinner was a simple spread of stew and bread, but it reminded Hiro of home. As they ate, Dianne interrogated the family, asking several questions Hiro had already answered for her and some he hadn't thought to ask. Cynthia had been quiet the entire time but finally spoke up while Dianne was asking Hunter what he actually expected them to do about the monsters and Shale.
“You can't hurt my friends. Mr. Adventurer promised!”
Hunter spoke up, sounding exasperated, “They aren't your friends, Cyn; they are monsters. I keep telling you that.”
“They are too! Why won’t you listen?”
Cynthia's mother, Claudia, silenced the girl with a stern look.
Hunter answered Dianne, “You are all strong, right? Just look into it, please. Shale wasn't part of the expedition; he shouldn't be here. And if someone doesn't destroy that dungeon, we'll all be killed before we can even send a messenger for help.”
When Hiro shot her a look, Dianne finally caved, “Fine, fine. Where is this dungeon? We'll go have a look, but Shale will have to wait until the demon issue is resolved.”
Hunter nodded with a relieved smile, “That's all I ask. Follow the half-cut path to the north. Look for the giant tree; you can't miss it.”
“Alright, let's go so we can get this done and come back." Dianne said, pushing her chair in and walking to the door without looking at or waiting for Hiro.
The path out of the village was indeed easy to find. Several carts and sheds full of tools stood at the edge of a partially cleared tree line. As they walked, Dianne ignored any attempt at conversation Hiro made. A short time later they found the dungeon.
A tall metal fence surrounded what looked like a large yard with a garden, like one would find on a noble's estate. The fence gate lay at the head of a rough-looking bridge crossing a ditch like a dry moat. This was already unlike any dungeon Hiro had seen. The gate was locked, and to the side stood a bell. Dianne gave Hiro a look before shrugging and ringing the bell. A moment later a spine-chilling clamor sounded back as if answering the bell. A chained beast came bounding to the gate. Somehow the sound was coming from the terrifying monster.
“What the hell is that thing?” Dianne asked, sounding nervous even with a metal fence separating them from the beast,
“I have no idea… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
As they debated leaving empty-handed or breaking down the gate, a goblin appeared from the shadows calling out to the chained monster. Somehow they could understand the goblin's words.
“Calm down, Handy; you act like these are the first humans you’ve ever seen. Calm down!”
After the monster stopped its noise and left them, the goblin spoke directly to Hiro and Dianne through the fence.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
“Umm… You can talk?” Hiro asked in shock.
The goblin grunted, “Why do they keep sending new people? Let's skip to the part where you've accepted talking monsters and just tell me what you're here for.”
Dianne jumped straight to the point: “Hunter asked us to kill you and destroy the dungeon.”
The goblin froze, unable to come up with an answer right away. When he did, it sounded strained, half challenging, half afraid.
“And? You want to try?”
Dianne shrugged. The goblin nodded before holding up a hand.
“Wait here; I need to go get someone.”
Hiro started to draw his sword, intent on keeping their element of surprise, but Dianne stopped him.
“Fine, hurry up, please; we are tired.”
A short time later the goblin returned with someone else in tow. This one looked like a human with long white hair flowing out from under a crown and an impressive beard, but pale and gaunt, with pointy ears and faintly glowing eyes.
The goblin spoke again, “This is Rob; he's our leader. I’ll translate for him.”
So the goblin said, but the strangely human-looking monster didn't say anything. He just stared at Dianne.