Chapter 58
The Warrior Durge
Since they were completely surrounded with no chance of escaping alive, Erin and the others surrendered to the mobsters and were taken captive. While they knew that what awaited them was a horrid punishment of some kind, it was better to at least live for now and look for a chance to escape later than waste their lives on a pointless struggle now.
All of them were forced to kneel on the ground as rope was tied around them, preventing them from fighting back. The mobster were laughing among themselves over the “fools” who had tried to screw them over. They were taking great enjoyment from pushing around people that had apparently taken them lightly, even if none of them had even known that the people had belonged into any kind of a criminal group.
Lexton had taken notice of the outfits that the gangsters were wearing and recognized the logo on the backs of their jackets. It was a simple round design of a monster’s head that had two horns and a mouth open in laughter. The kobold immediately realized that these people belonged to the Laughing Ogre clan.
“This isn’t good,” Lexton mumbled. “We really got on the wrong side of some bad people this time…”
“Do you know who these guys are?” Erin asked, having heard the kobold speak.
“Yeah… The Laughing Ogre clan is no laughing matter. While you can often reason with them through money, they have some really twisted hobbies,” Lexton explained. “If the rumors are true, they like to hold all sorts of “performances” for their amusement with the performers often being people like us.”
“Are these shows of theirs arena fights, like in Moonstone?” the redhead asked. She was thinking about the possibility of them being able to survive, if it was a simple contest like that. After all, she and Ryle were pretty good at fighting and Arkay could help them out with magic.
“If only they were that simple. I’m afraid that these guys find amusement in far more twisted things,” the kobold answered. “While they often do force people to go through deadly contests, they aren’t simple fights. From what I’ve heard, they make you run through obstacle courses full of lethal traps, make you eat food that could be poisoned and run from the most horrifying beasts they have captured. We can only hope that we figure out a way out of this without having to take part in any of that or whatever they’re planning is something we can manage.”
Erin felt cold swear trickle down the side of her face. Just imagining the horrors they might be forced to face was more than enough to scare her.
The group watched as Durge suddenly walked up to them and stared down at them with a look that was a mixture of pity and annoyance.
“Hate to tell you this, but you guys really screwed up. No one has ever crossed us and gotten away with it alive,” the orc said. “On one hand, I kind of feel sorry for you, as I can see that you’re all just a bunch of losers trying to make it in life. However, life itself is pretty brutal and you should be more careful when dealing with people like us.”
“Look, you seem like a reasonable guy. Think we can make a deal?” Lexton suddenly asked.
Erin, Ryle and Arkay turned to look at the kobold in shock, fearing that he might be trying to selling them out in order to save his own life. Durge looked at Lexton with a slighlty curious look, wondering what kind of a deal he was trying to offer him.
“Really now?” the orc asked. “And just what might you be offering?”
“Just take me, okay? Let the others go,” Lexton answered, surprising everyone. “This whole thing was my idea. The others just got dragged into it because of me. They shouldn’t be punished because I screwed up. Please let them go and take me. I swear I’ll make it worth your time.”
“...Now this is honestly surprising. I was honestly expecting you to try and save your own ass without caring about your companions at all,” Durge said. “Mind telling me why you’re trying to do so?”
“Look, I know someone is going to have to face the consequences of what we did here. I’m not stupid enough to think that we’re getting out of this with a slap on the wrist,” the kobold began to explain. “If someone is going to have to face the punishment from your group, it should be me. Like I said earlier, this whole thing was my idea. These guys just got dragged into this because of me, so you shouldn’t even bother with them. I’m the one you guys want.”
“You said something about making it worth our time. Care to elaborate?” the orc asked.
“The thing is that I have some very useful skills that I’m certain your group would love to have access to,” Lexton answered. “You see, I’m not just a great con artist, but I also have skills in alchemy and enchanting. As long as you get me the materials I need, I can make sure all of your enforcers will have enchanted weaponry as well as other equipment.”
“...And in order for us to get your cooperation, we just have to let your friends go?” Durge asked. “You do realize that even if we agree to it, you’d end up becoming a slave to our group. Are you ready to live your life like that?”
“We all have to take responsibility for our mistakes. This is me doing just that,” the kobold replied.
Silence fell over, as the orc seemed to be deep in thought, considering the deal he had been offered. Erin and her group were also silently waiting for Durge’s response.
In all honesty, the redhead didn’t know whether she wanted him to take Lexton’s offer. While it would save her, Ryle and Arkay, they would be essentially abandoning their friend for their own sake. On the other hand, if they were let go, they could try to find a way to rescue Lexton later. The obvious issue was that they didn’t know if they would be able to do so, which could force them to abandon the kobold completely.
Durge seemed to have finally thought things through and turned his gaze at Lexton.
“You do offer quite a good deal. If it were up to me, I’d probably take you up on that deal, even just out of respect towards you,” the orc said. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid these types of decisions are not up to me and are only made by our leader. However, I will do my best to argue for your sake. I can’t guarantee anything, but I give you my word that I’ll do everything I can to help your offer come true.”
Having finished talking to the prisoners, Durge turned his attention to nearby enforcers of their clan.
“Get these people loaded in the truck,” the orc ordered. “We should get them to the headquarters as fast as we can.”
“Oh, look at the great warrior giving orders to the “lowly miscreants” here,” one of the thugs said while snickering. “What’s the matter? Can’t do it yourself or something?”
“Give him a break, bro. You know he’s the type who can’t dirty himself doing this type of work,” another one said with a chuckle. “He probably calls a servant or something to come and wipe his ass for him, you know? Can’t dirty his hands doing dirty work and all.”
The thugs began to laugh among themselves, until Durge grabbed the two that had just been joking at his expense by their throats and lifted them off the ground. All of the gangsters went silent immediately and just stared at the furious orc that was glaring at the two grown men he was dangling up in the air.
image [https://i.ibb.co/1zr2r7y/Ch-58-Pic-1.jpg]
“Get this through your damn skulls already. I know damn well that none of you like me and I don’t care. I couldn’t care less of how you think of me. However, we are working together and that’s the end of it,” the orc said as his grip tightened. “I was put in a position where I am the one giving orders to you goddamn bums. And when I give and order, I expect you morons to follow it. Got it?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Y-Yeah, we get it!” one of the two thugs said while struggling to breathe. “C-Cool it, dude! We were just messing with ya!”
“That’s right! It was just a joke! Nothing more!” the other thug said, also having trouble breathing. “Nothing but some harmless fun! No need to take it so seriously!”
Seeing that he got his message through, Durge dropped the two thugs on the ground and walked away. Having watched what had just happened, Erin couldn’t help but wonder what was the problem the other gangsters seemed to have with Durge.
Nevertheless, the redhead and her group was taken to a van, where they were forced to sit at the back while being transported by their captors.
“Lex?” Erin called out to the kobold, getting his attention. “About what happened over there. I-”
“No need to say it. I know already,” Lexton said, cutting off the redhead. “This whole mess is my fault. That’s why I was trying to take responsibility for it back there. Even if it wasn’t certain to work, I wanted to do at least something to make up for it.”
“That’s not what I was going to say at all!” Erin said with a bit of anger in her voice, surprising the kobold. “Why the hell were you trying to sacrifice yourself!? That makes no sense!”
“W-What?” Lexton said, baffled at the redhead’s outburst. “But the whole plot was my idea! Not to mention, I insisted that we continue with it, despite having made enough money already! And to make it worse, I’m the one who brought those people to us!”
“You know, when he puts it like that, it kind of was his fault,” Ryle said nonchalantly.
“Shut up, Ryle!” Erin shouted at her blonde friend, before turning her attention back to the kobold. “While I get what you’re saying, you’re not the only one at fault! We all went along with your plan and everything, so we carry some of the responsibility as well! Besides, how could you have known that lady had her huge babysitter following her from the shadows!?”
“That might be true, but-” Lexton began, only to get cut off again.
“Don’t blame yourself too much! Besides, we’re a team, remember?” the redhead said, hoping to cheer him up. “We’re in this thing together and we need each other to get through, right? Without you, I’m sure we wouldn’t have made it out of Moonstone alive. How do you think we are going to get by without you? The fact is that our best option is to stick together.”
After giving her speech to Lexton, Erin turned her attention to her other friends, hoping that they would agree with what she had said.
“Erin’s right, Lex,” Arkay said with a smile. “We’re no strangers when it comes to getting into trouble. If anything, your help has probably kept us much safer than normal. I’m sure that with your help, we can get out of this as well.”
With the cat boy having finished giving his encouragement, all eyes were on Ryle now. The blonde looked awkward for a moment, before letting out a deep sigh.
“...Yeah, you’re honestly a real pain and I do think that this whole mess is mostly your fault,” Ryle said with a shrug. Erin was about to yell at her, but then she continued. “However, it’s also true that you’ve got some serious skills that we lack. And I gotta admit, what you did there took some balls. I have to respect that.”
“You see? You’re an important part of our group and we need you,” Erin said to Lexton with a smile. “So please don’t throw your life like that again or blame yourself like you do. We will figure something out together.”
“...Thanks. I do appreciate it,” the kobold said with a small smile, somewhat taken aback by the sudden show of support. “However, this is going to be a very difficult one. These guys are pretty crazy from what I’ve heard. I’d say our best option is that Durge guy, but it seems like he doesn’t have all that much respect in their organization, if the way all the other members seem to treat him is any indication.”
“That’s something that caught my attention as well,” the redhead stated. “Why would the others act like that towards him? He seems to be a capable leader with a good personality, yet they were openly mocking him. Is it something like the way you get treated by people that are prejudiced towards kobolds?”
“Kind of, but not simply because he’s an orc. I’m sure you noticed that several of the gang members around us were also orcs, yet they were laughing at him as well, right?” Lexton asked to which Erin nodded in response. “Well, I suspect that he’s from a warrior tribe.”
“A warrior tribe?” the redhead asked, before remembering something. “Oh right! Those small settlements that are scattered around the world! Basically communities of people that live outside the larger towns and cities with no connection to the world at large. You’re talking about those, right?”
In the game world of Five Realms, there were small villages scattered throughout the world, often hidden deep within the wilderness. These places were populated by people who had decided to cut themselves off the society and live by their own terms, becoming their own tribes. These people would dedicate themselves to combat and magic arts, making them fierce opponent or powerful allies depending on how you interacted with them. Players would often first have to do some sort of favors for them before being allowed to enter their territories, let alone do any kind business with them. However, once you had won a tribe over, you could hire its members as mercenaries, learn new abilities from them or simply buy and sell different products with them.
“Exactly. Apparently, there used to be quite a few of them in the Western Continent alone,” Lexton said. “However, only a couple of them exist anymore at best. I wouldn’t be too surprised if those have all been wiped out by now as well, though.”
“Why? What happened?” Erin asked, already fearing the answer.
“Isn’t it obvious? The Five Overlords happened,” the kobold answered, confirming the redhead’s fears. “They didn’t like the idea that there were people unwilling to bow down to their rule with enough strength to be a great asset to their enemies. Once they had conquered every major city and put all five continents under their rule, they began to systematically wiping out the tribes.”
“Why would they go that far?” Erin asked. “I mean, from what I understood, the tribes only want to be left alone. Why would the Five Overlords waste time and resources in conquering them?”
“Well, some tribes had special resources that they wanted under their control. Whether it was magic spells, weaponry or fighting techniques, the overlords only cared that it belonged to them and no one else,” Lexton explained. “However, it was mostly about control. The idea of powerful soldiers that could pose a potential threat to them in the future was not something they liked, so they decided to cut down the problem before it managed to become one at all.”
“Something tells me that the tribes didn’t go down without a fight,” Ryle said, having listened to the conversation.
“Not at all. In fact, the soldiers who managed to survive the battles claimed that the tribes fought back like the most terrifying of beasts,” the kobold said. “Even though the media tried to hide how badly the military was getting wrecked, the truth managed to leak to the public.”
“Hang on… Didn’t you say that the tribes were wiped out?” Erin asked. “It sounds like they won against the armies of the overlords.”
“It doesn’t matter how many battles you win, if you end up losing the war,” Lexton said. “The tribes might have been fierce opponents, but it didn’t matter much in the end. The overlords had practically limitless resources they could just throw at their enemies, so they simply ran down their opposition with sheer numbers. You can be the greatest warrior ever, but even you will eventually fall after going on for days without any rest.”
“But surely the military suffered huge losses, right!?” Arkay asked, joining the conversation. “I’ve heard about the tribes as well and if even half of those things were true, then they would surely be a terrifying opponent to face!”
“That was indeed the case. Like I said earlier, stories about the huge losses they took became known, despite the attempts at silencing them,” the kobold said. “However, besides large amounts of armed forces, the overlords also had a lot of wealth. When they realized that simply using their own armies wouldn’t be enough, they started recruiting other forces, such as mercenaries and even criminals. This allowed them to lessen the burden on their own troops and made the losses more bearable. After all, who cares if a bunch of crooks and mercenaries get killed?”
“Then… The people that Durge is working for are the same people that were forced to fight his tribe?” Erin asked with a wide eye.
“Possibly. Whatever the case is, there aren’t all that many people who look upon members of the tribes in a positive manner,” Lexton said. “Not only do the people who fought them have an obvious grudge against them, but so do a lot of other people. A lot of people died in those wars, so there are many who lost loved ones in those battles.”
“But it’s not like Durge or any of the people from the tribes wanted to fight! They were the ones who were invaded and had to defend themselves!” the redhead shouted. “Why should he or anybody else be hated because of it!?”
“For a lot of people, it doesn’t matter what actually happened and who was at fault. All they care about is that someone caused them grief and that’s it,” the kobold said. “Think about it for yourself. If someone were to kill or seriously hurt one of your loved ones, would you be able to ignore it? Would you be able to look at the one responsible without any hatred at all?”
Erin wanted to argue, but couldn’t. She knew from her experience and from what she had seen that grudges and hatred doesn’t simply go away. Those things may die down with time, but they will always remain there. And sometimes, they would grow stronger with time, as she could only imagine from Devin and her other old friends.
“However, what really surprised me was that Ryle decided not to fight for once,” Lexton said, bringing the group’s attention to the blonde. “I was sure that you would be more than happy to start swinging at that guy when he revealed our operation to his boss, yet you were the first one that called for a retreat.”
“So what!?” Ryle yelled angrily with an embarrassed blush on her face. “I’m smart enough to know that sometimes it’s best to run instead of fighting!”
“We understand that, but it seems almost like you knew Durge or something,” Erin said. “Why is he so scary to you?”
“...A couple of years ago, I was going after a bounty. It was really big sum as well, so I couldn’t simply pass it without giving it a shot. I tracked the guy down to pub, where he was sitting at the counter. I was planning to make my move, when another group of bounty hunters suddenly came in and surrounded him. A fight obviously broke out and the newcomers were doing pretty good against the guy I was hunting, even managing to bring him down to the floor,” the blonde began to tell the tale from her past. “However, when it looked like it was over in favor of the bounty hunters, the tables were suddenly turned on them big time.”
“What do you mean by that?” Lexton asked.
“The guy we had all been hunting suddenly changed. His eyes began to glow, his skin changed color to a deep dark red and this strange aura began to glow around his body. But the scariest of all was his face, which now had this horrifying look on it, like an enraged demon or something,” Ryle continued her story. “It was then that all hell broke loose. He began to attack the people around him like a raging beast, smashing, crushing and tearing any unlucky bastard that he could get his hands on. At that point, it wasn’t a fight of any kind, but a one-sided massacre. I was lucky enough to sense that something was wrong and hid myself before he could get his hands on me.”
“That’s a scary story, but what does that have to-?” Erin began to ask, only to stop as she realized what the blonde was talking about. “Wait… You mean to tell me that-?”
“Yeah… The guy that I had been hunting? That was Durge,” Ryle said. “That’s why I chose to run instead of fighting. Even if we all had been fully armed and ready, I doubt we could survive against him. Let alone win.”
Erin was in shock over the things she had just heard. The only person that seemed anywhere near moral in the gang that had captured them was actually such a horrifying killer? It seemed completely unreal.
Still, the redhead knew that the best way for them to regain their freedom and get out with their lives was most likely through him. She could only hope that he had changed from the time Ryle had encountered him.