Chapter 60
No Pride, No Honor
Under the orders of Grandall, Erin and her group were taken to the jail cells located at the basement of the building. Escape was pretty much impossible, as not only were they locked behind bars made of special metal that even a person like Ryle couldn’t break with all of her strength, but they wouldn’t be able to far beyond that. The only door leading to the cells was made from the same material as the bars and was far thicker as well. Not only that, but the moment they so much as got one foot outside their cells, the guard standing next to the door would ring the alarm, calling in every armed guard on the upper floors. They would be forced to face off against the entire gang while trying to get up a long flight of stairs, which wasn’t exactly the most ideal situation for anyone trying to get out.
In the end, the group was forced to accept their fate and wait for a better opportunity. They could only hope that something would come up later that would allow them to escape.
“Man, this is some bullshit!” Ryle cursed loudly as she hanging onto the bars of the cell she was sharing with Erin and Lexton. “Bad enough that they have to go so far just to get back at us over a little scheme, but they can’t even have the decency to put as all in the same cell!? That’s just them being petty!”
“Ryle, aren’t we sharing the same cell right now?” Erin asked with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t see what you’re so mad about.”
“I said ALL of us, dumbass,” the blonde said bluntly. “Did you lose your ability to count or something?”
Once she had it pointed out to her, the redhead realized what her friend was talking about. Their group had been divided into two cells. While she, Ryle and Lexton were in one, Arkay was sitting alone in the cell across from them.
“This is so unfair,” Ryle whined. “How come Arnie has to sit all alone in a cell? Those bastards are just too cruel…”
“I doubt it’s Arnie that they’re being cruel towards. It’s you,” Lexton said. “In all honesty, I think it’s for the better to keep you away from him.”
“What was that, scaly ass!?”
While her two friends were stuck in an argument, Erin turned her sight on the youngest member of their group.
“How are you doing over there, Arnie?” the redhead asked in a gentle tone.
“I-I’m fine. I’m just a bit overwhelmed by all of… well, this,” the cat boy answered. “I mean, earlier today we were just trying to think of ways to build up our finances and now we’re stuck in a jail. It’s a bit wild how things changed so suddenly, you know?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Erin said. “Think any of your magic could help us get out of here?”
“Not really. My technomancer ability only works on technology that’s a bit more advanced than a simple lock like the ones on our cell doors,” Arkay answered as he shook his head. “As for destroying the bars or the locks with my other spells, that also wouldn’t work. None of my other spells are strong enough for that.”
“You still have the invisibility spell, right?” the redhead suggested. “If nothing else, it might create you a chance to get out when they come to take a closer look at the “empty cell” when they can’t find you.”
“That’s only if they actually decide to open the door. Not to mention, I still would have to sneak through this whole place, which isn’t exactly a challenge I think I can take on,” the cat boy explained. “Besides, I couldn’t just leave you guys behind like that.”
“While I appreciate that you want to help us, I do not want you to sacrifice yourself for our sake, okay?” Erin said. “If you get a chance to escape, I want you to take it. Even if it means leaving us behind. Understood?”
“...Sorry, but that’s not going to happen,” Arkay said in a serious tone. “I would rather die than abandon any of you. And there is no use telling me to do otherwise.”
Erin was about to argue back, only for the door leading to the cells to suddenly open. She, along with the rest of her group, all looked from between the bars of their cells to see who it was. Much to their surprise, it was Durge.
“The hell are you doing here?” the guard stationed at the door asked rudely, showing clear disrespect towards the orc. “I wasn’t notified that you or anybody else was going to come here!”
“...Sorry about that, but this is a rather sudden visit that was meant to be a surprise,” Durge said with a small smirk. “You see, there’s a new position open and you’ve been chose as the one to receive the promotion.”
“A promotion? For me?” the guard asked, taken aback by the sudden news. Upon seeing the orc nod, he broke into a wide smile and cheered. “OH YEAH! Finally my worth is being recognized! So what is this new position and when do I start!?”
“It starts right away. As for what it is,” Durge replied before suddenly grabbing the guard’s head and smashing it into the wall, killing him instantly. “There were open spots in hell, so you’ve been promoted from a guard to a corpse. Hope you enjoy.”
After killing the guard, the orc took the keys from him and walked up to the cells. The members of Erin’s group, wary of the warrior’s abilities, took a step back while keeping their eyes on him.
“You guys can relax. I’m not here to harm any of you,” Durge said with a sigh. “If I wanted any of you dead, I’d just let Grandall do whatever he wants with you.”
“Then why are you here all of a sudden?” Erin asked. “I doubt you came here just to have a chat with us.”
“Doesn’t the keys give you enough of a hint?” the orc asked sarcastically while holding said items up and jingling them a bit. “I’m here to set one of you free.”
“...Oh! Well, that’s great! I honestly didn’t think that-” the redhead began to say happily, until she realized something about what Durge had just said. “Hang on. Did you say “one of us”?”
“That’s right. I’m letting the kid go,” Durge said while pointing at Arkay. “The rest of you are out of luck, I’m afraid.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone was letting what the orc said sink in. After a couple of seconds, all hell broke loose.
“WHAT!?” Lexton yelled angrily as he grabbed the bars of his cell. “Why the hell are you only letting one of us out!? That’s some total bullshit!”
“You can’t just abandon my friends!” Arkay tried to argue. “Please let them out as well!”
“You asshole! You obviously have some sick interest in Arnie!” Ryle yelled. “Just come a bit closer and I’ll make you regret even laying eyes on him!”
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“SHUT UP!” Durge yelled, shutting everyone up. “There. That’s better.”
“Excuse me,” Erin called out to the orc, who turned his attention towards her. “While I don’t mind you saving Arnie, could you at least explain why you’re only helping him?”
“That’s simple. He’s a kid,” Durge replied. “While I think that morons who pick fights that they cannot fight should face some consequences, I don’t think he should. Punishing someone like him is going way too far.”
“You’re much different from the other members of your gang, you know?” the redhead stated. “The others seemed more than willing to do whatever they wanted, but you seems to at least have some decency and morals.”
“Isn’t it obvious why he’s like that?” Lexton asked, getting Erin’s attention. “Remember that he’s from a warrior tribe. This is probably in line with his code of honor or something. I’m guessing that one of the rules of his tribe was to never harm kids or something.”
“I see… I guess that makes sense,” Erin said with a small and sad smile. While she was disappointed that she, Ryle and Lexton weren’t going to be saved, at least one of her friends would. “Good thing that at least one of us is getting out…”
“I agree. And I sure as hell am glad that it’s Arnie,” Ryle said with a small grin. “If anyone here deserves to get out, it’s him.”
“I’m personally a bit offended here,” Lexton suddenly stated, surprising his other cellmates. “I’m not exactly old enough to be passed on the basis of age. Seriously, why the hell am I getting left here?”
“Maybe his code of honor prevents him from helping total assholes?” Ryle asked sarcastically. “I could see that as a code worth following.”
Before an argument could break out, Durge spoke up, bringing everyone’s attention to him again.
“First of all, when it comes to the kobold, I believe YOU were the one who wanted to sacrifice himself for the sake of the others, right? Not to mention, from what little I’ve seen, I can tell that you’re no innocent angel at all,” the orc explained. “Second, I am not doing this for any moronic code of honor bullshit, okay? I don’t believe in any of that crap.”
“Huh? But aren’t you from a warrior tribe?” Erin asked. “Why wouldn’t you follow the code of your people?”
“The reason as to why I don’t follow something so stupid, is because I’ve seen what it causes,” Durge began to explain. “Since you’re all so familiar with the types of people that I used to live with, mind telling me how you see them? I bet that you all have some grand image of glorious people, abiding by strict rules of honor to uphold justice or some other crap, right?”
Erin only nodded in response. That was indeed the image she had of the warrior tribes. She could only wonder where the orc’s tale was going to go.
“Well, let me tell you all that stuff couldn’t be further from the truth. The people of the warrior tribes might not be warmongering conquerors, but they are the furthest thing from benevolent, noble or just,” Durge continued with a bitter tone. “The moment you are born into one of these tribes, you are put under strict training to become a warrior. As soon as you can walk, you are taught how to kill, even before teaching you how to freaking read. You won’t even reach your tenth birthday without killing at least someone to “make your spirit stronger” or for some other excuse. You have absolutely no choice as to what you can become and what you want is not allowed, unless it has to do with fighting and killing.”
“But don’t the warrior tribes have magic users, blacksmiths and enchanters?” Lexton asked, curious about this new side to the tribes he was learning about. “From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem like the tribes are only concerned with physical strength.”
“There are two assumptions that are wrong. First, it’s not that the warrior tribes only strive for physical strength. What they desire is to be more efficient killers. It doesn’t matter if it comes in the form of physical prowess or arcane might, as long as it makes you powerful on the battlefield. The enchanters, blacksmiths and other such people are just a means to an end in that regard,” the orc answered. “Also, you seem to assume that they are treated the same way as the actual warriors themselves, when the that’s far from truth. The people that are there to provide the means for the warriors to get stronger are essentially nothing but servants. As long as they do a decent job, they are tolerated, but they do not get anywhere near the rewards they should.”
“That sounds like it sucks,” Ryle said. “Why don’t they just leave then? I mean, are they being stopped from that?”
“It depends. If you have knowledge of some very potent enchantments or other such secrets, you might be killed for treason. Same goes to warriors that are seen as successful ones. Their departure is seen as treason and a shame to the tribe that can only be washed away with blood,” Durge explained. “However, even if your departure isn’t seen as a loss of any kind, you are still facing terrible odds of survival. The tribes often live in remote areas that are surrounded by dangerous beasts and violent bandits that will gladly tear you apart. Even if you manage to survive that, your prospects for living aren’t exactly great. Imagine that you have lived your whole life to become a killing machine. What are you supposed to do with that when you step foot in one of the civilized settlements? You can barely count or read, let alone do anything else that requires more than hitting something as hard as you can. Unless it’s a life of crime, your chances at making a living are very slim. So no offense, but screw the tribes and their codes and other crap.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over, as Erin and the others thought about what the orc had just told them. For a long time, they had all imagined the warrior tribes as these noble groups surrounded in mystique. Turns out that there was a lot of darkness hidden beneath their image.
“...Then how did you end up working for the Laughing Ogre clan?” Erin asked. “It seems like they don’t like you very much and even have some sort of a grudge against you, yet you’re actually employed by them. How did you end up here?”
“If you survive what Grandall has in store for you, I might tell you my story,” Durge replied with a slight smile. “However, I’m afraid we don’t have the time. Who knows when someone might come down here and see the guard with his head smashed like a tomato. I need to get your friend out of here now, before that happens.”
“It’s alright. You don’t need to do that,” Arkay suddenly said, getting everyone’s attention turned towards him. “I’m not leaving here. Not without my friends at least.”
“What the-!? No, Arnie! Just go! Get out of here!” Erin yelled, shocked at her young friend’s defiance. “You need to get out of here when you get a chance! This is what I was talking about earlier!”
“Yeah! Just get going and save yourself!” Ryle said in agreement. “You don’t need to even worry about us! I’m sure we can handle whatever they throw at us!”
“There’s no use for heroics here, Arnie! Get out of here while you can!” Lexton added. “At times like this, you should think about your own survival first!”
“You should really listen to your friends here, kid,” Durge said. “Even getting you out of here is going to be tough, but all four of you? Not a chance. I’m not willing to take a risk I’m certain will only backfire.”
“I get what you’re all saying, but I’m not changing my mind. If the others aren’t leaving with me, I’m not leaving either,” Arkay said in a surprisingly strong tone of voice that none of the others would have expected from him. “Even if get out of here, what’s the point? I would never be able to live with myself, knowing that I abandoned my friends and only saved myself.”
“...You know I can just use brute strength to drag you out of here, right?” the orc asked with a frown. “I doubt you can exactly put up a fight against me.”
“Wanna bet?” Arkay asked as he glared at Durge, before summoning fire on one hand and lighting on the other. “I know I won’t win, but I will give you a fight to remember. And I’m sure your colleagues would notice a scorch mark on your face.”
Erin, Ryle and Lexton could only stare with wide eyes at the cat boy’s show of defiance. He was always so meek and shy, yet here he was getting ready to fight an opponent far bigger and stronger than him. Just where had he been hiding this side of him all this time?
“The choice is yours. Either we all go or you will have to take everything I can throw at you,” Arkay said. “I might not be much, but I will at least take one of your eyes with me.”
Durge stared down at the cat boy before him and saw no hesitation in him. Arkay was ready and willing to go through with his threat. Even if the outcome was ultimately clear, the orc knew that this wouldn’t end nicely for him.
image [https://i.ibb.co/HdZyZqV/Ch-60-Pic-1.jpg]
“...I must be losing my goddamn mind or something,” Durge muttered to himself with a deep sigh.
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A bit later, Durge was walking up the stairs that led to the upper floors from the jail cells. He was followed by Arkay, along with Erin, Ryle and Lexton. Having seen the unwavering resolve in Arkay, the orc had been forced to go along with his demands.
“Way to go, Arnie!” Ryle said with a big grin. “You showed some real guts back there! I was honestly surprised by it!”
“I agree. That was quite the willpower you had there,” Lexton said with a smile. “I’d hate to make an enemy out of you.”
“While I am also proud of you for standing your ground the way you did, I still disapprove of your decision,” Erin said with a slight frown. “You really should have just taken Durge’s offer and saved yourself. Not only am I certain that your chances would have been better, but there was no guarantee that he would give in to your demands. It was honestly an unnecessary risk.”
“It may have been unnecessary or even stupid, but I honestly do not regret it at all,” Arkay said with the same determined look on his face. “And aren’t you supposed to live without any regrets? That’s at least what I believe.”
Erin was once again taken aback by the look of determination on the cat boy’s face. While she did know that he had a good amount of bravery within him, as no coward would have been willing to do even half of the things he had, she would have never expected this of him.
The redhead had to wonder, was she a bad influence on him or something?”
“You guys are celebrating way too early,” Durge said suddenly. “We’ve still got a long way to go before we can consider ourselves to be safe. And that way is filled with armed guards that want nothing more than to put a bullet through my skull.”
“So what has really changed now?” Ryle asked.
“Now I’ve given them a good reason to actually do it,” the orc replied.
The door leading out of the jail cellar finally came to view. Once this happened, Durge suddenly stopped and turned towards his new companions.
“Alright. Let’s at least try to do this without causing a scene, okay?” the orc asked. “I know we are most likely going to have to fight our way through, but let’s do everything we can to avoid it. The further we get before all hell breaks loose, the better. I’ll check the situation first and then we try to come up with a plan of action. Got it?”
Erin and her friends nodded in response. Durge then carefully and as quietly as possible walked up to the door, readying himself to take a quick look behind it.
However, upon reaching the door, the orc suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost freezing on the spot. He then let out a frustrated sigh before simply opening the door and walking through it.
Erin was about to ask what he was doing, but soon realized what the problem was. Right behind the door was a small army of Laughing Ogre goons, waiting with their guns pointed at them. Their escape attempt had been stopped already.