Chapter 75
Burdens and Relief
To say that Erin felt awful when she woke up would be an understatement. Her whole body felt like it was in constant pain and every tiny movement only made it worse. Despite wanting nothing more than to stay asleep and hope that the pain would simply go away, the redhead forced herself awake. She slowly opened her lone eye to the sigh of an unfamiliar ceiling above.
“Hey, she’s finally awake!” came the loud voice of Ryle, who had been sitting next to Erin. “How are you feeling, Erin? You doing okay?”
“I’d be lying if I said I was fine,” the redhead replied in a groggy voice. “Where are we?”
“We’re in a vehicle we got from the Laughing Ogre,” the blonde replied, as the others were coming closer to check up on their injured friend. “You’ve been unconscious ever since you had your fight with that muscle lady at the arena.”
“The arena… That’s right!” Erin said as she began to remember what had happened before she had blacked out. “The others! Are the others alright!?”
“We’re okay, Erin. Thanks to you,” Lexton said with a smile as he finally got close to the redhead. “Compared to you, we all got away with practically nothing.”
“I see… You’re all fine,” Erin said as she saw the faces of her friends around her, allowing her to relax herself. “It’s all good then…”
Just then, the redhead noticed her companions awkwardly looking away from her, like children who had done something naughty and were now in front of their parents.
“Hey… What’s the matter?” Erin asked, worried something bad had happened. “Why are you guys looking around like that? Did something bad actually happen?”
“Well… Yes,” Lexton answered. Upon seeing the redhead get more worried, he decided to clarify things up a bit. “Before you ask, we are completely fine. There’s nothing wrong with us at all and we aren’t being held captive by the Laughing Ogre either.”
“Then what is-?” Erin began to ask, but she noticed something as she moved her body around. Her eye went wide as she stared at the blanket that was draped over her. Particularly the area where her right arm was. “Arnie… Can you move the blanket for me a bit?”
The cat boy hesitated, as he didn’t know if he should do as the redhead had asked him or not. Upon looking at the others and seeing them nod at him, he gently took hold of the blanket and moved it away, revealing Erin’s right arm.
While she had her suspicions upon moving her body a bit and feeling it to be somewhat different, actually seeing what had happened to her was still a complete shock. Once the blanket was moved, her eye went wide and her face turned pale, as she stared at a stub that used to have her right hand on it.
image [https://i.ibb.co/jfD5mB4/Ch-75-Pic-1.jpg]
“W-Wha-!? What happened to me!?” Erin asked as her breathing became uneven from the shock. “Where-!? Where is-!? What happened to my hand!?”
“Erin, calm down!” Ryle said as she took hold of the redhead by her shoulders. “Panicking won’t help you at all!”
“How am I not supposed to panic!?” Erin shouted. “My hand is missing you’re telling me to-!?”
The sound of a slap echoed through the vehicle, as the blonde decided to take a more extreme measure to calm down her friend. It seemed to work, as the redhead stopped shouting and panicking.
“Calm down, Erin. Your hand is lost and there is nothing that can be done about it, okay?” Ryle said in a stern yet calm voice. “It was in a really bad share when we found you. We wanted to take you to someone that could have treated you, but sadly we couldn’t do that. In the end, it got so bad that we had to cut it off in order to save your life.”
Now coming to the realization that her hand was lost for good, Erin had no other choice but to accept the bitter reality. She wanted to cry and scream, but knew that it wouldn’t do anything for her, so instead she held it back, holding back the bitter tears.
“...I’m sorry, Erin,” Arkay suddenly apologized while looking down in shame. “If only I knew healing magic, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s not your fault, Arnie,” Lexton said as he placed a comforting hand on the cat boy’s shoulder while looking down as well. “I should be the one apologizing. If only I had prepared more medicine for cases like this, then I might have been able to help you.”
Both Arkay and Lexton were surprised, when suddenly Erin put her arms around both of them in a gentle embrace. They had been prepared for the redhead to get angry at them and start screaming at them, perhaps to even get a little violent. However, nothing like that ended up happening at all.
“None of you guys are at fault here,” Erin said as she kept hugging her two friends. “It’s my fault that I ended up like this. I should have known what I was doing was stupid, but it was the only thing I could think of to defeat Goldiana.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. We forgot to ask you about your fight against that woman,” Durge said. “How did you exactly beat her? From what we could tell just by looking at your injuries, it wasn’t an easy victory.”
“...In all honesty, it was nothing but pure luck that I beat her,” the redhead began to explain. “Her powers were nothing like we had seen before. Anything I did to her barely even hurt her. In fact, if it wasn’t for her overconfidence in her abilities, I’m sure I would have lost.”
“Then what did you do?” Ryle asked. “How did you end up winning?”
“Remember that liquid that was dripping from the dragon’s mouth? I noticed how it was able to burn even the floor of the arena,” Erin explained. “I took some of that on my hand and threw it at her face. This blinded her, which allowed me to trick her to move closer tp the edge of the arena and fall to her death.”
The redhead’s companions all stared at her with wide eyes in complete silence for a moment. It went on long enough to make her feel quite awkward about the whole situation.
“Ummm… Guys?” Erin asked. “Is everything okay?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THAT!?” Ryle, Lexton, Durge and even Arkay all yelled angrily at the same time.
“I-I didn’t really have any other options!” the redhead tried to defend herself, completely taken aback by the sudden outburst from her friends. “Was it really such a bad idea!?”
“Erin, that stuff melts through metal!” Lexton shouted. “I’m honestly surprised there was anything left of your hand when we found you! You could have easily killed yourself!”
“B-But I didn’t really have any other options!” Erin kept arguing desperately. “Goldiana was such a tough opponent that I had to figure something out! I mean, how else was I supposed to beat someone whose body is so tough that swords shatter upon hitting it!?”
“Look, we get that she was a tough one and all! It’s just… Goddammit, Erin… To go that far was just way too reckless,” Ryle said as she was finally calming down. “Seriously, and people say I’m reckless and stupid. Honestly, what you just did has got to be a record of some kind…”
“I suppose so… If even you’re saying that,” the redhead said with a slight chuckle.
“I don’t think that’s exactly a laughing matter,” Lexton said in a slightly scolding tone. “Still, this leaves you in a pretty bad spot. We need to find some way to fix it and as fast as possible. I doubt the next time we encounter one of Golorath’s assassins that they’re going to go easy on you because you’re handicapped.”
“Thanks, Lex, but you shouldn’t worry about me too much,” Erin said as she looked down at the spot where her hand used to be with a sad look in her eyes. “I guess this is just the price I had to pay for being reckless. Maybe we’re getting way over our heads even? I mean, we have been pretty lucky so far, but how long will that last? At this rate, there won’t be much left of my body by the time I reach even one of the Five Overlords…”
“...You’re not going to go and tell us to leave you on your own, are you?” Ryle asked bluntly. “Get this through your thick head already, Erin! We are NOT going to leave you! Got it!? If you want that, then you’ve got another thing coming!”
“As much as I can’t believe it, I agree with the brute,” Lexton said. “Did you think we weren’t prepared for any danger, when we set out with you? We all knew just how dangerous this could get, so you can forget about us turning tail like a bunch of cowards.”
“Not sure if that means a lot or very little, seeing as how it’s coming from an actual coward,” the blonde said with a slight grin.
“Bite me, you moron!” the kobold yelled back angrily.
Erin laughed at the antics of her friends a bit, before she turned her attention to the youngest of their group.
“What about you, Arnie? Are you still willing to go with me on this journey?” the redhead asked. “You’ve already faced plenty of danger from just being together with me. You even got captured and almost got made into a slave for some twisted rich girl. Do you still wish to come along?”
“...Do you even need to ask?” Arkay responded with a smile. “You guys are all I have in this world. There’s no way that I wouldn’t be going along with you.”
Erin looked at the faces of her friends and saw that they were all serious. None of them were going to back down and they were planning to stick with her through this no matter what.
“...Thank you, guys,” the redhead said as a couple of tears escaped her lone eye. “However, it’s clear that we need to make some preparations in order to continue this journey. Just so we have a better chance at winning against whatever is thrown at us next.”
“No need to worry. We all have an idea as to what we should do in order to achieve that!” Ryle said confidently. “We still have a couple of the books Arnie bought back in Moonstone for us to use as a reference to train our skills. You and him can work on your magic, while I work on my awesome skills in kicking ass!”
“Eloquent as always… While you guys do that, I am going to be looking for some stuff to make more potions and other useful items,” Lexton said. “Even if I can’t make my best stuff yet, I should be able to make stuff that will still prove to be useful for us. Hopefully I can also earn us some money, so I can get us some much needed equipment.”
“Right. We did end up losing quite a bit when that beast tamer attacked us,” Erin said. “I should also get up and-”
The redhead tried to get up from the floor, only for a horrible feeling of pain to shoot through her body, forcing her to lay down again. She had completely forgotten about just how bad her injuries were.
“Maybe you should stay down for now, Erin?” Ryle suggested. “You got wrecked pretty hard, so you’re nowhere near ready to be out and walking about.”
“I get that, but I can’t just sit here doing nothing,” the redhead said with a pained expression on her face. “If everybody else is putting in the work, I should join in as well.”
“Erin, you getting up and killing yourself by making your injuries even worse isn’t going to make things better for anyone,” Lexton said. “Just lay down for now. You’ll have plenty of chances to run around, once you’re all healed up.”
“I guess so…”
“Hey, don’t go looking all sad now. You can still read the books Arnie got for you,” the kobold said with a small smile. “Also, don’t worry about your lost hand too much. I happen to know how to make some pretty damn good prosthetic limbs, so once I get the chance, I’ll make sure to make you something so good that you’ll forget all about losing your hand!”
“Not sure if I exactly like the way you worded that, but I’m still grateful.”
As the group was making plans for their next move, Arkay noticed that a certain orc was no longer with them. Worried over their new friend, the cat boy walked out of the vehicle, hoping to find him as soon as possible. Luckily, Durge was still nearby, even if he was walking away from them.
“Durge!” Arkay called out to the orc, making him stop in his tracks. “Where are you going?”
“Just for a walk, kid,” Durge answered. “No need to worry. I’ll be back soon.”
“...You’re not actually coming back, are you?” the cat boy asked while knowing the answer. “You’re going to leave us and never see us ever again.”
“It’s for the best,” the orc said with a small sad smile. “I’m not a good person to hang around with, especially now that the seal is gone from me. Not only are there a lot of people who want me dead, but I could go crazy at any point in time. It’s best for you guys if I’m not around.”
“But we can handle whatever might come our way!” Arkay argued. “You saw us take down a dragon together and survive the Laughing Ogre! Things are certainly going to get tough, but we are more than capable of handling it all! Besides, I know that you’re a good person, so we can trust you! I mean, you tried to save me at the risk of your own life, didn’t you!?”
“...I’m nowhere near as good as you might think,” Durge said. “And I do know just how tough you all are. Like you said, I saw it with my own eyes how you handled yourselves. But that’s just even more of a reason for me not to stay close to you. None of you need the problems I bring with me added to what you’re already dealing with.”
The cat boy wanted to argue and tell the orc that he was wrong. That he wouldn’t be a burden to them at all and would be a great help. However, he could tell that there was nothing he could say to change his mind, no matter how desperately he wanted to try.
Luckily, there was someone else who not only had the courage to speak up, but knew the correct words.
“You’re just gonna run away from your problems then?” Ryle asked, as she walked up to the scene. “Or is it suicide you’re looking for? You know you can’t go go on your own, so you just plan to face some fight you can’t win and end up dead? Is that the master plan?”
Arkay had a horrified look on his face as he stared at Durge, hoping that he would deny what the blonde had said. Unfortunately, the orc simply tried to avoid his shameful gaze from meeting with his accuser. He had been completely caught.
“So what? Why should any of you worry?” Durge asked. “You saw what I am. The world would be better without me in it, so-”
“YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!” Ryle suddenly shouted as loud as she could, shocking the others. “Are you so pathetic that you’re this afraid of your own power!? Or are you just too lazy to put your ass to work and make it better!? WHICH IS IT!?”
“B-But it’s not about that!” the orc tried to argue. “What I’m afraid is that I might end up hurting any of you, so-”
“WELL THAT JUST PISSED ME OFF EVEN MORE, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS ASS!” the blonde yelled as she stomped up to Durge and grabbed him by the front of his shirt roughly. “You think we are the type of losers that would actually be scared of YOU!? Or such wimps that we wouldn’t be able to handle you!? Don’t get full of yourself! The things that we are planning to face make you look like nothing, so don’t you freaking dare looking down on us!”
The orc was completely stunned by Ryle’s aggressive declaration. He was so taken aback that he could hardly formulate any type of a counter argument to defend his position.
Most of all, he just couldn’t comprehend how and why she was so adamant that he should stick with them.
“What Ryle says is true,” Erin suddenly said, as she joined the others. She was being supported by Lexton, so she could move around. “We have no reason to fear you at all. Not only have you proven yourself to be a trustworthy companion, but we could really use your help. Would you be willing to join us?”
“Yeah! Besides…” Ryle added, as she offered a closed fist to Durge. “Aren’t we already a team anyways? Might as well stick together, like a team should!”
The orc thought about the offer he had been given. On one hand, he still had reservations about endangering others because of his past and his unfortunate condition. However, he had to admit that going by himself, things wouldn’t end well for him. There were plenty of people that would love to see him dead due to his background and he could end up losing control at the worst possible time. Having those willing to help around would lover the risks that he would be facing and they could possibly keep him from going berserk. They had shown that they were more than capable of handling themselves in tough situations.
Seeing as he didn’t have any good reason to refuse, Durge smiled as he gave Ryle a friendly fist bump.
image [https://i.ibb.co/P99zxHD/Ch-75-Pic-2.jpg]
“I’m glad to join you guys,” the orc said. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask something. You don’t seem to be just any average traveling group, since you’ve got people after you sent by Golorath himself. Are you perhaps part of a resistance group or something?”
“We are not part of any organization,” Erin answered. “However, we are planning to take on the Five Overlords themselves.”
“...Come again?”