“Can you sense them yet?” Eric asked as they entered the clearing where they’d encountered the adventurers before.

“No, I can’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am quite sure. They probably left. I bet they’ve picked up their camp and left as soon as they first encountered us.”

“Is it so easy to pick it up?”

“Of course it is. Adventurers don’t come down here to stay, dummy. They’re constantly on the move.”

“So, that’s probably why I ran into them and got shot.”

“They didn’t dare come to our camp because that pig can sense me, but yes, they’re moving all around.”

“Do you have any idea where they are going? After all, you used to be this level’s boss … I mean, the guardian.”

“I know what their final destination will be. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be going straight to it. They have no idea where the treasure is, so they will be exploring all over.”

“Can you maybe sense what route they took?”

She looked at him with an irritated face, “I’m not an animal, idiot! I can’t smell them. Magical senses don’t work like that.”

“So … we have no other choice but to do trial and error?”

“We can follow their footprints. Ok, not literal footprints since this ground doesn’t leave any, but there will be changes in the areas they’ve been through. Campfires and stuff. They can remove the campfire, but scorch markings are much harder to hide.”

“I see. At least there is a limited number of directions they could take with all these corridors. They will have to stop here and there so we may catch up to them.”

“That would usually make sense, but not in this case.”

Eric gave her a surprised look: “Why?”

“Because your sorry ass will slow us down. By the time you reach their current camp, they will pick it up, put it somewhere else, and have a nice, long nap.”

He stared at her briefly before answering: “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“No, I can’t. Take it or leave it.”

“Ok, fine, you’re right. I’m not in shape. Especially since I was bedridden until recently.”

“You chose to rush this, so face the consequences. I told you that you need more rest.”

“And let the adventurers disappear? Who knows when another party will show up! And that new group won’t be as understanding as these guys. At least we had a conversation with them.”

“You had it.”

“Doesn’t matter! We are a team! We had a conversation with them!” He said while pointing at Phisola and then at him repeatedly.

“That pig would never have a conversation with me.”

“And that’s why we’re a team! I do things you can’t, and you do things I can’t.”

“The ratio of those things is concerning, though.”

“Ok, fine! Fine, your lordship! You godly mistress who is perfect in every single conceivable way!”

“I just love pissing you off,” she said with a smug smile.

“I know! It’s your favorite pastime.”

“Walking these corridors is boring. And you’re the one insisting on it, so bear with it.”

“Does it look like I’m complaining?”

“Your face certainly looks red as fuck.”

-----

They roamed the corridors for most of the day until Phisola suddenly lifted her hand.

“Stop!”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Did you find them?”

“I’m not completely sure, but I think I found the pig.”

“You’re not sure?”

“I sense someone holy. It could be him or someone else. I have to get closer to know for sure.”

“Ok. I’m right behind you.”

Like all the other dungeon corridors, this one also led to a clearing. As soon as they exited the corridor, she crouched and started sneaking through the shrubs. Seeing her, Eric did the same.

They sneaked for a while before she stopped.

“Yes, this is their camp. There are about a dozen adventurers in there. There is a holy person among them and two mages, one of which is a healer. A very competent one.”

“You can sense that?”

“Yes, I can. The thing is, the holy one has noticed me.”

“Are you sure?”

“They’re all on edge all of a sudden. And the only one who could sense me is the holy one. He is good, too.”

“Is it the pig?”

“I don’t know. We’d have to see him to know for sure. But we’re in range of their arrows, and you don’t take well to those.”

“That’s why we got this rock.”

Eric got the hand-sized rock out of the sack he carried with him. It was wrapped in papyrus that was tightened around the rock with vines.

“I must say, that was one of your brighter ideas,” Phisola said.

“What? The rock?”

“Yes.”

“That only came to my mind because I had that pen with me.”

“That’s a very impressive writing tool. The ink it’s using is even better than magical. Even magical ink takes some time to dry. Your people may be a bunch of fools, but your gadgets are brilliant.”

Eric reached out to her with a rock in his hand: “I have no idea where they are, and I don’t have the strength to throw it far, so you better take it.”

Phisola grabbed the wrapped rock, throwing it right away. They heard a dull thud a few moments later, followed by a loud yelp.

“Did you really have to hit one of them?”

“They had a helmet, unfortunately.”

They waited for a while in the shrubs.

“There is one more thing, Eric,” Phisola said in a low voice.

“What?”

“I want you to add one more condition. Since they have a skilled healing mage in the camp, we should make the most of it. Tell them that one of our conditions is to have their healer fix your chest.”

“Are you sure? I can’t breathe in as much air as I used to, but it’s not like I have some serious issues.”

“I’m not a healer, so I probably mended something wrong. This is a great chance to have that fixed. And it will show them that you’re not my thrall. The healer will need some time to fix you, meaning you’ll have to stay with them for a while. That will give the pig plenty of time to question you about all kinds of things. And in doing so, he will realize you aren’t brainwashed. That should make it easier for them to accept your proposition.”

“Is he out there? Can you sense him now? Did we find the right group?”

“I don’t know, but we will know soon enough.”

It didn’t take long for a distant yell to break the silence.

“Come out!”

Eric sighed loudly as he looked at Phisola: “Well, wish me luck.”

“I trust your diplomatic skills. That’s the one thing you have going for yourself. You’ll be fine. I wouldn’t let you go otherwise.”

“Aww … why did you choose to be sweet in this final moment? Why couldn’t you be sweet before?”

“I’m just giving you some confidence to help you do your job.”

“Ok boss. Thanks anyway.”

Eric stood up with his hands high up in the air.

“Don’t shoot!” He yelled as he slowly walked forward.

It took him a few steps to notice the camp, a few tents surrounded by a crude, spiked palisade. Not long after, he noticed three archers pointing their knocked arrows at him. They hid behind the palisade, exposing their heads only, but the height of their bows made them quite easy to spot.

Clenching his teeth, Eric chose not to say anything until he came close so as not to alarm the archers.

“So, you want to negotiate,” he heard a familiar voice behind the palisade. Even though he didn’t reveal himself, Eric knew it was pig-faced.

“Yes,” Eric responded with a raised voice, “I already told you we want to get out of here. And to do that, we need blood. But my friend told me you guys aren’t that nutritious, so getting yours serves no purpose.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.”

“However, the guardian would serve the purpose very well, so we will help you fight it if we can take its blood after the battle. The riches are all yours, we just want the guardian’s blood.”

“Hmm … I must admit that proposition sounds good. But there is one problem.”

“You don’t trust the devil.”

“Of course I don’t! Why would I trust someone who killed my friends?”

“It was an accident. Just how you almost killed me by accident.”

“No, we did that on purpose. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the devil killed my friends on purpose, too.”

“So, the devil killed your friends, and then you killed her only friend in return. Doesn’t that make us even?”

“How did we kill you when you’re still here? And even if we were even, being even with a devil doesn’t mean much. They don’t care if we’re even or not.”

“But she does care that you can get her home. She doesn’t want to be here. And I bet you don’t want to lose any more of your friends. Please, don’t get me wrong, that’s not a threat. It’s just that fighting the guardian can be very costly. Having a devil on your side would certainly increase your odds.”

“Unless she’s in league with the guardian or she’s the guardian herself.”

“How can I prove that’s not the case?”

“You can’t. You wouldn’t know if that’s the case or not. She’d keep it a secret.”

“And what would she gain from that? Riches? The moment she left the guardian’s chamber, she lost the rights to any of it.”

“Devils are sick and twisted. It could be nothing but some twisted fun of hers.”

“This one isn’t like that. Look at me! She spent all the blood she collected trying to bring me back from the dead! She sacrificed the thing she needed the most to save a life! Would someone sick and twisted do something like that?”

“What can I say, she likes her toy very much. You should be proud of yourself.”

“That’s right, she likes me very much, which is why she wants to bring me home. She doesn’t want to lose her toy down here, so she is willing to work with you guys to get us out of here as soon as possible. We have nothing to gain from fighting you guys, we just want to go home. And that guardian would serve us well. It’s in your way to get the riches, and it’s our way of going home. We’re natural allies in this situation.”

Pig-faced went silent for a while before answering: “We have to talk about this first. You can’t propose something like this and then ask us to give you the answer right away.”

“Ok, I understand that. But how about you take me as a hostage in the meantime?”