It must have been an hour later when Alyx finally opened her eyes.
She put a hand to her head and cursed loudly. Cass didn’t need the translation skill for that one, she recognized an expletive when she heard it. Blinking blearily, Alyx said, “That was worse (...). How long out was I?”
“An hour,” Cass said with a shrug. She skewered one of the mushrooms she’d been keeping warm by the fire and held the stone skewer out for the woman. “Hungry?”
Alyx blinked rapidly, suddenly taking in the campsite which had not been there when she’d passed out.
Alyx took the skewer, confusion obvious on her face. “Thank you.”
Cass waved off the thanks. “There is plenty to eat, so eat up.”
Jothi Language Comprehension has increased to level 3
Cass had nibbled on things as she’d cooked, just to see what was what, but she’d saved most of it for Alyx who actually needed to eat.
Alyx took a bite of the mushroom. She frowned at the flavor but kept chewing. She watched Cass from across the little fire, some question obviously but silently stewing behind her eyes.
She ate the entirety of the mudcap in silence and took a second skewered and roasted mushroom before finally speaking, “Did you know what that ‘Caretaker’ creature was?”
Cass shook her head. “Did you?”
Alyx shook her head back. “No. Never heard of it.” She stared into the fire, picking at the charred edge of her second mushroom absently. “Then, you attacked without a plan?”
Cass looked away. How did she explain she hadn’t been in her right mind when she’d done that? How did she explain it without mentioning that she had a demon sleeping in her head? And without sounding completely unstable and dangerous?
Was she unstable and dangerous? Oh hell, she was, wasn’t she? Or, Salos made her unstable, at least. Was there a difference? She bit her lip.
“I thought so,” Alyx said, interpreting Cass’s silence for the embarrassed agreement it was. “It worked out this time, but you can’t (expect?) an (irresponsible? rush?) to work every time. In fact, expect it to fail every time. Most monsters have more stats level for level than people.”
Cass frowned but nodded. Her skill was getting better. It hadn’t left any of the words untranslated this time, but it had left large question marks next to some of them, marking them as best guesses rather than confident translations.
‘Irresponsible rush’? From the context, Alyx probably was referring to how Cass had charged the Caretaker wildly. If so, Cass could only agree.
“You have a lot of promise, but you’ll only waste it if you throw yourself at things you aren’t ready for.”
Cass wasn’t ready for any of this, but what else could she do? Still, the advice was well-meaning, if completely missing the context around Cass’s actions. Quietly, Cass said, “I’m just trying to get home.”
Alyx looked down into the fire. “It's harder out here alone than you thought?”
Cass shook her head. That was how it looked, huh? Some young adventurer or warrior or what have you, run off to dangerous locales to prove her worth, only to find herself sorely lacking and under-prepared?
“No shame in (saying?),” Alyx said bitterly. “I’m (… …) in the same boat.”
“Yeah?”
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Alyx snorted. “You found me in a spider’s (clutches?).”
Cass shrugged. She hadn’t really thought about Alyx’s story at all. But, recklessly trying to prove herself made some sense when she thought about it. Why else would someone willingly enter this godforsaken place during the window between endless rain and death by electricity? Frankly, why would someone willingly enter this godforsaken place, regardless of the time of year?
“How did you end up there?” Cass asked.
Alyx shrugged. “It's not a (…) story. My team and I were (ambushed?) as we were crossing the Hidden Pass. We thought we would stand a (better … …) the monsters there than to fight the Lord of the Pass on the main Pass or the Herald along the Ascent. We were wrong.
“I was bit pretty bad, ended up (paralyzed?) and (… … …). I saw some of my party die there. Others (…), chased by other spiders. I hope they got away, but…”
She spoke fast, faster than Cass’s skill could keep up in places, and listed off the locations Cass had never heard of like they were well-known landmarks but Cass got the gist more or less.
“How about you?” Alyx asked. “How did a level 12 end up alone in the Deep?”
Cass rocked on her stool. How to explain? How much to explain?
“I didn’t mean to come here,” she said finally. “I sort of fell.” Fell through a portal to another world. Fell in a chasm into the Deep.
“And the rest of your party?” Alyx asked.
Cass shook her head. “It's just me.”
“Who let you come here on your own at your level?”
Cass shrugged. She wanted to know that same thing.
“Whoever it was, sent you to die. Someone at your level has no (job?) being here. Especially not in the Deep.”
“So I’ve heard,” Cass said with a tired sigh. Salos was, of course, right about that. She was under-leveled. It was a miracle she was still alive.
“What’s your plan from here?” Alyx asked. “Once we get out of the Demon God’s Temple?”
Cass shrugged again. “I’m trying to go home. That’s all I want.”
She left out that she had no idea how to get there.
Alyx nodded. “Same, honestly. Thanks to you, I’ve had far greater (success?) than I (traded?) for. Killing the Lord of the Forest would have been more (…) useful, but the Lord of the Deep is far more (great?).” She was quiet for a long moment. “Yes. Better to quit while I’m ahead. If I still had my party I might try the Lord of the Forest anyway. As it is… Maybe the Herald of the Pass? It would be good to get some (bonus?) on the way out… Though…” her eyes trailed back to Cass, her words slowing.
Cass raised an eyebrow.
“You saved me. You got me the Lord of the Deep kill to my name. I owe you more than I like. If you would like an (escort?) to the exit… I could probably be (talked?) to do that for you.”
Cass didn’t know what to say to that, so found herself defaulting to modesty. “I didn’t save you for a reward, and I was going to kill the Lord anyway.”
Alyx shook her head. “I prefer to (remove?) my debts right away.”
“But, will you have time to do the other things you mentioned if you escort me to the exit first?”
It was a stupid question. Cass knew it was stupid as soon as she asked it. Why did she care if Alyx had the time to go kill more stuff before lightning descended on the valley? She needed to get out of mortal danger as soon as possible.
Alyx raised an eyebrow, a chuckle in her voice as she spoke. “I thought you’d learned your lesson?”
Cass cocked her head to one side in confusion.
“If you want to (join?) me in fighting a Lord or Herald you should just ask me (straight?). I’m not going to be more likely to let you tag along if you (wander?).”
Cass’s confusion redoubled. That sounded like Alyx thought she wanted to tag along. Why would she want to tag along? What did wandering…
Wait!
Cass’s eyes went wide as she realized what Alyx thought she was getting at.
Cass shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no. I do not want to go fight anything else, thank you. I’ve seen more than enough violence to last me a lifetime.”
Alyx’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then, what do you want?”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you,” Cass said quickly. Too quickly. Before she had time to think through the sentence. It was true, but maybe more honest than she would have liked to admit aloud.
“I see.” Alyx nodded slowly. “You (got?) me the Lord of the Deep. I suppose I could (get?) you a Herald and then we could leave together. That would even things out I think.”
Cass shook her head emphatically. How did she make it any clearer? What part of ‘I want to go home’ sounded like, ‘please hunt a monster for me, thank you’? “You really—“
“No, you can’t (talk?) me to take on a Lord by myself. I know a Herald is not as valuable as the Lord you (hunted?) us, but unlike you, I don’t have a (cheat?) to make the Lord of the Pass or Forest more (easy?). I think I can handle the Herald of the Forest though, you’ll have to settle for that.”
Cass shut her mouth. She didn’t understand how she got here, but it was clear arguing wasn’t going to change Alyx’s mind.