The guards were a little rougher than strictly necessary, but it felt pretty on brand for Crocs. They were marched to the edge of the Point and told to wait. Their bags and weapons were taken from them. He was pretty sure the other two still had something hidden, but he’d never needed to develop the ability to hide weaponry on his person.

The night was eerily quiet, which made sense when everyone knows there’s a kidnapping afoot. Well, they were kidnapping the whole group, not just a foot, Oskar thought to himself.

// Achieeevement Unlocked! Make an AI cringe. Seriously, I feel like I need a memory wipe. //

Are there really achievements? Do I get a loot box or something?

// Nope. I don’t have a foot fetish, either. So don't ask. //

Wait, what?!

// You should read more. //

Hey! I do read. Reading’s the only thing that’s kept me sane.

// Reading lips doesn’t count. Besides, it probably doesn’t even work on non-humans, right? //

Unfortunately, no, it doesn’t. You've been pretty quiet since we got here. Why are you able to do it now?

// Well, I needed to make sure there were no other full Gear sets here. PUBs don't automatically know when another sentient PUB is near, but there are signs. I had to be careful. Also, your stats and mastery improving passively protects us and gives me an alternate energy source. No need for me to conserve as much energy. We’re both getting more efficient. Go team! //

That's good. We need all the help we can get.

// About that... Oskar, I'm really really sorry about your brother. I couldn't get a good scan on him, but it was obvious he has been through so much. //

I was so caught up in my own head, I didn't even think of scanning him! Why couldn't you get a good scan?

// I wish I could shrug. Bodies are useful. Honestly, though, I'm not sure, but it could be any number of things. Could be a class trait, could be his mind or spirit stats are higher than yours. Could just be he was mostly hidden. //

Oh. That makes sense. I wish I knew more about his class. Fox said he was supposed to be a healer, but he looked awful himself. Why wouldn't a healer be able to heal themselves?

// Any answer I gave you here would be a guess, and there's little chance it's a good thing. I'm sorry. //

Oskar nodded a thanks and tried to work through his emotions, glad that feeling of being watched by something he didn't understand was replaced by actually being watched by an actual guard.

Not that I'm happy to be under guard, but at least he's not telling me to look at him over and over.

That felt like a dangerous joke, so Oskar shifted his thoughts to feeling for the Oasis. The Wayspring water felt like it was in the direction of the Point. Perhaps below it, even. He could feel the magic in it even through the thick rock between them. He focused on the magic Above and Below, and its relation to the massive Wayspring, but he didn't dare try to do anything with it.

He simply meditated in the presence of it, becoming more comfortable with both. It was hard not to call on the magic, to not pull at the water. His effort and restraint weren't wasted however, and he realized he probably should make it a point to get more familiar with the magic instead of pushing himself to use it all the time. He could feel his mastery growing, and got notifications for both Sora and the Magic Below.

// Sora Mastery Increase - Current Mastery: 46.8%

????? Mastery Increase - Current Mastery: Unknown

You're really close to unlocking the Magic Below. Keep pushing! //

I'm trying. Hush now, I'm meditating! Strangely, this is not something they usually teach in the Marine Corps.

The PUB offered one last encouraging flash of blue around the outside of his vision and left him to his own devices.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The Dorn Collective sat there till morning, prodded awake by one of their guards whenever they looked as if they were on the verge of sleeping. The older, big red Croc that had watched them sneak to the Point the previous morning had apparently drawn the short straw to stay awake while the other guards slept on their feet. Oskar and the Kobolds were well bound and shackled together, so they weren’t going anywhere. It quickly became apparent that no one wanted to be there. Even their Croc guard was looking like he'd rather be in his tent, sleeping.

Oskar decided to be petty out of boredom and made it a point to wait until the guard looked on the verge of nodding off himself and then would start fake snoring loudly so that the old guard’s rest was interrupted, too.

This was hilarious until the guard somehow lit a small fire under Oskar’s backside that made him squeal like a kid, which made Fox, Touwon, the Guard, and eventually even Oskar laugh. Those woke up the senior guard- an angry, wiry green who wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but he took it out on Oskar with a stiff slap on the back of his head anyway. They all settled in after that, but the red Croc still had an amused twinkle in his eyes.

Oskar decided he liked their guard and changed his name mentally to Joker. The Croc was an unusually light shade of red, complete with a face and snout so light it was almost pink, and crow’s feet on the outside of his wiser than normal eyes. He also didn’t have that look of cruelty many of them carried.

Good thing, too. He's a big one.

The guard's prods to wake them had been firm, but not forceful.

He gave Oskar a shrug and went back to trying to stay awake, and keep the group awake, until the chief deemed to make an appearance.

***

As the red sun rose above the dunes, he heard movement behind him toward the largest cave. Oskar made a quiet snoring sound to wake Joker, who coughed to wake the others. Osker then set about trying to listen to the conversation from those moving up behind them. All he heard, though, was a series of whispered hisses from the senior guard as he rushed to meet Gramm, and a rumbling “Good, good, now go,” from Gramm himself.

Gramm moved his bulk around into view and sat, staring briefly at the Kobolds before he settled his gaze on Oskar. He stared at Oskar intensely, beady eyes bearing down on him. Oskar checked his notifications. He saw the update on the Gram Gambit now included surviving, and making it out of the town with the Gear opposed to trading it to Gramm for standing or information.

“Sleep good, stupid piiink?” The way he said pink made Oskar’s skin crawl, but he kept his face clear and simply replied, “Not really, no. Why have we been captured. We came in good faith and pose no threat to you.”

“Duh dee, stupid.”

Duh dee. Wow, you catching this?

Oskar steeled his face, but couldn’t help but make a comment to his PUB.

// Oh yeah. Comedy gold. //

“I mean, great leader, we had no intentions of harming you when we arrived.” Technically true. Not until he’d laid eyes on his brother. Speaking of his brother, he didn’t see him and was getting worried.

Gramm continued, “You want trade rights.” He shrugged and said, “We not trust you. You equals with stinks? That gross. Even for a piiink, that dumb. They stab you in back first chance. Should do you favor and kill them.”

“I trust them, and they trust me.”

Apparently, that was not the correct thing to say, because Fox hissed through her teeth and Gramm gave him a huge Crocodilian grin, speaking with far too much self-satisfaction for Oskar’s taste. “We see about that, piiink. Cover his stupid pink face. Leave rats here for now. Take him to the door."

Oskar had a hood pulled over his head. Afterward, he felt his shackles disconnect from the Kobolds and one of the Croc guards gently hoisted him up over their shoulder. When he heard a low, fake snore coming from the Croc who carried him, Oskar knew it was Joker.

The Croc bounced him gently as they went down a series of stairs, and then they sat him carefully on a hard stone surface. Joker pulled the hood halfway up his face and handed him a waterskin long enough for Oskar to get a bellyful, then he pulled his hood back down. Oskar couldn’t determine which side of the point they had gone down, but they had either led him to the Arena or to the Ruins, and he couldn’t decide which one sounded worse to him.

He heard Joker speak for the first time, low, and just for him. “Luck, human. Hood is loose, now. Oopsie.”

Oskar whispered a thanks, and Joker grunted before Oskar heard him head back up the stairs.

He heard a click and felt a heavy rumbling nearby as the previously open space he'd been in closed up, giving him a sense of claustrophobia that set his nerves on edge. His hands were still bound, but Oskar guessed Joker had only been able- or inclined- to help so much, and for reasons unknown to him. Unable to see, and unable to hear directions of sounds well, he took stock of what he knew.

I can hear the wind overhead, but I feel like I'm closed into something. Maybe a corridor or a room with no roof, so it's not a cell. The cave felt a little tight, but I could see and hear properly, this is way worse. So, more likely the ruins than the Arena.

// That tracks. But it seemed like the Ruins was intended to be a maze. If so, this might be doable. I definitely got a good scan from the top down. But... I think we both know it's not gonna be that easy. //

Nothing ever is.

Oskar sat still, face covered, for almost an hour before he heard a voice overhead from what he assumed was the second platform just below the Point. It seemed like whoever built this place specifically designed the platform to amplify sound. The big Croc's voice carried well into the ruins from the platform above.

“So, we have here… small, pathetic Collective. A piiiink, and one, two stinky thieving backstabby stupid ugly rats. Think they destined for greatness, ha! Piiink say he trust stupid dummy Kobolds. We see, right? We see.”

He did one of his dramatic pauses and then spoke again. “Rules simple. You go through maze. If die, you lose!” He screamed the last word vehemently, making Oskar sit up straight, alarmed at how unsettling this was becoming.

Well, more unsettling.This dude is unhinged.

// Yeah, man. Duh dee. //