Chương 238: (233) 4.12. Escort Mission

"Hey Vin! Why do you smell like burnt toast?" Vin shook his head as he spotted Scule and Reginald walking over to him with Shia right behind them. Rolling his eyes, he directed his response to Reginald.

"Do I actually smell like burnt toast?" Reginald gave a quick shake of his head, pointing at Shia with his tail.

"You're no fun," Scule scoffed.

"Yeah, Shia told us you blew yourself up. Now I'm not a mage, but maybe don't do that?"

"Incredibly helpful as always," Vin laughed.

"You guys done with what you were looking into?"

"I communed with quite a number of new plants, and Scule collected enough nightmare-herb to last a lifetime," Shia nodded.

"I think all that's left now is for us to meet back up with Alka by the path leading up to the surface."

"What's with the basket?" Scule asked, sounding perhaps just a tad over eager in his question.

"You find something worth taking down here?"

"No, someone came to give us some food. A rather inquisitive someone," he added.

"Ah. What did you tell them?" Scule asked, hopping into the basket and trying some of the jam for himself.

"Smite me, this is good!"

"I told him it was a decision he had to make for himself… But when I warned him about how dangerous things were on Edregon, he asked if we could help him get out of the monster-infested mists up above."

"What did you tell him?" Shia asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"I said I had to ask you guys," he shrugged.

"Figured taking on a follower, even for just a little bit, wasn't something I should decide on my own."

"Smart choice. Playing babysitter sucks," Scule scowled, shoving crumb after crumb into his face.

"Unless you're getting something out of it, I wouldn't recommend taking the job."

"The problem is if we don't help him, he's almost certainly going to die," Vin pointed out.

"He'll be level one. There's no chance in hell he survives the mist, let alone lives long enough to find a settlement to take him in. You guys know how deadly Edregon is."

"Funny you should say that." Shia grinned at them, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"I actually made an interesting discovery while communing with some of the older plants in the valley. Did either of you wonder why they asked us to wait until nightfall before leaving?"

"It crossed my mind, yeah," Vin admitted, seeing nods from Scule and Reginald as well.

"From what I gathered, it's because the valley elders try to use Sky-dwellers who survive the drop into the valley to act as guides for those who wish to give in to the mental words and leave the valley," she said, her smile only growing wider.

"I think the wait is really to give any youths who are on the fence a chance to 'sneak over' and talk it out with a Sky-dweller. They tend to get one every few decades."

"Those are some pretty eloquent trees," Scule said, raising an eyebrow.

"The theory might be based on a lot of conjecture, but I still think it's solid," she shot back.

"That would explain how Normun managed to slip over here unnoticed," Vin said slowly, stopping their argument before it could begin.

"The valley is pretty flat, so I was more than a little confused by that."

"So the valley people are making us do their dirty work?" Scule asked, frowning at the revelation.

"Can't say I'm a big fan of that."

"They let you have who knows how many pounds of nightmare-herb," Shia said, rolling her eyes.

"Helping one guy get to safety isn't that much in exchange, is it?"

"It's the principle of the thing," Scule sniffed.

"Anyway, weren't we planning on heading down to the Bands' fragment after this to use their statue and try to talk to the Gods again? We really want to bring him there with us?"

"We can just drop him off at the edge of the Sacred Forest," Shia shrugged.

"Ask for a group of elves to escort him over to Terra. He can do pretty much whatever he wants from there."

"That would work, but I feel a little bad basically taking in another stray right after asking the council to let all the infernals move in," Vin said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well he can't go to the citadel," Scule said bluntly.

"And I doubt the elves want him. Sakis?"

"Why don't we just leave it up to him to decide?" Shia suggested.

"All we need to worry about is getting him to safety. I think the Sacred Forest is good enough for that. Wherever he goes from there is on him." They were all able to agree on that front, and they let the matter drop as they dug into the bread with relish. Even Shia, despite being largely a carnivore, enjoyed the sugary jam, simply eating a few bites with her fingers. By the time they finished the meal and night had truly set in the valley, Vin spotted a glowing light making its way toward them.

The light quickly revealed itself to be a small lantern held by Okeran, who gave them a warm smile. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I see you enjoyed the jam."

"No kidding, it was fantastic," Vin said, handing the man back the basket.

"I hate to bother you all any more than we already have, but is there any chance you have any seeds or clippings or something we could take with us? I'd love to see if my people could grow these berries ourselves."

"You're welcome to grab a few berries on our way to the passage," Okeran nodded, motioning for them to follow him as he led them across the valley. Unlike many fragments across Edregon, the valley didn't have any method of lighting, which meant they were surrounded by darkness on all sides as they walked, the path illuminated solely by Okeran's lantern. If they were anywhere other than a valley of people without classes and levels, Vin would have been a bit concerned about being led into some form of ambush.

Eventually, they hit the wall of the valley, and Vin spotted both a crack in the cliff face leading up to the surface, with Alka standing beside it. Chatting with a nervous-looking Normun. Okeran didn't seem surprised in the slightest by the sight of Normun waiting for them, or the lumpy pack he carried on his back, which definitely led credence to Shia's theory.

"Okeran," Normun said, taking a deep breath and stepping forward as they approached. Clapping his hands over his head in their odd greeting, he spoke.

"I've decided to accept the mental words and leave the valley."

"Hey, didn't Vin say he was going to ask us first?" Scule asked, frowning at him from his spot on Vin's shoulder.

"I told him it was fine," Alka said, waving away Scule's words.

"Personally, I think these guys' beliefs on not choosing a class are pretty stupid."

"Alka!" Vin snapped, glancing worriedly at Okeran. Annoyance flickered across the older man's face for a brief moment, before he steeled himself once more.

"It is fine. I wouldn't expect those who have already given into the mental words to understand," he said curtly. Turning to Normun, he smiled.

"Normun, you understand the moment you accept the mental words into your heart and step beyond the valley you can never return, don't you?"

"Of course," Normun nodded, his face a mask of determination.

"Then we will miss you, my boy," Okeran said, a hint of sadness slipping into his voice. Without another word, he turned and walked off, leaving their group in the darkness as he took his lantern with him.

"Wow… That's rude," Scule scoffed as they were blanketed in darkness.

"Vin, little help?"" Light," he cast, summoning a floating ball of light above their heads to illuminate their surroundings. The action elicited another gasp from Normun, who quickly fell into step behind Alka as they began making their way back up to the surface.

"There's one thing I don't get," Scule muttered in Vin's ear as they walked, keeping his voice low enough Normun wouldn't hear.

"It sounds like he's getting all but banished from their valley, but what's to actually stop him from returning one day? I mean, even if he only reaches the first prestige, it's not like those class-less people in the valley would be able to do a damn thing to stop him if he ever decided to return home."

"Respect for his people?" Vin shrugged.

"No idea. Maybe the valley was way harder to actually find back on its own world, and the problem solved itself? I mean, think about it. With the valley in the center of the fragment, and there only being a few miles of mist to traverse, finding it is pretty easy. But what if there was like thirty miles of mist you had to go through to find it? Or a hundred?"

"Good point," Scule said, gazing at Normun's back as they walked.

"Let's hope those valley people are prepared for their expelled members to potentially start coming back…" It didn't take them too long to hike their way back up to the surface, though they did have to take a few breaks for Normun to catch his breath every so often. It was easy to forget just how superhuman they all were with all their levels and improved attributes, but shepherding someone who hadn't even hit level one just yet drove the point home pretty hard.

As soon as they stepped back into the mists, Alka took the lead.

"I killed a lot of these things while I was practicing," she said, motioning for them to follow her.

"They did in fact start getting slower as the sun went down, so we shouldn't have too much trouble with them, even with Normun here to weigh us down." Sure enough, following Vin's Mental Map, their group was able to make a beeline straight for the Sacred Forest. The sight of Normun's face when he stepped out of the mist and found himself in an impossible forest filled with hundreds of different tree species was enough to make slowing down for him totally worth it.

Erik obviously noticed their arrival, because all Shia had to do was explain to the closest tree what they needed, and a small squad of elves showed up in no time at all.

"We'll make sure he gets to the other side of the forest safely," Smohl reassured them.

"I can't thank you guys enough," Normun said, turning to give them one last large clap high over his head.

"I hope we meet again someday."

"We'll meet again far sooner than you think if you decide to stay in any of the nearby settlements," Scule snorted.

"Just make sure you pick a class that calls to you. Save yourself a trip to where we're about to go." Normun promised he'd think carefully before making his selection, and just like that, he was gone. While they stood there on the border between the Sacred Forest and the fragment of mist, Vin turned to his friends.

"Well, we don't often travel through the night… Should we make camp, or just head to the prison via the dungeon?"

"No sense wasting time," Shia said, already heading off toward the Sacred Forest's dungeon.

"Come on." Traveling through the forest dungeon with all of them working together was child's play, and exiting out of the Bands' prison-based dungeon was even easier. All Vin had to do was keep a shining Light spell active over their heads, and the shadow monsters that inhabited the dungeon remained hidden.

Stepping out of the dungeon, Vin turned to look up at the statue of rebirth that the Bands had taken to worshipping, seeing as it allowed them to give up their old, tainted classes for fresh ones and start new lives. The tear-stricken God's torso was connected to the wall above the prison entrance, ensuring that it was the last sight all who were led within the secret prison would ever see of the outside.

His hands were clasped in prayer, as if he were desperate to save as many souls as he possibly could who walked beneath him. Time to find out just how willing to help people the Gods truly were.