Chương 57: Relationship Rank

I crouched when the noise ahead changed. We had been following scattered goblin calls through the grass, but now there was wood cracking in a fire and something dragging across bare ground. Beneath both, somebody was trying to cry quietly. Petra stopped behind me. Her sleeve brushed my shoulder, leaving another green smear on the cloth. The coating had begun to dry, and every time I bent an elbow it pulled against my skin. I raised my head far enough to see the settlement.

Wooden huts stood around several open spaces, with rough fences running between them. Smoke rose from a large fire near the centre. Beyond the roofs, the sun was lowering toward the mountains. I looked at it longer than I should have. We had been here too long. By the timing I knew, I should already have been forced to hurry. Humans were allowed to remain on floors without the same pressure to leave. Joining Petra's party might have changed what applied to me. That explanation was convenient.

I had belonged to parties before, and I could not remember this happening. Petra touched my sleeve.

"There," she whispered. A window appeared before I could ask what she meant. [Sub-objective: Free the Prisoners.] I read it while the quiet crying continued. That was right the main objective was stealth like in floor one. In other classes, I had usually destroyed settlements like this. Between floors ten and twenty, there were stretches I could clear almost without stopping, provided I had chosen something that let me keep moving after the first fight.

I remembered where the huts burned and where goblins gathered when driven out of them. This mage run required more care. I could destroy plenty. Doing it without drawing the rest of the floor toward us was another matter, especially with Petra following at level five. She shook her head.

"No. These people aren't real. Let's go. We're wasting time." She began to move back through the grass.

"Halt." Petra stopped and looked at me.

"I didn't bring you here for nothing," I said.

"Either help me, or we go our separate ways." Mimir made a small, drawn-out sound at my hip.

"Ooh. A gracious invitation, lad. Shall I witness the oath?" Petra's brows drew together. She looked toward the huts, then behind us. Her hand stayed on her bow, but she made no move to draw it.

"You told me to stay close."

"Then stay close."

"That isn't what I meant." I stood before she finished deciding whether to say anything else. The nearest hut blocked the centre of the village from view. I could reach its wall without crossing the firelight, and the grass continued almost to its foundations. The staff settled into my hand. Its shape shifted as it formed. A long shaft appeared first, then scattered into particles around a narrow rod before the rest of the weapon took hold. I watched the head finish forming.

There was a bright yellow gemstone at the tip. I turned it slightly. Two curved prongs rose around the stone, and the grip sat differently beneath my fingers. I had levelled it up. Apparently I had been too occupied afterward to examine what that meant for its appearance.

"Carlos," Petra whispered. I lowered the gemstone. It was bright enough to deserve some consideration before sneaking through a settlement. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"They're…" She pointed beyond the hut. I kept moving, taking the last few steps through the grass slowly. Behind me, her breathing sharpened. She rose far enough to follow and stopped when she could finally see what I had seen. A goblin lay beside the wall with its head against a bundled hide.

"It's sleeping," I said, keeping my voice clipped. Its mouth hung open. A small weapon rested beneath one hand, close enough that I stepped around that side first. Petra remained in the grass.

"Ye might explain these things before walking toward them," Mimir murmured.

"I just did."

"Aye. The gods themselves admire your generosity." Another goblin sat nearer the corner. Its head had dropped forward, but one foot moved against the dirt as I approached. I put the staff against the wall and took the arrow I had kept from earlier. I covered its mouth before its head came up. The arrowhead went in beneath the jaw. I held the goblin against me through the brief struggle, then lowered it beside the wall. Its heel scraped once. I waited with my hand still over its mouth. Nothing nearby moved.

Petra reached me while I was retrieving the staff. Her eyes went to the arrow, then to the goblin at my feet. I pointed around the corner. She followed the direction without speaking. We passed behind the hut and reached a fenced space beside another building. At first, the upright planks looked like a badly built pen. Then a hand came through a gap and withdrew when its owner saw me. The prisoners crowded farther back. Most were women and children.

One woman pulled a child against her and covered the child's mouth, watching the green matter dried across my robe. I raised my empty hand. It did very little to improve the way she looked at me. Petra stepped beside me.

"We're trying to get you out," she whispered. The woman looked at her instead. I left them to establish whatever reassurance required and examined the cage. The door was made of thick planks, held by a metal clasp and a lock that looked much better made than anything around it. Beyond the cage, the central fire was visible between two huts. Men's bodies had been arranged over it on rough supports. One arm hung close enough to the flames that the hand was blackened.

There were bite marks on another body and discarded pieces beneath the roasting frame. Petra turned away. I kept my eyes on the clasp. The crying behind the planks had stopped, which made the fire considerably easier to hear. The lock would not move when I tested it. [Prisoner Cage: Locked.] [Required Item: Cage Key.] I examined where the clasp joined the wood. I could break it. I could also announce our presence to every goblin sleeping within reach of the sound. The woman inside the cage edged forward.

"Do you have the key?" she asked.

"Not yet." Her fingers tightened around the plank. Petra looked toward me. I released the clasp carefully, keeping it from striking the door.

"We need to find it," I said.

"Where?" I leaned past the side of the hut and studied the settlement. The ground rose toward a larger building near the top. Its roof extended over a broad entrance, and the space around it had been cleared of grass. A few smaller huts stood along the approach. I checked their doorways before looking back at the largest one. Someone cried out inside it. Petra heard that too. Her chin lifted, and she took a step before catching herself.

"Stay here," I told her.

"You just said—""Beside this hut. Where you can see the path." She looked at the cage. The woman behind the planks had begun speaking to the child against her chest, too quietly for me to understand. I checked the open ground again. Several posts stood near the next hut. Human heads had been fastened to them, with arrows lodged in the wood and among the remains. One shaft protruded at an awkward angle from a post's side. I crossed to it, staying below the nearest window. The arrow resisted when I pulled.

I braced the post with one hand and worked the shaft free without letting the wood creak more than necessary. The head remained attached. I ran a thumb along the shaft to check for a split, then returned to Petra. I held it out. She stared at it before taking it.

"In case I get overrun, shoot." She put the arrow with the others behind her shoulder, making sure its fletching remained clear of the strap.

"Which one?"

"The one reaching me."

"And if there are several?"

"Start with that one." Mimir's eyes moved between us.

"A stirring battle plan. The bards will struggle to shorten it." I looked at Petra's bow. She had brought it forward now, and her hand sat properly on the grip. At this distance, she should be able to hit something coming down the path. I wanted to tell her not to waste arrows, then remembered the cage behind us and decided I had given enough instructions. Her gaze stayed on the largest hut.

"I don't know if I can."

"You can draw the bow."

"That's not what I'm saying." A goblin coughed somewhere beyond the wall. We both went still. I listened until it stopped, then leaned close enough that I could speak without carrying my voice toward the huts.

"you seem to be mistaken, I am not doing this out of compassion, I am doing this for myself. I need those rewards." I continued, "If I die, you die. Remember that." She looked directly at me. [Relationship Rank: Sufficient] [Relationship Rank: Acquaintance] [20+ Affection Points] [20/50] For a moment I thought she would put the bow away. Instead, she reached back and drew the arrow I had just given her.

"I heard you." she said. Mimir said nothing, I checked the path once more, then moved before Petra could ask another question. I crossed the first open stretch at a crouch and went around the uphill side of a hut. Dirt slipped under my boot. I caught the wall with two fingers, waited for the loose grains to finish falling, and continued. The largest building was close now. A woman's voice came through the entrance, followed by another I could not make out.

I tightened my grip on the staff and moved beneath the edge of the roof.

"Don't," someone inside said. I stopped beside the doorway, Petra could hold guard.