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The Human From a Dungeon 111
🕑 Added 2025-07-07 11:55:18 +0000 UTCChapter 111
Nash Alta
Adventurer Level: 11
Orc - Nulevan
The rage in my chest turned into something cold as I watched Agurno leave. It felt like a kind of generalized disgust, but it was hard to put my finger on why I was feeling it. Could it have been the realization that the abandonment that Nima had gone through was cyclical? Or maybe it was how casually and unapologetically Agurno had admitted to his faults, with no intention of changing them.
"Hey, are you guys okay?" a small voice asked from my left.
I turned to see the imp that had helped Nick earlier, though I couldn't recall his name. His apparent concern for our well-being did nothing to improve my mood. Imps were well known for using trauma inflicted by others as a manipulation tactic.
"Yeah, we're alright," Nick answered. "Thanks for checking, Ujin."
Nick's reply annoyed me in several ways. First, he assumed that he knew how I was without checking with me first. Second, he shared that presumption with someone that I didn't trust. Third, he remembered the gods-damned imp's name when I had forgotten it.
I gave him a glance that attempted to properly convey the amount of annoyance that I was feeling, but my eyes could only roll so far.
"No problem," Ujin said, unaware of my annoyance. "I know how much of an asshole Agurno can be, so I thought I'd check."
"You know him?"
"I haven't exactly talked to him, but everyone here knows OF him. Even new guards know better than to try to stop him."
"How long has this been going on?"
"Longer than I've lived here," Ujin laughed. "But he only shows up once every few months. Word has it that he's been doing jobs for the courts."
"Yeah, he interrupted our meeting to tell them that he's finished one," Nick said, then looked around. "Where did Kint go?"
"He was next in line, so he cancelled his appointment. He was going to beg a favor, and nobody wants to do that after the court has met with Agurno."
I looked around and noticed that quite a few people had left. The only ones who remained were those carrying satchels and those who looked as if they hadn't eaten in a while. Deliveries and desperation.
"So did you get what you needed from the court?" Ujin asked. "I hope they didn't extort too large of a favor from you."
"Yeah, we learned what we needed to," Nick said. "And actually, Agurno helped us with that."
"He did so as a means of condescension," Yulk interjected. "To demonstrate that he is superior to us. Nash must have hurt his feelings by calling him out for being an absentee father."
"And punching him a few times," I chuckled. "Oh, let's not tell Nima about that."
"The only time you should keep secrets is if you don't mind if they bite you, brother."
"Don't worry, I'll tell her about it. I just don't want the conversation to be randomly sprung upon me when I'm not prepared for it."
"You actually PUNCHED Agurno?" Ujin asked in shock. "That mountain of muscle with the patience of an ugren trap?
"Of course I did. He abandoned his daughter, my fiancée, and I'm not afraid of that overgrown fu-"
"Ujin Faren, you are to appear before the court," the extra-tall fae guard interrupted. "Approach the gate."
"Ah, looks like I'm next," Ujin said. "Well, it was nice seeing you again. I hope things work out."
"You too," Nick smiled.
The imp grabbed a small satchel and trotted off toward the gate. He and Nick exchanged a wave as the gate opened, and we turned to leave as it closed behind him. It was obvious that Nick didn't mind throwing caution to the wind to be friends with Ujin.
Thankfully, we were probably going to be headed elsewhere soon. Otherwise, Nick would probably learn the hard way why imps have the reputation that they do. He was demonstrating the exact type of naivety that they target.
Imps don't really belong to any one nation. They wander from place to place, setting camp between villages and towns. Then they send their people to go get food, drink, and other supplies. This is usually accomplished via trickery, theft, and even murder.
Once they have what they need and their unwilling neighbors start talking about getting justice, they leave. They usually go just far enough away to avoid local law enforcers. If their crimes are particularly heinous, though, they'll flee the nation entirely and won't return for a generation or two.
The most heinous of crimes are the ones that happen to the poor young women who think they've fallen in love. Orcs can't have children with other species because our biology is dangerously incompatible. Imps have a similar problem, but instead of sharp and crushing bones, they have a twisted seed. Whenever that seed takes root, the mother involved dies one of the most horrific deaths imaginable. It's the type of injury that even healing magic can't fix.
"So where are we going now?" Nick asked as we began to walk back to the city.
"We will have to do research to find areas where these 'cracks' might appear," Yulk replied. "Then I suppose we must find a way to determine which cracks lead where, and how to open them wide enough to slip through."
"So back to Kirkena?"
The mention of the capital city brought about unexpected thoughts of Nima. I suddenly wanted to know what she was up to, if she was missing me or not, and how she would react to my run-in with her father. There was a certain uncharacteristic anxiety surrounding these thoughts, as well. As if I HAD to see her, or I never would again.
"I... I don't know," Yulk said, deep in thought. "Perhaps we should ask mother for her input. She was an adventurer for several years before we were born..."
Yulk and I shared a glance, and we stopped in the middle of the Great Climeta Forest. That single glance told me all I needed to know about his desire to return home. It was just like mine.
Nick looked back and forth between us.
"I also think we should return to Nuleva," Nick sighed. "Can't help thinking about it, and Ten says my adrenalin levels are spiking. I'm guessing you two feel the same way?"
"Y-yeah," I said.
"I am also receiving a not-so-subtle nudge in that direction," Larie added. "The higher ones may as well write us a letter."
"Well, that settles it," Yulk said. "The higher ones want us in Nuleva for the next part of our journey. Only a fool would ignore such an obvious hint."
"I would still like to pass through Talokam, if we are able. Checking on the kobolds shouldn't be an issue."
"That shouldn't be a problem. We should be able to get a ride straight to Nuleva from there."
We began to walk again, but fell into an uncomfortable silence. The sudden press of feelings that weren't quite my own had shaken me a little, and I could tell that Larie and Yulk felt the same way. Nick's eyes were locked to the ground, as if he were ashamed of what had just happened.
I felt as if I should tell him that it wasn't his fault, but the words rang hollow in my head. It wasn't his fault, but if it weren't for him it wouldn't have happened. It would be disingenuous to claim otherwise. Then I wondered if that thought was my own, or if it had been forced into my head by the higher ones.
"Hey, you lot," a rumbling voice came from behind us as we entered a clearing.
We stopped and turned to look at the trees from which the voice had come from. Three of them had slightly scowling faces made of bark. The one in the center was huge. I took a cautious step back, suddenly recalled our last encounter with them, and the roots that had sprang from the ground.
"Uh... Hello," Nick said.
"Yeah, hi," the central tree said. "Listen, you helped one of us earlier. You remember? The thing with the spell and the reptian?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Good. Well, it asked too much of you, but you went and helped it anyway. An arm would have been enough to balance things. We can't owe you. Especially not YOU, human. We're going to balance things."
"It's alri... Wait, you know what I am?"
"Of course we do," the tree on the left said impatiently, then looked thoughtful. "Should we tell him?"
"No," the tree on the right said. "That's worth much more than a reptian corpse sans one arm. Stick to the plan."
"Shut up," the center tree grumbled, its branches shaking angrily. "I'M speaking."
"Sorry boss," the other two said in unison.
"Right, listen human. You remember your home, yeah?"
"Y-yeah I-"
"Good. Are you familiar with symbols of power? Like, religious iconography and whatnot?"
"You mean like the cross?"
"Yes. The Christian Cross, the Star of David, the Nazar Boncuk, the Hamsa, the Pentagram, things like that. You know what these are? What they do?"
"Y-yeah, I think so."
"Good. Remember this, and remember it well. These symbols are known to your kind for a reason. That reason is because they work. The inverse of those symbols perform the opposite function, as well. Do you understand?"
"N-no," Nick stammered. "What do you mean they work?"
"The symbols protect from evil. True evil. Primordial evil. Not the evil of other fleshy ones, mind you, the kind of evil that your kind has feared since before you controlled fire. Flipping the symbols upside down will negate the protection of other symbols. An inverted cross will negate a Hamsa, and vice versa. Also, the intention of the symbol matters a lot during its construction. One of your lowercase t's isn't going to do anything. Get it?"
"Y-yeah. How do you know thi-"
"It is knowledge that will be useful to you," the tree interrupted. "This makes us even. Now hurry along and get out of our forest."
Before Nick could stammer another reply, the faces on the trees disappeared. We stood stunned for a few moments. Our surprise quickly wore off once we noticed how many angry-looking birds were watching us.
"I think we should go," I said.
"I concur," Larie added.
We turned and began to walk a little bit faster than we had before. It occurred to me that it was kind of funny to see a lich, which would otherwise be considered an ancient horror, flee right alongside us. Regardless of my amusement, though, I kept up the pace and before long we were back at the wall. The archers on top of it watched us warily, but the gate swung open for us without any issues.
"Should we stay the night?" I asked.
A lurch in my stomach seemed to answer the question for me.
"We should leave immediately, " Yulk said, panting a little. "We have travelled alongside Nick for quite some time now, and never before have I experienced such direct intervention from... His friends."
"They're no friends of mine," Nick replied grumpily.
"Yes, well, regardless, I believe that this is a matter of urgency, and I'm not entirely certain that the belief is my own."
"It isn't," Larie added. "One of the side-effects to my condition is ultra-sensitivity to beings not of this plane. I'm assuming you're getting funny feelings, odd pushes towards certain thoughts, and things of that nature. I'm practically hearing voices telling me to accompany you."
"So... Either something really good or really bad is about to happen?" I asked.
"Knowing our luck..." Nick said, trailing off.
We moved with purpose, stopping by the Marfix Inn to check out and retrieve the items we had left there. From the inn, we travelled back through the city, exiting the main gate. The guards held us up for a few moments, confirming our identities and that we weren't wanted for any crimes within the city, but let us through without further issue.
Our next stop was the stable. We waited outside while Yulk entered the booking building to make the arrangements. He came back out with a familiar-looking dwarf.
"Surprised to see you lot again so soon," Haq chuckled. "I expected at least a couple of days to rest and relax."
"Apologies," Larie dipped his bony head. "It would seem that we are needed elsewhere, and we're in quite a rush."
"I know, Mister Yulk already paid the extra cost for the rush. I'll bring the cart around."
The dwarf hurried off. We waited patiently until a pair of extra-large hnarses came out of the stable, pulling a cart behind them. They seemed a tad annoyed when Haq called them to a halt, as if they were looking forward to hauling the cart around. I gave an appreciative whistle as I climbed aboard.
"Good lookin' animals you've got there," I said.
"Absolutely, we're lucky to have them," Haq laughed. "Bonesly, the one on the left, used to be a draft animal. Her owner went bankrupt, and we nabbed her for a steal because she's got quite a few years on her, though you wouldn't know it by the way she hauls the carts. The guy on the right is Yigtha. Similar story as Bonesly, got him from the same owner, but the difference is that he began life as a racer. Had a bit too much muscle on 'im, though, so he started pulling carts alongside Bonesly. They love the work, and they're used to pulling much heavier loads so they tend to go really fast."
"I'm glad that I paid extra," Yulk laughed.
"Me too, sir. Driving this pair of hnarses is a real treat. They'll get us where you're goin' in no time. All aboard?"
We gave our affirmatives as we took our seats.
"Alright, next stop is Talokam! We'll be arriving in the morning, so feel free to grab a nap."
I immediately shot Yulk an angry look. Cart drivers absolutely hate travelling at night, so he must have paid a ton of coin to arrange this. My brother grinned and shrugged as the cart began to move.
I muttered some choice swears as I settled in for the ride.
Comments
Ben Bass
TYFTC! Very interesting with the intervention from the higher beings - I wonder if they intervened with the Trees as well, specifically as to what they told Nick. Now, we get to see the kobolds and the beginnings of there mercantile empire!
ZBTmaniac
Woooo kobold store chapter!!!
ItsDirector
Guess what the next chapter's gonna be? ;D I, for one, am excited.
