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The Human From a Dungeon 80
🕑 Added 2024-12-02 13:34:41 +0000 UTCChapter 80
Nick Smith
Adventurer Level: 7
Human – American
The darkness faded at the same time as the uncanny pulling sensation, and I found myself surrounded by trees. Again. Par for the course when dealing with the fair folk, I guess. At least they're the same kind, though.
The familiarity of the trees and scenery helped a lot with my nausea, but a little bit of my breakfast made it back into my mouth regardless. The spicy kick distracted me from how gross it was, and I quickly spit it onto the ground. Tits chuckled as I spit and rubbed tears from my eyes.
"That was a lot less than I was expecting," it said.
"What, my breakfast?" I asked, wiping my face. "Yeah, I didn't throw up all the way."
"I know, that's what I'm saying. I expected an unexpected pull like that to make you spew like a geyser. Kind of disappointed."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you," I rolled my eyes. "I have a strong stomach."
"Hmm," Tits rubbed its chin thoughtfully. "You know, there's a chance we might be able to teach you how to use the fair-realm."
"Wait, really?"
"Maybe. Very maybe. It's not like mortal magic, and we would have to get a bunch of different agreements done," it thought for a moment. "Actually, forget I mentioned it. Probably shouldn't even have said that it could be possibly possible. Let's just pretend I didn't say anything, okay sweetie?"
Tits stepped toward me as if to ruffle my hair, but I instinctively took a step back.
"What? Are you STILL mad at me? It was just a joke, Nick," it whined.
"It was literally just a few minutes ago, and that kind of thing isn't a joke, Tits," I replied. "It's... I don't know. Disrespectful."
"Disrespectful? How?"
"I... I don't know, dammit. Not really. But you know I made a promise to Cass. When you 'play around' like you do, you're pretty much saying that the promise I made is worthless. That my word is worthless," I crossed my arms, angrily. "And if my word is worthless, then I'm worthless."
"Ah," Tits said, leaning closer. "But you're so fucking hot, though."
My own inability to properly explain why I was angry combined with the arch-fae's dismissive attitude caused rage to bubble up within me. I gave Tits the angriest glare my face could muster, but it laughed and backed away, raising its hands.
"Fine, fine. I will stop playing around long enough to fully understand the issue," it said. "Maybe. We'll talk more about it later, though. You know, stuff to do, necks to sever. Or slice? Do you sever heads and slice necks, or does the verbiage even matter? Whatever, gimme your sword."
I sighed and unsheathed my blade, offering it to Tits by the handle. The arch-fae took the sword and sighed.
"This isn't going to smell good," it warned.
Tits ran its finger along the blade of my sword. The flesh on its finger sizzled and released a pungent scent that smelled vaguely of what I imagine rotten almonds smell like. The acrid stench clouded the air, causing my stomach to turn in knots as Tits did the same with the other side of the edge. Finally, it presented my sword back to me.
"What did you do?" I asked, trying desperately not to heave.
"Sharpened it. Now it will slice clean through even the thickest of neck-bones. That hurt, so you should say thanks," Tits grinned.
"Thank you."
"Your gratitude is appreciated. Now that your sword is decapitation-ready, we need to get you into their encampment. I'll guide you."
Tits stretched their arms into the air as if just waking up from a long nap. My confused expression was met with a grin that quickly began to distort as the arch-fae's arms began to twist and contort in disgusting ways. The soft pink flesh began to pale and bubble, and black spots formed and extended themselves through the flesh. I was forced to look away as what was left of my breakfast began to mutiny once again.
The sounds weren't any better, though. Loud squelching and popping echoed throughout the trees for several moments, and I tried desperately not to imagine what visuals the noises coincided with. Then, blessed silence. I turned to take a peek and was met with a crow staring back at me with what could almost be called a smug expression.
"Caw," it said with an unmistakably sarcastic tone.
"That was gross," I shuddered a little. "So... How are you going to guide me? Can crows talk?"
'A little, but telepathy would be better,' Tits' voice said in my head. 'Shouting at you from the treetops would probably attract attention.'
"Okay, lead the way, then."
Tits flapped its wings and launched into the air, but didn't go far. I watched the arch-fae turned crow perch on a branch and look around for a moment.
'This way,' it said.
'Okay. How far is it?' I asked.
'Not that far. You can make some noise if you need to practice your stealth. I'll let you know when you need to be quiet.'
'How far is what?' Ten asked.
Ten's question caught me off-guard, but I began to walk regardless. I thought about how to answer for a moment, and decided I should speak aloud to avoid Tits becoming confused as well.
"Ten, you don't hear Tits?"
'No. Is the arch-fae speaking to you?'
"Yeah, directly into my mind. Like you and the higher ones do."
'Interesting...'
Interesting was one way to put it. I wondered if Tits could hear Ten, but decided against experimentation. I'm not even certain if Tits actually knows about Ten or not. Algebrun does, because of my memories, but whether or not Algebrun told anyone is an entirely different story.
As I made my way through the forest, stepping through foliage and over fallen logs, I felt a pang of guilt. Ten had been instrumental to my survival. It saved me from the crazy guy in the dungeon, from the Nahalim that had attacked us on the road, and even from the vampire that had nearly killed us all. I've trained and trained, but it never seems like it's enough. Maybe Nash and I have the wrong idea and I should be focusing on magical studies instead. Too late for that now, though.
'Time for quiet,' Tits said. 'A tree has fallen through the log-wall ahead. They haven't repaired it yet, so you can get through. There are some of the dead-mind vampires patrolling, but they aren't exactly searching every nook and cranny. As long as you're not noisy, they probably won't notice you.'
'Okay.'
I carefully crept through the vegetation until I found the fallen tree Tits had mentioned. Just as it had said, an absolutely massive log had toppled directly into the wall that the vampires had hastily erected. As quietly as I could, I climbed onto the log and crawled along it until I was over the wall. Then, I dropped down and waited to see if someone had heard me.
'You're fine to move. The duke routinely visits the pens that are to your right. There are patrols, but you will be able to use some cages to avoid being seen.'
'Alright,' I replied with a mental sigh.
With my heart pumping faster than it ever has before, I quickly began to move in the direction Tits had indicated. I kept an eye out for any passing vampires, but all there seemed to be were tents and crates. I found the cages and crept up to them to wait for Tits to tell me where to go next.
"You're not a vampire."
I nearly jumped out of my skin, but quickly discovered the voice had come from a fairy that was locked within the nearest cage. I crept up to the cage as quietly as I could.
"No, I'm not," I replied. "I'm here to kill a vampire."
"You gonna help us?" the fae in the next cage over asked.
'What's going on?' Tits asked.
'The fair folk in the cages are asking questions,' I explained.
'Okay, be careful. There's brood nearby. I'll tell you if they start to move in your direction.'
"Well?" the fae asked. "You gonna help us or not?"
"I... I want to, but I don't know how I can," I said.
"Could let us out," the fairy chuckled.
"If I let you out, they'll figure out that I'm here. Then they'll kill me and put you right back into the cages. But once I kill the vampire duke, Mumuldobran, Algebrun, and Tits will be able to hel-"
"You could just kill us," the fae interrupted.
"Yeah, that's true," the fairy agreed. "That sword looks pretty sharp."
"W-what?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"If you kill us, we'll be reborn," the fae explained. "We'll lose our memories and current identities, but honestly that's not so bad. I'd rather not remember what hurt feels like. Fire hurts mortals, right?"
"Y-yeah, it does."
"Oh good, so you'll know what I mean when I say it feels like fire is flowing through my veins right now."
A loud clang rang out.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" a booming voice shouted.
I peeked around the cages and saw several disfigured forms standing around. The only facial features they seemed to have were their wild eyes and toothy jaws. One of the brood was looking in our direction, prompting me to quickly take cover behind the cage.
"COME MAKE ME, COCK-BITER!" the fae shouted back.
I looked at the fae with alarm, but it simply winked back at me.
"THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO ME!? YOU-"
"No! If you kills it we will die," a different voice said sternly. "We do something else. Food?"
"Food," the first brood repeated. "Food is good. Let's go."
I peeked out from behind the cage and watched them turn and walk away. With a sigh, I turned my attention back to the caged fair folk. The fae looked smug.
"See? They aren't allowed to kill us, and they can't really help themselves when it comes down to it," the fae explained with a small, pained groan. "They don't want to be flayed alive by their masters, so they run away when provoked. Now... You gonna kill us?"
The fae and the fairy looked at me, waiting for my reply. Their pained expressions tugged at my heart, but I couldn't help but balk at the thought of killing innocent people. They'll be reborn, sure, but not as they are now. It really will be... Murder. A mercy killing, but still murder. Could I do such a thing, even to alleviate their suffering?
"I'm sorry, I... I don't think I can," I said.
"But you're here to kill the vampire duke, right?" the fairy asked. "Isn't it the same thing?"
"Well.. No. The duke is an enemy. Killing him is justifiable. You're not enemies, you're friends. Killing you isn't justifiable."
"Friends? What do you mean friends?" the fairy rubbed its eyes and looked closer at me. "Oh. I see. Well... Shit. He can't kill us."
"Why not?" the fae asked.
"He's Nick. The human that just became a friend of the fair folk. Killing us could invalidate that friendship."
"Oh, come on. If I was Mumuldobran, I'd forgive him."
"Yeah, but you're not enough of a stamen to be Mumuldobran."
"That's true. Well... Fuck. Okay, Nick, I guess you can't kill us. Just do what you came to do quickly so we can be rescued or whatever. This shit hurts."
"I will, I promise," I said, then I reached out to Tits. 'Am I alright to move?'
'Yes. Follow the path that the cages make and take the first right. Then go until you find some bushes. That will be the best spot for our ambush. You need to hurry, the duke is on the move.'
I nodded to the fae and fairy, then moved as stealthily and quickly as I could in the direction that Tits had said. There were more fair folk, but they were much worse off than the other two and didn't feel like talking. My conscious was assaulted by guilt over the relief I felt for that.
After pausing to let some more brood pass, I made the turn and found the bushes. I pushed their leaves aside and found a clear spot to hide in, then waited. The most difficult part was trying to control my breathing. Moving quickly and quietly was exhausting, but panting would give me away. I took some deep, controlled breaths to recover.
'Here he comes, get ready.'
I peeked through the leaves and saw the vampire. He looked like a shriveled old man with pointy ears. Another pang of guilt hit me, but I wiped it away with the thought of what this thing was doing to the fair folk. The fact that he's old doesn't matter, especially when he's killing my friends. Plus, if given the chance, he'd kill me too. This isn't murder, it's war.
The duke drew closer and I involuntarily held my breath. My sword seemed to throb in my hand, and I readied myself to leap out and swing it with all my might. I knew I probably wouldn't need to swing that hard, but one minor mistake could spell failure and death.
The duke's slow stroll finally took him past me, and I leapt from the bushes with my sword ready. He turned to face me, completely devoid of expression, but I was already swinging. To my surprise, my sword swung clean through his neck with almost no resistance.
The duke's body and head crumpled to the ground separately, and blood began to spray from the wounds. Some of it splashed on my face, and I took a step back to avoid getting drenched. I wiped at the blood on my face and grimly examined my work. The gruesome scene burned itself into my mind, promising to visit me the next time I tried to rest. With a sigh, I raised my hand toward the duke.
"Llaberif tsac!"
Comments
Matthew Brown
he was a thrall at this point so is the master aware of this actoin?
Ben Bass
TYFTC! I am not sure about easy, getting in and performing the hit on the vampire helped, although I wonder if they need to get the arch vampire too. Plus they still need to leave and also fully burn the vampire before someone can get there. Still a lot to do and that can go wrong!
David Ellis
"Easy? You call that easy?" "They’re tracking us." "Not this ship, sister."
Randy
Agreed
DarkValorWolf
that... was too easy
