Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 18 - Questionable decision making - Part Two {Rewrite}

Realising that perhaps Toofy had thought Ril had been killed, I could only imagine what she must have felt upon seeing her awake again.

[Ril - HP: 7/20 - Bloodied ] [Tim - HP: 34/44 - Normal ]

Grimacing a little as I looked at the party status, I was relieved and a little surprised to find that I no longer had the bleeding condition. My thumb was throbbing awfully, but it wasn’t bleeding anywhere close to the amount that it should have been, let alone what I had expected. According to my Status, the Poisoned condition was gone as well. Just as I was really starting to think about it, I felt a deep hunger take root in my stomach.

“Toofy, I need-” I looked down and was surprised to see that Toofy was already holding out a fistful of skewered meats, while Ril was savagely gorging on a raw meaty chunk of...something.

Stripping the meat off the skewers and gulping them down, I accepted more from Toofy and tore through them as well. Feeling the hunger abate slightly, I pushed it back until it was all but gone.

“Thanks Toofy,” I patted her head tiredly and winced slightly as her hair rubbed against the exposed insides of my thumb. “We need to take Ril back-” I barely caught my slip up in time, “-home,” I amended, narrowly avoiding outing our surgeons. “She needs rest.”

Toofy stroked Ril’s hair and nodded, “Home and sleep,” she agreed.

Leaning down, I let both girls clamber up onto my shoulders. I hadn’t quite noticed it up until now, but Toofy had definitely been growing. She had to be close to four feet tall by now, perhaps more. Standing back up, I was glad to feel the grogginess from earlier had lessened considerably.

All the surviving soldiers under Uric’s command had banded together and were staying as far away from us as possible. Conversely, Cpt. Klive and Lt. Felix had both left their men behind and were now cautiously making their approach.

Cpt. Klive broke the silence first, by awkwardly clearing his throat and Glancing towards Uric’s mutilated body. “I just want you to know, I did not issue orders to capture or otherwise harass your people,” he earnestly insisted, “If he had not died of natural causes, I can assure you that Lieutenant Uric would have faced court-martial for his offence!” The conviction and disdain in Cpt. Klive’s voice had me inclined to believe him, but there was more to it than what he was saying. Captain Klive seemed genuinely angry over what had happened. “What are your demands?” He asked bluntly, “How can we make this right?”

Stopping to think about it for a few moments, I glanced towards the surviving soldiers that had been under Uric's command. It pained me that I felt nothing for the dead soldiers.

Logically, they were my enemies, so it made sense that I felt no pity for them, no sadness...But they were still humans, people...

The smart move would be to set an example, hang the lot of them and establish a deterrent. If anything like this were to happen again, it needed to be crystal clear what would happen to those who attacked the citizens of Sanctuary.

Knowing this, I still couldn’t bring myself to say it. There was a line that I felt I knew I would regret crossing.

“What is your most severe punishment?” I asked soberly.

Cpt. Klive looked somewhat surprised, “Well...flogging in accordance to the severity of the crime is the most severe, non-lethal, punishment established in our military doctrine,” he explained somewhat dubiously, perhaps doubting I would find the punishment sufficient to match the crime.

Still looking at the dead soldiers, I nodded, “Then flogging it is,” I agreed. I had seen more than enough documentaries and period dramas not to underestimate the sheer brutality of such a punishment. Doubtless, the men and women would be thrashed within an inch of their very lives. “We can discuss further compensation later. I need to return my children home,” I stated bluntly.

“Y-your children?...” Lt. Felix managed to somehow grow nearly as pale as Ril.

Our family dynamic, whatever it was, could more or less be summarised as such, so I nodded and began heading back to Sanctuary.

“Shit!” Cpt. Klive cursed quietly, “Fucking bastard just had to go after the chieftain’s kids...”

Passing by Cpt. Klive’s soldiers, Ril and Toofy bared their teeth threateningly and hissed at anyone who didn’t make way fast enough, or as fast as they would like.

“Half Ogres?!” One soldier whispered fearfully, and soon it was a chorus taken up by others as well. By the time we left the soldiers behind, I was genuinely curious as to whether that was ‘a thing’.

Did the Labyrinth make hybrid monsters? Was it just a named monster thing? Was it supposed to be rare? Or would all of my prospective children with Lash be Half Ogre and Deep Orc?

“Lash...” I felt a twinge of guilt at having forgotten about her in all the excitement.

[Lash - HP: 34/34 - Unconscious, Cursed ]

I tried to take comfort in the fact that her condition remained the same as before and hadn’t deteriorated...but it was a cold comfort at best.

With the soldiers camp all but deserted, I decided to take a shortcut. Thankfully, Hana was ready and waiting, clearing a path through the briar wall large enough that I could pass through with the girls on my shoulders without them getting hurt.

[Quest: Find and Rescue the Children! {Complete}]

[Find and Rescue the Children! {Stage 1}: {Success} {Asra} rescued by {Lt. Felix} and {Subordinates}]

[Find and Rescue the Children! {Stage 2}: {Success} {Asra} returned to Sanctuary]

[Find and Rescue the Children! {Stage 1}: {Success} {Toofy} rescued by {Cpt. Klive} and {Subordinates}]

[Find and Rescue the Children! {Stage 2}: {Success} {Toofy} returned to Sanctuary]

[Find and Rescue the Children! {Stage 1}: {Success} {Ril} rescued by {Cpt. Klive} and {Subordinates}]

[Find and Rescue the Children! {Stage 2}: {Success} {Ril} returned to Sanctuary]

[Bonus reward assigned to {Lt. Felix} and {Subordinates} for personal contributions exceeding expectations! ]

“Are they alright?” Hana asked worriedly, gently yet firmly taking Ril from my shoulder to get a closer look at her while we made our way to the hospital. I quickly realised that Toofy wasn’t the only one who had grown. Hana was nearly as tall as me now, perhaps a few inches taller if I counted her hair. Besides our height, we were close to polar opposites. Hana was thin, willowy and graceful...I was...well...not those things, at all.

Reaching the hospital, Toofy hopped off my shoulder and followed along beside Hana and Ril, “HEALS!” She shouted loudly, despite the four surgeons hurriedly making their way towards her.

I cringed as I realised that her outburst was more or less my fault. Due to Toofy’s inability to pronounce medic consistently, I had opted to teach her something simpler and widely recognisable...

Awkwardly ducking into Lash’s room, I did not envy the poor surgeon that would have to extract the arrow from Ril’s shoulder. Even if Ril handled it like a trooper, which I had no reason to think she wouldn’t. There was a very real possibility that whoever did the extraction would get stabbed by Toofy.

Lash appeared more or less the same as when I had last seen her, only now fully stripped of her armour.

Sitting down on the bed beside Lash for a moment, I took her right hand in mine and gave it a brief squeeze. Unsure of what I had expected such a gesture to accomplish, I snorted derisively at my wishful thinking and gently laid Lash’s hand back down again. I didn’t know what exactly to call our relationship, but...I cared about her. That something like this had happened to Lash under my watch was infuriating.

Getting back to my feet, I very nearly bowled over one of the Serpent-Kin surgeons as I left Lash’s room.

“Lord, Pleasse. You need treatment!” The female Serpent-Kin insisted, taking a tight hold of my left arm and taking a closer look at my slightly mangled thumb.

Even knowing that infection could very realistically claim my whole hand if I delayed treatment, the thought of procrastinating the Angel’s interrogation aggravated me all the same. “Fine,” I agreed, “But make it quick!”

The surgeon nodded and hastily began stitching my thumb back together.

Getting my first proper look at it, I could see why the surgeon had been so insistent. The exposed edges around my initial cut were showing signs of early necrosis. Quite possibly a reaction from Ril’s venomous bite, it could also be the result of the swamp bacteria getting in the wound. Or, most likely, it was a direct result of Ril draining all blood from the surrounding tissue, leaving it to die. In hindsight, feeding Ril my blood through an extremity like that was incredibly stupid and not something I would rush to repeat.

Recalling that this particular student’s name was Elu, I was relieved by the fact that she was a Hospice Surgeon, so I wouldn’t have to track down someone else to deal with the infection.

Despite her nervousness from having me literally watching her every move, Elu did a good job with what was honestly a suboptimal wound. Requiring anchoring sutures farther back to avoid the necrosed tissue, the large cut was largely sealed but looked like a messy spider web. Under the effects of Elu’s healing, I was grateful that the sutures didn’t immediately disintegrate. Even though the suturing hadn’t hurt ‘that bad’, it was still far from a pleasant experience and I had no desire to repeat it.

Confident that my hand was now healing, I very nearly left Elu behind, but I stopped when I recalled that the Angel was wounded. Offering healing for information might provide the cure I needed to lift Lash’s curse, and perhaps get some answers as to why the Angel was in that dungeon to begin with.

With Elu in tow, I went looking for Gric, the original, not the summoned copy. Judging by the steady stream of Exp Status Alerts, the summoned Daemons were still underground.

As I had more or less expected, the Daemons were all hibernating in the Grove, all except for Gric anyway.

Descending into the prison Hana had grown to lock away the vendor the dark spirit had been using as a possession host, I found Gric and the Angel already engaged in a silent staring contest.

Noticeably worse for wear than when I had left him before, the Angel had deep bruises on the right side of his face. However, what immediately drew my attention was the spiked Slave collar fixed around his neck.

“Gric...What have you done?...” I couldn’t help but stare at the Daemon incredulously for a moment before realising how naive I had been NOT to expect this. Of course, Gric would do something like this. The Angel was obviously a threat and the Slave collar prevented him from using his abilities. Besides bludgeoning the monster unconscious, how else were they meant to interrogate it? All the same, the reality of enslaving an intelligent being made me feel ill.

“What have you learned?” I asked Gric, “Did you learn how to remove the curse?”

Gric blinked groggily as if waking from a deep sleep, “Lord? Yes...The curse.” he glared balefully at the Angel who was now also shakily coming to his senses. “Judgement is countered by Forgiveness, another Ability restricted to the treacherous Angels!”

The Angel made as if to refute Gric but yelped in pain instead.

Trying to put the Angel’s suffering out of mind for the moment, I focused on Gric’s answer. “So I need an Angel to use another ability to remove the curse?” I growled irritably.

Gric nodded but waved his hand uncertainly, “Judgement amplifies guilt and traps the target within themselves. Most will overcome guilt with time...Some are crushed by it...”

“Am I right in assuming this Angel doesn’t have the required ability to remove the curse?” I demanded irritably.

Gric nodded and glanced briefly at the Angel for a moment before smirking with grim satisfaction. “He is no Angel, Lord. Orphiel harmed an innocent, broke a holy vow. He is a Fallen Angel now.”

I frowned, “What difference does that make?” I asked, in no mood for any shenanigans.

“The difference, my Lord,” Gric grinned maliciously, “Is that Orphiel has nowhere else to go. Angels execute their fallen on sight!”

It took a minute for the enormity of that particular revelation to sink in. “Then why did you put the Slave collar on him?”

Gric gave me a dubious look, “My Lord. Just because he has nowhere else to go, does not mean he can be trusted. Orphiel is still an Angel at heart and their arrogance knows no bounds.”

The Fallen Angel made as if to say something again, but hissed in pain instead.

“I am certain he will join us in time, my Lord. But for the time being, it would be best if he is kept under...observation.” Gric grinned happily.

I motioned for Elu to approach, “Tend his wounds.” A part of me wanted to set Orphiel free of the Slave collar, but the thought of Lash laying comatose on the hospital bed caused me to hold my tongue. I would deal with him later...

Leaving Gric and Elu to tend to Orphiel, I made my way back to the hospital. Hana, Ril and Toofy were all waiting for me in Lash’s room when I got there.

“Do you have any ideas on how to break the curse?” Hana asked, waving her hand over Lash’s bed to rejuvenate the moss. which had a similar effect to fluffing a pillow.

I grimaced slightly and nodded, “I do, but it isn’t something we can take advantage of...” I explained dejectedly, “The special ability or spell that Angel, or Fallen Angel now I guess, anyway, the curse amplifies feelings of guilt. Without the counterspell, there is no other way than hoping Lash snaps out of it on her own...”

“Tim... It will be alright,” Hana gave me a small smile and patted my shoulder, “Lash is a fighter, you know? You can’t just fight your way through the deep below and the swamp of death without being made of strong stuff...”

I could tell Hana was trying to make me feel better, so I nodded despite my own reservations. Sitting down on the bed beside Lash, I gently took hold of her hand again and gave it a reassuring squeeze, hoping that she would return the gesture. However, as I expected, Lash remained unresponsive.

“Lash is cursed?” Toofy asked curiously. Even though the question had been directed to Ril, it still readily got Hana’s and my attention due to the relative quiet of the hospital and the loudness of her inquiry.

Ril nodded, “Big Mama cursed,” she agreed, giving me an apologetic sad smile.

Toofy nodded and rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Why Tim not kiss Lash?” She asked bluntly. "Lash is Tim’s mate. Big kiss removes curse, Makes Lash all better,” Toofy explained incredulously, like Hana and I were deliberately overlooking an incredibly obvious solution.

“Toofy...” I sighed and tried to rein in the aggravation I felt. She hadn’t meant anything by it, and was just trying to be helpful. “That’s not how you cure curses...'' I explained gently.

Toofy scrunched up her face incredulously and gave me a look that made it painfully clear that she knew I had no idea what I was talking about. “Yes it do!” Toofy insisted, looking to Ril for confirmation, “Kiss break curse in sleep time stories!”

Ril nodded vigorously, “Happily ever after,” she agreed.

Toofy opened her arms expansively towards Ril, “See? Toofy no lie!” She huffed and rolled her eyes while shaking her head disappointedly. “Just kiss! Break curse! No more sad! Just happy!” Toofy insisted, kneading and puckering Lash’s lips.

“Toofy!...” I narrowly avoided snapping at her and took a moment to calm down, “I know you are trying to help...”

“Just kiss!” Toofy insisted exasperatedly.

Letting out a long deep breath and counting down from ten to calm down, I gave Toofy a warning look.

Toofy belligerently shrugged it off, “Just kiss!” She repeated.

“...” I stared at Toofy incredulously for just over a full minute.

Toofy glared right back, refusing to back down, even scurrying up onto the bed to bring herself closer to my eye level.

“Fine...” I conceded bitterly. I decided I would give Lash a quick kiss and then go to my room. I was past emotionally exhausted at this point, and one more escalation with Toofy was liable to result in me saying or doing something I would regret. I was already regretting telling her those children stories and folk tales.

Toofy nodded sternly and pointed to Lash’s face.

Cradling Lash’s head and leaning in for a kiss, I bitterly resented Toofy for insisting I go through the motions. Real-life was not a fairy tale. As much as I may hope for it to be the case, Lash was not Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, a simple kiss wouldn’t fix this!

Why not?

The thought came unbidden from the chaos of my mind and I very nearly dismissed it just as suddenly as it arrived.

This place is different from Earth, it clearly operates under different rules...So...Why not?

Shaking my head to dislodge those thoughts, I reconsidered just leaving and heading to my room. This world, for all its craziness, was not actually that different to Earth after all. There were invisible laws that seemed to govern everything. Like the laws of physics, slightly different than what I had grown used to, they nonetheless could only be specifically altered, not ignored outright...

Wait...

*****

Lash was on the brink of utter exhaustion and her armour was close to being completely compromised. No matter how hard she fought the shadowy apparitions, they would only reappear moments later.

Returning to a twisted form of her former home, Lash was forced to fight off her former friends and clansmen over and over again. Although the scene was not quite as she remembered it, the mad chief’s ambush had more or less resulted in the same confrontation around a week or so earlier. With no choices beyond kill or be killed, Lash had chosen her own survival. Those who had remained were corrupted...beyond saving...

“Lash!” The twisted apparition of a female Deep Orc a full head taller than Lash reappeared for what had to be the thousandth time. “Kinslayer! Betrayer!” The apparition howled in fury swinging her twin axes in opposing scything arcs to shear Lash’s head from her shoulders.

Lash was tired of fighting and briefly considered allowing the apparition to end it. If it truly was the haunting spirit of Crish, then Lash’s death would only be just. To slay one’s kin was the worst crime imaginable...and Lash had killed so many...

Just as the first axe was about to bite into her flesh, the axeblade was blown apart like smoke in a powerful air current. Unable to stop the momentum of its second axe, it was lost just the same as the first.

“TREACHERY?!” The apparition howled in confusion and fury.

Confused, Lash felt a sudden warmth emanating from her shoulder. Seeing a faint golden light emanating from beneath her cracked pauldron, Lash shoved the hunk of scrap iron off her shoulder and was nearly blinded by the sudden intensity of the light. Even with her vision somewhat limited by her heavily dented helmet, Lash could easily recognise the glowing patch of skin for what it was. It was her bonding mark.

“THIS CHANGES NOTHING!” Crish’s shadowy doppelganger insisted while forming a spear from the same shadow stuff as her body.

Touching her bonding mark, Lash felt a pang of guilt over the pain and anguish she had caused her mate...Tim had not desired the bond, or had not been prepared for it. Even after their coupling, Lash still feared those negative feelings lingered and would resurface in the future. But just as quickly as the sense of guilt had appeared, it was swept aside.

“I forgive you.” Barely louder than a whisper, it was a miracle Lash even heard it over the cries of the apparition.

“NO! YOU ARE MINE!” Crish howled in anguish, her shadowy body collapsing under an invisible force. “YOU OWE ME YOUR DEATH!” With one final desperate surge of strength, the apparition launched itself at Lash with suicidal abandon. The shadowspear evaporated as it came within inches of Lash’s chest, and still the apparition barrelled onward with grim determination.

Dropping her axe, Lash felt no fear and accepted the tackle without reservations, wrapping her arms tightly around her adversary and bearing them both to the ground.

Somehow Lash was the one to end up on top. Despite her sister's greater size, strength and skill, Lash was the one who would survive their battle.

Crish smiled up at her, blood welling from the knife Lash had forced between Crish’s chest plates and into her heart. Madness clearing for only a moment, Crish looked relieved. Trying to speak, she barely managed to utter a single word before growing still, “Sur-vive...”

Lash felt the same harrowing sense of loss all over again, only this time, it was different. Lash now understood why she was the one that triumphed. Whatever it was that the Bright Lord had done to her sister, there was still enough of Crish left that she managed to give Lash the opening she needed in order to deal a killing blow and survive. There was no other explanation for it. Crish had always beaten her before, so defeating Lash would have been a matter of course.

Now aware of the golden light growing stronger, Lash was forced to shield her eyes against its intensity.

Suddenly feeling quite stiff and flustered by a familiar pressure against her lips, Lash tentatively opened her eyes. Tim was leaning over her and kissing her lightly on the lips. His eyes closed but he had a weary yet hopeful expression on his face.

“Awake! Awake!” Tim’s adopted daughter Toofy shrieked from further down the bed, “See! Toofy right!”

Tim’s eyes opened immediately and stared intensely into Lash’s own. All at once, the worry left his face and Tim pulled her into a tight embrace.

Still shocked by the sudden change in events, it took Lash a few seconds to react. Hugging him back, Lash leaned into the embrace as much as she was able. Now recognizing that she had to be inside one of Sanctuary's dwellings, Lash understood that there was almost certainly a great many things she had missed out on while incapacitated.

But more important than that, Lash wanted to know how exactly Tim’s daughter Toofy had known how to help her...

*****

“Children stories?” Lash asked curiously.

Toofy nodded emphatically, while Ril nodded supportively.

“They are used to teach children morals and consequences,” Hana explained, looking to me for confirmation.

I nodded, “Human children don’t have all of this information monsters seem to begin life with. And since kids are usually more interested in running around and having fun than listening to rules-”

Ril glanced sidelong at Toofy.

“-someone figured out that they could tell entertaining stories to teach the kids about important things without them noticing,” I explained as simply as I could manage.

Lash nodded slowly but still didn’t seem fully convinced, “How did Toofy know a kiss would work?” She asked apologetically.

“It didn’t-” I tried to explain but was rudely interrupted.

“It did do!” Toofy insisted incredulously, waving both hands at Lash emphatically as evidence.

I waved her down, “Something Gric told me about how the Angel’s ability worked...I figured that maybe there was a loophole, a cheat of some kind...I really didn’t think it had much chance of working, but...I forgave you for marking me, biting me out of the blue like that was pretty upsetting...”

Lash winced a little and nodded, “I understand,” she agreed and rubbed at the large scar on her shoulder where I had marked her in turn. “The light came from you,” Lash explained, “Nothing I did changed anything. The fight with my sister repeated over and over. But that light...it changed what I saw...”

Lash had already described both the events of their exodus from the clan and her experiences under the effects of the Angel’s Judgment ability. Even so, it still hurt to hear Lash talk about being forced to fight and kill her own sister.

“How did you know that would work?” Lash asked, the determined look in her eyes making it clear she wanted the real answer.

I sighed and nodded. “Well, everything has rules, laws, that keep the world functioning. You throw a rock in the air, gravity will make it come back down.”

The mention of gravity made Lash somewhat uncertain, but she nodded and motioned for me to continue.

“Well, this world, monsters and classes have abilities that specifically alter these laws in small ways. For example, back on Earth, an iron or steel headed arrow should have pierced my skin with no real problems. However, just earlier I was shot with a half dozen or so arrows and walked away with barely more than a scratch.”

Lash nodded in understanding and Hana looked contemplative.

“So knowing that the rules and laws aren't as rigid as they otherwise should be-” I took a deep breath and stared straight into Lash’s eyes, “-I gambled that so long as you felt any guilt over...y'know, biting me, that my forgiving you would weaken or disrupt the Curse.

Lash was quiet for a moment and before she could say anything, Hana snorted and began to laugh. “Ahahaha! So Toofy was right! You got your idea to cheat from the children’s stories! Ahahaha!”

Toofy perked up immediately and smiled upon hearing she was right.

I grimaced and nodded, admitting defeat. “Some of the stories, when it boils down to it, teach kids to search for unconventional answers, and when necessary...cheat.” I let out a deep sigh. “Snow White is a story about a princess cursed to sleep forever...unless she receives a kiss from her true love. There are different versions of the story, but almost always a prince shows up and kisses her, breaking the curse and waking her up. But how can two people who haven't even met share true love’s kiss?”

“Unless they cheated,” Hana interjected with a grin, “The rule or law on what constitutes true love varies from person to person. So long as the prince believed his intentions were pure of heart, which is also pretty damn subjective, then who is to say it isn’t true love’s kiss?”

I nodded in agreement, “Sleeping Beauty is very much the same, and I’ll bet there were hundreds of other similar stories too. But basically, I was hoping that the rules or laws in charge of that ability would be so poorly defined that I could rules-lawyer an exception and cheat the system.”

I seemed to lose them with the last part, so I roughly cleared my throat and tried again, “I hoped for an opening and cheated,” I paraphrased.

“Lawyered?” Hana asked curiously, “My mother said that sometimes, what does it mean?”

I flushed a little in embarrassment, “Well, it’s not a real word, but a lawyer is someone that looks over legal documents to find loopholes. What they do with those loopholes depends on who they are working for.”

“Oh,” Hana nodded, “I see, so you would be the lawyer in this instance, working for Lash to break the curse?”

I nodded.

“Lord!” A Deep Orc called out anxiously from the hallway before ducking his head into the room and finding our small gathering, looking somewhat relieved upon finding me, but far more so upon seeing Lash was awake.

“Is something wrong?” I asked worriedly.

Hana spoke up before the Deep Orc had a chance, “There are four humans at your designated meeting place,” she commented dryly.

The Deep Orc nodded, “Humans bring tribute.”

“Tribute?” It took a moment for the situation to begin making sense. With so much going on I had very nearly forgotten an important detail from earlier. I had claimed Toofy and Ril as my children. If the humans had taken that literally, then it only made sense that they would do their damndest to try and settle things sooner rather than later. After all, it was still incredibly likely that they thought of me as little more than a dangerous beast. Albeit a beast they could reap benefits from if well managed.

“I’ll meet them,” I agreed, but wanted to know something else first. “Hana, where exactly are the Daemons right now? I would have thought they would be back by now?”

Hana looked surprised, “They are firmly entrenched just beyond the Barrier limits. As near as I can tell, they have been stockpiling materials for collection in the primary cavern below. Is that not what they are meant to be doing?” She asked curiously.

“It’s not precisely what I told them to do,” I admitted, “But the stream of Exp is definitely a welcome addition...”

Hana gave me an exasperated look, “Were you planning on inviting me for this Exp-” She waved her arms around in frustration trying to find an appropriate word, “-Farming?!”

I shrunk back under her justifiable anger. Tied down to Sanctuary as she had been thus far, it was cruel that she had been excluded while Ril, who had no class was taking up a party slot...

Wait a minute...

Flicking through the Daemons statuses, I confirmed that each did not in fact have a Class. Which was kind of weird that Gric did. Were the Daemons incompatible with all the others? Arriving at Ril’s status I couldn’t help but stare.

[Ril - Daemon Fledgling: 3 ] [HP: 20/20] [MP: 1/17 ]

[Tim’s Minion. Minion of Sanctuary.] [Class: ???. ] [Exp:0/0 ]

[Strength: 8 ]

[Agility: 15 ]

[Toughness: 11 ]

[Intelligence: 12 ]

[Willpower: 11 ]

[Presence: 7 ]

[Class Qualifications: Surgeon, Field Surgeon, Hospice Surgeon, Taskmaster, Slaver, Summoner, Pact Binder, Rift Walker, Rift Stalker, Nexus Binder. ]

“Tim? What's wrong?” Hana asked, her earlier annoyance now taking a backseat.

“Ril,” I croaked, “Her Classes...”

Hana gave me a confused look before panning her eyes back and forth to see for herself. “Woah...Is this real?” Hana whispered.

“I unlocked the Rift Walker Basic Class when Ril opened an emergency escape portal with a magic item we found,” I explained.

Hana nodded absently, “I thought something like that may have happened when you and the others all suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but Rift Walker? Rift Stalker? Nexus Binder? What do those Classes even do?”

“How the hell did she unlock all of those others?...” I went back and began looking through the Daemons statuses again, this time paying particular attention to their unlocked Classes. “Bloody hell...” Glad I was already sitting down, I quickly came to realise that the Daemons were far from living up to their potential. Every, single, one, had five or more Basic and Advanced Classes already unlocked, but only Gric possessed an actual Class.

Granted, two of those Classes were Taskmaster and Slaver, but every single Daemon had Surgeon unlocked and most also had Pugilist.

“Ril?” I tiredly turned my attention to the suddenly innocent-looking Daemon, “Do you know why the other Daemons haven’t taken any Classes?” I asked with a somewhat strained tone.

Ril smiled and nodded, apparently all too happy to help, “No one told them to.”

I felt like screaming.

“You can’t be serious?!” Hana demanded incredulously.

Ril cocked her head slightly to one side and raised an eyebrow, “It’s true,” she insisted, “No one told them which Classes to take, so they haven’t taken any.”

Hana covered her mouth, faced the wall and released a muffled scream of frustration, “MMMMMMMRRRRRRHHHHMMM!!!!”

Ril looked confused, “Is something wrong?” She asked nervously, “Coz Mama said Ril is too young for Classes...”

Toofy stiffened and suddenly looked very guilty.

“Toofy...You knew?” I croaked incredulously.

Toofy gulped, shrugged and made a sound similar to blowing a raspberry, “Pfffft, no...Toofy not know what Tim and Baby talking about. Toofy no read,” she stated defensively, raising a good point but sounding more suspicious than before.

“Ril?” I looked back to the Daemonling.

Ril looked conflicted for a few moments, her eyes anxiously darting between myself and Toofy.

“Baby not say!” Toofy warned, wagging her finger and completely undermining her own pretence at ignorance.

“Toofy...Why?” I groaned. “Having a Class would make Ril safer, you know that right?”

Toofy looked guilty for all of a second before looking confused, “Really?”

“Yes Toofy...Classes literally make you stronger.” I tiredly rubbed at my eyes and took a deep calming breath before moving on. “Ril, I would really appreciate it if you answer this next question to the best of your ability, okay?”

Ril nodded determinedly.

“Okay. Ril, do you know what the Rift Walker, Rift Stalker and Nexus Binder Classes do?” I asked with a deliberately patient and measured tone.

Rill nodded, “Yes.”

“Alright then,” I took another calming breath, “Can you please explain, to the best of your knowledge, what exactly each of those three Classes do?”

“Okay,” Ril replied cheerily. “Rift Walker is easy to explain. We did it already,” she pantomimed striking the ground with a staff and then hopped forward. “Rifts are unpredictable, but still useful. High-level Rift Walkers can open rifts between different floors AND Labyrinths!”

I barely had time to process that bombshell before Ril was moving on to the next Class.

“Rift Stalker is a hybrid Class...like Sword Mage. Only, Rift Stalker attacks from short-range, ambushes enemies with more stable rifts. High-level Rift Stalkers are very hard to fight and almost impossible to catch,” Ril explained teasingly, leaping and pouncing around the room like a cat.

Fighting someone or something capable of teleporting short distances was something I had seen playout in tv and movies before. It was almost always a pyrrhic victory at best for the teleporter’s enemies. “And the Nexus Binder?” I prompted.

Ril smiled wider, “Nexus Binder specialises in stable and reliable Portals.” Her smile faltered a little and Ril looked more than a little upset about something, “Sorry for breaking the staff...” she apologised quietly.

“Wait, what? The staff broke?!” I demanded a great deal more harshly than I had intended.

Ril flinched and nodded, “The first portal dropped Mama and me in the water,” she sniffled and hugged Toofy, visibly shivering as she recalled the event in question, “So I used it again and...and...” Ril couldn’t bring herself to say anything further.

“Bitey lizard bite stick,” Toofy explained, snapping her sharp teeth shut to accentuate the point, “Stick break,” Toofy shrugged unapologetically, as if it were no big loss.

Ril nodded in confirmation, “The staff broke...”

“Is that when those soldiers found you?” I asked sympathetically.

Toofy nodded dourly, “Stick break. Big noise, Toofy and Baby land in tree. No place for hiding, so humans find.”

“Wait...The staff exploded?” I demanded incredulously.

Ril nodded, “Made an unstable portal, we...we fell from the sky and landed in the tree...”

“Bitey lizard went splat,” Toofy grinned maliciously while comfortingly rubbing Ril’s back.

“Bloody hell...” The two of them had damn near died using that piece of junk. While I may have been initially annoyed at the loss of an emergency item, I was now quite glad to be rid of it. There was precious little point in relying on an item that could catastrophically fail like that. Besides, the random teleportation was enough of a problem on its own.

“I could take Nexus Binder to replace the staff,” Ril offered timidly, “I didn’t mean to break it...” she sniffled.

I shook my head and gently squeezed Ril’s shoulder, “No, that’s alright Ril. I am just glad you and Toofy are okay. When you pick a Class I want you to pick the one you want, not just the one you think I would find most useful, okay?”

Ril nodded, “Okay.”

“Well...” Hana gave me a guilty look, “Having a Nexus Binder really would help in the event of an emergency,” she insisted guiltily.

“It’s her choice,” I reiterated, “I unlocked the Rift Walker Class as well, so it's apparently not all that hard to get. Worst case scenario, we just need to find or maybe buy a magical item like the staff, right?”

“Right...” Hana agreed somewhat reluctantly.

“On a lighter note, if you want in on the Daemons ‘Exp farming’, just ask Lash for an invite to her retinue. Mine is already packed full of Daemons,” I leaned over and intended to give Lash a quick peck on the cheek before leaving, but she dragged me down for a lingering kiss that I enjoyed far more.

“Be safe,” Lash demanded, refusing to let go until hearing a satisfactory response.

“I will,” I agreed, making a mental note to rearm myself before leaving Sanctuary.

Seemingly satisfied, Lash pulled me in for one last hug before letting me go. The curse had taken a great deal out of her and she was obviously tired. I was actually rather touched that she had stayed awake this long and made the effort to see me off.

Borrowing Lash’s axe, I ‘borrowed’ ten more Deep Orcs while on the way to the gate. Intended only to serve as insurance, I knew the Deep Orcs would still put up a stiff enough resistance that short of another Hydra barrelling out the swamp and collapsing Sanctuary’s barrier, there was nothing strong enough to stop us from retreating back into Sanctuary itself.

Not wanting to jinx anything, I avoided saying as much aloud while traversing the outer border and heading for the designated meeting place.

As expected, Cpt. Klive, Lt. Felix and his two seconds were the only soldiers in attendance. Captain Klive was sitting on a footlocker, but when he saw me coming, he stiffly got to his feet. “Chieftain...erm, is it really just Chieftain?” He joked nervously as I approached two of the Deep Orcs as personal guards.

“It’s Tim,” I replied flatly, not wanting to relinquish any ground for the negotiations, but also accepting that my original stance had been pretty stupid in insisting they just call me Chieftain.

Cpt. Klive stiffly bowed at the waist, “Well, Chieftain Tim, I just want to take this opportunity to express my sincerest regrets over the unconscionable treatment of your kin. There is no excuse for such egregious treatment of an ally and I want to assure you that as we agreed, the guilty parties have been punished severely.” In spite of his somewhat flowery language, Cpt. Klive seemed truly sincere. “In the spirit of good faith, I have organised what I hope you will agree is a suitable tribute so we can settle this ugly business and leave it well and truly behind us.” he turned to Lt. Felix, “If you would Lieutenant?”

Lt. Felix nodded stiffly, knelt down and unclasped the chest before standing back up and opening it.

The smell of rich spices and herbs hit my nostrils almost immediately. While some were completely unfamiliar, I still recognised some of my favourites.

“I have taken great pains to secure not only processed herbs and spices to bring happiness to your dining hall, but also seeds so your people can ‘attempt’-” Cpt. Klive didn’t seem comfortable with using that word, but pressed on regardless, “-to grow those you find most agreeable,” he smiled wide and nodded, seemingly quite pleased with himself, before suddenly remembering something, “Oh, and twenty pounds of salt too. Ain't nothing that don’t taste better with a good pinch of salt!”

In spite of myself, I couldn’t help but smile. I had been worrying about what to ask for in ‘reparations’ so I was more than happy to accept a gift like this that would arguably improve everyone's quality of life. Good food was a real morale booster, especially in tough times.

One of Lt. Felix’s seconds handed him a sack, which Lt. Felix in turn offered to me, “We took the liberty of retrieving the belongings that were left behind earlier,” he explained somewhat anxiously and opened the sack to reveal its contents.

I hadn’t actually given much thought to the ingots Toofy had dropped earlier, but it was a welcome boon all the same. I motioned for one of my bodyguards to take the sack. “So long as something like this does not happen again, I think we can continue with our arrangement,” I suggested, without actually agreeing to our deal being renewed.

Cpt. Klive nodded in understanding.

“I want assurances that something like this CAN’T happen again without extreme repercussions for those involved,” I insisted.

Cpt. Klive nodded again, “You want a soulbinding contract,” he guessed, “Very well, this can be arranged. With the provision that every soldier under my command obeys and upholds the spirit of the agreement under pain of death. Will this prove sufficiently satisfactory to negotiate terms for additional services as well as continued support for our previous agreement?” There was a damn near perverse hunger in Cpt. Klive’s eyes, and I couldn’t blame him.

That hastily issued quest had distributed millions in Exp, and I could only imagine how many total levels his soldiers had gotten out of it. The lives of Asra, Toofy and Ril were an abstract variable, but somehow the Labyrinth had quantified a reward it had deemed appropriate. It just so happened to be that the total Exp reward was just shy of three million.

As big a mistake as it had seemed at the time, issuing that quest may very well prove to be to my greater benefit. That is of course assuming the Captain could keep his word.

I held out my right hand to shake on it.

Unsurprisingly, Cpt. Klive went in for an arm clasp instead, “You won’t regret this!” He beamed, “Don’t you worry about pesky adventurers either, I’ll make sure those miscreants aren't allowed to so much as set foot within a mile of your...Sanctuary, wasn't it?”

I half-nodded but realised that might create as many problems as it potentially solved. By being entirely reliant on the Military for the protection of my people, I would only be inviting disaster.

“You want adventurers?” Cpt. Klive asked, sounding a little perturbed, “Look, what happened with Lt. Uric and his boys, I won’t dig into that. Heavens know the man lacked the discipline necessary for soldiering. But I can’t allow more indiscriminate killing.”

“You think my people would just murder humans for the fun of it?” I demanded dryly.

Cpt. Klive shifted uncomfortably, “Well, no. But most adventurers are dumb as bricks and events like today could become all too common.”

Adventurers tend to be lacking in regard to impulse control, but I wanted to establish a precedent for moving forward in the future. “I have friends who are adventurers,” I explained carefully, making sure to keep my tone measured and calm, “I have sent an expeditionary force to offer them shelter from the conflagration taking root beyond the river. Those who have my trust will always be free to come and go from my lands. If we are going to enter a long term partnership, I need to know that you will not interfere.” Completely aware of how amoral and sketchy I just sounded, I suppressed my desire to take it back. Instead, I focused on the Captain while he made up his mind on the latest requirement added to our hypothetical alliance.

Even though he did not seem particularly pleased about it, Cpt. Klive agreed. “It is your land,” he admitted grimly, “But I want guaranteed access to high yield quests for a special training regimen.”

“Quest yield is based on difficulty and prospective value,” I explained neutrally, “The Labyrinth has final say on the reward.”

Cpt. Klive looked intrigued, “So the more difficult the quest, the higher the reward then?” He asked, the greed that had been dampened earlier now returning with a vengeance.

I nodded.

“So if I wanted high yield quests, then all I would have to do is make sure the objective is as difficult as possible?” Cpt. Klive gave me a crooked grin, “I can work with that, two Rocs with one ballista. Alright, you want to pick and choose who gets special permission to come and go as they please without my soldiers harassing them, I can agree to that so long as a certain number of quests each month are offered in exchange.”

Knowing full well that I could simply set and forget repeating quests, it wasn’t that bad a trade-off. Factoring in that I stood a real chance at learning more about the military forces of this world and what the Captain considered to be ideal quests for power levelling, it really wasn’t a bad deal at all. “Alright,” I agreed, “You have a deal.”

Cpt. Klive smacked his hands together and gingerly rubbed them together, “Hot damn! If my recruiter told me this was what the diplomatic corps did for a living, maybe I wouldn’t have pursued a career in the regular army!”

I smirked and had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing. This was, all things considered, a VERY good deal for both of us. I just really hoped that Clarice wasn’t going to mess it all up once she got back...