The Human From a Dungeon

Nash Alta

Adventurer Level: 9

Orc - Nulevan

Yulk and I watched in alarmed disbelief as Nick sprinted off into the forest. His sudden departure left me in a bind. I couldn't go after him because that would involve leaving Yulk behind, who would not be able to keep pace with us due to his back.

My concern for Nick waned a bit when I remembered what the fair folk had said regarding our ability to travel their territory, though. They won't mess with him, and he's strong enough to be able to hold his own against most of the monsters and animals around these parts.

He's apparently fast enough to outrun the ones he can't, too. Though whether or not he's smart enough to make that decision is another matter entirely. I shrugged and turned back to Tits and Algebrun.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to get going," I said.

"Indeed it is," Algebrun smiled warmly. "See you later."

"Later."

Yulk and I waved as we left the clearing, following Nick's hastily made path. We had to watch our step because of the undergrowth that littered the ground. How the boy managed to sprint through this without breaking his neck is a wonder.

Despite the distractions of the undergrowth and my desire to yell at Nick, I found my mind wandering back to what Algebrun had said. It wasn't an uncommon way to say goodbye, but it struck me as odd that it came from a fae. Was it truly a farewell, or was it intended to be a premonition?

"Hey, Yulk. What do you suppose Algebrun meant?" I asked. "When it said 'see you later', I mean."

"I very much doubt it was utilizing the colloquialism," Yulk chuckled. "The real question is, when will it see us later and under what circumstances?"

"That's two questions," I said.

"No it isn't."

"Yeah it is."

"No, by adding the 'and' I chained the thoughts together to form one coherent question. If I were able to write it down, you would see..."

"Trying to use your advantage of being able to read, eh?" I said, unable to hide my grin. "That's how I know I'm right."

"Oh, I see. You're playing the fool," Yulk returned my grin. "You know, it's quite the convincing act. So convincing, in fact, that I'm not entirely convinced that it is an act."

I laughed at the insult and we continued walking through the forest. Eventually, the trees and undergrowth thinned out, making things much easier on Yulk.

"Come to think of it, Algebrun didn't specify that we would see each other," I said.

"That's true," he replied. "Perhaps they were hinting at a plan to keep us under surveillance."

"Could be," I nodded as we left the woods and began following the road. "Tits all but confirmed your theory that they aren't bound to the forest."

"Indeed, it's unlikely that she would mistakenly believe she could accompany Nick on our journey. Regardless, I doubt we have anything to fear from arch-fae surveillance."

"I guess you're right. Oh, look," I pointed to the cart. "Algebrun's spell is gone."

Imlor, Olmira, and Nick were chatting as they waited for us. The conversation grew silent as we approached, and Nick's eyes glued themselves to the ground. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat.

"Um..." he began. "I-"

"Don't you fucking 'um' me," I angrily interrupted. "The hell did you run off for? It's not like we could keep up, what with Yulk's back! Were you so embarrassed by the attention of Tits that you lost your reason?"

"That's a hell of a sentence," Imlor chuckled.

My glare shifted to the gnome, and he lifted his hands in apology. I turned my attention back to Nick, who was still staring at the dirt as if it were going to do a trick.

"I just... Look, I was scared," he explained. "Cass means everything to me, and I haven't... I haven't had anyone else show interest so... aggressively."

I opened my mouth to chastise him further, but Yulk snorted.

"That's just cute," he said quietly.

"Cute?" I asked, less quietly.

"Nash, relax. I'm the injured party here, and you're much angrier than I am. While I appreciate your concern, you would do well to remember that he's not that far removed from childhood."

"We don't just abandon each other, brother. Even children know that."

"It isn't as if we were left surrounded by monsters or-"

"That's debatable. The fair folk don't see things the same way that we do. Acts we see as monstrous, they see as mundane entertainment."

"Regardless, we were and are safe. And Nick has not demonstrated the kind of personality that would have left us if we hadn't been," Yulk said sternly, clapping his hands to indicate the conversation was over. "Now, let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

I gave Nick one last glare, and we all loaded back into the cart and continued our journey. Things were a tense at first, but eventually the atmosphere eased up. We settled into a pattern of sleeping, eating, driving, training, eating, driving, and sleeping.

For the first day or two, I took out my anger with Nick in our training sessions. Once my anger was abated, I eased up on the boy, allowing me to notice that he had actually made a lot of progress. On the fourth day, his training sword managed to find my neck, and he expertly held it there without harming me.

"Good," I said, pushing the sword away. "Your footwork is a little sloppy, but you're finally starting to understand the basics of swordsmanship."

"Awesome," Nick replied, collapsing to the ground and panting. "What comes after the basics?"

"Expert drills, which are much more difficult and dangerous. There are many different ways to wield a sword, and each sword and wielder has their own strengths and weaknesses within each form," I explained while gathering up his sword. "The wielder must be made aware of these strengths and weaknesses and memorize them. I'll be able to take you through the first few drills, but then we'll have to find a sword-master."

"Really? Why?"

"Because expert drills are done with real swords, and I am a generalist in the art of bladed weaponry. If I try to lead you through specialist training, it's likely to end in injury. The bad kind of injury."

"I can heal us," he said with a grin.

"Not without your head," I said without expression. "One slash in the wrong direction, and it's all over."

Nick's grin faded as the realization of how dangerous this training could be dawned on him. Before I could hammer the point further, the sound of hoof-beats caught my ears. Nick heard them too, and we both walked to the road to see who was coming.

Two hnarses carrying orcs wearing the messenger uniforms of Kirkena rode toward us. Both hnarses also carried large sacks, which were no doubt full to the brim with mail. I waved a greeting, and to my surprise they stopped to speak with us.

"Ho there," one of the messengers greeted us. "Are you the ones that High Chief Ulurmak sent to Bolisir?"

"Of course they are," the other said pointing to Nick. "That's the human."

"We are indeed. What business have we?" I asked.

"I'm Frilk, this is Poma," the first orc said. "You wouldn't happen to be trailed by an army, would you?"

"No, they left before we did."

"Damn it," Poma said. "The High Chief was hoping we'd be able to intercept them."

"Why's that?"

"The invasion has been thwarted. Their reinforcement is no longer necessary."

"Really? Already?"

"Oh yes," Frilk said with a grin. "And it's quite the tale too. Get this, our boys tamed a Nahalim and used it to break through the drow's defenses."

My eyes widened and I let out a low whistle.

"That's not all," Poma added. "Turns out the leader of the invasion force was a half-vampire drow. The sick fuck was using his own sister as a blood-bank."

"Well, that's going to be a black eye for Lofin," Yulk said as he approached.

"Damn right, and the bastard deserves it, too," Frilk spit. "So there's no point in us carrying on in this direction because the elven army isn't behind you, right?"

"Correct. I would assume that they took the adventurer path," Yulk said.

"But... that path is impassable."

"Landslide, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then they'll likely be able to clear the obstacle using their army," Yulk smiled. "The United Chiefdoms probably won't even have to foot the bill. High Chief Ulurmak will be pleased with that, at least."

"I doubt the elven general will be, though. Much less the Regent."

"Oh, we don't have to worry about the Regent anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"King Yssinirath, the High Dragon, has awakened," Yulk's smile turned into a grin. "He's retaken his place as ruler of Bolisir."

The two messengers sat upon their hnarses with mouths agape. Their flummoxed expressions were well-founded, this news would have interesting effects throughout the chiefdoms. Maybe even the entire continent.

"Well... I think High Chief Ulurmak would want to hear about that," Frilk said. "You want to go tell him, or should I?"

"Why not both of us?" Poma asked.

"One of us has to backtrack down the adventurer path and intercept Bolisir's army."

"Damn, it would be nice to get off the road for a bit, but I don't have any idea how the High Chief's gonna react to the news about the dragon," Poma rubbed his chin. "I'll find the army. You go tell the High Chief."

"Sounds like a plan," Frilk said, turning back to us. "Alright, we're off. Have a good journey."

"You too," I nodded.

The pair of messengers turned their hnarses around and began traveling back the way they came.

"You know, it didn't actually occur to me that High Chief Ulurmak might be angry that King Yssinirath has awakened," Yulk said.

"When we report, do you think we should leave out how he was awakened?" Nick asked.

"No," I answered. "The High Chief may be angry with you, but you're a member of the Alta family. You'll be safe from his wrath. Plus, he'd be even angrier if he were to found out we omitted the truth."

"Indeed, best to get it over and done with as soon as we can," Yulk nodded. "We should tell him about the entity that visited your dreams, as well. He might have some information to share with us."

"Really? How?" Nick asked.

"He's royalty. A legitimate member of the orcish royal line, one of the few remaining royal families. That doesn't just come with power, it comes with knowledge and secrets. It's entirely possible that he doesn't know anything about gods or higher beings, but it shouldn't hurt to ask."

"But what if he's one of the mer about to do a stupid thing?"

"Did he strike you as particularly stupid?" I asked.

"No..." Nick paused. "But you don't have to be stupid to do stupid things."

"True, but the higher one in your dream said stupid mer doing stupid things. Since Ulurmak isn't a stupid mer, I don't think we have to worry."

"Yeah, but-"

"We have plenty of time to think about this," Yulk interrupted. "We should get back on the road."

After a moment of hesitation, Nick and I nodded our agreement and the three of us packed our stuff back onto the cart. Olmira and Imlor were already waiting for us, and once we loaded up we started moving again. Olmira had been uncomfortably quiet since our encounter with the fae, and I decided to try to ease this discomfort by breaking the silence.

"So..." I began. "Olmira... You're not actually Olmira? Or... like, how does that work?"

"That's the most awkward question I've ever heard," she laughed. "Yes and no. I have all of the memories of Olmira, and all of the memories of the fae that I was before becoming an undead. Well, maybe not all of them. It's been a long time, and I've forgotten a lot."

"So you're like two people merged into one?" Nick asked.

"Kind of. It is somewhat difficult to explain. Technically, I am no longer Olmira. But I think like Olmira and feel like Olmira. It kind of feels like the fae memories were just something I picked up along the way."

"Why didn't you tell me of this?" Yulk asked with a carefully neutral tone.

"I am sorry, Yulk. It never really came up, and let's face it, your ideas about vampires and the undead were much more logical than the truth of the matter. Plus, I wasn't entirely convinced the memories were real in the first place. I do remember a situation exactly as the fae described while I was being turned, but it was as if it were buried within my subconscious. I genuinely don't believe I would have been able to properly eloquate the thought before our encounter with the fair folk," Olmira said, then sighed. "Those are just excuses, though. Truthfully, I was afraid of what you might think."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you might have conflated me with the fae that I apparently used to be and seen me as a monster. Or worse, you may have had questions that I had no answer to and believed me to be a fool. Either way, it would have been difficult to maintain our relationship as student and teacher."

Nick, Imlor, and I sat uncomfortably as the air thickened with awkward emotion. Every second that Yulk spent formulating his response felt like an eternity.

"You have mistaken me," Yulk said softly. "I do not judge others on the actions they took eras ago, nor do I conflate ignorance with foolishness. It would be a lie to say that I wouldn't have seen you in a different light, but I would have proudly continued to benefit from your instruction."

"I-I see... It would appear that my reasons for the secret were more wounding than the secret itself. Once again, I apologize."

"It's forgiven," he smiled.

"I don't expect you... What?"

"I said, it's forgiven. There's no point in dwelling over it, especially since you're remorseful. Friends keep secrets from each other all the time, and this is likely one of the least harmful of those secrets. I probably have a secret or two as well, though none come to mind."

"So... What, that's it?" Olmira asked incredulously. "You don't see me any differently?"

"Of course I do," Yulk laughed. "Apparently, you're much more knowledgeable than I had previously believed, which means you still have much more to teach me. It never even occurred to me that you may be a fount of information regarding the fae. Obviously, I'd quite like to maintain our relationship as student and teacher, as well as our friendship."

"Oh... I... Of course."

The air cleared as the pair smiled at each other, and we continued our journey to Kirkena.