LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 35: Look. Look. Look. Look.
In that heartbreaking moment of realization, Oskar fought to keep his face clear of emotion. The emotions were too much, though, and he steered his thoughts toward the ultimate goal of freeing his brother to keep from initiating a kill Gambit on Gramm.
// Gambit Initiated
Freedom! - Free Erik from the Gramm Collective and safely escort him to safety.
Rewards: Variable - Dependent on success.
Accept? Yes/No //
Oh hell yes.
Glad they had been dismissed and not trusting himself to speak, he turned and sat a waterskin down on a flat area filled with various other neglected waterskins and trinkets. Tributes, as was apparently custom.
Gramm, of course, didn’t even need it. He had sole rights to a Wayspring Oasis that had allegedly been running for over a decade, and despite his simple words, he had some wits about him. The Croc, or at least his dad, had built this crappy version of a town around the Oasis and kept it relatively peaceful. He just seemed to enjoy taking the precious water from others, but since water was one of the most valuable things in this world, it was more a homage or symbol that visitors were there in good faith.
Fox claimed the act of leaving water was seen as the highest form of honor, whether it was for kings or for the graves of loved ones. Oskar didn't care either way anymore. Water was just the easiest thing for him to replace.
None of this is gonna matter, anyway. I'm taking Erik, and burning everything I can on my way out. I don't want to drag the Kobolds down with me, but I obviously can't just stand by and let this go.
He couldn’t imagine what his brother had been through to have changed him so drastically. The hand he'd seen had been bone thin and shaking. Gramm had done this to Erik, or at least allowed it to happen, and Oskar was going to find a way to make him pay. Sora was both pulling at him, and instead of fighting to use the magic, he fought down the magic itself. Sora and the Magic Below were somehow reacting to his emotions and intent.
They're interacting with each other, too. The PUB is always saying 'It’s all connected.'
The AI was apparently giving him a lot more information with that comment than he’d suspected.
A trio of Crocs, led again by Blinker, walked them to an empty space near the wall in the area reserved for Gramm and his immediate cronies. This was probably done more for ease in their inevitable kidnapping or murder, but the breeze was welcome, nonetheless. Touwon, sighing, pulled out their backup tent instead of the good one. Like Oskar, he was assuming they might not get a chance to pack up properly on their way out.
Oskar stood watch while the Kobolds put up the tent with practiced ease, and for a moment, was sure he’d seen a Drakon dressed in a completely black robe near the stairwell by the V, but had trouble keeping his mind focused on it. If he hadn't been so used to the Kobold's similar trick, he would have fallen for it completely. Even now, it just seemed unimportant, which meant it probably was important.
I'll need to mention this to Fox and Touwon. Remind me, please. My mind is a mess right now and I don't want to forget.
He knew his eyes were probably glaring lightning bolts, so he tried to avoid glaring at anyone in particular as he kept an eye out.
They had put the thicker section of the tent on the ground instead of blocking the sun since it allowed them 360 degree visibility wasn't as necessary with the cliff-face now blocking the sun. They spoke quietly about what had just happened and what was to come.
“He cut out his tongue!” Oskar hissed. “I'm glad we didn't hand over his precious family heirloom. We’re gonna get fleeced on the other gear, anyway. I mean, realistically, they’re just going to take it all. Probably the Gram set, too.”
Touwon shook his head with a grin, and Fox explained. “You must calm yourself. I agree, though, of course. His actions are unforgivable, but we must be smart. Also, Touwon’s class allows personal storage. The bag will seem unwieldy, awkward to anyone else, and they will not be able to access anything Touwon does not want them to unless he is dead.”
“I’m sure that’s their plan,” Oskar said darkly.
Fox chided him gently. “Calm. None of this is a surprise. We are in a better position than we could be, but his nature does seems to have darkened, that is a truth. From indifferent to those he sees as beneath him to vicious.”
Oskar raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“When we were here with Vulk-“
“He’s seen you before?!” Oskar said, tilting his head in surprise.
Fox laughed quietly, even still, he heard a single hitch of hysteria. He had questions, but having seen and heard some of the hyena people close up, he was now sure she, somehow, had some mixed blood. Francis, too, although she seemed much more Heyna than Kobold. He'd gathered it was a sensitive thing to bring up, so he kept the thought to himself as she continued.
It was of no consequence, anyhow. Fox was his friend, but he couldn’t help but be curious about her history and past.
Fox explained her lack of concern at having visited the Oasis before. “Crocs cannot tell Kobolds apart. They literally guess our gender at random every time they call for us. Fur color, gender, clothing… it matters not. I could be wearing a cactus for a hat, and as long as I am not wandering around alone, I would not get a second glance. I doubt I have ever even been PUB scanned by a Croc before, except maybe Valla. She is a crafty one.”
Oskar sighed in relief. “Thank goodness for those thick skulls. Okay, what did you mean by his ‘nature seemed to have darkened?’”
“He wasn’t quite jovial, and of course, and he was still a slaver. That is cruel in itself. But he did not seem previously to take the pride in it he now shows. Maybe it is just because you are human and he desired to see your reaction, but he was eager to share what he had done. Eager to brag to you about his cruelty towards the other human.”
Oskar pondered that for a long while. Touwon sat bored, but alert, unwilling to pull out anything of value to tinker with.Fox sat still as well, trying not to wring her hands. After a while, they simply decided they would try to appear as nonthreatening as possible to avoid the Crocs deciding to kill them outright. Gramm wanted something from them, or he’d have ordered them arrested on sight, neutral zone or not. The Crocs should not see a human and two Kobolds as potential Collective material. All it would take is an accusation of thievery and Gramm could still claim impartial neutrality in the Great Collective.
His damn water, his damn rules.
Oskar cleaned his stump, leg, and liner, and then put the prosthetic back on. They’d decided to lay down and get some sleep as early as possible while the marketplace was still busy, so Fox lay fake sleeping while Touwon and Oskar slept, and after a few hours, Fox woke Touwon with a nudge and slept herself.
Unfotunately, Oskar also woke when Fox nudged Touwon, and his heartbeat thumping in his chest, he lay awake in the uneasy silence.. He tried to distract himself by pulling up his stats.
Mind F Peak Rank
Body
F Peak Rank
Spirit F Peak Rank
Even seeing he was on the verge of hitting D Rank in all three categories didn't calm him down. In that few hours of sleep, he'd dreamed strange dreams. Freezing winds and being unable to look at things he shouldn’t see. He’d heard his brother’s screams again, but they were from his own tortured memory, not like before.
Oskar took deep breaths to slow his heart-rate. To get his body to listen to his mind when it said, “Everything is okay. Relax.” It took almost an hour to calm himself, but right as he got himself under control, the feeling redoubled. Panic and unease washed over him, and he felt fear that no Croc, Drakon, or Hyena could possibly invoke.
Touwon’s low whistle alerted Oskar, breaking him out of the spiral. He let out a long breath, blinking and relieved for the distraction as he listened to the sounds of shuffling feet coming their direction. It was dark. The dim blue sun and its low light had fallen behind the cliff and Oskar bet he wouldn’t have been able to see 10 feet in front of him without the use of his Goggles.
People who live in civilized places have no idea what true darkness feels like. It’s easy to imagine what it looks like, but if you’re within even 150 miles of a city, you’ve never felt the feeling of knowing something is out there, and you have no way of knowing what it is. Sleeping in the dunes felt that way sometimes. The things on the edge of Oskar’s vision in the place between were never truly gone.
He knew that now, but he also somehow knew that acknowledging it would make it worse. He knew that whatever it was, he wasn't ready to deal with it. So, in those rare moments when he knew something was there, he closed his eyes and knew it was safer that way. For now, at least... but not forever. Part of his mind had had become aware of something dangerous, and those waiting nightmares could not be ignored forever.
The footsteps were a problem grounded in a reality he understood, so despite the danger it represented, he welcomed the distraction from that uneasy feeling of knowing something he could feel was up on the cliff face behind him. The feeling was far closer than he’d ever felt that feeling, and it was patiently waiting for him to see. Just look.
Look, look, look, look.
The word was spinning in his head, and he could not stop it.
Some intrusive part of him almost started him laughing. One of those hysterical, unstoppable belly laughs that left you on the verge of emptying your stomach, knowing everyone around you doubted your sanity. He hated being alone, and this thing watching him made him feel like he and it were the only living things on the planet.
And that just makes the whole freakin’ thing funnier.
He was finding it harder and harder to keep his composure as he fought back the laughter. Even his PUB began a low vibration on his wrist that might have helped if he wasn’t on the verge of hysterics. Despite his best efforts, Oskar’s face broke into a smile he couldn’t stop as the tent was torn off them. He bit his cheek until he tasted blood.
They were netted before they even stood up. They were slow to react. Unthreatening, weak. Useful. Just as planned.
He grounded himself in the presence of Sora and the feeling of the moving patterns of the Magic Below in the rock beneath them. That- and the mix of blood and knowing his friends were now in danger with him- is what finally stopped the feeling of hysterics.
God, that was close. What the hell was that even?
Now that it was over, he realized it had been an attack of some sort. Possibly a spiritual attack, but from where, he had no idea, unless somehow Valla had gotten to them.
But if that was her, why hasn't she shown herself?
Another head on the Question Hydra. It was now time to get to work.
If he was going to survive this, keep the Kobolds safe, and save his brother, he needed his wits about him.