Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 09 – Above the law – Part One {Rewrite}

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 09 - Above the law - Part One {Rewrite}

Setting down the final piece of paper, I sighed and scratched my head. I had never been a particularly good artist, so I supposed it would have to do. I had spent the past six hours sketching visual references for human anatomy, mostly making basic copies of the illustrations of what I remembered from my textbooks.

Short of hunting down an Orc from the forest, which I was incredibly conflicted about doing, my sketches would be my best reference materials for teaching aids. I had made sure to represent each of the major organs as best I could, so I supposed it would be better than nothing.

Besides, there was no guarantee that human and humanoid monster anatomy was similar enough beyond surface-level aesthetics to be of much use anyway. I was already making a rather large assumption that the locals and humans from Earth shared the same internal anatomy.

When Rose had dropped off the stack of papers and some pencils in a small messenger satchel, she had also rather excitedly told me that her daughter Millie would be returning some time early tomorrow. Along with the none-too-subtle reminder that I had agreed to teach Millie some of the more advanced medical theory I knew alongside Nadine,

To that end, I had been preparing structured lessons as best as I could manage. Even with how comparatively little I knew compared to a certified nurse, let alone a fully qualified doctor, I still anticipated the lessons taking at least a month of constant teaching and revision. It could quite possibly take longer if either of them struggled with anything, and this was all assuming they internalised everything on the first try.

I sighed and scratched at my chin. There was still the matter of securing a willing volunteer for the class unlocking stage of suturing open wounds. Again, capturing a monster would pretty easily serve this purpose...but besides making me feel incredibly uncomfortable, it set a bad precedent. As someone who was identified as a monster, it was in my best interest to discourage medical experimentation on monsters.

Maybe Rose or Kirk would volunteer? Or there was always the chance that an adventurer would be hurt badly enough to require medical intervention...

Neatly stacking the pile of papers, I stored them and the pencils away in the messenger satchel Rose had provided. Hanging the satchel from a coat hook by the door, I decided to take a short nap on the bed. Sleeping on the floor the past couple of nights hadn’t done any real harm, but it hadn’t been comfortable.

“Tim tired?” Toofy asked, panting a little from the gymnastics she had been practising to entertain herself with while I was busy.

I nodded, “A little,” I admitted. There was probably only a couple of hours left before Nadine and Clarice would want the bed back themselves, so it would be better to take advantage of it now rather than later.

“Toofy sleep too,” Toofy insisted, hopping up into the bed and snuggling in next to me.

“Alright,” I agreed, despite the fact that short of throwing her out of the bed, there would be nothing I could do to stop her once I fell asleep anyway, even if I wanted to.

Slowly drifting off to sleep, a strange yet profound thought occurred to me shortly before I fell asleep. Of all the things from Earth, it was the music that I missed the most and had the greatest singular impact on days like the one I had just had. Without music to serve as a buffer, I felt oppressed by the unfamiliar intensity of silence left in its absence.

Sitting on the jagged rocks and watching the ocean, it took a while to realise that I was dreaming. It was a beach my Mum used to take me to when I was younger, her most favourite place in the world, she had called it.

Objectively, the beach was not very good by Australian standards. The sand was littered with rocks and broken shells that would cut your feet if you didn't wear shoes or thongs. The shallow water was strewn with large rocks and made wading out into the deeper water incredibly dangerous. All the same, it was my mum's favourite beach.

I had once asked Mum why, and she told me that it had been where she first met Ryan when she was much younger. Later it was where Ryan had taken Mum on their first date and later still, proposed.

I never got to meet Ryan, he was run down by a drunk driver and died in the hospital four years before I was even born. Mum had talked about him a lot though, and even talked to him when she didn’t think I was around.

She had adopted me about eight years after Ryan passed away. I didn’t remember much of my early childhood before being adopted, just that I was angry and sad all the time. But I still remembered the first time Mum brought me to her beach. I still remembered the last time we sat here together and talked about the future. I still remembered scattering her ashes into the waves. It was Mum’s favourite place in the world and she had wanted to be a part of it.

Listening to the crashing waves, I was reminded of how much I missed her. I missed being able to talk through my problems with her, I missed seeing her smile...

Turning around to look at the scraggly weed-ridden sand dunes, I confirmed that I was all alone. For a moment, I had hoped that perhaps I would see Mum again, even if she wasn’t real, even if it was just a dream...

Opening my eyes, I felt too depressed to get up, so I just continued laying there until light began filtering through the window shutters. Glancing irritably at the unwelcome source of light, I very nearly jumped out of bed in surprise as I saw Clarice sprawled out on the bed next to me. Worse still, I could see Nadine tucked under the blanket on the far side of the bed.

It took my brain a few frantic minutes to realise that I must have slept straight through the night. Either unwilling or unable to wake me up, Clarice and Nadine had just gotten into bed with Toofy and me. Now hearing Clarice snoring like a sawmill, I was confused why I hadn’t noticed it earlier. The best I could come up with was that I had blocked it out as a sort of white noise.

Carefully getting out of the bed, I was not surprised when Toofy’s eyes snapped open and immediately locked onto mine.

“Breakfast?” Toofy asked, already crawling off the bed expectantly.

“Sure,” I agreed, “Why not?” Reaching for the door handle, I stopped at the last moment. I had forgotten about the investigator. “Sorry Toofy, we can't go get breakfast yet. Clarice or Nadine would need to-”

Toofy hopped back onto the bed and jumped onto Clarice’s stomach.

“ACK!” Clarice grunted and instinctively curled to protect herself before Toofy could land on her stomach for a second time.

“Breakfast!” Toofy called out insistently, preparing to jump on Nadine.

“Toofy stop!” I called out desperately.

Toofy looked back at me quizzically for a moment before hurriedly hopping off the bed just in time to avoid a kick from Clarice.

“The hell was that for?!” Clarice growled, groaning as she started sitting up in the bed and clutching her stomach.

Toofy had taken cover behind me, leaning out slightly to point an accusing finger, “Breakfast!” She gestured from Clarice to the door.

Clarice stared at Toofy incredulously for a moment before shifting her attention to me instead, “Is she serious?!” She demanded.

I sighed and nodded before turning my attention to Toofy, “You shouldn't jump on people to wake them up,” I reprimanded her.

Toofy shrunk back a little and nodded.

“Is this how she normally wakes you up?” Clarice groaned as she gingerly pulled on her pants.

“Only that one time she was particularly hungry,” I admitted.

Clarice’s expression softened a little, “Oh...” However, it quickly hardened again, “She still shouldn’t do that!” Clarice growled.

I nodded in agreement, “I’ll talk to her about it,” I promised.

“Fine,” Clarice pulled on her boots and stomped out of the room.

“We probably should teach Toofy some basic manners,” Nadine admitted sleepily while making sure to keep an eye on Toofy.

“Couldn’t hurt,” I agreed.

Perhaps as payback for her rude awakening, or maybe because Rose and Kirk hadn’t quite prepared breakfast yet, Clarice didn’t return with food until about an hour later. On the upside, it did give me the opportunity to explain to Toofy why Clarice had been so upset. Clarice’s delay only served to reinforce the lesson.

“Toofy sorry,” Toofy sincerely apologised to Clarice, if only because she now understood that biting the hand that feeds you is ill-advised.

“Fine, just don't do it again!” Clarice grumbled, setting the tray of sausages down on the bed.

Toofy nodded and eagerly ran over to the sausages.

“Did Rose or Kirk happen to mention whether the inspector would be leaving today?” Nadine asked, tying her hair back into a ponytail.

Clarice shrugged, “Didn’t ask,” she admitted nonchalantly.

Nadine nodded, seeming a little annoyed but not willing to get into a fight over it.

Clarice shifted her attention to me again, “You wanna practice some grappling?” She asked hopefully.

I sighed and shook my head, “I don’t know how long we have until Millie is meant to arrive. And besides, this room really isn’t big enough to WRESTLE properly.”

Clarice snorted dejectedly and pouted, “You’re no fun.”

Feeling a little bad for Clarice, I tried to think of something she could do to stay busy. “Do you know if Kirk is still going to go ahead with the bathhouse?” I asked curiously, “Because you could always help with digging the foundations and moving the building supplies.”

“Why would I do that?” Clarice asked dubiously.

I shrugged, “Something to do and a lot of the exercise lends itself well to wrestling.”

“Really?” Clarice asked a little sceptically.

I nodded, “If it involves half the activities I think it will, you should get some decent Strength training out of it. You may need to work on some Agility training to balance out later, but it’s definitely better than doing nothing.”

Clarice seemed convinced and grinned, “Alright, I’ll go ask Kirk about it.” she left the room in much better spirits than she had been a few minutes earlier.

“Is that really true?” Nadine asked.

I nodded, “It is, assuming she gets a decent balance of activities.”

“Is there anything I can do to practise my surgery skills?” Nadine asked pointedly with a competitive edge to her voice.

“It depends. Practising your sutures is always worth the time and the same goes for bandaging as well, for obvious reasons. But mostly, I would highly recommend writing down everything you know and learn, so you can reference it later if you begin to forget. Revision is an important skill in practising medicine,“ I explained seriously. After all, it was the bedrock of the medical profession on Earth, so it really wouldn’t hurt Nadine to adopt it as well. “Also, any sort of activity that improves your manual dexterity in your fingers lends itself well to surgery skills in general as well.”

“Really?” Nadine asked, her interest piqued, “So like sewing and things like that?”

I nodded, “You could also try coin or card tricks, there are a lot of things you can try really.”

“Huh,” Nadine was somewhat surprised but seemed convinced.

I remembered something one of my teachers had suggested for me to try, “There are some finger exercises I could show you as well if you want, but it is very much a long term investment and takes a while to start showing results.”

“Okay!” Nadine agreed eagerly.

Spending a few minutes demonstrating and explaining the point of the exercises, since I was honestly not very good at them, I wasn’t particularly surprised when Nadine realised that she could now do them on her own. It’s amazing what having reasonably dexterous fingers allows you to accomplish.

“Just make sure not to overdo it,” I reminded her, “A little can go a long way.”

Nadine nodded, eagerly cycling through the exercises.

Shaking my head, I decided to have some breakfast. Nadine would learn her lesson after her first set of cramps, so there wasn’t much I could do besides waiting for it to happen.

After finishing breakfast, Toofy began slowly staggering around the room in her steadily improving handstand.

“How long has Toofy been able to do that?” Nadine asked, clearly surprised.

“Not long. I was worried about Toofy becoming bored, so I showed her how to do a handstand and helped her learn the basics on how to keep her balance while walking with her hands.” I explained somewhat offhandedly, “Honestly, Toofy is just naturally gifted at this sort of thing, to say that I taught her how to do it is being pretty generous.”

Enjoying the attention, Toofy grinned manically and began moving faster around the room.

“Still though,” Nadine gave me an appraising look, “Are you sure you aren't a Class Trainer?” She asked seriously.

“Class Trainer?” I asked, fairly certain I understood the underlying concept but unsure of the significance.

“A Class Trainer,” Nadine nodded in confirmation, “A human-like monster created by the Labyrinths that can teach adventurers different Classes. Although it is very strange that you do not have access to those Classes yourself...”

I seriously considered telling Nadine the truth, but I had a strong suspicion that she wouldn’t believe me. Similarly, I had gotten the impression from Jacque that outing myself as an Awakened was not a good idea.

Isn’t that usually how it goes? Reborn as a hero or monster, the moment the natives figure out what you are, powerful forces begin mustering to guarantee your destruction?

So far, the worst I had faced had been malign opportunism.

How much worse would my life get when some powerful hero, villain or organisation decided I was a potential threat and moved to snuff me out?

Better to not take the risk. Knowing that Jacque could read surface thoughts, it only made sense to assume that something similar could be done with magic. So logically, my secret would never truly be safe, but the risks could be heavily mitigated by reducing the number of people who were aware of it.

Maybe once I knew more about this world and about the Awakened, I would consider telling people who I really was. But until then, there really wasn’t a benefit to gain from doing so, just unmitigated risks and unknowns.

I just shrugged noncommittally, knowing that Nadine had probably made up her own mind already anyway.

Nadine gave me a long appraising look, “Are you sure there aren't other Classes you know how to teach?” She asked earnestly.

“I...don’t know,” I admitted honestly, “I didn’t know that what I was teaching would unlock those Classes to begin with.”

Nadine nodded with a pensive expression, “Then, do you mind explaining what other skills you know?” She asked with genuine curiosity.

I shrugged and took a few moments to think. The bar for unlocking Classes did not seem particularly high, at least for the Basic Classes anyway. So with that assumption in mind, I supposed the more important question was whether the classes were limited to combat or not. “Just combat skills? Or?...” I shrugged and waved my hands a little to express how unsure I was of it all.

Nadine tilted her head slightly, “You know non-combat-related skills?” She asked curiously.

I nodded.

“Well...” Nadine looked pensive for a moment again before continuing, “Okay, so it’s important to understand that not all Classes revolve around combat directly. Most known Classes do in some way, but that is mostly because of the nature of adventurers and the fact that powerful groups like the noble houses and prestigious Guilds keep certain Class knowledge a secret.”

“So, is there something like a builder class?” I asked curiously.

Nadine shook her head, “So far as I know, no, not exactly. I heard some more experienced adventurers talking about a Siege Engineer Class while I was being trained at the Guild, but it seemed to specialise in very specific tasks like expending mana to repair or demolish fortifications. You see what I mean?”

I nodded, considering all the temp jobs I had worked on over the years. I eventually had to shake my head after realising that almost all of them were very mundane or over-reliant on technology. However, it did remind me about something I wanted to ask earlier, “If I know how to teach these Classes, why haven’t I unlocked them myself? Or started with them unlocked?”

Nadine smirked slightly, “Ah, that’s actually rather easy to answer. Most Classes had qualification criteria beyond just the theory and practical elements, or more accurately, they all do. In addition to the practical and theory requirements, Classes also have minimum stat-based requirements to unlock them, some are just incredibly low. It’s why prospective adventurers are given aptitude tests to decide which of the Classes available at the Guild they can apply to learn.”

Well that kind of sucks.

So whatever the status was, it had determined that I was not good enough for Classes related to what I already knew how to do. Then again, I still hadn't sutured anyone’s wounds or pinned someone into unconsciousness either, so maybe I was overreacting. Besides, as much as I loathed it, I still needed Slaver for the time being and had no idea of when I would be able to safely be rid of it.

“So you really can’t think of any other skills that could unlock a Class?” Nadine asked persistently.

I shrugged, “Not really, no.”

Nadine sighed and shrugged, “It’s fine Tim. I mean, you already know how to teach like four or five Classes, two of those being Advanced classes as well. Just knowing how to teach one Class would have designated you as a Class Trainer, but five is damned impressive!”

“Thanks,” I rubbed at my neck in embarrassment, “But I am pretty sure Clarice probably had most of the Brawler unlocked on her own hehe.”

“You’re probably right,” Nadine agreed with a smile. She got up off the bed and stretched for a moment before returning her attention to me again, “Can you think of anything else we might need for the lessons when Millie gets here?” Nadine asked.

I thought carefully for a moment, “Well, maybe some sewing supplies to practise suturing first, before doing it on a volunteer? Oh, also, we will want a volunteer...I figured maybe Kirk or perhaps one of the other adventurers if they get injured or something.”

Nadine nodded, “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”

I turned around to give Nadine some privacy while she finished changing.

“I'll be back in a little while,” Nadine said as she walked out the door, taking care to close it behind her.

Taking the key off the bedside table, I made sure to lock it as well, just in case.

*Rattle*

I had been just about to step back from the door and sit on the bed when I saw the doorknob ineffectually turning as someone tried to open the door.

Toofy looked over in my direction curiously.

I held my finger up to my lips and hoped she understood what I meant.

Toofy quietly ended her handstand, lowering herself onto all fours and crawled under the blankets on the bed.

Very impressed with Toofy, I quietly pulled off my tunic and dropped it to the floor to cover my feet. If anyone tried looking under the door, all they would see is a few stray items of clothing and the bottom of some furniture. Slowly leaning forward, I braced my full weight against the door, just in case.

Neither Clarice nor Nadine had a reason not to announce themselves before trying to enter the room, so there wasn’t really a downside to my paranoia beside the immediate inconvenience.

Hearing some strange noises coming from the lock beneath the door handle, I felt vindicated and began mentally preparing myself for the worst.

“Hey!” A familiar male voice called out angrily, “What are you doing?!” They demanded accusingly.

There was the sound of small metal objects falling on the other side of the door and scrambling boots.

“Ah, nothing...This is, erm, this is official adventurers Guild business!” A nasal-voiced man insisted unconvincingly.

“Like hell it is!” The familiar male voice repeated, “I’m telling the innkeeper!”

The sounds of quick boot steps rushing away from the door stopped suddenly at the sound of a low threatening growl.

“INNKEEPER! SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO BREAK INTO A ROOM UPSTAIRS!” The familiar male voice called out as loudly as they could manage. My brain finally put a name and face to the voice, it was Tobi.

Had the girls asked him to keep an eye out just in case? Or was this all just a very happy coincidence?

I heard muted cursing coming from the nasal-voiced man and muttering from other adventurers that had opened their doors to investigate the source of the commotion.

A few moments later a set of heavy footfalls announced Kirk’s arrival down the hall, “I have warned you once already!” Kirk growled angrily, “MY inn MY rules! Now I find you trying to break into MY lodger's private rooms?!”

“I am well within my rights!” The nasal-voiced man insisted indignantly, "As property of the Guild-”

“Privately leased property!” Kirk roared, “You and I both know full well the distinct lack of authority you have in this building without my expressed permission! Which I can assure you, you do not have!”

“But, but-” The nasal-voiced man insisted.

“BUT NOTHING!” Kirk thundered.

“I have a warrant!” The nasal-voiced man shrieked, causing a momentary silence to fall on the corridor before all hell seemed to break loose and everyone began talking all at once.

Okay, I could see where this was going and I didn’t like it. Picking up my tunic off the floor, I hurriedly slipped it back on again. Pulling both my pack and the satchel off the coat rack, I slid them onto my shoulders and quietly walked across the room and over to the window.

“Toofy!” I whispered urgently.

Toofy cautiously peeked out from under the covers.

I quietly motioned for her to come over and hang off my back.

Toofy nodded, effortlessly climbing into position, hugging her arms around my neck and anchoring the claws on her toes into the back of my tunic.

Confident that Toofy was secure, I peeked out the window and was glad that the street appeared to be empty. Wondering how long exactly I would need to hide, I decided that the roof would be a good starting point since it would keep me pretty decently hidden from view if I stayed on the side of the town wall.

Climbing out the window, I took hold of the edge of the nearby overhanging roof and carefully pulled myself up. Confident that the wood-shingled roof could hold my weight so long as I moved carefully and followed the hidden support beams, I scaled the top of the roof and then made my way towards the chimney. The squat profile of the chimney would help conceal my presence on the roof from the direction of the Guild office, so I felt rather good about using it as our hiding place.

“You can sit down next to me now if you like,” I told Toofy.

Toofy scrambled off my back and sat down on the roof next to me, curiously opting to sit at a higher point on the roof so we were at about eye level, but so I had to look up slightly at her to do so. Judging by the furtive glances and the cheeky smile, it was a very deliberate choice.

Rolling my eyes good-naturedly at Toofy I did my best to remember why we were hiding out on the roof in the first place.

I wondered if that inspector really had a warrant that allowed what he claimed, or if it was all just a big bluff. In either case, he had to be colluding with the Guild manager Gilbert, although I wasn’t sure why exactly.

What reasoning besides petty revenge did Gilbert have for wanting me investigated?

With nothing to do but anxiously wait, I was startled when I heard someone flinging open a pair of shutters on the other side of the inn.

“It must have escaped out the window!” The inspector shrieked desperately, the unhinged mania in his voice causing me to picture the room completely overturned with clothes strewn everywhere.

“I don’t know!” The investigator shrieked again a few moments later in reply to a question I obviously hadn’t heard.

A few minutes passed in silence before Shady suddenly appeared next to us on the rooftop, seemingly as surprised to see us as we were to see him.

Toofy grinned and began patting Shady’s head and playing with his ears.

Shady bore with it stoically, making as if to bare his teeth every so often Toofy petted him too hard, but would then catch my eye and calm down.

Wondering if Tobi had sent Shady to look for us, I took one of the spare pieces of paper and drew a rudimentary picture of a roof and chimney in a corner. Tearing the corner piece off of the paper, I tucked it into the buckle of Shady’s collar.

The Shadowcat seemed to sigh in relief right before disappearing in a small burst of black smoke.

“Awww,” Toofy grumbled dejectedly.

“It’s okay, you can pet the kitty later,” I reassured her quietly.

Toofy sighed and nodded, seemingly mollified for the time being.

As I had somewhat expected, Shady didn’t immediately return. There was a reason I had sent a picture in the first place. We had no other means of communicating back and forth, so unless it was urgent, it was better to just remain inconspicuous.

As the minutes dragged on into hours, I was very glad that we had at least had the opportunity to eat breakfast before being forced to hide on the roof. Convincing Toofy to take a nap on a full stomach was pretty easy, particularly given how warm it was on the roof. But it did get me thinking about something else.

Where did the sun, moon and other stars come from?

I could see a sun in the sky and was doing my best not to look directly at it. I had already seen the moon at night as well as a whole mess of stars forming constellations I don’t recognise.

Was this floor of the Labyrinth a literal mini world? Or is everything up there just an illusion accompanied by some sort of weather magic?

The sudden wave of anxiety as I briefly considered that I might even be starring in my own Truman show made me feel a little ill.

Doing my best to put the thought of starring in a voyeuristic show for someone’s sick amusement aside, I decided it would be a good idea to take out my apron from my pack and give Toofy some shade so the illusionary sun doesn't burn her skin or cause her to dehydrate so quickly.

That was something else I had noticed, despite a complete lack of sunscreen, my vampiric complexion had not burned once since arriving in this strange world. Which only reinforced my theory that the sun was indeed an illusion.

*****

Nadine couldn’t help but pace back and forth with worry. Despite Kirk and Rose’s best efforts, the Guild investigator had only doubled down and was now in the process of figuratively tearing apart the inn room by room. He was strangely convinced that Tim had snuck out the window and was taking refuge in another one of the rooms. The investigator even flat-out refused the possibility that Tim had run off, fleeing the foothold and into the forest again.

It was altogether quite odd and incredibly disconcerting. Even after Tobi had discreetly let Nadine know of Tim’s assumed hiding place on the roof, it didn’t make her feel any better. If anything, it made Nadine feel worse because it meant that the investigator actually did have a method for knowing Tim’s approximate location.

“You’ll get wrinkles worrying like that,” Rose observed as she set a fresh batch of sausages boiling.

“Oh lay off, Ma,” Millie chided, no doubt similarly nervous as Nadine, albeit for slightly different reasons. Like her mother in so many ways, they inevitably clashed over everything. “Isn’t there something you and Da can do?”

Rose sighed and shook her head, “The Guild is overstepping its authority, again. Your Da and I have already sent messages to our friends, but very likely nothing will be done until this evening.”

Millie scowled, “You are gonna gouge them with the contract penalties though, right?”

Rose nodded sternly, “Of course! I don’t know what Gilbert's intended endgame was, but it is going to end with him being fired or saddled with substantial debt.”

“He seemed like such a decent man. Why is he even doing this?” Nadine asked irritably.

“Greed probably,” Rose replied matter of factly, “It almost always is. This is hardly unheard of. A party of fresh-faced kids manages to capture a special monster and think they have hit the jackpot. Only, now they find out that there is a ‘special procedure’ to follow with the Guild that requires them to temporarily hand over the monster. Awww, but wouldn’t you know it? There has been an accident and the monster has been misplaced. The Guild will compensate them of course, but it's nothing compared to what the adventurers stood to gain before. Some months later, wouldn’t you know, there is their missing monster on the leash of some noble son or other, clear as day!”

Nadine blanched, “So you think the manager was really after Tim before?” She asked worriedly.

Rose nodded, still frowning, “Very likely,” she agreed.

“So we need to leave the Guild then?” Nadine asked resignedly, “If we aren’t members then they have no authority right?”

Rose shook her head and sighed, “It isn’t that simple. Leaving the adventurers Guild puts you out of reach of the official channels of the Guild, true, but not the real powers behind it. What's to stop that aforementioned noble from just swooping in and seizing Tim from you directly? Precious little, unfortunately. Sure the noble would likely have to pay a fine to some other higher ranked noble and you ‘might’ receive a reparations payment, but Tim would be long gone.”

Nadine slumped dejectedly at the news, thinking that perhaps Tim had the right idea when he ran off into the woods the last time, “Then what can we do?”

Rose was thoughtful for a few minutes before making her reply, “What do you know of monster settlements on the other floors?” She asked cryptically.

Millie was surprised but nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

“Monster settlements?” Nadine asked, a little confused because she had never heard the term before.

Rose gave Nadine a somewhat smug look and nodded, “So you know how almost every monster the Labyrinth makes is close to identical to the others right?”

“Right...” Nadine agreed.

Rose nodded, “Well, every so often, you get a specially named monster, like Tim or Toofy. Due to their unique ‘characteristics’, they will often have children, something the other monsters are just otherwise incapable of. The need to protect their young causes a significant shift in their behaviour. I won’t say that monsters residing in monster Settlements are smarter, but they definitely have different priorities.”

“So how does that help us?” Nadine asked, not understanding why Rose would explain all of this.

Rose smiled and waved for patience, “That shift in behaviour and priorities makes it possible to trade with them, albeit to a limited degree. As a standing rule, all Guilds punish anyone who attacks one of these Settlements. Not for moral reasons of course, but because of the sheer amount of profit they stand to lose out on. The third floor of the Hurst Labyrinth has many monster Settlements and Bertrum, the innkeeper of the foothold, is an old friend. If worst comes to worst, you just need to take Tim and Toofy to the foothold on the third floor and Bertrum will help direct you to a friendly monster Settlement,” she explained matter of factly.

Nadine was more than a little surprised, “Why haven’t I heard about monster Settlements before?” She asked, “I mean if special monsters can start Settlements, shouldn’t the Guild have warned us about them?”

Rose smirked, “They would have, but only after you moved to the third floor. The Guilds like profits, but the kingdom doesn’t like Settlements forming on the first couple of floors. This is their sort of compromise.”

Nadine frowned, “So they just let rookies like us wipe out the Settlements for them?”

Rose nodded.

It didn’t seem like Rose had been misleading her. It was a well-known fact that almost all monsters were identical as if cast from the same mould and mass-produced. Then there were notable exceptions such as Tim and Toofy. Toofy very obviously stood out on this floor of the Labyrinth since she was the only female Goblin in a forest full of males. Or at least, the only one Nadine had seen so far.

Thinking back on the state Toofy had been in when they found her, Nadine realised that what Rose had said must be true. The trio of adventurers had been chasing Toofy under the assumption that she had special treasure, and Clarice had told her about Toofy’s home in the forest. She had effectively been a Settlement of one, waiting for others to appear or maybe even preparing to start the process on her own...

Blushing slightly, Nadine cleared her throat and tried to focus on the issue at hand, “Do you think Tim and Toofy could really find refuge in one of these monster settlements?”

Rose nodded, “Monster settlements aren’t exactly racially diverse or inclusive, but they can be bargained with. I am certain that if Tim offered to teach even a couple of their members the Surgeon Class, he would be treated as an honoured guest at worst or perhaps even invited to join the Settlement outright.”

Nadine nodded in agreement, “As a skill trainer, Tim has immense implicit value,” she admitted, “And I am sure that a healing Class like that would be just as valuable to monsters as it is to us.”

“No kidding,” Millie sighed dejectedly.

*****

Staring up at the stars in the evening sky, I was regretting not having emergency supplies of food or water stored in my pack. At least I was able to give Toofy the padded cloth armour I had made for her to sleep on and my now sleeveless tunic to use as a sort of blanket.

Doing my best to ignore the smokey smell of food wafting up the chimney, I tried to remain alert. I had heard someone poking around in what I assumed was the attic just below us around an hour ago. There seemed to be a distinct possibility that the investigator was using some sort of Ability or maybe a magical item to try and locate me, which was very disconcerting. I honestly expected the guy to try searching the roof at any moment.

For whatever reason though, nothing happened. I stayed awake throughout the entire night, waiting to be discovered and prepared to grab Toofy and flee. But nothing happened.

<The inspector is gone.>

I nearly gave myself whiplash as I looked around for the source of the voice, before suddenly realising it had been in my head.

<I am coming up, try not to break your neck.> There was a hint of amusement in the voice.

A few moments later, Jacque suddenly appeared by the chimney amidst a burst of black smoke. <Ah, I totally want one of those Shadowcats’ now. Very convenient.> Jacque smirked as she took a seat next to me and set down a small sack that smelled of food. <I gathered that the both of you must have been up here since yesterday, so I brought food and water.>

<Thanks.> I smiled and gave Jacque an appreciative nod before gently jostling Toofy awake and moving the sack beside her.

Toofy’s nose sniffed inquisitively at the sack before opening it and giving me an excited toothy smile, “Eat?” She whispered questioningly.

I nodded, “Eat.”

Toofy’s smile grew wider as she pulled out a particularly large sausage and began wolfing it down.

<The inspector hasn’t left for good.> Jacque glanced pointedly over at the Guild office and nudged her head, <In fact, the branch manager in Hurst has gotten involved as well. This is going to get much worse rather quickly.>

I slumped a little and nodded. A small part of me had already been worrying about something like this, the inexplicable escalation.

Jacque grinned a little and shook her head, <It’s mostly your fault you know. You have been behaving too strangely, drawing too much attention. Just be glad that it is some brown-nosing social climbers looking to Enslave you and not another Awakened looking to kill you Highlander style.>

“What?!” I whispered hoarsely, too rattled to form the thoughts coherently.

Jacque sighed and shook her head again. <Right. I forgot that I hadn’t told you about that bit yet.> She settled down on the roof and became lost in thought for a few moments before shrugging and turning her attention back to me again. <I mean, you have seen the Highlander movies right? Or at least know the gist of it yeah?>

I nodded. <There can be only one, a bunch of immortals running around cutting each other's heads off?>

Jacque nodded and sighed while rubbing at her temples. <Well, some incredibly stupid and honestly rather psychotic Awakened have gotten it into their heads that our unique situation is governed by Highlander rules. So they make it a point of decapitating every other Awakened they can get their hands on.>

I gulped anxiously and couldn’t help but glance around the surrounding area. <Why would they do that though? It’s not like they actually get a power upgrade or anything tangible right?>

Jacque gave me a telling look. <Actually, it’s a little more complicated than that. If they were to kill you around four or five days ago? You would be right, they would get nothing. But now?...> She shook her head.

Thinking back over the past few days, there was one thing in particular that stood out. <The Key of Awakening.>

Jacque nodded. <If another Awakened killed you, they would be able to take your key.>

My brow furrowed from a combination of anxiety and confusion. <Why would they want the key? Is there some way for me to get rid of it? What does it do that makes it so valuable to kill someone over?>

Jacque gave me a longsuffering look and stared at me for a few moments before making a reply. <They want it because it will make them stronger. No, you can’t get rid of it without dying, and it's complicated. Every one of the keys is different, pretty much random as near as I have been able to discover. I will assume that you haven't managed to unlock your key, since you don’t know what they do.>

I nodded.

Jacque let out a long sigh and became lost in thought for a while again before eventually shaking her head. <The unlocking requirements are unique to each key, but usually linked to how you acquired it.>

I thought about that for a moment. I had gotten the key from that Goblin chieftain after defeating him in a duel. <Does that mean I have to duel someone else?>

Jacque snorted and shook her head in amusement. <You did not ‘duel’ the Goblin, you challenged him. He was a chieftain too, so maybe the key has something to do with leadership?> She gave me a dubious look and shook her head. <Probably not, you are hardly the charismatic type. Maybe you were right after all, maybe it has something to do with fighting challenges.>

I slumped somewhat dejectedly. I was not looking forward to another one on one fight after barely winning the last one.

Jacque nodded. <You definitely need some lessons on how to fight.>

<Is that an offer?> I asked hopefully. I had seen Jacque fight and could tell that she was easily the most proficient fighter I had seen thus far, by a substantial margin.

Jacque shook her head. <I don’t have the time for it just at the moment. There is something personal I need to attend to and I was just coming back to let you know that I won’t be around for a few months at least, quite possibly half a year.>

I stared blankly at Jacque for a moment before what she had told me sunk in.

Jacque gave me a small smile and shook her head as she got to her feet. <Don’t worry too much. I was eavesdropping on your friends downstairs and they seem to have a fairly decent plan coming together and will probably contact you themselves within the hour. Good luck Tim, try not to die.> she fired a pair of finger guns at me, winked, and disappeared in another puff of black smoke.

A few moments later, I noticed that Jacque had now left the group, leaving me as party leader.

“Well...” I considered cursing but honestly felt too anxious and depressed to make the effort. Joining Toofy in abating my anxiety a little with some old-fashioned stress eating, I seriously hoped that whatever plan the others were coming up with was a good one.

Once Toofy had eaten her fill and drank some water, I stored the sack inside my pack and helped Toofy put on her padded armour. At this point, it would be better to be as prepared as we could be, so I put my sleeveless tunic back on as well as the leather apron.

I could only assume that the Guild branch manager would have reasonably powerful agents at their command considering they were responsible for overseeing an entire Labyrinth of adventurers. The reality of having caught someone of their influence’s attention was unsettling, to say the least. If all Guild managers were Slaver’s, it made sense that a higher-ranked manager would be at a higher level too. If they were, then I did not like my chances of breaking the Enslavement of someone of their assumed strength.

When the sun began rising over the treeline, I was very nearly hit on the head with a rock. Looking around, I saw another rock sail up and over the edge of the roof,

Cautiously moving across the roof, I looked down over the edge and found Clarice preparing to throw another rock.

Clarice was about to throw the rock when she noticed me looking down at her. Dropping the rock, Clarice motioned for me to come down.

Retrieving my pack, I waved for Toofy to hop on my back. Once Toofy was secure, I carefully climbed down the side of the inn and looked to Clarice for an explanation.

Clarice looked around conspiratorially for a moment before leaning in close, “We are leaving the foothold,” she whispered urgently, “Nadine, Tobi and Emelia are already headed towards the gate and are waiting for us!”

Already informed by Jacque that there was a plan in the works, I was not particularly shocked by our initial gathering point. However, I was more than a little surprised that Nadine and Clarice trusted Tobi and Emelia enough to include them.

Hurrying along behind Clarice, we ran along the inner side of the town wall until we reached the gate.

Just as Clarice had said, Nadine, Emelia, Tobi and his cat Shady were all waiting for us and wearing their adventuring equipment and large packs.

“We can talk more once we reach the edge of the forest,” Nadine hissed urgently, “We need to put as much distance between ourselves and the foothold as possible before the investigator and his thugs realise what is going on!”

I nodded and took the lead by jogging out into the plain ahead of the group. Any reservations I had about serving as vanguard were nothing compared to my unease regarding the investigator and his goons.

Just like every other time, I had not seen a single Vrabbit while heading towards the forest. They really did seem to be over-reliant on scenting blood to track their prey.

“Okay!” Nadine announced, breathing heavily, “Rose says the portal to the second floor should be up on the mountain, specifically at its peak. So after a short break, we should start making our way to the mountain as fast as possible while not leaving ourselves exposed to potential ambushes,” the way she laid out the plan made it clear that Nadine did not expect any input.

The thought of leaving all that money behind in Toofy’s bunker was somewhat painful, but I honestly had no idea how to find it again. Besides, the delay could very well prove fatal in this race against the clock.

“Oh, ah, here is your mace,” Tobi said awkwardly, pulling my morningstar from his belt and handing it to me, "Sorry that I couldn’t bring your shield, but it was a bit too conspicuous.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I gratefully accepted the weapon, silently berating myself for not retrieving it when I regained consciousness after the raid.

With Shady and I taking the lead, Clarice on our left flank, Tobi on our right flank, and Emelia, Nadine and Toofy roughly in the middle, we began quickly moving through the forest in the direction of the mountain. Keenly aware of the danger we were in, I just hoped that the risk would ultimately be worth it.