ã€ŠWhims and Rolls of Godsã€‹


 Chapter 1: The Ideal Test Run

    When I woke up that morning, I was surrounded by a group of weirdos that insisted I was a part of their group. The day before had gone so perfectly and it seemed like all the plans I had in life were about to take a step forward. Instead, they were dashed in an instant by this event. Oh, the whims and rolls of gods as they play with us as though we were pawns in a game.

    The previous day, I went out hunting. Normally, I would wait until the fall to go out hunting as the rut would distract my prey from my scent. However, I was only a few coins short of affording the cost of some land. With some land and hard work, I could settle down and live my life comfortably. Not a life without hardship, but a stable one that I desired.

    It was in the middle of summer and was unbearably hot. Wearing heavy clothing would be pointless and armor would just weigh me down and make me easy prey for predators. So, I went out on the hunt with only light preparation. The clothes on my back, a small knife for skinning and gutting, my trusty bow, and around ten arrows.

    Even with my light gear, I was constantly sweating under the sun. Worries about my body odor giving away my position were unfounded as my luck was good. The wind pushed my scent away from the nose of my prey and I managed to shoot down a deer after a few hours of tracking. Instead of heading back then and there like I should have, I decided to hunt some more and just stay the night somewhere in the woods.

    It just made sense at the time. I had plenty of arrows, seemingly good luck, and plenty of time left in the day. Some extra money would be of no small help to achieving my dreams. To reinforce this feeling, I managed to find and shoot down another deer. It was amazing luck and unfortunately seemed to use up much of my remaining good luck.

    I gutted and skinned the other deer then hung them both in a tree so the blood could drain throughout the night. Then, after a bit of searching, I found a relatively close cave to rest in. I made a small fire to keep me warm through the surprisingly cold summer night and used the recently skinned furs as a bed. It was by no means comfortable with the hard, stone floor beneath the fur, but it was better than sleeping on the ground.

    After a peaceful rest, there they were. Three weirdos sitting around the fire like they belonged there, cooking some food over it. Guessing by the cut-up rope lying around and that they were cooking up the various parts of two deer, I concluded that they had stolen my kills and were now casually cooking it in front of the person they stole it from.

    Normally, in a situation like this, I would try to confront them or run away. In this case, I didn¡¯t feel like they were hostile or anything so I didn¡¯t feel like running just yet. As for confronting them, they held weapons and outnumbered me. I felt like this might just be some sort of misunderstanding, so I got up and joined them by the fire. They accepted my presence as though it was natural.

    One of them, carrying a large wooden staff and wearing white robes, introduced himself, ¡°My name is Adrian. I am a priest by profession and like all of you, I have been guided by the gods to this very spot. Soon, I will receive a message from the gods about our quest and pass it onto you. I am their voice. Do not be afraid, my only goal is to fulfill their desires so I will not lie nor distort their words for my own benefit.¡±

    He was absolutely crazy. He was talking about hearing the gods and some sort of quest. I knew he was a priest and they sometimes could hear the gods, but he was claiming that I was involved somehow. I got caught up in something I shouldn¡¯t have. I looked towards the others, hoping they¡¯d be just as disillusioned as I was, but I was in for a disappointment.

    A man of a large and strong physique stood up with a roasted deer leg in his hands and said, ¡°Ralph is my name. I am a warrior from a former clan of warriors. A dream brought me to this place¡ªwell, several dreams at least. I got lost a few times, but the gods were patient with me and I arrived just in time.¡±

    Dreams instead of voices. A warrior that was also a dreamer. How unlucky. It seemed that this group was buying what the priest said. Which meant that either it was legitimate and I got involved by mistake, it¡¯s not legitimate and some sort of prank or scam, or worse, it¡¯s legitimate and I was supposed to join this group of misfits.

    Adrian patiently looked over at me while Ralph tore into deer meat in his hands. I looked at the other person who hadn¡¯t introduced themselves and was ignored. The last person concealed their face with a cloak and paid more attention to the meat cooking over the fire than the people here. Even their gender could not be discerned.

    Which threw the introductions to me. I would¡¯ve preferred to go last if I could have. That way, if the cloaked person was disillusioned with this god thing I could take their side. Should I lie, tell the truth, or change the truth slightly to match their stories? I could screw myself over in the long run, depending on how I answer.

    ¡°My name is Geld and I¡¯m a hunter. After hunting a few deer, I felt that this was the place we would meet and took a rest while waiting for your arrival. I see that you found the meat of my kills and started preparing a meal to celebrate our meeting,¡± I said. A mix of lies and half-truths spilled out of my mouth.

    I felt a bit peeved about the meat and couldn¡¯t help but leak a tiny bit of sarcasm into my voice. It was childish since there was nothing I could do at this point but I was still angry about it. Luckily, they didn¡¯t notice my sarcasm and accepted my words. Ralph even smiled and nodded while taking another bite out of his deer leg.

    Finally, the cloaked and mysterious final member of this group spoke in an androgynous voice, ¡°I was hired. Contracted for a job here rather than this bullcrap about voices, dreams, and feelings from gods.¡±

    There goes my chance to side with a person that was disillusioned with this. I had already established myself as one of them. If I took back my words at this point, they might have noticed my sarcasm from before. Pissing off people I barely knew was no good.

    ¡°Fancy yourself a mercenary? I¡¯m not too fond of those types, to be honest. To obtain true glory, you need a cause. There is no honor from fighting for the highest bidder,¡± stated Ralph.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be that way. We¡¯re all on the same side here. It matters naught the way the gods contacted us. The fact that he¡¯s here proves that the gods have some use for him and that he is a good man,¡± said Adrian.

    ¡°He? Are you sure the merc is a guy? Seems to be covering up quite a bit and has quite the slim stature. How do we know it¡¯s not a she? Merc, what¡¯s your gender?¡± asked Ralph.

    The so-called mercenary pulled their cloak tighter and looked down while refusing to respond. Adrian looked over curiously while Ralph waited for a response that didn¡¯t come. All that came from the mercenary was awkward silence. Meanwhile, I decided it¡¯d be best to do something since there¡¯d be some time until Adrian told us about what this quest was supposed to be about. I was grateful for this mysterious mercenary as they pulled suspicion away from me and seemed skeptical about this gods¡¯ stuff too. I couldn¡¯t side with them but I could mentally root for them.

    I decided to grab some of the meat cooking over the fire. I hadn¡¯t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. It was my kills after all so I won¡¯t let them eat it all. I scooched up closer to the fire and used my knife to cut off a piece of meat. The others followed my example and ate a hearty breakfast to start off the day and to lower the awkwardness from the mercenary¡¯s lack of responses.

    At the end of the meal, Adrian suddenly stood up and shouted, ¡°South! The gods have told me that our next quest is to the south!¡±

    ¡°South? How far South?¡± I asked. This was getting weirder. I didn¡¯t like the vagueness of this so-called quest. It made it seem even more like a scam than it already did. He was more like a fortune teller than a priest at this point.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how far south. Perhaps this is a test? We must use the resources we have at hand to figure things out. Who has a map?¡± asked Adrian.

    I had a map, but I was reluctant to share it. It was just a map of the local area and had embarrassing stuff like land prices and a checklist of my goals. I couldn¡¯t share something like that. Meanwhile, the mercenary didn¡¯t respond and Ralph shrugged. It appeared that either I was the only one with a map or, like me, the mercenary had one but was unwilling to share.

    ¡°Ahh, it seems our group is ill prepared. Perhaps the location is a place we can only locate by name via a map so the gods, being considerate of our situation, just gave us a rough direction to head to. On the way, perhaps we might find a place to acquire a map from,¡± said Adrian.

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    South was the complete opposite direction from my home village. This appeared to be a point of no return. I could either run away now or follow them with whatever journey they have. At this point, my thoughts were interrupted by Ralph handing something over to me. After opening it and seeing its contents, I decided to stay with this group.

    ¡°Just a tiny sum as thanks for breakfast. Honorable men repay acts of kindness,¡± said Ralph.

    A small amount he said, but for me, it wasn¡¯t. For me, it was enough to buy the land I wanted and still have a few coins left over. Add on the furs I slept on and my money situation was good. This was just a tiny sum to Ralph and his words suggested more might come if he was lucky. It seemed that Ralph was quite wealthy and the rest of the group looked no less poor than he. Going along with this party, even if he joined by accident, seemed like a good idea.

    The group put out the fire and left the cave. Adrian pulled out a compass and pointed in the direction we needed to go, South. The path was quite smooth and flat, allowing us to travel quickly and without obstruction. I was a bit nervous as every step took me farther from everything I knew. However, I was in a group of people doing the same thing and that somehow made the steps easier. We actually trusted this vague message and headed South, seemingly without a destination. I felt a little guilty about not sharing my map at this point.

    Along the way, Ralph found a thin, fallen tree on the side of the path and cut it up. He ended up carrying it with us so he could make a big fire at our destination for warmth and to scare off predators. Despite the heat, he didn¡¯t even break a sweat from this hard work. I was jealous of his physique and the fact that he did something during the journey. If it wasn¡¯t for Adrian and the mercenary not doing anything as well, I¡¯d feel pretty guilty about that too.

    One thing that was a bit odd was what the mercenary did. He or she seemed to look at Adrian quite a bit. Maybe they¡¯re just as skeptical of him as I was. Or perhaps I¡¯ve misjudged them and they¡¯re eagerly awaiting the next message from the gods. What sort of message is ¡°Head South¡± anyways? It sounds stupid.

    As our pace began to slow and we began to consider settling down to make camp, I heard a strange sound coming from the nearby bushes. Rustling and growling coming from some sort of animal, and more than one of them. We all heard it and readied our weapons. A thumping sound was heard as Ralph dropped the logs. This acted as a marker for the start of the battle.

    A group of goblins that outnumbered us appeared. I only heard of them in stories before but they were real and just as vicious as the rumors stated. They were only half the height of a human but had a wildness and strength that was beyond what you would expect for something that size. Even worse was that they carried weapons. Rusty small swords like daggers mixed with sharpened rocks and pieces of scrap metal. They didn¡¯t seem very good in terms of quality but were dangerous tools in the hands of a goblin and people could often get one sick after a cut even if they survived.

    Ralph seemed to be the first to react. He stepped out in front of the group and raised his axe menacingly. He didn¡¯t attack but was prepared to. Most of the goblins seemed to be intimidated by his large physique.

    While they were distracted, Adrian slipped by and used his staff as a bludgeon. He bashed in the head of one of the goblins while shouting something about repenting. The goblin was killed instantly, enraging the remaining goblins.

    One of the goblins slipped by and got close to me. I tried to raise my bow but my hands kept shaking and I couldn¡¯t aim properly. So, I pulled out my skinning knife and stabbed it into the shoulder of the goblin before me. I didn¡¯t know how I pulled it off. My actions happened quicker than my thoughts. The goblin screeched and backed off with my skinning knife stuck in its shoulder.

    I took a quick glance around to see the situation and the mercenary was gone. Ralph took a swing at one of the nearby goblins with his axe but missed. Adrian swooped in at the same time and used his staff to bash one of the goblins in the kneecap and force it to the ground. Even though they were outnumbered, no one was injured and we seemed to be winning. I became optimistic and pulled my bow back out to take a shot. Unfortunately, I missed the shot and the arrow went into the woods, never to be found again.

    I took another glance back towards the others only to find Adrian missing. He just disappeared out of thin air like the mercenary. However, the mercenary seemed to have reappeared in his place to support Ralph. Speaking of which, one of the goblins over there attacked him and managed to put a light cut on his arm.

    In my negligence and paying too much attention to the others, I had temporarily forgotten the goblin before me, giving it the chance to attack me. It burned and I felt pain in my stomach. The little bastard looked up at me and smiled when I looked down at it with its blade skewered into my lower abdomen. This wasn¡¯t good. If I didn¡¯t patch this up, I was in a real danger of dying. Why did I come with these people?

    I pulled the goblin¡¯s weapon out of my body and shoved the goblin away. I sat down and applied pressure on the wound. I took a fleeting glance at the other battlefield to see Ralph cut down another while the mercenary missed. They still have 4 goblins to deal with so I¡¯m on my own here. The goblin I pushed over stood back up and walked towards me. It licked the blade of its weapon, its thick tongue ignoring the sharp rust and savoring the taste of fresh blood.

    It stabbed my shoulder, the same spot where I stabbed it. It began to play with me, torture me because I can no longer fight back. It could kill me but it chose not to. All the while, I begged for my allies to help as I see two more goblins attack them, one missing and the other cutting a small scratch as Ralph tries to avoid their strikes. They were still held up with their current opponents and didn¡¯t even check on me once.

    It all seemed hopeless at this point and the pain was unbearable. Looking at my fate and the joy on the goblin¡¯s face, I decided to end it all to spite everything. I wasn¡¯t supposed to be here and now I paid the ultimate price. I wouldn¡¯t let them kill me; I had the right to choose my own death. Some say it is the easy way out. Whatever happens now was out of my hands.

    I bit my own tongue. It hurt and I stopped. I didn¡¯t even break the skin. Even then, I feared death despite hardening my resolve. I did it again, harder this time and an iron taste filled my mouth. Once again, I did it and my face turns pale and blood overflows from my mouth. The goblin¡¯s facial expression changed as it realized what I did. I spit out blood and the tip of my tongue into the goblin¡¯s face. It flinched back as I fell over, bleeding out from my wounds.

    Soon enough, I was watching the battle from above instead of below. Beside me was Adrian for some reason, smiling with a troubled look on his face. I looked down to see the goblin that I had been fighting stab my body repeatedly while screeching with rage. I couldn¡¯t hear nor feel any of that rage.

    ¡°It seems the two of us have hit a bit of bad luck. The gods apologize for this mess up. It was within their calculations as a possible event but they did not think that it would actually happen. Alas, our journey ends right at its beginning,¡± said Adrian.

    ¡°How did you die? I was glancing at your side of the battle every so often and you just disappeared,¡± I asked. I did not care for his words of gods, even now that I¡¯m dead. I simply accepted that I was dead and that Adrian being here meant he was dead too.

    Adrian pointed towards a spot isolated from the battle in the forest. At the spot where he was pointing, there was the mercenary and Adrian¡¯s dead body. Adrian had red marks around his neck and his face was somewhat purplish. The mercenary was currently stuffing his body into a hollow in a tree. Though, his staff was neglected and sat in a bush not too far from the battlefield.

    ¡°We had a traitor among us. A skilled assassin who managed to steal me away while I was right beside Ralph and strangled me to death. He even did it with his bare hands. I could see a dagger by his side but he must have deemed it too messy and found me too easy of a target. I blame myself for being so optimistic and trusting,¡± said Adrian.

    Together, Adrian and I watched the rest of the fight. The mercenary left after burying Adrian¡¯s body, off to his next contract. While Ralph valiantly killed the remaining goblins. Most of the fight was him anyways and a skilled warrior like him could make up for being outnumbered. However, during the battle, he took a nasty wound to his leg. The last thing I saw was him leaning up against a tree while looking up into the sky with a look of despair. Everyone was dead or gone except him.

 Chapter 2: Conveniently Located Tyrant

    Ever since that day, I¡¯ve been plagued by nightmares. One moment, I was heroically fighting against a horde of goblins; the next, one of my comrades disappeared. Replaced by one of the others, the one I trusted least. With them fighting by my side, I finally started to come to trust them a little only for that to be shattered as they left during the battle. Finally, the only one that didn¡¯t go off elsewhere ended up being killed. It was only one goblin and I thought he could have handled it himself, not that I was in any liberty to go help him.

    There was no honor in that fight. I may have won out in the end, but I lost all of my comrades. An empty victory if there ever was one. I even suffered a nasty cut in the last moments of the battle. It didn¡¯t seem so bad at the time, I had taken a few hits before. I had underestimated how bad the cut was. Far away from civilization, I had no way of finding a doctor in a timely matter and just stemmed the bleeding. It got infected.

    I became one leg short of a man, my chances of living normally falling into the drain, not even speaking of a life with glory. To make such matters worse is that those nightmares kept happening. A new group with a new meeting place. It was some sort of sick joke. I went in the opposite direction of where they told me to go yet they managed to track me down. In every nightmare, they came a bit closer, and I wasn¡¯t in any condition to get away.

    Two seasons. It took them two seasons to finally reach me. Summer passed with me desperately dragging myself from town to town, hitching rides with merchants and trying to fix my leg. Fall saw the falling of my leg due to a bone saw from a traveling doctor. At that point, it was dead and rotting, driving the rest of my body to sickness. It had to happen and the surgery had just as much of a chance to kill me as it had to save me. My luck seemed to be above that of most men and I hope it stays that way.

    We met up in a bar. I had stayed the night there in a half-drunken stupor and was just putting on my new leg as they walked in and surrounded me as though it was natural. If only I decided not to drink yesterday and just bore the frustration of those nightmares, I might¡¯ve skipped town before they became a reality. Fate was no longer in my hands, but the gods. Nothing was more frustrating or despairing than that knowledge.

    The first one was a female priest wearing robes quite similar to the ones Adrian wore. The only thing different about her was that she was female and that she was carrying a fox in her hands. Which made me think she doubled as a tamer or something.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Claris. I¡¯m glad that we have finally all assembled. This is Foa in my hands. And now, everyone should introduce ourselves as we¡¯ll be working together from now on. I¡¯ll relay what the gods want us to do once we are all settled in,¡± said the female priest, now known as Claris.

    It was disgustingly similar to the way things went last time. I wasn¡¯t in the mood for this crap and I finished putting on my leg. They seemed to notice my disinterest and my leg unnerved them quite a bit. They continued their conversation with their eyes darting around as they didn¡¯t know where to put them.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know my name. I was guided here by the dead themselves. My job is to help lost souls find rest and as a perk, I can use their powers,¡± said the other member. His voice was that of a young male and he sounded overly excited about this. He wore thick, heavy robes that suited the winter months and covered his face. He seemed to be a mage-type as he carried around this fancy metal staff that wouldn¡¯t even work well as a club in a tough situation.

    Hiding his face and name? That was familiar; too familiar. I had a feeling that the situation last time was partially caused by that mercenary. After some searching, I managed to find Adrian¡¯s staff, but nothing related to them. I didn¡¯t even get to know their identity.

    ¡°The name is Ralph. I¡¯ve already gone through this type of situation before and it¡¯s not as colorful as you might imagine,¡± I said while lifting my leg into the air, making sure they took in the full weight of it.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad. No need to intimidate us, we¡¯ll take things seriously,¡± said the mage-type guy.

    I pulled down his hood and took a good look at his face. He was smiling and had bags underneath his eyes. It didn¡¯t seem like he had much sleep, that I could relate to, but the smile disturbed me. I made sure to memorize his face in case I had to track him down later.

    ¡°Tell me your name or I¡¯ll kick you out of the group right now. We had a guy like you in the last group up and disappear midway through a battle with no way of tracking him down. I¡¯m not going to let that happen again,¡± I said.

    ¡°Chad. No worries about that. I have enough people haunting me and I don¡¯t need any more simply because I ran off from a fight. I can hold my own,¡± said the mage-type, now known as Chad.

    ¡°Guys! Stop talking! I¡¯m receiving a message from the gods. We must find and defeat a tyrant,¡± said Claris.

    The same vagueness as last time. It was better than going blindly in one direction but not by much. As for a tyrant, that could mean any number of things. A king, a military commander, or a¡­ noble in charge of a town?

    We were fucked.

    ¡°Did the gods specify anything about the tyrant? He must be close as the dead seem to be chattering quite a bit about that message,¡± said Chad.

    ¡°Well, yes actually. We¡¯ve got good luck as¡ª¡° Claris started to say.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± I shouted, interrupting her as I looked around the tavern.

    The barkeep kept his head down while cleaning out a glass with a rag. He didn¡¯t want trouble. As for the others, they seemed mostly asleep, focusing on their breakfast, or were already starting to drink. It seemed like we were still safe for the most part. Except, the door to the entrance was swinging quite wildly. Someone had pushed through it a couple seconds ago in a rush. Things were going downhill.

    ¡°Why did you interrupt me?¡± asked Claris. The fox was stirring about restlessly in her hands.

    Chad, on the other hand, was looking at the door as well and his face was turning pale. His smile was wiped off his face. He had realized it as well.

    ¡°We need to get out. Now,¡± I said while pulling Adrian¡¯s staff from behind my seat.

    I shoved it into my armpit to use as a makeshift crutch. Claris¡¯s face scrunched up and it seemed she was displeased about this. Too bad. Desperate times call for desperate measures. This wasn¡¯t the first time I had to use something important to others inappropriately to suit my needs.

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    ¡°Barkeep, any chance this place has a back entrance? The shop we want to go to is on the other side of the block and it¡¯d be nice if we could take a little shortcut,¡± I asked the barkeep. He may not have wanted to get involved but there was no reason he couldn¡¯t help at least this much. I even asked in a roundabout and loud way to give him an excuse to give the guards and plenty of drunkards around here could attest to his word as witnesses.

    ¡°There is no back door. Only one entrance and exit and it¡¯s right there. Quickly use it so there¡¯s no mess here,¡± said the barkeep.

    It was understandable. Even if he did have a backdoor, he wouldn¡¯t let us use it. We pretty much committed treason with our words before. He gave us the advice to leave quickly so we both had a chance to escape and so his tavern wouldn¡¯t turn into a battleground. It was more of self-preservation than kindness, but it was better than nothing.

    Chad took the front, rushing towards the front entrance. He was a coward, but I couldn¡¯t fault him for it since I was doing the same thing. Besides, if things went downhill, he would be the first into the pit. I patted my back to make sure all my belongings were in place and started to wobble towards the door. Claris stayed by my side, keeping her arms stretched out. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was to help me or the staff if I fell.

    The two of us got outside to find Chad up against the wall with a guard and the person who snitched on us in front of him. Chad had his arms up and seemed to be surrendering, but when we came out he took advantage of the guard being looking away to run over to us.

    ¡°You incompetent fool! You let one get away. These are treasonous people talking about getting rid of the baron. No more trying to arrest them, just stick em if you get the chance,¡± said the snitch while pulling out a short sword.

    This was just great. Things were devolving into combat again. There were less to fight but we were in the middle of enemy territory. It didn¡¯t look like surrender was an option anymore so it was eitherfight or run. Unfortunately, I¡¯m in no condition to run so we had to fight quickly and then move along before more show up. I felt sad that I even considered running as an option but there is no glory in dying a dog¡¯s death.

    Thankfully, the leg I lost was my left and I¡¯m right handed. I could still use my axe quite comfortably without letting go of Adrian¡¯s staff that I was using for support. I stepped forward towards my opponents. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Claris setting the fox down and getting ready to fight while Chad was somewhere behind me. If he had run off, I¡¯d track him down and kill him myself later.

    The guard seemed a bit unsure of things as he wasn¡¯t even wearing armor and his weapon was still sheathed. The snitch looked at my leg, smiled and began to rush at me. He bounded through the snow with surprising speed. I tried to move to dodge or parry the attack, but all I ended up doing was shift the position of Adrian¡¯s staff onto an icy part of the road and unbalanced myself. I still wasn¡¯t used to having only one proper leg and paid for it with a small sword to the gut. It wasn¡¯t in any of my vitals so with some medical help I¡¯d be fine. Just like how I¡¯d still have both my legs if Adrian hadn¡¯t disappeared.

    Claris stepped in from the side and bashed the snitch¡¯s arm badly. He fell over from the sudden hit and dropped his small sword. It fell to the ground with him, soaking the snow red with my blood. Then, Foa, the fox that Claris brought with her of all things, ran up and tore the snitch¡¯s throat out. The snow was dyed red with both the snitch¡¯s and my blood. One wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a wolf or dog was doing this, but this was just a small fox. Foxes were much more vicious than I previously gave them credit for.

    From behind me, an arrow whizzed by and hit a wall. If it had been a few centimeters to the left, it would¡¯ve taken out the guard. This was a wake-up call for this indecisive guard. He unsheathed his weapon and lunged towards Claris for some reason. I would¡¯ve expected him to go for me, since I was wounded or for whoever shot that arrow. Thankfully, his swing went wide and she backed up so it was a complete miss.

    I tried to give him a taste of my axe as punishment but I couldn¡¯t close the distance fast enough and my swing wasn¡¯t even close to him. He backed off a bit anyways which saved his life. Another arrow whizzed right by his face and would¡¯ve hit him if he hadn¡¯t moved. It seemed like bows were unreliable weapons in their aim. Wait, bows?

    A shriek was heard right next to me. There, Claris was covering her mouth while looking at the dead snitch in horror. She wasn¡¯t used to battles and wasn¡¯t paying attention properly, despite her life being in danger just a few seconds ago. I hoped that she would have the time to either get used to this or this farce would end and allow us to all go home. Just some wishful thinking on my part.

    Foa, once again to my surprise, turned out to be one of my most competent teammates despite being an animal. The fox grabbed onto the guard¡¯s leg with its mouth and starting tugging, unbalancing him and making him an easy target. I was just about to lift my axe to send a blow when the sounds of crunching snow in the distance reached my ears.

    Behind the guard, two more guards wearing actual armor and looking more professional appeared. They were rushing towards us but paused to observe the situation. The guard before us managed to struggle free and ran back to the other guards while trying to explain the situation. Taking advantage of this, I put away my axe and felt that my pack was disturbingly lighter than before, slapped Claris¡¯s shoulder, and began to flee. Chad took the lead once again, searching for an alleyway for us to dip into or something, on his back was an all too familiar bow.

    As we were running along, I thought I saw something shiny in Foa¡¯s mouth but dismissed it in lieu of more important things, like running. How dishonorable and how far I had fallen. Eventually, we managed to find a large building that didn¡¯t seemed to be used for anything. It was some sort of abandoned warehouse, a place where people used to keep things but now it was just eerily empty and falling apart from disuse. The perfect place to rest and take a break from this wild situation.

 Chapter 3: Good News and Bad News

    We entered the warehouse and looked around. It was relatively empty other than some shelves filled with miscellaneous items. There were no people inside the building and the cobwebs decorating the place suggested there hadn''t been any for a long time. It was the perfect place to hide out for a bit while avoiding the guards.

    I took a seat on a stool next to one of the shelves that on after cleaning off the dust and webbing. Claris glared at me when I wound the nearby webbing around Adrian''s staff. I was injured and it''s part of their beliefs to help those injured so my use of the staff was aligned with their thinking. It was just a glorified club so I didn''t see why it bothered her so much. Her face was completely red and it seemed like she would explode at any second. And then she did.

    Not literally, but that was the best way to describe it. She suddenly lifted up her head and hand then jerked back down with a colossal sneeze, sending dust everywhere. I was a part of that everywhere and it was unpleasant. I closed my eyes and started wiping the dust off my face with my shirt. I heard a gasp while doing so, it was Claris reacting to the stab wound in my gut that was still gushing blood. Chad and Foa were less bothered by it and started searching the shelves, both of them had been behind Claris and avoided her explosion.

    I needed to stem the flow of blood before I bled out. Either thator convince the healer in the group to stop gawking and do something. I tried talking to her, but she just kept staring with no reaction. So, I tore a piece of my clothes off and used the non-dusty side to put pressure on the wound. It hurt, but it didn''t hit vitals nor was it done by a rusty goblin blade. I leaned back and let my body relax as much as it could in this state.

    Soon enough, Chad returned with a bunch of old clothes and blankets. He set them down on the ground then began rifling through them. It was a good idea to have these. It was cold and as we were currently fugitives here; we couldn''t start a fire for warmth. An extra layer of clothes or a blanket would go a long way in this environment. Claris finally stopped staring at me to look at the pile of clothes and blankets with longing. Her current outfit was¡ª

    "Claris, why are you only wearing a light robe and shoes? This is the middle of winter. No wonder you''re sneezing with an outfit like that," I said to her.

    Claris picked up a shirt and pulled it over her robes before saying, "When I left to join the group it was summertime. I couldn''t afford better clothes as all of my money was used to buy food and places to rest. My funds ran out mid-fall and I had to offer my healing services for cheap just to survive."

    That made me feel like shit. I didn''t even consider how the others felt as I ran away from them. I could''ve at least met up with them to let them know I didn''t want to get involved before running off on my own. Then again, something like this could''ve happened, forcing me to stay with the group. Chad could''ve had it even worse for all I knew.

    "Luckily for me, I wear this heavy cloak year-round. Not that temperature really affects me, at least not natural temperature. As for traveling supplies, I easily found food and money by asking the dead," said Chad, shattering my previous conclusion.

    Noticing the bow on Chad''s back, I said, "Chad. Where did you get the bow on your back? It looks exactly like¡ª"

    "¡ªGeld''s bow," interrupted Chad.

    "How do you know that name?"

    "He told me when I channeled his strength. As I said before, I can use the strength of the dead as my own. Unfortunately, I need some sort of vessel to channel and my own strength is weak. The dead rely on me to influence the mortal world and I rely on them to influence anything. Geld was one of your companions that died and you had his bow on your back. I just happened to ''borrow'' it as the situation called for it."

    I wasn''t too happy about this. We had a companion that was good at stealing. I suppose it''s not that bad since he came clean about it and tried to use it to help us before. At the same time, if his power is legit, then he got Geld''s permission to use the bow. Which was more of an excuse to carry it around than I had.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Claris flinch. She was probably conflicted as his power goes against her views. If he wasn''t a member of our group, she''d call him a heretic. Either thator she just held in a sneeze. Not that there was much of a difference between those two actions.

    I felt a stab of pain in my gut and asked, "Can someone please heal me? It''d be nice if I had something more effective than a rag and some pressure on a stab wound."

    "I''m sorry. I was a bit out of it a second ago. I''ll do it," said Claris while walking towards me.

    "Wait one second. I want to test something out," said Chad while eyeing Adrian''s staff.

    I could let the incompetent priestess finally patch me up or see if the person that claims to channel dead peoples'' powers can use Adrian''s staff to heal me. It seemed like a no-brainer. I chose Chad. If it didn''t work, I could always get Claris to heal me. If it did work, then we knew that our group had two potential healers. Besides, I felt like Adrian could''ve saved my leg that day so here''s the chance to test that theory out even after his death. I waved my hand towards Chad and passed the staff over to him.

    "Adrian," said Chad as he began treating my wound.

    He started by moving the rag out of the way. By this time, the bleeding had been stemmed. He pointed the tip of the staff towards the wound and it began to close up at a visible rate. Chad''s power was the real deal; he knew the names of and could use the strength of the dead. Or he was simply talented and whatever the gods did to lead him to this group also told him the names of my previous companions. The latter seemed pointless so I went with the former.

    "That''s wasteful. You need to sew the wound shut first so the treatment is faster and takes less effort," said Claris while watching over my treatment.

    "I don''t have a sewing kit or anything else like that. Besides, I''m just doing this as a test to see if it works. I don''t need to do the best or most efficient job, but simply do the job at my leisure," responded Chad.

    Suddenly, the sounds of loud and rapid footsteps passed by the warehouse. We all went silent and stared at the entrance. Chad stopped healing me and grabbed Geld''s bow, nocking an arrow and preparing for a fight. Claris backed away towards the shelves, looking around. If we went to battle now, I wouldn''t be surprised if she ran and tried to find a back exit without us. It was understandable; we could fight one or two guards, but any more and we''d be in trouble.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Thankfully, no one entered the warehouse. The sound of footsteps faded away in the distance. Claris sat down and let out a deep breathe. Chad kept the arrow nocked and aimed towards the door, not believing that we were in the clear. While I just sat there, doing nothing the entire time. We got lucky this time but as time passes the guards will start to search more thoroughly. We couldn''t stay here; it was just a temporary respite.

    What came next was how to deal with this situation. How to defeat this so-called tyrant. If he was a tyrant, then there must have been people opposing him that we should find and team up with. After that, whether we team up or not, we need to find out his weaknesses and exploit them. A head-onfight, while the most honorable choice, is equally suicidal with the guards defending the town and him. Maybe I could challenge him to a duel and fight him one on one. Nobles seemed to like duels like that and I was confident in a one on one fight.

    At the same time, if he was willing to do such a duel, wouldn''t that make him an honorable lord rather than a tyrant. The only thing telling us that he was a tyrant was the so-called message from the gods. Then again, people trying to kill us as soon as the topic was brought up brings doubt upon that theory. It was better to assume he was a tyrant until proven otherwise. If it turned out he wasn''t, then we became the bad guys in the equation.

    Why did I even bother? Why couldn''t I just find a way to escape town and run off on my own? It wasn''t like my presence here changed much. The group had a high chance of dying off on this mission. With my leg, I was actually slowing them down. It was probably best if I went away. Leave them to their fates while I reclaimed my old fate. If they survived I''d congratulate them; if not, it wasn''t my problem.

    Even if it wasn''t my problem, I''d never live it down. The guilt from the deaths in the last group would multiply and fester in my dreams. Maybe a new group would form and haunt my nights, slowing getting closer just to have another suicide mission. Then, I would leave them again and gain another weight on my mind. All that lied ahead was pain and misery.

    "Claris, come over here and finish healing me. Chad, open the door and check if the coast is clear. We have a mission to accomplish," I said.

    As per my orders, Claris came over and finished healing my wound while Chad cracked the door and peeked out. He looked back and lifted one finger. I waited until my wound closed up and stopped hurting before picking up Adrian''s staff and my axe and walking to the door. Claris and Foa followed close behind.

    "Should I try to take him out with Geld''s bow or should we all rush him?" asked Chad with a low voice. It seemed like the guard was close to the door so being loud wasn''t a good idea.

    "Let me take a peek first so I can take stock of the situation," I said while cracking the door open, only to see the guard right in front of the door.

    "Open the door right now. I hear you whispering you squatters," said the guard.

    He heard us. Squatters? He mistook our identities and that means we could take him by surprise. I tightened my grip on my axe then glanced at my companions to see them somewhat battle ready and swung the door open. The guard was surprised and jumped back a bit. That saved his life as my axe followed behind the door and knicked the tip of his nose. Instead of feeling down about it, I moved aside to give my companions a chance to make their move.

    Chad took this opening to fire off an arrow that flew true. It pierced the guard in his heart and knocked him off his feet. He fell to the ground and began clawing at his clothes and the arrow desperately. All the while, his mouth was open and his face was twisted with a silent scream. And then, he stopped to take a rest, eternally. A clean yet dirty kill.

    Claris fell to her knees and began praying. I walked over and kicked him slightly to make sure he was dead, a nasty smell and lack of response confirmed it. This mission was worse than the previous as we had to deal with human opponents. Ones that were more or less innocent and just following orders. In that way, we were the same.

    "Wirn. Another spirit to curse my every breathe," said Chad while picking up the guard''s sword. Saying the name of the person we just killed wasn''t helping the situation much.

    Claris stopped praying and dragged a blanket from the pile over. She placed it over his body and gave him his last rites. It was a nice gesture, but nice gestures wouldn''t make up for murder. We had to move on, bloody snow and a dead body was more incriminating than treasonous words could ever be.

    "Follow me. Wirn is willing to help us if we take care of his last wish and doesn''t blame us for his death," said Chad conveniently.

    Trusting the spirit of the guy we just killed. It didn''t sound right nor did it make sense. However, I didn''t have any better plans and Chad was running ahead. If we run into an ambush willingly, then he would take full responsibility and I wouldn''t save him. Or so I''d like to say, but I would try to save him anyways. I followed and so did Claris and Foa.

    A house. Chad¡ªno, Wirn brought us to a nondescript house. It was surrounded by other houses that were almost the same in appearance. Chad walked up the steps and knocked on the front door. I decided not to get involved and stood off to the side with the others. A woman answered the door and soon enough she was crying. It seemed like Wirn kept his word even though he had every justification to against it.

    This meeting went on for a little bit before ending with a bang. Chad came back downstairs with a handprint on the left side of his face. He said a little too much and was too honest. However, he smiled and didn''t seem to mind it too much. In his hands was Wirn''s sword; it seemed like his family didn''t take it or he forgot to pass it over. This could be for the best since Chad could use it to channel Wirn''s strength.

    "Good news and bad news," said Chad.

    Claris stepped forward and used healing magic to make the handprint fade away while saying, "Was the bad news that you got slapped?"

    "No. The good news is that there''s a resistance and I know where they''re meeting tonight. The bad news is that it''s not very big and the lord of the town knows where they''re meeting tonight as well. So, by going to this meeting we''ll also be walking right into an ambush."

    Honestly, that wouldn''t be much more of a risk than the one we just took. This so-called resistance was our only allies and biggest hope. We had to find a way to warn them of this ambush and then join forces. Either that, or come at the time of the ambush and rescue them. The issue was timing. What was the best timing for all of this?

    "We should find a spot nearby this meeting and wait. The resistance would be a great help but not something worth losing our lives over. We''ll bide our time and take action only if it''s to our advantage. Who knows if the tyrant will even attack them this meeting. Warning them of an ambush that doesn''t happen will make them suspicious of us," I said, possibly sealing our fates or saving them.

    "Well, they will know about us since Wirn''s family plans to attend the meeting. They won''t be too pleased about us killing off one of their members, even if it was by accident," said Chad.

    "No worries. All we have to do is tell them about our mission from the gods and Chad''s power and their suspicion will be blown away. We have a common enemy so they should be understanding," said Claris naively.

    "Unfortunately, that would just make us look even more suspicious. Let''s just find a place near the meeting to hunker down at and then wait and see. Agreed," I said.

    "Works for me," replied Chad.

    "I don''t agree with it making us more suspicious, but I like the idea of checking things out first. Maybe I''ll get some info from the gods in the meantime to help us out," replied Claris.

    I had a feeling that whatever info she got would do just the opposite. I did nothing but let out a tired sigh and followed Chad as he guided us towards the meeting spot. This mission was going better than the last as we were all okay and there were no traitors, but I had a bad feeling.

 Chapter 4: Clashing Ideals and Split Up

    We arrived at the meeting spot without bumping into many people. It seemed like they were all out somewhere, looking for us or preparing an ambush. The meeting spot was at an abandoned warehouse, just like the one we were hiding in earlier. Unlike that warehouse, it looked a bit newer and less worn in appearance, with some tracks in the snow leading up to it. Come to think of it, how did those guards not track us down before with the snow providing a clear trail? It was best not to think too deeply about it.

    Of course, we shouldn''t just waltz right in and instead camp out somewhere. The best place would be a building right across from the warehouse, especially if it was another warehouse or a business we could loiter at for a bit without suspicion. Upon inspection, it was but there was a problem. There was a dead body in front of the building and it was a bar. It was the bar where this damn quest started and the body of the snitch we killed was still lying on the cold, hard ground. It turns out this place was already being used by the tyrant to keep on eye on the rebellion.

    "That''s the best place for our purposes. At the same time, it holds quite the risk. The people inside may know of our identity and that dead body is sure to attract attention. What do you guys think, should we go there anyways?" I asked the rest of the group.

    "I don''t know about this. I''ll go with whatever you guys think is best until I regain contact with the gods," said Claris.

    "The dead say it should be fine. Ironically, I trust the dead with my life," said Chad.

    It seemed like everyone was fine with entering the bar. Even Foa let out a yip as though she was agreeing with everyone''s decision and took the lead. Other than the bartender, nobody in there seemed to react to our entry. However, that was all that was necessary to ruin everything. He looked at us with shock then started shouting for guards to come. What did we even expect? He barely tolerated us in the situation before. In return for his kind warning, he got a few arrows in his wall and a dead body in front of his bar.

    I didn''t wait for the guards and ran out of the bar with the rest of the group in tow. A few of the people in the bar stared at us due to the bartender''s shouting. Thankfully, when we got outside, there were no guards in the area. We couldn''t just stay there with the bartender screaming his head off about us. At the same time, we should stay in the general area.

    "What should we do now?" I asked.

    "I don''t know. I''ve just been going along with what you''ve said so far," said Claris. She kept her head low and seemed a bit distant.

    "This was your plan. You tell us what to do. The dead don''t have much to say and neither do I," said Chad.

    The decision fell upon my shoulders completely and I had no input from my comrades. What to do? Should we just find another building to hide out in or just enter the warehouse directly? There was several choices and several ways this could go wrong. We originally decided to stay nearby but we didn''t need to keep to that plan. In fact, it might be a good idea to distance ourselves after being detected by the bartender.

    "How would you guys feel about not sticking around for the meeting?" I asked.

    "Don''t we need their help for the mission? If we don''t stick around, then isn''t there a chance they''ll be wiped out?" asked Claris. She seemed to oppose this plan.

    "I see. We''ll use the resistance as a distraction while we strike the tyrant. If we stick around the resistance, we''ll just get wiped out ourselves. The dead feel that this plan is reasonable, but Adrian feels we should try to complete this plan before the meeting so we can rescue the resistance afterwards," responded Chad.

    Striking the tyrant while his army is dealing with the resistance? It was a great idea and it was being attributed to me. In reality, I was just being a coward, using one slip up as an excuse to run. I didn''t deserve the position of leader. At the same time, he said Adrian. The dead he has been talking about were Geld and Adrian, not general dead spirits lingering about. My old comrades were trying their best to help us even post-mortem. I could not disappoint them.

    "Isn''t that just using the resistance as bait? How cruel," said Claris and she was right.

    "All we have to do is accomplish the mission before they''re wiped out as Adrian said before. Which means we should move out now. The only thing left is how we can get to the tyrant," I said while looking towards a manor. It was the only two-story building in town and was situated on a hill so it was hard to miss. It was the lord''s manor, the place where the tyrant lied.

    "Well, if the guards are distracted with the resistance, couldn''t we just walk right in?" asked Chad.

    "That''s crazy talk. No noble would leave themselves unguarded just to wipe a resistance out. If the manor is unguarded, then the tyrant isn''t there," said Claris.

    "You both have a point. Let''s walk up to the manor from the front and scout things out," I said, compromising between their two decisions.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Claris opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. Chad took the lead and we started heading towards the lord''s manor. I took the opportunity to walk beside Claris and chat with her.

    "You alright? It seems like you''re not too happy with the group right now," I asked.

    "Of course I''m not alright. The gods haven''t said a thing since they gave me the mission, Chad is pretty much a heretic, and you keep treating a priest''s staff like a tool. To make things worse, we''re killing people. Why can''t we do this mission without killing our fellow man?" said Claris.

    So that was what was bothering her. I sorta guessed some of them already, but it seemed to have stacked up a bit. Her stress was rising and it might cause an issue. At the same time, I couldn''t do anything about it. Chad was a valuable member of our group, I needed to use the staff as a crutch, the gods weren''t something I could influence, and we might have to kill more. Promising otherwise would just be lying.

    "I''m sorry but I can''t help you with this. There are things we have to do for this mission. It''s best if you just keep to the back and not get into conflict with anyone. Don''t be selfish," I said to her. It was harsh and could''ve been worded better but I had more important matters to deal with.

    "That''s bullshit. How am I being selfish? The reason the gods aren''t talking with us is probably because of how we''re doing this. We could do this mission without the killing just fine. And don''t tell me about things we have to do. How would you know anything about that with how your last mission turned out? Your mission was a complete failure and then this one was delayed for months by your selfishness. Even if I''m being selfish, I''m fully justified in doing so."

    That was too far. It didn''t matter if she was right or not. She just hit my sore spot about this mission. I came close to leaving several times but chose to stay for them. Why did I even stay if I''d just get treated like this? I understood what I did was wrong, but I had made up for it. Even then, I was considerate enough to talk with her about problems she was facing and this is what I get in return. Sure, I didn''t help much and she might be right, but that doesn''t matter. I was angry. I slapped her in the face.

    "Shut up! This mission wasn''t voluntary. I was forced into this, just like you. I could''ve kept running, but I chose to stay. I didn''t want you all to end up like Adrian and Geld. That''s the only thing keeping me from skipping town and ignoring this mission. I don''t want to be here, I don''t want to lead you all, but I am. And I''m saying that your expectations are unrealistic. Hell, this entire mission is unrealistic and we might end up being wiped out just like the previous mission. Who''s to say that isn''t the gods'' intention with these missions?"

    "I''m done with us. I refuse to believe that you''re the people picked out by the gods. A heretic who claims to speak to the dead and a crippled warrior who''s a burden to the group yet plays as the leader. I will find a way to complete this mission myself. Goodbye," said Claris while running off and nursing her cheek.

    Admittedly, I was harsh. I shouldn''t have slapped her and I worded things badly. Unfortunately, with her attitude towards how we were doing things, this might have been inevitable. Perhaps this was for the best. She seemed to be heading towards the resistance meeting. If we ended up failing, then I hoped she would survive. I didn''t like her, but I wished her the best in life since she was going through these missions just like me.

    I felt something furry brush up against my leg and saw Foa below me. Wasn''t Foa Claris'' pet? It didn''t matter since it was staying with us. The fox was the most competent of my teammates after all. I made eye contact with Foa and felt like the eyes held intelligence beyond that of an animal. However, that could''ve just been a glint from the dagger in its mouth playing tricks with my mind. Dagger in its mouth? What?

    "I guess that means we''re down a healer. Do we still keep to the plan of scouting out the front or should we go for the back to be safe?" asked Chad, interrupting my thought process.

    "Err, if we need healing, you can just use Adrian''s staff. Let''s just stick to this plan for now. We can always change it later if a situation arises," I responded.

    "If you say so. If something goes wrong, maybe we''ll get lucky and Claris will get the help of the resistance. If we get captured, I do hope the tyrant is the type to flaunt instead of executing us on the spot."

    "Please. Let''s not talk about possible ways we could die."

    "My apologies. It''s a bad habit that comes with my line of work."

    Soon we reached the base of the hill and started climbing up towards the manor. At this distance, we could see the overall state of the manor. Empty. Devoid of guards or servants. Were they just inside or was the tyrant out? Claris brought up that possibility and it might have become reality. I looked towards Chad and he seemed unfazed by this. He noticed me looking at him.

    "Stop looking around so nervously. So what, the manor is empty. Isn''t this a good thing for us? It makes it easier to infiltrate the place," said Chad.

    "What if the tyrant isn''t there?" I asked.

    "It''s his home, isn''t it? We just infiltrate and then wait until he gets home."

    "And the resistance?"

    "Claris is taking care of them. It should be alright if we take our time."

    "No, what if both the resistance and Claris get wiped out?"

    "Not our problem. Claris left the group and is making her own decisions with her own consequences. It''s best if we think of the best way to finish this mission rather than caring about stuff that may or may not happento people unrelated to us. Besides, to me, death is not a big deal."

    That shut me up. If he didn''t mind, I guess it was best to leave it at that. At least he wasn''t blaming me for driving her away. As for what to do, we hadn''t even entered the manor yet so it was best to push those plans back. The manor being empty was still unnerving and suspicious.

    It was comprised of a low wall, a courtyard, and the actual two-floor building. The wall was low enough that we could climb over it with some effort. There were also a scattering of trees, including a few that were awfully close to the wall. This place seemed easy to infiltrate. However, none of that was necessary as the gate allowing easy entrance through the wall was wide open. Was this a trap?

    Chad took the lead and walked into the courtyard. Even now, there wasn''t a single sign of life in the manor. We assumed this was the lord''s manor, but there was a chance it wasn''t. A lord''s manor wasn''t something left unguarded like this. Could we be at the wrong place, breaking into some abandoned house or poor sod''s home?

    My teammates didn''t share my worries, both Chad and Foa approached the front door of the building. Chad touched the doorknob, intending to open it. Instead, he jumped back with a cry of shock. The next moment, the entire front entrance collapsed.

 Chapter 5: The Tyrants Traphouse

    It collapsed inward and Chad was completely unscathed. It wouldn''t have hurt him even if he didn''t jump back but it was weird. Upon closer inspection, I found a few spears and a weird contraption mixed in with the rubble. A trap?

    "I heard the noise of a gear turning, a harsh metallic grating noise when I touched the doorknob. The dead shouted that I should run so I jumped back, but it ended being nothing," said Chad.

    "Nothing? This was a trap. You could''ve gotten skewered by these spears if you hadn''t jumped back," I responded.

    "Look at how rusty this crap is. It''s extremely old and it failed. Any more traps we might find will probably be the same. There''s nothing to worry about."

    "Extremely old? Then is this place even worth checking out? This place is cracking up to be more of a haunted mansion than a lordly manor."

    "Hey, this place is not haunted. I would be able to tell if that was true. Actually, a haunted mansion would be great as we might be able to get some cool stuff to channel and help us."

    "Shouldn''t we go back to town and ask a local for directions. The lord obviously isn''t here."

    "Who cares if he is here or not. Let''s go explore. If the lord is here, then great. If not, we can always go with your backup plan. If we go back and this ends up being the lord''s manor then that means we wasted our time."

    It seemed pointless to reason with him. He was dead set on exploring this mansion set up to make him dead. I couldn''t see this as the lord''s manor anymore. All I could do was just go along with him. After all, we were short on members ever since I got in that dispute with Claris. Hopefully, this ends up being worthwhile.

    "Too much rubble to get through this way. We''ll have to look for another entrance. Any suggestions?" asked Chad.

    I looked around and found a few ways to get in. One was a balcony on the second floor that could be reached by climbing some vines. Another was a hatch on the ground that probably led to some sort of basement. And finally, we could always go around the building to look for alternate entrances. Honestly, I felt like climbing the vines up to the second floor was the safest option. Other entrances were likely to have traps and going into the basement seemed like a bad idea.

    "Let''s climb those vines and enter through the balcony," I said while walking towards the vines.

    "Sounds good to me. However, how are you and Foa going to get up? You''re crippled and Foa is a fox," Chad said.

    "I can always give it a try and Foa doesn''t need to come along."

    Chad shrugged and slung his staff and Geld''s bow behind his back. Then he grabbed one of the vines and started climbing. The vine held his weight and he didn''t struggle with climbing. While he was climbing, Foa jumped onto his shoulders and stood above his head while he climbed. Chad didn''t seem too impeded by this and halfway up, Foa jumped onto the railing of the second-floor balcony. From there, it looked down at Ralph as though it was mocking him and proving his previous statement wrong.

    I walked up to the vines and tried to think of a way to climb it. I couldn''t do it with one arm nor could I throw away Adrian''s staff. Would it be worth setting it down just so we could enter from a spot that was less likely to be a trap?

    "Just throw the staff up to me and try climbing up with both your arms free," said Chad while climbing over the railing onto the balcony.

    Why didn''t I think of that? I threw Adrian''s staff up and Chad caught it. Then, I took the vine with both hands and slowly pulled on it to shift my weight onto it before I started climbing. Right when I was about to lift my feet and started scaling up, the vine broke and fell to the ground beside me. It appeared that I was too heavy for that vine. Risking other vines would probably just end up with me falling to the ground as they snap halfway.

    "I''ll just find another way in. Go on without me," I said.

    "Do you need Adrian''s staff?" asked Chad while waving the staff.

    I looked at my unbalanced peg leg and my slumped posture. It would be a good idea to keep using the staff as a crutch until I got used to it or got a better peg leg. However, how was I supposed to ever get used to it if I relied on a crutch. This wasn''t the time, though. My time was better spent staying stable and alive.

    "Yes, throw it down. Without it, I won''t be able to move properly," I said.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    "Whatever," said Chad as he dropped the staff and headed into the manor with Foa.

    I caught the staff and then searched around the place. I did not want to go down into the basement. Thankfully, there was an entrance in the back of the house. When I opened the door, there was a weird fizzing noise but nothing happened. A failed trap. Inside, there was a plain looking room with two doors leading deeper into the building. I had to choose one of them.

    It didn''t really matter so I opened one of them at random and it led to absolutely nothing. There wasn''t even another door to go through. Next was the other door I hadn''t opened. When I started walking towards that door, I heard a strange noise. It sounded like hurried footsteps above me. Was Chad running around upstairs? I needed to find a way up there.

    The next door opened up to a room full of brown leather sacks and a ladder leading to the next floor. Should I stop and check the sacks or climb the ladder and reunite with my comrades? While considering this, a series of strange sounds rang out from above.

    More footsteps, a whizzing noise, and then coughing and slamming noises. I had no idea what the hell was going on. My comrades could be dying up there. I didn''t have time to waste on checking sacks; I started climbing up the ladder. It was a bit inconvenient to grip with my peg leg, but three limbs were more than enough to climb a ladder. As I climbed up, I saw a strange smoke start to wisp down towards me. I closed my eyes and held my breath as I climbed up.

    When I reached the top, I opened my eyes to see Chad and Foa lying on the ground around me, motionless. I felt my fingers and toes get a bit numb while my eyes started to water. Were they dead? No, I saw their chests heaving up and down, breathing. Ahead of me was the person who brought them to this state. A man wearing wealthy clothes. He was sweating and staring at me as if he wanted to swallow me. He was hostile and somewhat panicked.

    There was this feeling that clicked in my mind. This was him, the tyrant. All I had to do was kill him and this would all be over. His eyes darted from me and the ladder I just came from. I made sure to stand over the ladder while looking around for other exits. There didn''t seem to be any other than the ones behind me. The tyrant was trapped. I pulled out my axe and tried to intimidate the tyrant.

    "You dare!" shouted the tyrant while unsheathing a sword and charging at me.

    I tried dodging to the side but he managed to graze my arm, drawing blood but not doing much damage. In response, I swung my axe and hit him in the side. Due to my awkward footing, it didn''t go too deep but it was bleeding badly. The tyrant backed off and put pressure on the wound. His face went pale from the thought of dying.

    "Why? What did I do to deserve this? Who hired you to kill me? I may have done some bad things but not enough to warrant an assassination," said the tyrant.

    "The gods themselves hired us. As for why, you''ll have to ask them when you meet them. Then again, the wording was defeat so I don''t have to kill you necessarily," I responded.

    "That''s crazy. Do you realize what you''re saying? The gods themselves? Are you one of those extremists?"

    "No. I don''t like what I''m doing at all. If I don''t do this, I''ll either die or get haunted by nightmares. This is all too real. Think. What could you have done to reach the gods¡¯ attention?"

    "The attention of the gods? Well, I''ve skimped on going to services quite a bit. I''ve also acted mostly out of self-interest. I fired my entire servant staff and keep guards away from my manor out of paranoia. Oh, and I''ve blackmailed every family in the city that''s connected to important people or guards so they won''t ever betray me. Not that it worked, a resistance formed from the people I was blackmailing. Thankfully, they just complain about me in supposedly secret meetings and don''t do anything."

    "So, you''re not going to wipe out this resistance?"

    "Why would I? I''ve got dirt on all of them that would make them sooner tear each other to shreds than attack me."

    "This blackmailing is messed up. That''s probably why we were supposed to defeat you. I don''t feel like killing you over something so minor. Could you drop your weapon so we can talk things out and we can get your wound healed."

    The tyrant dropped his sword and sat down. He shivered in pain from his wound and looked towards me with fear. Tyrant wasn''t the proper term for him. Misguided or corrupt was better. I kicked the sword away and then prodded Chad with Adrian''s staff. He stirred and made strange noises as his body twitched a bit. Other than that, he seemed just fine.

    A few minutes later, Chad was up and healing the misguided lord/tyrant by channeling Adrian''s staff. Whatever that stuff was that knocked him out still affected him as he swayed back and forth during the treatment. Foa was still twitching on the floor, her smaller body making the effects last longer for her. I got up and decided to check out the sacks below the ladder in the meantime.

    "Wait! Where are you going?" asked the misguided lord/tyrant.

    "I saw some strange sacks down below. I''m going to go check them out since I''m curious about their contents," I responded.

    "Please don''t. Those are my possessions."

    "What sort of possessions," cut in Chad with a slight slur to his voice.

    "The town''s treasury and all my blackmail material," said the misguided lord/tyrant.

    To be honest, I felt the temptation to loot that room, but I decided not to. Robbing the treasury would be nice, but it''d hurt the town. As for the blackmail material, it should be destroyed. The town might go through an unstable period from the disappearance of the blackmail, but it''d be for the best.

    "Once you''re done healing lead us down there and point out the blackmail material. We''re going to destroy it all to remove this fear of blackmail in the town. Then, we can work on your paranoia issue. If you keep blackmailing everyone, a real assassin might come along and kill you," I said.

    "All of it?" the misguided lord/tyrant frowned.

    "By the way, why the hell is the town''s treasury in a barely guarded building with broken traps," asked Chad.

    The misguided lord/tyrant started to say, "Broken? What are you talking about? These traps were made by Vel, the best craftsman in town. Everything he''s made for me has been perfect despite the fact that he¡ª"

    A voice from outside the building interrupted Lord Brandon.

 Chapter 6: Unorthodox Resolution

    "This is the resistance! Surrender!" shouted a voice from outside. This voice was accompanied by the sound of thundering footsteps in all directions. The resistance had finally appeared and surrounded the building. That meeting from behind that the guards knew of wasn''t an ambush on the resistance but an ambush on the lord himself. Was our presence even necessary in this mission?

    "We have the will of the gods on our side. No matter what slander or libel you throw at us, it will go through one ear and out the other. We are united against your tyranny, Lord Brandon! All of that so-called blackmail material will be burned and we will be liberated. Surrender and your life will be spared!" shouted another resistance fighter.

    Lord Brandon? So that was his name. Much better than using tyrant all the time. It made him seem more human. Meanwhile, the will of god sounds familiar. Claris must''ve joined hands with the resistance and convinced them to act. Even though we won, it was nice to know that we had reinforcements. It was all over now.

    "Feel free to come in! I''ve already captured the lord and I was just about to destroy the blackmail! It''s good to hear from the resistance!" I shouted out to them. Lord Brandon turned a bit pale. He had no way out now, he''d live but no more blackmail.

    "Please help me. They''re lying about letting me live. They''ll put me in a jail cell for a few months then hang me," said Lord Brandon. I wasn''t sure if he was being paranoid or realistic at this point. Claris was probably the only thing keeping the resistance from lynching Lord Brandon. Who''s to say they won''t turn on their word once our group left.

    "No! All of you leave the building and surrender your weapons!" shouted a resistance fighter.

    Chad finished healing Lord Brandon and said, "What should we do?"

    "Obviously, we''ll listen to them. We''re on the same side after all," I responded.

    "And Lord Brandon?"

    "We''ll figure something out later. For now, let''s listen to their instructions."

    I looked over towards Lord Brandon''s sword and considered giving it back to him before we left on a hunch. It was a stupid hunch since we were going to surrender our weapons outside. I decided not to do so after taking a look at him. He was pale and shivering constantly despite being healed. Dangerous. It seemed like he could explode at any second. A weapon was not something I''d like to see in his hands.

    Foa finally managed to get up and came over. The fox climbed onto Lord Brandon''s chest and began licking his face. He did not respond and just let this happen. An utterly defeated man. That was the only way I could describe him. Everything he knew was falling apart and all he could do was quietly surrender. If this wasn''t a completed mission, then I don''t know what was.

    We started going down the ladder one by one, other than Foa who rode Lord Brandon''s shoulders down. When we opened the back door, we were confronted by familiar faces. Claris who was familiar to us but unknown to Lord Brandon and the resistance fighters that Lord Brandon knew but we did not. They had their weapons drawn and were ready for action. There were around five resistance fighters by Claris'' side, with more surrounding the house.

    "Claris, good to see you. We just finished the mission and got Lord Brandon to surrender. Did you hear anything from the gods about the mission?" I asked.

    She smiled and said, "Yes, I did. The mission has been completed. All your stupid plans and killing were for naught as all we had to do was contact the resistance. I was surprised you managed to clear the mission before I arrived. Thankfully, you didn''t kill him so you listened to me, at least somewhat," said Claris.

    "So, no hard feelings about what happened before," I asked.

    "No hard feelings. However, I think you''re an ass," she said, much to my relief.

    "I feel some hard feelings about being called a heretic, though," cut in Chad.

    "I apologize for that as well. The gods have already told me that your power is not heresy, it''s just creepy as hell," said Claris.

    Chad shrugged and said, "I''ve heard worse."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    One of the resistance fighters started walking towards Lord Brandon. He ignored me and Chad, not seeing us as a threat. Lord Brandon backed away a bit and Foa jumped away from him. His eyes darted around before focusing on a man in the crowd.

    "Vel, you bastard. The feeling of finding out my traps were duds was almost as devastating as the feeling you had when you found out your wife was cheating," said Lord Brandon.

    A man from the crowd, presumably Vel, said, "Shut up. I will not listen to your dirty words."

    "The man who your wife had an affair with is the man right in front of me. Now you will never look at him the same way, will you?" asked Lord Brandon.

    The accused man shouted, "Shut up! We will not listen to your lies."

    Vel said, "In one ear and out the other."

    "Really now? You can say that now, but what about later? I have no reason to lie to you. Even if you don''t believe me, there will be a tiny part of you that squirms inside you, digging away. Aren''t you curious about the evidence I have of this?" asked Lord Brandon while looking inside the building.

    "Nice try. That''s an obvious lie. You''re so desperate that you''re making stuff up instead of using the legitimate blackmail you have. Mathias has been my best friend for over ten years, there''s no way he would do something like that. Isn''t that right," said Vel while looking at the man who was approaching Lord Brandon.

    "R-right," said Mathias with a light stutter, his back was to the rest of the resistance fighters. From my point of view, I could see his eyes darting back and forth and his face was sweaty.

    "Mathias, are you alright?" asked Vel.

    "Just fine. I''m just... I''m just emotional about this whole situation," replied Mathias.

    Lord Brandon continued to back up until he bumped into me. I was blocking the door to make sure he couldn''t get away. Not that it really mattered since we completed the mission. After all that effort to defeat him, letting him run away would be dissatisfying.

    "I have more. Even if Vel believes in Mathias, you can''t ignore everything I say!" shouted Lord Brandon.

    I started to get annoyed with this whole situation. All these so-called resistance fighters were hesitating constantly. They only sent one guy to grab the lord and he''s just standing there trying to clean the sweat off his face so he doesn''t look suspicious. The rest have their weapons sheathed and are watching over this situation as if this was a show. A few of them even smiled when Lord Brandon shouted he had more. Despite their talk of ignoring the stuff he says, it seems more like they want to hear it. To end this drama, I covered Lord Brandon''s mouth to keep him from talking.

    "Enough with this crap. Where are we taking him? I''ll bring him since you''re all taking your sweet time. Get someone trustworthy to burn the sacks full of blackmail," I said.

    With those words, the resistance stopped dawdling and started doing what they came there for. I guided Lord Brandon to the town''s main plaza, where the people who hadn''t participated in the resistance were waiting. The guard who we killed''s family was there, glaring at us. I didn''t even care at this point; I wanted to get this over with and then go to sleep. One of the resistance fighters that I didn''t know the name of walked up to Lord Brandon, who was now gagged with a piece of cloth. He held a piece a paper and began reading off of it; a list of crimes against the town.

    The entire time it was read out, Lord Brandon was squirming around. I held his arms behind his back to keep him from removing his gag or running off. Eventually, he went limp in my arms. He had given up resisting and accepted his fate.

    "...Normally, the punishment for such an amount of crimes would be death. However, the gods have deemed that he should not be killed. Therefore, his crimes amount to a life sentence," finished the resistance fighter.

    "Isn''t that the same as a death sentence," said Chad.

    "Pretty much. He''ll either sit in jail or do manual labor until he expires. However, he won''t be directly killed," I said to Chad before turning to Claris and asking, "Satisfied?"

    "I... wait, what? That can''t be right?" said Claris while frowning.

    "This is how the world works. You''ve got to face reality. While it''s true we can do these missions without killing, that won''t always bring about the best result," I said to Claris. I was hoping to convince her to abandon her way of thinking as it could compromise us on future missions. Future missions? That would be a real nightmare.

    "No, not that. The gods have spoken to me," responded Claris.

    "Please tell me it''s not another mission," I said.

    "It''s not. The gods want us to bring Lord Brandon with us as our new companion," said Claris.

    What? The tyrant we defeated is now our ally? How nonsensical. To make things worse, that implied there would be more missions. A nightmare came to life topped off with a new headache. How should I have reacted to this situation?

    "I''m going to bed. You handle this shit. I''m done," I said while walking towards the bar we started the mission at. I didn''t even bother checking the reactions of my comrades.

    Once there, I found the bartender glaring at me inside. It seemed like he kept himself neutral during this conflict. Judging from how empty the bar was, a tyrant getting overthrown was bad for business. Thankfully, he didn''t start shouting for the guards like last time. I recognized one or two of the people sitting in the bar as resistance fighters that helped surround the lord''s manor. That meant that the bartender was aware of the situation. I took a seat myself and ordered some food and booze. A room to sleep in? No, this was my bed tonight.

    Throughout the night, more and more people piled in. There was a lot of cheering and people buying everyone in the bar drinks. Turns out I was wrong; a tyrant getting overthrown was great business. It simply appeared to be bad during the actual overthrowing process. After taking advantage of a few free drinks, I managed to fall asleep despite the ruckus.