Chapter 14 - Hunt

The treacherous spider descends from higher up in the tower. Its heavy landing causes the whole tower to shake. It seems that I'm here yet again. Another fight in my dreams. A sigh escapes my lips.

"Haa... Let's get this over with."

I draw my swords in an arch and stand before Wendshardt confidently. The spider lunges forward to pin me down. One simple step to the right was enough to completely evade its attack. I immediately deliver a set of slashes to its vulnerable legs that resemble a tornado, a Blade Tornado. Unrelenting, the spider spins around with its claw swung out to catch me off guard. But I have already followed its hind legs after its stationary turn and continued my assault on its backside.

I drive both swords down into its hard shell and peel back the blades. The shell wouldn't normally be pierced as simple as this but after many many trials and errors, I have discovered the vulnerability in the back shell. The freshly opened wound causes the spider to screech in pain. Now angered by the series of events, the spider speeds up its attacks. I dodge them all with ease. The wounds and strains on its legs and the back shell forces the spider to stumble midway. I take the opportunity to unleash a flurry of slashes. Though many of them did not penetrate through the tough carapace, some wounds began to gradually appear in various places.

I retreat a step as the spider desperately claws at me. Once the distance is created, the weakened and injured spider struggles to pull itself back together.

All of a sudden, the spider surges forward and instantly pins me against the cold stone wall. The impact leaves me numb and twitchy. I can no longer feel my limbs. The spider then backs off a bit and spontaneously dives into the wall it had just left. The second impact plummets us both down the unfinished tower. We fall floor after floor. Life-threatening injuries accumulate quickly and they show no signs of stopping, neither is the fall.

After a painful while, I land in my bed.

I groggily put on my gears and slap myself awake. I should not have given the spider a break. That was a blunder. If that wasn't a dream, I would have lost my life there and then.

Adding my dream to last night, I did not wake up feeling refreshed as I hoped. Ignoring my dream just now, what happened last night still remains vivid in my memories. Why did Fiona fight me? What spurred her on? She couldn't have done that without reason.

-$/$;/&-74829-)3$:&&-

I meet with the others downstairs and proceed to have breakfast. I was absentminded the entire time and paid no attention to their talk.

How do I face Fiona from now on? Was it a mistake to fight her? Will she ask for another fight? I never wished to create such a distance between the two of us. The event from last night certainly did not bond us closer together. What should I say the next time I see her again?

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. My worries as of now are not my relation with mercenaries. My priority is Fomors. Everything else comes second. And I still haven't killed nearly enough Fomors yet.

Lucas: "Lethita! Lethita!"

"Huh?"

Lucas: "We're here. Get ready."

While I was in deep thought, we have already arrived at the Perilous Ruins. How long had I been out of it?

Rocko: "You okay rookie? You seem zoned out this morning."

"Yeah I'm fine... Just a bad night sleep. I'm fine now."

The five look at me skeptical but say nothing of it. Thus, we move on into the ruins. This will be my second time to visit such a vast ancient. I can't help but to appreciate the time and effort allocated in creating such a place. I wonder what place looked like before it was abandoned. What was it used for? The Perilous Ruins occupied more ground than a fortified castle. It is now the home of wild life and shitty Fomors.

Stray gnolls appear in various places. Alarmed, they attack upon notice. We soon break out in firefights against them. Clearing area after area, the fights becomes more and more repetitive. The gnolls aren't organized. They attack on their own whim which proves to be of no challenge at all. Even a bit of coordination between them can potentially pose a threat. As of they are now...it's lambs to the slaughter. Heh. My favorite.

With that said, the amount of them pouring out of the ruins is no joke. Where exactly do they appear from? There seem to be no end to them. As we progress deeper, hemdrills begin popping out of the ground as well. We react to the surprise attacks quite well. By "we," I mostly mean them. The five seem fully aware of such defense mechanism around these ruins.

Veterans aren't given the name for nothing. The five are very proficient with their style of fighting. They fluidly cut away the enemies while still remaining in close proximity with each other. Even though they engage different opponents at a time, they still guard each other's backs. If one of them is having difficulty, another would break away and reinforce. With this formation, they mow down mob after mob. All of them are equipped with identical gears, sword and shield, with the exception of some gadgets attached to their waists. This setup is very standard in the Crimson Blade Mercenaries. Their shields are larger than Fiona's and also NOT made of wood. The size covers a good half of their body. Theirs are forged with iron ores, making them much sturdier than the wooden ones supplied by the outpost. I reckon Fiona would also rearm her equipment once she earns enough for one.

Eventually, the influx of gnolls stops and we reorganize ourselves in a well secluded area to rest up. A campfire was set up and cooked a meal from the inventory I was carrying to fill our stomachs. It consisted of simply vegetables, grains, and meat.

Yes, I was the designated supplies carrier since they insisted to do all the fighting. Apparently it was their duty as "veteran mercenaries." I wanted to protest but I figured to just let them take leadership. I might even learn a thing or two from them. Their dedication as role models reminds me of the adults in my village. Similar to these veterans, they would always take me out hunting. They would take the initiative to teach me new things whenever they had a chance. I can't believe that they're all gone...

Painful memories and headaches occupy my mind as the others chat away while eating.

Ivan: "Whew... The gnolls here are no joke. They used to be such docile creatures."

Lucas: "Yep. Things have really changed. We have to be more careful now. It's lucky for us to only come in a small group. We would've been bigger targets if there were more of us."

Felix: "I have never had this much trouble advancing only this far into Perilous Ruins."

Rocko: "Well considering that they've recently migrated. They're fighting hard to protect their new home. I somewhat understand their desperate attempts to drive us invaders out."

Zenni: "Since you put it that way, we're the bad ones here. And that demotivates me to continue..."

Zenni's words cast a silence over themselves. None of them are able to meet each other's gaze. Finally, after a short while, Lucas speaks up as the leader of the group.

Lucas: "Let's just get this over with. Though we may seem like the villains here, we're not exactly friends with them either.

Looks like Lucas is a suitable leader for this group. His words alone elevate the mood of the others.

Lucas: "Alright, I think we've rested enough. Let's move out."

We scout around the ruins for the entire day. There is absolutely no sign of gold gnolls. Well, of course there isn't. They don't fall it rare just because they felt like it. I doubt we'd have such amazing luck on our first try.

With that said, the first yields nothing. We set up camp once again and decide to spend the night here in the ruins. We work out a sleep rotation so there would always be one of us to stand watch. I offer to go first.

I somewhat expected a night attack. Night raids are the most dangerous and effective tactic to employ in battles. But it was quiet all the through to the morning. I'm surprised that the gnolls didn't take this opportunity. We were tired and vulnerable. We could've been easily wiped out.

Well, maybe not wiped out. These mercenaries are experienced. Night attacks probably won't even faze them.

The morning came rather quickly. What surprises me the most is that a gold gnoll casually strolls in to our area. It is shaped like a bear but with longer limbs and gold fur. Hence the name Gold Gnoll... I should really work on my descriptions.

It's fangs are showing through the closed mouth. It's ears twitch once it feels my gaze. Our eyes meet and the gold gnoll moves on forward.

"Hey! You guys see that?"

I shout to the five and point in the direction of interest. They look at me absentminded. Did they not see it? It was in plain sight!

Felix: "See what?"

Rocko: "I don't see anything."

"The gnoll! There was a gold gnoll there."

Ivan: "Are you sure, Lethita? A random gold gnoll would just walk in here. That's very very likely."

"Argh! This isn't the time to doubt. It's getting away. I'm going after it!"

Lucas: "Hey wait! Lethita!"

I chase after the rare creature. I soon lost the others far behind. I catch a glimpse of the gold gnoll take a left around the corner. I mark a left arrow on the wall, hoping the veterans will follow the clues.

The gold gnoll finally senses its follower and speeds up to lose me. It gets in its fours so the hind legs can propel it further.

And so, the chase officially begins.

Fiona woke up that morning feeling like shit. She knew that today was going to be a shit day. Especially after that shitty defeat last night. She quickly got dressed and headed out the shitty door.

Her rush has quieted the mercenaries at the inn. Eyes skimmed her hurry curiously and whispers soon spread like wildfire. For them, a moody Fiona was abnormal. She has always been the talk among mercenaries, simply because she stands out. Ever since she arrived in Colhen, her personality and skills are well recognized even if she doesn't realize it herself. The mercenaries named her "The Unbreakable Shield."

"Hey... Is it just me or does Fiona seem colder than usual today...?"

"Sssh... Quiet, she might hear you."

"Huh? Can you even distinguish the level of her coldness? She seems the same as always. Beautiful and unapproachable."

"Haa... She is truly beautiful..."

"Yeah but... She's got this aura around her just now, you know? Like she will chew you up and spit you back out without even batting an eye."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Hey, I feel that too."

"You guys are weird. She's just like that as always."

"No you're blind. She is obviously different today. And exceptionally colder."

"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't suppose someone like you can imagine what she's going through."

"Oh? And I suppose you can?"

"Pfft yeah. Who do you think I am? I'll let you know that I've keeping my eye on her quite a while now."

"That's creepy."

"Yeah that is really creepy."

"Wha-? You guys don't understand anything!"

"I kind of understand where's he's coming from though."

"Aw, not you too!"

"Well she DOES seem different."

"I give up. You guys are right. She is different."

"There was a lot of sarcasm you placed in that sentence."

"That's a little rude."

"What? What do you want from me?"

"Alright alright. Let's break it up boys. Stopping fighting over Fiona and go back to playing nice."

"Yeah, you guys are causing such a commotion. The others are caught up in arguments too. This whole place is a mess now."

"So just stop here okay?"

"Fiona isn't going to bat an eye at you anyways. What's the point?"

"Yeah you're right..."

"A guy can hope at least..."

"More drinks Ernmass!"

"More drinks to our sorrow and pitiful selves!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers."

"Cheers..."