PATHFINDER: RISE OF THE RUNELORDS
Chapter 8 - Battle in the Glassworks
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At a nod from Tsuto, the sinspawn stepped forward and approached Yan and his companions, a gleefully predatory expression on their hideous faces. Shalelu pulled her bowstring, while Eli prepared to cast one of her spells, her gaze darting fearfully from one opponent to the other. The sinspawn shifted in opposite directions in an attempt to encircle their prey, moving like a pair of ravenous wolves closing in on defenceless sheep. Yan and Reji moved aside and stood back to back, then exchanged a look of understanding. Even without saying anything, the two of them already fely in sync. That was certainly not the first time they had faced true danger before⦠and even thug neither of them had experience fighting sinspawn, they both had a plan they were sticking to.
No time was left to say anything else. The sinspawn snarled with ferocious glee and sprung forward, like a pair of panthers pouncing on their victims! Eli cried out in alarm and retreated... but Shalelu reacted with incredible quickness and released her bowstring, her arrow aiming of one of the two twisted creatures' eyes. But the sinspawn turned out to be a much nimbler and more cunning opponent than Shalelu expected. With an agility unthinkable for an ordinary human being, the creature dodged the arrow, which continued on its way and embedded itself in the wall!
"Hah! Is the oh-so-famous goblin huntress Shalelu only capable of this? Or perhaps you can only fight weak and pathetic goblins?" Tsuto mocked as he shot another arrow from his bow. This time he aimed at Jolan, who was trying to defend himself from a goblin coming at him with his horsechopper. Jolan noticed just in time and dodged, but the arrow still managed to nick him in the left shoulder, drawing some blood. The halfling grunted in pain, and the goblin tried to put further pressure on him, pushing him against the ground and causing him to lose his balance.
"Jolan!" Eli exclaimed. Gritting her teeth, the half-elf cast her spell and created an Energy shield that floated next to her, then shot a quarrel from her crossbow and struck the attacking goblin in the shoulder. The green menace screeched in pain and was forced to back away... and Jolan took advantage of this, sprinting forward to stab the goblin in the side with one of his knives.
"Nice shot, Eli!" Misia exclaimed, before shooting a quarrel at the second sinspawn, who was trying to blindside her. The monster dodged the projectile and tried to strike down the female gnome, who widened her eyes as she saw those hideous slobbering jaws looming on her...
"Haaaaah!" with a piercing battle cry, Reji lunged at the sinspawn attacking Misia and furiously grappled with it, then flung it away and onto a marble table in the midst of the workshop. Yan used his shield to intercept the second sinspawn, then pushed it backwards so as to give Eli time to cast a spell.
"Eli, now!" the young man exclaimed.
Repressing an irritated grunt, Eli cast an Acid Spray spell, shooting a small orb of corrosive liquid from the palm of her hand. The acid shot hit the sinspawn in the shoulder with a chilling hiss, and the monster snarled in pain, furiously shaking his shoulder in an attempt to ease the burning. But the pain actually pusher the sinspawn to fight harder, and this time, it managed to get past Yan's guard and deliver a claw slash to the young fighter's chest.
Yan grit his teeth in pain and stumbled, being knocked to the ground... but before the sinspawn could follow up on its attack, Yan sprang back up and slammed his shield into his opponent's face! Jolan took the opportunity to slip behind the sinspawn and slash it in the side, but though wounded, the creature did not miss a beat and grabbed the unfortunate halfling by the neck, then used him as a human shield when Yan tried to attack again!
"Aaaaargh! I-I'm...choking...-help..." Jolan wheezed, weakly squirming in a desperate attempt to escape the sinspawn's grip. Yan and Eli backed away, unwilling to put their friend's life at risk...
Reji was still busy dealing with her own sinspawn while also defending herself from Tsuto, who was shooting well-placed arrows at her and Misia. The female gnome had already taken an arrow to her right arm, and now she was backing away, trying to fight through the pain and cast a spell...
Shalelu tried to distract Tsuto by shooting a couple of arrows at him, but the half-elf outlaw proved a canny opponent once again, and managed to avoid the first arrow... but the second one, shot only a split second after the first, did manage to catch him in the left leg, causing him to let out a pained grunt. With the speed only a seasoned huntress could have, the elven ranger turned to a small group of goblins trying to attack her from the side and felled a couple of them with just as many well-placed arrows... then, she aimed at the sinspawn holding Jolan hostage and fired yet another shockingly accurate arrow, piercing the aberrant creature's right knee! The sinspawn screeched in pain and fell to its knees, releasing its grip on Jolan... who took advantage of that moment to strike the creature in the chest with one of his knives! However, the sinspawn's muscles were much stronger and sturdier than those of a normal human being, and the blade failed to inflict lethal damage.
Though wounded, Jolan managed to slip to a safe distance, and the sinspawn stepped back so as not to expose itself to further attacks. Then, as if that was a trivial matter, it snapped the arrow that had gone through its leg and pulled out the shaft. Impressed and shocked by the creature's resistance to pain, Yan placed himself in front of the sinspawn, slamming his sword against his shield to incite his opponent.
Tsuto had momentarily turned his attention away from Yan, and having identified Shalelu as the most dangerous opponent, he was trying to keep her under pressure by shooting a few arrows. The huntress had been forced back, but even so, she had continued to shoot a near-constant barrage of arrows, and the half-elf had found himself unable to target Yan and his group as much as he would have liked. With a frustrated grunt, Tsuto used an overturned table to shield himself from a couple of the elf's arrows, and responded with another arrow that narrowly missed Shalelu's head. "So you're against me as well, huh, huntress? You're another one of those fools who messed with Ameiko's head and filled it with your bullshit!" he growled. "Were it not for you, Ameiko would never have betrayed me!"
"It was you who betrayed Ameiko's trust, you petulant brat," Shalelu coldly replied. A goblin tried to catch her from the side, believing that the huntress had dropped her guard... and only realized his mistake when an arrow shot almost carelessly by Shalelu pierced his heart. "You've had your hardships, that's true. And your father certainly didn't help. But you didn't do much to get help either. Ameiko wanted to help you! But you refused - and now, what are you going to do, huh? What did you do to her? I hope, for your sake, that you didn't harm a hair on her head!"
Tsuto snickered sinisterly and shot another arrow, which missed his target. "Don't worry, we need Ameiko alive and well. In fact, now that I think about it...I really think my beloved will appreciate a sacrifice like you! You are just the right person to give to Lamashtu!"
"You will have to capture me first. And I don't intend to make this easy on you." Shalelu retorted. The female ranger shifted and tried to strike her opponent from the side, still mindful of the sinspawn fighting near her. For now, if nothing else, the other adventurers were doing well...
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Reji deftly avoided a slash from the opposing sinspawn and slipped between the thing's innaturally-bent legs, attempting to land a blow the moment she got back up. But the sinspawn was faster than the girl had expected, and managed to sway the blow and retaliate with a slash from its claws, wounding the Tian girl in the right shoulder. Reji grit her teeth and stumbled, her left hand pressed on the wound just as the sinspawn sprang towards her to deliver a killing blow.
The young monk reacted with lightning-fast reflexed and delivered a punishing kick to the monster's chest. This time, the sinspawn actually seemed to feel the hit, being tossed back and knocked to the ground! It quickly got back up, but Reji was already back on her guard, albeit panting slightly, and the monster had missed its chance to finish her off.
After a moment of astonishment, the monster raised its horrid jaws in what might have passed for a wicked smile. "Not bad for a human. But we are the sinspawn, the warriors of ancient Thassilon! We were born and bred to fight, and violence is our reason for being! How can you humans hope to stand up to us?" it growled in an horrid, scraping voice, leaving Reji dumbfounded that the monstrous aberration was actually able to speak.
Misia tried to aim her crossbow at the sinspawn and fire a quarrel at it... but just then, the weapon slipped from her hands and fell to the ground with a metallic clatter. Gritting her teeth in anger and fear, the female gnome bent down to pick up her crossbow as Reji found herself overwhelmed by the sinspawn's assault, desperately trying to ward off several claw slashes. In a few moments, Reji was with her back against the wall, bleeding from several gashes to her arms and shoulders...
"D-dammit..." Misia whispered. "If I don't do something, it won't end well for Reji. That thing is too strong..."
The blonde gnome's eyes widened as it occurred to her that she did have just the right tool to help Reji. It wouldn't exactly power up Reji and the others a whole lot, but maybe even that little bit would be enough to turn the tables. Misia joined her hands, and began to chant a short litany in gnomish language.
A faint golden aura lit up around the female gnome and her companions, and a swarm of dots of light appeared around them, dancing briefly before being absorbed by their bodies. Reji suddenly felt stronger... and with a burst of anger and determination, she managed to push away the opposing sinspawn! The monster snarled in surprise and tried to get back on the offensive, but the young nun, standing the pain of her injuries, grabbed her opponent's arm and pulled toward her. A split second later, Reji's left fist impacted with the sinspawn's lower jaws, and the monster growled in pain and staggered for a short distance, spitting some blood and remaining fully exposed to further attacks.
Reji closed the distance in order to avoid the sinspawn's claws, and unleashed a flurry of punches to the creature's chest with impressive speed and power. There was a chilling cracking sound as several of the sinspawn's ribs gave under the blows, and the monster's eyes widened in sudden pain as it spat out a stream of blood. Another blow finished the job, and Reji's fist seemed to almost sink into the sinspawn's chest . When Reji stepped back, the creature fell to its knees, frantically clawing at thin air as if it was trying to hold on to something. The monster hissed horribly and made one last-ditch lunge at Reji, but the girl pushed back her opponent with a well-aimed kick, and the sinspawn went sprawling to the floor.
The sinspawn shuddered violently, and breathed its last.
The young girl moved away from the sinspawn's lifeless body and breathed out in relief, then looked in Misia's direction and gave her a thumbs-up. "Thank you, Misia... I don't know what you did, but it was just what we needed!"
"A simple Bless spell," Misia answered with a smile, as she cast a Cure Light Wounds spell that caused several of Reji's wounds to close up and disappear. "And I think it's helping our friends, too. Will you take a look at that?"
Indeed, now even the rest of the party was fighting with more vigor and effectiveness. The surviving sinspawn, not at all intimidated at the death of its fellow, was trying to wrest Yan's shield from him and then launch a decisive attack... but the young man was putting up a good fight, and was managing to hold back the monster, so that Jolan could in turn launch a sneak attack. With renewed determination, the halfling slid between Yan's legs and under the sinspawn, then slashed at the artificial creature's ankles, before springing up and stabbing it in the side.
"Now, Eli!" Yan exclaimed. The young man broke away from the stumbling sinspawn, and the half-elf girl raised one arm and concentrated for a moment, her index finger pointing toward the ceiling. Then, sheaimed at the sinspawn, and uttered the name of the spell.
"Magic Missile!"
A silvery energy beam sprang from Eli's index finger and struck the sinspawn in its forehead, going through its skull. The monster slumped lifelessly to the floor, with an incredulous expression on its nightmarish face.
"Not bad at all." Shalelu commented. The slayer had wiped out almost all of the goblins, and the survivors had preferred to flee rather than fight a hopeless battle. "Not many adventurers can boast about defeating a bunch of sinspawn."
Still, Tsuto was still fighting - and he was not going to get caught without a fight. "Tch... damn that Erylium! She just had to send the crummiest sinspawn!" Tsuto exclaimed. He had no time to think it over, at any rate, because as soon as the second sinspawn had fallen, Yan sprinted towards him, holding his shield firmly up in front of himself! Yelping in surprise, Tsuto fired another arrow, but it lodged itself in his opponent's shield, only slowing Yan down for a moment. With a battle cry, Yan launched himself at Tsuto and slammed him in the face with his shield!
Grunting in pain, Tsuto staggered back briefly, blood dripping from his nose and lower lip. Taking advantage of that moment, Yan tried to grab his opponent and immobilize him... but Tsuto reacted faster than expected and lashed out with a kick that caught Yan in his chest, cutting off his breath!
"Yan!" Reji exclaimed in surprise. "Damn, that guy knows martial arts, too?"
"Tch..." Tsuto wiped his face as Yan raised his guard once again. "Did you really think it would be so easy to catch me?"
Tsuto leapt forward and struck out with his bare fists, giving Yan no other option but to defend himself as best as he could. A particularly well-aimed punch dented the young swordsman's shield, and he put one foot down to keep his balance, before countering with a horizontal slash. The blade opened a gash in the half-elf's shirt, but he managed to dodge at the last moment and avoid being wounded.
"Surrender, Tsuto Kaijitsu!" Yan exclaimed. The young man broe away from his opponent and kept his sword aimed at him. "Your goblins have deserted you, and your sinspawn - or whatever they were - are dead! You cannot hope to escape! The whole town of Sandpoint will be after you in no time!"
"Silence, peasant! It was you who manipulated my sister and turned her against me!" Tsuto growled, having completely lost his temper by now. He tried to hit Yan's forehead with a powerful punch, but the young man deflected the blow with the flat of his sword, then struck back with a slash that opened a shallow cut on the half-elf's right leg. Tsuto grit his teeth at the sudden pain and stumbled, but soon went back on the offensive . With a punch, He tried to strike Yan's shield arm with a fist, then managed to get past his defense and hit the swordsman in the chest. Stunned, Yan staggered and dropped his shield, which impacted thunderously on the floor. Tsuto grinned wickedly and attempted a new attack, this time aiming at Yan's neck with a powerful chop...
...at least until an arrow flew hissing between him and his target, preventing him from delivering the blow. Shalelu had intervened at just the right moment, and only Tsuto's quick reflexes allowed him not to be struck down. But that brief distraction cost him dearly anyway : making the most of that half-second that Shalelu had bought him, Yan bent down and kicked his shield so that it struck his opponent's ankles. Tsuto stumbled and tried desperately to raise his guard again... but Yan was faster and sprinted forward, delivering a mighty slash!
"AAAAAARGH!" Tsuto growled in pain as the young man's blade struck him, opening a deep bleeding wound in his right side. The half-elf outlaw collapsed, a hand pressed over his wound, and struggled angrily in a frantic attempt to get up. But pain and fatigue had now exhausted him, and his attempt to get back on his feet only ended up in him stumbling to the ground. In desperation, the half-elf managed to get to his knees... only to find Yan's sword pointed at his throat.
"I repeat. Surrender, Tsuto Kaijitsu. You can't escape." Yan stated.
The outlaw grunted and tried to look around for something he could use to get himself out of trouble... but it quickly became clear that he had nothing left. His goblins were all dead or escaped, the sinspawn had been eliminated... and he was now too exhausted to fight any longer. As much as his anger and desire for revenge drove him to fight to the last, in the end rationality prevailed, and Tsuto looked down at the floor and dropped his arms in surrender.
"Fine. You win." Tsuto bitterly answered. "I give up."
"Wise decision, Tsuto." Shalelu stated, an arrow still notched as she approached the half-elf. Reji proceeded to take Tsuto's bow, while Eli pulled a sturdy rope from her backpack and used it to tie the outlaw's wrists behind his back. "Now, we need some answers. First, where is Ameiko? Is she still here at the glassworks?"
"And where on Golarion did these... sinspawn come from?" Eli asked, angrily kicking the corpse of the sinspawn that had fallen to her Magic Missile spell.
"Yes... yes, she's still here. Go to the dungeon, and take the second door you will find in the corridor. You will find her there. I needed her as a bait to lure you here," Tsuto grunted. Reji pulled him up to his feet, and Misia cast a couple Cure Light Wounds spells, one on Yan and one on Tsuto. The wound in Tsuto's side stopped bleeding, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "It worked all too well, I'd say," he went on. "Anyway, Ameiko is in the glassworks' basement. Don't worry, she's still alive."
"I don't understand... you and your sister were so close, Tsuto. She was always on your side." Jolan said, shaking his head and casting a horrified glance at the lifeless body of Lonjiku Kaijitsu. To a halfling, a race that placed great importance on family, the idea that a brother could turn on his sister like that was inconceivable. "How could you betray her like that?"
"I no longer consider her my sister! She was the one who betrayed me first!" exclaimed Tsuto angrily. "I wanted to offer her the chance to stand by my side, to take our revenge on Sandpoint for the horrible childhood I was put through... but she sided with those bastards instead! How could she be so ungrateful? But... I guess it's a moot point now." Tsuto suddenly calmed down and caught his breath, still exhausted from the confrontation and his injuries. "Yes... it doesn't matter anymore... even though you managed to catch me... now you can do whatever you want to me... you want to hang me, right? Or maybe you'll cut my head off in Sandpoint's main square, right? You bunch of fucking cowards... But that will not save you. My dear Nualia will avenge me... And she will raze that cesspool of a city to the ground!"
Yan stiffened in shock as soon as Tsuto uttered that name - and Jolan and Shalelu also widened their eyes in an expression of astonishment and fright. The young swordsman felt as if someone had suddenly punched him in the gut. Had he heard correctly? Tsuto had just said... no, that was not possible! That was simply not possible! It had to be a joke... or some sort of gigantic fluke...
"Who... who is it that you said... who will avenge you?" Yan stammered.
"Did you say... did you just say...? Nualia? As in, Nualia Tobyn?" Jolan went on, and then frantically shook his head. "But... that's not possible! Father Ezakien's adopted daughter... she died in the fire that burned down the shrine to Desna!"
Tsuto laughed briefly. "Hah! Was her body ever found, dumbass?" he asked rhetorically. From the halfling's mute and shocked reaction, Tsuto understood that Jolan had finally realized the truth. "No, of course not! You idiots simply thought she had been burnt to ashes, didn't you? One less problem for you Sandpoint rabble to care about! But unfortunately for you... problems are not solved by turning away and pretending they aren't there! And now... yes, Nualia is indeed your problem now! How does that sound to you? She and I are united in our desire for revenge against your filthy city!"
Yan lost control of himself, and grabbed Tsuto by his shirt, lifting him off the ground under his comrades' incredulous eyes.
"NO! That's impossible!" he roared in anger. "You're lying, you bastard!"
Reji hurried in a frantic attempt to restrain her traveling companion. "Yan!" she pleaded. "No, Yan! Calm down, please!"
"Yan! Put him down, now!" Eli ordered sternly. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you won't solve anything by acting like an idiot!"
The young man grit his teeth and stared furiously into Tsuto's eyes. The half-elf, for his part, allowed himself a small grin, but said nothing.
After a few tense seconds, Yan sighed and lowered Tsuto on the ground, and the half-elf caught his breath and then snickered in the young man's face. "Lying? You say I'm lying? Hehehee... why would I lie, when the truth is far more amusing?" he replied. "Let me guess... you were another one of those peasants hoping to marry Nualia to get her blessings, weren't you? I wonder how many times you took a lock of her hair for good luck!"
Yan did not respond, but Reji saw him shake with anger, and his face was taking on expressions that suggested his rage was about to explode. The young monk feared that her traveling companion was one moment away from physically attacking Tsuto, and decided to intervene before it was too late.
"You stop it with your mocking, and don't throw any more fuel on the fire!" she exclaimed, pointing an index towards Tsuto. The half-elf instantly shut up, and Yan slowly lowered his clenched hand, forcing himself to calm down. "What does that mean? What do you mean... that Father Ezakien's adopted daughter is behind this? Was she also the one who organized the goblin raid?"
"Nualia was still alive all this time... and no one knew anything about it?" Jolan wondered, shaking his head. Shalelu also appeared to be shocked by this reveal.
"How... how did it go, exactly?" Misia asked, approaching Tsuto and trying to look as intimidating as a female gnome barely over three feet tall could look - which is to say, very little. "How is it possible that this Nualia..."
Tsuto grinned again, but there was bitterness in his smile. "Heh... blame those Sandpoint fools, blondie. They were the ones who made me and Nualia what we are now!" he stated. "Why don't you try asking Nualia how she felt when those idiots were cutting off her curls thinking they were good luck charms? When that son of a bitch Ezakien locked her in her room ordering her to pray for Desna's forgiveness because she pulled a little stunt? And me, how was I supposed to feel? I was always the disgrace, the problem child no one wanted to see! How should I have reacted, huh?"
Shalelu shook her head. "What Lonjiku and the Sandpoint people did to you was disgusting, and no one questions that, but... well, you certainly shouldn't have reacted that way," the elven huntress replied with icy calm.
Misia pointed to the bleak sight of the blood-soaked furnace, that of the slain workers, the goblins, the sinspawn and the wounded adventurers. "Why don't you try to look at what's around you? Don't you realize what you have done - and what you are doing?" she exclaimed, indignant and shocked at the same time. "All those people who used to work here... who even had families to support, and who are now in Pharasma's arms... how are they at fault for what your stepfather did to you?"
"All of Sandpoint has to pay. As far as I'm concerned, they're just like all the other swine who mistreated me and spoke ill of me and my mother," Tsuto sentenced. "And now, come on! What are you waiting for? Why don't you kill me and take the bounty on my head, you bunch of hypocrites?"
Reji shook her head. "Oh no, Tsuto Kaijitsu... you are not getting off the hook so easily!" she replied. She pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and used it to gag the bandit, who widened his eyes and murmured unintelligibly in anger. "You will answer for your actions before a judge, in the presence of the people you have harmed. Especially Ameiko. And now, if you please, we're going to retrieve her. We've heard enough bullshit from you for today."
Tsuto muttered something, but the handkerchief plugging his mouth shut made it difficult to understand what he was saying, and the half-elf remained seated where he was, hands and feet bound, in his helpless rage. Reji and Shalelu glanced at the map of the glassworks posted on one wall and headed for the basement Tsuto had pointed out, leaving the rest of the group to stand guard in the now wrecked room.
After a few seconds of silence, Yan sat on the floor with a sigh of bothanger and regret, and held his forehead with one hand, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him. What was happening was beyond his expectations, and reopened old wounds that he thought had healed long ago. Nualia... was she really the mastermind behind such a terrible plan? His erstwhile friend, whom he thought he had lost forever? How did this happen? How had she survived the church fire? Unless... Unless she had started it? The more the boy thought about it, the more it made sense, in its own twisted way... after all her adoptive father had done to her, it didn't surprise him that Nualia hated Ezakien. But was she really willing to go that far? What had she become, after all those years? How could she hate her entire hometown to that extent?
If only he could have found her again, and figured out what was going on... at that moment, he felt as if all those questions were wrecking his brain.
One thing was certain - at that moment, he wanted more than anything to get to the bottom of it, and find out the whole truth. But first of all...
"Yan..." Eli said, both out of concern and a desire to know what he was hiding. "What's the matter with you? When you heard that name... Nualia... you suddenly went crazy! What... what does that mean? You knew - or rather, you know - the adopted daughter of that Father Ezakien?"
The young man nodded slowly, without even looking up... and Jolan relieved him of the burden of giving an answer. "I don't know what the relationship between Yan and Nualia was... but there is no mistake here. The Nualia that Tsuto speaks of... is undoubtedly Nualia Tobyn, the adopted daughter of Ezakien Tobyn. An aasimar girl whom Father Ezakien found one morning, still swaddled up, at his chapel's entrance."
"An aasimar? Are you serious? I don't... I can't believe it..." Misia asked in dismay. The idea that an aasimar - that is, a person descended from an angel, an archon or some other otherworldly creature of Good - could be part of such a terrible plan made her shudder in horror.
"I will tell you how things turned out - as soon as Reji and Ms. Shalelu are back," Yan replied, catching his breath and calming down a bit. "I think it's only fair that you know everything - or at least, what I'm aware of. But... yes, Nualia and I have known each other since childhood..."
Eli grit her teeth, figuring that this was a rather sensitive matter for her companion...
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In the glassworks basement, Reji and Shalelu had not encountered any resistance - clearly, the goblins had already fled, and there was no one else left to back Tsuto up. Following the directions they had been given, the two girls arrived in front of the wooden door of a small storage room, and Shalelu wasted no time in trying to open it. However, the door did not move an inch.
"It's locked," Shalelu stated, shaking her head. "We need to look for a key, or ask your fellow halfling to pick the lock."
Reji raised a hand. "Wait. There is a slightly quicker way." she finally said. Shalelu stepped aside, and Reji stood in front of the door, concentrated for a few seconds... and then punched with tremendous force and precision, shattering the lock and causing the door to open. With an approving nod, the elven huntress threw the door wide open and glanced inside the storage room... and as soon as some light filtered in, they both could see a slight human figure lying on the floor, muttering something and trying to stand up.
"Uuuugh... where... who are you...?" Ameiko's voice murmured. The young innkeeper was lying on the storage room's cold floor, her wrists and ankles bound with strong ropes, and she seemed to have lost track of time after being in that dark place for so long. When Shalelu approached to free her, she saw that Ameiko was bruised and bruised, and also sported a fairly fresh wound, which had at least been medicated, in her lower back. "Sh... Shalelu...? Reji...?"
"Yes... it's us, Ameiko!" the elven huntress repiled with a relieved smile. As Reji entered in turn to reassure Ameiko, Shalelu cut off the ropes that held her friend captive, and Ameiko sighed in relief as she began to move her hands to restore circulation. "How do you feel? Can you get up and walk?"
"Yes... I think... I can do it," the young innkeeper murmured. She leaned against the wall to help herself up, and staggered for a moment before Reji came to support her. "Ugh... you guys came to save me... thank you so much... Where...where is Tsuto? What about my father?"
Reji hesitated for a moment before giving Ameiko the sad news. "Well... about that... don't worry about Tsuto. We have captured him. We'll make sure he never hurts anyone again." she replied. Shalelu took a vial of amber liquid - a healing potion - from her belt and handed it to Ameiko, who emptied its contents with a sip. Immediately, several of her bruises were reabsorbed, and the wound on her back started to visibly heal. "He's with us now - we have him tied up and will turn him over to the authorities."
"I... I still can't believe Tsuto could do such a thing..." Ameiko whispered, clearly still in shock over her half-brother's actions. "And... what about my father? What happened to him? Isn't he here?"
From Reji and Shalelu's hesitation, Ameiko quickly realized that she should not expect good news. With a sigh, the young monk finally shook her head and replied. "I-I'm sorry, Ameiko," she finally said. "When-when we got here-there was already nothing left for him to do. I'm sorry... really..."
Initially, Ameiko greeted the news with dismay - she leaned against the wall and held her breath. For several seconds, Ameiko stood still and silent, feeling a mixture of regret and sadness. Although the relationship between father and daughter had been broken, Ameiko never wanted it to end that way. However, her expression remained stoic and resolute.
"I see..." she finally said, saddened though not exactly upset. "Then... I don't... I don't think we have much else to do here. The... the workers are dead, aren't they?"
Reji confirmed with a solemn nod. "Yes... the ones who showed up this morning... were killed by the goblins." she affirmed, as the trio began to head towards the ground floor, with an heavy heart. "Can you make it, Ameiko? Now let's get out of here..."
The young hostess nodded slowly as she began to climb the stairs back to Eli and the others supported by Reji and Shalelu, in a tense and bitter atmosphere. Although they had won, none of them were exactly proud of that victory...
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TO BE CONTINUED...
