Chapter 11: To Shorten the Road

I finally snapped back into reality and quickly shot up into a sitting position, shaking violently from head to toe, soaked in cold sweat. I remember nothing, I tried racking my brain for answers, all I found was one word screaming over and over again in my head "WHY?"

Fortunately, I wasn't alone. Sana was on the stool next to my bed, wiping my face with a wet towel, looking very relieved to see me awake. "Thank goodness you're alright, how do you feel?" I wanted to respond, but all I could do was sit there muttering to myself "Why….why….why?"

Placing a gentle hand onto my shoulder, Sana looked me over as I slowly regained some of my composure, waiting patiently until I finished my rambling before speaking. "You had us quite worried there dear, I thought you were having a bad reaction to the drugs I gave you."

"What happened to me?" I asked in a sickly voice. "The operation was a success dear," Sana responded with a smile, but then her expression turned rather sombre "But when we waited for you to awaken, you didn't." It took me a moment to understand what she meant. "You mean it took longer for me to recover from the drugs effects?" "You've been asleep for over forty-eight hours."

That scared me, a lot. I remember reading from a book on herbal medicines that if a patient was kept under for too long…..well, things can get very bad. Looking more closely at Sana I realized something was wrong, there were bags under her eyes which were now pink and puffy, her lovely white hair which she had kept very nicely brushed earlier was now messy and unkept. I could tell just looking at her she hasn't slept at all during the entire ordeal.

"I'm so sorry Sana." Was all I could think to say to her, she was kind enough to fix me up and I caused her so much trouble in the end (way to go Bain.) The apology brought a lovely smile to Sana's face, and she responded by pulling me into a very, very gentle embrace. "It's fine little one," she cooed softly to me "I'm just happy see you're ok, and I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you as well."

The wink she gave me afterwards quickly reminded me that I was inside a building full of monster girls (best keep the clippers away from this one if you know what I mean,) and at least two of them have taken a liking to me. Sana handed me a small mirror to look at her handy work before excusing herself from the room.

It was quite eerie looking at the empty socket that once held my left eye ball, wandering around in public without an eyepatch would no doubt draw attention my way, which is something I would like to avoid. "At least now I won't have to worry about an infection." I muttered to myself, though now that one of my eyes is missing it may cause me some problems later in my….journey.

Once again, I found myself questioning my decision to leave the safety of my home, running around in a forest and now a town infested with sex hungry monster girls. I've gotten this far thanks to pure luck, sure I made a few good (and plenty of bad) decisions but in the end, I was just plain lucky. And what was that dream I had when I was asleep? Seriously, I don't remember a fracking thing! Every time I think hard about it I hear a girl screaming in my head "Why?Why?Why?"

With each passing second, I could feel my confidence fading, my motivation to find Sherwin and bring him home leaving my heart. Fortunately, the sudden arrival from a very happy Goblin snapped me out of my brooding. "Bain! Your-ouch!" Amina was knocked aside by Gamila, who didn't waste any time to pull me into yet another one of her….unique hugs. "Oh my gosh Bain you scared us all half to death!" She cried out, at least I think she did (cleavage.)

"how many times do I have to tell you to get off him you over stuffed hussy!" Came what I assumed was Amina's voice. With a small moan (of disappointment,) Gamila released me so Amina could have a turn hugging the creepy one-eyed teenager that was once again soaked in sweat thanks to a particular Succubus.

Tears poured from Amina's eyes as she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head upon my chest. I didn't feel particularly comfortable being hugged by Amina like this, but it was strangely touching to know that she was this happy to see me again.…and she felt warm….very warm.

Next to enter the room was Eldir, his expression seemingly brighter than I remembered. He was about to speak when another monster girl appeared, except this one didn't seem particularly happy to see me. She was a dwarf, I could tell based on the fact that she was even shorter than Amina, and her purple hair was standing ridiculously high in the air despite having such a small head (still cute though.)

At first, she didn't say anything, she just strode over towards us like she ran the place, placing her tiny hands onto her hips and gave me a rather unwelcoming glare. It took a few moments before the girl finally decided to speak. And to warn you in advance, it was fracking adorable.

"Well, well….well" she began, clearly trying to sound scary (even though she had the voice of a four-year-old.) "What do we have here?" Amina didn't seem particularly happy to the strange girl however, and responded with "Buzz of Girl! I'm busy!"

The dwarf's face turned bright red as she took a deep breath in order to hold her temper. "You appear to have dragged a boy from the streets into Lady Kyria's home, she specifically told all of us not to bring men anywhere near her property while she was away."

Releasing me from her embrace, Amina sat down onto my lap, looking down upon the Dwarf with a smug expression on her face. "Well Lady Kyria isn't here! And what Lady Kyria doesn't know won't hurt!" She pointed a finger towards the door in a dominant fashion and shouted proudly "So get out!"

Well, things escalated pretty quickly after that, Girl (screw it, just going to call her that from now on) jumped onto the bed and Amina did the same. Both girls were now right in each other's faces, growling like dogs fighting over some food. "You have no right to speak to me like that you filthy degenerate!" Girl shouted. "I can speak to you however I like small fry!" Amina shouted back.

"I'm only a little shorter than you so don't get full of yourself!" Girl shrieked ferociously. I was just about ready to get up and leave the room when Amina decided to say "Go munch on some red mushrooms! Maybe they'll make you tall enough to kiss my ass!" That was all Girl could take, she lunged at Amina like a mad beast. But Amina dodged the attack and I ended up on the ground with Girl lying half dazed on my chest.

It was Amina's turn to flip out. "GET OFF MY MAN YOU SLUT!" Eldir quickly pulled me out of the room as Gamila tried and failed to calm the two down. Both girls were now throwing punches and each other around the place like professional judo fighters, screaming and cursing loudly as the whole room shook from the damage they were causing. Despite their small size they could have destroyed the entire building.

It was fortunate that Sana quickly appeared with what appeared to be a vial of yellow powder, wrapping a cloth over her face she threw some of it at the small combatants and within seconds they were both on the ground, sleeping peacefully amongst the wreckage they created. And yet, despite everything, they only seemed to have a few bruises in the end (my bones would have been shattered from a fight like that!)

Sana quickly began cleaning up the mess in the infirmary whilst Gamila took the two girls away to rest, Eldir led me into the mess hall and once again took a seat next to me at the table as I nibbled on some bacon Gamila had prepared for me (in case I woke up.) "Two hundred years and you'd think I would be able to keep the staff members under control after all this time."

The very idea of this man being so old made me choke a little on my food. He didn't look half bad for his age! But I have heard of some methods known to give humans such long life spans, magic and mermaids blood to name a few. "Honestly, I don't think anyone could keep these women in line, no matter how many centuries they lived."

I didn't really mean it as a joke, but Eldir found it quite amusing and surprised me with a warm smile. "You might be right about that, how do feel young man?" "I'm alright I suppose," I responded with slight hesitation, "A little unsteady on my feet but that should pass soon enough."

Eldir didn't seem too convinced and frowned a little. "You gave us all quite the scare, you started muttering in your sleep after the operation, Sana tried giving you some stimulant but you appeared to have been in some comatose state." I hung my head with a strange sense of regret. "Sana looked after me the entire time, I was just a burden to her and everyone here."

Eldir placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry young master, everyone here was happy to assist you….Girl being the exception." "Does she even have a name?" I asked with my head tilted slightly. "Even I don't know her real name, she and the Lady Kyria are quite the odd ones if I'm completely honest with you."

"I assume you served the original owners of this house then?" Eldir's mood seemed have saddened with that question and I quickly corrected myself. "Sorry, I shouldn't ask about such things." Eldir relaxed in his chair a little and responded calmly "It's fine young master, thinking about Lady Liebevoll tends to bring back painful memories.

I didn't really know who this woman was, but she and Eldir were clearly very close to one another when she was still alive and I decided not to push the subject any further. As it turns out Amina had told everyone (except for girl) about my predicament, and Eldir could tell just by looking at me that I had no money, no equipment and most importantly, no clue what I was doing.

I didn't like to admit I but I was going to need help if I was going to find my brother (without being taken myself.) "I asked the guards yesterday if they saw anyone matching the suspect's description." "Did anyone see her?" I asked with excitement in my voice. "Indeed, she passed straight through the northern gate and took the road that leads up to the wastelands of Vastum.

That's not what I wanted to hear, of all the directions she could have gone she decided to travel to the barren, uncivilised northern province Of Vastum. Even before I would reach such an unforgiving place I would have to spend at least three weeks on the road in the northern half of Moanwood (it's a big forest as you can now tell.)

"If I head up that road I may be able to find her trail again and follow it." Eldir gave an approving nod. "Considering your ability to track your quarry through the trees like you have already is impressive, but the further north you travel, the more dangerous the monster girls tend to be." I didn't like the thought of dealing with any more monster girls, Amina was more than capable of catching me even though I did everything I could to evade her (imagine coming across a less forgiving individual.)

Eldir slowly rose from his chair and made his way to the door, gesturing me to follow. Once again, I had to force my way through the monstrously coloured hallway without losing my recently consumed breakfast. "In any case, we've decided to lend you a hand by providing you with some provisions, and a companion." Eldir announced as he led me to the back door.

And sure enough, sitting neatly by the entranceway were several sets of travel garments that looked recently made (and a little expensive.) The grey trousers and shirt fitted me perfectly, the green cloak that hung down to my ankles hugged my body nicely and the fur boots felt like luxury for my feet. There was also a goat skin back pack which contained some biscuits called cram, a bottle of water, a few knives, flint to start fires and even some rope about five metres long all together. There was even a satchel that contained Basil, Lavender and many other herbs that would help me in a pinch.

But the thing that I wanted most, was handed to me by Eldir himself. An eyepatch. Three straps held the sturdy patch of leather over my empty socket rather comfortably. Placing a hand over my face, I could tell some of the scratch marks would still be visible, but it brought a lot of relief to my heart knowing I won't have to march around looking like a dangerous lunatic (or would that actually be a good thing?)

"Is it really ok for me to take all this?" I asked Eldir, the old man just gave a nod and handed me my bow and quiver, now full brand-new arrows, "Were happy to help young master, though it may be wise to leave before Girl wakes up and has a Golem arrest you." I didn't want to go to jail, would have been nice to say farewell and thankyou to everyone, but then I realized that might not be a very good idea for multiple reasons (Gamila being one of them.)

Throwing the pack over my shoulders and strapping the satchel to my waist, I was about to take my first step when I suddenly realized something and turned back towards Eldir. "Didn't you say earlier I was going to have a companion?" Eldir scratched his neck uncomfortably. "….Indeed I did." "….So, who is it?"

The door behind Eldir suddenly swung open and out hopped Amina, a few band aids covering her cuts and bruises. I wouldn't have minded seeing her one more time (she did help me after all) but then the air escaped my lungs when I realized she was wearing a similar outfit, only it was dyed in various shades of lavender and pink.

Strapped to her shoulders was a back pack a little larger than my own and attached to the side of it was an iron mace (note to self, don't piss of Amina.) I could see it in her eyes, an inferno that screamed confidence and determination. She was going with me whether I liked it or not.

For a moment, we were just standing there, staring at each other, until Amina got uncomfortable and turned her gaze to Eldir. "Well, thanks for everything Eldir, I'll do my best to find Bain's brother," Tears began to form in her eyes as she continued, "take care of everyone like you always have and I'll try to visit whenever I get the chance."

Eldir extended a hand but Amina didn't take it, instead she walked up to him and gave the old butler a heart-warming hug. Eldir looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled and placed a hand on the goblins head. "Vale Amina, I hope you find happiness in your travels."

I would've found the whole thing quite lovely and everything, but I was still in shock over the unexpected turn of events. "….What?" Amina quickly released Eldir and grabbed a hold of my hand before things could get any more emotional.

"C'mon Bain! Let's find your brother!" She shouted excitedly, dragging me along the ground with a spring in her step (as I was no longer able to feel my legs.) "…What?" Eldir called out a final farewell to me as we were about to disappear around the corner of the mansion. "Farewell young master Bain! And good luck!"

"…WHAT!?"