[RAW]Dark Exodus -- Chapter 5

Last one for now!  I appreciate everyone's enthusiastic feedback! I'll keep working on this story in hopes of spinning it out as a full series for sometimes next year.  Stay tuned for the further adventures of Teddy and Kitty!

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Chapter 5

“Why did you tell them the truth?” Kitty demanded.

The beastmen had led us through the ruined city before diving through a hole they had burrowed through one of the walls. I guessed they were Ratmen, based on their whiskers and tails.

I was way too big to fit through the hole they had dug, but it was easy enough to climb the wall and jump down the other side.

Calic and the other kids kept a wary eye on me as we began walking through the desert.

“It’s about an hour’s walk from here,” he said in a timid voice.

“Teddy!” Kitty sounded pissed. “Why did you tell them the truth? You could have told them anything!”

I shrugged.  “Kitty, I’ve spent my entire life trapped in a fucking lie, being manipulated by others, and I’m sick of it.”

More to the point, there was no need to lie, at least in my opinion.  The kids were all level five or six, they were no threat to me.  I doubted their town contained anyone stronger than me; and even if it did, I could just leave.

“I’m not going to say something stupid like, I’m never going to tell a lie, but I’m not going to go around, hiding who and what I am either,” I told my partner.  “So yeah, I’m some kind of fallen Knight who’s stuck with a cursed sword.  I destroyed the Alleria Kingdom, and I’m fucking proud of it.”

Calic, trailing at the end of the group, stopped.  “You really destroyed an entire kingdom?”

“Mostly,” I admitted.  “I killed all their generals and their strongest wizards. I burned down their bank and I stole their greatest weapon.”

“Wow,” he looked at me in shock.  “Why?”

“Because they deserved it,” I answered.  “Now come on, let’s hurry.  I’ve got bug guts in my boots and I really want that bath.”

The sun set.  Some of the kids began to shiver as the sky drew dark and the air became even colder.  Calic and the older kids encouraged them to hurry up.

Their settlement proved to be a hold in the ground – literally.  The entrance was hidden behind a series of boulders at the base of a cliff.

A group of guards, more Ratmen, appeared as we drew close.  They looked pissed.

“Calic!” One of them cuffed the kid across the ears.  “What are you doing, where were you?”

Another guard, a woman, leveled a spear at me.  “And who is this human?”

“Wait, wait, don’t hurt him,” the kid begged, which made me chuckle.  “This is Teddy, he saved us when – we kind of snuck into the dead city and got attacked by monsters.”

“Deathmound Beetles,” I clarified as I flicked a bit of ichor off my armor.  “The kid promised to show me to your town.  I’m cold, tired, and covered in filth.  All I want is a warm bath, a good meal, and a soft bed – in that order.”

The two guards shared a look.

“We’re not to Humans,” the male guard said.  “You’re kind rarely come this far south to the Coldhaunt Desert.  Are you an Imperial?”

“Nope, don’t even know what that is,” I admitted freely.  “I came here via a random teleportation accident.”

“He said he destroyed a kingdom,” one of the kids said.

“A shitty one,” another added.

The guards looked at me again. I just shrugged.

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It took a bit, but I was finally allowed inside.  Following the guards deeper underground, they lead me to their settlement.

“It used to be a mine, a long time ago, back before the Pyramid Lords fell,” Calic explained.

“Pyramid Lords?”

“That’s what we call the Humans that built the Pyramids.  Nobody remembers their real name,” the female guard explained.  “They kept our people, and many others, as slaves, using us to build their pyramids, cities, and temples.”

“What a bunch of assholes,” I replied.  “So you’re not too hot on Humans?”

It took the Ratmen a few minutes to parse my question.  Finally, the male guard shook his head.

“It was a long, long time ago.  The Pyramid Lords kept other Humans as slaves as well.”

“We’re members of the Imperial Republic of Genis anyway, which is run by a bunch of Humans,” Calic contributed.

“Never heard of them,” I responded, which was a good thing to me.

I had no idea how far my teleportation accident had taken me, but it seemed I was a long way off from the Alleria Kingdom or Thure.

As the kid had said, the settlement was built inside the ruins of some ancient, exhausted mine.  The main chamber was tall and narrow, held up by a central column of stone.  Shops and homes had been carved into the column and outer walls, all joined by bridges of wood or stone.  There were hundreds of Ratmen, as well as other beastfolk.  I didn’t see any other Humans.

We attracted quite the crowd as Calic and the guards showed me to the inn.

The innkeeper was a bit put off. I couldn't pay for my stay with the currency of the land, which I learned were called Imperial Suns.  It took a bit of bartering, but I was able to convince her to let me stay a few days after parting with some of the supplies stuffed into my ring.

I held onto the jewels, but food and water always had their value, especially in a desert.

The bathhouse wasn’t much, just some pits the innkeeper and her staff filled with water from boiling cauldrons.  Still, it felt like heaven as I jumped in and then dunked my head underwater.

“I can never understand you mortals and your love of bathing and cleaning,” Kitty complained.

I’d left her sitting by the edge of the pit, propped up against the wall.

“You should leave the blood and gore caked across your skin to serve as warnings to your enemies and a reminder of your victories,” the eye continued.

I sat back against the edge of the pit.  “Weren’t  you just complaining about the smell a little while ago?”

She harrumped but said nothing else.

Eventually, the water grew cold.  Drying and dressing, I stuffed my armor into my storage ring.  From what I’d seen, the Ratmen guards were only level thirty or so.  Even without armor, they’d never be able to hurt me.

Settling into the inn’s main room, the innkeeper quickly rushed out with dinner.  It was some kind of crustacean or insect, which had been marinated in a sauce made from local cactus fruit according to the innkeeper.

It was delicious.

Sadly, my presence had attracted a bit of a crowd.  People crowded outside the inn, peering inside.

I was just finishing my dinner when a group of guards escorting an older, female Ratman stepped into the inn.

“Excuse me,” the woman asked.  “May I have some of your time?”

I nudged the chair across from me.  “Help yourself, as long as you don’t mind me eating.  Innkeeper, seconds please!”

The woman sat down.  I ran Analyze against her, she was a level thirty Administrator, which made me think she was the settlement’s mayor or leader.

“I’m Landa, the town elder,” she confirmed a moment later.

I didn’t know much about beastfolk, let alone Ratmen, but I guessed she was on the older side.  Her hair and fur were starting to gray, and she kept her tail tucked across her lap. Ratmen faces were longer and narrower than humans, but even I could see how nervous she was.

“Can I ask how you are?” She spoke in a careful, controlled tone.  “Calic and the other children had some wild tales.”

“All true,” I answered.  “My name is Teddy, I’m a level one-hundred and seventy-four Cursed Knight of Bloodshed.” I hitched my thumb towards the sword resting against my side of the table.  “That’s Kitty, my Cursed sword.”

Kitty grumbled under her breath.

Landa looked even more terrified.  “Calic said you came here via a teleportation accident?”

I quickly ran over my story since my arrival.  She seemed shocked by the number of Kobolds I killed.

“Not friends of yours?” I guessed.

She shook her head.  “The Kobolds were slaves like our ancestors, held in thrall by the Pyramid Lords.  Since their downfall, they have turned feral, raiding and murdering as they please, claiming the lands of the Pyramid Lords belong to them and them alone.”

“A bunch of assholes then,” I concluded, finishing my second helping.

The innkeeper nervously took the plate.

“It was great, thanks!” I gave her a smile.

She scurried out of the room.

“Mr. Teddy,” Landa averted her eyes.  “I can tell you are powerful, far more powerful than anyone here.  I can’t even see your level.”

“You have Analyze?” I asked.

She shook her head.  “I have a Skill called Evaluate, a more specialized version for my Class.  Analyze is a rare Skill, I’ve only seen the taxmen and census takers the Imperial Republic sends.”

“Nifty,” I muttered.

“Mr. Teddy?” She shook.  “What do you want?  This town has little, especially for one of your strength.”

I paused.

In truth, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I had escaped the Alleria Kingdom, leaving it on the verge of inevitable disaster.  After that – I just wanted to be free.

Landa clearly feared that I was plotting to take over the town and running roughshod over its population.

And I could have done so with ease, nobody was even close to my level of strength.  Slaughtering them all with my bare hands would be a breeze.

But what would that get me?  Would that be any different than what I had done under Marcus’s thrall?

Killing and looting were all well in good, but in the end, they would never give me what I wanted.  I ultimately wanted friends, companions, and lovers, I wanted a life beyond just killing everyone and everything in sight.

“Don’t worry, Landa, I’m not some monster,” I told her.

Kitty hissed.

I rolled my eyes.  “Fine – I am a monster, but I’m trying to do better.”

Landa didn’t look convinced.

“For now, all I want is a few days to put my head together, figure out where I am, and what options are open before me,” I told the elder.  “If you can help me, fill in the gaps of my knowledge, maybe trade some of my supplies for Imperial Suns or whatever you folks use for currency, I’ll repay the favor in kind.”

“How?” she whispered.

“You guys don’t like Kobolds, and it seems like there are plenty of monsters out there as well.” I tapped Kitty’s hilt.  “And well – I am really good at killing the shit out of stuff.”

I extended my hand.  “Deal?”