My enthusiasm at a peak, I ask my clutch mates if they are interested in doing some dungeon diving or something with me. They are not. I ask my parents, my siblings, the local shamans. None of them want to have to rely on me in a life-or-death situation. I can't blame them, I'm not much help in a fight in this life.

I guess I need people that are more desperate than I am. I think about it long and hard, and I really do not like the idea, but there are 2 people who might actually be desperate enough to risk their life with me. Maybe. Or they might try and kill me the moment we are out of sight of the village. But there is no one else I can think of that might be willing to do something this stupid, so I talk to the mage and the priest and I ask them what it would take for them to go with me into the jaws of death a few times.

They point out that I only need to order them to do it. I point out that I do not want to get my throat cut while I’m sleeping. They say they would never consider something like that. I say that I agree, but only because they are so much stronger than me that they do not need to wait for me to go to sleep. At this point the mage finally says what I believe is probably his real price: He says he wants his freedom, and he needs a fighter to stand in front of him and prevent him from getting hit while we go jeopardize our lives.

We spend a bit of time hashing out the details, and eventually we come to a preliminary agreement. I’m going to make them some low quality armor first, and then we’re going to go out and behave suicidally. After I reach level 2, they are free to go, along with 1/3rd each of any loot that we have acquired along the way. Full partners for the duration of this grind, and a lizardfolk (me) escort taking them out of the swamp and towards the closest human settlement. It’s not quite what I would’ve hoped for, and I need to get permissions from the villages head to be allowed to release them, but we have a working agreement.

Getting permission to release them turns out to be much easier than I expected. Who would want to lose both a mage and a cleric at the same time? No one. But apparently my pathetic musculature is enough of an eyesore that letting me run off and kill myself makes it a worthwhile trade in his eyes. Or at least that’s my assumption. When I approached and explained what I wanted to do and the terms I was going to offer, he said he felt that it was a good deal for everyone and that I had his blessing.

Maybe I’m underestimating the village head. Maybe I’m underestimating lizardfolk as a whole. They normally don’t keep slaves, and aside from ensuring that their attitude was suitable and occasionally handing them materials to turn into scrolls or gospels, the Stone Tails really don’t seem to know what to do with the only 2 slaves that we have. The 2 that they captured were captured specifically so that I could become something useful. Lizardfolk aren’t ALL bad. Although if they hadn’t been made slaves, those 2 would’ve made for an evening’s banquet. Lizardfolk aren’t exactly good either.

Whatever the reasoning actually is, the deal I offered our two slaves is now official. I return and tell them the news, and then I spend another month earning enough money to make 2 more sets of armor, along with a waterskin for each of us, I even craft a couple sporks at the blacksmiths so that their pathetic little phalanges don’t have to be put to use on food.

I suspect that the mage is somewhat accustomed to living on the road, but the priest? His entirety of outdoor experience was likely accrued in a single unfortunate endeavor. I could be mistaken, I haven't seen either of them in the wild, that's just the impression I get based on their demeanors. I’m somewhat familiar with human sensibilities after all, even though it has been a while.

Sadly, mosquito netting is not in the cards for either of them. I feel like I’ve been waiting for the last decade to be able to go somewhere that’s not here, and I don’t have the patience to try and weave a crude net, nor the inclination to pay an exorbitant sum for a quality one. Their soft and squishy flesh will likely not be appreciative of our time in the swamps. I collect the handful of silver and copper coins that represent my surplus wages after purchasing the additional gear, deliver unto them the fruits of my labor, and let them have an evenings respite, letting them know that in the morning we’ll be on our way.

Morning comes, and we meet at the entrance to the village. With nary we word we set off. I cast a gaze back at the village. Although I do plan to return at some point, my initial plans right now explicitly include behaving in a way that’s likely to prevent that later portion of my plan from coming to fruition. The hulking brutes at the gate return my conflicted gaze with a sneer. Right. Such a friendly little village.

A part of me wonders why I’m even doing this. I have a couple of ideas of course. Mental Me’s words were certainly a bit ominous, though by now I’ve forgotten most of what he said aside from the bit about baking, the bit about there being a purpose behind him sending me here, the bit about the normal fate of people who die, and of course, the bit about how the Abyss he described will eventually devour him as well. Actually, I think I remembered the majority of the conversation. I suppose most people would try and remember a conversation that they had with a god-like being capable of plucking out their souls and sending them to whatever dimension they pleased on a lark. Especially when that's exactly what that god-like being actually did.

I find myself wondering what happened back on Earth. Was it China that dropped that nuclear bomb, or someone else? Is my country still around? Are my wife and my children suffering through an eternity of isolation right now? I shake my head, returning to the present. Those questions carry no meaning right now. Standing around feeling bad is not productive.

After walking for about 30 minutes, by this point the village is well out of sight, I turn to the mage and say “Name, Class, Level, Home?”

“What?”

“Your name sir. Your class and level as well, and your hometown or region if you’re willing to divulge.” I clarify.

“What?” He reiterates.

“Priest,” I say, “What about you?”

“Names Joaqim, Priest of Narub the Vigilant, Level 1. I hale from Hartsford if it pleases you, Sir.”

“Thank you Joaqim. You may be a slave in the village, but you’re not in the village right now, are you?”

“No, I suppose I ain’t.” He replied cautiously.

“And the goal is to spend however long it takes us to get me to level 2 working together, right? But with an equal share of any loot. That makes you a partner, not a slave. Make sense?”

“With all due respect, Sir, a partner wouldn’t be forced to attend you. I’m a slave, and no reason to pretend otherwise.”

“I beg to differ. No chains, no brandings or tattoos, nothing to show you're a slave. You see, the reason I asked for your name is because I plan to use it while providing you an option. You might only be level 1, the same as me, but you’re stronger than me. A lot stronger. I couldn’t stop you from leaving even if I wanted to. So I won’t. I’ll ask that you stay. I’ll ask that you help fulfil your side of the agreement we reached. But if you want, I’ll take you out of the swamp right now. Or wait here while you find your own way out. It's hardly reasonable for me to expect you to remain bound by the agreement we made. You didn't have anything resembling a real choice. That's hardly binding in my eyes, and if you're honest with yourself, it's not going to be a binding agreement in your eyes either. Not as it stands and with the circumstances surrounding how we reached that agreement. So believe me when I say that I'm serious. Morality aside, I still wouldn't stop you, because it’s a matter of rational self-interest not to. You see Joaqim, even if you don't believe me when I say you're strong enough to take me head on without issues, surely you realize that if me and you came to blows right now, the mage standing here looking dumbfounded wouldn’t stand idle. He’d pick a side, and it probably wouldn’t be mine. Even though you’re a priest rather than a more combat oriented class, and even though we’re technically the same level, and even if I were lying when I said you were stronger than me, I think we both know that he’s stronger than either of us. It’s a sincere offer. You can tell me right now. Lead you out of the swamp, wait here while you leave, or hang out and reach level 2 with me. No tricks, no gimmicks. It’s your call. Same for you, Mr. Mage.”

The two humans stand very still for the better part of a minute, Joaqims mouth beginning to open a couple times, but never quite getting there, before the mage finally speaks.

“Lead me out. Now.”

“Ok” I say. And step off to the west.

“How long will this take?” He asks.

“I’ve never actually left the swamp before, but from what I’m told it’ll be about a day’s journey. If we hustle, I’d guess we can probably get to the edge of the swamp by sunset, though we’re more likely to run into something unpleasant if we’re overly swift.”

“Let’s hustle” he replies without hesitation.