“More humans. More humans…”I repeated mechanically.

This seemed to be a more frequented route than I imagined, and I wasn’t quite ready to deal with the implications it brought.

Without any hint on how to return back home, discovering the means to communicate with natives still felt like the most pressing concern. It was something I needed to sort out soon, a direction, a goal to strive for. It was a crucial step towards finding answers, and with them, a way out of this nightmare.

Except, neither of my previous attempts worked.

But after the previous encounter, I wasn’t in the mood to try again right now.

I was almost annoyed by the perspective of ‘more humans’ - even if a day ago the prospect of being stuck in the wilderness was more appalling.

Getting to civilization didn’t seem to be as attractive if said civilization was hostile and incapable of being reasoned with.

However, it seemed like an encounter was unavoidable.

I had no idea where we were in relation to their settlements other than ‘in between’ considering the fact there was the road going through the forested area,

The road had to lead somewhere. And it was probably frequented enough to justify the resources put into the cobblestone cover instead of leaving simple tracks in the dirt. More people were bound to show up.

Without any eyes in the sky, and information relying only on running monsters, I truly couldn’t know.

The only thing I knew for sure was that they were coming.

I had been attacked twice for nothing more than just standing there and would be dead if I didn’t have such watchful guardians throwing themselves between me and all the hostiles.

If anything, it created the impression of being ‘surrounded by enemies’ considering how futile my attempts at communication had been.

I knew that they wouldn't suddenly understand English. But at the same time if everyone kept being hostile sight I wouldn’t have the chance to properly learn their local tongue either. Even to start demanded the friendly disposition, which simply wasn’t there!

The fact that I didn’t have any tangible method or even an idea of how to deal with such a situation filled me with pure frustration, which was slowly transforming into a pointless, yet very real rage . I clenched my fists.

“How the fuck I am supposed to deal with this! They keep attacking me before I have even a chance to try some stupid pantomime with pointing at random stuff!”

I cried out in anger.

“Master?” Tama asked, my sudden outburst probably confused them, or even upset them. I wasn’t really paying attention to them.

“I am sorry, Tama. It just…” I said, pausing for a brief moment as I reined in my emotions, then tried to change the topic: “Did we find anything that indicates how to get home?”

I queried, carefully. I had gone through the items before, and I hadn’t uncovered anything of the sort.

However, I also wasn’t sure of what I was looking for specifically. There was no doubt that my current companions were sufficiently magical, and could’ve potentially spotted something I had not. It was not like any of this could be a natural phenomenon.

“Our home is where you are, Master.” Tama teased, with her usual voice, pressing herself closer, “Whichever world you want to be in, I want to be with you, Master.”

“We follow. The Master.” Narita quipped in.

In flash, I considered pushing Tama away or at least freeing myself from her embrace.

Instead, I held her closer - she was more helpful than any human I had met in those strange lands so far.

Somewhere close, a smaller version of ‘Purifier’ laughed as she tried on a found helmet.

“We found nothing, Master,” Miwah answered, then in a more helpful way: “It’s equipment for human soldiers. No maps. Nothing that would suggest any means of transportation. If they rode horses to get there, they are gone.”

She also wanted to be very near. I didn’t mind.

“Gone twice, even,” I whispered, ordering my thoughts.

It wasn’t that difficult to puzzle out that the animals those five humans led were probably ones that ran away when soldiers were killed, but this little bit of useless trivia didn’t bring me anywhere close to my goal. Unless some mystical item I was looking for was stuck in some saddlebag somewhere, they were meaningless.

Briefly, I felt helpless enough to seriously consider just lying down in the middle of the stone clearing, closing my eyes, and hoping that I would wake up somewhere else. I shook it out as my most foolish idea so far.

Perhaps this required a very different approach, I thought, or another set of priorities.

“How many? I mean, the humans.”

“More than twenty, no more than thirty.”

“Soldiers?”

“No, only a couple are armed. With a few carts, two hand-pulled, one drawn by animal”

“A caravan, then,” I concluded after the exchange with my werewolf. My werewolf, I mused, realizing how something deep within me started to draw more familiarity with the monsters than with the humans.

I needed the humans still.

“Tama? Miwah? Narita?” I said, “Gather everyone. We are going to meet humans! All of us.”

“Yes, Master!” They answered, in unison. The monsters briefly let me be, preparing our group for the march.

Ironically enough, I still didn’t have any specific communication strategy on what to do after I met them.

But I was sick by their hostility and guessed I needed to show them that attempting dialogue was the only option for them, which also meant outnumbering them. No more five peasants trying to beat me with sticks.

So far, it was only me, flailing and failing, but if they wanted a fight, we would give them one.

I hated it - it was precisely something I wanted to prevent, I didn’t want anyone to die - but what I could do?

For a few minutes, I watched the furry menagerie gather its members. They tried to put some of the monsters in recovered armour pieces, which was quite amusing with smaller ‘Purifiers’ considering they were shorter than me, and those lamellar hauberks ill-fitted them, though they did look more protected that way.

A little vulpine also found it funny judging from their typical giggling. I was getting used to it.

I let them amuse themselves for the while, then set out to find the other group of humans, through the forest, up the road heading towards the hills, past the remains of our previous encounter left on the road as a twisted reminder of the whole debacle.

I opted for simply leaving that there - a message, a warning, or a threat, I didn’t really know - I could always send someone to deal with it later.

So far, there was nothing but woodlands around, with only a route, sneaking up the forest-covered mountain slope in a way that was likely allowing them to traverse this difficult terrain with relative ease.

‘Relative’ was the word. Travelling must be a pain, I thought. It was probably quite an achievement to have this considering the seeming local technological levels. It still wasn’t the most comfortable route ever. It was expected, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

Even with help of Narita’s power, flooding me with energy, and making me feel fed and rested, my body still had a limit for the hikes through the hills.

Though I didn’t speak a word for a while focusing on this journey, my monsters were full of energy swarming around, without a trace of exhaustion.

The ‘Eviscerator’ had supposedly ran through there already as a scout - and I wasn’t sure how fast they were. It didn’t seem like it bothered them too much. Flying monsters would probably make a better lookout, though I didn’t know if there would be any.

“I wonder why they built the road here. Wasn’t there an easier path around the hills?” I said suddenly, breaking the silence. Though I wasn’t completely exhausted yet, I had started to feel a shortage of breath.

“Just.. thinking... aloud,” I quickly explained, looking towards the path sloping upwards and then taking yet another turn.

“Need help, Master?” Narita offered. I shook my head, refusing the use of her ability for something as trivial as getting energy for the walk through the country, only to leave a wasteland behind.

“Do you know what is up there?”

“After two turns, in between stone outcropping, there are a few buildings,” Miwah explained helpfully, indirectly confirming that her smaller kin had sprinted through here before.

“Wait… there is a village?” I asked, realizing what she said. I stopped and looked around, immediately questioning my choice without asking the obvious.

The woods were silent as ever, and the greenery around didn’t suggest we were anywhere close to civilization. Even wildlife was silent. Except for the road, we were walking on, with its cracked, cobbled surface, this seemed like wilderness with all the greenery and well-grown trees.

“Only a few deserted buildings.” That was the explanation.

“Where are the humans then?”

“Even further ahead. They were fixing a wheel.” Werewolf pointed in one direction.

I suddenly had mixed feelings about driving the horde of aggressive monsters into the village full of humans, especially when the former showed great distaste towards the latter. They weren’t friendly natives either, at least judging from my experiences, so wandering near their homes alone wouldn’t seem a good idea just the same

“Let’s go.” I pushed the restless menagerie back to march, inadvertently grabbing the werewolf’s clawed hand. No one objected.

I hurried them to get to the supposedly empty settlement. I didn’t really know why, without even seeing or being described the place, but I did guess that it must be some defensible location we had to reach first.

Worries about my interaction with some hamlet in the woods were pushed aside.

When we finally reached the site, I found out it wasn’t quite what I had imagined.

In the middle of the cleared-out area bearing the marks of the human hands, wedged between two tall stone outcroppings, were a few lousy, simple huts. All of them with thatched roofs, along with one larger building of similar making. Some of them partially collapsed, worn out, left to rot, without any sign of recent occupation I could discern. No smoke from fireplaces, and no movement.

Some trees were cut down, and some stone was unearthed and once visibly worked upon. It was complete with a shaky wooden scaffolding that had mostly fallen down already. It didn’t look like a mine or proper quarry. It was barely the start of one that had been abandoned soon after work began.

At least, so I guessed.

The road continued through this small ravine though.

Still, there was no sign of humans. Instead, two ‘Eviscerators’ materialized in the road ahead as we approached. Shadowy canines sniffed the air, looking around seemingly alert, but still awaiting our arrival, and even gestured me along.

“Master! Master!” They welcomed us, with their soft, yet still growly voices, while their lookalikes that came with us rushed forward to rake through the place.

“So, where are the humans?” I asked, scanning the surrounding nervously.

“Up the road, past the ravine,” Miwah helpfully translated, showing how they could communicate without words.

It wasn’t the first time it happened, in fact, this was quite common for them as far as I could tell. Still, at this very moment, it slightly upset me as it was an unpleasant reminder that I wasn’t capable of doing the same with the humans, putting me against impossible odds if I wanted to find out anything meaningful from the locals.

I still couldn’t help feeling a little down about that fact.

“Did they run from us?” I queried, looking around at the few damaged buildings, leftover logs sprawling across the clearing, unprocessed fallen trees left almost near the road, along with quarried parts of stone, never given shape.

All looked as though humans suddenly picked up and left.

A couple of other monsters already started a ruckus in the few huts looking for people hiding there, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else around but us.

“They were heading towards us, they were struggling with the rising slope.”

When I glanced around the small ravine again and considered it was the place for the ambush…

Almost like they sensed my thoughts, a few flame vulpines had already climbed up to the better vantage points to look around, without the fear of slipping and plummeting down to the ground. I didn’t know foxes were climbers. I was sure they weren’t, though this didn’t apply to the ‘Purifier’ - normal foxes didn’t hunt with fireballs either.

With my fear of heights, I still experienced vertigo only by looking at them.

I guessed they had the right idea. I hadn’t accounted for this, but I did recognise we had an opportunity here.

I took a few more steps forward, examining my surroundings, thinking, and considering my options. I peeked back over my shoulder at what was almost a personal retinue of monsters, the best-equipped ones that placed themselves in this position. I gestured for them to follow me, without a word.

As far I could tell, the only route forward was narrowing into this relatively tight gorge with steep sides that were very difficult, if not impossible to climb. Even though I imagined it would fit a two-lane street in modern times, it would still be a very close fit with a constant risk of falling rocks.

There was a light on the other side, suggesting that the road went downhill after this, with the only alternatives being much more hilly terrain with dense forest somewhere on my right hand.

It was the trap.

And it was exactly what I wanted to use it as.

If humans weren’t willing to talk, I would force them.

Yes, corner them - and cornered animals scratch and bite - but they tried to corner me before when I just wanted to talk. I was still upset about that.

I looked back at my companions. I saw it in their eyes, they probably figured this out too.

“Could you please send some Eviscerators forward? If humans are still heading in our direction, I want you to encircle them and let them pass here into the tight spot…” I said, wondering whether my idea was the good one as I didn’t really have any experience in something like this, but the understanding expression my companions gave me provided some reassurance.

“Then I want to catch me some humans.”