Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 05 - Enslaved to sentiment - Part One {Rewrite}

Nadine had quickly skimmed through the Monster Tamer book and read aloud the parts she thought I might find useful. Most notable were the detailed explanations of monster tier and rank progression. Basically, monsters would start at rank one and consume mana stones to increase in rank until eventually evolving and increasing to the next tier. The tier structures were roughly approximate to the floors of the Labyrinth, but unfortunately, the book did not list Ogres among its examples.

Goblins and Orcs on the other hand were rather well documented. Goblins, in a similar position as both varieties of Kobolds, were considered to be half-tiered monsters. They were an example of monsters roughly equating to the average difficulty of the first floor of any given Labyrinth. However, named monsters were always a half-tier higher than their base species, so even though Toofy was a Goblin, she was technically a tier-one monster. Being tier-one put Toofy on an approximate power level to the Orcs, albeit with markedly different Abilities.

Rank progression was actually rather simple to understand as well. Basically, consuming a mana stone of another monster of the same tier would award one maximum mana per rank of the mana stone. Consuming a mana stone of lower-tier monsters would have drastically reduced results. With every five maximum mana gained, a monster would Evolve, improving its stats and Racial Abilities. When a monster reached twenty-five maximum mana, it would Evolve into a higher tier form of its species and reset to rank one again.

This information was not immediately useful for my own progression, particularly since we didn’t know what tier I was, to begin with. However, it was a different story entirely in regards to Toofy. It was entirely plausible that Toofy would be able to evolve into a tier-two Goblin species from consuming Orc mana stones.

The use of the mana stones would be a rather sizable loss of potential wealth, but the gains in terms of party combat capabilities were determined to be worth the tradeoff. It was actually Clarice who made the most convincing argument, comparing the investment in a similar sense to purchasing equipment. With a proper frame of reference for how strong Toofy was and of her future potential, only Emelia was still grumbling at the prospect of losing so many mana stones.

There was one final thing Nadine took the time to explain to me before I had to leave again, and it was arguably just as important as the tier and ranking progression system. Nadine told me how to do advanced filtering of the status screen and notifications. After I had mentioned how dangerous it was to have the obnoxious panels covering my central vision, Nadine insisted on walking me through the basic filtering commands.

In hindsight, I honestly should have figured them out on my own. They were so blatantly obvious that I felt embarrassed for not discovering them sooner. “Status, combat notifications, scrolling lower peripheral, reduce size, reduce size, reduce size, reduce size.” The example notification pane shifted to my lower peripheral as I commanded and was replaced with procedurally smaller panes until they were roughly the same size as the group status information. Blinking, I dismissed the status screen and was left with only the group status panes,

I hadn’t realised just how much stress I was carrying on my shoulders until taking care of that. Even knowing that the sharp-toothed Vrabbits couldn’t hurt me, being reduced to only using my peripheral vision had been like watching a particularly suspenseful horror movie. The fact that I was now fighting Orcs that made the rugby players from high school look like librarians, really had not helped.

Toofy had also been fed the remaining mana stones to try and make her as strong as possible before hunting Orcs with me and Jacque. This had increased Toofy’s maximum MP by a total of twelve points and had caused Toofy to rank up twice more and very nearly a third time as well.

[Toofy - Goblin: 4 ] [HP: 19/19] [MP: 15/18 ]

[Emelia’s Slave*] [Class: Scavenger 2. +2 Intelligence, +1 Toughness, +5 HP. ] [Exp: 510/3000 ]

[Strength: 8 ]

[Agility: 15* ]

[Toughness: 6 (7) ]

[Intelligence: 6* (8*) ]

[Willpower: 6* ]

[Presence: 5 ]

[(Class Ability: Treasure Sense): Detects and highlights items of value within a predetermined range. {Intelligence} increases range.]

[(Racial Ability: Vicious {Rank 2}): Deals additional damage to fallen enemies and those with {Negative Status Conditions}. {Willpower} increases the amount of bonus damage.]

[(Racial Ability: Underfoot {Rank 1}): Takes less damage from Larger enemies. {Agility} increases the level of damage resistance.]

From what I could tell, Toofy had gained one more point in her Strength and Agility attributes and ranked up both of her Racial Abilities once each as well. While the additional damage from Vicious would be useful, I would have preferred Toofy’s Underfoot Ability had ranked up higher instead. After all, it was the Orcs that seemed most likely to deal out sudden fatal injuries, and Underfoot seemed like it could alter that outcome.

Heading downstairs with Toofy, I still felt incredibly nervous about taking her into the forest. The fact that Toofy had been living there for who knew how long, was of little comfort.

Jacque was already waiting for us by the front door. She threw a large backpack at me the moment I cleared the stairs, “Heads up!” Jacque called out with a grin.

The backpack bounced off my chest and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Whatever Jacque had filled it with, was reasonably heavy. Picking up the backpack, I smelled the faint aroma of cooked meat. Unfastening the top of the pack and looking inside, the smell intensified and I found a multitude of wrapped cloth parcels.

Jacque had stocked up the entire large leather pack with food. Since the Guild was paying the bill, I felt kind of stupid for not thinking of something like this sooner. With both Toofy and Jacque benefiting from my Iron Gut Racial Ability through group Synergy, food was equivocal to emergency medical supplies.

Slipping the pack onto my back, I wasn’t surprised when Toofy climbed up and used it as a seat. The pack was actually big enough that I could carry Toofy inside of it if we ate or discarded most of the food.

“You ready to get back out there?” Jacque asked eagerly, tapping the butt end of her wooden spear against the door.

I nodded while strapping the door-shield to my arm and then drew the morningstar out from my tattered belt, “I’m ready.”

Jacque smiled, “Then let’s get to it! Daylight’s a’wastin.”

“Do you really think we will run into the Orc chieftain?” I asked somewhat apprehensively.

Jacque shrugged, “It’s possible,” she admitted, “But if we do, there will be a whole mess of minions to deal with. It won’t be an easy fight.”

Crossing the plains, I was relieved to find that the Vrabbits had dispersed rather than continuing to stake out the invisible barrier. But considering the Vrabbits absence raised an interesting question as to why the Vrabbits didn’t hunt Orcs and Goblins in the forest. Then I recalled the already healed bite wound to Toofy’s ear and had my answer. The Vrabbits didn’t have to leave, because their prey came to them instead.

“Let’s try the other direction this time,” Jacque suggested, leading us in what I presumed was a different direction than last time.

With no direct line of sight of the town, I didn’t know where we were going. I really needed a compass or something. I would even settle for a map, but those were inordinately expensive.

Jacque looked back at me curiously but said nothing.

After walking for a while longer, Jacque suddenly stopped and looked to our left. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance and we set off in the opposite direction.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, a little concerned at her reaction and our abrupt change of course.

Jacque didn’t reply at first, but after a couple of minutes, she let out a frustrated sigh, “Damnit, I really didn’t want to deal with this a-hole today...”

“Who are y-” Before I could finish asking the question, I heard people approaching from behind us. Looking over my shoulder, I could see five adventurers in chain hauberks rushing to catch up to us. They didn’t seem overly hostile, but I was getting a bad feeling all the same.

Jacque stopped and turned to face them, watching their approach with disgust.

“Oi! Jacky! Long time no see!” One of the adventurers called out boisterously.

The other adventurers laughed, but it came across as being more than a little forced.

Jacque’s scowl deepened and she glowered at the adventurer who had called out to her.

The adventurers stopped a dozen paces away and the one who had called out removed his helmet.

“Hrmph, you still sour over that misunderstanding a month back?” The adventurer demanded with a disarming smile, “If you want, I could put in a good word for you and get you an invite back to the chapter.” Objectively, the young man was handsome in a classical sense, possessing strong features and a tall athletic build. Unfortunately, his good looks were ruined, in my opinion, by the cold arrogance in his eyes.

“Like I told the chapter master when I left, I don't work with rapists, Byron,” Jacque replied icily, gripping her spear so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

The adventurer, assumedly Byron, frowned, “The investigation cleared me on all charges, Jackie, so it might be best if you stop spreading rumours...”

The other four adventurers shifted uncomfortably.

Jacque stood her ground, “Then leave me alone! I want nothing to do with you, so get lost!”

“Apologise,” Byron demanded arrogantly.

Jacque turned to leave.

“Bitch!” Byron moved forward and made as if to grab her arm.

*Thwack*

Jacque spun and delivered a blow to Byron’s left knee, sweeping him off his feet in the process.

“Argh!...” Byron fell hard.

The four other adventurers quickly rushed forward to help him. Two of them grabbed an arm each to drag Byron to his feet while the other two drew their swords and squared off against Jacque.

Jacque backed off but made a point of keeping her spear in a ready position, “You try and touch me again, and I will drive the pointy end up your ass!” She growled angrily before turning to me, “Come on, let's get a move on.”

More than happy to avoid the confrontation, I quickly followed along behind her.

“Don't just let her go, you idiots!” Byron screeched, “Go get her!”

Looking over my shoulder, I could see that the adventurers were hesitating,

For a moment there I thought they would just blindly follow this guy's orders like some pampered lordlings minions. I had always hated that trope. No matter how weak the minion and no matter how powerful the protagonist, the minions would just mindlessly charge like flies against a car windshield.

“A gold piece for whoever drags that bitch back here on her knees!” Byron promised.

Okay, now that'll do it.

I quickly slipped my morning star through my belt, grabbed Jacque around the waist and ran. I didn’t even have to turn around to know that at least one of those adventurers was going to take a crack at Jacque. One gold piece was worth one hundred silver, which was worth ten thousand copper. Greed was a notoriously powerful motivator, and I wanted no part in it.

After running for around five minutes, I slowed down and set Jacque back down, “Sorry,” I apologised. It would not have been a pleasant journey for her.

However, Jacque didn’t seem any worse for wear. She actually seemed kind of pleased about something, “Thanks, Tim.”

“No worries. I just didn’t want to fight those guys, you know?” I explained a little awkwardly.

Jacque nodded, “You really don’t behave like most of the monsters I've seen before,” she commented cheerily.

“Well...there were four of them you know?” I deflected by reminding her of the odds.

Jacque snorted and shook her head, “Besides that shitheel Byron, the others are all just rookies running around in expensive equipment. I highly doubt they could manage more than just scratching you with those swords.”

“Maybe, but what about yourself and Toofy?” No way I was going to put Toofy at risk over whatever the hell kind of history Jacque and this Byron guy have.

Jacque’s smile widened, “See that’s what I mean. The Labyrinths’ monsters are inherently selfish by nature and design. Yet here you are.”

The way Jacque said that didn’t seem quite right to me.

Toofy began to growl.

“Oh, right. It seems like you may have run past a few Orc and Goblin patrols on the way here. We should get ready for a pretty big fight,” Jacque shrugged somewhat apologetically and readied her spear.

That was definitely my bad. I was not light on my feet and it was pretty difficult to move quietly while running through the forest with a door strapped to my arm. “Toofy, do you think you could hop up into that tree and use your sling?” I asked, careful to avoid phrasing it as a command. Emelia’s Monster Tamer book has said that it was based on intent and not phrasing that triggered the command abilities, but I would rather not risk it.

“Toofy do!” Toofy crawled up my extended arm and climbed up a little higher before settling on a thick branch. She immediately set about loading her sling, giving it a rapid twirl and hurling the first bullet.

[ Toofy has slain {Goblin: 1 } +50 Exp ]

Woah!

I hadn’t known Toofy already knew how to use a sling. I had mostly just sent her up into the tree to keep her out of harm's way.

Wait, did Toofy hit the target she was aiming at though?

Just because she killed a Goblin, didn’t mean that it had been her intended target.

Toofy threw another bullet.

“GRA!” An Orc bellowed out in pain.

Three Goblins rushed through the brush, with an Orc staggering a few steps behind them.

*Crack*

The Orc’s head whipped backwards as Toofy threw a bullet into its head just above the right eye.

[ Toofy has slain {Orc: 1 } +100 Exp ]

Okay, Toofy was obviously a damned sniper...

With the Orc behind them down for the count, the three Goblins spared only a second to make sure he wasn’t getting back up again before legging it into the forest.

With the sounds of more Orcs and Goblins approaching, I was more than happy to see them go.

“Where did you find Toofy anyway?” Jacque asked, smiling and shaking her head.

Toofy was swinging the sling again, but she didn’t appear to have an immediate target.

“Would you believe me if I said we found her just outside of town?” I asked.

“Really?” Jacque seemed impressed, “Don't know how you managed to catch her. To keep her balance like that on the branch while spinning the sling, her Agility would need to be pretty damn high.”

I could tell Jacque was fishing, so I just nodded.

“Many Orcs!” Toofy called out anxiously and hurled another bullet from her sling.

Jacque’s eyes grew wide, “Ah so, remember how I told you the chieftain would bring along his minions? Well, we may need to run.”

“Huh? Why?” I asked, a little confused since we knew this would happen at some point.

“Because he didn’t just bring his own minions, he brought the Goblin chief and his minions as well!” Jacque replied worriedly.

It took a moment for that information to sink in. “Running sounds like a good idea,” I agreed, “Toofy come down, we’re leaving!”

Toofy jumped out from the tree and grabbed onto my pack to arrest her fall, “GOGO!” She shrieked nervously.

Jacque began to run and motioned for me to follow, “Just follow me no matter what! They are trying to surround us!”

I nodded and began running after Jacque as best as I was able. All the while, I couldn’t help but feel like it was all my fault.

*****

Grobguk grinned, the Ogre had finally come out of hiding. Even now, the Ogre was running away in fear! “CHARGE! KILL OGRE!!!” He bellowed, whipping his warriors into an even greater frenzy.

Grobguk’s warriors were only too keen to obey, charging recklessly through the underbrush and leaving a swathe of splintered and trampled vegetation in their wake.

Gobgob and his pitiful Goblins were no less enthusiastic but were quickly being left behind.

Grobguk didn’t care. With the Ogre running scared, it was clear that he didn’t need the Goblins after all.

*Thwack*

Grobguk felt something strike his calf, causing him to lose balance and nearly tumble to the ground. Looking behind him, Grobguk could see Gobgob and his elite warriors just a short distance away, the latter already loosing another volley of stones from their slings. “GOBGOB DARES?!” Grobguk bellowed in fury.

*Thwack*, *Thwack* *Thwack*, *Thwack*, *Thwack*.

The hail of stones pelted Grobguk’s body and he felt his bones cracking beneath the onslaught. Instinctively, Grobguk understood that if he continued cowering, he would die. Mustering all his rage, Grobguk charged towards Gobgob, preparing to bury his knife into the treacherous Goblins head.

*Thwack*, *Thwack* *Thwack*, *Thwack*, *Thwack*.

Another volley of stones crashed into Grobguk’s chest, stalling his momentum and stealing the breath from his lungs, replacing it with blood and pain. “GOBGOB!” Grobguk spat, continuing to stagger forwards. Even if it cost him his life, Grobguk would end Gobgob before permitting himself to die. To be slain by a Goblin was already dishonour enough, to not take the puny weakling with him was just unthinkable.

Gobgob raised his hand and his elite warriors held back the next volley. The elderly Goblin chief stepped forward to face Grobguk alone, relying on his hilariously large walking stick for support.

Grobguk could no longer speak, so he settled for glaring balefully at Gobgob as he struggled towards the Goblin.

“Grobguk stupid!” Gobgob cackled, his wrinkled mouth splitting wide in a grin, “Gobgob smartest!” Gobgob swung his walking stick at Grobguk’s ankle.

*Crack*

Grobguk’s strength failed him as he tumbled painfully to the ground, “Blurghuk!” Blood vomited from his mouth as the impact forced it out of his shattered chest.

Gobgob struck again, this time at Grobguk’s right hand, which was still clutching the magical knife and symbol of his position as chieftain.

*Crack*

Grobguk felt his bones break but desperately clung onto the knife, struggling to inch closer to Gobgob.

*Crack*, *Crack*, *Crack*, *Crack*

Gobgob seemed more than happy to keep hitting Grobguk anyway. Eventually prying the knife from Grobguk’s badly mangled hand.

With his vision turning black, the last thing Grobguk saw was a bright flash of crimson light, and then, nothing.

*****

[ Goblin Chieftain Gobgob has declared war against the invaders on the {Hurst First Floor} Settlement of the {Hurst Labyrinth}! ]

[All {Static Defensive Wards} and {Interdimensional Travel} will be {Deactivated} for 1d 0h 0m initiating in 3d 0h 0m. ]

I very nearly crashed face-first into a tree as the notification appeared in front of me. Unlike the other status notifications, which were blue, these latest notifications were a deep angry red. Even after I blinked, a much smaller status screen appeared at the top of my peripheral vision and It seemed to be a sort of countdown timer.

[ 2d 23h 59m ]

“Shit...” Jacque cursed without breaking stride, slowing only enough for me to catch her up.

I could only assume that she had received the same status notification I had. It definitely wasn’t good, but it also wasn’t quite what I had expected.

Wasn’t the boss monster meant to be an Orc chieftain, not a Goblin?

As unfortunate as this was, a Goblin chieftain would be easier to defeat than an Orc chieftain.

After a few more minutes of running, Jacque stopped and motioned for me to do the same.

We had been running for close to half an hour, so I had no problems with taking a much-appreciated breather. “You...okay...Toofy?” I panted, glancing back at her.

Toofy nodded, although she seemed quite anxious. My face had taken the worst of the branches, so besides her hair having a fresh batch of twigs and leaves in it, Toofy seemed to be otherwise fine.

“We need to head back to the foothold,” Jacque declared gloomily, “It’s just way too dangerous to continue hunting at the moment.”

“Okay,” I agreed, more than happy to return to town again.

After resting for a bit longer, Jacque slowly began leading us back to town.

Unsurprisingly, we were not the only ones heading back across the plains. Four other parties were rather hurriedly grouping together along the way. Not a bad idea considering the circumstances.

However, Jacque made no moves to join them, so we made our own way back alone. Even though we weren’t rushing like the other adventurers, it still didn't take too long.

“I’ll catch up with you later Tim, we are done for today,” Jacque gave me a small wave goodbye before heading off in the direction of the Guild office.

“Later,” I waved back but Jacque probably didn’t notice. She appeared to be deep in thought.

I needed some answers, so I returned to the inn.

“Tim!” Nadine called out from the window, her expression a mix of relief and persisting worry.

A couple of seconds later Clarice joined Nadine by the window and gave me an awkward wave.

The pair of them were waiting for me in the common room as I entered the Inn. they were currently seated at a table near the door and looking over what looked like a map.

“Tim, can you come take a seat for a minute?” Nadine asked hurriedly, apparently more than a little stressed.

“Alright,” I agreed and very cautiously sat down on one of the chairs. It creaked a little but seemed to be alright supporting my weight.

“There is no easy way to say this,” Nadine sighed, “The Guild has issued us a mandatory quest.”

“Mandatory? They can do that?” This was the first I was hearing of it. Outside of the Guild staff themselves, the adventurers Guild had honestly seemed a lot more like a temp agency.

Nadine nodded, “It’s rare, but in emergencies, the Guild can issue mandatory quests to members. If we refuse, we get blacklisted from the Guild,” she explained wearily, “We will still get paid for it, but the conditions and requirements are unreasonable.”

“It’s a frickin power trip! That’s what it is!” Clarice snapped angrily.

I really didn’t like where this was headed, but I had to know for sure, “What is the quest?”

Nadine pointed to the map on the table. It was a somewhat crude birdseye view of the town. “The Guild wants us, specifically you, to guard the gate for the duration of the raid.”

“Uh...Did you tell them that I am not much of a fighter?” I asked worriedly, starting to feel a little panicked.

“Of course we did!” Clarice snorted, ”Guess how well that went down?!”

“They thought we were lying..." Nadine explained disappointedly, “Even though your combat record is short, from where they are sitting it still looks very impressive...”

“That's not even the worst part!” Clarice snarled, “Tell’im!”

Nadine paled and gulped hard, “The Guild...they want to put a slave mark on you...”

My stomach lurched and I felt like I was going to be sick.

“They already took Emelia to the Guild to handle things on their end. Tim, I am so sorry, I didn’t want something like this to happen,” Nadine explained sympathetically,

“Fucking bullshit is what it is!” Clarice seethed, “The foothold is in danger, better start Enslaving people!”

“What is going to happen?” I asked weakly, ”Is it just going to be a second Slave mark? Like, do I have to obey two different people?”

Nadine gulped again and looked down, “Ah, no Tim. You can only have one mark at a time. They took Emelia to...to transfer ownership...All Guild managers are Slavers and-”

I didn’t hear the rest of what Nadine was saying, I felt like someone had vented the oxygen from the room and I was having trouble breathing. Stumbling to my feet, I headed out towards the door to get some fresh air. Everything was all blurry and I couldn't stop my hands from shaking!

[ Warning: Bond has been forcefully attempted. Accept? (Y/N) ]

I stared at the status alert for a full minute before understanding what It said, “Refuse!” I croaked hoarsely.

[ Bond Rejected. ]

[ Warning: Bond has been forcefully attempted. Accept? (Y/N) ]

“Refuse!” I repeated, this time, feeling a rush of anger.

Panting heavily, I stumbled back into the inn and retrieved my shield from by the door where I had left it.

“Tim, you should calm down so we can talk about this,” Nadine insisted pleadingly.

[ Your master has given you a command. ]

“REFUSE!” I snarled as a sudden mild pain took hold in my head.

Toofy whimpered and growled sympathetically, whipping her head around to try and find what was causing me pain.

Staggering out of the inn, I saw a small group of people rushing out of the Guild office.

The thought reverberated through my mind with such force that it very nearly stunned me.

However, seeing the group from the Guild office rushing towards me, I turned and ran towards the gate.

The group chasing me began shouting, but I paid no attention to them and just kept running. Reaching the gate, I hesitated only for a moment before charging forward again.

[ Your master has given you a command. ]

The pain in my head increased slightly, but I could handle it. It was nothing like the last time Emelia had given me commands. I continued running until I made it into the forest. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I looked back and was surprised that no one had continued following me. They had all stopped just a short distance into the plains.

“Are you alright Toofy?” I asked, a little worried that Emelia had used the command on her as well.

“Toofy okay,” Toofy confirmed, but she sounded a little shaken. “Why Tim run?” She asked curiously.

I tried to think of a way to explain it so Toofy would understand, “A bad man tried to take me away, so I ran.” It only occurred to me now that they probably have something in mind for Toofy as well. If they were willing to use me as fodder, naturally, they wouldn’t think twice about doing it to her. FOr the life of me, I couldn’t think of a way to protect her from it.

Toofy suddenly stiffened, “Bad man taking Toofy!” She shrieked in terror, her shiv materializing in her hand and whipping around at the air in a panic.

“Toofy! Calm down! I won’t let them take you!” I tried to reassure Toofy.

“Taking Toofy away!” Toofy wailed, clutching at her head.

“I won't let them!” I roared protectively, “Stay with me Toofy!”

I didn’t know how I would do it, but dammit I would try anyway!

“Toofy wants to stay, not go!” Toofy screeched, clawing at her hair and crying.

[ Your master has given you a command. ]

“Damnit Emelia! That’s it! CONTEST BOND!” I screamed in frustration.

[ Bond Broken: Removing Enslaved Status and Effects.]

[ You have been automatically removed from Nadine’s party]

All at once, the pain stopped and I could think clearly again, “Toofy it’s okay, just stay with me okay?” I started moving through the forest, worried that the noise we had been making would very quickly result in an attack by the natives.

“***?” Toofy looked up at me in fear, confusion and pain.

Just as the monumental consequences of what I had just done began settling on my shoulders, Toofy began to convulse. Quickly setting Toofy down on the ground, I worked the edge of my palm into her mouth to stop Toofy from biting off her own tongue. ”Shit! What is happening, what do I do?!”

In a moment of gut-wrenching clarity, I realised that Emelia or that Guild manager must have been layering commands onto Toofy. Her Willpower was nowhere near as high as mine, so of course, she couldn’t resist it as I could.

Then what the hell do I do?

I needed to buy some time to think. With no other options presenting themselves, I gently cradled Toofy in my arm and slowly began walking back toward town.

Toofy stopped seizing almost immediately, just shuddering and crying from the memory of the pain. “*** ***, ***** ****, *** ***,” Toofy struggled feebly, looking deliberately at the town in the distance then back to me and shaking her head.

“No, Toofy,” I croaked hoarsely.

I didn’t know what to do. However, if I didn’t take Toofy back, the pain would probably kill her. At the same time, going back also meant that they would be using Toofy as fodder to defend the town. Even though she was now stronger than an Orc, there would likely be hundreds of Orcs and Goblins attacking the town. Stuck as the vanguard, Toofy’s chances of survival would be almost nonexistent. So if I wanted to try to keep Toofy alive, I would need to surrender myself as well.

With Emelia, I had accepted Enslavement without realising what I was doing and what it entailed. But now, I knew better and every fibre of my being detested the very idea of it, demanding that I turn and run. Even Toofy wanted me to run away. But I couldn’t do it. Toofy would die without me, I felt certain of it.

Faced with an impossible choice, I chose the lesser of the two evils. Maybe I was just a coward. It would explain so many things about me and my life. I had always done what was demanded of me and when push came to shove, I would back down. Even my reluctance to hurt people could be seen as a fear of consequences, of power and control.

Technically, I could free Toofy by killing the Guild manager, or whoever was currently her master. I could kill him and run back off into the forest before anyone had a chance to do anything about it. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to even consider it before dismissing the idea in shame.

*****

“Let’s quit the Guild!” Clarice insisted seriously for the fifth time in as many minutes, “This is all bullshit. No one else is being forced to put up with anything close to this!”

Nadine was heavily inclined to agree with her. Even though the Guild had the right to issue mandatory quests, the theft of property through Slave bonds was dangerous territory. Ignoring for a moment the fact that Tim was a thinking being, the Guild just forcibly seized a substantially valuable asset under the pretext of a quest. If it weren’t for the portals being inaccessible, Nadine would have immediately filed a grievance against the manager.

Slavery was big money, and the Guild manager had greatly overstepped his intended authority. If the Guild didn’t take the grievance seriously, most of the Slavers and Monster Tamer’s would quit overnight.

Nadine had already written three letters in preparation for when the raid ended. “We might as well be mercenaries,” Nadine agreed, “If the Guild is just going to abuse its authority anyway, then what is the point in staying a member?”

“Thank you!” Clarice agreed excitedly, “That's what I’m saying!”

“They still won’t give Tim back, or Toofy for that matter. The Guild manager will just exercise his ‘emergency authority’ to keep them until the raid is over,” Nadine explained dejectedly, “And on top of that, technically Tim and Toofy are Emelia’s property, not ours.”

Clarice’s face darkened still further, “The treacherous bitch! Selling Tim after he saved her life!”

Nadine pursed her lips and nodded. She did not think for a moment that Emelia did it with ill intentions in mind. However, Nadine also heavily suspected that Emelia had given precious little thought, if any, beyond how much silver the Guild was promising her in exchange.

Clarice was about to voice a few more choice epithets but was distracted by a knock at the door to their new room.

Before Nadine or Clarice could so much as ask who it was, the door opened and Jacque slipped inside before quickly closing the door after herself.

“What do you want?!” Clarice snarled, already in a bad mood and unwilling to put up with Jacque’s shenanigans.

Jacque didn’t say a word, instead, moving over to the bed, yanking off the blanket and covers. She walked back over to the door again and stuffed them into the crack at the bottom of the door.

Nadine could already tell that Jacque was very likely bringing them a great deal of trouble.

Jacque then walked over and closed the shutters and curtains. Finally turning her attention to Clarice and Nadine, Jacque had an intense look in her eyes that Nadine had not seen before. “If there was a way to free Tim from the Guild manager’s control, would you do it?” She asked bluntly.

“Yes! Of course!” Clarice replied almost immediately.

Nadine hesitated a moment, earning the ire of both other women, “It’s not Tim we need to free,” she hastily tried to explain, “It’s Toofy. I know the reason he came back would have been to stop the commands from hurting her. He won’t leave without her being freed.”

Jacque nodded, “I know. So I will ask again. If there was a way to free Tim from the Guild manager’s control, would you do it?” She repeated earnestly.

Nadine nodded, “I owe him and Toofy at least that much,” she agreed.

“Good,” Jacque nodded, “Because I have a plan and I need your help to make it work.”

Nadine and Clarice glanced at one another before eagerly huddling closer to hear more.

*****

I continued staring blankly at the open plains from my position outside the gates. They had leveraged Toofy against me almost the very moment I returned to the town. Ordering her to fight me, while Gregory attempted to Enslave me again. Toofy refused, of course, so she immediately began convulsing in pain. I knew they wouldn’t stop until I submitted, so that’s exactly what I did. I became a Slave again. Then they had taken Toofy away, presumably to rest, but I couldn’t be sure.

Nadine and Clarice had stopped by to tell me that Toofy was alright, but the Guild had locked her up in a holding cell beneath the Guild office. They had both apologised profusely and promised to do what they could, but it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered. Emelia had cast me aside so casually, even seeming happy about it.

Is that what I get for saving her life?

Staring despondently at nothing in particular, I wondered what the life expectancy of monsters was in this world.

Did I have another fifty years of this ahead of me? A hundred? Ten? I had no way of knowing, but I hoped it was shorter rather than longer.

What really hurt wasn’t how callously the Guild manager, Gilbert, was treating me. It was how kind other members of the town had been up until now. I had fooled myself into thinking that my situation wasn’t nearly so bad as the reality. But reality seemed to have caught up to me in a real hurry.

Gilbert had spent a solid hour detailing exact commands for my every waking moment, including establishing which hours I would be awake for and which I would not. I learned more about the status commands in five minutes than I had in my entire time with Emelia.

Besides my clothes, morningstar and shield, everything else had been confiscated and presumably returned to their original owners, namely Emelia and Jacque. I could tell that Gilbert had seriously contemplated whether to take my clothes as well before eventually deciding against it. I couldn’t believe that I thought he was a standup guy.

Gilbert had assigned a number of adventurers to serve a watch schedule at the gate as well. But none of them seemed particularly friendly. They just mostly ignored me and kept to their own company.

When it grew dark and the pain ebbed, I shuffled to the inner side of the gate wall and lay down to sleep. Staring up at the sky, I wondered if perhaps someone would kill me in my sleep and I found that the thought did not scare me nearly as much as it had only a few days ago.

It took a long time for me to get to sleep, and waking up in the morning to a splitting headache made me feel that much worse. Picking up my morningstar and shield, I returned to the designated position and stared vacantly at the plains. I had realised rather quickly that Gilbert’s commands had serious problems with achieving the results he wanted.

I had no incentive to be vigilant, and so as long as I was vaguely looking in the right direction, I felt no pain. Gilbert’s pre-established commands were painful enough to be aggravating, but not enough that I couldn't resist. His whole house of cards was kept standing because he held Toofy hostage, and he knew it.

Only vaguely aware of my surroundings, I would probably fall asleep on my feet if it weren’t for the sudden jolts of pain whenever I closed my eyes for more than a second at a time.

“Tim!” Someone called out from nearby.

Ignoring the pain, I look away from the empty plains and see Nadine and Clarice slowly making their way down the street towards me.

“We brought you food,” Clarice explained nervously, holding out a small basket full of roasted meat.

“I’m not hungry” I replied offhandedly.

Nadine looked worried, “Tim, you really should eat something to help keep your strength up,” she insisted.

I shook my head and turned back to the plains again, “Not hungry,” I repeated.

“We went to see Toofy earlier,” Nadine shared encouragingly.

“She misses you,” Clarice added.

I nodded, “I miss her too...”

There was an awkward pause before Clarice tried handing me the basket again, “You need to eat to keep your strength up,” she insisted.

I sighed and slid my morning star through my belt, twitching slightly as the pain started back up almost immediately. Turning away from the plains added another layer of pain until I accepted the basket and shifted it awkwardly to my shield-bearing hand and looked back out at the plains again.

I absently grabbed a piece of meat, put it in my mouth and swallowed. The mild pain in my head made it difficult to appreciate the food, so I just listlessly ate one piece of meat after another. My mind began to wander again when I noticed Nadine was trying to get my attention.

“Tim...I know this must be hard for you, but you just need to bear with it a little longer,” Nadine said in an attempt to raise my spirits.

It honestly wasn’t worth replying to. I was a slave and would soon be compelled to kill against my will. But only because they had someone I cared about as a hostage. It was the lesser of two evils, but it made me disgusted with myself. I didn’t blame Toofy for this, it wasn’t her fault. I missed her.

“Just hang tough, things will work out...” Clarice added somewhat awkwardly, lightly punching my shoulder.

Another protracted silence passed between us before Nadine sighed. “We will see you later Tim,” she said quietly and slowly began walking away.

“I...” Clarice hesitated then roughly cleared her throat, “Just stay safe alright?”

When the food in the basket ran out, I found that there was a small leather satchel at the bottom. Ignoring the pain, I opened the satchel and found a half dozen thick sheets of card stock. Curious, I removed the topmost one and very nearly dropped it again. It was a picture of Toofy and I eating breakfast at the inn, or at least a sketch of it.

Seeing the serious expression on Toofy's face, I couldn’t help but smile. Even though it had been only a couple of days, it had felt like forever since I last saw her. I needed to see more. Replacing the first card into the satchel, I withdrew another.

It was a picture of Toofy sleeping splayed out on my stomach in our room. Whoever sketched this had even included the belt abandoned on the floor. The next was of Toofy sitting on the large pack and leaning on my head as we walked through the forest.

I remembered each of the events they were based on, more or less. But the final three were different. The fourth picture showed Toofy huddled in the centre of a dark cage, and a featureless stranger looking at her through the bars holding a collar in their outstretched hand.

The fifth picture showed the stranger walking down the main street of the town with Toofy peeking out from the large pack on their back.

The sixth and final picture showed the stranger handing me the pack and pointing urgently to the forest.

Were Clarice and Nadine working on a plan to rescue Toofy?

I didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I desperately wanted Toofy to be rescued, but on the other, I was worried about what could go wrong in the attempt. If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself.

*****

“How is he doing?” Jacque asked although she had a pretty good idea by the looks on their faces.

“It’s like he’s not even there,” Clarice muttered, .

“Tim was already quite fragile when we first met him, and...he's slipping. If the Guild manager forces him to fight, I don't think there will be much of Tim left afterwards,” Nadine explained, .

Jacque nodded, this was about what she had expected after observing Tim for a few days. Despite his literally tough exterior, Jacque had the impression that at any given moment, Tim’s psyche was hanging by a handful of threads. Given his current treatment, it was very likely that those threads would snap at any moment.

Jacque had only just confirmed Tim was an Awakened, a human soul given new life in a monster's body. Already insanely rare, he was rarer still in that he was not a deranged psychopath like the overwhelming majority of the others. That is, he wasn’t one yet.

Jacque had seen plenty of otherwise good people turn bad after being mistreated or pushed into a corner. This was why Jacque had come up with a plan to free Toofy and by extension, Tim. The fact that the Guild manager was able to control Tim by using Toofy as a hostage spoke volumes of each of their moral characters. Any doubts Jacque had about Tim had been swept away upon learning of his sacrifice. Jacque knew of only a handful of Awakened would do anything close to what he did, but only Tim would accept becoming a Slave instead of killing the Guild manager.

“Alright, I have everything prepared. Are you both ready to play your part?” Jacque asked seriously.

Clarice and Nadine both nodded in agreement, their eyes steeled with determination.

“Then let’s do this!” Jacque declared.

The three of them headed downstairs to the inn’s common room, where Jacque and Clarice continued to head off to the street while Nadine beelined for Byron and his lackeys.

Nadine had the most difficult and frankly dangerous part to play in this rescue mission. She had to lure Byron away from his entourage and get him to drink the sleeping draught Jacque had purchased from the alchemist.

It was part of the cover and frame-job Jacque had thought up to redirect suspicion from themselves once Toofy was found to be missing.

Jacque and Clarice waited near the tailor shop across the street.

After a while, Byron’s entourage left the inn. Clarice shivered with a scowl and quickly headed back into the inn again. A few moments later there was a great deal of angry shouting and a short while after, the innkeeper was dragging Byron out by his collar and towards the Guild office.

After about an hour, the innkeeper stormed out of the Guild office and back to the inn.

Jacque waited a few minutes longer, ducked into the tailor’s shop and put on her disguise. Leaving the shop, Jacque knew that most people wouldn’t give her a second glance. Disguises were a specialty of hers and she knew how best to blend in.

Entering the Guild office, Jacque was not surprised to find the staff were gossiping amongst themselves about what had happened. Some of them looked towards the door as Jacque entered but quickly dismissed her. After all, she looked like one of them. Well, specifically, Jacque looked like Emily, a member of the Guild staff who was visiting Don the butcher for ’an afternoon snack’.

Jacque calmly walked into the back area and took the keys off the hook by the door. All Guild office buildings shared the same general designs and floor plans, so because Jacque had already explored one, she had effectively explored them all.

Unlocking the door to the holding cells, Jacque walked downstairs into the poorly illuminated passageway. Following the rows of barred cells, Jacque stopped at the end of the row.

Toofy was curled up in the foetal position in the exact centre of the cell, barely moving a muscle.

Jacque tapped the cell door quietly, loud enough that only Toofy would hear.

Toofy’s ear twitched. Far less coherent than the thoughts of humans, a myriad of images and impressions quickly surged to the forefront of her mind. Toofy quickly looked towards the door and saw Jacque. . Toofy’s head slumped dejectedly back to the floor. .

Jacque could feel the little Goblin’s despair, surprised that Toofy understood why Tim had returned to the foothold and what it meant. Doing her best to organise her thoughts, Jacque began projecting them to Toofy. .

Toofy raised her head again and stared at Jacque. .

Jacque could tell what she meant. Toofy wanted to know what would stop them from forcing Tim to come back again. . Communicating like this was difficult, but Jacque at least had some practice deciphering and interpreting the thoughts of monsters, so she was reasonably confident that her intentions were getting across.

Toofy tilted her head at Jacque quizzically but nodded.

Jacque unlocked the cell door and stepped back.

Toofy cautiously approached the door and flinched as she made to step over the threshold. Just as Jacque was considering altering the plan, Toofy grit her teeth and lurched into the passageway.

Jacque nodded and jammed a few pieces of broken twig into the lock of the cell door and slowly followed Toofy up the stairs before doing the same on that door as well. Watching Toofy stagger towards the open window, Jacque made sure she was presentable, replaced the keys on the hook and walked out of the Guild and towards the direction of the butcher shop.

Narrowly missing the real Emily by quickly slipping into the shadowed alley between the two buildings, Jacque hurriedly changed her disguise to look like one of the other young female adventurers currently stuck in the foothold.

Nonchalantly returning to the Guild office building, Jacque was glad to find that no one had discovered Toofy’s absence yet. Looking amongst the crates and barrels, Jacque sighed in relief when she found the empty pack she had stowed earlier, was now rather full and trembling slightly.

the thought repeated over and over.

Jacque felt bad about this part of the plan. She had felt the pain of Slave commands herself and had no desire to ever feel it again. Jacque encouraged her. Lifting up the pack and strapping it to her back, Jacque made sure no one was looking her way, then casually meandered over to the tailor’s shop and closed the door behind her.

“Ah, Jacque!” Rasped Kiki, eagerly wringing her clawed hands together, “I assume our transaction is soon to be completed?”

“Did you get what I asked for?” Jacque asked bluntly.

Kiki winced and nodded, materialising a studded leather collar in her hand before quickly dropping it on the counter as if it might lash out and bite her.

Jacque wasn’t thrilled about touching it either. Removing the small pouch from her belt, Jacque upended the remaining five mana stones onto the counter. “Now remember, no matter when Nadine comes in to explain that the Orc chieftain is dead-”

“-I will hiss and refuse to provide the reward since she did not bring me the head. But that will be the end of it, I know! Now take that loathsome thing out of my shop!” Kiki demanded, snatching up the mana stones and gulping them down before abruptly disappearing to leave the puppet in her place.

Gritting her teeth, Jacque swept the collar into the pouch and quickly left the shop. Casually walking over to the gate, Jacque saw two low-level adventurers boredly watching the treeline and nervously discussing the raid. Ignoring them, Jacque walked up beside Tim and shrugged the pack off her back, set it down beside the wall and placed the pouch on top of it along with a folded piece of card from her pocket. With her task complete, Jacque made sure the two adventurers on watch hadn’t noticed her, then walked back to the inn.

Now it was all up to Tim.