Chapter 5: The Vishten Tribe

I turn to look at where the arrow came from, holding my hands where they are easily visible. The shot hadn’t been close to hitting me, making me think that it was a warning and not aimed to actually take me down. Plus my danger sense still hasn’t gone off, so hopefully I can talk my way out of this.

Shar had disappeared from my shoulder as soon as we’d passed through the strange barrier, so I have confidence that she’ll be alright, it’s myself that I’m worried about.

Four humanoid creatures step out from behind piles of rubble, their faces covered by cloth. They are slightly shorter than me, and heavily armed with weapons. Two stay back, keeping their bows drawn as the other two approach me cautiously.

“Can you understand me?” I call out, causing the two closest to me to draw the swords from their waist in surprise.

One of them looks to the other, who hesitates before speaking, their voice heavily accented. “Place weapons on ground, do not move fast.”

I hesitate for a second, then slowly reach down to my belt. I unbuckle it, letting it fall to the floor with my sword and dagger.

The one who spoke motions to my backpack, so I take that off as well, slipping a defensive talisman into my pocket as I do.

The quiet one steps forward hesitantly, his sword still drawn. I keep completely still, not wanting to startle the clearly anxious warrior.

He grabs my things, not taking his gaze away from me for a moment.

The one in charge points his sword at me, saying simply “Follow.”

The two archers keep their weapons pinned on me as I follow the leader. The one carrying my things stays a few steps behind me to keep an eye on me.

They lead me deeper into the tunnels, taking several turns seemingly at random. Thankfully, my basic map skill keeps track of every turn as they try to disorient me by going in a circle at least twice. Not that it helps anyway, I’m stuck in the ruins without Shar leading me out. Speaking of the Golem, occasionally I catch a glimpse of her flying overhead, moving from shadow to shadow as I’m led through the ruins.

Eventually the end of the hallway lights up with the telltale light of fire. The four creatures lead me through a doorway into a large hall, where at least fifty of the creatures have set up a semi-permanent camp. Children watch me with curiosity while the adults stare at me with wariness.

I finally get a good look at them without the cloth guarding their faces. They are dark skinned, with red lines crossing their skin in artistic patterns. Their eyes are slightly larger than a humans, their eyeballs a pale gray. They also have pointed ears, and sharper teeth. I’m taller than most of them by a good margin.

I don’t recognize their exact species, but it’s safe to assume that they are one of the many races that humans kept enslaved with our magic hundreds of years ago. There were very few humanoid species, at least in this part of the world, that weren’t enslaved.

The party of four led me to the largest tent in the hall, their eyes never leaving me.

The leader of the four enters the tent, and I’m left to wait outside, my gaze passing over the equipment that they are using. Clearly, they haven’t had as much luck in the ruins as I’ve had, seeing as how little of their equipment is enchanted.

The leader steps out of the tent and motions for me to enter. I step up and through the tent flap, the leader following after me.

An older woman carrying a gnarly and heavily enchanted staff stands waiting for me. She looks me over with a raised eyebrow, then snorts. “So you’re a human explorer.” she says, her dialect only having a slight accent.

It takes me a second to realize that she must’ve identified me using a skill of some kind. Did she only see the one class?

I hesitate on revealing my class, but decide that trust is going to be the best way to start off my relationship with these people. “My specific class is a Delver. It’s a specialized class for exploring buried ruins.”

“I see.” the woman walks up to me, causing the guard in the tent to tense up. “You are not what I expected a human to look like. I thought your teeth would be sharper and you would be taller.” She looks up at me, causing me to lean back slightly.

I give a half smile, not sure how to respond. “I’m sorry to disappoint?”

“Were you the one to kill the Ichtl’e?” She says the last word with a rougher accent, telling me that it means something in their language.

I frown, “What is an Ichtle?”

“Ichtl’e, The many legged creature that blocked the entrance to the surface. Were you the one to kill it?” She leans towards me even more, staring into my eyes as she waits for an answer.

I slowly nod. “I was.”

The woman frowns, stepping away from me in thought. “That makes things more complicated.”

I watch her pace back and forth, glancing at me every once in a while. After a minute of that, I gather the confidence to speak up, “Can I ask a question?”

The woman stops, turning to look at me. “Ask me what you will.”

“What are you all doing here?” The question had been on my mind ever since I saw their makeshift camp. It seemed newly created, as if they hadn’t been here long enough to actually put down roots.

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“Running and hiding.” The woman answers, gazing at me as if I were a riddle. “Our home was destroyed and our protector killed by a shapeshifting monster named Kor’veth. It still chases us.”

I blink in surprise at the notification. What did I do that leveled up my second class? It’s only the second level, so it could have been something rather simple and it must’ve had to do with something she told me.

I focus back in on the woman, who stares at me.

“That is why things are complicated. I do not wish to let you leave, cause you may lead the monster back to us. But I do not wish to kill you after you killed the Ichtl’e for us.” She says the words calmly, but they make me freeze as I realize the situation I’m in.

My brain races as I try to come up with a solution. “How about we make a deal?”

The woman tilts her head questioningly. “What kind of deal?”