Chapter 2: The Raid Begins.
“Man! That feels so good, like I've just been reborn! Well, I was kinda reborn, wasn't I? Ooh, snazzy new duds, sleek leather with spider-silk inlay, I'm guessing. I've also gotten a mite taller if I'm not mistaken, and what's this? Wings? OH! I've always wanted wings! And is it just me or is the air fresher around here?”
“It's not you. I'm absorbing the foul-smelling stuff, like methane and ammonia, to try and recover my MP. It's slow going. If I were still able, I'd be panting in exhaustion right now.”
“Yeah. I figured. So, how exactly were you planning to have me carry you around? If my hands are full, that's going to be a problem.”
“Well, I was planning on having you wear a make-shift backpack, but I used up all my materials, and then some, both putting you back together and giving you that outfit, so I'm kinda tapped out at the moment. I could still make one if I'm brought to a source of leather or canvas, or simply get to suck up enough of the right elements to craft either material...”
“Oh, so you'd have enough if, say, I stripped down to my birthday suit?”
“In enemy territory?! That's a bad idea!”
“But you wouldn't mind otherwise? Wanna see what's under the leather, eh?”
“To be honest, yes! And to be clear, you are now sporting the body of a very attractive, full-grown, adult female!”
“Hahahaha! YOU ARE A PERVERT! But you're an honest and chivalrous gentleman. I'm flattered. We could raid the other slaves for their filthy rags, but they don't deserve that indignity.”
“Well, we could just take the filth away, at least that will let me get enough MP, maybe, to whip up something.”
“Sigh. Worth a shot, I suppose. Just to be clear, if you could, you'd want to screw me silly, right?”
“Yes, I totally would.”
“Well, we're already each other's first, so sure, Partner!”
About a half-hour later, they leave the stables behind much cleaner than when they came in, and the core's MP went up enough, barely, to give the new were-vampire-bat a makeshift canvas backpack, that they use to sneak around the compound.
“We're going to need names. Calling each other 'Hey, you!' is going to get old, fast. So I was thinking of calling you, how about, 'Jade' because of your blue-green glow.”
“Sounds good to me, and I was thinking of calling you 'Allura', for obvious reasons.”
“Flatterer. I'll take it.”
System: Dungeon Core is now named “Jade” and the Dungeon Boss is now named “Allura.” Please check your respective status sheets for further details.
“And it's official. So how do you feel about sneaking into each and every one of the guard quarters, killing them in their sleep and then moving on the mine Foreman to make them answer for their sins?”
“A man after my own heart, in more ways than one! But we've got to avoid the patrols. This may be a mine, but I'm sure there must be wild monsters in the area. The caravan that dragged us all down here was under escort by heavily armed guards.”
“Lead the way.”
Using her heightened beast-kin senses, especially now that Allura also has bat traits, she stays to the shadows, sneaking past the larger patrols while occasionally sneaking up to the smaller, one-man posts and slicing their throats, or stabbing them in the back, after Jade disarms them by stripping them of their arms and armors using [Analysis], and then just summarily absorbs the bodies.
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Every time the two come across a barracks, they noiselessly break in, smother the guards within with balls of water around their heads, laced with potassium nitrate, causing them to die of both drowning and hypothermia, before they're disposed of as well.
“Allura, there's something that's been bothering me for a while. I saw your stats when I first appraised you and it said you're 10. Yet you talk like you're 15, maybe 16, back where I'm from. Is that a cultural thing? And just to be clear, I'm not interested in little girls.”
“That's fair, Jade. See, among Beast-kin, we're lucky to make it to 30, so we start learning about... what do you call it, 'the birds and the bees' pretty young, heck, 10 is marriageable back home and I had a fiancé all picked out, by both our families, and we very much were into each other. Then the raiders came, and here we are.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“Don't be. Not your fault, and I know he's dead and gone. Our people have to move on quick, again, short life-spans and all. But I intend to send him each and every one of his killers to the afterlife so he can have his share of righteous vengeance on them. That's our way.”
An alarm klaxon starts blaring in the distance.
“Looks like they've finally noticed that their people are going missing.”
“They're going to start searching the place in large numbers now, and I can almost guarantee you that they're going to check the stables to make sure their precious livestock hasn't been messed with.”
“Then they're going to see you're gone...”
(In unison) “OH FUCK!”
“They're going to interrogate and try and torture the truth out of the rest of the slaves, truth that they don't have!”
“Okay, change of plans. We know they're going to go after the stables sooner or later, so let's get there first and make their attempts to further abuse the slaves there as costly as we can. Do you know if any of these louts can use magic?”
“Mages are rare and pricey, but they're also powerful as they get A LOT of support from whatever kingdom they're in, in exchange for giving up certain personal rights and privileges. I'd be surprised if there's a mage on this guy's payroll, considering how much he loves to whine about spending money, but I'm not ruling it out, if the kingdom, Duke Deokk, or both, is watching over this mine as a strategic asset.”
“Interesting, but that doesn't really change what we have to do. We either make it to the stables first and prepare for a siege, or we make it there later and lure the enemy away, leading them though gauntlet after gauntlet until they lose their numerical advantage, and we can take them all down.”
“Right! Less talk, more running!”
Meanwhile, at the foreman's cabin...
“Lord Royce, Sir, we have an emergency! Patrols have been quietly disappearing and when we went to rouse the next shifts from their beds, they were all gone with barely a trace! Their beds show signs of a struggle, but neither hide nor hair of them can be found, only a wet spot on their pillows!”
“Damn those incompetent slavers and their caravan!” spits out Baron Royce in disgust. “They let the filthy beast-kin commandos track them back here! And what's worse, we've either got a mass dereliction of duty, desertion, or we're up against spooks who are very, very good at disposing of bodies, and while I have doubts about the competence, discipline, and commitment from my men, as I have been hearing some rather disturbing things lately, I'm far more inclined to believe we're dealing with the last!”
He gets up from bed and begins donning his enchanted armor, as well as grabbing his magic sword and shield. “Wake that lazy, entitled, and arrogant bitch of a sorceress! It's high time she earned her keep! When she starts making her demands, tell her her retainer has already been paid and she's under a System Enforced [Contract] to repel all attacks on this place, and we are under attack by unknown forces. Maybe she can figure out what happened to our men!”
Perhaps the soldier hesitates a second too long because Baron Royce yells out “Well? What are you waiting for? GO! NOW!”
Moments later, at the sorceress's bedroom, the guards are frantically banging on the door, trying to rouse her.
“What in tarnation? Ya brats! Do ya not realize what time it is! An old bag of bones like meself needs her rest!” Cries out the sorceress as she rouses from her bed.
“We have an emergency, Great Lady, and the baron requires your presence at once!” replies the guard knocking on the door.
“Oh! It's an emergency, he says. Is he bleeding, dying, or bloody ON FIRE?! Darn brat's always got one emergency or another he wants me to look at! Last time, he had an emergency, it was a bloody hang-over he wanted me ta clear up fer him 'fore the mine inspector came along...” She cries out in indignation.
“Begging your pardon, Ma'am, but not this time. We've got patrols going missing and barracks being found vacant....” replies the soldier.
“Hah! Those louts are probably getting intimate with some booze, women of ill-repute, or trying for both at the same time!” she retorts, her voice deep with sarcasm and contempt.
“No, Ma'am. The men have disappeared without a trace. All we could find in the barracks was a small smear of water on their pillows...” he replies with obvious terror in his voice.
“Hoh?! Now that is interesting. Maybe we have an actual emergency this time.” She quickly, and with a flourish that belies her ancient frame, puts her wizard's robe over her bedclothes. “Take me to these barracks at once!”
“But Ma'am, the baron's orders..”
“As if I'm going to wait for that chain-smoking walrus to try and work his tub of lard into a suit of plate mail! The evidence might have literally dried away by then! Besides, I technically outrank him. Take! Me! To! The! Barracks! NOW!”
As they, along with a squad of bodyguards, are marching to the now vacant barracks, she can be occasionally heard muttering her complaints such as “I still can't believe someone thought taking various plants, crushing them into powder, wrapping them with paper, then putting the thing into your mouth and setting it on fire was a good idea! That damn baron's going to be lucky to make it to the next decade the way he's going! He sure as hell isn't going to be as spry as this old bag of bones if he somehow, miraculously, gets to see 90 winters, like this 'arrogant, entitled, lazy bitch' has!”
When they make it to the barracks, she examines the first puddle of water and immediately realizes what's going on. “We're dealing with a very talented, if not experienced, alchemist here. These men did not go easy. Water doused with saltpeter surrounding their heads like a bubble? Oof! That's a bad way to go...”
