tMFUtM - b1c7 - Seven Refusals (Patreon)

Being launched off the back of the monster he killed? Embarrassing. Rugrim really should have seen that coming and done… something differently. But being caught in a single massive golem hand like he was some sort of tiny, cuddly creature? That was mortifying.

“There you are. Safe and sound.” Tin managed to somehow make everything worse while they set him back onto solid ground. They were supposed to be the sensible one!

While Rugrim fumed, the others got to work. Tin and Steel removed useful parts from the monsters before Tin hauled the bodies deeper into the woods. Dawn passed around a waterskin and some cheese (because “cheese makes everything better”) before she zipped back into town to restock. And the town guards were still doing their level best to ignore the party’s antics.

While Rugrim sat in the dirt and nibbled at his cheese—surface cheese was weird, what did they even use for milk without caveslugs?—Origin approached. The man was back on his feet, though he was still supporting himself with a cane.

Where the cane came from was one of life’s greatest mysteries. In that Rugrim hadn’t paid any attention and truly didn’t care.

“Thank you for your assistance. Demonkind owes you a debt, and I intend to see it paid. For starters, I won’t tell any of the others that you aren’t actually a mage.” The devil adjusted his glasses, speaking softly and doing his best to make it look as if he wasn’t actually speaking to Rugrim.

“I already deny it.” Rugrim grumbled in response. Why couldn’t he be left to eat his strangely mild cheese in peace?!

“Good, good. Your secret is safe with me.” Origin whispered, just as Dawn jogged back over.

“Nice to see the two of you getting along! Whatcha talking about?” The last bit was asked in a singsong tone.

“Oh, not much; my good friend here was just commenting on how perfectly ordinary and not at all alarmingly enchanted my humble cane is.” Origin sveltely answered.

“Well, duh. I have Magic Sense too, you know. It’s not like anyone would expect enchanted artifacts anyway, so they stand out a bit.” Dawn snickered, shaking her head.

“Wait, you—what? But…” Origin planted his feet more firmly and lifted his cane. “…WHAT?! Speak to me, you can’t possibly…!?!”

…The golem was absolutely the only member of the group with any measure of sense or reason. Origin might have looked the part of a sensible bloke, but the effect was irrevocably shattered by the sight of him shaking a perfectly ordinary cane in front of his face while he screamed at it—plainly expecting an answer.

The urge to just turn around and go home was stronger than ever.

<L3 Divide>

Eight days later, Rugrim and the other four arrived at Lythgen, the first decent city that he’d seen since leaving his home behind. The city had a proper wall of good, resilient stone and gates reinforced with… well, surface-decent steel. The city itself was populated by elves, gnomes, goblins, and the ever-present dith. There were even a few drakith hanging around near the gates—noticeable thanks to their golden scales—though they looked more like travellers than permanent residents.

“Welcome to the largest city left in the Independent Territories. Probably. Oasis City quit releasing census information decades ago, and it’s not like the dwarves from further south ever gave any information out. Anyhow, if you need to resupply, this is it. Past here we shall enter the Forest of Spears, and there won’t really be anything except a few streams and small rivers until we get through to Hearth’s High Road. So uh, if you have any scales burning a hole in your purse, drop ‘em here.” Dawn finished her speech lamely, with an annoyed expression that suggested she forgot what she was planning to say.

“As a reminder, we are not planning to stay the night. If possible, I would like to reconvene in two hours in the park next to the north gate.” Tin—the party’s actual leader—spoke up.

Origin assented, but Rugrim decided to follow Steel’s lead and just walked away. Honestly, he was hoping he could find some other group to travel with. Sure, the group had proven to be far more proficient at handling the other monster encounters beyond the first… and second. But much of that was Tin’s raw physical might or Steel deciding to test some new contraption that exploded, shredding both fleshdrinkers instantly. None of it left Rugrim with any degree of confidence, even if he hadn’t been forced to fight since that one time.

It was worth investigating his options. Especially since he could finally carry on a conversation without sniffling constantly because of his mucking nose! The wilderness was no place for a civilized dwarf.

<L1 Divide>

“Uh-huh, and how are you with a longbow?” The elf eyed Rugrim with open disdain.

“Never tried one before.” Unfortunately, he had a sense of ethics.

“Crossbow?” The gnome that was leaning against the elf chimed in.

“Same answer.” Rugrim admitted.

“No.” The elf gave his answer.

The gnome shrugged, mouthing a silent apology.

Rugrim just sighed and moved on. There were other caravans or groups, there had to be.

<L1 Divide>

“We aren’t heading north; Oasis City’s our destination.” The drakith interrupted, shaking her blonde woven hair.

<L1 Divide>

“Eeeh, maybe. You any good with the gargs?” The goblin that spoke up was a grey-skin with so many piercings in his ears that they made him look outright miserable thanks to the drooping.

“I haven’t met one, but I’m generally likable.” Rugrim stretched the truth, slightly.

“Piss off then! We ain’t moving until we got a garg-friend.” Another goblin interjected, as she waved him away.

<L1 Divide>

“Twelve hands, up front.” The dith never even looked up from the ledger he was examining.

Rugrim just turned around and left. There was no point in negotiating if the price started that high.

<L1 Divide>

“Unfortunately, we aren’t going anywhere for a while. One of the animals took ill and my wife’ll never forgive me if I didn’t bring home one of the critters that her uncle left her. You understand, right?” They at least seemed properly apologetic for being unhelpful.

<L1 Divide>

“Hmhmhm, a dwarf? If I were to take you along with my caravan, could you, say… pull another cart?” The kobold twiddled her talon-like fingers eagerly as she stared at Rugrim with dark, beady eyes that seemed out of place next to her brilliant pink plumage.

“What?” Surely, he misheard.

“With another cart I could carry even more southern goods to sell! Yes, at last, everything comes up Madam Ostirica! My profits will—huh, where did he go?” Rugrim was never so glad to be short enough to easily hide behind crates while he crept away.

<L1 Divide>

“Up north? Are you insane? Did someone kick you in your hard dwarven head until you lost all sense and reason?! Because you’re either crazy or stupid—and still crazy! Mark my words, Drythas is going to attack either Ferlynne or Hearth within a season or two. By this time next year, all three of ‘em will be warring around all over the place. This might be the only safe place in the world! And another thing—”

Rugrim quietly backed out of the tavern, hoping the raving man wouldn’t notice.

<L2 Divide>

“Well, good news. I’ve decided to stick with you loamy lot.” Rugrim announced as he approached Origin and Steel. Neither Tin nor Dawn were back yet—surprisingly—but those two stood out plenty in their own way.

“Ah, Rugrim, interesting timing.” Origin beckoned him forward. “My lady, this is Lord Rugrim, he is also travelling with us.”

Rugrim was too disappointed to feel apprehensive, so he stepped around the demon with a snort. What sort of hard luck fool would approach a dainty thing like Origin for…

…

That was an olore.

After backpedaling several steps, Rugrim tried to grasp for an explanation for why an olore would approach anyone from his—those weirdos’ party! Weren’t the olore supposed to be protected by legions of elite elves?! They were the ultimate fate for any elf that failed to succumb to wounds or disease. Everyone knew that. At some point after centuries or millennia, elves journeyed to some muddy great tree and joined with it. Somehow. But every once in a rare stretch of eternity, they came back out.

That was what an olore was. An elf that became part tree and served some great cause of critical import.

The woman that was standing in the park, staring at him, had deep green skin, a build that was just a touch plumper than the scrawny elf Rugrim briefly became, and had two flowering branches sticking out from the sides of her light green hair. And yes, that was the complete description, because the silted woman wasn’t wearing anything!

“He is far more noble than his crude demeanor would suggest.” Origin oh-so-helpfully chimed in.

“Speaking of noble, I am here! Hello Steel, hello Ruru, and hello Orgi—nope, that one needs more work. Oh, and hello to you, very naked lady. Is that a thing people do here? Am I overdressed?” Dawn interjected as she arrived.

“Ruru?” Rugrim growled.

“Not a fan? I thought it was cute!” The fey pouted as she started fiddling with the straps of her breastplate.

“Ah, I do not think public nudity is… a thing here, I believe was the terminology?” Origin hurriedly spoke up, before Dawn did anything rash.

“Aww. Ah well, probably for the best. There have been tragically few opportunities to keep up with personal grooming beyond the basics, and I have limited insight as to what is fashionable to do with one’s body hair, at least in this region. Not that I even grow much of that as a fairy, but I’ll do what I must to meet the demands of fashion!” Why did she sound so mucking proud of that?!

Tin’s approach was felt before the golem stepped into view. They weren’t running, but their sheer weight still made an impact, no matter how gently they stepped.

“Apologies, I never expected to be the last one here. I thought it would be best to purchase additional water storage given that our party’s size has increased. Have I missed anything?” A soft emphasis of concern was added to the final sentence.

“Given the context of recent conversations, I believe that Lady Dawn was planning to unveil her genitalia to the people of this city.” The sparking metal skull spoke from Steel’s diminutive chest.

“I was not; I was just concerned that our newest party member knew something that I didn’t!” Dawn protested, stamping her foot like a child as she did so.

“Wait, Dawn’s antics aside—Ah. And you are?” Tin finally drew close enough to see the olore in their midst.

“It is unnecessary to uniquely address this vessel. However, it is known that many prefer to have a name unique to each vessel that they interact with. In life, this one was known as Souna, and you may continue to use that if it brings comfort to you.” The olore’s voice felt far away, more like something out of a dream than something out of a corporeal being.

“And how might our party—”

“Sisters of Dawn!” Dawn chimed in with yet another terrible party name suggestion.

“—assist you? And please do ignore her antics.” Tin continued, in a polite, albeit flat tone.

“We seek the Library of Adalast. Those who tend attempted to get in the way of this vessel’s mission and, as such, we left them behind. The demon is known to us, and we would like to lean on her power. As such, we request your group’s assistance with locating the library. If it still stands, there are four books within that we seek. If it is lost to history, we would like to confirm the state of any remaining ruins with our own eyes.” The green woman explained.

“A quest! A real quest! Tin, we have to do this.” Dawn was the first to respond.

“Aha… I… I have no idea how I might be known to you, but perhaps we can discuss that in private at a later date, with nothing more said here and now?” Origin was squirming so hard that he broke out into a cold sweat.

“I am currently unfamiliar with the location. Do you know what nation it should be in?” Tin tried their best to ignore their party.

“We do not. The location is… distant, but that is the extent of our current knowledge. We will research possible leads as the journey progresses. The records found within this town were insufficient.” Souna answered.

“Very well. Without a destination, I am unable to promise anything, but I suppose there is no harm in allowing you to accompany us. However, if I may: It is conventional for biological humanoids to wear adequate clothing to cover yourself. If you refuse to do so, it may be unduly difficult for us to travel or find leads.” Tin surprisingly handled that with tact—especially given that the golem was technically ‘nude’.

“…We understand. They are confining, but if our current condition would cause an issue, then they are not unneeded.” There was no discernible change in her expression or voice, yet somehow Rugrim still got the distinct impression that she was pouting.

“Dawn, take her to a clothing store,” Tin increased their volume to offset the high-pitched sound that the fey was making, “and buy her three outfits, favoring durability above all else. Footwear too, if you can convince her to accept any.”

Dawn promptly scooped the green woman into a bridal carry and rocketed off with far more speed than Rugrim had ever known the woman to be capable of.

“I choose to believe that I won’t regret that decision.” Tin spoke after a prolonged silence.

Rugrim had hoped to find a way to travel that didn’t involve the four weirdos, yes, but he hadn’t expected that to take the form of them gaining a fifth weirdo! Not that he had any other plans or ideas for how to travel without them. The Forest of Spears had barely even been mentioned in any book that he ever read, but… well, he was pretty sure the “gargs” were gargoyles.

And there were few stories where gargoyles were much more than bloodthirsty monsters that possessed a terrifying level of both cunning and malice. If even a fraction of what he read was accurate, he needed all the help that he could get to pass through their territory.