Dokeshi March: Chapter 31 (Patreon)

Chapter 31

Finding a place to rest was as simple as tracing the steps of the bandit team they had defeated.  Now that he knew to look for them, Grant could see all kinds of places where residents had carved hidden paths and spaces all through the hedges.  The fact they took such measures to hide them meant there had to be some kind of organized patrols through the region, but they hadn’t seen any yet.

<It’s probably because you are here.  The people meant to patrol are busy searching for you and Suki.>  Grant silently nodded in agreement.  Both him and Suki hadn’t said a word to one another since the fight, and he didn’t want to be the one to break the silence.  Not that he knew what to say in the first place.  <Sometimes, not talking says more than any speech.>

Once again ignoring the sword spirit, instead Grant got back to peeling the small potatoes from his produce crate.  They had taken the brunt of the damage the crossbow bolt had caused, so they needed to be eaten before they spoiled.  The fact that they were also the heaviest item remaining in the crate had nothing to do with his choice in their meal.  Nothing at all.

The place they had found to camp was actually the unfinished portion of a wall section about a mile from where they had fought.  Builders had finished the part people walking the maze could see, but the corner section was only one or two stones thick on either side.  They had made it appear finished, but left plenty of room for a single person to walk between the two parts.  The top was even open to the sky, meaning they could manage a small fire if they were careful.  The maze was cheaply done, like so much else in the district seemed to be.

<They were probably rushed to complete it by some ridiculous timeline imposed by the insane Wielder in charge of this bonkers District.>  Grant poked at the loose mortar holding the large stones together.  <Considering the situation, I might have done the same.>

“I’m sorry.”  Suki’s voice finally broke the silence, making Grant slip and cut his thumb while peeling the potatoes.  “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.  By me, especially.”

“So, um, does this mean you-”

“I shouldn’t have expected some murderous commoner to truly understand how to properly act.  It isn’t your fault you were raised in a shed with no culture.”  Suki cut Grant off with a chopping motion.  “It is my job to make you understand.  I have been failing in my duties.  As your future queen, I need to make you more than some lucky commoner who found a sword.”

“Are you serious right now?”  Grant sucked on his thumb to clean off the blood while putting the already peeled potatoes in the pot.  He was so angry that it was hard to think of what to say.  “You are like a greenhouse spider.  You have no actual experience.  All you know how to do is lie, cheat, and manipulate those around you!”  Suki seemed genuinely surprised that he was offended by her words.

“A greenhouse spider?”  She tore up pieces of dried meat and angrily tossed them into the pot.  “You think it’s me that has no life experience?”  She then poured in some water to make the soup.  “Wasn’t it Grant Leap who didn’t even know to bathe when he smelled bad?”  Since he didn’t have an answer to that, he just finished peeling the vegetables and silently finished cooking the meal.

Soon they were eating a meal of boiled potatoes and rehydrated jerky.  It somehow managed to be lumpy and dry, even when in the thin broth the mixture made.

“One of these days, I am going to have a real meal, and it is going to be delicious!”  Grant spit out a piece of the tough skin he must have missed.  “I’m tired of these meals that make me feel sad inside.”

“Oh, quit your whining.  Food is meant to power our bodies, not make us feel warm and fuzzy.”  Grant stared at Suki like she had grown a second head.  In his mind, it would have made more sense if she actually had.  “What?”

“Every day I understand more and more why the food in District February was so terrible.”  Grant quickly finished his own meal before starting to clean up.  “Now that there are only a few produce items left in the crate, I’m going to break it down so we can use it as firewood at our next stop.”  He quickly put action to his words, stomping the crate into pieces.

“While you work your frustrations out on that poor and defenseless crate, I’ll go and do a little scouting.”  She put out their small fire and moved to leave their hidden alcove.  “Don’t worry.  I won’t go far away enough to get lost.  Not that the company of monsters would be any different that what I am dealing with now.”  Grant opened his mouth to argue, but she was already gone, disappearing into the hedges.

<She is right about one thing, at least.  The confusion spell doesn’t reach all the way over here.>  Sarge paused, as if he was testing something.  <It didn’t happen all that long ago.  I would guess the bandits you fought were set up right on the edge of the spell’s range.  That way they could raid the unexpected, while not getting lost afterward themselves.>

“Well, now that we are clear, it should be easy to find our way through this place.”  Grant got the pieces of the broken-up crate and put them in his pack before putting the remaining items in a bag on top.  “Now, to get moving.”

He followed the trail of broken limbs and disturbed dirt to a gap on the far side of the alcove, and reentered the maze.  It wasn’t hard to follow in Suki’s wake.  She was leaving a clear trail in the dirt, and the occasional fist-sized hole in the hedges marked where she had been working out her own frustrations.

“I guess I wasn’t the only one who needed to smash something.”  Grant picked up his pace, eventually catching up to Suki after almost an hour of tracking her.  “I thought you weren’t going to go far?”

“Since you make more noise than a moose walking through a crystal forest, I knew you weren’t far behind.”  Suki tossed Grant a piece of broken wall.  “There must be another hiding place nearby.  It probably holds more bandits.  Do you plan on killing those people too?”

“I saved your life, you stuck-up-”

“Finish that sentence, and I will show you what your teeth taste like!”  Suki’s gauntlets flickered into life, causing Grant to take a step back.  “You didn’t save me.  We have healing potions, and there was no way a simple dagger could have done enough damage to kill me before I was-”

It was Suki’s turn to be cut off when a giant tree monster stepped out of the nearest hedge and punted her through the opposite wall.

<Well, that’s one way to win an argument.>

Combat initiated

Action: Defend: Without weapon.

Result: Partner stunned for thirty seconds.  Four enemies remaining.

Actions: Please select one option from the following list.

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell.

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon.

Run: Attempt escape.

“This should count as an ambush!  What in the Houses is this stupid system even doing?”  Grant selected his spell, and activated it as three more tree monsters joined the first one.  Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do much beyond slow the monsters down a bit.

Action: Attack: With Spell.

Result: Enemies slowed for five seconds.  Four enemies remaining.

Actions: Please select one option from the following list.

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell.

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon.

Run: Attempt escape.

<Well, that didn’t work.>  Grant rolled backwards to avoid the downward slam of the nearest tree monster, automatically selecting ‘Defend: Without weapon’.  <They are called Mangrove Thugs.  Dumb, but tough.  I recommend you don’t let them hit you.>

The sword spirit’s words were prophetic, as the downside of the system finally caught up to Grant.  He tried to roll backwards again to dodge another kick from a tree monster, but it wasn’t his turn.  He took the impact full in the chest, his armor only stopping a small portion of the mighty blow.

Damage: 201 (58 mitigated)

Health: 220/421

Mana: 12/22

His health status was the first thing Grant saw when he opened his eyes.  The rubble lying around him told the story of his journey through the same wall Suki had become acquaintances with a short time ago.  Looking up through the dust hanging in the air, he saw all four of the Mangrove Thugs trying to pick their way through what was left of the wall.  The system must have warned the creatures that the fight wasn’t over.

“Ha!”  Suki’s shout was all the warning the fearsome foliage had before she landed on top of the one farthest from Grant’s position.  She latched onto the head and shoulders of the leafy creature, and slammed a gauntlet-covered fist into the temple of the mobile tree.  Instead of being able to follow-up on the successful attack, she was halted by the system.  “Gah!  Stupid thing!  Let me punch this stupid shrub already!”

The Thug closest to the entwined duo took a swing at Suki, but she managed to shift just enough to dodge.  A tree trunk-sized fist pounded into the surprised features of the monster Suki was riding, causing it to fall backwards onto its back.  Right on top of Suki.

<That’s two heavy strikes she has taken.  You need to get her out of here if you still have any hopes of finishing your engagement in a positive way.>

Grant activated his Thundering Step again, but this time he chose to speed up his movements.  As the lightning flowed through his body, his speed increased to ridiculous levels.  He was a blur as he ran past the three trees still standing around the fallen form of their fellow forested friend.  Scooping Suki up into his arms, Grant took off for the nearest turn.  He knew he needed to lose them while the spell was still active, otherwise they were finished.

<Take the next right!>  Sarge’s sense of direction was certainly better than his at the moment, especially since the pain shooting through his chest made it harder to focus.  <There, now keep going down this path until you see a place to turn left.>  Grant looked behind him as the five second timer wore off.  None of the terrible topiary seemed to have caught up with them, so he slowed his pace a bit.  <Those things are slow, but they have plenty of stamina.  I would keep running if I were you.>

Wincing in pain only made worse by his annoying skill that enhanced his agony, Grant hefted his unconscious fiancé and started running again.  If he could make another turn before the angry arborists rounded the bend, they wouldn’t know which way they had gone.

After what felt like the longest run of his life, Grant finally got to the nearest left-hand turn and took it.  Glancing back, he could barely see the tops of the hedge row back at the last bend moving unnaturally, but the monsters hadn’t reached the corner yet.  They had made it, just in time.