NOVEL FROG Ch.49 – Preparation for the Monster Slaying
POV: Dyenna
The journey to reach Seltipont was more uneventful than Dyenna would have expected at first glance, so much so that Shalotte made up most of those difficulties, who had insisted to the bitter end in trying to persuade her not to seek such danger. The two had traveled alone, arriving at the damaged gates of the small village shortly after lunchtime.
“They're not doing too badly,” Dyenna commented, pointing to the wooden defensive fence that surrounded the village, drawing a circle on the ground. “The walls are damaged but still functional, the gate looks like it suffered a frontal assault, but it held up.”
“I don't feel safe coming here anyway,” Shalotte muttered under her breath, “what if the monsters attack again?”
“That's what we came here for, right?” Dyenna pointed out with a wide smile, “come on, don't you trust your future queen?”
"I trust you!" She exclaimed loudly and trying not to appear fearful, “l-let's enter the village.”
"Yes, ma'am!" The human replied, giggling and starting to walk the last few metres.
The two young women had no problem entering Seltipont; the guards at the entrance - bandaged and with simple armor stained here and there by their blood or that of monsters - were more than happy to welcome the two travellers, hoping that they were adventurers who had come to lend a hand. The interior of the village was intact and showed no sign of combat, the only real signs that there was a problem there were in the expressions of the inhabitants of Seltipont.
“They don't seem particularly optimistic,” Shalotte muttered softly. Her eyes were hastily moving here and there, while her ears had been folded behind her head, "and yet everything seems to be going relatively well..."
“They're probably expecting more and worse raids,” Dyenna said, “I'm not very familiar with ascended monsters, but I suppose it's like introducing a very powerful monster into an area of relatively weak monsters: the weak ones run away and end up invading the surrounding lands.”
“Mh… I understand,” the leporan pursed her lips, “and what do we do now? What's the plan?"
“Let's go to the village chief there and ask if there are any adventurers who have come here with the intention of hunting the ascended monster.”
“But why are you so commited to go looking for this monster? It's dangerous!" Shalotte protested once again.
“But what if you die?”
It would be counterproductive to that god's plans, she thought, shrugging, "everything will be fine," she reassured her again.
When the two young women arrived in front of the mayor's house they found themselves waiting with at least a dozen adventurers, these adventurers were well equipped enough that it was impossible for Dyenna to tell if they were adventurers with Commoner classes or with Elite classes, the only thing she could tell from the inspection was that their level ranged between the fifteenth and twentieth levels.
"See? We won't even be alone..." Dyenna told to her leporan companion.
Shalotte nodded a few times, running her gaze over each adventurer, perhaps inspecting them in turn.
The door of the mayor's large home was opened and a tall, muscular figure with a pair of shoulders big enough to carry a tree trunk without any problem appeared on the doorstep. The man had a serious, cold expression, more worthy of a warrior than of a man sitting behind a desk.
“Adventurers, thank you for coming here to Seltipont,” the man began to say, “let me introduce myself: I am Semth, I am the one who will handsomely reward those of you who manage to stem the onslaught of the monsters and return here victoriously.”
A few additional leuns wouldn't hurt either, but maybe I'd look better if I gave them altruistically for Seltipont's repairs, Dyenna thought with a hint of a smile to herself.
“Just to know… what are your intentions? Do any of you want to go and look for the probable ascended monster that caused this monster flight from the wilderness?” Semth asked as his hard gaze scanned all the adventurers.
Of the dozen adventurers, only Dyenna and two others raised their hands; Shalotte wanted to do the same, but with her other hand, Dyenna held her back. “You don't need to take the risk at your level, you go with the adventurers to hunt common wild monsters,” she said softly.
"But…"
“Please, I would be more at peace knowing you were in a safer place,” Dyenna added with a sigh, it would be better if she didn't have the leporan in the way when she ate the ascended monster's heart.
Shalotte wavered, her sense of loyalty – and perhaps something else – driving her to wanting to protect her future queen, but eventually she gave in and nodded a few times.
"Good!" Semth nodded a few times, parting his rough lips and showing a smile so white that it almost reflected the sunlight, "good!" He repeated, “Then, those who want to search for the ascended monster should follow me, the others will receive information from one of my assistants.”
Dyenna approached the village chief along with two fully armed beastkins. Semth's house appeared rather rough and practical, in all respects reminiscent of a carpenter's bay... perhaps Dyenna had made the right hypothesis in imagining him with a whole tree trunk loaded on his shoulders. The man had led them to his office, a room with a fireplace and a brown fur rug spread out in front.
“In recent days I have sent scouts to try to locate the place where the ascended monster is hiding,” he said, taking some sheets of parchment from the desk and then offering them to Dyenna and the two beastkins.
The maps that had been made were not the precise ones of someone who had the correct classes for such a job, but they were still clear enough: there was a hilly area half a kilometer from Seltipont, with quite high peaks and several paths climbing up in tortuous upward curves. There were areas of the map that had been colored and that offered newer detail, many explorers had been sent to create that work, and Dyenna assumed that the areas that lacked detail were not so because they had not been explored but rather because the explorers hadn't returned yet.
Or because they lost the quality of beings able of turning back from a trip: being alive.
“The areas with less detail appear to form a path,” said one of the two beastkins.
“Exactly,” the mayor replied, “the lack of information in this case is an information on itself.” He crossed his muscular arms over his chest, “do you think you can handle the problem? It is not my intention to send anyone to certain death.”
“I'm pretty confident in my build,” Dyenna declared, “but if you have anything that can help me, I'll definitely take it.”
“Same thing with me,” one beastkin said, followed a few seconds later by the nodding of the other one. Dyenna gave them a look: there didn't seem to be the chemistry of two people who know each other, perhaps they were two adventurers of the same race who found themselves in the same circumstances thanks to the call of adventure.
Semth clapped his rough hands twice; a girl entered pushing a trolley in which weapons and armors have been placed. Dyenna and the two beastkins studied the equipment, and all three agreed that there was nothing of value.
It also makes sense: say an adventurer supplies themself and then runs away without doing the quest... she thought, after all, if they aren't regularly registered adventurers, there aren't many ways to track them down and punish them.
In the end, Dyenna still decided to accept the mayor's help since among the armor and weapons she noticed an ax of slightly higher quality than the others. The blade was decidedly sharp and the weight was balanced enough to allow quick and accurate maneuvers, it was a solid secondary weapon, a backup if her sword failed.
“I'll take this,” the human girl said.
“Very well,” Semth nodded, “as for the rest,” he walked around the desk and opened a drawer from which he pulled out six vials, “these are three potions of Accelerated Recovery and three potions of Hardened Skin. They will help you survive.”
“Mh,” one of the beastkin took his two potions, “if my adventuring companions have nothing against it, we will leave after the other adventurers have engaged the wild monsters. This way there will be fewer monsters when we pass."
“That's a good idea,” Dyenna said after taking her share of the vials, “we'll save Mana and Health Points for the ascended monster.”
“I agree,” said the second beastkin.
“Then I wish you good luck, adventurers,” the mayor nodded, “we leave tomorrow morning at dawn, I will lead the adventurers of the first group, so when you have finished, join me on the battlefield.”
Who knows if I'll be the only one to return... Dyenna thought casually, giving a polite bow to her two adventure companions and the mayor, certainly it couldn't make me any good if someone ends up witnessing me doing my deeds...
