"I didn’t want to side with them, but that was what Galinda wanted. She sided, but what she didn’t know was that Sephy was working with the rebels a little bit, but also with the king. She was a turncoat, switching sides, and we ended up having to fight her. I fought her with my Wyvern, and he didn’t make it out with me. I know Sephy still has him, but what makes me feel worse isn’t him necessarily, but what happened to Galinda,” she told Kek with a sigh.
"What happened?” he asked.
"I told her to stand back, but she was stubborn, wanted nothing more than to kill Sephy for what she did. Apparently, she cursed her, and she knew the only way to defeat the curse was to kill the other woman. It was obvious that this wasn't going to work out for all of us,” she told Kek.
“So she didn’t listen, and then she left,” he replied.
“Correct. She told me that she’d never forget me, and if we made it out...we could hide in the woods together. We were fighting some of the rebels, and we knew that if the kingdom managed to find out we weren’t following their orders, they’d kill us. Which is why I went into hiding. But she attacked Sephy, only to end up dead. I just...it hurts really. She did have a daughter when this happened. Valeria might seem young, but she’s about 150 years old. I know that Galinda wanted this. I told her that if she ever needed anything, I’d take care of her. But...I do worry about Val. She’s very immature still. She probably thinks that she’ll find her mom. Maybe she came here with revenge in mind. But I have to protect her. It’s my job, and an obligation to me,” Alina said.
She started to cry, and immediately Kek leaned in, kissing her cheek. "It’s okay. We’ll be alright,” he told her.
“Thank you Kek. I’m just happy to have you here,” she told him.
"I’m happy as well. We’ll make it. Together. And I'll protect her as well. I know this is something that you’ve done out of obligation, but I think you do care about her more than that,” he told her with a smile.
She nodded. "You’re correct. I can’t have children, so Val is like my own. I told Godwain this when I delivered the news that I would take care of her. He told me to wait, and when Val was of age, to show him who I was. I guess he forgot who I was after all these years, or maybe he made sure not to remember. But I really don’t care. I'm here now, and I’ll be okay,” she said to Kek.
“That’s the spirit,” he said with a smile.
"You’re great Kek. Thank you for being there for me,” she told him.
"Not a problem. You’ve been there for me, so I feel that it’s time to switch it up,” he said.
Kek knew that if it weren’t for Val and her, he’d be dead. The two of them kissed once again, and he felt better about everything. He knew that they had their reasons for going on this trip, and he’d do whatever it took to help everyone overcome their issues, and make everything better.
11
When the next morning hit, Kek found out that Alina hadn’t left her place. He walked over to her, checking to make sure she was okay. He heard the sound of pattering steps. As he turned around, he noticed Valeria there, looking at Kek with worry.
"Is she okay?”
"Yeah. She’s fine. Why do you ask Val?” he inquired.
"Oh. I just want to make sure. She reminds me of mommy.”
If only she knew. Kek nodded, and after getting everything together, waking the others up, they made their way down the road to where the path went two ways. They waited for Alina, who pointed to the left.
"We have to cross one last swampy area, and then we’ll make it over there,” she explained.
The group moved in that direction, all of them feeling the exhaustion start to set in. They got to the bottom, where water flowed, and Rita spoke.
“So we have to cross that, right?”
“Correct. I can use my powers,” Alina offered.
"I may be able to help here,” Faye added too.
The two of them began to use both of their powers, getting ready to move forward. As they were about to use it, though, Rita put her hands up.
“Stop, there’s someone in the mud,” she said.
Both of the creatures stopped, and when Rita walked forward, she immediately stopped.
"No way. Bre?” she said out loud.
In the water was a mud-covered creature, and as they got out of the water, Faye immediately hid behind Alina, shaking slightly.
"W-what’s that?” she asked.
Rita lightly touched the other creature's side, and then they came out of the water. She looked at Rita, and then the rest of them. Kek could barely make her out, but she looked to be almost like a wolflike girl. The young creature spoke.
"Rita. You got out!”
"I did. How did you, though?” Rita asked.
"I used everything in my power to. The one controlling the rest of the animals, she’s stopping everyone from leaving, but I got out of there,” Bre said.
Rita continued to talk to the other excitedly, and Kek wanted to ask who this was. But since he had less charisma, he just awkwardly stood there, watching the sight. After Alina cleared her throat, Rita turned around and flushed.
“Sorry about that. This is Bre. She’s one of the animals Sephy took and trapped me with. I know it’s probably sudden, but is it cool if she comes with us?” Rita asked.
Faye looked at her and then scoffed.
"How do we know she’s your friend?” Faye inquired.
Alina looked at the muddied creature and gasped.
"Wait a second, you’re one of them,” she said.
"What do you mean?” Bre asked.
"When I was getting away, I saw creatures in a cage. One of them was you,” she cried out.
"Oh you were one of those!” she said back.
Kek had no idea what was going on, but the other girls seemed to accept her. Well, besides Faye. Val stood next to Kek, sighing.
"I don’t understand any of this,” she moaned.
"It’s okay. Sometimes it’s better not to,” he replied.
The duo watched as the girls started to speak excitedly. That is, until a roar from within the swamp immediately filled the air. Kek stood to his feed, grasping the dagger that he had. Suddenly, a chimera-like creature came out from the water, ready to strike the party.
“Shit, it followed me,” Bre said.
"Wait, you know this guy?” Faye said, doubt obvious on her face.
"Yeah. This is the guy who was following me when I escaped. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a battle,” Bre said.
Suddenly, Bre shook her body, changing from a muddied blob to a woman with beautiful fur, and a curvy body. Kek had to admit, Rita had a pretty attractive friend. But he couldn't focus on her looks right now. He had to save them.
He got his sword ready, and soon, the chimera attacked. Kek looked at the creature, seeing the stats.
Race: Chimera
HP: 40
Level: 6
Attributes:
STR: 25, DEX: 15, CON 17 INT 14 WIS 15 CHA 6 LCK 6
Gold: 20
This creature was stronger than anything they’d faced up to this point. The first thing Rita did was move toward the creature. But then Bre spoke.
“Stop! You’re going to get hit!”
Rita didn’t listen, however, already making her decision and moving toward the creature and then hitting it. It fell back against the ground, but not before the spikes got onto her body. Rita cried out in pain as she saw the small puncture wounds.
"Rita!” Kek said.
But before he could do anything, the chimera attacked him. His dexterity was high enough to get away, but the thudding on the ground was enough to cause the area to reverberate. Kek managed to get his dagger up just in time as the creature snapped its jaws, which would’ve afflicted a little bit of damage had Kek not scooted out of the way at the last second.
Kek used the dagger, pressing it right up against the edge of the chimera's mouth. However, it didn't hit the creature directly, due to the speed, a
nd only shaved off about 4 damage points. Alina moved toward the side awkwardly, getting a spell ready.
“Come forth, ice, freeze this creature in its tracks--”
However, before she could finish the spell, the chimera latched onto her. Her dexterity wasn’t high enough to move out of the way, so the creature hit her dead-on. The only reason she didn’t die was due to Faye, who stepped in and at the last second saved her.
"You have to be more careful!” Faye cried out in annoyance.
“Sorry, I just thought--”
The chimera headbutted, hitting both of them square in the face, knocking down the two magic users. They hit the ground with a thud, and Kek looked at them with fright.
Were they dead? He saw a little bit of movement, but it was probably his eyes playing tricks on him. As he looked, the chimera headbutted again. However, he got out of the way.
Val was behind a log, and Kek soon joined her. Bre and a hobbling Rita soon came to the side. They all sat there, and after a moment, Rita spoke.
"We need to do something about this fucker,” she told them.
“The best thing for us to do is to work together. Get our attacks together. I don’t know if the mages made it, but for now, let’s just focus on who’s conscious,” Kek said.
There was a pause, and then Bre spoke.
"I have an idea. I want Kek and Rita to work together, hitting the side with their hardest attacks. I have my spear, so I'm going to launch a direct attack. Let’s stop it in its tracks for a moment. When that’s done, I want this girl here to hit the heads. You have an ax right? Are you strong enough to wield it?” Bre asked.
Kek answered that question.
"I can see her stats. The answer is yes. She’s strong,” he replied.
“Very well. I want you to chop off their heads. You’ll have about ten seconds to stop it, and if you do, everything will be fine,” she told the group.
Kek looked at Val, who seemed scared. He reached forward, grasping her hand.
"We’ve got this,” he told her.
She nodded. "We do. I'll do it.”
“Good. Power of teamwork here. Let’s go,” she said.
The four of them got into place, with Kek near Rita. Rita looked pained, but Kek reached forward, grasping her hand and holding it in reassurance.
“Thanks, Kek,” she said.
"Not a problem, Rita.”
The chimera attacked again. When Bre nodded, the small motion barely seen, they raced forward, their speed enough to stop the chimera. They all hit the side, with Kek pushing Rita out of the way at the last second, and that's when he saw it.
Bre had a tranquilizer put on her spear. When it hit, the chimera was numbed for a second, and when she did this, she turned to Val, who had the giant ax ready.
“Go! You have no time,” she cried out.
Val immediately lunged forward, crying out. Her movement was messy, but at the final second, Kek lunged over, grasping part of the ax and using it to hit the chimera directly. It created a clean cut, causing the creature to cry out in pain as it fell to the ground. When it lay there for a minute, purple blood dripping from it, he looked at her.
"I..did this?” she asked.
"You did. You’re a warrior,” Kek said.
"Wow,” she told him.
Val seemed too shocked for words. Meanwhile, Rita was being held up by Bre, who was looking at her wounds.
“Shit these are deep. You got any cloth there, kobold?” she asked.
"It’s Kek, and yes,” he told her. He rummaged through his pack, getting a little.
Bre worked her magic, getting Rita back into shape. Bre walked over to the two mages, who were just now getting off the ground. They looked at one another, and then at the dead chimera.
"Did they do it?” Alina said.
"I think so,” Faye replied.
They walked over, with Rita finally moving. Bre checked them, but then Alina shook her head.
"I have potions in my pocket. Let the injured drink them,” she said.
"You’re the witch I heard about,” Bre said after she grabbed the vials. They were given to Rita and to Faye, who was still slightly off. Alina nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure Sephy and the leader said a lot about me,” she said.
"Yeah. Called you a filthy traitor. Sounds like you’ve got a reputation,” Bre said.
“Probably. But I'm going back, to get my revenge, and to save everyone,” Alina said.
"I have my own business too. I heard Rita got away, and I was going to go find her,” she said.
Rita looked at Bre, who didn’t seem to have malice attached to those words.
"You're not taking me back, right?” she asked.
“Course not. That's not my job. I'm here to help you guys. I nearly died back there trying to get out,” Bre said.
Kek looked at the young wolf girl. She seemed to have a clearer head than the rest of them in a sense, but something was off.
"Let’s follow her,” he said.
"You know the way, don’t you?” Alina asked.
“Correct. The serpent is coming up, but hopefully after that it’s a straight shot from here,” she said.
Kek nodded. “That’s fine. Let’s do this,” he said.
She joined the party, and shortly after, Kek looked at his HUD, seeing the LEVEL UP notification.
“Shit, I leveled up,” he said.
"I did too,” Val added. She had a couple of attacks she could get at this point, and special powers.
Light: Allows you to create a beam of light
Legendary Swing: a swing that’s slow, but does massive damage
Weight Minus: lowers the weight of your ax for easier handling. Can be stacked
Ax Toss: Allows you to throw the ax to hit the creature
Fatigue minus: Reduces fatigue
Choose Two
Kek looked at what Val had, whistling in surprise.
“Guess you leveled up twice,” he said.
"Yeah, but what do I choose?” she inquired.
“Choose fatigue minus and weight minus,” Alina said.
Val looked at her, surprised that the lady knew so much.
"Why?”
"We’re going to the desert. It’s hot there. Plus, you want to be able to move your ax around better, right? The less you rely on Kek, the stronger you’ll be,” she explained.
Val looked at Kek, who nodded.
"I’m choosing Fatigue Minus as well. We’re about to go to a place that’s hot as hell, and I know that the desert is going to destroy us if we don’t have this on,” Kek said.
He chose the power, sacrificing any further powering of his personal attacks. He did end up getting one charisma point, probably because he’d stepped in and done something. He looked to Alina and Faye, who were both still dizzy.
"We didn’t level up,” Faye said.
"It’s okay. Probably when we get to the wood serpent,” Kek said.
Rita also chose Fatigue Minus, and she also learned the ability Treat Wounds, which allowed her to treat her wounds pretty quickly. It was a valuable skill. Bre chose to get Jump Slash, which was an attack where she jumped in the air and did a perfect slash with her spear, a hard attack, but one that did have great results.
After they chose their attacks, they got themselves together. They ensured that Rita was fine before heading out, all of them ready to see what was next. Bre stopped before they continued, looking at them.
"Is it cool if I come with you? I forgot to ask,” she said.
Kek nodded. "I mean, it’ll help with the fight.”
the rest of the party agreed, and Bre smiled.
“Thanks. I'll make it worth your while.”
They walked past the swamp, with Faye and Alina using their magic since the rest needed to recover. They made to a body of water, one that looked too quiet to be safe, and one that made Kek’s hairs prickle on end.
12
When the group got to the watering hole, the first
thing Kek noticed was the rumble. It was barely noticeable, but due to his dexterity, he immediately stepped back, holding his hands up and getting them ready to fight.
"You okay there, Kek?” Rita said.
"I sense something. In the water.”
When the group looked at it, they saw small ripples, but nothing came out of the water itself. Kek had a bad feeling about this. He didn’t know what might happen next. As he saw the water rumble once again, he put his hands up.
“Get back!” he cried out.
The group immediately fell back, and soon, a giant blue snake came out of the water. It had yellow eyes, looking at the group with anger. Kek braced himself, and when he looked at Bre and Rita, both of them had their weapons ready.
"What do we do?” Rita asked.
"We use what we learned. I think the best way to do it is to get it from the side. I don’t know of the blind spot that this creature has, but I have a feeling we can get through this if we work together,” he said.
The ladies nodded, each of them moving their weapons to their dominant hands. Rita looked at Bre, and Bre smiled.
"I want to try and use my new attack,” she said.
"But that’s dangerous--”
"Don’t worry Rita. I'm not dying here that easily,” she said.
Rita tried to stop her, but Bre jumped in the air, the finesse of the wolflike girl rivaling Kek himself. When she got to the snake however, it dodged out of the way, and it whacked her back. Bre immediately fell to the shore, groaning in pain. There was a crack, and Kek knew she’d broken something.
"Bre!” Rita cried out.
She raced over, but the girl held up her hands.
"Don’t worry about me. Worry about him,” she said.
The group looked up, and Kek now took the time to look at his HUD, to find out the stats of this monster.
Race: Wood Serpent
Specialty: Water
Weakness: Currently unavailable
Level: 10
Stats:
STR: 20, DEX: 30, INT: 20, WIS: 15, CHA: 15, LCK: 25
Drops: 200 gold, Rainbow Scale
Kek didn’t know what the rainbow scale was, but he knew one thing: this guy was stronger than what they’d ever fought before. They were about five levels under, and he had a feeling that the only way they could make this work was if they worked together. Alina walked over to Kek, sighing in annoyance.
Deeper Down: A Monster MC LitRPG (Kobold's Quest Book 2) Page 5