15
Kek stared at the woman with shock on his face, trying his hardest to figure out what to respond with. But then, Alina spoke.
"You know him?”
“Kind of. You actually knew my mom. She was one of the whores Prate had,” the girl said.
That was right. She was one of the girls that would be showed off every now and then, and Prate would talk about how when she turned 18, he would bring her in. That was two years back, and Kek remembered she had been 17 at that time. So she was 19 now.
But what had happened?
"How, though? How did you know it was me?” he asked.
"When my mom escaped, she came looking for me. Truth is, I wasn’t all that far off from her. I was about to rescue her. She told me I was a goddamn fool, but she said to look for a kobold that’s got a knack for trouble. They said they’d come find you, and I was surprised this trap did you in, but I guess it’s also good that it did. I'm glad I found you. My mom told me all of this before she got shot in the back by Prate. I ran off just in time. He nearly found me, but I'm safe now,” she explained.
Kek listened to the girl, shock on his face. “So he killed her?”
"Yeah. After the mess with Hendrick, the place went into complete fucking anarchy, and I don’t say that lightly. People started to kill one another, and I noticed that Prate was doing most of it. He went back to the kingdom’s side, and they’re determined to kill you, Kek, for what you did, for the powers you have,” she explained.
"But why? I'm not associated with either,” he said.
"Your HUD is powerful. You know how to make the spell. Only a few do, and those that do are to be killed. Simply put, you’ve got the power of a god on your side, and they’re not too happy with that,” she explained.
Kek listened, shocked by that. He just learned a spell that his mentor told him. He didn’t expect it to be something big like this. He turned to the girl, trying to figure out what to say next.
"Who are you? How do you know this?”
"I’m Lily. I'm a thief. Well, I mostly do it to pay the bills and to get back at Prate. He’s a douche,” she explained.
Kek nodded, listening to this young woman. She seemed determined to make all of this right, even if it was in her own little way.
"You really want to beat him and get revenge, don’t you?”
“That obvious?” she retorted.
Kek turned to Alina, who studied the girl.
“She isn’t lying,” the woman said.
“So what does this mean?” Kek asked.
"I think it’s safe to say we should trust her. But, do you think you can go up against Prate like that?” she asked.
Kek looked at the young girl, the pain in her eyes, the way that her face seemed to beg for someone to help her.
"I know there is much risk in this, but I want to do it. I would like to help,” he told her.
"I see,” she replied.
They looked at the young thief, and Faye raced over to Lily, touching her shoulder.
“She's good people, boss. I can tell. She doesn’t have any evil surrounding her,” Faye said.
“Thanks, Faye. So what skills do you have?” he inquired.
"I’m a navigator. You're under the ground right now, about half a mile. The people live down here, capturing those on the surface. I know how to get out, but I’ll take you after we defeat Prate,” she explained.
Kek nodded, looking at his group. "We good with that?”
All but Bre seemed fine with it. She was annoyed.
"How can we trust a human?”
Kek understood the sentiment, but then Lily spoke.
"I know you hate humans. I can see it. But I hate Prate a lot. Kek was one of the decent people. He was someone the whores looked at favorably, and he was treated like shit. I know I’m asking for a lot, but please hear me out,” Lily said.
Lily and Bre stared at one another for what seemed to be forever, and then, Bre spoke.
"Fine. Let's follow her. She can get us out of here,” the woman said.
"And I can get you guys some good gear. You’ve gained some levels, right? You guys can have some of the gear I’ve found. I’m a navigator, a lock picker, a thief, and someone who wants to help others and get my revenge,” she explained.
Kek nodded. “Thank you, Lily. We will try to help,” he replied.
He followed her to a small room nearby, one that had to be unlocked with a lockpick a couple times. Her lockpicking skills were at max, a valuable skill, and her navigation abilities were near the top too. When she opened the door, she looked around, motioning for them to come in.
Inside was a room with weapons for everyone. Kek immediately went over to the daggers and swords, picking up silver ones. They were heavier, yes, but with this came more power, and more durability.
"Wow. I didn’t expect to get a silver dagger like this,” he said.
"Well, lucky for you I have a decent luck stat,” Lily said.
He looked at her in the HUD, seeing the stats.
Race: Human
Level: 12
Stats:
STR 8, DEX 25, CON 12, INT 25, WIS 20, CHA 24, LCK 30
Holy crap her stats were insane. She wasn’t strong at all, but everything else was insanely high. Kek took the swords and daggers, and the rest got silver weapons. When they looked at Lily, she smiled.
"Ready to continue?”
The group nodded, and soon, they followed her out, ready to storm this place, get out of here, and hopefully take out Prate once and for all.
16
The first thing the group did was follow Lily into another set of sewers. She seemed to know what she was doing, but that didn’t put Bre’s mind at ease. She was still upset over Rita, and Kek didn’t blame her. It made him wonder if he could do anything to make her feel better.
Lily led them out of the sewers to a small space, but as they got out of there, she gasped.
“Shit!” she cried out.
“What is it?” Kek asked.
“Guards. I’m sorry, I thought we’d be fine. Guess not,” she muttered.
Kek looked out, seeing about five guards. He turned to Lily, looking directly into her eyes.
“Do you know if this will be the last of them?” he asked.
“I...I don't know. I only know that this is the way out. Prate is a few hallways down. But we shouldn’t cause too much trouble,” she said.
Kek turned to Alina and Val. Bre already had her spear, and despite still having slight arm issues, she seemed ready to go.
“What do you guys think?” he inquired.
“I say we go after them,” Alina said.
“But what if we get swarmed?” Val added.
Alina turned to Faye, who was in the corner, hiding almost like a bat. “I think Faye has the same idea I do. We have a spell. Or at least I do. I’ll need some of Faye’s MP, but I definitely think it’ll help the party in attacking. I’m only good for magic, not for physical fighting, so I’ll put this magic to good use to help you,” she said.
Kek nodded. “Fine by me.”
She put her hands up, casting a small spell. Faye stumbled closer, touching Alina, and soon their magic mixed together. Kek noticed a small shell covering him, Val, and Bre. Bre looked confused, and Val didn’t know what to say.
“What did you do to us?” Bre asked.
“Simple. I placed a cloaking spell on you. I know that it’s not the best thing, but you’ll be able to take out these enemies from behind. I do suggest Bre and Kek go first, since they have the highest dexterity, and they’ll be able to move quickly,” she explained.
Kek grasped his sword, and Bre spoke.
“You ready to do this?”
“We have to take them out from behind. What should Val do?” she asked.
“I think Val should take the rear and get rid of any guards on the side. You can do that, right?” he asked.
“Yeah. My ax is lighter, so I should be fine,” she to
ld them.
Kek nodded, and soon, Bre and him moved forward. Due to his dexterity, he was able to slip close to the guards. The plan was to kill them and then move forward. Kek used his HUD to check the stats of each of the guards.
Race: Human
Level: 10
Stats: STR, 10, DEX, 6, INT, 5 CON, 15, WIS 9, CHA 8, LCK 9
HP: 10
These guys were pitiful, but Kek knew if one of them heard him, they’d sound the alarm, and the rest would come about. He tiptoed near the other man, getting right behind him. When the guy turned around, he sensed the presence, but couldn’t see Kek due to the cloak.
“What the--”
Before he could say anything else, Kek struck him with the sword. Bre did the same thing, and Val went over to the side, awkwardly swinging her ax into the back of the other dude. When he fell to the ground, the three of them looked at one another, seeing just one last guard left.
“We have to be quick,” Bre said.
Kek went over. He wanted to be the one to eliminate this other guy. When he got near him, he immediately readied his sword, but as he did, the worst happened.
His body started to morph once again into that of a kobold. The guy immediately looked at him, crying out, but as soon as he did, Kek moved in, stabbing the guy.
However, the problem was the attention that one little scream provided. The guards started to race in that direction, and Lily immediately moved to the other side.
“Come on, hurry!” she cried out.
The group immediately got out of there, but not before the first guard came in. He saw Val there, readying his strike. He came at her, and Val immediately swung the ax up, hitting the guy directly in the neck with it.
She looked at the severed head, blood on the ground, and couldn’t help but scream. She rushed to where the rest of the group was, with Kek and Lily at the forefront.
“How far does this go?” he asked.
“Take a left up here, and then a right. You’ll want to go into the water. We swim there, and then we get to the area right by Prate’s room. When we get in there, we’ll have to fight, so get ready,” she explained.
Kek knew this was about to happen. He looked at Bre, who seemed to have a little bit of trouble.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I...I can't swim,” she admitted.
She didn’t have the skill to swim? This was great... He looked at her, taking her hand and bringing her close.
“Latch onto me, and we can go,” he said.
She immediately did so, and Kek felt his heart race as he started to jump into the water. Everyone else did swim, and Faye floated above the water, using a little bit of magic to become a ball of light, since she had the skill. Kek moved as fast as he could, and he felt a bit beat, but he wanted to get to the other side before he stopped.
“Fuck,” he said to himself, getting to the other end and dropping her off. She looked at him, and he smiled at her.
“You good?”
She gave him a kiss on the lips. Val looked like she’d never seen something like this before, Alina simply smirked, and Faye rolled her eyes.
“Get a room, you two,” she muttered.
Lily was over in the corner, struggling with getting out of the water, and even she had her eyes transfixed on the sight. Kek was confused, but as he pulled away, he saw the smirk on her face.
“Thanks for saving me, handsome,” she said with a purr.
“You’re welcome. But...why?” he asked.
“Simple. I am glad you saved me. And I guess if I'm here for the long haul, I should at least thank my hero in a fitting way,” she said to him.
He smiled at her, and he felt a small bit of heat rush through his body. He looked at the rest of them, and they all seemed to wonder what they should do next. Should they go after Prate? Or stay here for the night?
“How’s your MP?” he asked Alina and Faye.
“I’m out,” Alina said.
“And I’m drained,” Faye added.
He looked at them, and then at Bre, whose arm was still hurt.
“We need to camp here for the night. I know it’s not ideal, but I think it’s important to do,” he said.
The group agreed to that, all of them listening to Kek’s words. They all sat down, each of them ready to chill for the night. Kek kept watch part of the night, and Val offered to do it the second half of the night. As he lay near the edge of the waterway, the group sleeping in the distance, he sensed a presence. He looked over, and it was Lily.
“Hi there,” he said.
“Hey, Kek. I wanted to talk to you. Especially since you know a bit about my past. It’s weird, but I feel like I can talk to you about this type of thing, you know?” she said.
Kek patted the area next to him, and she moved toward there, sitting down next to him. The awkward tension that was brewing certainly didn’t really help with his nagging feelings.
“Listen, I have to ask because I feel like this is something that I need to know, but did you..ever have sex with my mother? I know that probably sounds weird, but she didn’t tell me a lot about who I came from, or anything regarding my past. She just kind of dumped me, and that’s how I got into the life I’m in today,” Lily explained.
Kek felt his mouth go agape at these words. He didn’t expect her to come over and ask this!”
“No. She never did. As a kobold, I was considered lesser than human, so I never had a chance at intimacy. Unfortunately, I saw a lot there, and I know that she wasn’t treated very well by the rest of the men there. They treated her like garbage, honestly,” Kek explained.
Lily went quiet, and Kek looked at her with worried eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“No, you’re fine. It’s just...I didn't even know my own mother had that kind of life. She just up and dumped me most of the time. It was something that I honestly kind of hated about this, and I know that she certainly didn’t mean it, but it does hurt to know she left me for that life,” she told him.
“I know. I mean, I hate to have left Hendrick the way that I did, but at the same time, I also know that it’s probably something that would’ve happened anyways. I mean, we can’t change the past. She’s not here anymore, and neither is Hendrick. He was a druid, and a good friend of mine. But we can change the future, and I say if we do that, we’ll be able to do anything that we put our minds to,” he said.
She nodded, grinning excitedly. “Thanks, Kek. I appreciate it,” she told him.
“You’re welcome. I do like spending time with you,” he told her.
“I know. I mean, you’re a good person, and you’re someone I can trust,” she told him.
The two of them moved closer together, and Lily sighed.
“It’s weird, putting my faith in another person. I’ve always been a loner, so this is quite different for me,” she said.
“Well, it’s not easy for me either, so I think it makes two of us,” he told her.
“You’re telling me. But thanks for being there for me. I do appreciate everything,” she replied.
They moved closer until their thighs were touching, and Kek turned to her, giving her a small kiss.
“I’ll protect you. I know that your mother didn’t do that, but I will. I will work to protect you,” he said.
“Thanks, Kek. You know, for the first time in a long time I feel...happy. I feel like I have someone to rely on, someone who won’t completely forsake me like my mom did,” she admitted.
“I know your mom wasn’t the best, but I wish I knew. I did leave a long time ago, and I stayed in the forest for a little while, but only to get to the dungeon to save the kobolds,” he said.
“Well, if it’s cool with you, if we make it out alive...can I stay with you? you’re kind of like the only person I’ve got left,” she said.
Kek nodded. “I'd love for that to happen,” he said.
She reached in, hugging the kobold with a tight embrace. Kek hugged her back.
“Yeah. I do navigation too. I’m not the best fighter, but if there is a plan to take him down, I’d love to help,” she said.
“I think I have a good feeling about what to do tomorrow,” he said to her.
She looked at him with a curious glance, but then he moved toward her, whispering in her ear. She immediately nodded, interest obvious on her face as Kek told her what was going on. For Kek, this was the beginning of a new plan, one that would grow bigger with time, and one that would surely rule the ages. Kek wondered just how far he could take this, and how the two of them could work together. But, for now, he was just happy to have support.
17
Kek went to bed shortly after, but he didn't expect Val to cuddle up to him, along with Lily. Bre was standing watch, and as she looked at Kek, she smiled.
“He’s a kobold, but I trust him,” she said.
Bre kept watch over the group, and as she stared out, she sighed. There was a presence behind her, and she looked over at Alina, who was nearby.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I wanted to see if you’d like me to help you with your arm. It’ll cost a couple of MP, but I restored it, so I should be fine this time around,” she told Bre.
Bre nodded, putting her arm out. Alina took it, sparks immediately flying out of her hands and to the wound. Bre watched as the woman started to move her hand against her, touching the area slightly and watching Bre’s face contort into that of pain, and then comfort.
“Thank you,” she told Alina.
“You’re welcome. So, you have a crush on Kek too?”
“I don’t know. I don't really approve of what he did to Rita. I thought she’d be fine, but I guess not. But...I can't hate him. He did what was right for him, and honestly, I owe the guy my life in a sense. I don’t know how to feel,” she told Alina.
“It’s fine. I mean, it’s hard to really understand your feelings. I know what is happening. You like him, but you’re afraid to fall in love with him. You want to take a chance, but you fear the results,” she explained.
Deeper Down: A Monster MC LitRPG (Kobold's Quest Book 2) Page 7