by Max Jager
Sophia nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I think we're doing the same."
Brooke shook her head. "If they're alive, then their lives should matter just as much as ours."
Elliott hesitated. "Honestly sis, I wouldn't put most human lives before them. I mean, people like Damion, yeah he's worthless. But our group, and other humans who aren't terrible people? We are definitely real people, I wouldn't value the lives of what is probably an AI over real people."
Brooke hesitated, thinking about it. "I disagree. I mean, I understand where you're coming from, but an intelligent life is an intelligent life, regardless of whether it's an AI or not."
"But an AI isn't alive, they have no life. They are just intelligence." Elliott pointed out. Although he seemed unsure about that reply. "You have a point, it's just, I don't really know."
"I believe we're all kinda stuck on that same question." Chloe sighed. "Lets just all agree to be kind to them, treat them as if they were alive, just incase."
Everyone in the conversation nodded a little in response to that.
"Yeah." Oliver agreed. "I don't think I could harm them, even if they are AI they just seem too lifelike."
Danielle nodded in agreement. "Yeah, better to be safe than sorry."
"Well, we should be on our way before the monsters find us out here." George spoke up.
"Yeah us too. Good luck you guys." Danielle replied. She turned back to the three others in her group, they were a bunch of introverts who were all off in seperate locations, keeping their distance. "Boys! And Carly, let's get moving!"
"Same to you." Sophia replied as both groups parted ways. They kept the same walking order, although Lynn and Eladienne fell a little further behind now.
"I told you." Eladienne quietly insisted. "They don't think we are real. Like any other human, they think we're just some lifeless monster. We can't stay with these people."
Lynn shook her head. "They seem confused. They mean us no harm, we can help them understand."
"You don't help people who don't think you're a real living thing Lynn." Eladienne countered.
"Why not?" Lynn questioned.
"They will use you, and hurt you Lynn. If they don't think you're real they won't think twice before hurting you." Eladienne argued.
"That's okay." Lynn replied. "Because I can help them. They will learn and in time, and then they will cease treating all of us this way." She argued.
"No, it isn't fine. Listen to yourself! It's never okay to let someone else hurt you, it's never okay to hurt yourself for someone else." Eladienne countered.
Lynn shrugged. "I'll be okay." She quietly replied.
"No Lynn! That's not the point! You can't let people do things like this to you, and these humans absolutely wil-" Eladienne started to protest before there was a loud clash of metal right next to them. Eladienne turned to see that, in their heated conversation, the two of them had veered from the group a little and had wandered into a roaming pack of Minotaurs. George was right beside them, blocking one of the beast's axes with his hammer. Or, at least, he had tried to. The beast had been just too strong, the attack blew through his attempt at blocking, cutting through his armor and deep into his shoulder. Had he not stepped in the way, that would have struck Lynn.
Eladienne and Lynn both froze in shock for a moment as they realized what had just happened. But they were snapped out of it as the beast withdrew its axe from George's shoulder and let George drop to the ground.
"Ella get it off him! A wound like that might have damaged his spine or neck I gotta get to healing him immediately!" Lynn called out.
Eladienne hesitated, but quickly lunged at the Minotaur and slammed her fist into its chest while it was winding up for another attack. The sheer power from her blow was enough to knock the 10' tall beast back, even without any of her enhancements. As soon as the Minotaur was knocked away Eladienne grabbed George and dragged him aside so Lynn could heal him.
Lynn ran alongside them and quickly knelt down beside George when he was laid down in the grass. She placed her hands on his chest and focused, the green aura appearing around her hands again. "Keep those things off us, this is bad, he will die if I am distracted even a little bit."
Eladienne just looked down at George with a perplexed expression on her face. "Why did he…?" She murmured.
"Elf! Pay attention!" Jackson called out as he sidestepped a swing from a minotaur's axe, then swiftly stabbed his dagger into the beast's side. Although it barely scratched the minotaur's thick hide. The beast already had several arrows from Sophia sticking out of its back.
"Right, focus." Eladienne took a deep breath and tried to push any other thoughts out of her mind. She gave a brief concerned look back at George before rushing off to fight the four minotaurs.
Sophia was in the back firing off as many arrows at them as she could. Carley was beside her, he seemed to be distant and lost in thought but he was taking any shots he could at the beasts. He kept trying to reach for his sword, clearly wanting to move in closer since the arrows weren't doing much, but Jess kept stopping him. Jess was not fighting, she was staying with Carley. She wasn't just holding Carley back, she was also holding Snipes and Inami back, but that was all she was doing.
On the front lines, Eladienne, Jackson, Chloe, and Matthew were all facing off one on one against the minotaurs. They had far more rangers then frontline fighters now, the fight would have been a lot easier if they were able to take on the minotaurs 2v1. Although, with jasmine hanging back they had to fight all of them one on one or risk the minotaurs ganging up on them.
Brooke and Elliott stayed in the middle ground between the archers and front line. Their ammunition was extremely limited so they were trying to conserve as many bullets as they could, and it seemed like these beasts were too durable to be killed with ranged attacks.
"If Jess is going to hang back, we need to move in to backup everyone else." Brooke called out.
"I'll back them up, you stay back." Elliott replied.
"Hell no." Brooke countered. "I'm not going to sit back here while my brother takes on the dangerous fights." She insisted.
"Fine." Elliott relented. This wasn't going to be a difficult fight. Brooke rushed over to assist Chloe while Elliott moved over to help Matthew.
Out of everyone there, Matthew seemed to be having the hardest time. Matthew's weapon of choice, a staff, was doing absolutely nothing against the minotaur he was fighting, and it was safe to say that if George's armor didn't work, that Matthew's wasn't going to protect him from a blow by these beasts either. It forced Matthew to just stay on the defensive, trying to keep evading the attacks until the others can handle their own minotaurs. But, with Elliott's help this was a lot easier. The minotaurs were big and strong, not very fast unless they were charging in a straight line. "Matthew! Keep its focus on you while I get behind it!" Elliott called out
"You got it kid." Matthew called out as he grabbed his staff by the end and jabbed the minotaur in the eye with it while Elliott ran past the beast. The beast let out a roar of pain and anger before slamming its axe down at Matthew. Matthew quickly sidestepped the blow, but as soon as the axe hit the ground the minotaur shifted and swung the blunt end of the axe at him. Matthew tried to evade the blow but couldn't completely get out of the way in time. With a bone-cracking snap the axe struck him in the side and sent him skidding across the ground.
But as Matthew had its focus Elliott rushed around behind the beast and quickly slashed his sword across the back of the minotaur's leg. The minotaur collapsed, its leg paralyzed, and before it had time to do anything else Elliott rushed up towards the head and thrust his sword into the back of its head, killing the beast.
Not far from them, Chloe and Brooke followed a very similar strategy, they both moved to opposite sides of the beast to ensure that it couldn't face them both at the same time. The minotaur slashed its axe at Chloe but she gracefully jumped back to evade the blade. Then as the minotaur thrust the axe forward s
he ducked under it while Brooke slammed her mace into the back of the minotaur's knee. The beast immediately tried to kick Brooke, who swiftly sidestepped the kick and slammed her mace into its knee again. The minotaur roared and spun around, slamming its axe down at Brooke, who again quickly sidestepped the blow. While it was facing Brooke, Chloe rushed up behind the beast and hacked both of her axes into the back of its leg sending toppling the beast.
With the minotaur down Brooke turned to run and help Jackson, but while her back was turned the minotaur made one last-ditch attack. It threw its giant axe at her back.
"Brooke!" Chloe shouted out as she quickly rushed towards the minotaur's head, intent on killing it. She couldn't do anything to stop the axe.
Brooke spun around when she heard her name shouted and her eyes widened as she saw the axe flying at her, just a moment too late. In her attempt to evade, stumbling from the fear and panic that suddenly overwhelmed her, Brooke fell onto her butt. But, the axe suddenly stopped just inches away from her.
"You okay?" Eladienne questioned, and when Brooke looked over at her Eladienne's right arm was covered in blood, but she was holding the axe by the blade. Eladienne tossed the giant axe aside as if it were nothing, revealing that in her attempt to catch it it had struck with so much force it pierced through her gauntlets and nearly severed her hand in half. Despite that she reached her uninjured hand out to help Brooke stand. "C-Careful for the claws." She warned, briefly showing Brooke the long claws attached to the fingertips of her gauntlet. Her voice laced with pain as she spoke through gritted teeth.
Brooke took her hand as soon as she recollected herself, being careful not to touch the claws, and let Eladienne pull her back onto her feet. "Incoming!" She warned, noticing the minotaur Eladienne had been fighting rushing at the two of them. Brooke started to run to the side, intent on flanking it like she did with Chloe. But before she could get around behind the beast it slammed its axe down at Eladienne, who dodged the blade. Then, Eladienne gained a red aura and her gauntlets began to glow as she, in the blink of an eye, lunged forwards and slammed her fist into the minotaur's chest with her left hand. The 10' tall beast was launched backwards with a loud snap. It slammed into the ground several feet away from the women and stopped moving.
Brooke looked back at Eladienne with a shocked expression on her face. "Damn, why didn't you do that sooner?" She questioned. "And are you okay?"
"Didn't want to waste my signet. Can't use it again for two hours." Eladienne stated curtly, her voice sounded a little weaker. She turned away from Brooke and started walking away from everyone. "And I'm fine."
"Brooke! Are you okay?" Chloe asked as she ran over to Brooke. Elliott was looking with a concerned expression as he knelt beside Matthew, checking his wounds. Jackson pulled his knife out from his own fallen minotaur's head and wiped the blood off on the grass before putting it away.
Brooke turned to the others. "Yeah, but I'm worried about the elf. She seriously hurt her hand blocking that one." She replied, before her and Chloe rushed after Eladienne. "Eladienne, slow down you're hurt. Let me see." Brooke called out.
"Leave me alone." Eladienne growled at them.
"You saved my life, the least I can do to thank you is make sure you're okay and not bleeding to death!" Brooke argued. "You're losing a lot of blood."
"Then don't thank me." Eladienne stated. Brooke caught up to her pretty quickly but Eladienne kept turning to face away from the other girl. "I didn't save you because I wanted to, I saw someone in danger and I acted off instinct. I didn't think about it, it was just an impulse."
"But if your first instinct was to protect her, even if she was a human, that makes you a kind hearted person and shows you do care about us. Which merits a thank you." Chloe spoke up.
Eladienne paused for a moment. "I… That's not… Shut up and leave me alone..."
"Eladienne, come on." Brooke insisted. "At least look at me" As she moved in closer she noticed that Eladienne was shaking Brooke got only a brief glance at her front and was able to see that Eladienne's face was twisted and contorted in pain. She was cradling her nearly severed hand with her uninjured one and, despite how hard she was trying to resist, her eyes were watery. But Eladienne turned away before she could see much.
Chloe didn't need to see to know what we going on, she could tell by the way Eladienne was acting and by the look on Brooke's face when she saw. "Ella," Chloe sighed softly. She then took a step forward and briefly hugged the smaller woman. "It's okay, we don't think any less of you. We'll leave you be, but really, we don't judge. Come back as soon as you're comfortable." She softly spoke.
Eladienne shot her a glare at first, but calmed down a moment later.
"We'll leave you be." Chloe said and gestured for Brooke to follow her.
Lynn would heal Eladienne after George, and then would heal Matthew last since he was the least injured. Eladienne And Lynn would both rejoin the others after. The rest of the walk was relatively silent. The elves still remained separated from everyone but they walked closer to the others, Carley and Jess still kept their distance, despite Carley's protests. George, Matthew, And Chloe all lead the way. While Fate trailed along like a zombie and Jackson walked alone as he always did, everyone else stayed in a group near the front.
Everyone would reach Belle Village within a few more hours of uneventful walking. By then it was late at night and everyone just went to the inn to sleep for the night and met up again in the morning after resupplying.
As everyone gathered outside of the inn, Carley and Jess were quietly arguing over what to do. Jess, of course, insisting that they both stay in the village, while Carley insisted on traveling to grow stronger for the times ahead. The only compromise Jess seemed willing to make was if the two of them were to venture out alone, without the others, but even Carley knew that was a bad idea.
Eladienne seemed antsy to leave now that Lynn had what she came for. The two weren't arguing, but it looked like Lynn wanted to stay and Eladienne did not. But, most importantly, Fate really didn't look well.
"Alright, are we ready to head out and clear this dungeon? We don't have a lot of food this time so we need to make this a quick trip." George asked everyone, and most people seemed to agree. But Fate stepped up and shook her head.
"Guys, everyone. I'm not coming." Fate quietly spoke.
"Why?" George questioned. "You're one of our best fighters, and if I'm being honest a really close friend. I won't stop you, but I can't say that I don't really want you to stay."
Fate shook her head a little. "I just… Can't." She quietly answered. "I thought going out and being an adventurer would be fun and good for us and all, but after what happened with the bandits…" Fate shook her head. "I just can't…"
"It was just one fight with people, we'll be fine." George replied.
Fate shook her head. "No, I can't. I… I killed someone in that fight. A real person, not a monster. No offense to you elves, I consider you real too, you're not one of the monsters. But I-I can't do this." She looked out over all the others in the party, noting their sad expressions. But nobody was going to force her to stay. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would be this bad until I killed him. I just can't." She lowered her head a little.
"It's okay hon, we understand." Chloe softly replied. "Take a rest here, maybe in the future you will want to rejoin us. If not we'll make a point to visit you whenever we are here." She walked over and gave Fate a brief hug.
Following suit, Snipes, Imani, Brooke, Elliott, George, and Sophia, also walked over to hug her. Carley would have done the same but Jess didn't let him.
"It's alright." Sophia softly said. "We will miss you, but I understand why you can't keep going."
"Thank you." Fate quietly murmured. "All if you, thank you. Please do visit me when you can. I really don't want to leave, it's just eating away at me too much. I can't do that again."
"We absolutely will!" George replied with a brief grin, which faded away as his expression saddened
a moment later.
"We are also leaving." Eladienne spoke up, but Lynn shook her head.
"They are going to tackle their first dungeon. You know as well as I do that this will get them killed if they go in without a healer." Lynn argued.
Eladienne sighed quietly. "Fine, but we need to go back, we got what we came for. After the dungeon then." She relented.
Lynn was surprised that she didn't argue, she smiled a little and nodded. "Yes, they should no longer need us once the dungeon is complete."
The group's attention turned over to Carley and Jess. "We are both staying here." Jess insisted.
"No, I'm going. I need to be out there growing stronger. I can just tell, this world isn't going to be as safe as these Alphas say it will. I don't trust them." Carley argued.