“W-What is that?” Stan asked.
“A plant called Somnia,” I said. “It … well, it’s more fun to show people what it does.”
The vampire’s eyes narrowed. “It’s more fun?”
I grabbed a few bunches of leaves by their stem, and exhaled. I visualized the plant in my mind, and imagined a line of light travelling through the stem. I imagined cutting the stalk in half, but keeping the light glowing inside it.
I snapped the stems off, and pulled the plants away.
DING!
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill.
Herb Lore!
Mother Nature knows best. All those inanimate sculptures of green hold within them a treasure trove of possibilities that even the smartest man can never fully grasp. You are definitely not the smartest man, so be careful. Reward: 500 XP
Effect 1
Effects on herbs you pick increased by +1%
DING!
You have found a new plant.
Somnia!
A large-leafed plant that has a sweet, intoxicating scent around it. Hopefully it isn’t poisonous. Would you like to transfer this item to your Item Inventory?
Yes
No
It isn’t poisonous. I stared at the screen, and then dismissed it. Seriously Ga’em? Turning to Stan, I whispered, “Come on.”
I carried the bunches with us, until we reached the wide field from before. I dropped them beside a large shrub that stood on the path toward the camp.
“Stan, hide there.” I pointed to the bush on the other side. The vampire nodded and ducked down behind it while I hid in the shrub beside the Somnia pile.
Half an hour of silence later, footsteps sounded, from the other direction this time. Laughter echoed through the air, and two silhouettes emerged. I slid open my Ga’em menu and pulled out the kitchen knife. I picked a few dry twigs beside me—just four or five—and put them next to the pile. I scraped the knife and the short sword together. A dull sound echoed into the air, but I didn’t bother with it right now.
I scraped metal against metal a few more times, and a spark jumped onto the wood. Smoke rose from the twigs, and soon, the leaves were smoking.
“What’s that?!” one of the men exclaimed. I peeked out and saw him pointing at the smoke rising into the air. They ran towards us, and I kept myself hidden inside the branches of the shrub. I held my breath and counted.
The footsteps came closer. “What is this?” The voice came from right behind me.
“I … don’t know.” The man’s speech slurred.
“Why are you … speaking weird?”
“Huh? You’re the one who—”
Two thuds sounded. I jumped out of the bushes and stomped out the fire, grabbed the leaves, and threw them as far as I could.
Stan popped up from his bush with his hand over his nose. “What just happened?” He spoke in a nasal tone.
I removed the men’s armor. “Somnia’s smoke puts people to sleep. It’s a powerful sleeping tonic.” I threw him an armor set.
“But nothing happened to me?” He picked it up and tried it on.
“That’s because you were too far away.” I pulled out the set from the other man. “I had to hold my breath to keep from being affected.”
We quickly strapped on the new sets of armor. “Not bad.” I looked at both of us. With the helmets on, no one would pick out who we were, even though we were pretty frail compared to most Knights. “I think this works fine.”
“A-Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I walked ahead. “Come on. We’re heading into the camp.”
I strode onto the field, walking toward the enclosure. Stan followed a step behind me. “What about the men?” he asked. “Won’t they wake up?”
“Not for an hour, at least,” I said. “We should be long gone by then.”
“Levi … are we really just going to see if the Knights know about the relic and then leave?”
I turned to him. “Don’t worry about it.” We were a few yards from the entrance now.
A lone torch stood there, poorly illuminating the place. The Knights before us glanced our way, and then they all straightened. “Sirs!” they saluted.
Whoa. I nodded quietly and walked into the camp. That was the easiest entry ever, I thought with a chuckle.
“What now?” Stan whispered from beside me.
We walked to the centre of the place. “Wait.” I looked around. There were only one or two Knights around, and they were all far off from us. A large pile of hay sat twenty yards to my left, and a large group of horses were all tied to pegs on the ground beside it.
Ice spread through my body and seeped into my mind. If you stop me every time I try to do something, then I’m going to do the exact same to you.
“L-Levi?” Stan whispered.
“Shhh.” I walked to the fire in the centre of the camp. There were lumps of wood right next to it, probably to help keep it going.
Works perfect for us. I picked a small branch and broke off just a small section. I removed my gauntlet and held it in my other hand. I stepped up to the large flame, and heat seared my face. Yet, the icy feeling inside me grew even more. I’ll show you lowlifes what it feels like to be trampled on.
I lit the stick and held it behind my arm cover, hiding the flame from plain sight.
“What are you doing?” Stan sounded worried now. “Valentine said—”
“Just come with me,” I muttered. I walked to the pile of hay in the camp. You don’t even need to bring this much hay along with you. I grinned. That’s just a disaster waiting to happen.
I pulled out the small branch and stuck it deep into the pile. A moment later, a trail of smoke rose from the top, and a smile curled onto my face.
“Levi.” Stan grabbed my shoulder. “But Valentine said not to hurt anyone. Why are you—”
“You know how those people treated us,” I hissed. “I don’t care about what you people think. I’m not letting them trample on my ambitions over and over again. I’ve had it up to here with their antics.”
Flames burst out the top of the hay pile. The horses whinnied and scampered around. Ooooh. I stepped toward them, and swung my short sword. The blade sliced through the rope binding the beasts and they all galloped away in a panic.
I made a gentle cut on the sides of two of the horses and they charged faster than the others, toward the entrance. “Stan, come on.” I ran behind them.
The Knights posted at the entrance glanced at the center, and the horses surged past them, out of the place. “Fire!” I yelled. “There’s a fire in the camp!”
Yells sounded and the men and women ran around. People rushed out of their tents and scampered about. Heat seared into my back now, but the ice had all but built into my mind. I smirked. You fools.
I rushed out the entrance, glancing at the horses as they disappeared into the forest. We’ll catch them later, I thought. Stan ran ahead of me, and I let him, just so I could make sure I didn’t lose him somewhere. Last thing I needed was for Valentine to yell at me for losing a party member.
Then again, she’s going to be pretty mad if she finds out what I did, I thought.
“And just where are you running off to?”
Something thudded into me and I collapsed to the ground, gasping. A Knight sat himself atop my chest, and from his armor, I could tell he was the same rank I was supposed to be.
“You seem … new.” His voice was deep.
My eyes widened. He had me pinned down already, and now he reached out for my helmet. My muscles tensed, and I flexed, trying to thrash about, but I was held down strong.
“So much squirming.” He glared at me. “I wonder if you’re actually on our side.”
Suddenly, a blade jutted out of his neck, and he fell onto me, gargling blood. I pushed him over the side, but he was already dead.
Stan stood behind him, struggling to hold the sword I’d dropped, his body trembling. “A-Are you okay?” He gave me a han
d.
I nodded and got back onto my feet. We ran into the forest without a word, heading back to our camp. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of what could have happened. That Knight had me pinned, and he’d had a blade at his side. If he found out who I was, he could have killed me easily.
Should have paid more attention. But I hadn’t, and yet, nothing disastrous had happened because of it. I looked at the vampire, who was running with his blanket still stuffed inside his armor.
“Blanket-Boy?”
“Y-Yeah?” His helmeted face turned to me.
I smiled. “Thanks.”
***
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Elya strode into the tent. “Auron, we need to talk.”
The old Sage raised his head from the scroll he was looking at.
The Knight’s jaw clenched. That damn parchment again. It was all Auron had been looking at over the past few hours. He hadn’t even spoken up when he’d been asked a few questions before.
A smile shone on the old man’s face, a smile that Elya had seen a hundred times before—one that meant he was pretending to be nice. “Yes, Elya?” His voice was soft.
“I have yet to see a single meeting about the princess’s disappearance,” he said. “When you asked the king to let you lead this investigation, I had assumed a different air would surround this camp.”
The Sage frowned. “A different air?”
Drunken laughter echoed from the other side of the clean canvas walls. Elya raised an eyebrow.
“Ah.” The Sage sighed. “That is … unfortunate.”
“It is irresponsible.”
“Do not worry,” he said. “I will take care of it.”
“How?” Elya asked. “I am sorry for being so forward, Sage Auron. But it seems to me I am being kept out of the loop on a lot of things.”
“Ah. I have been thinking about many things lately, and so—”
“You know very well that isn’t what happened.” Elya clenched his fists. “Joseph and other high-ranking Knights were told things that I am not currently privy to. To the outside world, it would almost seem like I am deliberately being kept in the dark.”
“That is not the case, my boy.” Auron smiled. “Let me assure you. Many worries have passed this mind of mine over the past few days. I apologize for not paying attention to what might have been going on around me. I will ensure it doesn’t happen any longer.”
Elya eyed the man, and then sighed. “I apologize for being confrontational. However, there are times when a Knight just has to question things his superior does.”
“I understand.”
A horse whinnied, and the crack of hooves over ground passed right by the tent. Elya jerked his head around. What was that?
“FIRE! FIRE!” someone yelled.
Elya threw open the tent’s flap and rushed outside. A roaring fire burned through the hay pile across from him, and caught onto the nearby tents.
“I told them a bonfire was a bad idea.” He ran toward them. “Get out of the way, men! Bring the tents down. Don’t let the wind carry the flames!”
People mobilized and swords swung, cutting the lines that kept the cloth homes up. Elya turned around, searching for more fire, and something caught his eye as he scanned the field.
Two figures grabbed a pair of stray horses right before the edge of the forest. He saw them hop on and then disappear into the trees, melting into the darkness.
They’d had visitors.
***
Our horses charged through the forest.
Valentine rode with me, while Luna rode with Stan. I tugged on the reins, turning the horse through the dense terrain. The vampire had a calm expression on his face now. He still had his blanket around him, but he didn’t seem so weak and pathetic now.
I guess stabbing someone in the chest changes people. I glanced behind me, past Valentine. Thick smoke rose into the air and spread out. Good, it’s still going. The longer the camp burned, the better our chances of getting the relic ourselves. The better my chances.
A minute later, we came to a small stream, only a foot wide, running through the forest. Probably a tributary of the Nura River.
“We’ll break here.” I tugged on the reins and my horse clopped to a stop.
I jumped off the steed and turned to help Valentine down. She pushed my hand aside and leapt down on her own, landing softly on the ground.
I chuckled. “You’re quite the—”
A slap cracked across my face, and I stumbled backward.
"What the hell were you doing?!" Valentine yelled. "Those are innocent men and women in those camps. You lit it on fire? Who in their right mind thinks that’s a good idea?”
Flames stirred my heart, and my fists clenched. “You know what? I’m sick and tired of just being policed by your moral code.” My tone rose. ”I never asked you to save me. I didn’t ask for any of this. You forced me into this situation. I told you this already, and I’ll say it again. If you can’t handle how I work, then you can just go find Aegil on your own.”
She stared at me. “Just tell me why you thought it was a good idea.”
“Those people are after the relic as well,” I said. “If I didn’t do this, then—”
“They’d go get it before we did?” she asked. “You were willing to burn your own people alive just to get what you want?”
“They were never my people,” I whispered.
“Stop being so melodramatic.”
I glared at her. Melodramatic? Ice and fire slithered into me. I felt my head chill, and words flowed out of me without resistance. “Have you ever had to fight against a Knight, Valentine?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Have you ever had to watch either a person that was supposedly this ‘beacon of good’, this ‘personification of justice’, come and beat you? Have you had to watch them snicker and laugh, all because of the kind of person you are?” I gritted my teeth as the ice soaked into my blood. “Think of the thing you want the most. Imagine wanting it for ten whole years. Imagine finally finding it, but then having a hundred Knights push you down, stomp on you, and then laugh at you when you try to get back up. Do you even know what it’s like?”
Her expression changed. “I do.”
“I thought you were an honest girl,” I muttered.
“Okay!” Luna jumped in between us. “Luna thinks you two should stop fighting.” Her eyes darted between the two of us.
“If you don’t get why I did it, that’s fine.” I didn’t look at her. “A princess would never understand anyway.”
Her eyes widened, and her lips parted, but she said nothing.
“Let’s just … take a break,” I said. “Fill up on water. We can leave in an hour.”
I don’t know if they all agreed, but I heard no replies, and I didn’t check. I took a drink of water from the stream and stepped past it. A nice, tall tree, bigger than the rest, grew fifty yards ahead. Its roots protruded from the ground and formed a wooden incline up to its trunk. I laid down in front of it and rested my back against the emerged roots.
Valentine’s face appeared in my mind. You wouldn’t understand, girl, I thought. No one will ever understand. I clenched a palm of soil within my hand. They will never understand what it means to be truly weak, to be truly pathetic, to wake up one day and realize everything is just gone.
I threw the mud away and eased against the tree, then I glanced up, past the gaps in the leaves, and looked at the night sky. I wasn’t a big scenery person. I didn’t see the appeal in fawning over the sights that had no impact on my life. But tonight, I let myself gaze at the few stars I could see, hoping their beauty would take my mind off of what had happened.
I heard footsteps beside me and turned, peering into the darkness. A small silhouette emerged, with a large piece of cloth fluttering around it.
Stan. I quickly shifted back into place, and shut my eyes. I didn't have the energy to talk to him—or anyone—right now.
The f
ootsteps stopped right beside me, but I didn’t open my eyes. There was silence for a minute. Is he gone? I wondered, but didn’t sneak a look.
“Hey, Levi?” Stan’s voice was soft.
I stayed still. Yeah, he didn’t go.
“You’ve killed people before, haven’t you?” he asked.
My chest tightened. That’s what this is about. I sighed, this time out loud, and opened my eyes. The vampire stood trembling before me, with his blanket wrapped tight around him.
“Is this because of what happened?” I slowly sat up. “The thing with the guard?”
He nodded.
Ugh. I patted the spot next to me. “Come on.”
The vampire stared at me for a second. “Y-You’re not going to hit me, right?”
I blinked, and then chuckled. “I will let you know if I’m ever going to hit you. Now come sit down.”
He nodded again, and then took a seat beside me. This was the first time since the prison cell that I’d been this close to his blanket, and a scent that I had not noticed before came through—Jasmine.
Jasmine? I blinked, and then shook my head. “Anyway.” My gaze rose to the vampire. His hands were trembling within his blanket, and his teeth chattered ever so slightly. “Listen, Stan.” I leaned back, and looked up at the sky. “Do you know the story of the Goblin hunt?”
“N-No.”
“It was something in a book I read a long time ago,” I said. “Though the Ymir Forest has random creatures in it now, it once upon a time had a big colony of Goblins living in it. They had their own city, and it was easily as big as Zevalon is.”
“Eh?” The vampire’s eyes widened. “That big?”
I nodded. “Back then, they were bigger than the population of Zevalon. In fact, Zevalon was just a developed town in those days, with a few noblemen, the ancestors of the royal family, and a lot of workers. Humans can never stay calm when someone else has even the slightest ability to overpower them, and so the nobles and the leaders decided it was a threat to let the Goblin colony keep growing.”
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 15