With that, the three former knights left Fog’s house, with Emon trailing behind them, sword in hand.
“Ahh, I’ve been waitin’ to put me skills to use!” he beamed, bursting with excitement at the thought of chivalrous combat.
Unfortunately, Gaius did not share his enthusiasm. “Emon, you won’t be coming with us—we need you to stay here.”
“What?! Why?! I need tae go avenge Fog, too!” The clear shock and hurt in his voice showed how unprepared he was to hear these orders.
“That’s exactly why I can’t bring you along,” Gaius replied.
Darke put a hand on Emon’s shoulder. “Don’t be selfish, now. Please try to understand.”
But Emon pushed her hand away and blurted out, “Don’t be treatin’ me like a wee lad!”
“This isn’t about vengeance,” said Gaius. “We’re going to negotiate—to ask them to leave this village alone.”
“Ye won’t have tae negotiate for anythin’ if ye jest kill the whole lot of ’em!”
This time, Sashalia replied. “It isn’t that simple. Last time, Sir Gaius only had to take down a few adventurers. But, according to the scouts, this time there are well over forty humans. And even if we did manage to beat them back, all they would have to do is come back with even more people. Then what would we do?”
“D-Do our best and beat them all?”
Gaius replied with a voice that was gentle yet firm. “The more we fight, the greater our losses, in numbers and in morale. The kobolds wouldn’t have been able to repel those adventurers, let alone the entire guild. These people might return with an entire town’s worth of forces, or they may even enlist the aid of one of House Zigan’s armies. I’ve seen matters escalate to that degree before.”
“That’s why they need to try and negotiate first,” said Sashalia. “You aren’t as used to the forest as the kobolds, so you need to stay here. If worse comes to worst, you need to help them get to safety.”
Reluctantly, she left Gaius’s side and walked up to Emon. “And I will, too.”
“But... Ye mean big sis is goin’ and ye’re not?”
Sashalia winced at the question but soon recovered, replying with a nod. Seeing her do her best to suppress her own disappointment, Emon heaved a deep sigh and gave a very reluctant nod of his own.
“Alrigh’...but next time, ye better take me with you.”
“I’m hoping there won’t be a next time,” Gaius replied. “Miss Sashalia, I’m leaving the village to you.”
“Understood.” As though willing her emotions to settle down, Sashalia brought a fist to her chest, saluting Gaius and Darke as they departed.
＊
When Gaius and Darke arrived at the village square, they were greeted with the sight of around fifty kobolds armed with spears, bows, and other weapons. They’d gathered the strongest villagers, most of whom were from the hunting party; most of the group was huddled around something. Their wives, mothers, and children stood around them, waiting to bid them farewell.
“So that’s human armor, huh...” Red Eye looked up to greet the three as they approached. On the ground was a map Gaius had drawn, based on the kobolds’ description of the surrounding forest. Two stones rested on the map: a black one to represent the incoming band of humans, and a white one to mark their own forces.
“One of the boys tracking them’s just come back. He says they’re on foot, but moving pretty quickly—at this rate, they’ll be here before sundown.”
“I see...and I heard someone say they weren’t very well equipped, is that right?” Gaius turned to the young kobold scout, who nodded. “Then they’re either a band of adventurers or mercenaries, most likely the former. An army would be more heavily armored.”
“And even with the path leading them through the forest, I doubt they’ll want to stop and set up camp,” Darke said, ending with her peculiar cackle. The incoming humans would most likely march through the day, spend the night in the village once they’d concluded their terrible business, then head back to Ryburgh in the morning.
“There’s something I want to make sure of,” said Rain Grass, crossing his arms. “We’re just going to be hiding nearby, right?” Like Emon, he’d been strongly opposed to the prospect of negotiations at first, but was now doing his best to hold back his temper and cooperate.
“That’s right,” Gaius replied. “If all goes well, no one will need to draw their weapons. But if the worst does come to pass...”
The village elder tried to interject once again, but this time Darke stepped forward to disable him with scratches and belly rubs. All the other kobolds nodded, the group buzzing with voices of affirmation. Behind them, Sashalia looked on, visibly restless.
＊
“Now how the hell did this happen?” grumbled Hubert, a sour look on his already grim face. Cyril shot him a sidelong glare and on the inside, spat back, That’s what I want to know!
The two walked side by side, bringing up the rear as their group walked along the dried riverbed. They had originally only planned to bring along an additional ten guild members. However, when Wyatt had announced he would be accompanying them, the numbers had swelled to nearly fifty adventurers.
On the one hand, their numbers meant they did not have to fear magical beast attacks, and they would be more than able to completely overwhelm the village of dogs that Cyril had described. There was one downside, though...
“At this rate, my cut of the loot isn’t gonna be more than a few coins!” Hubert growled. Guild rules stipulated that all gains were to be divided equally among the party, and with the guildmaster himself present, there was no chance he could take the lion’s share as he had planned. This meant that Cyril’s plan to claw his way out of the hole Theron had dug for him was also unraveling.