Gaius shook the blood and gore from his faussar and glanced around. Once he’d made sure no other threats remained, he let out a breath.
I was right to bring this blade. The faussar had a blade that curved backward, reminiscent of a sickle. It was only double-edged near the tip, where a series of notches resembling a steep mountain range had been made. The design was meant to allow the wielder to let the sword’s weight to do all the work, or to slash in a way that sunk those thorns into its target. It was also good at cutting down horses by aiming for their legs.
Gaius had a heavier, thicker version of that style of sword, made to suit his massive frame. Without such a weapon, he wouldn’t have been able to pull off that earlier move. Though it looked unwieldy, it allowed him to make good use of his strength. It also fit his personality quite well; wielding it required some recklessness, and it was tough to break.
“It’s all right now.” Gaius called out to the unseen other person, looking all around himself as he spoke. He looked in every direction, but there was no reply, nor any sign of a child.
It made him sick to think they could already be lying somewhere, lifeless.
This was bad. They might not be able to respond. Gaius searched the trees nearby to see if anyone had collapsed behind one. “Not here... Not here, either...” he muttered under his breath. Just then, he heard a growl. His body reacted before he even decided to move, and instantly he was pointing his blade at a potential target. That target was...
...a dog? Yes. A white dog stood before him. Or perhaps it was a wolf, but judging from its size, a dog seemed more likely. In any case, it was doglike. The creature leaned against a tree trunk, baring its fangs at Gaius.
...Dogs had always hated him. Back in the capital, they had barked and growled at him whenever he passed by. In fact, he’d never had a dog take a liking to him after he reached adulthood, not even once.
No matter how much he wanted to pet them, to feel their fur, for some reason they all seemed to run or panic when he got near. Once, one had even lost control of its bladder and fainted. Gaius had fallen into a deep depression for days after that incident. So he accepted this dog’s reaction as an unavoidable event.
What really bothered him was the wound on its leg, and the fact that it was wearing animal-skin clothing. Surely wild dogs and wolves didn’t wear clothes, which meant this one had to belong to someone, and so its owner couldn’t be far.
If the dog’s owner couldn’t reply to him, they must have been in serious trouble. He needed to find them, and soon. Taking a chance on the hope that this dog might be able to lead him there, Gaius steeled himself, mustered the sweetest voice he could, and gently called out to it.
“I-I-It’s all right. Wh-Where’s your owner? Are they close?” A dog couldn’t possibly understand the words of someone besides its owner, but at the very least it might flee in the direction of the missing person. Gaius knelt down and tilted his head while smiling awkwardly. The dog continued to snarl at him.
“It doesn’t matter how I ask it. It’s still just a dog,” Gaius mumbled, his head and shoulders slumping in disappointment. Could he find the owner in time? He had to hurry.
When he lifted his head back up, Gaius heard an unexpected voice answer him.
“I’m no dog!” Dumbfounded, Gaius’s jaw dropped.
The white dog continued, “I’m a kobold warrior, and I have a name! It’s Fog! Don’t treat me like some mutt!” The dog...could speak?! Gaius spun around, but there was no one else there. So this must have been the source of the scream he had heard.
“Ya hear me, troll?!” Trolls were a powerful humanoid race that could grow up to three meters tall. They were a simple folk who lived in the mountains and at the outskirts of the Greatwood, farming and foresting. They were a rare sight in the southern kingdoms, as most of them lived to the east and west. While they had little contact with Igris and its neighbors, they did interact with humans, so their existence was a well-known fact.
Ogres were muscular and violent. Elves were long-lived. Orcs were gallant, while halflings were small and charming. Dwarves were known for being heroic and lusty. And trolls were huge and immensely strong.
This wasn’t the first time he had been called a troll—and sometimes it wasn’t an accident.
Even so, to be scolded by a dog—well, no, it just said itself that it wasn’t a dog.
Its mouth and tongue were clearly not human, nor did they look well-suited to speaking. They were definitely beastlike. It was amazing to think it was even capable of human language. And yet, it actually spoke even more properly than a lot of humans. That much Gaius could tell when he heard it.
“Oh, I...I apologize. I was out of line.” Gaius fumbled through an apology as he regained his senses.
After an awkward silence, he heard that voice again.
“Ah, I was kinda harsh. I was all worked up... I’m sorry, too. Ya just saved me, and here I am insulting you.”
“I heard a scream.” It had to have come from this kobold. He might have mistaken Fog’s voice for a child’s because of her small size, or because the perilous situation caused her to cry out in her real voice. But whatever the reason, Gaius thought, that didn’t matter now. He was simply grateful her voice had carried so far. He might never have heard her otherwise.
“Really though, you saved my life. A second more and that thing would’ve had me for a snack.” This time, she bowed her head low. Flustered, Gaius waved his arms, urging her to lift her head.
“Let’s try this again. I’m White Fog, a kobold warrior. And you are?”
“My name is Gaius. I come from that nearby village.” Gaius pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
“Village? You mean those ruins?”
“I was born there. It was still a village when I was a child.”
“What on earth happened?”
“Magic beasts. Long ago, it was attacked by a pack of bugbears, like, the beast that attacked you. I’ve lived elsewhere since then.”
“Hmm...so you lost your village, too...”
“You could say that.”
“...You’re just like us.” Gaius tilted his head and opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but a sudden groan from Fog cut him off.
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s nothing major.” Fog put up a brave front, but the wound she was pressing down on looked fairly deep. Fog tried to stand, as if to demonstrate that she was all right, but her face twisted in pain and she had to sit back down.