Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 07 - Underprepared and under-siege - Part One {Rewrite}
Nadine was practically bouncing off the walls in excitent, and I couldn’t bla her. Field Surgeon seed like an amazing Class. Granted, Nadine would still need protection from monsters, because it didn’t have any offensive Abilities, but I doubted she would have any shortage of volunteers. Not only could Nadine heal other people's injuries, but both herself and whatever party she was part of would receive Exp as well.
I could understand why the surgeons Guild would charge hefty fees for training and mbership. Basically, once you were in, you would be set for life. Judging by the shoddy suturing done by the surgeon the Guild had hired, you didn’t even have to be that good at it.
I wondered how much they had been paid for their ti.
“It only costs one mana!” Nadine declared excitedly, Promptly activating the ability for a second ti.
Clarice stifled a yawn, “I’m gonna head to bed.”
That wasn’t a bad idea. “Co on Toofy, we should be getting to bed as well.”
“Kay,” Toofy let out a quiet yawn and followed out the door.
Heading down the stairs to the second floor, I stopped in front of the door to our room as I rembered that I didn’t have a key. I sighed and continued down to the common room instead.
Toofy was beginning to drag her feet, so I picked her up and let her head rest against my shoulder.
Toofy snuggled in to make herself comfortable and was lightly snoring before I reached the bottom step of the stairs.
Kirk looked like he was about to call out to , but took a look at Toofy and thought better of it, opting to wave over instead.
There was currently no one besides us in the common room and since Toofy was already asleep, I carefully took a seat at the bar.
Kirk made a point of checking to see if anyone was lingering near the stairs before moving in closer, “You should get your collar marked before the Guild manager sees it,” he whispered softly, making a point of rubbing at his neck where the tag of the collar was located around my neck.
The nature of these collars was new to and I suspected it was for Jacque as well since her oversight didn’t seem intentional. Nipping my middle finger enough to draw blood, I then dragged my lightly bleeding finger across the tag plate. I probably looked suspicious as heck, but at least I tried.
[Bond Successful.]
I hadn’t expected that so I looked to Kirk for an explanation.
Kirk nodded slightly and leaned over the bar so he could viciously attack a particularly stubborn grease stain with his cleaning cloth, “Not all Slave collars are used for enslavent. In fact, rumour has it that you can use it to protect yourself and hide in plain sight,” he gave a surreptitious wink and leaned back again, apparently satisfied that the grease stain had been taught a lesson.
I smiled and nodded at Kirk to show I understood his aning and appreciated the advice. I honestly doubted I would have thought to Enslave myself as another layer of camouflage and protection.
Hearing soone quickly coming down the stairs, Kirk and I both looked over to see who it was, albeit with Kirk managing the effort in a far less obvious fashion.
I relaxed when I saw that it was just Rose. I wasn’t sure what I had been thinking, but talking about slavery had left a little jumpy.
Rose hurried around the bar, aggressively dragged her husband in close and began whispering excitedly in his ear. Or, at least I assu she was whispering because I could see her lips moving but couldn’t hear anything she was saying.
Kirk’s eyes grew wide and he looked at with surprise before turning back to his wife.
Rose said sothing else and nodded emphatically in my direction.
“Ahrm!” Kirk made a show of awkwardly clearing his throat as he turned his attention back to again. “Ah, Tim?” Kirk asked sowhat nervously, “Is what Rose told true?” Asking in such a way that he clearly believed his wife and just wanted to confirm it aloud.
Keenly aware that there was only one thing I had done recently that would interest them so much, I nodded. There was no sense trying to hide it, they both already knew generally what I had been doing.
Kirk’s balding head began to sweat and he mopped at it with his washcloth, “Ah, do you think perhaps you could give our daughter Millie lessons?” Kirk asked respectfully while wringing the washcloth between his hands nervously.
“Ah, I guess?” I answered noncommittally. I honestly wasn't sure what was going to happen with this raid and more specifically what we would do afterwards.
Rose gave her husband a none-too-subtle jab to the ribs, while still making sure to maintain her smile.
Kirk took it in stride, barely seeming to notice, “We would pay you for your trouble of course!” He insisted, “And both you and your party would always be welco to stay in our inn free of charge!”
I couldn’t help but flush a little in embarrassnt, “Ah, that’s not the problem, I am just not sure what we will be doing after the raid,” I explained nervously, “If I am available, I don’t mind teaching her the basics.”
Kirk and Rose glanced at one another for a mont and seed a little confused.
“The basics?” Rose asked curiously.
I nodded, “That’s what I did for Nadine. That’s what you wanted right?”
Rose looked surprised, “You know more?!” She gasped incredulously.
I nodded slowly and realised that I had probably made a mistake. I was committed now and at least Kirk and Rose had been decent to thus far. “What I taught Nadine was field surgery, treatnts for the battlefield, you know?” It was senior first-aid, but I had already learned that the term didn’t carry the sa weight it should.
Rose and Kirk nodded, after all, the description of the Class was in its na.
“It would take much longer than an afternoon to cover the other important but more ti-consuming components,” I explained, “I don’t know if it would unlock a different or higher class, but it's important information all the sa.”
“So you will need to stay and teach Nadine this advanced knowledge,” Rose insisted with a predatory smile, “You can teach my Millie at the sa ti!”
Kirk gave an apologetic smile.
“Ah, ideally, I guess,” I agreed nervously. There was a lot of dical theory to cover to et Earth’s basic dical standards. I had just taught Nadine what I considered to be the bare minimum to qualify for a senior first-aid certificate.
Granted, this world rendered a great deal of earth’s dical diagnostic theory irrelevant by healing people's injuries in a matter of monts. Similarly, the existence of the status and HP stat itself made it obvious when soone was injured and what stage of recovery they were in. Still, the theory side of things seed to be important in unlocking more advanced forms of a Class, so I decided it would be better to teach Nadine more if I had the chance.
“So you will do it, right? Teach our Millie the advanced knowledge alongside Nadine?” Rose pressed relentlessly.
I gulped and nodded, unprepared to deal with this sort of intensity.
“Good!” Rose replied cheerily, pecking her husband on the cheek before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Sorry,” Kirk apologised, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly, but clearly pleased that his wife had closed the deal.
“Could I have the key to my room now?” I asked awkwardly.
“Oh!” Kirk looked a little embarrassed, realising that it was probably why I had co downstairs in the first place.
Accepting the key from Kirk, I walked back upstairs and unlocked the door to my room. It was a little strange to think of it that way, but I really did consider this room to be mine, a place where I belonged.
Taking care to lock the door behind , I sat down on the bed and grimaced at the sight of my dirty feet. I should have taken a bucket of water from downstairs so I could wash them.
Filled with regret, I pulled back the blanket and got Toofy settled before replacing the blanket again. Removing my apron, I carefully laid it out at the foot of the bed, so my feet wouldn't dirty the blanket or sheets. I was going to lay down but rembered that the Shadowcat had damaged my tunic as well and it probably had blood on the back of it. So I stripped my tunic off and left it on the bedside table. I decided I would take a closer look at it in the morning, but for now, I needed sleep.
As I began to drift off to sleep, I could feel Toofy wriggling closer until she was just about pressed up against through the blanket. Thinking that perhaps she had woken up and was feeling a little frightened or anxious, I raised my arm and let her snuggle in closer. Within less than a minute, she fell asleep again and I wasn't far behind her.
Waking up early, I found Toofy humming the counting song to herself and marking off her progress with her fingers. It was sothing of a pleasant surprise. I could only hope that this world's alphabet was similar enough in structure that I could adapt a nursery rhy for teaching the alphabet as well.
[ 0d : 6h : 34m ]
I hadn't intended to look at the countdown for the raid, but now that I had, I couldn't bring myself to look away. There were six and a half hours left before the protective barrier surrounding the town would disappear. Feeling myself begin to panic, I decided that I needed to do sothing, anything to keep myself busy.
The mont I began to get up, Toofy’s attention locked onto hungrily, “Breakfast!” She demanded happily. Leaping off the bed, Toofy unlocked the door, having apparently acquired the key while I was asleep, “Breakfast!” She repeated, waving her arms insistently to make move faster.
Taking a quick look at my tunic, I could see that while it was not particularly dirty, the Shadowcat had torn two large holes in the back of it. It wasn't beyond saving, but I would need to cannibalise the sleeves for materials. Seeing that Toofy was just about on the verge of tears, I just put on my apron instead.
Making sure to take the key and stow it in my apron, I smirked as I watched Toofy race from the room over to the top of the stairs and begin waiting impatiently for to catch up again. Toofy did the sa thing again when I reached the top of the stairs, racing to the bottom and giving an exasperated sigh when she realised I was still on the topmost steps. I was tempted to tease Toofy a little but decided against it. She was probably more than a little stressed herself and I didn’t want to make it worse.
Making a show of moving down the stairs faster than I normally would have preferred, I could see that this earned a satisfactory nod from Toofy and a stifled chuckle from Kirk.
Taking a seat at the bar, Toofy looked at Kirk expectantly, “Breakfast,” she reminded him curtly. No doubt wondering how he could manage to keep his job when Toofy had to keep reminding him how to do it.
Acting contrite, Kirk bowed in apology and went to the kitchen to fetch them so food. When he returned a few monts later with two bowls of stew, I motioned for Toofy to wait.
“How many bowls of stew are there Toofy?” I asked, not expecting much progress on her counting just yet, but still interested to see her try.
Toofy furrowed her brow at and pursed her lips for a mont before looking at the bowls of stew.
“Think about the song I taught you,” I offered helpfully, “If each bowl of stew is one finger, how many is that?”
“Oh!” Toofy began loudly humming the nursery rhy, “This!” She held up two fingers on her right hand.
‘Very good!” I tousled Toofy’s hair, “You can eat now.” She was struggling to rember the words, but the principle of counting had stuck at least. Not bad at all considering I had only taught it to her yesterday evening.
Toofy grinned and eagerly began wolfing down her al.
As an extra reward, I scooped a few spoonfuls of at from my own bowl into hers.
“You are teaching her to count?” Kirk asked with no small amount of surprise.
I nodded, “It’s an important skill.”
Kirk nodded in agreent but was still sowhat perplexed, “Did Nadine teach you to count?” He asked probingly.
I shook my head, “No.”
“You taught yourself?” Kirk asked in surprise.
“Pretty much,” I lied, unwilling to expose my true origins at this point in ti. If Jacque hadn’t done so, then it had to be for a reason.
Kirk was giving the sa appraising look Nadine had. Obviously coming to his own conclusions on how I knew the things that I did. “Oh! Right, Don, the butcher, has put up a special request for Vrabbit at. The Guild is footing the bill, but with so many injured adventurers and few willing to leave the foothold, we are running dangerously low on food reserves. I think he was offering twice the normal rate, which ans about half a copper per Vrabbit, not including the mana stones.”
It did seem like easy money and I had foolishly left Toofy’s coins out in the bunker. “I will talk to the others about it,” I shrugged, with the raid drawing closer, I was not particularly keen on the idea of hanging around outside the walls.
Kirk nodded, although he also seed sowhat worried, “There is another reason for the increase in reward. During the raid, monsters will not respawn and monsters normally only respawn around midnight. So every Vrabbit taken care of now is one less to worry about later.”
That sounded like sothing soone should have told a while ago. The thought of that tide of vermin descending on the town sent shivers down my spine. “I’ll go talk to the others,” I repeated with more conviction.
Kirk nodded appreciatively, “I am sure that if you're out there, other adventurers will be emboldened and join the effort,” he said encouragingly.
I nodded and let Toofy finish the rest of my stew, I wasn't feeling particularly hungry anymore.
Once Toofy had licked clean both bowls, we headed back upstairs to speak with Nadine and Clarice.
Knocking on their door, I was surprised to hear that they were already awake.
The reason quickly beca obvious as Jacque was the one to open the door, “Particular reason you are visiting a room of young won without a shirt?” She asked with a smirk.
I tried to ignore Jacque and walked into the room.
“Morning!” Clarice grunted distractedly, pulling on her thick knee-high boots.
“Good morning Tim,” Nadine smiled happily, “Was there anything you wanted?”
“It's probably about the Vrabbit hunt, right?” Jacque asked, a knowing look in her eyes.
I nodded, “Kirk said the Guild is paying double for the at because supplies are running low.”
“Right,” Nadine nodded, “And they want as many of them culled before the raid as possible. Makes sense. Was that sothing you wanted to do?” she asked curiously.
I shrugged, To say I wanted to do it would be a gross oversimplification. I didn’t want to get eaten alive by a swarm of Vrabbits during the raid, but that didn’t make thrilled at the idea of culling them en masse either.
“I was planning on doing it too,” Clarice interjected, now strapping on her padded armour, “You never know, getting rid of a few of those Vrabbits now could make all the difference later.”
I was about to say sothing but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Jacque looked bemused as she moved to open the door.
Elia staggered sowhat unsteadily into the room, nearly falling over in surprise as she noticed Toofy and I standing over by the wall.
“What do you want?!” Clarice spat irritably.
Elia shrunk back as if Clarice had threatened her, “Ah, uhm, I just wanted to apologise...” She murmured timidly. “I...I know what I did was wrong. I...I’m sorry...” Elia looked ashad of herself and was staring at the floor.
“Bullshit!” Clarice snarled angrily, “You're just scared of being alone during the raid!”
Elia flinched but said nothing, shrinking further into herself, trying to appear as small as possible.
Jacque watched the exchange with vague interest but showed no signs of intervening one way or the other.
Toofy wasn’t thrilled to see Elia either, apparently understanding her role in what had happened and was understandably upset about it.
I had thought that seeing Elia again would have made angry, but it didn’t. What Elia had done to and Toofy was callous and ultimately quite cruel. But she had done it without malicious intent. I was actually a little surprised that Elia had agreed to hand us over to the Guild manager Gilbert in the first place. I had been too stressed out to think about it clearly before, but it didn’t seem to fit Elia’s personality. Or at least I didn’t think so anyway.
Elia was admittedly quite lazy and didn’t seem all that bright, but she also didn't seem to understand how any of this adventuring business actually worked. When I considered what I knew of Elia, I was left with the impression that she was in over her head and making mistakes because of her impulsive nature.
I wasn’t going to forgive Elia so easily, but I felt like I could give her the chance to earn it. If Elia was truly sorry for what she had done or at the very least the role she played in what happened, then I was willing to give her a second chance to do better. After all, Elia had no power over anymore, I didn’t even need her for a disguise. Even after the pain Elia had caused , if it weren't for her, I would very likely be dead right now, Toofy too for that matter. If Elia turned out to be lying, then I would have lost nothing. But giving her a second chance might save the life of soone I cared about.
“That’s enough,” I interjected calmly as Clarice was about to say sothing else. “I can’t forgive you, Elia, not after what you did...”
Elia slumped further, moaning quietly as her tears fell to the floor.
I could empathise with the fear and isolation she must be feeling right now, it was quite familiar to after all. “That is, I can’t forgive you yet,” I anded.
Elia grew still and glanced up at , her expression desperate and afraid.
Toofy and Clarice stared at incredulously, while Nadine and Jacque were more pensive.
“If you truly ant what you said, then prove it,” I challenged Elia.
“Anything!” Elia blurted, “I-I’ll do anything!” She cried desperately.
“Ah, how about we start simple then?” Nadine suggested tactfully, “Clarice and Tim were going to hunt Vrabbits in preparation for the raid. Why don’t you go help them out?” She offered.
“I’ll do it! Urk..” Elia agreed eagerly but flinched from the pain of her chest injuries.
“Co lay down for a minute,” Nadine insisted, motioning to the bed.
Elia nodded reluctantly and did as she was told.
Seeing Nadine pulling up Elia’s tunic, I decided that it would be best to take Toofy and wait downstairs.
“Why?” Clarice demanded flatly as she joined in the common room, evidently unimpressed with my decision.
“Because I don’t bla her for everything that happened. I owe Elia at least a second chance to prove herself,” I replied bluntly.
Clarice frowned, “Even after what she did to the both of you?”
“Elia Enslaving us is the reason we are still alive Clarice,” I reminded her, “I ant what I said earlier, I haven't forgotten what Elia did, I honestly don’t know if I can ever forgive her, but I at least owe her the chance to try and earn it.”
Clarice grew quiet, her expression now more thoughtful than frustrated. “Fine,” Clarice agreed, “But I won’t cut her any slack!” She promised sowhat coldly.
I shrugged, there wasn’t much I expected from the others. I was only acting according to my own conscience. ”How did you want to handle the Vrabbit hunting?” I asked, not so subtly steering the conversation towards a more productive subject.
Clarice sighed and scratched at the back of her head, “I dunno. Do you have any ideas?”
I nodded, “We are ant to reduce their numbers as much as possible right?” I asked rhetorically.
Clarice nodded, “Yeah.”
“Do you think we would be able to borrow the handcart or sled from the Guild?” It would make delivering the Vrabbits easier afterwards, so I really hoped it was doable.
Clarice smiled and nodded, ‘Yeah I reckon we could get the sled,” she agreed eagerly.
“I figure that we set up shop at the barrier and lay down a lure just outside of it. I’ll be the bait and deal with most of them and throw them back to Toofy to store in so sacks or whatever on the sled.” I explained.
“And what do you want to do?” Clarice asked curiously.
I shivered, “Try and stop them from swarming .”
Clarice nodded and gave a resolute smile, apparently satisfied that I wasn't just putting her on babysitting duty.
“I was thinking Jacque and Elia could do the sa, assuming they are coming,” I added, “The more of us there are, the more comfortable I would be in using a stronger lure.”
Clarice had looked sowhat irritated at the ntion of Elia again, but it quickly passed and she nodded in understanding.
“It might be worth investing in so clubs or staves to keep the blood levels manageable,” I suggested, rembering how the adventurers were hard-pressed in staving off the Vrabbits during the Orc ambush.
“Yeah, probably a good idea,” Clarice agreed, growing noticeably paler for a mont.
[Nadine has healed a {Heavy Wound} 100 Exp]
Clarice and I were both surprised as the golden notification appeared. We shouldn't have been, it was pretty obvious what Nadine had intended from the start. But it was still quite new and we weren’t used to it yet.
Clarice smiled and shook her head, “I still can’t believe how much Exp we get from Nadine healing soone,” she muttered with a little jealousy.
I nodded. For native humans, who only had Class levels to compete against monsters' stats and Abilities, gaining so much Exp from healing people was borderline overpowered. I wondered if it would be possible to power level soone that way assuming you had the patients to heal for Exp. I figured that was why the surgeons didn’t roam around the Labyrinth like the other adventurers. They just didn’t need to. The surgeons get all the Exp and money they want, just by healing patients in the comfort of their office or by making a few house calls.
No wonder Nadine had been so excited. Theoretically, she could retire from the Labyrinth after this raid was over. Perhaps that was why Nadine wasn’t nearly as upset as Clarice.
[Elia - HP: 15/25 - Normal ]
Noticing Elia's information appearing in the group status, I could only assu Jacque was fine with her joining the party. The other thing I noticed was the amount of HP Nadine must have restored using her Ability. Assuming that Elia had been recovering one HP a day as Nadine told before, then Elia had just recovered roughly ten HP. That was pretty crazy since it only required bandages and thread.
Judging by the shock in Clarice’s expression I assud she just noticed as well. “Bloody hell,” she muttered.
After a few minutes of waiting on the others, Clarice decided to go purchase a couple more cheap blunt weapons and borrow a sled or handcart from the Guild. It was a pretty good idea, because Nadine, Jacque and Elia seed to be taking their ti coming downstairs.
[Nadine has healed a {Heavy Wound} 100 Exp]
While waiting, another alert appeared in front of and predictably I found that Elia’s HP had now fully recovered. Shortly afterwards, the trio of young won descended the stairs. Each of them were now wearing their padded armour and other equipnt.
Jacque gave an amused look while sitting down at the bar.
I avoided looking at Jacque and the others, instead, focusing my attention on Toofy. “Do you want to sing the counting song while we wait?” I asked.
Toofy grinned and nodded, “Ten fat sausage, frying in pan-”
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