Chapter 12 – The Hero

That’s Ben, I swear to God. It’s definitely Ben. But how? Since when is he-

Shaelith forced her racing thoughts to a halt. The grotesque absurdity of Ben Blomquist, standing in front of herlike some hunk from one of his Isekai animes,had to wait. Getting out of this mess had priority.

Later. I can think later about why Big Ben Blumpkin now looks like the cover boy of a bodybuilding magazine.

She made the decision in a split second. Whatever had brought him here, however this fucked-up situation had come about, she would pretend she had never seen him before. She simply couldn’t estimate the complications that might arise if she revealed that she knew him, that she had once been Jacob… and then this new trait… [Love Interest]

No. Hard no.

Benderast strode towards her cage,moving with the somewhat gawky manner of someone still not quite used to having so many muscles while his eyes, the same eyes she had seenglued shortsightedly over D&D manuals almost two decades ago, wanderedover her torn clothes and the purple skin visible beneath.

Of course he‘s ogling me.

“Princess!” His voice was a touch deeper than in her former life, with a ridiculous heroic tremolo in it. “Are you hurt? These vile creatures will pay for this outrageousness!”

The perfect Tulvian flowed effortlessly from his lips, even though his strange accent and the weird shit he said almost made her laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious.

He sounds like someone who is trying to sound like Shakespeare but only knows him from satire.

When Shaelith replied, there was a faint tremor in her own voice that was not entirely feigned, because two weeks of captivity had taken a toll on her. “The… the shackles,” she breathed inTulvian. “Please.”

His eyes lit upwith an almost childish enthusiasm to be able to help the beautiful princess who was held captive by the villains in the dungeon.

To him, I’m the fucking damsel in distress that he needs to save. Probably thinks it’s a quest, the idiot.

Benderast knelt down in front of her and examined the rusty shackles with a concentrated expression, as if he were solving a particularly tricky puzzle, which looked ridiculous on such a muscular young human. “Hmm, I didn’t skill lockpicking, but…” He reached for his sword pommel, “Brute Force should work.”

He says he didn’t skill–…if he talks to everyone like that, they’ll think he’s completely crazy-…wait a minute, he has skills? Not just traits? Later, Shaelith. Later. Get out of here first.

He positioned the sword pommel at the weakest point of the shackles and withone well-aimed blow, the chains on her wrists shattered and right after a second blow freed her feet.

Shaelith rubbed her sore wrists and ankles. Her skin was all raw and inflamed from two weeks of constant tugging and her legs trembled as she tried to stand. Damn. Weaker than I thought.

“I need… I need to draw glyphs.” Her voice sounded hoarse. “May I borrow your blade?”

“Of course!” Benderast enthusiastically offered her his glittering sword, as if he were sharing his favorite toy with her. “Is this for a magical ritual?”

Rolling her eyes inwardly, Shaelith ignored him, took the blade and carefully cut into her fingertip. The pain was sharp, but never before had pain felt so welcome, given that she had craved nothing more than to draw blood in the last two weeks. Right away a few drops welled up, dark red against her purple skin.

With trembling movements, she drew a simple but efficient protection glyph on her forearm. The lines were shaky and uneven, because blood was not mycelial ink after all, she didn’t have a brush, and her hands were weak from imprisonment. But it was the best she could do under the circumstances. A second glyph for basic kinesis followed.

The magic responded sluggishly, but it was there, finally. Enough to protect her, enough to do damage.

“We have to free the others,” she said, pointing to the wall, behind which the muffled noises still continued.

Ben’s heroic grin faded as the reality of the situation seeped through and he realized what was happening next door. Even he couldn’t ignore what those screams and the whimpering and the other noises meant.

Together they walked over, pushed open the connecting door, and then the bestial stench of bodily fluids, fear and despair hit them with full force. Shaelith almost had to retch again.

Rows of crude wooden shacks stretched out before them, most of the doors hanging open. In several pens, goblins in various stages of undress moved on huddled,bound figures. One particularly ugly specimen, currently lying on top of a catatonic woman, looked up in shock.

“INVADINGLINGS!” he screeched in Fufflak.

Despite his massive muscular form, Benderast moved with the speed of lightning. His sword practically cut two goblins at once in half before they could even react and their blood sprayed in high arcs against the wooden walls.

Okay, wow, he can definitely fight.

A third goblin scrambled hastily off a sobbing captive and tried to reach for his weapon. Shaelith’s makeshift kinesis glyph flared and the energy was more than enough to hurl him violently against the wall. The dull thud of his impact was extremely satisfying, even if it did make her a little dizzy.

But another goblin near the second door was already on his feet and ran out.

“ALARM! ALARM! THE PURPLE WITCH IS FREE!”

He disappeared down the corridor before they could stop him.

“Damn it!” Benderast whirled around, cursing. “I bet he’s drawingaggro from the whole dungeon now!”

Drawing aggro from the–…JesusChrist, Ben. Read the fucking room!

They finished off the remaining goblins. Shaelith used her kinesis glyph sparingly and tried to let Benderast do most of the dirty work. He seemed to have no problem chopping goblins cleanly into several handy greenparts.

Once the immediate danger was averted, the true extent of the horror became apparent. Women huddled in the corners of the hovels. There were Shaeravyn, Sylvyn, and humans. Some swayed back and forth, others just stared into space. Some were visibly pregnant with grotesquely bulging bellies. A young Sylvyn absentmindedly scratched at the wooden walls, even though her fingernails were already bloody.

“Ryzinre!” Shaelith spotted her in a corner, alone but with clear signs of recent… use. She was conscious, but her eyes were blank and her stomach showed a slight bulge that hadn’t been there two weeks ago.

Oh no.

Shaelith struggled to her cage on wobbly legs. “Ryzinre!”

The silver-haired woman looked up slowly. “You… you’re still alive.” Her voice was hollow and accusatory. “Why are you still alive?”

Because I was too afraid to die again.

“Ladies!” Benderast broke open the locks and took on an exaggeratedly heroic tone. “We’re here to save you!”

Some women backed away from him. To them he was just another man, a threat like all the others. Others didn’t react at all, seemingly too broken to take hope. A younger Shaeravyn began to scream hysterically as he approached.

“Sisters,” Shaelith tried on Shaeravyn, as soothing as she could. “We’re leaving. You’re-” She faltered. Safe? After what they’ve been through? “We’re getting you out of here.”

She switched to Sylvyn, then to Tulvian for the humans. Some understood, some didn’t, butit didn’t matter. They would have to take them all with them.

Shaelith helped Ryzinre to stand up. The young Shaeravyn could barely walk and her legs trembled with every step.

“How… how long?” Ryzinre whispered.

“About two weeks,” Shaelith replied quietly.

Ryzinre’s hand moved to her stomach and a soft whimper escaped her throat. Shaelith carefully put an arm around her. She stiffened at first but then allowed Shaelith to touch her.

Shaelith counted fifteen women.

Half of them can barely walk. This is going to be a bloody nightmare.

“Okay, I hate escort missions, but we’ll manage,” Benderast announced with misplaced enthusiasm. “Wounded to the center, those who can still walk to the outside, then we’ll get all the NPCs safely to the extraction point!”

What the fuck is wrong with this guy to call traumatized rape victims NPCs? I swear, when we get out of here, I’ll explain a few things to him about tact. Escort mission my ass.

But now was not the time for educational interventions. The screams of the escaped goblin still echoed through the tunnels and reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

“This way!” Ben led them into a side tunnel that looked like an abandoned supply shaft. Shaelith immediately noticed small markings on the walls, that looked like someone had prepared this route.

At leasthe’s not completely stupid, I guess.

Behind them, the screeching swelled. That had to be at least twenty goblins, she estimated. Maybe more.

Ryzinre stumbled and Shaelith caught her.

“I should have used the needle myself,” Ryzinre muttered bitterly. “Shouldn’t have given it to you…”

“You’re alive,” Shaelith said firmly. “You’ll be safe soon, I promise.”

Ryzinre’s hollow laugh was worse than any reproach as she pounded her fist violently on the slight bump on her belly.

What else should I say? ‘I’m sorry I was too cowardly to die so as not to devalue your sacrifice’?

As the goblin screams behind them grew louder, Shaelith activated her shaky kinesis glyph and hurled loose debris back down the hallway, even thoughthatprobably wouldn’t slow them down for long.

“Faster!” urged Benderast. “The exit is just ahead!”

Hopefully with reinforcementswaiting for us.Otherwise, this escape attempt will be very short and end very ugly.

Then they finally reached a hole in the tunnel ceiling and lo and behold, there were indeed two figures looking down on them, a stocky dwarf and a wiry Sylvyn.

“About bloody time, Benderast!” rumbled a voice with a heavy Dwarvish accent.

The dwarf leaned forward, and Shaelith could see that he had a chronosteel arm and was wearing a blood-stained armor. “We heard a commotion a while ago. I think they’ve discovered the exit.”

The Sylvyn beside him turned his watchful amber eyes to something on the surface, keeping his bow taut. “There are goblin patrols out here too, but they’re still searching. I think around sixty of them, but I’m not sure.”

Then something fluttered down from above, and Shaelith forgot her exhaustion for a moment. Is that Umilari wing dust?

And indeed,an Umilari landed softly in front of them in the tunnel, a slender humanoid figure with golden-brown skin and four moth wings that wrapped around her like a cloak as it landed. Her large, faceted eyes gleamed opaline, and fine antennae twitched nervously on her head.

When she spoke, her voice was melodic, but with a strange rhythm. “The surface above the exit is clear, but surely not for long!”

A real Umilari, wow! She is strangely beautiful.

“Companions, meet the Princess! Princess, these are my companions!” Benderast grinned broadly.

Shaelith didn’t correct the title, since she way too exhausted to care and besides, they definitely had other problems.

At least Benderast’s companions took over the evacuation with reasonable efficiency. The dwarf supported two women with surprising gentleness, helping them climb up with his chronosteel arm. The Sylvyn received the women at the top. The Umilari hovered above them and helped to pull the women up, periodically buzzing to the surface briefly, presumably to see if all was still well there.

But they were too slow and worst of all, the goblins were suddenly quiet now. That’s not good.

Shaelith’s blood froze in her veins as astrange voice echoed through the tunnels behind them.The voice was cultured and frighteningly calm.

“My dear guests, are you already leaving? How terribly rude.”

Crimson light flooded around the bend of the tunnel, like blood flowing over dark stone.

“A boss fight?” Benderast’s eyes lit up. “Awesome!”

If he keeps talking shit like that, I’ll drown him myself next time.

The rescued women huddled closer together and Ryzinre clawed at Shaelith’s arm, her fingers digging painfully into her skin. “Not again. Please, not again.”

Heavy footsteps echoed through the tunnel,leisurely and unhurried andthe quiet clanking of plate armor mingled with a grinding sound.

“By Forge Father’s Hammer,” The dwarf cursed. “We need more time!”

The crimson glow grew brighter andthen atall figure appeared in the bend of the tunnel.

The figure was clad in jagged crimson plate armor that looked as if it had been forged from coagulated blood. A crown-like helmet hid the face and in an armored fist, thefigure dragged a massive macecovered in red runes across the ground.

This was the one the goblins had called Master, she was sure of it.

“Quick,” Shaelith shouted and pushed herself in front of the women. “Get out of here. I’ll buy you some time!”

Benderast stepped up beside her and had his sword already drawn. “Not alone, Princess! I could do with the XP.”