Chapter 10: Stuck in Mud

I didn’t realize committing to heroism would involve so much walking. Thick, lush forest flanks us on either side as we trek down the dirt road. The scenery was beautiful at first but now I’ve sweated through my clothes and my feet hurt. We’re only halfway through our second day of travel. God I could use a drink, something with ice. Better yet, how about a freakin carriage!? Unfortunately, the small town of Provo didn't have any to lend us. It’s fine. I guess I could use the fresh air and exercise. I never really got out much in my past life, just back and forth between work and home.

I’m not wearing the armor now, I can't just waste the battery for something like this. After the battle, I’m sitting a little above 50%. Most of the special functions I had access to are locked again. Minerva let me know, I need to be at least above 90% to access spellcasting functions. This whole battery thing is getting really annoying and I doubt more of those mana spheres are going to just drop out of the sky. I need a more reliable way to obtain mana. We shuffle along, as I try to think of a solution. Rina and Kizzik are a few steps ahead of me. They don't seem nearly as bothered as I do by all the walking. The elf girl still refuses to look at me, not like I really blame her. How would I feel if I had a constant reminder of my friend’s death following me around. She hasn't been hostile towards me per se but I don't try to push my luck. I wish there was something I could do to make things less awkward. Wait a second…

Minerva. Can I summon separate pieces of the suit instead of the whole thing?

[This is possible. Depending on how small the part, it can stay summoned indefinitely.]

Perfect! I send the mental instructions to the Ai. It takes only a second for the piece to be summoned. My face is now covered by the suit’s visor. Need to hide your face? Quick and easy mask summon! I can't bring Vergil back to life but I can respect his friends by hiding his face from them. The two of them turn towards me to see what I’m doing. The change is subtle but it’s like a small weight has been lifted off them when they look at me. I’m happy I can fix something if only a little bit.

It's early evening when we arrive at a small village. The map we brought has it labeled as Mud. I’m being serious, it's a village called mud. It's not even that muddy here to be honest. The people look a little less pleasant than the ones in Provo. They seem rougher around the edges. That must come with living further out in the wild territory. There’s no large walls here to protect these folks. We make our way down the single road. It’s lined with a few buildings on one side. A tavern, a hospital, a two story inn, and a general store. The other side of the road has some houses and livestock pens. We’re passed by a couple of guys that look very shady. They leer at us a little too long for my comfort. Their hoods are pulled up to cover their faces and they both carry swords at their waist. Probably not town guards if I had to guess.

We hit the general store first to grab a few supplies, some food, an updated map of the area, and some potions. Kizzik shows me the difference between a healing potion and plain old cough syrup. Apparently, it's common in some places to swindle adventurers by selling them the latter at the price of a potion.

“It’s all about how the light hits it see?” They hold up a bottle for me to inspect. “I’ve heard too many stories of people winding up dead cuz some deadbeat shopkeep wanted to make some extra coin. Trust no one kid.”

I take Kizzik’s words as sage advice. It's not much different than how it was in my world. Everyone’s ready to step on you just to get ahead. I feel like my paranoia might come in handy here after all .

We finish up at the shop and go to the tavern for supper. It's a large and very dirty looking wooden building. The sign hanging crookedly on the front just says (food) in smeared paint. The inside is just as dirty as the outside unfortunately. There’s a few stained tables. The rickety chairs don't seem like they’ll even hold my weight! There’s also a long bar. The only other patrons sit there, sipping on ale. We sit down and an older looking Bellua woman comes to take our order. Large floppy rabbit ears sit atop her kinky black hair, her eyes are big and brown. Beautiful if not a little vacant. She’s wearing an old tattered dress and a messy apron. As she speaks I can see her two large front teeth.

“Welcome in, folks. Name’s Lappy. What can I getcha?”

There’s a menu hanging from the bar with just two items on it. ‘Breakfast’ and ‘Dinner’.

“I’ll have the um… Dinner, please.”

“Gonna be rabbit stew tonight, that alright?”

I’m taken aback by the idea. I’m not sure how to respond. Wouldn't that be… I don't know, offensive?

“Stew will be fine, thank you.” Rina hands the woman a couple coins and she leaves us.

The elf pulls out the new map we just bought and spreads it open on the table. There are several large red markings on the stretch of road leading out of Mud.

“Bandit sightings. There’s so many of ‘em too.” Kizzik says.

“We could try to find a route around them, but that would mean climbing Drakken Peak. It’ll add at least another three days to our trip. Time we don't have.” Rina bites her thumbnail, trying to think.

They’d let me know before we started our journey that bandits are the most common threat a traveler will come across. Despite not being monsters, they’re still extremely dangerous. Army deserters, thieves, vagabonds. They form together into gangs that terrorize rich and poor alike. The larger gangs control vast areas of wild territory. It's mostly uncharted and dangerous woodland, so even the military doesn't try to route them. As I look at the map, I can tell something like that might be happening here.

Our waitress comes back with three steaming bowls of stew. My stomach growls loudly as the savory aroma hits my nostrils. I realize that I’m famished after a long day of sweaty hiking. Just before she sets the bowls down, the front door swings open. Another Rabbit Bellua bursts through, almost falling down as they do. This person is younger, a child actually. He’s scruffy and terrified. The little boy rushes over to our waitress and grasps her apron, desperation in his eyes.

“Lappy! She’s gone! They took her!”

“What?! Who did? Where’s your sister?!”

“That's what I’m tryin to tell you! They grabbed her!”