Kobold Life

End of Arch 1: Chapter 10: A New Journey

"So now what?" I asked, looking to Rose for guidance.

We had already done the obvious. None of us had means to put out the fire that Rose had started during the fight, so instead we focused on containment and salvaging. Rose had broken the section of the balcony that connected the guest room to her own stilted room and from the ramp that extended up to it. I had taken to using what water we had to wet the surrounding materials in hopes that the fire would burn itself out before it could spread. Thankfully the grass was damp from frequent rain, and the trees in the area had been cleared to make room for Rose's perimeter. Gabriel dragged pots, baskets, and piles of materials away starting with the collection of bandages which would have made perfect kindling had the fire spread in time. Meanwhile Opal scouted the perimeter for signs of danger ready to alert us if necessary.

Next, we had taken care of medical attention. Thankfully we were mostly intact. Rose's arm was still injured from before, but had mostly healed, and despite the fight didn't seem to be any worse off for it, her bearlike transformation had been able to withstand the orc for the short time that it had been winning the fight. Gabriel and Opal had only arrived at the end and had made it out without a scratch. I was the only one with freshly made serious injuries. The stump of my tail extended about half the length of my forearm from the base of my spine ending with a jagged cut where I had cut it to escape the orc's grasp. It had hurt, but it was surprisingly less painful now than I had been expecting. As far as Rose had explained before, it was a defense mechanism like the lizards from my own world whose tails could come off as a distraction and regrow after. I guessed since the tail was sort of made to do that it would make sense for the pain to be mild. Still it would be months before the tail would be fully regrown, for now I just supposed it was good that the bleeding stopped on its own. Other than that, it was just cuts, bruises, and old wounds.

None of us spoke more than necessary to complete our tasks, simple instructions . No one pointed out how Gabriel's limp and weakness had vanished, other than the initial comment, he did not remark about the technically stolen knife. No one blamed Rose for starting the fire. There wasn't room for conflict, we were hurt, and we needed to recover, distrust was a luxury no one seemed capable of at the moment. It was to be frank, more disconcerting than anything. When we finally completed the task of getting what was left of our supplies out, until the fire spread too far for us to go back in, I was honestly at a loss for how to proceed. What do you do when you live in the jungle, and the only place you thought was defended is destroyed before your eyes? What do you do with the assailant that attempted to take your life lying unconscious at your feet, and how do you continue knowing that this was only the beginning?

"We can't afford to stay here anymore," Rose said, "the defenses were for wild animals not orcs. Obviously, they have found us, whatever is making them like this knows we are here, and it doesn't seem the type to give up easily."

"Where do we go then?" I asked, "Our haven is no longer safe, and Glenjus fell days ago. Do you know somewhere else safe?"

"There are other cities," Gabriel said, "further from the border of the jungle. I say we put as much distance between ourselves and these beasts as possible. Find a large city , one that can hold them back."

Gabriel wasn't privy to the fact the "assassins" had been tracking me before the fight. No one had told him about the scrying orb just before the fight. I would tell him eventually, but for now, it was unnecessary conflict. If he believed they had been after him, he'd probably be a lot more likely to stick around for the time.

"The nearest city other than Glenjus is Stremmond," Rose said, "you can't go there."

"You don't exactly have much room to be picky, how long do you think it will take for them to round up another wave of orcs to send your way. I don't know how many more magic tricks you have, but I doubt that we would survive another attack.