The Homeseeker: An Elemental Adventurer LitRPG

Chapter 28 - Asleep at the Gate

The Narg looked like a troll with an amphibious frog-face. It wore flattened metals as armor on its body and had spikes protruding from the back of its prodigious head. Its eyes were uncanny, small, round, and on opposite sides of its head like a mix between a spider and a toad. The Narg had too many fingers and toes with wretched long brown nails, giving Zalan an uneasy feeling about knowing what kind of movement the creature was capable of. Sharp teeth poked out both its top and bottom lips as it snored contentedly through large, flaring nostrils while it leaned against the castle gates. The gates weren't very wide, maybe large enough to let in two horse drawn carts next to one another, with walls extending past the gate on both sides. In one hand, laying flat on the Narg's open palm, was a spiked wooden club. The spikes were made from bones of various creatures. Zalan shuddered, thinking the bones might be a collection of previous victims.

"Anything I should know about this thing?" Zalan asked immediately. Gorb was quick to nod to give him some context.

"It is powerful. One bad strike and it will kill you instantly. And it can leap very long distances," Gorb said.

"Maybe there's another gate we can go in through?" Zalan suggested.

"And risk giving the Narg time to wake up?" Fran asked.

"It won't matter if it wakes up when we find another way in," Zalan replied.

"If we find another way in," Rep corrected nervously.

"Look, we can overwhelm it and kill it before it even has time to stand up!" Fran said.

"Is that how you beat them before?" Yelsa asked.

"Oh, I have never seen a Narg before in person," Fran replied casually.

"What?" Zalan said, stunned. "And now you just want to pretend you're confident?"

"I am confident," Fran said sternly. "Let me just think of a plan and you can tell me if you dislike the idea."

"I dislike the idea," Zalan replied immediately.

"Maybe after I spell out the plan," Fran rolled her eyes.

"Just look at it! That thing is easily the size of the Giant Gargoyle. You told me to run immediately as soon as you saw that monster. Now, you don't even recognize this one and you want to try and take it on?" Zalan said.

"Yes! This time we will not be ambushed by a creature we do not know is there," Fran said.

"The best way to learn about a creature that you have not yet fought is to fight it," Gorb chimed in stoically.

"You two are impossible," Zalan hissed.

"Look at the size of this castle!" Fran said. "It could take the rest of the day to find another way in. A wasted day where the Satiator may run out on us and we could begin to go hungry. Or we could maintain our strength and go in immediately."

"In addition, going off the paths between cities and castles is dangerous. More powerful monsters tend to live along the roads less traveled," Gorb added.

Zalan looked at the massive castle with its many towers and thought that taking a day to survey the walls was probably a conservative estimate. It could take two days to find another way in. He glanced at Rep. Rep was biting his lip, his eyes analyzing the scene. Zalan sighed, unable to think of another way out. He looked upon the menacing Narg in its temporary slumber and reminded himself that all of this was a dream. He'd had plenty of nightmares before. He could take this thing on.

"All right," Zalan said to Fran. "But you better give us a good plan."

"Excellent!" Fran rubbed her hands together in anticipation and narrowed her eyes in thought. She looked between her companions and the Narg a few times as she processed her ideas. At one point, the Narg shifted in its sleep and Yelsa, Rep, and Zalan flinched in fear, but it remained asleep.