Page 70 of I Ran Away to Evil
“I would neverforceyou, Warren.” Rufus’s calm voice came from inside a cell when Keith arrived at the dungeons shortly after breakfast. “If you don’t want to talk about how hard it is being the navigator, we can change the subject, but the subject does seem to eat at you.”
The beastman reassured the panicked youth sitting across from him in the locked cell. Warren was missing a great many teeth, and his words slurred with spittle.
“It’s just not right. They wanted me to navigatethe Dark Enchanted Forest. And the boss kept yelling at me whenever we had to backtrack,” Warren grumbled. He took a swig of water and then asked, “How do youlivehere, General Rufus?”
Rufus smiled. “I can only say that you get used to it.”
“Well, I don’t wanna get used to it! I wanna go home,” Warren said. “How is takingeggsbreaking the law? Nobody complained when I harvested floofpoof eggs!”
Rufus began listing off the laws that he had, indeed, broken, “Article Twenty-Three of the Classification of Nilheim Districts, Section Two of Citizen and Denizen:
Monster races which maintain communicable soul sapience are to be treated as native citizens of Nilheim.
“And further, Article Seventy-Eight of the Classification of Collection, Section Six of Harvest and Hunting:
Hunting denizens or citizens of Nilheim by foreigners shall be punishable by the Secord Order.
“Which is why you have been deposited here for questioning.”
“But eggs can’t communicate. So’s they ain’t a citizen or a denizen or whichever,” Warren argued. “They’s justeggs.”
“And you are just a mercenary. With no one to hear you scream,” Keith commented offhandedly from where he stood, leaning against the cell and smiling viciously. To Rufus, he said, “Why not quote childhood labor law? Section Two:
the action of using for profit any offspring, living or dead, not yet of age, shall be deemed illegal unless approved by a merchant guild application.”
“I was going for the long-winded, roundabout approach where you convince someone to change their mind through their own dealings.” Rufus sighed. “But yes, Section Two does apply.”
“Does that mean I ain’t going home?” Warren shriveled up under the look Keith sent him.
The Dark Lord smiled a very toothy grin. “Depends on who hired you, now, doesn’t it.”
“It were merchants!” Warren offered. “Servalt merchants. But merchants.”
“Excellent. I’ve been looking for an excuse to deal with the corruption from Servalt bleeding into my realm.” Keith speared his general with a gaze of iron. “When the war is done, Servalt is next. And you’ll be in charge of cleaning it up, Rufus.”
The therianthrope kept his professional demeanor in front of the prisoner but gently sighed. “Of course, my liege. Right away, my liege.”
Keith left the dungeon, satisfied that things were going to be solved without much need for interference.
CHAPTER 45
You Aren’t Napping on My Bridge, Are You?
Henrietta
I admit it.
I boughtso manyshiny, pokie things. In my defense, the dwarves madevery niceshiny, pokie things.
After dinner, I went on a romp about the outpost, and I came back with three new throwing daggers, a silver boot needle, a hair tie with dangling lock picks, a mithril-plated fan with a belt hook, and a small polish kit for my Hero sword.
Craigy Hammerbottom, who had sold me the polish kit, had even offered to throw in the first polish for free! He might have drooled a bit as I handed over Jacqueline Tiamat la Fleur. She was a very beautiful [Hero Sword] that I’d pulled out of a stone dragon mural in the Depths of Despair Dungeon. Her hilt was made of fine twists of orichalcum, and her blade was mithril. The grip was made out of sea drake hide, with a sea drake scale curved pommel.
Jacqueline wasn’t a very big talker for a magic sword. She spent most of her time sleeping, but when she was awake, she could be quite a handful. [Water] was her primary element, but on a critical success, she gave out [Void] damage.
She was my key to defeating the Dark Lord.
Keith’s mother had been a nephilim; half demon general and half seraph paladin. If he took after her in any capacity than he was unlikely to possess [Void] damage resistance.
