Damn it!!

Almost dropping the glass of wine from his hand, the priest jumps out of the chair.

Silently cursing under his breath, he pats down his rumpled robes to calm himself down.

Scrying magic only showed the images that the wearer of the crystal could see. So far, the priest had been watching mainly in the Minotaur’s point of view. The dwarf was too short to provide a good look at the happenings in the forest while the hag kept on moaning and groaning incessantly.

The world had turned upside down when the raven flew at the Minotaur’s chest  with claws outstretched, almost as if that foul creature was headed straight towards him.

Confused, the wheels turned in his mind as he finally realized, the armless Minotaur had kicked the bird!

And then the images had cut out. Right at the moment the minotaur had sent the raven hurtling through the air, fluttering wildly like a pennant released from its tethers. While he watched with bated breath to see if the raven would crash into the goblin-

Bzzt!

The scrying crystal had gone dark.

He should have expected it, since the images had been acting glitchy and cutting out often the moment the trio of filthy slaves entered the Wildlands.

Again with the bad reception!!

The show was over. It was time to get rid of the fearsome pest. Grasping the mana stone in his palm to trigger the explosion, he sends in the mana.

The priest glances down at the table before him, where laid the three slave papers-

If the mana stones exploded, these magic contracts should disappear. This was the only way to confirm if the bombs had successfully gone off without eyes on site.

-But they still sat there, undisturbed..

Again, he sends the signal to overload the crystal.

Nothing happens.

Whatever was interrupting the connection with the scrying crystal must be interrupting the ignition of the bomb. He pats himself on the chest again and takes deep breaths.

Next to the slave contracts was a small box, ornate enough to make one think it contained jewelry. Within it, lay a smaller blue crystal nestled on a velvet cushion.

This was a mana stone created specifically for contact between priests. Though the cost to manufacture was cheaper than the scrying crystals that relayed both sight and sound, they still cost the Empire a pretty penny. Each of these communication crystals were carefully lent out when deemed necessary by the Head Priests of each temple.

For this mission, the comm crystals were given to himself and the other priest, stationed in the village nearest to the Wildlands. There were probably others, though he didn't bother considering who they were or what they were doing. It was better to keep your head down and follow the words of the Order to keep out of trouble.

He should be glad he wasn't that guy, delegated to watching a cursed land in real time while surrounded by a bunch of poor country folk. At least he could drink wine here.

Bringing the blue stone to his lips, "Greetings, fellow servant of Light. Have you any sights on the raven?"

After a slight pause, the response returns through the now-glowing crystal.

"Greetings. No, Priest Anpiel. The scrying crystal connection was lost after the raven was hit by the Minotaur."

"I see."

A long pause. Both knew what the other was thinking. 'Why didn't you set off the mana bomb?'

Priest Lox, stationed outside the Wildlands, was the first to broach the subject.

"Priest Anpiel, I was surprised you didn't destroy the slaves the moment you caught sight of the raven."

Taking a seat again on his chair,
"..........The image was too choppy, and with the slight delay caused by distance....I wanted to make sure the bombs would hit." he swirls the wine in his glass, fiddling with it as he comes up with excuses.

And he wasn't lying! It seemed the closer they got to the raven, the less stable the connection had been..

"I understand. I've been dealing with the same issues likewise."

Priest Anpiel quickly changes the subject.
"Either way, the image has been gone for a while now, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has." The sounds of wood creaking come through the stone. Priest Anpiel curls his lip at the sound. There were definitely no proper cushioned chairs in that village. Sitting on wood furniture, like a commoner? Barbaric. "....And I believe it will continue for a while yet."

"What makes you say that?"

Priest Lox peers out the splintered wood frame of the village watchtower. Outside lay the Wildlands. But with the heavy mists currently swirling around the entrance, it was impossible to see even the faintest hint of green tree beyond it. He had never seen it this thick before. 

"The mists have returned. This time, it's much thicker than before."

-------

You're with child?

But you look so....

Ugly? Old? Both words popped up in my head, but I don't bother to finish the sentence. It was rude to comment on a woman's age or appearance. What was she even? She didn't seem human from the unnatural color of her hair. 

Appraisal!

[Appraisal has failed]

Failure? It's been a while since I last saw that. I'd finally worked my way to be able to appraise most everything here in this forest and get the name and basic description. But it didn't work on the woman. 

Are you giving birth now?

On the ground in front of us, she grunted and curled into a tighter fetus position, then uncurled. The dirt underneath her was stained from the blood streaming down her back. I couldn't tell if she was in labor or if she was having some sort of fit from the wound I'd given her.

Soon. The pains come more frequently.

It lessens now.

Huffing, she sits, up, wiping her brow and turning to us.

This lady had pretty eyes, now with her pained expression relaxed a bit. Unlike the dark green of her hair, her eyes were bright green, like the color of freshly mowed grass. Full of spirit, even with the back injury that made her wince as she breathed; and a child in her stomach on top of that.

Greenie grasps her under the armpits and drags her to lean against a tree after I ask him. Of course, he quickly picks me back up and creates distance between us and the trio right after.

The situation was getting even more chaotic. I had two beings straight out the pages of a fantasy novel kneeling in front of me while a hag was telling me she was about to give birth. And Greenie and I were both injured, him toting me around like he was a very ugly, muscular little girl with her stuffed bird toy.

So you want me to help you give birth?

Was that why she'd tracked me down here using her heebie jeebie tree magic with the other two in tow?

Ouch!

Hot pain lances through me when I readjust my position in Greenie's arms. 

But then why attack me and hurt me this badly?  I couldn't fly, and barely could even hop properly. This was the most injured I'd ever been in both lifetimes.

Thud. 

Thud. 

Thud.

My heart beats quickly in my chest. Wait was that my heart? I don't know what was happening anymore. My body was in pain and this woman gasping on the ground before us. Everything was in chaos.

And my head was throbbing like someone was doing the conga in my brain.

Conga dancing. Now that was fun. Unlike the chicken dance, which was embarrassing if you were the only one doing it, but conga dancing..It was embarrassment for all, which was pretty fair.

My head relaxes against Greenie's filthy chest, still smeared with the dry poop that had somehow transferred from his back.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

I can feel my focus dimming as the blood rushes in my head.

If I died now, would I wake up back in my human body, to live another day where I might someday conga?

Thud. 

Thud.

Shaking my head, I fight against the black the frays the edges of my vision. Seriously, why was I thinking about the conga now!? Was I that near death!???

Master!???

The worry was evident in Greenie's emotions as he frantically calls me through Thought Transmission, still being careful not to jostle me.

Unless I made a new achievement somehow, there was no way evolution would be an option to heal me.

Greenie, can you put pressure on my wound?

How, Master?

Pressing my own good wing against the part where my wing connected to my chest, I showed him. He was a quick study, pressing thick green fingers against my wound, while the blood flow seemed to be lessening.

Ding~!

[Resistance: Pain Resistance upgraded from LV 2 to LV 3!]

[You now have sharpened focus and increased mental processing speed the greater your pain increases.]

Unlike the strange forceful calmness that would descend upon me when I spiraled into a panic or depression, this time it was like the calm, logical parts of me were emphasized, putting things into perspective.

Hahhhh.

Breathing out deeply, I quickly think. And like that notification had said, time truly did slow down when I began to think on the next step. The groans coming from the old lady on the ground was more drawn out, the feeling of Greenie's chest rising in and out with each breath he took becoming slower as well.

I needed to find a way to seal my wound. There was no point to any of this if I kicked the bucket in Greenie's arms.

Buckets. Hmm.

Buckets reminded me of mud from a pottery workshop in school. Pottery....Clay...Clay!!

The lightbulb goes off in my head. There was clay at the lake!!

I would use clay to seal my wound!!!!

Yep, that was going to be our next order of business! But for now, Greenie keeping a tight hold on my wound would have to do. Turning back to the lady, I release that odd focus. It was like unfocusing my gaze on one certain thing, to take in the entire picture. Like loosening a muscle.

But it works, and time speeds back up again.

The frown between the woman's dark green eyebrows relaxes, the tight grip on her stomach relaxing as the labor pains seem to pass.

No, my time is limited. My kind do not survive the birth, you see.

She smiles sadly as she runs her palm over her belly. So she was dying anyways...

Master, we go!

Greenie moves to stand up.

Look quick, finish!

He was practically the embodiment of my base desires, of me wanting to run away from this place, of that expectant, almost worshipful look in the old woman's eyes.

This woman was dying anyways. We could leave if we wanted to...

I poke my head out a little further from between Greenie's arms. His steps were surer now, a sign that he was recovering from his concussion. The Savage Goblin Rare was a good choice. Greenie could bounce back more quickly after physical altercations.

No Greenie, stay.

But.......was I being weak if I chose to help her? Helping someone dying like her wasn't about expectations anymore.

Should I just abandon her for the sake of our own survival? No. I knew that at this moment, I was at a crossroads. If Greenie and I left her and the unborn child here, to be devoured by whatever monster came across the scent of blood, I was no better than the other creatures that fought each other for survival.

And the look on her face as she sat there, watching me get further away as Greenie moved to go would haunt me. 

Please, I request of you. Free us so we can be as we once were.

Hmmm..

How can I be sure this isn't a trap?

I tested her one last time for good measure. Our whole conversation so far had been carried out using Thought Transmission, since I didn't understand the spoken language she used with the Minotaur. When communicating in Thought Transmission, I could not only see the images and meanings sent through pockets of thought, but sense the undertone of emotion and intent beneath it.

From the outside, it must look strange when neither of us spoke, only staring at each other. Even stranger as the goblin that was Greenie carried me closer to the collapsed hag and then started to leave right after.

Perhaps…

Do you have any association with the humans that came here before?

I send her the image of the men in white robes that had shown up at the lake.

Her hands reach up to claw at her throat. To the thick leather necklace that was fastened there. I'd noticed that the dwarf and Minotaur had them too. They were too pretty not to ignore. The way each sparkling gem caught the sunlight was enough to make me drool with want. So shiny and pretty!

They are the Empire. And we are their slaves.

A wave of disgust washes over me, making me shake my head. Slavery!? I'd been obsessing over slave collars!! The pretty stones embedded in each one had been a major misdirection. I thought for sure it was another one of those matching accessory sets like the matching robes the humans had, or this world's equivalent of a friendship bracelet.

I mean, conceptually, a slave collar was a bit like a friendship bracelet, right? Just definitely not the kind of friendship bracelet anyone would want.

And I was getting more confused. Were they runaways? They must be runaway slaves, to be in a forest like this.

Groaning, the hag hunches over.

Honorable One, as much as I'd like to answer all your questions, the pains come again.

Ok. I made up my mind. This wasn't going to be game over for Raven just yet! I was going to survive, and do it on my own terms!! I'm gonna get that easy lifestyle I'd always wanted!!

Nodding to myself, I breathe out roughly through my opened beak. We have to move quickly. Close my wound, and help these people.

It wasn't any sense of personal justice that spurred me. But her pleas for help had stirred something up. It made me realize my mindset was changing without even realizing it. I had been getting too caught up in survival. Which was good, but also bad at the same time. It should be a natural response to want to help others. That ideal had almost been eroded away by the harsh treatment of the humans and monsters that wanted to kill me.

I wasn't going to let a pregnant old woman die in front of me. Even if the two jerks accompanying her did try to kill me. And I really wanted to kill them too. Gouge out their eyeballs with my talons. Sink them in the lake with the rats. Have them squeezed to death by that Mirror Snake. Hahhh. All the options.

But no. I was no monster. Nor was I a human, but let's not contest the details. I am me, and I was going to live the way I want!

Shaking my head to dissipate the sadistic urges, I cock my head at the hag.

This old lady did a good thing in reminding me.

"Aaaaaack!!" She cries out again, tears leaking down her wizened face. Her labor pains must be back.

Thud. Thud.

My body still hurt, albeit not as badly as when I'd first been kicked by that stupendously strong armless Minotaur.

The me that I knew, from the feeling in my gut, and the memories shown to me through the Ildrig's Gates. I would help them.

But, with a catch. 

I'll help you, but you need to give me something in return for it to be a fair exchange.

This was the hospital fee, alright!! There should be some sort of consolation for the pain they were putting me through. Even if the old lady was in pain too. I can feel it through the thought transmission as she replies. We have nothing worth of value to give you.

There's the sword, isn't there?

When my gaze turns towards the dwarf, he immediately crosses both arms and hugs the sword to him as if he'd been listening in to our conversation. It was almost as if he could feel my eyes looking at him even though he was blind.

And answers. I want you to answer as many of my questions as you can, truthfully, while you give birth.

And alsoo....

On a whim, I throw in another condition on top of my demands. They probably didn't want those collars anyways; so I would gladly take them off their necks.

I point to the item my raven eyes couldn't help getting constantly drawn towards. The powerful urge to take it had been hard to resist, from the moment Greenie had kneeled by her side. Like a magnet, those beautiful crystals were. 'Take me Raven, take me!' they called in an enchanting voice. In my head of course. I hadn't gotten that huge red gem in the ice cavern. This was like my consolation prize, brought right to me!

I want all three of your collars.

She touches the thick leather necklace around her throat, embedded with two gems, one blue and one red. I really wanted them. The insidious, dark parts of me had considered the possibility of letting all three of them die in the wild and then come back for the collars...

"Jkjsg ahj jhkj??"

The Minotaur speaks up from his position down on the ground. His questioning tone of voice pretty much made it obvious that he was asking what was going on.

"Njm afj hiahf!" The hag responds in a happy tone, and the Minotaur begins to whuff heavily through his snout, making Greenie scooch away warily. He turns back to me and slams his forehead against the ground several times, tears streaming out the corners of his eyes. What were they happy about now? I was clueless.

No Greenie, we stay.

I had to remind Greenie from edging backwards, bit by bit. He still wanted to leave this place.

Look at the trade we're making. The sword, and the shiny collars. It's a jackpot!

A happy smile on my face, I look at the collars around the trio's necks. Mhhmm. They sure were shiny! Me likey. Helped make the pain in my chest feel a little better, even.

Thank you, Honorable One! The woman bends to kneel like the other two had been doing, but I stop her, waving my good wing as I have Greenie set me down.

I would think about the long term consequences of this actions later. For now, I was gonna get me some shiny collars.

 

One of the Dwarf's skills: