It took a while to get past the cleared area around the wall, once again I’d overestimated myself or underestimated the distance. One day I’d probably figure that out. I walked towards the entrance, as simple as it was, and got my first glimpse of the town beyond. A few things stood out to me, the first was that everything looked the same. The walls were logs, stuck with one end in the ground a cut sharp tip on the other side. On the surface nothing seemed off about that, in fact, it seemed pretty normal, not that I knew why that was.

The weirdness I felt came when I saw the buildings. Each and every one of them was made of the same logs, laid on top of each other with thick mud, or clay or something between them, I couldn’t really tell. There were no doors, just flaps that looked to have been cut from larger scraps of cloth. The whole inside area was a mix of dirt, mud, or patchy grass, with more stumps here or there. The buildings themselves were a bit varied in layout, only obvious by the vast differences between some. Some were the size of a single room, others were long and could fit maybe three or four of the same small spaces inside them. Finally laid out in the middle were larger circles with logs surrounding simple pits with pots over them. There weren't that many buildings either, maybe seven total? Some were obviously larger than others.

I had paused upon noticing the consistency, something inside me feeling a bit uncertain about my actions. What exactly was this place? I just went ahead and wandered in thinking it was pretty normal. Only now that I was standing here considering the utter strangeness I was presently feeling did anything seem wrong at all. It was like seeing things from a distance didn’t really set anything off, but the details did. The smell of wood everywhere, the lack of moss, or anything that grew on things after a while. That was it… This entire place was new, probably built all at once. But how much effort would that take? How many hands? I took a step backward deciding that this was a bad idea, after all, only to find someone behind me.

“I’d stay right where you are.” A man said from behind me.

“Hi… I thought this was a town…” I explained without turning. I now very much doubted that.

“You're not the first to make that mistake.” The man replied padding at me through my poncho. Grabbing at me here he raised up my poncho and while I had a small urge to stop him I managed to resist it and a moment later he snapped the simple fiber belt that kept my dull knife secured.

“Umm.. that's mine…” I tried to protest without moving too much. I was hoping he was just being cautious.

“You won’t need it.” he said grabbing my shoulder firmly with his hand, one that easily wrapped around my smaller figure.

Goodbye… my friend! As shitty as that knife was I’d done a lot with it.

I glanced back to see his hand and realized just how massive it was. Maybe it was because I’d spent so much time with the goblins. But I was positive that this man’s hand was maybe ten to twenty percent larger than the elf man’s hands had been. Seeing as how he had looked so human, I might have actually been judging everything based on that. Either that or this guy was just enormous. I couldn’t help but lick my lips as the idea of how massive his cock would be flickered into my head. I tried to shake that free, “Stop that!” I chastised myself in my own head, focus!

“Go on, move.” He stated and then we were off, I had to practically run as he guided me forwards towards one of the buildings.

“Um… Uh… Uh… Where? Are we going?” I asked as I was nearly trampled by the beast of a man behind me. “I could just leave…” I offered after a moment.

“Just move.” He insisted.

I decided to focus on not being stepped on and I stepped up three steps into the building he was ushering me towards, each step was a chunk of log that had been cut incrementally higher, and the steps themselves were a bit high, but not difficult for my legs, I wasn’t that short, just scrawny.

The inside of the building was lit by sunlight let through the top of the roofs which were simply open to let a breeze, smoke, or light in and out. Still, it was imperfect and while rain would fall down the two outwards faces, a storm from the other two directions would likely soak the building's contents.

My attention on the architecture was cut short when a voice called out at me, “Meryl!”

I frowned, glancing down to find two figures who were shackled to a pole in the middle of the room. The most striking feature about them immediately caught my eyes, orange hair, black strips, or flecks in the man’s case. Two triangular ears on top of each head, bits of white fluff inside each one. Was this what I looked like?

“So you already know each other. Fantastic, you can explain things then.” The man behind me said as he pulled me to the middle of the room and a few moments later my leg was shackled to the same pole as the others, firm black wrought iron chafing into my relatively pampered ankles.

I watched as the man stood up glancing over the three secured there, like a looming sentinel the man was practically a wall. He left after a moment. No sooner than he had vanished beyond the flap that separated the inside and the outside before I was suddenly wrapped up by two twig-like arms.

“Meryl!” The feminine voice said as she snuggled into my back.

After a moment I was able to turn and regard my fellow captives. I didn’t have a clue who they were. Should I just play dumb? Pretend to be a look-alike? Maybe amnesia? Should I play the role of a traumatized damsel? Try to figure out who they were?

I took too long to decide and the young woman, maybe even a girl frowned at me, “Meryl? Is something wrong?”

I didn’t really have to feign embarrassment and confusion, the situation was awkward as hell instantly. I shook my head, “I… I don’t know that name. Or you.” I guess I decided to play it more honestly, however that turned out.

“You… don’t know us?” The girl said turning toward the young man who was at least a foot taller than me. He was bigger all around actually, but he had the appearance of youth to him, probably not fully grown in yet.

“Meryl… We’ve been looking for you since the new moon.” He explained. Then as if he realized someone might call him out on it he added, “Well we’ve been in here… but we left the village near the full moon, it's been over a full cycle since.” After a moment realizing perhaps that I wasn’t just playing a joke on him he obviously grew more concerned, “Meryl… you really don’t remember? Did something happen? You’ve lost weight...”

I wasn’t about to admit to living with goblins, the dungeon had already well-educated me on how they were considered. Maybe I could just say… “I woke up in a cave… I don’t remember much. I left to look for a town, and they captured me.” I didn’t want to complicate things when it wouldn’t help as long as I avoided the goblins and the elf man my story was probably fine. Keep things simple and easy, plus if I didn’t just start making shit up I could add things over time.

They both looked at each other then back at me both uncertain.

“Meryl… Are you sure you don’t remember us?”

I nodded, “I don’t remember anything really. Sometimes things come to me. But so far nothing has with both of you…” I offered, feeling a bit sympathetic to their problem. “Were we friends? Family?” I asked trying to get something out of them.

The girl seemed to be taking this the hardest I could practically see the tears welling up in the corners of her golden eyes as she replied, “I’m… I’m your younger sister.”

Ouch… I couldn’t help but blink, so family it was. I turned to the man, “Does that make him my brother?”

The man chuckled, “Not… yet.”

“Oh… So you two.” I gestured between them.

My so-called sister nodded, “We’ve not yet performed the bonding ritual, but our parents fully support us forming a family.”

I couldn’t help but have a morbid curiosity, I gestured to myself, “Do I? Have someone?” I asked.

She frowned, “He was with you when you left the village to head to the peak.”

“The peak?” I asked quite confused.

“It’s part of the ritual… You both never returned. I decided to try and find you, and Joan insisted on coming with me.”

I nodded, “I understand… What was your name?” I asked my would-be sister.

“Oh. I’m sorry, it seems so strange to have to introduce myself. I’m Kay.”

“I guess it's nice to meet you both…” I offered, feeling quite awkward in all of this.

Kay seemed even more awkward now that I’d said that, “Meryl...”

“How long have you both been here?” I asked.

“Days… maybe even a week now. I don’t know what they plan to do with us, but they don’t want us to leave.” Joan said.

“Well that means they aren't looking for… our tribe, right? Besides if they meant them harm, they would just kill us.” I offered, deducing and trying to understand the situation as fast as I could.

“Meryl… that's terrible.” Kay said.

“What is? I thought it was realistic.” I replied confused. Was I too brutally honest?

Kay just frowned at me as though I’d destroyed some part of her innocence.

Joan on the other hand said, “I think you have the right of it. Whatever these humans are doing, or for whatever reason, they are here. They plan on releasing us at some point. It's just a question of when.”

That was unfortunate, I’d come in here to learn things, and while I now knew that I shouldn’t have come inside, I knew little else. The family situation was just a complication that would only make things harder. They would no doubt want to take me back to their tribe. This wasn’t a good thing, it would tie me down with Meryl’s life and family that didn’t actually matter to me. Nor the dungeon for that matter. I had aspirations damn it! Why hadn’t I listened to Scout!? Bad Anna!

It had taken the better part of a day to walk here. If Scout did indeed return to the cave after several hours as I told him… no doubt he had no idea how long that was. Well, I guess best case one or two days before the dungeon knew I was captured. Three or four they might do something, but I doubted it. I was a lost cause… The first thing I try to do outside the dungeon, and I mess it up.

No, I very much had to consider myself alone. Left to its own plans and devices the dungeon would hide in its cave for years trying to acquire resources and mana. Only then would it consider doing anything else.

I’d be rotting in a hole by then. I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Are you alright? You look quite serious.” Kay offered.

“Hard not to when I consider the situation.” I admitted.

Kay frowned again.

“Is something wrong? You keep looking at me like that.” I pointed out.

“You… You just feel so different. Nothing... like my sister.” Kay said somberly. “I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through to forget us… to change this much in such a short time.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know what to say to that.”

Kay leaned in and wrapped her arms around me, “I’m here for you Meryl. Please… if you want to talk to me, please do so. This is scaring me.”

I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it only made her look more concerned. I did feel for her some. I wasn’t completely unsympathetic, deep down I didn’t want to be the one to tell her the truth about her sister's fate. Of course, the truth was that I was a member of the group that had destroyed her, the dungeon might have purged her soul or whatever, but I was the one living in her body. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about. So I decided to avoid it.