"Wakey wakey, sleepy head." Daggat sang.

Zuss groaned and tried to curl up in the blankets.

"Now, now, don't be difficult. Time to get up." Daggat's voice was full of honey.

With some difficulty, Zuss sat up. She wiped gunk from her eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" Daggat asked. She had been asleep by the fire for a few hours, which would have been the equivalent of a full day's rest.

"Yes, I think so." She mumbled.

"Good," Daggat said. Then he thwacked her, hard, on the back of the head. It was a credit to how drowsy she still was that she didn't dodge.

"Ow!" She clutched the back of her head. "What was that for?"

"Are you an idiot!? An actual moron? I thought Hunter was the slow one. Or Klaw. But no, YOU are the biggest dumbass in our party." Daggat screamed. "What were you thinking?!"

"Hey!" Hunter said.

"What are you on about?" asked Zuss.

"Did you kill that human?"

"Yeah, so what?" She said casually.

Daggat's eye twitched. Then he thwacked her again.

"Daggat, they are getting worked up again," Hunter said. His voice was thick with worry.

Daggat cursed and scurried over to the window. They had a chair blocking the door. The crowd outside was muttering amongst themselves, while the old woman shrilled.

That woman… her aura was surprising. It was larger than Leofrics. Had they been holding out on them? Hiding their strongest warrior? He knew she was old, and with age came… well, a lot of experience. But, why wasn't she running things around here? A quick glance at the rest of the crowd showed that the majority of them were weaker than Daggat.

This, of course, only remains true if Daggat's assumption of aura strength equaling level. It could be some other sort of aura. But, unlike Hunter's aura skills, which were overlayed and separate from his core aura, hers was just one, solid mass.

"See, Zuss. THIS is why you don't just kill people." Daggat gestured towards the window.

She walked over, yawning. "What's the big deal? Nobody liked him, I checked. And he pissed me off."

"Zuss, you can't murder people," Hunter said.

"Why not?"

"Because… it's…" Hunter sighed. "Look, I don't have the energy to explain why murder is bad right now. Daggat, what are we going to do?"

"There are a lot of them out there. More murder?" Zuss suggested.

"No! I'm going to talk to them for a bit." Daggat said.

He didn't dare open the door to talk to the gathered folk. Instead, he just yelled through the door.

"Let's talk about this civilly. What is your issue?" Daggat called.

"Murderers! We've come for revenge." The old woman yelled back.

"Then go seek your revenge elsewhere, you won't find it here."

"Daggat, did one of you kill Desmond last night?" A voice asked. It was Pat, she had been talking to the woman.

"No," he lied.

"See, they didn't do it." One of the bystanders said.

"That's right. You all know me now. I'm good ol' Dag! We wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Now, move along. We have sick people to care for here."

That seemed to please much of the crowd, as they slowly began to disperse. One man threw down a pitchfork in frustration.

The old woman scanned the crowd with an incredulous look on her face.

"No! No! Get back here. Someone CHEWED their way through the roof. Someone the size of a child! I bet my left foot it was the little goblin. The one I caught sneaking around the altar." The old woman said. She began pulling people back into the mob.

"Hey, lady, I don't know who you are. How do we know YOU didn't kill him? You are skinny enough, and you have teeth big enough to chew through a wall!"

Several of the men laughed. Her face went red with anger.

"How DARE YOU! I am the keeper. You will show me-" Se began before getting cut off by a clanging of metal on metal.

"That is enough!" A dwarven voice roared. It was Ketil.

"Oh, Ketil, buddy. This kind of old woman is blaming us for murder. Would you kindly do something about that?"

The dwarf walked up to the front door and withdrew several small contraptions from various pockets then scattered them around the door. They instantly grew and unfolded into a myriad of complex traps.

"Woah! Hey!" Daggat said, "That is a bit unnecessary."

"Alright, Mary, I've trapped the door, already got the back. They won't leave without permission. Now, everyone, move along. We have too much to prepare to waste time here."

The crowd began to disperse again, but this time Mary did not stop them.

"We need to cast them out! Execute them!" The old woman said.

Ketil put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, he had to reach up, "Relax. Leofric left already. We'll just keep them in there until he gets back."

"He took some of them with him. Someone needs to warn him."

"I've already sent a runner. Now, go back home. It's not good for your health to be screaming like this."

Mary grumbled under her breath but hobbled off.

Daggat turned to his companions. "Alright, they are gone and the building is trapped. Thanks, Zuss. Now, we have to run from the village."

"What about the altar?" Hunter asked.

"You think they are going to let us use it?" Daggat scoffed.

"Maybe we can convince them it was… natural causes?"

Daggat gave him a flat look. "Yeah, I don't think anyone not hypnotized thinks one of us didn't do it. Not after him attacking us and all."

A polite knock came from the door. Daggat groaned, that would be Ketil. Might as well let him in. If they overpower him, he could be a hostage.

"Hunter, get the door."

"But-"

"Just do it."

Hunter relented and then moved to the door. He removed the chair easily and then opened it. Ketil and Pote were on the other side. Between them was a collection of deadly-looking traps. Ketil nodded, then simply walked through the traps. They folded and warped to avoid him, Pote as well. As they moved into the building, the traps returned where they were.

"Thank you, now we should talk," Ketil said.

"Was that… a class thing? They just moved aside!" Daggat was still awestruck by the moving machinery.

"Trapper class core feature. An aura that allows me to choose who is affected by the traps. And, just so you are aware, they will tear you to shreds." Ketil explained.

Pote waved a greeting and Daggat moved over to a chair and began to lounge. Hunter stood stiffly, nervously fiddling with his hands, while Zuss stood next to him without a care in the world.

"What can I do for you, Dwarf?" Daggat asked.

"I'll just ask this straight. Did any of your people attack Desmond last night?" Ketil asked.

"Ye-" Zuss started before Hunter kicked her. She stumbled a few feet. "…no?"

Ketil sighed. "Look, you're in charge, right?" He gestured towards Daggat.

"I am."

"I don't want to hear about who did what and so on. We'll figure out what to do later. Fact is, even if you did it or not, you're not well-trusted. But, something does worry me."

"We are an open book," Daggat said.

"Why do you travel with a child?" Ketil's voice took a soft tone.

"What do you mean?" Daggat asked.

"The girl. With the spider features. She can't be older than fourteen. Where are her parents."

"Oh… her. Well, couple of things. One, she is the oldest of us. Two, her past is her own story to tell. That's a touchy subject right now."

"I'm a child too. I think. It's weird with ogres though, and other monsters," Grumbled Hunter.

"You are very powerful for people so… young. Folk generally don't adventure until level six, adulthood. Are you really on your own?"

"We've had a rough time of it. But, we don't let our age define us. We live in a manor I own, we are stronger than most of the people here, fought off an army with only four defenders, and we've slain a demon. So what's your point?"

"My point is, you need supervision. Look, the fact that you are children might lessen your punishment. Banishment, at least. I have children of my own. Pote, here. My babe, Ladel. Let me help you."

"We don't want to be patronized by you," Zuss said.

"I don't mean to be patronizing," Ketil said.

"Then stop treating us like your human children. We aren't." Daggat said.

Ketil's face darkened. "Fine." Three sets of chains appeared in Ketil's hands. Daggat was going to need to figure out how he did that. The dwarf took a step towards the crew.

"You wouldn't dare," Daggat said, eyes narrowing. Hunter groaned and summoned his torch. Zuss, likewise, summoned her weapon. Daggat's spear wasn't far.

"Don't resist. We have a jail that you three will wait in until the others get back. I've sent them a message already." Ketil said. Pote summoned a book.

Now was the time for Daggat to think. What was the best move here? Ketil was stronger than them, for sure. But, Daggat still had his gear from this morning. Potions and bombs. Hunter was an issue, he wasn't sure what he would do. In a pinch, he knew the ogre would fight. But he was undoubtedly furious at Zuss right now. Zuss would fight. But, he also needed more information.

"Wait, wait. Hold on. Look, we don't want bloodshed. Answer a few of my questions and we will go quietly." Daggat pleaded.

Ketil narrowed his eyes and grunted.

"We can hear them out, at least, right?" Pote said. Daggat gave him a grin.

"Alright. Ask."

"Tell me about the old woman. The crazy one who wants us dead."

"That would be Mary. She's the altar keeper."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I get that, but WHY is she so against monsters?"

"It is part of her belief. She thinks monsters only serve to provide challenge and experience for mortals."

"Mortals give experience too. Why is she so strong?"

"What do you mean? She is a frail old woman. No harm to anyone."

"Interesting… what class and level is she?"

"That is a bit personal. But, I don't know. She never brings it up, and no one asks."

"What about Oswine's eye thingy?"

"She hates the man. Practically flees from his presence. Before you ask, I don't know why."

"And you don't find that… suspicious?"

Ketil shrugged "She's been here longer than I have. A part of the community."

"Hmm… alright. What about our poor late Desmond? How come he hated us?"

"His wife and daughter were killed by orcs. He's had an irrational hatred and fear of monsters since then. You were likely also a tool to get him to depose Leofric. Threaten you into doing something to make Leofric look weak. And, well, it worked."

"Hey, we only allegedly killed him," Daggat said, incredulously.

Ketil gave him a flat look. "Alright, I've answered your questions. Now let's go."

Daggat leaned back in the chair and put his feet up. "Ah, about that. I lied."

Daggat kicked off the table into a back roll towards his spear. Zuss acted immediately. The blade of her rope dart flew with precision towards Ketil's face. He managed to dodge the attack, then threw the chains at Zuss. They twisted and curled in the air as though they were alive.

She simply slipped between the flying chains, avoiding them altogether. While Ketil was dealing with her, Daggat made a beeline towards Pote. The younger dwarf was wide-eyed.

He flinched back as Daggat slapped a hand on his tome.

"Thanks for the copy, buddy." Daggat grinned. "But, I will kill you if you start telling a story. Just so you know."

Pote gulped, then awkwardly swung his tome at Daggat, but the goblin was already gone.

Hunter had run off somewhere, his metal foot clanging through the kitchen. "Don't kill these ones!" he roared.

Well, a little maiming never hurt anyone. They just needed to get out, then they would figure out what to do. They would have to meet up with the others. There was no chance he was going to turn away the chance to use the altar. It wasn't even about the free point, anymore. It was stubbornness.

Zuss was a whirling ball of death, her chain spinning faster than he could see. Every few moments it would snake out from different angles towards Ketil. Daggat made sure he kept clear of it.

The dwarf dodged and blocked her attacks. He moved his body subtly to allow the strikes to glance off of his armor. Then he tossed a handful of miniature traps toward Zuss. One beneath her exploded into a pit trap, swallowing a chair. Another blasted sharpened pieces of metal, and then a third became a bear trap and launched itself towards her.

Her body contorted in ways that shouldn't have been possible and dove through the debris. Zuss hissed when she landed and yanked a piece of metal from her shoulder. In the meantime, Daggat was coming up behind him.

But Ketil was a professional and didn't lose track of Daggat. Almost with a casual gesture, he flung a fourth trap to the ceiling. It grew into a swinging log trap, which descended with alarming speed.

Daggat held up his spear with one hand and activated it just before the log struck it. The log met an immovable object, then ricocheted off, spinning to one side. Daggat quickly sliced the rope with the end of his spear, sending the trap spinning off towards Pote, who had to dive out of the way.

"Give up, I've got enough traps to fill this building. You're wasting your time." Ketil said.

A loud crashing of metal and wood exploded from the back door. Had Hunter set off a trap?

"You're right about wasting time," Daggat said, then threw a root bomb at him. The dwarf sidestepped it.

Zuss jumped in the air, caught the jar, spun, and threw it back. It shattered against his back, dousing him in the oil. Daggat ran at him and ducked low. He ran his finger along the ground, lighting it like a match. As he passed, Ketil materialized an ax out of thin air and brought it down on him.

Daggat lit the bomb at the same time as the back of Ketil's ax clipped his temple. The blow knocked his head to the side. What a good guy, Daggat thought, using the blunt side. The pain was easily ignored, so Daggat continued his movement.

Dead roots sprouted over the dwarf. He ripped and tore at them. Pote was cowering in a corner frantically flipping through his tome. Daggat threw a root bomb at him as well, just to be sure.

"Daggat!" Zuss hissed, grabbing his face and turning his head. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, let's go." He pushed Zuss away. He could feel the hot blood pouring down his cheek already, but it was fine. He stumbled a few steps. The world wasn't spinning, but it was drifting.

His sister helped him to the back, where Hunter was waiting.

"Daggat!" He exclaimed. Then he grunted. "Come on, I destroyed the traps out back."

Then Hunter picked him up, but Daggat felt too nauseous to fight back.

A few moments later, they were sprinting towards the edge of town.

Daggat

True Name: Daggat Soul: Monster Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size] Genbloom: goblin [ +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Scavenger; Small Size]

Monster Level: 11

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 11 Dexterity: 11 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 20 Will: 10 Charm: 12

Feats: Encounter: True Angel Ability: Mighty Intellect Act: Fledgling Alchemist Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Devotion [Layered feats] Act: Usurper Act: Touch of Death Act: Reborn by Fire

Skills(0/4): Alchemy: 1 [Source: Fledgling Alchemist] System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] System Assistant: 2 [Perk: Semi-sentience] Mind Codex: 1 [Synergy: Mental notes + Copy Tome] Party Leader: 1 [Source: Usurper]

Notable Natural Skills: Literacy: Apprentice

Biotraits (1/11): Base size: Small [Source: Goblin] Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin] Enhanced Night Vision [Source: Gremlin] Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin] Temperature Resistant Skin [Synergy: Fire Resistant Skin + Cold Resistant Skin] Scavenger [Source: goblin] Death Sight [Source: Touch of Death] Increased Pain Tolerance Fire Core Beguiling Presence [Synergy: Hypnotic Gaze (Dominating Gaze, Mesmerizing Gaze) + Hypervocal Cords (Beguiling Voice)] Aura Sight

Transformations: Drakeheart Form: +2 strength +2 charm Extreme Temperature Resistant Scales [Synergy: Fireproof scales + Temperature resistant Skin] Fire breath

Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Dark vision [Night Vision Enhanced] Deepen Shadow

Regenerator form: Advanced Regeneration

Other: Variant: +10 Intelligence Skill potions used: 1/5

Notable Gear: Strange pure-white sword shard Spear of Bracing 2 Mihr Contracts Strange Ring

Hunter

True Name: Hunter Soul: Mortal/Monster Genseed: Ogre [ 8 Str, 2 Dex, 6 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Ogre's curse; Large Size]

Hearth Tender Level: 8 [+1 Str, +1 Con, +4 Wil; Invoke Torch, Hearth Fire] Monster Level: 3 [Source: Ichor of the Beast]

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 14 Dexterity: 7 Constitution: 13 Intelligence: 9 Will: 15 Charm: 8

Feats: Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Vile Concoction Act: Devotion [layered feats] Act: Slayer Ability: Unshakable Will Act: Gluttonous Feast

Skills (0/10): System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] Invoke Torch: 2 [Perks: Mighty Torch] Hearth Fire: 2 [Perks: Healing Warmth] Sacred Flame: 2 [Perks: Debilitating Warmth] Encompassing Warmth: 1 Brilliant Bash: 2 [Perks: Hearth Flame] Bounty Hunter: 1 [Source: Slayer] Seek: 1 Fearless: 1 Peaceful Presence: 1 Condense Aura: 1

Notable Natural Skills: Healing: Apprentice

Biotraits (1/3): Base Size: Large Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Vile Concoction] Hunger Core Gorger

Other: Curse: Ogre Curse Boot of Rashail

Zuss

True Name: Zuss Soul: Monster Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size] Genbloom: hobgoblin [ +1 Str, +3 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Nimble Fingers; Small Size]

Monster Level: 11

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 10 Dexterity: 16 Constitution: 8 Intelligence: 8 Will: 10 Charm: 9

Feats: Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Devotion [Layered feats] Ability: Mighty Alacrity Act: Shadow Born

Skills(0/2): System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] Deep Shadows: 1 Path Finding [Type: Climbing]

Notable Natural Skills: Stealth: Apprentice Climb: Apprentice

Biotraits (2/11): Base size: Small [Source: Hobgoblin] Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin] Enhanced Night Vision [Mutations: Dark Vision; Source: Gremlin] Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin] Improved Body Control [Synergy: Improved Balance + Improved Nerve Conduction + Improved flexibility; Mutations: Autonomous Reflex] Nimble Hands and Feet [Synergy: Nimble hands + Prehensile Feet; Mutations: Mighty Grip] Cold Resistant Skin Enhanced Visual Acuity Shadow Core [Source: Shadow Born] Shadow Smith

Transformations: Drakeheart Form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Smoke Aura Lesser Wings

Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Enhanced Scent Deepen Shadow+, Widen Shadows

Notable Gear: Blade of a Thousand Screams Knife of the Traveler Mana Crystal Set Tiara

Pet: Name: Birdy Genseed: Cat

Attributes: Strength: 2 Dexterity: 4 Constitution: 2 Intelligence: 2 Will: 2 Charm: 3

Biotraits: Lesser Wings

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