No matter what world you found yourself living in, there were always legends and old folk tales passed down from generation to generation, and Rafdonia was no exception. There were countless stories of adventurers claiming to have been saved by strange labyrinth beings who could communicate with them. Or that they claimed that they had narrowly escaped being devoured by such beings. These types of anecdotes have existed for as long as adventurers have existed. Of course, there was never any evidence that they were true.
«I think everyone has come up with a story like that at least once during a search».
As Erwen said, this was a scenario that everyone who had ventured into the maze had entertained at least once. Since the labyrinth was filled with all kinds of mysteries and secrets, was it really so strange to imagine that you could find a monster capable of reasoning or speaking inside?
«How interesting...» Unlike Erwen, who clearly didn't believe the group's history at all, Amelia's eyes shone as soon as she heard the «native» words. «And what about the corpses at the entrance?», he insisted. «Did those monsters do that too?».
The woman tilted her head at the question. «Bodies at the entrance... What do you mean?».
«Does not know? There were three».
When Amelia told them what we had found, the woman shuddered. «McHoldin, Princeton, Rick... They were the three they kidnapped during the first ambush... We didn't see them in the town they brought us to, but I never imagined they would be there...».
My frown furrowed. «What do you mean by ambush? Tell me everything since you separated from the Hektz clan. And go into all the possible details».
«What...? How do you know?»
«They were the ones who told us about this island».
«...I see.» The adventurer muttered quietly, grumbling that I should have followed them, before addressing my questions. «Well, after going our separate ways, we started exploring further inland».
They were the first to discover this area, plus a few never-before-seen monsters. Since there was no information about the geography of the island or its inhabitants, they ended up in several troubles. However, they persevered despite the danger, motivated by the prospect of their names going down in history.
«Tentaculan», «Diamont», » Cave Squirrel», «Papagonas», «Baylonta «... Those were some of the new monsters we found here. At first, everything was great. We were making discoveries that would be written for generations to come».
Papagonas and Baylonta were monsters we hadn't encountered yet. I made a mental note to ask them for information about them later.
«But as we headed to the center of the island, we found something strange».
What they had found were footprints leading to the center of the island. The footprints themselves were twice as large as those of a normal person, and there were quite a few of them, as if a group of people had traveled together.
«They were all different sizes, and the prints themselves were flat as if whoever made them was wearing shoes...».
The group of adventurers enthusiastically followed the trail, certain that it would lead them to a new type of monster. As they advanced, the forest became even denser and leafier, and their occasional encounters with other monsters had completely ceased.
«That's when the first surprise attack occurred».
Monsters ambushed them everywhere. They desperately tried to defend themselves, but three of them were kidnapped in the skirmish, including the clan captain's mistress. Naturally, the Silver Lion Clan chased after them, going even further into the forest.
«But we couldn't do much. They attacked us for the second and third time, and many of us ended up dying».
The biggest problem was that even though many of them gave their lives in battle, they were not able to kill a single one of the monsters.
«I don't know why it took us so long to realize it, but the monsters were smart. They could communicate in their own language and use strategies».
When they finally realized it, the rest of the Silver Lion Clan turned their tails and fled. The captain, whose lover had been kidnapped, was furious with his subordinates. However, recognizing that they couldn't handle this on their own, he had no choice but to retreat for now so they could try to find me and ask for help. But by then, it was too late.
«They set a trap for us on the way back. As it was the first time we came to this island, we were forced to return the way we had come. But this time, there was a trap on the road that hadn't been there before...»
After falling into the trap, they were all captured, blindfolded and taken to the town.
«So how did you four escape?»
«Well... one of the monsters let us go...»
«Did he let them go...?»
According to them, this monster was much smaller than the others. He seemed to be a child.
«Have you established any type of relationship with them?»
«No. We couldn't even communicate.»
«Then why did he release them?»
«I just don't know either... The monster came to the cage where they locked us up. He watched us all day and kept saying something, but that's as far as our interaction went».
I kept my mouth shut, but Amelia said what she thought without hesitation.
«It must have made you feel bad».
Erwen agreed. «Looking back, my little sister did the same thing once. Once, everyone was getting ready for a festival, and I remember she constantly visiting the cattle and talking to them. And the day before the festival, he helped them escape».
The adventurers gritted their teeth at Amelia and Erwen's theory, but could not discuss its logic. Deep down they must have already realized it. They had been treated like animals, trapped behind bars, and the only reason they had all survived was because of the innocence and friendliness of a child.
«Haha... the children are all the same...»
Be that as it may, that was his story.
From there, I asked them to tell me more about the monster they had encountered. What did it look like? How strong was he? How many were there in the town? I tried to get as much information out of them as possible so we could decide our action plan.
«Based on what you have told us, I believe we can continue our expedition».
Considering the size of the village, it would be impossible to confront them all. However, their story also suggested that the monsters that lived there varied significantly from individual to individual, much like a human society, where not all of them were warriors or knew how to fight. The main issue was that, unlike us, they had the advantage of being used to the terrain of the island.
But that's not reason enough for us to give up now.
«Guide us to the village», I ordered.
«Are they really going to go there?»
«We came to explore, why not?». I put my hand on one of his shoulders, waiting for his response.
«Then... we will tell you where it is, so you can go on your own...».
«Yes! We would only get in your way if we went with you!».
Their enthusiasm for this plan made it clear that they really did not want to return under any circumstances.
«Do you have your own boat?»
«Yes! We can summon a ship, don't worry».
«I see. Okay, understood. You can go, then.»
"...¿Which?"
«What's happening? If you're sure you can get back to shore, summon a ship, and escape the island on your own, then you should get going.»
The average range of monsters we had encountered on our way here had been three or four. Fortunately, since we were all adventurers, they quickly grasped what I was telling them.
«...We will accompany you to the village.»
«Great.»
Since it seemed like we were going to work together for a while, I asked them their names to memorize them.
Marina, Chen, Kryan y Dennis.
Dennis, the one holding the spear, had been a member of one of the small parties. The other three were members of the Silver Lion Clan.
Although it seems that that clan no longer exists.
«Yandel, I'll take command from here».
For some reason, Amelia pushed me aside and took my usual place at the head of our formation.
«¿Emily? ¿Por qué?»
«Didn't you hear them say there were traps in this forest?».
«Then all the more reason it should...»
«Yandel, you are our leader. If you are hurt or killed, what will happen to the rest of us? Who will lead us then?».
Amelia added that she was confident in her ability to detect traps before we could even activate them, so it was best for her to take the initiative. His logic was sound, so I decided to take a step back and let him guide us for the moment. However, as a tank, it was strange to be behind someone instead of the other way around.
Still, the feeling of being protected... not so bad...
After about two hours of travel, we finally arrived at our destination.
«East... This was definitely the place. It was right under this tree here... What?»
We approached the tree, but its roots were completely sealed. There was no road leading underground as the four of them had claimed.
«What's going on here?»
"No lo se.
«Have you brought us to the wrong place?»
«No! It can not be. You saw them too, Your Honor! The footprints that lead here!»
It didn't seem like he was lying.
I checked the other nearby trees, in case they had the wrong place. However, even then, we couldn't find an entrance.
Does the entrance only open and close with a trigger?
We had no way of knowing how anything worked here. The only thing we could say for sure was that their village was probably hidden somewhere underground.
Crujido.
Suddenly, I saw what appeared to be a child walking a short distance away.
«I'll take the left».
«Then I'll take the right one».
As soon as he emerged from the foliage, Erwen and Amelia chased after him. They quickly cut off his escape route and fought with him to knock him to the ground.
He had blue skin and big eyes, with big fangs sticking out of his mouth. The top of the head stuck out like that of an alien.
«¡Kyaaak!»
The monster fluttered violently against his grip with a bestial howl. Of course, we didn't let that last long.
«Silence».
Worried about the amount of noise she was making, Amelia quickly took out a dagger and put it down her throat. The monster immediately stopped defending itself and looked at me slowly.
«(N-No my mother ...) »
He spoke the ancient language.
***
It seemed that not only was he able to read and write in the ancient language without problems, but he could even converse in it. It seemed a little strange to me, but that was what worried me the least at the time.
«Was it you? The boy who helped the four escape?»
When I spoke to him, the monster's eyes widened in amazement. Why did he suddenly say nothing? He had been begging for his life for a second.
«Aren't you going to answer me?» asked.
«Y-Yes... I helped them escape. At four».
"¿Por qué?"
«Because... I felt bad for them...».
I couldn't help but think that sounded a little cliché.
A kind-hearted child tries to do the right thing with irreversible consequences. It seems to me that I have already heard this story countless times.
«Yandel, what do you say?»
«He was the one who helped them escape. And the reason he did it was because he felt sorry for them».
Although I was talking to Amelia, the group of four we had picked up listened to us and seemed livid.
«How dare that disgusting monster...»
«Your Honor... Will you tell him this for us? We don't thank him in the least for what he has done. Did he think we would thank him after you monsters killed our comrades so mercilessly?»
Needless to say, I didn't translate a word of that. Wasn't this officially the first time someone had chatted with one of the maze monsters? I needed to warm him up so I could get as much information out of him as possible.
«What are they... what are those guys saying?»
«They are saying thank you for saving them».
«O-Oh... Wrong...»
Surprisingly, the boy easily believed my lie. He probably had a hard time reading my facial expression and tone of voice because our appearances and languages were different. However, instead of being scared by these differences, this little monster was curious. It seemed that the children were really the same, regardless of their species.
«But how can you speak our language if you are a monster?».
«Monster...?» It was okay that he felt more comfortable talking to me now, but it was hard to ignore what he had just called me. «Why are we monsters?»
«Because... Because you don't look like us. Q-But I guess you can talk like us...»
Was that? Just because we seemed different from them?
«I see», I said. Then, with a wry smile, I asked: «So if we are monsters, what are you?».
His response was immediate, as if it were a simple matter of common sense.
«We are... We are human».
In some ways, this was turning into a very philosophical conversation.