The Human From a Dungeon

Chapter 12

Imlor Tula

Adventurer Level: N/A

Gnome - Kirkenian

Day 3

I'm still trapped in the tree. The food and water I had are gone, and these damned rats are still waiting for me to come down. They've been taking shifts, some sleeping during the day and the rest sleeping at night. Every now and then they try climbing up after me, but a few well-placed kicks and pokes with my dagger thwart their efforts. I am tired, thirsty, and my ass is extremely sore due to the bark of this tree. They're still eating my pack animals, so it's unlikely I'll be able to outlast them. Eventually, I will fall from my perch.

A miserable existence fated to meet a miserable end. Eaten by rats. If you find this, please avenge me. Make sure no-one else shares my fate.

-Imlor Tula

I closed the journal and put my pencil away. What an unfortunate thing to have to use a brand new journal for. I glared at the giant rats below me, and their beady red eyes glared right back. From up here they looked a normal size, but in reality they were only slightly smaller than myself. I'm tall for a gnome, 3'6" in fact, and I shudder to think what could have happened if I had been even an inch shorter.

My wagon and pack animals were still in view. The rats had sprung their ambush and killed both my hnarses before they could react. They had covered themselves in sand along the trail, and either hadn't noticed me or decided that the beasts of burden were the best targets. This and some quick thinking gave me barely enough time to scale this tree before they...

I shuddered. The damage to the wagon is irreparable. Those teeth and claws had made short work of the wooden sides and cover. The wagon had cost me fifty silver, more than both the hnarses combined. The rats had broken it open like a cask, trying to get to the sweet meats within. A small shipment for a certain orc chef in Nuleva. I looked down at the five rats that were currently patrolling the base of the tree.

"FUCK YOU!" I shouted to the vermin. They chittered back at me.

I normally would have hired an adventurer escort, but business had taken a rotten turn as of late. My beefery had caught fire and I ended up having to pay to have it rebuilt as well as compensation for the workers who were injured. I had spent half of my remaining capital to fulfill this order. The freshly smelted metals that the Nulevan adventurer's guild branch had ordered are fine, but I no longer have a way to transport them.

I chuckled at my optimism. As if I had a need to transport them now. I am going to die. Exposure, starvation, or dehydration. It was a tossup which would claim me first. I only hoped that I wouldn't weaken to the point of falling out of the tree before my untimely demise. Getting eaten to death promises to be a painful way to perish.

I looked at the corpses of my hnarses. Hulk and Noble, they'd been with me for most of their lives. Never again would Hulk softly chomp my arm nor Noble softly blow my hair as I geared them up. They were rambunctious, like my own children. It's going to be hard for Telena to take care of them without me. I can only hope that my life insurance will let them live comfortably. The house is paid off, and I've still got enough capital to feed them for the month that it'll take before it kicks in. If another trader uses this route and finds my remains it'll kick in even faster.

Some movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. A trio of people. Two orcs and an elf, were walking the path! Rescue? Or further tragedy? I weakly stood up and started waving my arms at them.

"RATS! BEWARE! GIANT RATS ON THE ROAD!" I screamed.

The three stopped and looked at me. They were still too far away to make out their expressions, and I kept waving and shouting. I screamed at them to run and get help. They faced each other for a moment and then started jogging over.

Adventurers? I didn't dare to hope. Perhaps they are simply foolish vagabonds who can't hear me properly and are about to join Hulk and Noble wherever the dead things go. My voice weakened to the point of a whisper as they drew closer and closer. I looked at the rats, and my stomach fell as they turned to greet the trio.

My heart skipped a beat when a loud bang rang out. The rat I had been staring at was bisected, and wind rushed through my tree. I grabbed the trunk to keep from falling and watched two of the trio pull weapons from under their capes. An axe and a sword. I almost jumped for joy! I am rescued!

Of the two melee fighters, the orc was definitely more skilled. I watched in awe as he fluidly carved through his opponents. The second orc was obviously a sorcerer, casting spells at rats who were trying to flank the fighters. The spells were plenty powerful, too. The elf wasn't bad with its blade, but then something happened that made my jaw drop open. A rat charged the elf, and it cast a fireball that instantly fried the damned thing! A magic user with a blade? Will wonders never cease!?

My celebration was short lived, though. More and more giant rats joined the fray. Five became fifteen, then thirty. I watched in anticipation as the adventurers kept fighting and fighting. The end-goal of the rats seemed to be to wear them down enough to land a killing blow. When one considers the casualties, it's a disgusting tactic. But vermin don't seem to care about morality. Just meat.

But the adventurers didn't seem to get tired. If anything, they were getting better at working as a team. The sorcerer was launching spells from both of his hands, and the spell-sword was using his magic and weapon simultaneously. The orc with an axe was using it like a scalpel, carving just enough of each rats flesh to be fatal without expending unnecessary effort. The change in demeanor was impressively seamless.

Before I knew it, fifty rats lay dead at the feet of my rescuers. I clambered down the tree and approached them, being careful not to step on any of the viscera that was strewn across the ground. The orc was wiping down his axe. The elf was holding his bloodied blade looking a bit lost. I pulled a rag out of my tunic and offered it to him with a grin. It wasn't until we got close to each other that I noticed something was wrong.

His eyes were blue but lacked the ethereal glisten that an elf's would have, and his ears were rounded. He returned my grin and I noticed that the flat teeth one would see in an elf's mouth were flanked by sharp ones. I carefully maintained my grin even though terror gripped my heart. It isn't right to be afraid of one's rescuers, but I couldn't help it. This thing was an unfamiliar mer, and had demonstrated that it was very proficient in combat.

"Thank you," it said.

"Y-you're welcome," I stammered through my now-false grin. "Th-thank YOU! I thought I was a goner."

"You look nervous," the sorcerer said with a knowing smile. "Never seen a human before?"

"Of course he hasn't," the one with an axe replied. "You think a trader's gonna have seen more than an entire village of adventurers?"

"A-a human?" I asked.

"Introductions, then. I am Yulk Alta, this is my brother Nash," the sorcerer began, gesturing to the orc with an axe. "And THIS is Nicodemus Smith, the newest adopted member of clan Alta. He is a human."

"Oh. I see. Well, I am Imlor Tula of the Tula transportation company. Pleasure to meet you, truly. I don't wish to be a burden, but I don't suppose you have food and drink?" I asked, slumping to the ground as my fatigue caught up with me.

"We have drink and some yipples. We'll have to replace what you eat on our way back, though. Here, eat your fill while we gather the hides," Nash said, tossing a sack and a water-bag to me. "Is that your wagon?"

"Thank you so much. And yes it is, but the rats got to it," I explained as I gulped down water gratefully.

"I'll have a look at it since I'm not great with bending over," Yulk said.

"Okay, let's get to work, Nick," Nash commanded. "I counted about forty."

"I counted fifty-two," the human replied.

The axe-wielding orc looked down at the human for a moment and then at the corpses of the giant rats. He mumbled to himself for a while and then scoffed.

"Fifty-four. We're both wrong," he grumbled. "Whatever, let's get skinnin'."

Nick watched Nash closely as he took the pelt from the first giant rat, and then began to copy what he had seen. What an interesting creature. I had assumed that he was a young elf due to his height and skin tone. Elves usually get to be about six and a half feet tall. As I studied him closer I saw even more differences, though.

He had hair on his arms, and stubble growing out of his face. Like a freakishly tall dwarf who had shaved himself recently. There were tales of such practices on the south continent. Rumor has it that it's because of the heat. Maybe the southern dwarves call themselves humans? No, that doesn't explain the height and the teeth.

I munched on yipples while the others carved the rats up. I'm not typically a fan of fruits, but these were the most delicious yipples I've had in my entire life. After I filled my belly and rested for a bit, I got to work helping Nick and Nash gather the pelts.

"How did there get to be so many?" Nick asked.

"They breed fast. This is probably only about a few generation's worth," I answered.

"Yup. They start out sneaky and timid, but the more of them there are the more desperate they get for food. That's when they get dangerous," Nash added.

"Why didn't they try to run away, though?"

"Blood-frenzy. It's what separates monsters from animals. If you get attacked by a pack of wolves, you can survive if you kill enough of them. The rest will run away. If you get attacked by a pack of dire-wolves you're going to have to kill all of them to survive. Monsters don't run," Nash said.

"Well, if you're quick enough you can run away," I said with a laugh. "Or scamper up a tree and hope some adventurers come along."

We all chuckled and silence fell as the enormity of our task drew our attention. It was messy work too, and once we were done Yulk approached us.

"How's the wagon?" Nash asked. "It'd be nice not to have to carry fifty pelts back to the village."

"Right? I thought we were going to be dealing with a dozen max," Yulk chuckled. "Anyway, the axles, sides, and roof are all shot but the wheels and bed are fine. If we can get the wheels off the axles and flip it I can probably fix the axles with Mend. Dunno how we're going to secure our cargo and pull it, though."

"Nick and I can be the beasts of burden. You and... uh..." Nash trailed off, looking at me.

"Imlor Tula," I replied.

"Right. You and Imlor Tula can keep the stuff from falling off, or let us know when it does so we don't leave it in the dust," he finished.

"I don't suppose you'd be able to pull the original cargo as well?" I tentatively asked. "It's about a hundred pounds of metals for the adventurers guild."

"Shouldn't be a problem. Gonna have to make a stop for the yipples, though. Nick and I will rest while the two of you grab some more."

And so it went. We managed to take the wheels off the wagon and get it flipped over, and Yulk was able to repair the axles with a spell. We affixed the wheels back onto the wagon and loaded everything back up. I said a quiet goodbye to Hulk and Noble while Nick and Nash used what was left of the harnesses to start pulling the wagon. As I began to walk next to the wagon I struggled to fight back tears of joy.

I survived.