Big Mouth

Through faded consciousness, Garrick sees the cave ceiling; he slips away, vision going dark, then comes to once again and sees the starry midnight sky.

"Fat fuck! Pull more, you fucking gnome!" a voice angrily says.

"Sorry! I'm not strong, and I only got one good arm!!" another voice replies.

Garrick fades away once more.

Kyra and Meetlemire are dragging the unconscious body of Garrick through the dirt away from the cave. They get to a nearby tree and catch their breath.

Sweat drips from Kyra's forehead, with a severe look on her face. Whereas Meetlemire looks sad, wiping snot from his nose and sniffling.

"Stop your crying, gnome. We've got more important matters." Kyra states with annoyance.

"My arm!! Look at my arm!!" Meetlemire points toward his arm, which is shattered and crushed. "It's completely mangled; it'll have to get cut off! Oh no, how will I explain this to my family?"

Kyra sighs. She'd known Meetlemire for a few minutes and was already sick of him. Snivelling and pathetic is all she can think.

"Not my problem. Are you forgetting we're dragging a damn-near corpse through the forest at night, with goblins scattered throughout it? Now take the knife from my hip."

"But I can't fight." Meetlemire sheepishly says.

"You got one good arm still, and if any of those goblins are nearby, then I'm not risking my life trying to protect you both. You protect him, and I'll deal with the goblins, so shut the fuck up and take the goddamn knife." Kyra pushed Meetlemire against the tree, getting inches from his face.

Meetlemire shakily takes the knife. Kyra kneels and throws Garrick over her shoulder. A crunch was heard with faint moans of pain from Garrick. His right arm was in better view, the armour protecting it torn away, showing it dark blue and black from the shoulder down, frostbite setting in.

"Now keep up; we go my pace. If you're too slow, then you're being left behind. Got it?" Kyra says.

Sniffling again, Meetlemire lets out a meek "...Okay…."

They set off. Kyra's legs were shaking at first from the dead weight before settling and trudging through the forest, gritting her teeth along the way.

"Who even are you?" Meetlemire, struggling to keep up, asks Kyra.

"A tracker." Sharply, Kyra replies.

Meetlemire, realising talking to her is like drawing blood from a stone.

"Is Garrick going to die? I don't want him to die trying to save me." Lip quivering, holding back tears.

"Most likely. He's in horrible shape, hell, lucky to still be alive." Kyra replies bluntly.

"Oh no, that isn't good, but thank you for helping us. I'm Meetlemire, by the way."

Kyra side-eyes Meetlemire before looking ahead again.

"Don't care. I just want my reward for killing those goblins, and bringing back this guy might give me more gold."

Meetlemire taken aback.

"You're only doing this for money? A lot of effort for just some gold."

"Yup." Kyra spoke bluntly again.

"I don't believe you! You're even being careful carrying Garrick!" Meetlemire retorts.

Annoyed, Kyra jiggles up and down slightly, causing Garrick to cough up blood.

"Oh my god! Okay, I believe you!!" Meetlemire is shocked at the apathetic nature of Kyra.

Kyra stops bouncing.

"Good. Now, getting to Darow will take a while. It'll be dawn by the time we're back."

The forest is quiet for the most part, with brief shrieks and shouts heard dancing through the treeline but nothing to alert Kyra of danger.

"Are those villagers from the cave gonna be able to get back to Darow okay by themselves?" Meetlemire worried about their safety. "Shouldn't we have brought them with us?"

"No. It's hard enough looking after you two without a dozen others to pay attention to and more noise to attract the monsters. We need to use the quiet to shadow ourselves in this place. Besides, some of them knew the way back, so they'll be fine."

Kyra is not facing toward Meetlemire when speaking, eyes dancing around the treeline, aware of everything, even when Meetlemire doesn't realise it.

"Now tell me what happened in there, gnome." Kyra brazenly demands.

Meetlemire eyes dart up before dropping again toward the ground.

"I'm not sure; I was knocked unconscious. I think the ogre on the throne absorbed people's magic with a strange-looking sword. They were burned alive; it was so gruesome."

Meetlemire's chin quivered, starting to wince from the pain of his injury, the adrenaline wearing off.

Kyra ponders slightly.

"I thought that sword was something special. Good thing I brought it along. I'll be able to pawn it for some coin. Magic always sells well."

Meetlemire's head jolts towards her.

"You brought that thing along?! You only care about money, don't you?"

Kyra lets out a puff of air from her nose in amusement.

"You're learning well done…so what about this guy?" As Kyra tilts her head toward Garrick's body.

"He tried to kill the ogre on the throne, but another ogre used magic-"

Kyra interrogatively cut off Meetlemire from speaking.

"Another ogre? There was only one in there when I went in, and I definitely wouldn't have missed it." Kyra was curious and almost questioning her recollection before stopping. "Ah well, whatever, not an issue any more. Go on. gnome."

"It's Meetlemire. He summoned a glacial wall and killed the ogre but got his arm stuck-"

Kyra cutting him off again.

"He used that magic? He should've told me he was an 'Arcane Knight'. One of those is worth five normal swordsmen." Kyra interestedly says.

Meetlemire chirps up

"Garrick says he is better with a blade. He tends to hurt himself with magic, it seems."

Kyra was lost in thought, speaking to herself and Meetlemire, not realising she wasn't talking to him.

"He did that to his arm? He has to be good with magic. That ice wall dwarfed that ogre, must've killed it damn near instantly. No normal Arcane Knight is doing that; even a trained mage can't do that easily."

"He hurt himself before using magic, used an electric attack to kill some thugs to protect me, burned all his upper back."

Kyra stops and turns to Meetlemire before looking forward and walking on again.

"He's had to save you before? You need to start defending yourself, or you'll kill this guy if he isn't already done for. He's hurting, damn near killing himself just to save your sorry ass, and you stand there just crying like a prick. Open your eyes."

Silence befalls Meetlemire, tears dripping down his face.

"...You're right…. I am selfish and a fool. I am sorry, my friend, for doing this to you. I won't ever be this helpless again, I promise."

Kyra side-eyes Meetlemire, seeing him wipe his eyes, a new look of determination on his face.

The night of the forest was coming to a close, a couple of hours until dawn. Kyra stops in her tracks.

"Wait." She whispers loudly to Meetlemire.

A group of three goblins panicked as they ran through the forest, screeching with a grizzly bear barrelling towards them. They run away into the treeline, disappearing.

Kyra lets out a small chuckle as the noise dies down again, indicating it's safe to move again.

"Okay, we're good to go. Just an hour or so until we get back." Kyra states.

A sigh of relief from Meetlemire as the ordeal is almost over.

Just as dawn lifts itself in the distance, they reach the village. The populace is already beginning their day, most likely from not sleeping the night from the goblin attack.

As they enter the village, the locale hesitates to help them. They stood and stared, whispering, but no one lent a helping hand, not even the town guards.

"Pathetic, the lot of 'em." Kyra hisses. "Let's just get to the infirmary."

"I wonder why no one is helping us?" Meetlemire asks, confused.

Unphased, they continue toward the infirmary next to the town hall. Kyra kicks open the door, making the nurses jump.

A well-crafted building, just like the town hall, greets them. It is a simple wooden building but solid and robust. Kyra does not care about any of that, though.

"Get me a fucking bed, now!" Kyra exclaims.

Shocked but quickly composing themselves, the nurses wheel over a metal bed, and Kyra carefully places Garrick down on it.

The nurses gasped at Garrick's condition, a horrific amount of damage received. Every shallow breath from Garrick summons up a gurgle of blood. Without saying a word, they wheel him to another room, and quickly, another three nurses show up and chase after them.

Kyra finally collapses onto the ground against the wall, exhausted.

A small voice speaks up next to her.

"Uh, can I get someone for my arm too?" Meetlemire quietly asks.

There is no reaction from the nurse in the room with them.

"HEY! GET SOMEONE IN HERE FOR THE GNOME TOO!" Kyra bellows, the nurse shocked into action, running over to them and inspecting his arm.

He shrieks as she touches the arm before putting his hand over his mouth, muffling the pain.

The nurse looks worried.

"Not good at all. Please follow me." The nurse says as she ushers Meetlemire into another room.

The reception area of the infirmary becomes quiet. Kyra struggles to her feet as she leaves the infirmary, back towards the Ivory Duchess, the Inn.

She sloppily pushes her body weight into the door to open it and throws herself down onto a seat next to a table. She kicks her feet up and shifts her attention to the Barkeep, Krovar.

"Hey, Krovar. Bring me something strong and a good plate of meat." Kyra tiredly asks, barely able to function at this point.

Krovar looks up towards her.

"Of course, Kyra! Coming right up. Good to see you again." Krovar said cheerily, either unbothered by last night or putting up a front.

Kyra spots the town captain, Moreland, sitting at a table with three guards. They are chatting and laughing and look to be having fun.

She overhears Moreland speaking, not eavesdropping as the captain is practically shouting. Drunk and obnoxious is all Kyra thinks.

"Yeah, the idiot came in shouting and raving about sending guards into the forest for those villagers. You can't be wasting time-saving people already dead. Barus, over here, told me he was brought back today dead." He puts a hand on Barus' shoulder. "Guess I made the right call." He laughs loudly, causing the other guards to join in, not wanting to upset the captain.

Kyra's eye twitches as she internally struggles with herself before speaking up.

"Hey, 'captain'. That's a nice clean suit of armour you got there."

The captain and guards turn their heads toward Kyra.

"Why yes it is, what about it? You like it?" Moreland confidently asks.

"Nah, I just wondered the last time it got dirty. Must be pretty pathetic to wear it even though you never put yourself in any danger, like you know, to save your villagers from goblins." Kyra responds sarcastically.

Moreland's happy demeanour drops as the Inn visitors pay close attention to the conversation. Red in the face, embarrassed, the guard looking toward the floor.

"You-you-how dare you! I do more for this village than you know!" Moreland was flabbergasted and caught off guard by Kyra.

"Fat chance, idiot!" Kyra boldly shouts for everyone to hear.

Barus leans toward Moreland's ear and whispers something unheard by Kyra. Moreland composes himself.

"Ah, you must be the idiot's little girlfriend. Barus saw you bringing him into Darow today. He looked a little worse for wear." Moreland chuckling.

"Far from it. He's most likely gonna die, you know, from the goblins he went to kill. Saved a dozen or so villagers in the process, though. Should've been you in his place, though." Kyra's gaze stared right into Moreland as if into his soul.

Moreland's eyes widen before slamming his fist on the table and standing up.

"A-are yo-you threatening me?!" Moreland stammers.

"No." Kyra replies. "Just here for the reward money, so sit down and cough up the money."

She grabs a handful of goblin ears from her pocket and throws them on the floor before the captain.

"You insult me, then demand money that isn't yours? No way. The money is for guild members only, so if you want it, then your little friend will have to come collect it himself! And by the sounds, he won't be collecting it." Moreland chuckles as he sits back down.

Infuriated, Kyra begins to stand back up, but the barkeep stops her by placing food on her table.

"It won't end well if you do what I think you're going to do. Please have some food and drink. I am sure Garrick will pull through." Krovar says with a warm smile. "Room four is still yours; you must be exhausted from last night."

Kyra huffs but sits back down and tries to collect herself.

"...Thanks, Krovar."

The day goes on long, and the guards eventually leave, staring daggers at Kyra with proud smirks across their faces. She stares back until they walk out the door.

Kyra eventually goes to bed. She is hoping for a few hours, but nothing is what she'll get. Lying on the bed, mind racing, struggling to settle, speaking to herself.

"Shit. I should've helped."

"No. You did your job."

"I did nothing. If he dies, it's on me."

"You stupid? You did more than you were meant to. You should've left him in that cave."

"It's left a bad taste in my mouth."

"Has that gnome got you feeling sorry for them?"

"Fuck, that gnome has me feeling sorry for them."

Kyra stands up and starts pacing.

"He did it to himself. I warned him what would happen, and he went in anyway."

"Exactly, he is an idiot."

"An idiot, plain and simple...but why do I feel so shitty? Those two are trouble."

Kyra grabs her belongings and leaves the Inn, walking toward the infirmary.

A crowd is gathered in front of the town hall. A villager in the mass spots her.

"Hey, that's the woman that brought him back!! Hey, miss!!" The man shouts.

Kyra continues walking up, confused. The crowd turned and encircled Kyra. A man with a dirty face, greasy blonde hair, clothes ripped and sewn up multiple times.

"Hey miss, can you take this to your friend in there? We won't have much, but we need to show our thanks to your party for saving us." the man pushing a basket of baked goods toward Kyra.

"...Our party?" Kyra is even more confused.

"Yeah! You, the man and the gnome...well, he didn't do much, just kinda got beat up a lot, but he was walking with you guys, so yeah, I assume he's in your party." The man's face beamed with happiness.

Kyra starts to speak to correct them but stops herself. The happy faces, smiles beaming from ear to ear, the genuine elation at her. A warm feeling rushes over her, an unknown sense of being loved. She feels a lump in her throat before coughing and centring herself.

"If you want to help, get yourself a new guard captain. Moreland refused to send anyone to help you lot out. He would rather you all die than risk his own life, even dares to laugh at the man there fighting for his life." Kyra states seriously,

"The captain did that?" The villager responds, shocked and hurt.

Murmurs start amongst the crowd.

"The captain said that? There's no chance."

"Then why didn't anyone save us?"

"I didn't even see him when the goblins attacked!"

"A coward for a captain isn't right!"

"This isn't right; he is meant to protect us! What's the point of him if he doesn't?"

Kyra silences the crowd.

"He's a pathetic captain; he was drinking and laughing about it all. Keep your belongings; we don't need them. I need to see my uh 'party', check up on them.

The man wakes up a bit, fazed by the news of the captain.

"Oh, thank you, miss, for letting us know. I'll be sure to let the villagers know about this. Sorry for blocking your way! Clear a path, you lot, move!" a commanding voice.

They all quickly clear a path for Kyra, and she walks inside.

The infirmary is quiet, with no one in sight. Peeved, Kyra was about to shout before stopping herself, sighing, rubbing her eyes, and sitting on a nearby wooden chair.

"I'm exhausted." Kyra thinks to herself.

Just then, a nurse walks through from a room at the back, and the two lock eyes.

"Hey, you!!" Kyra shouts.

The nurse lets out a small yelp before walking over hesitantly. Word of Kyra spreading fast around the infirmary.

"The man and the gnome I brought in earlier, are they dead or still kicking?" Kyra bluntly asks.

"Uh, the gnome, Meetlemire, is doing okay; he's very dejected currently. We had to amputate his right arm; the damage was too severe to be saved. The man, Garrick, is still unresponsive. It's a miracle he's even alive, and there's a good chance he might still die; you must prepare yourself for that possibility." The nurse stoically tells Kyra. Her scared demeanour turned intense, almost a mirror of Kyra's.

"Prepare myself? You're mistaking me for someone who cares in the first place. Just tell me what room the gnome's in; I need to speak with him." A tinge of irritation in her voice.

"Down to the left, third on the left, room five."

Kyra begins walking, cutting the conversation dead in its tracks.

She walks up to a wooden door with a '5' in the centre of it. She takes a step back before kicking it open. It slams against the wall with a loud thud, bouncing around, but Kyra pushes her arm out to keep it from shutting on her.

A sleeping Meetlemire shrieks awake on the hospital bed, his right sleeve folded and pinned up just below his shoulder.

"Big nose, I'm going to be gone for a couple of days; make sure the other idiot doesn't die in that time. And I'm taking one of your horses." Kyra shouts to a dazed and confused Meetlemire, struggling to gain his bearings.

"G-gone whe-" Meetlemire tries to ask a question, but Kyra slams the door shut on him.

"Oh..okay, bye, I guess...big nose? Is it really that big?" Meetlemire reluctantly lays back down, confused at what just happened.

Kyra walked back toward the entrance.

"I can't believe I have to go see that bastard." Rage plastered across her face.

End Chapter