Chapter 12 - A Ray of Hope

Ango's ears were ringing due to the blast but he could see small figures clad in metal armor quickly getting close. It was hard to distinguish them from each other but they were unmistakably dwarves.

As they were getting closer in silence and before Ango could get up and run away, one of the shield-wielding guards, smashed his shield, now infused with green light, heavily into the ground.

"HIAAAAAAAAAA" he let out a mighty roar

The roots underground, the broken pieces of the carriage, the guard's armor and shield joined together and quickly transformed into a wall, growing larger by the second.

"FUCK, ANDIE HELP ME HOLD THEM OFF" the guard yelled, calling for his comrade trying to get up.

*Booom

Another explosion went off but this one was much weaker than the previous one.

Andie quickly went over to the wall to reinforce it. He slammed his glowing shield into the wall, using his shield and armor to make the wall sturdier.

"SLAVE, HEY SLAVE" the first guard yelled while looking at Ango.

It took Ango a moment to understand he was calling for him. He quickly got up but before he could answer the guard yelled again.

"Get lady Talia and go"

Sounds of metal colliding with wood were getting louder.

"GET HER AND GO" the other guard, Andie, also yelled to urge him.

Ango didn't have any time to think, he quickly picked up lady Talia and lay her arm over his neck and started to move away from them. He was a human, weaker than all the races, but that was in a fight. He knew that dwarves were among the slowest of the races so he could outrun them if he was alone and if they didn't have crossbows. But that wasn't the main issue.

'Fuck, where should I go? I can't go into the forest or I'll die. I can't continue here either it's a fucking open field with nowhere to run'

'How the fuck am I supposed to outrun them while carrying her???'

Lady Talia who was even now healing her wounds weakly voiced out while they were running "Go…near…the…fo…rest"

Her wounds were healing rapidly and she wouldn't have any injuries after a minute or two. But she was weak for now, and even if she was in top condition, she wouldn't be able to help them much, that's considering she would decide to help and not just run away on her own.

"But how-" he wanted to ask but she only repeated herself again.

Ango complained in his mind but went towards the forest anyway.

They were going slowly at first but with each step lady Talia was getting faster but the sound of fighting seemed to be dying down. The dwarves would come for them quickly.

By the time they reached the edge of the forest, she was fully healed but her hair had not grown back. Barely a minute has passed but a scream and insult were heard; Ango recognized the voice to be the guard Andie. They were almost out of time.

When they were among the trees, lady Talia stopped and held out her hand. Green energy emanated from her hand and the different pieces of wood began to gather in front of her forming what appeared to be a giant wheel within a wheel. There were spikes on the outer layer and there seemed to be enough room for them inside.

Ango was awed by the display of power. This wasn't a show of power through destruction but it was just as impressive. It was crude but beauty was no one's concern at that moment.

"Get in" lady Talia told him with an urgent tone.

Ango didn't question her but he thought 'How is this thing going to move'

Lady Talia also moved in and waved her hand once again; wood covered the opening that they had entered. They were both sitting on a small wooden platform and a green aura was moving from her hand to the wheel. The wheel creaked and started moving; slowly at first but it picked up speed as it kept moving.

Ango couldn't see it but he believed that Lady Talia was moving the wheel by using the spikes, hence the slow start. They couldn't see anything but they knew it was an open field and she had pointed the wheel toward the east. It was obvious that this was just a temporary measure to escape the enemies and they had to stop at some point. What he didn't understand was why he was here.

'She could have run away on her own, why did she bring me along? She's healed and I'm just dead weight' he was thinking about it but he didn't voice it out, to not put the idea into her head.

"I'm almost out of mana" lady Talia suddenly started talking "and when that happens, they are going to catch up. This thing is not exactly subtle either" she said pointing at herself and then at the wheel.

She sighed with disappointment and regret mixed together "If only I had not taken my artifacts off me before sleeping …"

Ango didn't say anything and just listened. The wheel had been rumbling since they started moving because of the uneven ground but Ango was not feeling it anymore. What lady Talia was saying concerned their survival. He had resigned himself to death but that didn't mean he wouldn't grab the chance to survive if it presented itself to him. Though the thought of magical artifacts getting destroyed or lost made him disappointed. Magical artifacts were rare; not everyone had them and the only thing he knew was that Enchanters would imbue certain effects into items.

'Such a waste …'

"With the equipment they had, it's obvious they are here for something important and they will not let me go" She continued. Her face was downfallen, it was obvious that she did not want to die but she didn't have any way to survive.

"But they will not look for a human."

"I see" Ango was inwardly overjoyed

'I can use this chance to escape somewhere, live in the mountains or something'

"I know you might be thinking of escaping but remember that after the royal order takes effect, one elf seeing you is enough for your death"

By now sweat was running down her face and her torn clothes were soaked.

'Fuck she is right, it's not like I can live my whole life unseen by everyone'

"But if you take my royal medallion, go back to lord Folium's castle and warn him about the dwarves, they might let you slip or live peacefully. They have not seen the medallion on me so they won't know if I give it to you and won't look for you… probably"

"It's a slim chance but better than certain death"

'Hm.. it's a big risk but there is a chance for survival' Ango began to think about the matter in depth but in the end he reached the conclusion that even the slim chance of survival was worth it.

"I'll do it"

Lady Talia didn't say anything, just nodded and took the medallion off. She seemed unwilling to hand it over to Ango but after a few moments she did it anyway.

Before her mana completely dried up, she stopped the wheel and they got out of it. They had put some distance between themselves and the dwarves but not much; they would catch up quickly.

Lady Talia looked at Ango and said "I will go in another direction and make myself obvious enough for them to know it is me. You continue on this path and reach the city" She looked exhausted, too exhausted; Overusing her mana had also sapped his stamina. She was about to start walking but heard Ango talk

"Lady Talia, thank you. I don't know if you were playing with me or were acting with genuine kindness toward me but thank you"

Ango didn't wait to see Talia's expression and began to run as he didn't have much time. With the medallion hung around his neck, he started heading toward his home, this time with a small sliver of hope for the future.

…

Looking at Ango's back was lady Talia with a playful smile on her face.

"I didn't get to play with you to my fill little pet, otherwise you wouldn't have said that. Even though you are of a lowly race, this makes me feel good"

Ango didn't know but lady Talia had lied to him. She didn't plan on heading in another direction. If the dwarves captured her, they would torture her in any way they knew to get information out of her and she didn't want to go through that.

"Others be damned, I don't want to get tortured and raped by those damned moles" She toppled the wheel, grabbed one of the spikes on it and broke it off.

She sat down and leaned against the wheel. she raised her hand and pointed the spike at her heart and without overthinking it, pushed it deep inside her chest and then throw it away.