CH12: Beastkin

Outside the dungeon were towers with siege weapons aimed at the dungeon's entrance, a white salted no man's land, and two walled barracks with well-armored soldiers. Dungeons weren't a joke, and the Yalites were a nation with 3 dungeons in their borders, and before the last outbreak, they had 4. While a nation's military power was limited to the number of dungeons, they possessed uncontrollable dungeons that couldn't be tolerated.

I turned my attention away from the window of the medical building. That was the official report that I was happy to eat up and regurgitate around nationalist ears.

"In reality, dungeons control nations; if a dungeon wanted to spread its legs, these siege towers wouldn't do a thing," Azizi said.

With her helmet off, I could see red hair in a top knot like a samurai. Her head wasn't the right shape for a traditional helmet, but she made do with buckles and padding. She combed her spotted fur, pulling away hunks of clotted blood.

Hati walked in, still dressed in his leather armor, this time with bristling fur.

"Thank you for your help, but you're no longer needed. Make like a popped lover and leave." Hati said.

"What's your problem with me? I've been nothing but helpful?" I asked.

He eyed my weapon and shook his head. "You're nothing but trouble. Azizi, you know what's about to happen? Do you really want to stay for it?"

I heard chuckling from the hyena woman and knew it wasn't a laugh at my expense. No, she only laughed when she was nervous about something, and Hati's point wasn't lost on me. After all, Hati might not be such a jerk and more a party leader who didn't want more trouble on his plate or to be indebted.

There were customs in the land that I was completely unaware of and couldn't grasp quickly.

"You saw what he did to the mobs. I wouldn't want to fight that for some fat councilman." Azizi said.

"You think they won't take Yert and Zack hostage," Hati said.

"Zack didn't make it, and Yert lost too much blood. The healers are good, but the infection weakened him, and the bugs wouldn't leave him alone. He's running a fever, and the medics already say if he wakes up, he won't be the Yert we remember. We got their bodies back, and that's more than most get. We should form a party and try again for our target." Azizi said.

Hati pointed his clawed finger at me. "This is your fault." The wolfman paced across the room. "We need rest and to resupply. What are we going to do about money? I didn't find anything worth trading."

Azizi pulled out a strange-feeling bag and opened it. Within magic, armor and weapons appeared; they were mostly drops from the 50 I slew.

"What do I have to pay for one of those?" I asked.

"You can dream about getting one without being a part of a powerful clan," Azizi said.

That told me that their rarity was determined by the number of existing clan members. Sticking with Azizi taught me so much I couldn't let her go so easily.

"Not even for a friend of a clan member," I said.

"Oh, who are you friends with? Maybe I know them." Azizi said.

"Fine, give me a second to get this covered," I said.

I pulled a roll of duct tape from my bag and wrapped Double Helix. The weapon felt ashamed of all things, and I didn't know how I knew. Maybe legendary weapons were sentient, or I needed to better care of myself.

Something sweet-smelling made my nostrils flare. "He's so rude we will be barred from merchant shops and taverns with him around. Let's cut him loose and wash our hands of any trouble." Hati said.

"We need him; two don't make a party," Azizi said.

"I'll try not to be any trouble." I rubbed my nose and crossed my legs to hide a growing tent. "I'm cool; let's get out of this kill box. How much of that money is mine?" I asked.

"Who said you get a cut?" I tapped my fingers against my armrest and waited. The hyena girl sighed and threw her hands up. "So much for turning this into a big payday. We'll divide the loot evenly." I nodded.

I thought about kicking the guy into the wall. Images of me taking the hyena furry wouldn't leave me alone, and that told me way too much. The smell was driving me crazy, and I couldn't be sure it wasn't driving the wolfman up a wall either. Hati adjusted himself and growled.

"I think we will divide it evenly and address our issues. Do you have a room in town?" I shook my head. "Then we'll share a room; that way, I can keep an eye on you. In the morning, we'll recruit another member and do another dive." Azizi said.

It seemed she was the party leader, not Hati. That was interesting; then again, she had the boss Hyena thing going on, a large rack and dummy thick thighs. Fur or not, I wouldn't mind getting between thighs like those. Her spotted fur looked more inviting than a turnoff. My eyes were better than they had ever been before. Look, ma, no contacts, and I could tell her fur had been expertly groomed.

She was an alien that looked a little like a hyena. That was like how Hati was clearly a wolfman but stood on two feet and dyed the fur around his snout. Both of them had noggins around the same size as his. My best guess going forward was that they were sapient beings altered at some point in their evolution to gain intelligence. I would say it was a world of canids that happened to evolve with human-like intelligence, except the medical staff were anthropomorphic sheep.

That went against what I knew of natural evolution. I admit that alien cultivators who looked human weren't in the cards but who bet on real furies.