Chapter 26: 26: An Alliance

“Stay here,” you say to your sister and the bunny girls, and step forward from the tunnel. You approach the lady-monster-bird-thing as a show of good faith, willingly surrounding yourself with troglodytes. You stop good fifteen yards from the dark, giant crack in the mountain that forms your only escape from this place. The bird monster Pythia is about the same distance from you. There are already too many people who know I exist, so better not reveal myself to this one too. At least not yet.

“I’ve come here to take the outpost below and eradicate every man and woman that does not submit to me!” You declare to Pythia. “And I want to offer you an alliance against their leader.”

“WHAT!?” Ariadne screams from behind and rushes to you. “My Lord, we don’t need her! I’m more than capable—”

“I decline.” Pythia says flatly.

“…” You’re rather stunned by the monster-bird’s sudden refusal and at a loss for words. She isn’t, however.

“First of all, I don’t even know you!” Pythia raises a feather on her wing like one would raise a finger on their hand when counting something. “And while your little parlor trick was impressive, for all I know this could simply be an elaborate prank by Xi aimed to trap me!

Second, you claim to have captured six bunnies, yet I only see two here. One would think that you’d at the very least bring Xi’s sister. That is if she truly was on your side now. Or do you suggest that you’re so confident in your abilities that you don’t even need to bring her here? Yet at the same time, you seek my help?

Third, whatever the circumstances may have been, you attempt to form an alliance is coming hot off the heels of murdering my subjects!”

“But—” You want to explain the benefits of such an alliance and get at least a word in.

“I will hear no more on this subject!” Pythia gestures with her wing and turns her head.

You sigh. That could’ve gone better. Even though by her own words she’d like to get rid of them. Perhaps a small favor would be reasonable?

“Could you at least provide us with a guide through the tunnels into their base?” you ask Pythia.

“Hm, I suppose…” Pythia strokes her chin in thought. “You are incredibly lucky to find this place at all. And you look quite well, to be honest. How many days you’ve been down there?”

“Days?” you ask. “I don’t think it was more than a couple of hours.”

“Really!?” Pythia exclaims. “You’re so incredibly lucky! Very well, you’ll have your guide. Twinkle!”

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One of the many troglodytes sitting on the rocky mountain walls around you shoots up into the air and, after a few barrel rolls, lands next to Pythia. The poor bird had several scars on its little body. It was battle-hardened, apparently.

“Show off,” Pythia lovingly chides the little brown furball. “Guide these four to one of the entrances into the outpost.”

“There are several?” You ask.

“Of course! Some easier to reach than others.”

“I don’t suppose there’s a giant hole in their leader’s bedroom?”

“I’m afraid not.” Pythia didn’t take your sarcasm too seriously. “Most of the tunnels are probably sealed by now. But last we checked there at least two still open. One is at the base of the mountain, where they have their outer camp. They sometimes use it as a form of execution, sending in useless prisoners for my friends to feast on. The other tunnel leads to the catacombs in the depths of the old fortress. Just tell Twinkle where you want to go, and he’ll take you there, you have my word. And if you’re successful… Well… You might pique my interest. Now go!”

“Thank you for your hospitality!” you say as politely as you can manage and turn around to leave. The bird flies forward and lands on your shoulder, sinking its claws just deep enough to pierce the fabric of your garments.

“My, Lord…” Ariadne speaks up timidly as you pass her on your way back into the tunnels.

“Never, I repeat, never question me in front of others,” you say without looking at her. Damn, I always wanted to do that! More importantly, this is the first time she openly objected to my decisions. Really not a fan of that bird, huh?

“Yes, My Lord,” Ariadne mutters and follows behind you with a lowered head like a beaten puppy.

You were not eaten alive, at least! And now you even have a guide to your destination. All that is left is to choose where to go. On one hand, if you end up deep in the mountain fortress you'll have fewer enemies to fight and you might even be able to sneak about all the way to the leader of the bandits. On the other hand, you could quickly find yourself surrounded with no way out. Or you could just go to the base camp and work your way up from there. But that would mean that you'd most likely find yourself taking on the entire outpost sooner or later. Still, isn't that what you came to do anyway?

YuujiEveryleaf

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