Chapter 21 — Strange Woman, Rescue Operation

Part 1 — Exile, Then Saving the Nation

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/asmotoon

“Understood. Moving in. Elza, Evil Detection,” I said.

She murmured the spell, then nodded. “No hostile intent nearby.”

“All right, roles,” I continued. “Ellie, Elza—triage and treatment. Meg, light. Bill, guard her. Chloe, Liza—watch the corridor. Mimi, keep your senses sharp. I’ll handle the talk.”

Everyone split wordlessly.

A man and woman, as reported. The man’s leg was mangled and his abdomen bruised. “Can you handle it?” I asked Ellie.

She snipped the tunic open. “It’ll be close, but possible. Assuming no one distracts me.”

Fair. I stepped back.

The woman looked up, eyes red-rimmed but steady. “Who…?”

“Adventurers,” I said. “Names?”

After a pause, she answered. Kelly, merchant’s daughter and Jack, her retainer. They’d fled Baron Fortea’s lands far to the east, pursuing freedom and love or whatever their story was. Similar tales floated into Norwald weekly.

Ellie finished and wiped her brow. “Treatment’s done. He’ll wake soon if he rests.”

Kelly collapsed over Jack’s chest, sobbing apologies. The tension finally broke.

Ellie drifted to my side. “See? Useful, right?”

“Always,” I said. “Thanks.”

She blinked. “Did you eat something weird?”

“Just hungry.”

We built a cookfire and shared soup with Kelly. She’d clearly been starving; her clothes were ragged, hair matted. Running through a dungeon does that.

“Once he wakes, we head for town,” I said. “The guild will protect you.”

“No.” Kelly lifted her head. “We can’t go to town. We plan to continue west.”

“Absolutely not,” I snapped. “That’s suicide.”

The forest west of Norwald might as well be a death maze. Only trained fighters survived there, and barely. If they were desperate enough to hide in a dungeon rather than take the southern road, they were out of options.

“Fine,” I said at last. “Come to my farm instead. Rest. Then decide.”

She hesitated, then nodded.

Ellie smirked. “Knew you’d say that.”

Mimi pecked my cheek. “Dan’s the best!”

Knock it off. Ellie’s glare stung.

Jack stayed unconscious, so we built a rough travois and lashed him down. As Meg pointed out, our “house” was still a pile of logs. We’d need another tent—and intel on these two.

We delivered the pair to our campsite after Mimi warned them about the flattened house. Their jaws dropped; we left the twins in charge and piled into a wagon for town.

I thought we were just buying canvas. Instead, we stumbled into news we never expected.

----- End of chapter -----