Chapter 16

The dungeon was dark and only a sickly green light served as a revealer to the violent and macabre scene.

Remy's senses were enshrouded by pain, fear, and fury as he stared at the fur-clad man that tried to snuff out his life.

His hand tightly gripped onto the dagger as his eyes drank deeply the terror present on his enemy's face. As the warm touch of blood reached his cold hand the trance was broken.

Remy snapped out of his daydream.

The group of men had already reached his position and tension had already begun to build as they stared at each other.

They wore almost the exact same type of armor as the man Remy killed inside the dungeon. It was safe to presume they were part of the same faction. They didn't look like Xander's men as those preferred more traditional armor and weapons. The ones before Remy seemed to fancy a more "wild" look.

Cold sweat began running down Remy's back. These people were armed to the teeth. He hoped they had nothing to do with the other guy, even if they dressed the same.

Remy's musings were cut short as some of the men casually moved their hands to the side, towards their weapons. The thought of fighting them off did not even cross his mind. The moment they took a step forward Remy intended to bolt.

"Why did you stop? Finally found that dumba*s?" a deep voice sounded from behind the men.

A few of them moved to the side, revealing the newcomer and probable leader of the group judging by the other's movement and body language.

The man was tall and wore similar attire to the rest, but with some differences. The most eye-catching being the pieces of metal snugly held together by leather straps here and there. The animal fur was still present, acting as a buffer between his joints and armor plates.

His face was how Remy would describe the opposite of delicate. He had rough, tanned skin with thick lips and a pronounced nose. His hair was as dark as his eyes and arranged in a chaotic pattern as if he just randomly grabbed it one day and cut it with a knife.

He looked intimidating, even more so since on his back rested a huge double-headed ax. The blades were at least half a meter long and its weight should be horrendous judging by the fact that it was made entirely of metal, the shaft included.

"Hmm?A kid? You don't look to be one of ours." The man said as he too was analyzing Remy. A second later he frowned, making Remy's heart plummet.

"Must be one of Xander's cronies." one of the men commented.

Another nearby shook his head. "Nah man, I've never seen a red boy look that piss poor before. A shame really, we could've gotten some good stuff."

A few of the men clicked their tongues in disappointment and I was left with the impression that Xander's men were treated as loot chests around here. From what Vincent said, they were probably the most well-off in the Nest since they traded with the Empire.

So these guys were either part of the Seekers or the Cultists, the two factions attempting to leave the Nest.

"I don't give a damn. We have a job to do and intimidating some random kid is not part of it. Unless, of course, he gives us a reason to?" The leader then turned his attention back to Remy. He stayed silent for a few seconds, seemingly undecided about something.

At this point, Remy took the initiative to clear out any misunderstanding that might happen. "I'm not looking for trouble and I'm not working for Xander either. I just arrived in the Nest and got lost in the jungle."

That earned him a few raised eyebrows and more than one dismissive glance. At least they seemed to be less keen on chopping him up. It was not like they took pity on him, but as someone who just entered the barrier, there was simply nothing he owned that was worth killing him for.

Of course, they had no way of knowing about the things stored inside his [Inventory].

"Right… Name's Thron by the way, lieutenant Seeker and boss to this merry bunch of fu*kwits."

"My name is Remy...it's nice to meet you?" he said unsure.

Thorn scoffed. "Is that a question? Whatever."

The man took a few more seconds looking at him. Remy had a feeling Thron was unsure which way to proceed or what exactly to do with him.

"Say, kid, you didn't happen to run across one of our boys on your trip through the jungle, would you?" He said with an even tone.

Remy desperately prayed nothing showed on his face as he shook his head and answered negatively. Thorn didn't force the subject and continued the conversation.

"Yeah… that's about what I thought you'd say. Idiot must have gotten himself eaten by the troll. This just keeps getting better and better."

Remy discreetly let out a sigh of relief.

"Boss, what are ya doing? Now the guy knows there's a troll around here." One of Thorn's men complained.

The man rolled his eyes. "What, you think this scrawny kid's going to steal our prey?"

"Nah, but that doesn't me he can't chirp about it to other people. We still have no idea where the beast is, what if Xander's guys get to it first?"

Remy's heart once again beating violently as most of the men's eyes turned cold. Some of them moved in subtle ways, bending their knees and turning towards him.

"Look at you idiots getting your feathers ruffled over nothing. Y'all know my stance on kids. We aren't killing him." Thron sent an annoyed look at his subordinates.

Unfortunately, it seems like the rest did not share his reluctance to harm children. The small movements continued, some even starting to spread out a bit in case Remy decided to run.

Thorn was getting angrier and angrier witnessing their disregard for him. When he saw one putting his hand on the hilt of his weapon, ready to draw, he spoke.

"Looks like you idiots forgot who's leading this hunt." He said as his arm moved behind his head and grabbed onto the ax. "Was I stupid to think last week was enough of a reminder?"

The Seekers abruptly stopped moving. Remy, who was a second away from sprinting in the opposite direction did the same.

Everybody turned their eyes to Thorn. When his subordinates saw him casually holding the giant ax they turned pale.

"B-boss, ca-calm down. We were just joking, right guys?"

The others immediately responded. "Y-yeah, of course, we were just scaring the kid a little you know?"

"Right, right, don't get angry boss, we were just thinking about the mission."

"Yeah, he's just a little kid, there's no way we'd kill him."

Remy, as tense as he was, still took a moment to marvel at how more than ten grown men were absolutely terrified because of Thron's simple gesture.

"Oh? Who would have thought I was managing such bright and righteous men." Thorn's low-pitched voice sent shivers down Remy's spine. The others fared much worse as they swallowed their fear even as sweat began running down their faces.

The fact that Thorn's hand was still on the ax's handle didn't help to diffuse the situation.

The atmosphere made it difficult to breathe. Remy did not know what happened between these people, but he was pretty damn sure he didn't want a part in any of it.

'Dangerous, too damn dangerous' he thought as the seconds ticked by. Everyone was feeling crushed by the atmosphere. All eyes were on Thorn.

Remy watched as the man's gaze swept his subordinates.

He was not happy with what he saw.

The hand holding the ax clenched.

"I-IF, if you're looking for a troll I saw one not far from here!" Remy's mouth snapped open on its own.

"..."

Nobody moved. A few eyes briefly glanced at Remy, but that was all they did before they turned back. Remy was not the only one that saw Thron tightening the hold on his weapon.

A few more seconds passed with a small breeze blowing past the stiff, statue-like people.

Thron brought his hand down and smiled. "Did you now? Mind pointing the direction to us silly folk?"

Remy wasted no time and began explaining where he saw the troll and in what condition it was. He didn't know why the Seekers wanted to go after that monstrosity, but he really couldn't be bothered to give a damn.

As Remy's words continued to flow, the rest of the Seekers observed the relaxed Thorn and thanked their lucky stars.

"Oh? The beast just fell asleep you say? This is a golden opportunity then. Let's go boys."

The men wasted no time in moving ahead. Remy walked to the side, trying to get as far as possible from them. Fortunately, noone tried to bother him anymore.

"You said you were lost, kid? Just go the direction we came from and turn right after passing over the creek. You'll hit the road soon after."

Remy simply gave a nod of his head as Thorn passed him. He took a few steps and then suddenly stopped as the Seeker's voice rung out from behind him.

"Oh, and by the way… nice boots you got there."