Chapter 95: Rune Activation

The mine with the kobolds was a hive of activity. Most of them didn't know what Nikola was doing there. The man came not with a pickaxe to help them break the dead end but with a sheet of paper.

"Ok, I hope this works," Nikola said as he placed the sheet of paper over the dead end. It glowed.

Only for something to roar from the other end.

Nikola took a step back. The kobolds picked up their mining gear and made a protective circle around him.

"We will fight until our last!" One of the kobolds roared as he took a step to the rumbling rock.

"No. I will fight." Nikola already had the Leshy bow in his hands. An arrow nocked on it. "Please, leave this place."

"But!" The kobold protested, only to be met with Nikola's kind smile.

"No buts. I should have known not to accept this gift from Tangra. You are not to blame for how foolish I am. Please, leave."

Nikola expected many things as the kobolds began to shift around him.

He expected that they would leave, as he had asked them. He expected that they would forget about the mine in due time.

But he didn't expect them to line up in front of him like levies before an archer squad.

"We will never just leave!" One of the kobolds roared so, as if Nikola had given him grave insult. "And we will never just leave you behind!"

"We are a part of your family!" A kobold female yelled. "You gave us a rich and bountiful warren! We haven't eaten so well in months!"

The rumble from the dead end sounded again. Nikola closed his eyes.

"Then I will fight to my last as well," the brunette said as he opened his eyes again. There was a scaled and horned head poking out of the stone wall.

Nikola took aim at it and fired.

The arrow got stuck in an eye.

The being roared.

"Hack and slash it! It can't get out fast enough!" A kobold chieftain yelled, being the first one to charge.

The butchery began.

Nikola fired an arrow after arrow. The kobolds hacked and slashed at the dragon-like creature with all their might. It breathed fire, but Nikola was safely out of range, and the kobolds could not be harmed by fire.

When it finally breathed its last, Nikola thought that he would simply crumble.

His gaze was unfocused. He had run out of Leshy arrows.

His brain began to swim with all sorts of scenarios.

What if a giant attacked the town?

What if another Lich was found?

Without the special arrows, what was he even going to do?

"Boss! Look! More mana stones!" A young kobold told him. Only to be interrupted with a cheer.

"Onyx geode! There are onyx geodes everywhere! We will feast today!"

Nikola allowed himself to sink against the wall.

"Did you think it would come without a price?" He heard Tangra's voice in his ear. "I give freebies only to worshippers. I really like to see how you fare next time, when I send you something really nasty."

"I thought you didn't want to endanger your worshiper's lives," the vain hope that something like that would be enough to convince the demon to leave him be there.

Like a soft ember amidst long-dead flames.

"You will leave the town. I can strike then. Have pleasant dreams!"

Nikola felt so, as if he were freezing. His eyes began to twitch. His hands were shaking.

He still stood up. Wanting to at least collect as many arrowheads as he could so he could have new arrows made.

****

When Nikola came back to the training hall, Dimitri was already waiting for him.

"Where were you?" The blonde vampire asked.

Nikola bowed his head.

"At the mana stone mine. I placed the rune Tangra gave me, and now… now I only have arrowheads from the bow. He said… he said that the next time I go out of town, he will strike. Dimitri, he is going to kill me."

Nikola swayed on his feet. His head was spinning. He felt himself falling over.

Only for two strong arms to catch him before he fell on the floor.

"Look, we just need to stay in town until you become strong. There is no need to rush it."

"What if he tries to kill Andrew and Bleda next? He knows we send them off to trading runs!" Nikola murmured, turning around so that he could snuggle into Dimitri.

"They are big boys. Bleda is a necromancer. But you, dear heart, are untrained. How about this? We will give the mana stones to guild master Arnold. Tell him we want to quit the guild for a while but still train in here. That way he wouldn't need to pull a more experienced party out of circulation, and you will have more time to train?"

Dimitri began to massage Nikola's back. Trying to work out the kinks the man surely had.

Nikola melted into the touch.

"But I really wanted to be an adventurer," the brunette whispered. "And you, Jack and Jean, don't need to be pulled out of action."

"Well, maybe," Dimitri told him as he pulled him closer. "But we are a party. A unit. If one of us needs the extra time to get strong, then all of us are just going to give him that time. What do you say about that?"

Nikola was at a loss for words. He took in Dimitri's scent, trying to ground himself.

"Besides," Dimitri continued, as Nikola let out an exhausted moan when he brushed over a sore spot. "We have little children to take care of. Don't you think that it is more important for Timmy and Vera to have their parents around than for us to save princesses?"

Nikola giggled.

"Are you guilt-tripping me with babies? And you forgot two, by the way," Nikola finally allowed himself to relax.

 Hoping that he wouldn't be pulled back to the endless steppe.

"Rocky, Tony, and Silvia need us as well. Although," Dimitri made a pause to chuckle. "I don't think that Rocky is going to ever delegate Silvia's care to anyone."

The two shared a soft chuckle.

Sleep took them to new lands soon after.