The Lost Ruins

A young, hooded figure sat on the ground next to a small fire. They were next to two covered wooden wagons, each drawn by two horses. The horses had been released from the reins and were tied to a stake several metres away. They happily grazed the field and drank the water of a small stream that ran down through the mountains they were at the base of.

However, the petite figure shivered as a breeze blew by, and they drew closer to the fire. The hood covering their head twitched every so often.

Luna and I stood about 20 metres away, hiding in the nearby trees. Luna sniffed at the air. She had caught the figure's scent in the wind.

Whispering as quietly as she could, Luna divulged what she had picked up. "Beastperson..? Female..." She took another sniff before adding, "Rabbit." At the final word, a gust of wind blasted through the campsite. The woman's hood caught the breeze and fell back. Her long bunny ears popped out. They twitched as they picked up Luna's last word.

Standing and turning towards us, I got my first proper view of the girl. My gaze was first drawn to the pair of bunny ears that sat atop her head. They were coated in brown fur that matched the shade of the hair on her head. Each ear was about 40cm (16") long and had a furry tuft of hair on the interior at the base.

Sitting below those ears was her youthful face. She looked to be in middle school, though it was hard to tell her exact age, as her cheeks were sunken with the tell-tale signs of malnutrition. She had large brown eyes, that while alert, looked hollow. It was hard to tell if she was attractive or not due to the combination of her sickly appearance and the dirt that smudged her face.

Narrowing in on the noise she heard, she locked eyes with Luna next to me. Her eyes had passed over me, not noticing my presence. As the girl realized that a person was watching her, she clumsily started to reach into the tattered robe she wore. Finally finding what she had been searching for, her hand withdrew from the folds of the overwear, clutching a small colourful shell.

I wondered what the item could be, as I did not see any magic flowing inside it. When she started to bring it to her lips, I realized that it must be a whistle or something similar. Luna noticed my muscles flex as I prepared to make my move. "Don't hurt her if you can avoid it. She is wearing a slave collar. She is just following the instructions that had been set." I shot a smile at my companion before I took off. I had already noticed the magical energies emanating from the band of iron that was locked around her throat.

Leaning backwards from the branch upon which I was perched. I fell to the earth. However, rather than preparing to land on the ground, I slipped into the shadow of the tree. Shadow Walk was the bread and butter of any good Rogue class. As a Trickster, its value multiplied even more.

Using the new skill felt quite strange. As I went into the shadow, I felt myself pass through a doorway. I now stood in a hallway. The floor, walls and ceiling looked to be made from the void itself. I could see stars twinkling in the inky blackness. All around me were doorways. Each one had a screen on it that showed me what existed beyond that doorway. I looked down the series of doors. There were hundreds of them, but deep inside, I felt something pulling me to a specific one.

Halfway down the hallway, I found one that led to the wagon's shadow that the bunny girl stood next to. I could see her unguarded back and her arm slowly moving upwards as she raised the whistle-shell. However, the strangest thing was that she looked to be moving at a minuscule fraction of the speed one would expect. Seeing that I had a bit of time, I pulled out a few ingredients and quickly put my alchemical skills to use, crafting a purple liquid. I then stretched my muscles, readying my body for action, splashed a bit of the suspicious-looking serum onto a piece of cloth, and jumped through the doorway.

As I arrived on the grass behind her, her ears twitched. She must have heard something from my movement, even though my skills muffled my footsteps. It did not matter, as my new class had boosted my stats even further. My dexterity and speed were now superhuman. Before she had a chance to blow the whistle, I had wrapped both arms around her from behind. My left hand grabbed her hand that held the whistle while my right held the soaked rag over her mouth. She only struggled for a second before going limp.

Damn, level 5 alchemy is no joke. I checked the girl's status and confirmed she was unconscious. No harm in being sure she wasn't faking. I made sure to remove the rag quickly as I only wanted her to remain fainted for a short while. What I had planned wouldn't take long at all. When you have skills like me, you can finish the task quickly.

I used my mana vision to trace the magic circuitry of the collar to find the power source. Once I located it, I pressed my finger to the area and used Despell to dissipate the magic safely. As the power fled the now inert metal circle, its physical structure gave way, and the collar turned to dust. The young girl in my arms now no longer had to fear the repercussions of doing what she wanted.

As the last particles of dust blew away, Luna finally finished strolling over to where we stood.

"Master, is she more to your liking? You like them youthful?"

"Huh..?"

"The way you are holding her would make a lesser woman jealous…."

I looked down and realized I still had an arm wrapped around the girl, her body being held up in her non-responsive state by my own. I coughed pointedly as I quickly pulled the girl into a single-armed cradle before pulling some furs and blankets from Storage and tucking the girl into the impromptu arrangements in the back of one of the wagons.

Turning back to Luna, I felt her lips press into my own as she gave me a quick smooch before pulling back and chuckling, "You are pretty cute when you are flustered." I playfully slapped her on the butt as I walked over to the second wagon to check out what was inside.

I took stock of the wagons' cargo. There was nothing too special amongst the items that were still there. From what I could see, the owners of the wagons were most likely mercenaries or well-organized bandits. After pocketing everything into Storage, I picked up the sleeping girl and brought her a ways away into the nearby forest. I placed several wards and made a small clearing to set up the tent and a fire. I placed the girl into the tent and left Luna with her before heading back to place the two wagons into Storage. I also had our wagon in there.

I took the harnesses off for the horses that were left and encouraged them to run free. I went and got our horses and brought them to the clearing. As I was making my way back, I heard a scream from the tent as it came into view. I quickly lashed the horses to an impromptu post before I ran to the tent.