Fear, Hunger and Cosmic Horrors

Chapter 5 - With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies?

Chapter 5 - With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies?

"Girl! I need you to back off and take cover somewhere!" I said to the child accompanying me, never taking my eyes off D'arce.

I felt the girl let go of my leg and heard her footsteps walking away from me, turning my head to the side. I caught a glimpse of the girl taking cover behind a set of boxes next to the counter on the other side of the kitchen. She watched me with glazed eyes with part of her head poking out of hiding.

Good. Now to deal with the female knight in front of me.

"W-well! What are y-you waiting for? Take me to Le'garde!" D'arce demanded, pointing the tip of her sword in my direction.

"Do you understand how absurd your request is? Judging by your appearance, you must have seen the horrors of the dungeon. Le'garde is even deeper in this place. And believe me; it will only get worse as you go down."

"I-I don't care! Le'garde is h-here somewhere and y-you know where he is! T-Take me to him!" D'arce demanded, taking another step forward.

I took a step back as I raised my dagger towards D'arce, which caused her to pause for a moment with a look of hesitation.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I have a child with me. She was locked in a cage and left in a dark room in the dungeon. She was hungry and afraid of this place; I would like to get her out of here. Are you suggesting that I should instead take her deeper into the hell she clearly doesn't want to be in? That I should put her in danger?"

D'arce was silent for a few seconds, a thoughtful expression on her face, her gaze softening for a moment.

"Hm... Looks like it worked." Kitab wrote in its pages.

"T-it doesn't matter! If the g-girl's safety is an issue for you, the two of us can keep her safe! I-I swear on my honor! I-I swear by Alll-mer! In addition, if we can save Le'garde, I'm sure he will help us! I d-doubt his k-kind heart would allow a child to suffer in this accursed dungeon!"

D'arce said with a crooked smile, a mixture of hope, joy and fear. Was she hoping to convince me with those words? Well, it didn't work.

"Forget what I said. The woman is crazy."

"You are not helping, Kitab."

"You have no idea what's going on here. I will not take you to Le'garde. I refuse. I will not risk a child's life and my own for the one responsible for everything that is happening here. I don't care about your honor. Moreover, unless Alll-mer himself appears in front of me and tells me to go with you, I won't move a finger. But that doesn't mean we need to be enemies, you can stay here with us if you like, or you can grab something from the kitchen and leave."

D'arce was silent for a few seconds, her face set in a serious expression, but that expression changed to one of fury. The knight snarled in anger as she visibly dragged her teeth, she had a nervous twitch in her right eye and she started to breathe heavily.

"YOU DARE?!?" D'arce screamed, sending the scream echoing through the dungeon.

"What are you doing? Stop yelling before you attract a guard!"

However, D'arce ignored me and she began to speak as she approached me with heavy steps, her armor creaking with every movement.

"How dare you speak ill of Le'garde's good name?!? He fought valiantly for the people of Rondor only to be betrayed by the nobles! Le'garde is a hero, something commoners like you don't seem to understand! How dare you accuse him of being responsible for what is happening here? I should cut your tongue out for speaking such blasphemy!"