"Dio, are we lost?"
It was an outrageous assumption, even from Fang, although true. But I wasn't going to admit that, looking around with the gaze of an expert and theatrically waving across the foreign lands.
"Of course we aren't," I claimed, hoping a clue would appear in the geography. "We are right here, heading west as we should be."
"Right, where exactly?" Fang asked, grabbing my shoulders, but I refused to look into his eyes. "We shouldn't have left the imperial road. And why is it that you didn't ask the Goddess to return us home again?"
"What are you talking about? Don't you have some dignity?" I asked him, still avoiding eye contact. "The Princess and her paladin headed home on foot as well. I couldn't let some humans do better than us."
"Nordhaben is a hundred miles from Nateaser. The Gates of Hell is more than a thousand." His grip got stronger and my shoulders started to hurt. There was no pleasing this beastmen. "They returned to Sanctuary, home to the Inquisitorias. It is only logical that the Goddess was not going near that... But we only got here with her help too."
"I don't mind walking." Bastion joined in, taken in by the sights. I was glad to be backed by that gentle giant. "And we helped some people along the way too. It was a nice change of pace."
"I left my daughter behind for your change of pace." The wolfman complained, but at least my shoulders could rest. "And it seems dangerous. Did you see that burned-out cart a while back? Who knows what's out here to get us? Besides, I thought we had important reports to give the Demon Lord. At this rate, it will take half a year to return."
"Which might be an advantage..." I noted. "We let the Princess go so I don't expect a hero's welcome. Even if we bring news..."
"Do you suggest desertion, Captain Dioneras?" Fang raised an eyebrow. "You made a promise to the Goddess too."
"I did not change my mind. I didn't specify when we'll deliver that news though..." I shrugged, but my shoulders still hurt. "It will take a long time to get back this way, but that's fine. Especially if we manage some good deeds along the way..."
"Like digging that well for the goblin tribe yesterday?" The ogre asked. I doubted the Demon Lord would be amazed by such trivialities, but the journey was far from over.
"Like that. And spreading the word among the tribes." I nodded for now. "Both about the New Order, the Goddess, and the embassy in Nateaser. Since we left Omerta to handle things, people should know."
"Right... So you are saying it's more important to tell the tribes, a thousand miles from our closest settlements, instead of letting the Demon Lord know we established an embassy without permission?" Fang asked.
"When you put it that way, deserting doesn't seem like a bad idea... And it's not my fault that Omerta can't use telepathy at that distance..." I shook my head. "But we should earn our keep. You might still remember how the Twelve Champions used to be."
"How they used to be?" Bastion asked curiously.
"You don't even know, right? You joined much later..." I noted, giving a quick rundown. "They weren't a formation to fight the enemies of the Lesser Races, or rather, they were individual champions who traveled the areas in and out of the New Order. They helped the people in any way they could, like digging wells or slaying dangerous beasts... They even cleared dungeons when teaming up for the first time."
"I remember that. It was a lot different right after the Collapse." The wolfman agreed for once. "I'm not even sure if we had twelve members at the time, they just called us The Champions, and nobody bossed us around. It was closer to the old adventurers than a military formation until the Demon Lord acknowledged us."
"I'm sorry about that." I felt like I had to apologize. "When he appointed me your captain, even though already the chief of staff for his entire army... That was the biggest honor I could imagine, and yet my first job was to forbid the champions to act on their own."
"So you return to the roots and have us adventure our way home?" Fang reiterated and didn't look angry anymore until he grabbed my shoulders again. "And the first thing you do is get lost in a foreign land a thousand miles away?"
"I told you, we're not lost." I struggled to break free. "We are headed towards the mountains to the west, and look at those. Mountains. It is all as planned, so stop breaking my bones."
"I'm glad we got one of the magical bags from the Inquisitorias, otherwise, we'd be starving again." He reluctantly let me go.
"Lambert made some delicious food, we should have taken more with us." Bastion longed, growing close to that human. I needed to thank him for saving our ogre after his second fall, even though my fist landed square in his face the first time we met.
"We are still a bit light on weapons." The beastman noted. "Next time you take some odd jobs in a tribe we encounter, at least ask for a spear in return. Or a change of clothes... Armor... Anything."
"Did you say armor, young traveler?" The voice came out of nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere, but from the bushes right behind us. I expected an ambush but couldn't see anyone.
"And what if we did?" Fang assumed a battle stance and spun around.
"Would you mind showing your face?" I asked, trying to sound less threatening. "We had it rough so far and my comrades are jumpy."
"Oh, you'll have to excuse me..." I heard the voice again, and a bearded creature emerged from the bushes, dusting himself off. "I didn't mean to put the scare on ya'. The name's Gomel, a traveling smith."
He was rather robust but only a head taller than me, the most stereotypical dwarf I have seen, and I counted as an expert, originating from the western mountains myself. He didn't seem familiar though.
"What were you doing in those bushes?" Fang refused to lower his guard. I saw no weapons on him, and he traveled rather lightly for being in the middle of nowhere.
"Hiding, of course." He claimed, naturally. He didn't look particularly threatening but seasoned and old. Still, you never know... "Say, you haven't happened to run into the lizardfolk yourself, did ya?"
"Lizardfolk? This far north?" I asked, scratching my jaw. "Haven't heard of them ever venturing this far... If anything, they all migrated south to claim the Midgar Highlands along the equator."
"Well, they've been here yesterday and weren't the friendly type either." He hollered but didn't seem scared or anything. "My cart was attacked while I took a good 'ol piss, and they ate my horse too."
"How do you know they were lizardmen?" Fang asked, looking around. I did the same, but the geography still seemed unfamiliar.
"They still looted my tools when I got back." He shrugged. "My life is worth me more than to protect those old things though, and the horse was dead already, so I stayed hidden. Once they left, there was not much to salvage, and I headed home on foot. Still, glancing behind my back and hearing you argue, it seemed better to hide myself."
"So how come you revealed yourself now?" I asked curiously. "Don't you think the rest of the Lesser Races are just as dangerous as the lizards? Or you thought you could beat us three?"
"Beat you? No, I don't have what it takes. I'm no fighter anyway, just a traveling smith." He bowed, grinning. "And business is tough as is, without avoiding my only customers. No humans were left in this area to trade with, but I built good relations with the goblin, kobold, and orc tribes. Even have a home in a beastmen village."
"If so, how come the lizardmen attacked you?" I inquired.
"I take it you haven't met them before." The dwarf started. "They weren't particularly friendly even before the Collapse, but after that... Let's just say, they don't socialize. They raided some tribes, and I heard they won't speak the Cranta language either."
"Really? That's new..." I shook my head. In truth, my deputy reported something about our forward operating bases skirmishing with their kind, but that happened a thousand miles south, and we intruded on their territories in the Appenon Kingdom. They laid some claims on that place before us, but it wasn't anything new.
It sounded unbelievable that their territories expanded this far, but then I saw stranger things in the last weeks... In any case, Gomel's words seemed to be genuine, and he was unarmed, so I waved Fang to stand down. The dwarf bowed again, rubbing his hands.
"So did I hear that you need weapons and armor?" He asked.
"We could use some, I guess..." I nodded, still a little suspicious. "But you said you were looted, so what can you do about it?"
"Oh, I have two permanent shops set up, one of them within a day's walk, so don't you worry about that." He claimed, pointing to the north. "I have a house in the beastfolk village about fifty miles that way, but I also have one in the abandoned dwarf settlement ten miles west."
"We headed west, so that does sound convenient..." I pondered, glancing at Fang. The wolfmen already figured we were lost, but meeting this dwarf by chance was very lucky. If he led us to an old dwarf village built near the imperial road, our journey could continue with ease. Not to mention, if he armed us, we'd be much less vulnerable. The news about the lizardmen bothered me though.
"I wanted to visit one more village on my way home, but considering I no longer have my tools, I'm best off returning right now." He nodded as well. "Your escort will put my mind at ease if those reptiles decide to return... I take it you don't have money?"
"Just a few coins, I'm afraid." I shook my head. Money has become scarce since the Collapse, at least in the areas abandoned by humans. The New Order had its currency, but most of the tribes traded directly in goods. "But we prefer edibles, to be honest."
"Hahaha, no problem." The dwarf hollered. "I also like to eat."