The Sweet Smell of Truth

The campfire crackled now and then, its flames swaying as light and shadow danced across their faces.

Ruger's mind was on the location of the inheritance, but his feet still carried him toward the fire. The Spiritual Light flickered like his racing heart. He knew the burly man watching the campfire had him in his sights. He had stopped using Foul-Smelling Skin the moment the friendly man had spoken his first word. Malice was not always immediately fatal, but the trouble it caused could spiral in unexpected directions.

He sat down on the other side of the campfire.

"Thank you."

He had read in Ka Liu's diary that junior apprentices should show respect to senior apprentices, especially Limit Wizard Apprentices like this one.

"Actually, that fellow might not have meant you any harm. He knew I was on the team, so things wouldn't have gone that way. He probably wouldn't have done it," Baangte said.

Ruger thought this Limit Wizard Apprentice was remarkably earnest, explaining so much even to a junior apprentice like him.

"I didn't say all that to help you, so there's no need to thank me. I only said it because I can't stand him and wanted him out of my sight. If anything, your arrival helped me. I should thank you for giving me an excuse. Though I'd have preferred to pick a fight with him and use it as a chance to beat him senseless." As Baangte spoke, he tossed something over.

Ruger caught it. It was a large magic stone.

Crackle! Bang!

The flames burst apart, nearly went out, then wavered back to life.

A figure stepped out of them. It was the man who had been playing with fire earlier.

"Hm? Where did he go?"

Flame Man held a large beast leg, taken from some unlucky underground creature. It looked like a plump hind leg.

Baangte merely shrugged at Flame Man's question.

Flame Man looked as though he understood, then set about preparing the beast leg, muttering as he worked.

"You used the Phantasmal Sound Spell when you sent me to get the beast leg? Hm? When I said 'Sure,' what did that fellow hear?" Flame Man kept his head down as he worked, his voice calm, as though he had already guessed. "Little One, remember, don't let this big fellow's looks fool you. He's a strange man. Strange is the best word for him. He isn't awful, but he isn't good either..."

Baangte shrugged again. "He heard 'Sure' too. What changed was the sentence before it. I didn't risk altering your words, only my own. You know I'm no good at this sort of thing, so it was a lot of work, especially with the spell's fluctuations to hide. I just couldn't stand that fellow."

Fat dripped from the roasting leg. Sometimes the two men fell silent; sometimes they exchanged a few words.

Ruger looked around. The mood seemed to have eased, and he thought he could leave.

"Thank you both for your kindness. I think I should be going."

He stood and spoke calmly, though he was still a little panicked inside. Sitting with two powerful Wizard Apprentices felt more nerve-racking than facing two powerful underground beasts.

In an instant, he felt his presence locked onto again. It was as if an invisible hand covered his every move, following so closely that the slightest lag would brush against his fur.

"You can't leave," Flame Man said.

The beast leg gave off waves of delicious aroma as Flame Man turned it over the fire, sprinkling it with seasonings Ruger did not recognize. Ruger had not tasted anything this good in a very long time. The boiled insects he had been saving in his storage bag suddenly held no appeal at all.

The mouthwatering smell made it hard not to swallow.

But Ruger swallowed more from nerves than hunger, like a criminal awaiting his sentence.

If he was guilty of anything, he believed that in the Cavern World, weakness itself was a crime.

"There's enough here for three. Waste would be a shame. We should respect the creatures of the Cavern World."

As Flame Man spoke, he began slicing meat from the leg. He produced a clean plate as though from nowhere. The pattern on it left Ruger dazed, and he accepted it in a haze, struck by the illusion that he had returned to the civilized world.

Ruger wanted to eat gracefully, but that proved difficult. Even fear and worry together could not keep him from giving in to the food.

His Kobold sense of smell and taste finally had a chance to shine. He had been worried that years of eating slimy insects would dull them.

"See, Baangte? Little One's appetite is the highest praise I could ask for."

Flame Man seemed delighted with Ruger's reaction.

Baangte ignored him and ate with his head down, occasionally taking out a crystal-like sphere to check it.

"Those troublesome big insects really do seem to be dead. I just don't know where that little insect is hiding," Baangte said.

Flame Man remained calm and cut another large slice of meat for Ruger.

"There's something unusual about this mission. I'll wait three more days. If there's still no clear outcome, I'm giving up and leaving," Flame Man said.

"Hmph!"

Baangte gave a cold snort.

"Lord Niteri the Wizard's reward was never going to be easy to claim. He offered that thing to lure Limit Wizard Apprentices desperate to advance. That made the first stage of the mission certain to fail. Some Limit Wizard Apprentices might even secretly help that little insect escape and give him more room to roam, letting him follow the guidance of Spirituality to find that city." Flame Man changed tack. "You were one of them, weren't you? Now that we can't find the little Insectfolk, complaining only makes you look even less capable."

"Hmph! Only someone like this Little One would care about the reward for catching that insect outright," Baangte said.

Ruger stood again. He had finished eating, and he felt he really could leave now.

Besides, hearing them discuss the little Insectfolk made him squirm. He feared they might have some extraordinary spell that could detect his connection to that crybaby insect.

"Thank you both for the meal. It was the best I've had in a very long time."

He tried to keep his voice steady, then bowed politely to them both.

This time, no one stopped him.

He only wished he knew one of those impressive ways to travel, so he could make a swift exit in style. Walking away step by step only made him more nervous.

"Hm?"

Baangte suddenly looked at the crystal-like sphere and stood up.

Flame Man, by contrast, showed no hurry.

"If it's that little Insectfolk, I'll go with you. If it's that snake again, go on your own. Or take Little One over there. Even a junior apprentice could be some help against a wounded snake. And stop giving him magic stones. What someone like him needs most is knowledge of spells, even basic ones. That's true of every apprentice who came out of an experiment."

Flame Man's words made Ruger stop in his tracks.

"I know you can kill that snake easily, but you need to capture it this time."