Chapter 49: CH. 49 | Bait in the Black Forest

He stepped into the house and sat down to talk with Jack in the living room.

Jack explained that he was the one who’d sent the mission request to the guild. His reason was simple enough: he wanted his villagers freed from the Black Ink Lizards.

Jack described just how hard things had gotten for him and the other villagers whenever the Black Ink Lizards attacked.

They’d eat the crops in the fields, foul up the wells and rivers, and wouldn’t hesitate to hurt villagers badly enough to leave them injured.

"We’ve tried a lot of things, but we still can’t manage to drive them off," Jack said, "In the end, we decided to send a letter to the guild asking for an adventurer’s help."

"You and your party are the first ones to take our mission. So we’re really counting on you," Jack said.

"All right. So what’s the deal with the ten pieces of Black Ink Lizard skin?"

"About that, we found out that if you soak the lizard skin in onion water and let it dry out in the sun, it gives off a strong onion smell. That’s more than enough to keep the lizards away," Jack answered.

"So you’re planning to use their own skin to drive them off. Is that right?"

"That’s right," Jack said, "We don’t know exactly how long it’ll work, but hopefully it lasts a good while."

Theo glanced over and saw Jack’s daughter coming in with a tray of drinks. Jack smiled and introduced his daughter to Theo, mentioning that she was planning to enroll in a knight academy.

"That’s great," Theo said.

He finished off his drink and asked where the Black Ink Lizards usually showed up. Jack explained that he’d have his daughter walk Theo over there, not too far off, still within the village’s boundaries.

The front door opened, and the young woman turned and gestured for Theo to follow her. With that, Theo turned back and said his goodbyes to Jack.

"Of course," Jack said, "Good luck out there, Sir Theo."

Theo left the chief’s house and followed the woman down the path. Neither of them said much, but Theo kept track of the route in his head, it wasn’t complicated, and the whole thing followed the village road.

He stopped walking when the woman pointed ahead. There stood a fence protecting the village, one topped with barbed wire, of course.

The woman beside Theo pointed toward the forest just beyond the fence, a forest made up mostly of trees with black trunks.

"We call it the Black Tree Forest, since that’s where most of the Black Ink Lizards live."

"We can never really predict when they’ll attack the village, but one thing’s for sure, they’re always active at night."

Theo nodded, then walked closer to the barbed wire fence. Along the fence line, he spotted a wooden gate, locked up tight with a padlock.

"Anything else you want to ask?" she said.

"What’s their weak point?" Theo asked, turning back to her.

"Their belly and their eyes. Stay away from attacking their back, the black fluid there makes it slick and oily, and if you swallow any of it, it’ll give you diarrhea."

He listened and thanked her for the information. If Theo attacked now, in broad daylight, there was a good chance the lizards would still be tucked away in hiding.

He turned around and headed off in another direction, telling the woman she could head back home, since he needed to go catch up with his friends down by the river.

Theo walked toward the river, its sound already carrying clearly to him. The trickling water made for a peaceful, soothing atmosphere, but his attention got pulled elsewhere almost immediately.

He spotted a man hiding behind some bushes, poking a hole through the leaves with his finger, clearly using it to peek through at something ahead.

Is he... spying on them?

The man crept forward, dragging the bush along with him. Theo was almost impressed, and disgusted at the same time. Little by little, the man kept creeping closer to the riverbank.

"Are you all done over there?!" Theo shouted.

His loud voice startled everyone. The girls scrambled straight down and threw their clothes back on the moment Theo called out.

Theo, though, did something different. He walked up in front of the round bush, positioning himself with his back to the girls.

"What are you doing, Theo?"

"Waiting for you all, obviously," Theo said.

He drew his sword and drove it straight into the bush. A sharp scream rang out from inside, and Thalia immediately spoke up.

"Did you yell just now, Theo?" Thalia asked.

"No. Might’ve been something falling nearby. You should hurry up and get dressed," Theo said firmly.

"Already done."

Theo turned back around and saw that Thalia and the others had finished cleaning up. It wasn’t a perfect clean, but their condition was a lot better than before.

"I found out what I needed from Neco’s village chief about the Black Ink Lizard. Looks like they’re probably most active once night falls."

"Let’s just rest up for now," Theo said, glancing at Thalia, "Go into the village and find us an inn to store our stuff."

"All right. Let’s go," Thalia said.

"You all go on ahead," Theo said, "I need to wash up my feet and face for a bit."

"Sure thing. We’ll wait for you outside the inn."

Thalia and the others walked off, leaving the forest behind and Theo alone. Avara arrived not long after, landing right on his shoulder.

Once the girls had walked far enough away from the forest, Theo reached out and grabbed the man by the throat. He yanked him out of the bushes and slammed him down onto the ground.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Were you trying to spy on my friends?!" Theo demanded.

"I-I’m sorry."

"Tell me," Theo said, "What kind of punishment do you think fits what you did?"

"I... I don’t know."

Theo smiled, pointing his sword at the man’s throat. But he could see the man crying and pleading, his body thin and gaunt like he was starving.

Avara shifted into her human form and tapped Theo on the shoulder. She told him that killing the man wouldn’t solve anything.

"There’s a better way to punish him. I think you’re going to need him tonight," Avara said.

"Bait?" Theo asked.

"Yeah," Avara answered, "If he manages to survive, that’s his reward. Besides, you’re not actually planning to let him die, are you?"

"P-Please... don’t kill me."

Theo smiled, sheathing his sword again, then gave the man a light pat on the cheek, "No. I won’t let you die."

"But I will let him die on his own later."