Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

The morning sun had just risen and Ed's group had been made to wait for a significant chunk of time. But that was fine with Ed, he wanted the lizardmen to entertain themselves while they could. Currently, they were taking the role of tourists holding anything and everything in high regard.

"Wow… This water is so clean…" One of the regular warriors said while at the edge of the Sanctuary moat. The moat water was created using magic so it was only natural that it would be so clean.

"These boats… I haven't seen ships like these before…" Following Ed's creation of boats, lots of orcs were inspired to do the same. They created imitations of his that could hardly float.

Of course, some of the more skilled craftsmen managed to succeed. These successes were the most interesting of the boats floating in the wide moat.

'Now that I think about it… Doesn't having boats in your moat kind of negate the whole point of having a moat?' A asked Ed through the link who had nothing to say in reply.

It wasn't like he was going to go well damn you are right. That would be embarrassing.

Around this time, the gates of Sanctuary opened. They were just as tall and mighty as always and they seemed aged yet well cared for evoking a sense of legacy as opposed to when it belonged to the sacred tribe.

The mighty gates opened slowly and revealed many orcs donning some sort of armor. Their weapons also seemed rather sharp and intimidating.

"They are very well-equipped…" Crini commented as she observed the orcs approaching.

"Hm? Is that a lizardmen?" Someone then added noticing the presence of a solemn lizardman. None of them could recognize this lizardman, where was he from?

While everyone asked themselves these questions, the lizardman stood at the forefront of the orcs and finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello everyone, I am Reid. Welcome to Sanctuary" Reid first introduced himself seriously before welcoming everyone to Sanctuary warmly. While his actions were standard and polite everyone paid especial attention.

"Reid? Anyone heard of him before?" Zaoxl the lizardmen of Salmon asked. Most of the divine blood warriors were lost about the origins of this lizardman.

"Wait… I think I know!" A plain old lizardman warrior shouted.

"Reid! He was subordinated by Kurgher and tasked with sending off a friend of the divinity Eon!" The warrior was a previous member of the Mensch tribe so he managed to recognize Reid.

The faces of all the divine blood warriors instantly turned hostile. While they had a Mensch warrior in their midst it didn't mean they thought kindly of them. There were definitely good Mensch lizardmen who only formed part of Kurgher's regime due to circumstances but… did it matter?

They formed part of a tribe that destroyed their homes and turned them into refugees. They were part of the recent and war and in a way both directly and indirectly responsible for the creation of the weird gauntlet beast.

"Hahaha… I see you guys aren't from my previous tribe…" Reid said awkwardly. He hadn't expected such a result. Wasn't Kurgher doing his job properly conquering all the land and divulging on the wisdom of his divinity Eon?

"Hmph" Someone snorted from amongst Ed's crowd.

<"Reid, what's going on?"> The orcs recognized the sudden hostility and put themselves on guard. Reid was the only capable of communicating with these lizardmen but something was apparently wrong. 

<"No worry, misunderstanding in place"> Reid replied with an awkward smile. Although still faithful to the doctrine of Eon, he had no intention of returning to Kurgher and Mensch. The quality of life was just too vastly different. That being the case Reid didn't want to fail his first real job for Sanctuary.

"Friends, let's let bygones be bygones, what brings you here?" Reid decided to try and move past the awkward topic. His expression was almost that of a person sucking up to a powerful group.

The lizardmen now felt much better since that meant Reid believed them to be a powerful group. With a hidden sense of superiority, the lizardmen were finally able to speak about their purpose.

"Ahem, our purpose has to do with the orders of Ed" A said through Yoashk.

Hearing the word Ed, not only Reid, but also the orcs flinched in surprise. That name was unusual and to them wildly recognizeable. Ed was somehow related to these lizardmen?

"Ed?" Reid couldn't help but want to double-check.

"Yes, I am holding him right here" A responded lifting the cage in his hand. It held a sturdy looking mushroom that shone a dull gray light.

"That's Ed…?" Reid uttered from surprise before recalling Ed's little event. Was this what he meant? He was actually serious about that story?

Unlike the simple-minded orcs, Reid had some more apprehensions when he first heard the tale. He chalked up any weirdness to his lack of understanding for the orc language.

<"He brings Ed in cage!"> Reid said to the orcs before pointing at Yoashk. The orcs were shocked to hear this and then furious.

<"They dare hold our mighty Ed hostage!"> The orc guard captain roared.

<"All orcs, prepare to att-"> Before the guard captain could finish his words he was smacked in the back of the head by a staff.

"Ouch!" Everyone understood his simple word of pain.

<"You morons"> Sharog said before then turning her attention to the crowd of lizardmen.

<"Reid, welcome them in"> Sharog added. While she wasn't sure why Ed would come in such a form or what he needed from them Sharog was obviously willing to listen. Plus she was also personally intrigued by the lizardmen.

<"This dungeon really is vast…"> She muttered thinking back to Ed's words and story. The vastness of this dungeon was supposedly incomparable to that of the outside world though. Was she missing out on so much of the world?

There was a hidden longing formed in her heart at that moment.

***

Much earlier, in the crypt, the dim lights provided one with the perfect ambience for a quick nap. It was such a pity that it was infested with zombies and skeletons.

"Urgh…" An uncomfortable groan, the adventurer girl finally showed signs of waking up. To her, the zombies and skeletons were not a deal-breaker it seemed.

"Hello" Christian said as the girl rubbed her tired eyes.

"Hm?" After hearing a hello the girl finally noticed she was not alone. She opened her eyes wide seeing the presence of the two adventurers.

"Ah!" She was spooked. What happened when she was knocked out?!?

"Umm… Don't be afraid we are humans…" Archer said much to the surprise of Christian.

"I believe those words make us more suspicious" Christian said to Archer who wanted to argue otherwise.

"But I mean… No, I guess it does..." Why mention humans if they were humans? He was a bit suspicious now.

Things were just as Christian had predicted. The young girl now seemed far more wary than before. Her eyes showed signs of both fear and hesitancy.

"Did you guys... Did you guys save me?" She finally mustered the courage to ask softly.

Christian and Archer both nodded to her question. While the skeletons appeared to intend to retreat on their own for Archer, on the odd chance that something else was going on they would have indeed saved her life.

"What brings you here? You don't seem like an adventurer..." Christian commented while staring at her completely garbage equipment. The girl noticed this and smiled wryly.

"My name is Kimani, I... I need money!" The girl, Kimani, said to the two men who looked at each other with a looked that said something along the lines of... we can tell!

"I'm assuming something personal is going on in your life, we won't ask but... Regardless of what drove you here you shouldn't have the capabilities. How did you get this far in? You look like the type to die within the first floor" As far as Christian could tell she had zero experience, and whether she even qualified as a C-class adventurer was up to scrutiny

"Ummm... You are right... I also don't know how I made it this far" Kimani admitted with a sorry expression. For Christian and Archer this response was an eyebrow raiser. They both wanted to hear more.

Though a bit dull when it came to adventuring matters, Kimani was quick on the uptake. She understood that they wanted her to explain her journey in more detail, she did just that.

She told them of the skeletons' continued strange behavior and how everything seemed to want to lead her further into the dungeon. Kimani spoke of the fear it caused her and tried to hold back tears as she retold her experience in the safe room.

"This..." Neither Christian nor Archer could understand the reason why this occurred to the poor girl, but they did understand one thing... Something or someone in the dungeon didn't want her out.

Christian and Archer had to make a decision and for them... pressing forward was the obvious choice. This was a reckless decision but it did have its reasons. Whatever was controlling the skeletons could very well cause them to be besieged if they went against its will.

Plus if they let the girl go, the strange power might just bring her back in. If that happened they might not be there to protect her.

"We'll help you get to the bottom of this" Christian declared solemnly.