Alright, so let's stop a minute and think about this. I have, already beaten bruised and exhausted, stumbled upon an encampment of crazed human deviants. Mutants. Even if I was in good shape, I am not a warrior or a hero. Even just the dozen or so of the green-skinned savages I could see currently could kill me on a good day, and that wasn’t even mentioning all the additional tents or the one with canine headdress.

I owed nothing to that scream, that disembodied voice. I probably wouldn’t be able to save them and even if I could why would I risk it? All around the fire I could see bones and remains of several humans, now that I knew to look for them. These creatures were capable of either hunting down all these people, making them good trackers and hunters, or meeting them head to head and winning that skirmish. They would most likely catch him trying to sneak around, and they didn’t take prisoners obviously, or track him and whoever their livestock was down if he managed to free them. If he just left now, there was a decent chance they'd never even know that he was there.

Besides, that scream could have been one of them regardless of what the hair on the back of his neck was saying. I took two steps away from the camp just to hear another scream, from the same person. ‘A human woman’ my brain screamed at me, over and over. I didn’t have much of a choice at this point. I willed up my interface to confirm I had enough mana for a spell or two and started making my way around the perimeter of the camp.

The entire experience was nerve wracking. At any second a sentry could see me, or the wolf could come back for me, or I could even stumble upon someone out taking a piss. My spear, which I’d gathered from the bush where it was stashed, was clenched so hard that I was losing feeling in my hand as I stalked around the camp.

congratulations, you’ve unlocked a new skill. some would call you charming, others sketchy, and even more questionable. through practiced use you have managed to unlock [stealth], specifically the skill of [sneak].

I wasn’t sure if it was possible for a non-living and non-speaking interface to whisper, but that was the distinct impression I’d gotten from it. Naturally when the pop up appeared it scared the shit out of me and it was only due to my tendency to freeze and stop moving. I read the message twice before I really understood the implications, instantly pulling up the info about the skill.

Skill: Sneak

Due to continuous proximity to hostile parties you have learned how to sneak from point to point. You are now able to better control your breathing, move more fluidly, and fidget less when not moving, so long as you attempting to sneak.

Even as I read it I knew that my breathing had become less erratic and I was more aware of my surroundings. I thought of the many times in the past that the skill would have come in handy, whether it was sneaking out of the house or swiping something from my parents room. Even so recently as trying to hide from the wolf in the glade. The more I thought about it the more I realized how lucky I was to unlock the skill. Each step I took felt more graceful and although it could have just been my mind playing tricks, I felt like I was breaking less twigs and crackling less leaves.

With my new serendipitous skill, I was able to make better time around the encampment there where I’d heard the noise, only having to stop twice to wait for a sentry to look another way. Whatever the deviants were, they were not exactly vigilant or intelligent, so he was able to make it over without any hassle. Of course that was only the first part of what he had to do.

The area where the captive was being held was darker than around the campfire, lit only by a few torches, and was tucked away between a few tents. There were less dwellings here and only a single guard, nearest I could tell, standing on ground that was soaked in blood and various viscera. From what I could see squinting into the clearing, there was only a single living human there.

‘Brook!’ It was hard to see right away due to the various bruises and the lighting, but I was almost sure that it was Brook who was tied up to the post in front of the guard. Looking around I could see Sophie tied up and curled into a ball not too far away as well, confirming to me that it was in fact the woman who had betrayed me, robbed me blind, and then dumped me in the forest.

Okay, so Brook might be a total traitor, not worth even a little bit of my sympathy, but she was also a human just like me. Also there was Sophie. Sophie saved my life at the risk of her own the first time she found me but wandered off with Brook when she robbed me. Even after I saved her from the harpy. I decided then and there I would do my best to rescue the ungrateful bitch… and my dog.

I was still very injured and exhausted so I was going to have to be very careful here. I mentally queried my mana levels and saw that I was almost topped off so I started planning my surgical strike. Step one was to gather more information, obviously. I had no idea if there were more guards around where I couldn’t see them or a patrol or if Brook and Sophie would even be capable of walking.

I did a couple of very slow rounds around the area where Brook was fastened to the post and was unable to detect any sentries, ignoring my creaking and screaming leg muscles as I carefully employed my new sneaking skills. That wasn’t to say there weren’t any there but if they were there, I didn’t see them. That didn’t exactly give me the warm and fuzzies if I’m being honest. Now that I was sure of my escape plan (See: Run like hell into the woods and hope there aren’t any super ninja mutants waiting to ambush) I started gathering insight on my ex-companion’s situation.

Since my painstakingly slow FOVwalk, that is my walk to check the field of vision into the clearing, not much had changed. Brook was tied to an eight-foot post with her hands above her head. Her clothing was conspicuously torn and tattered in most places and she had scabbed cuts along her legs and arms, as well as a few blood smears on her face and stomach. Whatever she’d been going through here, it hadn’t been pleasant.

As I watched, the single guard watching over her sauntered over toward where she was constrained. Along the way he passed by Sophie who growled before being struck with the boot of the spear the mutant was armed with. He spat on the dog’s head and kept up his slow walk toward Brook, who began whining under her breath. It was obvious she was trying not to give the creature satisfaction but was unable to completely silence her fear.

The guard himself was at least two heads shorter than I was, with the same mottled green skin as his savage companions. He walked with a severely hunched back and his head seemed to list to the left a bit, with one eye significantly larger than the other. If he decided it was time to kill and cook Brook I would probably be able to take him, but that was a last ditch option. There was almost no way I’d be able to approach and take him out fast enough to prevent him from crying out or killing Brook in retaliation.

The mutant slowed as he stood in front of Brook, who was doing her best to make herself seem small and was looking anywhere other than at the guard. I realized then that the scratches along her legs had probably come from the wicked looking nails on the guard, so long and sharp that they may as well have been claws. I imagined one clawing along her thigh as she kicked out at her captors and cringed, even if we got away from here there was a decent chance those were going to get infected.

The guard reached his gnarled hand up to Brook’s face and ran a finger nail down the side of her face, pushing away the hair that been obscuring her face. When she didn’t react by looking down at him he slapped her across her face before grabbing her jaw and turning it toward his face. Tears streamed down her face, washing away a small amount of grime while simultaneously not clearing much at all. The bright red mark on her cheek further highlighted her bloodshot eyes, which lifted to stair defiantly at the guard.

The creature snarled back into Brook’s glare, expecting her to back down. Even with tears streaming down at her face however, she didn’t back down. In fact, she spat a glob of spit and blood right on the mutant’s forehead. I saw the grip on his spear and prepared myself to come charging in, consequences be damned. She may have fucked me over, but it isn’t like she’d owed me much anyways. Besides, I was a better person than her.

Instead of stabbing her like I’d assumed he was going to do, however, he smirked before caressing the inside of her ankle with his spearhead. Brook tensed up as the spearhead migrated north, trailing along the skin of her inner thigh before arriving right below her ladyhood. The creature jabbed the spearhead forward into the post, not drawing blood but drawing an indignant yelp and causing Brook to break eye contact at last.

The smirk on the creature widened as all of its teeth were exposed, gleaming in the low lighting of the torch. He leaned in on his staff a little harder, encroaching on Brook’s personal space, if she could be considered as having any at this point. The pointed teeth parted as the mutant’s tongue slipped out to lick the blood and spit off its forehead. Note to self: I now have a phobia of creatures with tongues longer than their heads are large, it’s fucking creepy.

The creature finished up by running its tongue along Brook’s cheek, lapping up her tears before removing its spear and swaggering away while cackling. Had I not already made my decision to try and help, this scene would have convinced me. As it was, my resolve was hardened and I elected to act now. I didn’t know if the next guard would be stronger or crueler, but this one looked weak enough to take down.

I left my spear along my intended path of escape and readied my two boar-tusk “daggers”. I wasn’t sure if my spear would be sharp enough to pierce its hide or accurate enough to take the creature down in the dark. Getting up close and dirty with my new skill and knives was a safer bet, and part of me wanted to see the light leave this torturous wretch’s eyes.

I white knuckled my daggers as I slowly crouch-walked through the brush, getting as close to the clearing as I dared while I watched the guard patrol. During its rounds I noticed it had an almost predictable route and would eventually walk toward me to gaze out into the dark woods. I wasn’t sure how good the mutant’s eyesight was but considering that its eyes were still mostly human looking, it couldn’t have great night vision after standing by the torches for so long.

As predicted, the guard began to patrol in my direction about 5 minutes later. I say 5 minutes, but it felt more like a lifetime. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to move. Adjust, sit down, stretch, anything but maintain the stoic position I found myself in.

Turns out I was a lot better at spotting patterns than I realized. Not only was the guard coming in my direction, but he was making directly for me. Literally a straight line. My monkey-brain screamed at me that I had been spotted, and the guard was casually walking in my direction as to not raise my alert. That is what I would have done in its position at least, walk close calmly before striking out with my spear.

But although I the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up, something else kept me from moving. A silent voice in the back of my head, voicelessly saying I hadn’t been noticed but would be if I moved even an inch. It screamed louder than the voice telling me to run but was inaudible. I had no idea why I felt absolutely sure that I hadn’t been spotted, but I was sure none-the-less so I didn’t move.

The mutant stopped not even three feet from where I was crouched within the bush and I tensed, somehow. My muscles had been so tight for the last five minutes so I hadn’t thought it possible to clench them further, but I did so while preparing to block a spear. My silent passenger told me that I’d gone unnoticed so far, but I didn’t entirely trust it while at the same time trusting it entirely. Conflicting emotions aside, I hadn’t been stabbed yet so I got ready to strike out.

As soon as the guard turned to walk away, evidently not having seen me, I silently cast my go-to spell [Entangling Roots]. Vine like branches shot out from the overgrown hedge I’d been crouched within to constrict the mutant’s mouth while roots sprung out of the ground to ensnare both of the hunchback’s ankles.

Before I even finished casting I moved along with the vines I was already in motion, flying out of the bush with a burst of speed that matched the bloodthirsty vines. My first tusk passed around the guard’s shoulder and stabbed into the left side of his neck before being dragged to the right, tearing open the throat rather than cutting due to a lack of a cutting edge. My left hand was already flying around the creatures other shoulder to lodge itself in his oversized right eye.

All in all the creature didn’t even have a second to register its fate before passing away from my twin daggers. Any onlookers, had they noticed me, would think I was giving him a hug from behind. I moved to drag the body out of sight as I removed the tusks from their flesh sheath only to find that the roots were already retracting and pulling the mutant along with them.

I followed the dragged corpse back into the bush and checked its pockets, yielding me a small dagger of questionable quality and a few... Oh gross. I dropped the burnt toes back to the ground and turned to leave the bush. I scooped up the guard’s spear and hunched over as I walked back toward Sophie and Brook, doing my best to match the silhouette the guard would have cast for onlookers to see. No alarms had been raised so far. I knocked on the wooden haft of my spear and approached the woman who left me for dead, ready to save her life.