Chapter 81: The Droblin Race
The next morning, deep in the forest, the Droblin girl named Maarit walked cautiously at the front, carefully watching her surroundings. Behind her, her companions dragged a primitive wooden stretcher on which Thorne was tied.
Although he was seriously injured, he was still able to move, but he could not break free of the restraints no matter how hard he tried.
He looked at the rope binding him with a complicated expression and thought, ’Is this rope the reason? It seems to be imbued with magic that suppresses my powers.’
He furrowed his brows and said firmly, "Release me. I appreciate your help and saving my life, but where are you taking me?"
One of the Droblin cautiously replied, "Just be quiet. You’ll attract monsters to our location. We’re taking you to our village so our chief can decide what to do with you."
’Tsk, I have to get out of here. Even though I’m bound by the Right of the Ancestors to Lord Arvan, if they claim me, I’ll be in big trouble. They also saved my life, and I can’t have two masters at the same time. I don’t want to be sent on a suicide mission for their sake.’
The Right of the Ancestors had many stipulations, but it guaranteed a reward for anyone who saved a werewolf’s life. If the werewolf already had a master, they were still obliged to perform one task for the second person who saved them.
He had heard them talk a few hours ago about a goblin nest troubling their village. He really didn’t want to deal with goblins again after last night’s battle.
’Damn, all I wanted was to return early to help my sister through her frenzy. Why was I so unlucky to encounter dozens of goblins on the way? Worse, many of them were D-Rank.’ He sighed in frustration and stared at the sky, barely visible through the thick branches. Then he thought, ’I hope my sister didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know what the Lord will do if she angered him.’
Without further dwelling on it, he scanned the surroundings, sniffed the air, and tried to memorize the path they had taken. After several hours of walking, the Droblin finally stopped.
They set up a simple camp and sat down to eat. Maarit, with a complex and no longer cheerful expression, hesitated and asked, "We’re almost there. Do you really think the village chief will scold me for what I did?"
A Droblin named Robert sighed in disappointment. "Most likely, yes. We were sent to gather medicinal herbs, not to save people. Worse, we didn’t even find all the herbs we needed despite venturing this far."