The next morning Kaz woke up early to find Sarah and Peter already awake, looking around in distress. "Where did she go? She's not at her garden!" Sarah was panicking while Peter tried his best to calm her down.
"She's probably getting some food for breakfast."
"She would have told me if she was doing that!" Sarah noticed that Kaz was awake now and rushed over to him. "Did you talk to her last night. Do you know where she went?" tears were streaming down her face as she looked him in the eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes almost glowed as the tears fell.
"I'll go look for her. You stay here." Kaz got up and headed towards the door. Peter blocked his path.
"I'm going with you."
"It's too dangerous for you, stay here and protect Sarah."
"You know where she went?" Peter caught on quickly. He seemed to be sharp. Kaz nodded and put his hand on Peters's shoulder.
"I do, and it's not someplace for humans. I promise I'll be back with her."
Thinking about it, Peter slowly nods and turns around to face Sarah. "I think we should listen to him. He knows what he's doing, and he's saved us before."
"But she's my friend. I need to help her if she's in danger!"
"I understand that, but what are you going to do if we get in a fight? Can you protect her much less yourself?"
Sarah looks down at the floor, and tears plop on the hardwood floor. "I might be weak, but I have to do something."
Kaz walked up to Sarah and raised her head. She looked cute as she cried. He felt terrible that he had to leave her behind, but he knew she would only be in danger. "If you want to help her, then the best thing you can do is stay here and stay safe. Perish would want that."
Sarah reluctantly agreed and sat on the bed. Silent as she contemplated something. Peter looked at Kaz and nodded firmly. "Please bring her back safe."
"Of course."
Leaving the hut, Kaz looked around for anything that might discern where she headed. He noticed some tracks and started following them.
SKILL ACQUIRED- Tracking Lv 1
His eyes lit up a little as he started to notice small things like broken twigs and footprints easier. She was not hiding her tracks very well, so finding her would be easy for him, but unfortunately, if the hunter was as mighty as Elgen said he was, then that meant he was also going to be able to find her pretty quickly. It came down to who found her first.
Time was ticking, and he continued to follow the tracks. It was starting to get a little easier after awhile. Learning what was her tracks and what wasn't. He finally came into a clearing and saw her. She was walking slowly and carefully as if looking for someone, most likely the hunter. Kaz tried to hide, but her ears perked up, and she turned around to see him. She glared at him. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't let you do this on your own. Its suicide."
"How do you know what I am up to? Did you spy on me last night?"
"I'm sorry about that, but whoever Elgar is, I won't let him get you killed."
"You need to get away from here now I need to do this on my own."
"Don't play the tough loner character now I know you need my help."
She stiffened for a moment before falling to the ground. A dart was protruding from her back, and she tried to raise her head but found she couldn't. Kaz looked in the direction of where the dart came from and saw a glint of steel in the bushes. He quickly dodged to the side as a dart hit the tree behind him. He rushed toward the bushes with his sword drawn. He was not sure if he could get to the man in time, but he knew he had to do something, or they would both be killed. Another dart came plying past his face, and he saw the man in the bushes stumble back and pull a dagger.
"Another monster come to try and kill old Darlog, huh? Many have tried kobold. None have succeeded." The man parried the sword strike and jumped to his feet. He threw a smaller dagger at Kaz, which grazed his left arm. He winced at the pain but kept charging forward. The man blocked each of Kaz's strikes like it was child's play.
"For an Alpha Kobold, you sure are weak. Do they not train them like they use to anymore?" Kaz was worried this fight was not going well, and Perish was out of commission for who knew how long. Darlog made an advance and pulled out a second dagger. Swinging both of them in odd patterns, Kaz could not keep up with them and took many glancing cuts all over his chest and arms.
Kaz knew he was going to die if he did not think of something quick. Thinking back to everything he currently owned, he could not think of a single object that he could use in the open to take advantage. He thought about his ring, but he did not want to use that in front of Perish, not unless he had to.
Darlog continued the assault, and Kaz was losing blood fast now with dozens of cuts all along his body. He thought back to class and how they talked about death by 1000 cuts. He was nowhere near that number, and he could already tell it was a horrifying experience. He glanced over at Perish, who was watching the fight and struggling in vain to move. He needed to figure something out. It came to him just now. "Light!" a ball of light appeared in between Kaz and Darlog, which surprised the hunter. He jumped back, preparing to counter whatever magic the kobold had prepared next, but instead found that Kaz was now running towards Perish. He swiftly pulled up his character sheet and pumped in 3 points into strength and 2 points into dexterity. He knew he was going to need it for what he was about to do. Suddenly he felt a burst of power and speed as his muscles became more tone and his step more graceful. He ran by and picked up Perish with ease, hefting her over his shoulder as he ran into the forest.