On the shore Lyra crouched with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees peeking at Rain as he splashed around in the water. She wasn't going to admit it out loud but the interaction with the old man had upset her. The leveler had attacked them first and had casually professed to enjoying murdering Goblins in front of Opal. Lyra had killed Goblins herself for levels of course but... she hadn't enjoyed it and she wouldn't rub killing them in Opal's face, not unless she made her mad anyway. She wasn't sure how she had come to this new attitude, nobody cared about the Goblin slaves in her home city, not that they were around long enough to grow attached to them. Why bother feeding them properly when getting a fresh one was so cheap?... was that wrong somehow?
She eyed Opal. The Goblin had moved to sit in Rain's lap and was preening as he washed her hair. Goblins at home didn't act like that, they were all demure and quiet and didn't speak up, they acted like they were plants or part of the furniture trying their best to not interact with levelers. That was what a good high quality and well trained slave did. That was.... Lyra bit her lip... that wasn't trying to do a good job, that was fear of dying. Seeing how alive and sapient and leveler like Opal was put her memories of the city in a horribly uncomfortable light.
She was busily worrying the problem when water splashed over her. She looked up to see Opal looking smugly at her. The Goblin was quite naked, her breasts above the waterline. Lyra blinked and a droplet of water fell from the tip of her nose.
"Gonna daydream forever sheepy?"
"N-no... what are you doing in the water anyway? I thought Goblins hated being clean?"
Opal scowled at her. "I'm different, y-yeah? It's about mindset, water is nasty and disgusting, therefore water is a type of filth, I am now filthy with water." The Goblin seemed like she didn't believe her own words even as she spoke them.
"...I'm not sure that's how that works, but okay."
A sour expression crossed Opal's face, this was not a subject she wanted to think about.
Behind her Rain stood up and the small pool he had formed suddenly rushed downstream between his knees. Opal got caught in the current and washed up against him. He caught her and picked up the naked Goblin and carried her to shore. They found a large flat stone and both of them lay down atop it, the hot midday summer sun quickly drying them, evaporating the stream water away.
Soon they were ready and set off back into the forest. A few hours later the forest started to thin and the group slowed. The trees parted and they came out on a rise overlooking a shallow forested valley. In the center of the valley was a walled town, the walls heavy and thick with crenellations. One large defensive gatehouse set at the front and back, a cobbled road winding from each. Outside and separate from the town was a large mansion with its own private walls all built from heavy stone. Rain knew that mansion. It had always been there, for all of his life trapped behind the walls of Lynthia. It was the town Ranker's home.
An incredibly vivid memory from his past life flashed before Rain's mind. His knees curled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, trying to keep in as much body heat as possible as the overcast sky drizzled rain. He sat at the corner of a street, a tin cup in front of him. That cup combined with his ragged appearance would cause anyone to assume he was a beggar, which was essentially the case, although most beggars had an easier time of it than he did. An old woman paused in passing and looked down at the tin, pity in her eyes. She reached for her coin purse, but then she paused. She glanced down the street and up, the mansion outside of town just visible over the town's wall from where she stood. Rain could see the usual calculation in the old woman's eyes. Was it worth the risk of annoying the Ranker and therefore her life for some small charity? The answer turned out to be a no as she reluctantly removed her hand from the purse, but Rain was used to that. The old woman left and Rain continued to shiver in the cold. His stomach hurt, he hadn't eaten in two days.
Ran shook his head slightly, the memory wisping away.
He looked down to see Opal staring at the town.
"That's where levelers are from? But there are so many people in there!"
"I thought, but I never imagined, by tail and scale we never stood a chance of stopping the levelers from coming to the dungeon..." murmured Red.
"This is just a town, cities are far larger. This is a dungeon town that was built because there is a dungeon nearby, lots of levelers make use of it," said Lyra.
Rain eyed the walls. "I want in. How do I get past those walls without the entire town coming together to attack me?"
"I, I don't know, they will likely have precautions for my invisibility. Uhm, I can go look, I am a leveler unlike you, they won't give me a second glance unless I'm trying to be suspicious."
"... Fine. Lyra, go into the town and see if you can find out about what's happening, what the people in the town know, who went to the dungeon with the Inquisitor, and the whereabouts of the levelers: Brax, Myra, Lira, Eliza, and Adlen."
"Uhm, I can do that, I think, that shouldn't be a problem. Will you wait here?"
"No." Rain turned and narrowed his eyes at the mansion. "I'm going to the mansion."
Lyra couldn't help but shiver at his words. "To do what?"
Rain remained worryingly silent.
After a moment of hesitation, Lyra set off down into the valley. He watched her go then turned and led Red and Opal toward the mansion as the sun was dipping below the horizon in a blaze of deep orange.
