My (Monster?) Hero Life

"Who?" Sophia tilted her head in confusion.

"What!" Exclaimed Grugda immediately afterwards, earning himself Sophia's curious gaze.

Kace chuckled at their responses. Grugda was, after all, the only one out of the two who had personally known Gyn. So, of course, he understood what Kace was implying.

"Gyn, he's one of our friends who lost his life in the battle for Stonefall." Kace smiled as fond memories surfaced in his mind. "He's a goblin."

"What! A dead goblin?" Sophia exclaimed in surprise. "You're joking, right? Even if you could bring him back from the dead, what good could one extra goblin do?"

Sophia felt like her expectations had been betrayed. She could not help but give Kace a furious stare for playing with her like that.

"He's not just any goblin." Kace chuckled as he glanced at her. "He's the one who devised the airships and cannons."

Sophia's expression became one of disbelief as she stared at Kace. She was trying to figure out if he was lying to her. That was, until some vague memories of conversations she had with monsters in Stonefall and how they basically revered a monster called Gyn. However, she never knew that he was a goblin of all things! 

"Kace. How do. We bring him. Back?" Grugda fixed Kace with a passionate gaze from all three of his eyes. He was just as eager to see their friend returned to them as Kace was.

"That's what we need the book for. We'll have to rely on you to make it work. We probably only have one chance at making this succeed." Kace's tone was solemn as he did his best to convey the sincerity of it to the Eljein.

"Hm. Understood. I may have. To return. To Er-Gol then." Grugda's tone was full of determination as he spoke.

"Why would you have to do that?" Kace asked out of curiosity.

"There are. Things there. I may need. Depending on. What I will. Have to. Do." Grugda's large head bobbed up and down as he internally reviewed the facilities that would be available to him there.

"If you think that will help, then that's fine. You should probably wait till you read the book first before making up your mind." Kace grinned as he said that.

Sophia felt like a bit of a third wheel during this conversation. It was clear that she was the only one among them that did not really have any impactful reaction to the possible return of Gyn. Well, almost the only one. Josh just walked by their side and listened curiously to their discussion.

The matter revolving around bringing the dead back to life was something that intrigued him. Since that was a possible avenue for him to explore to give his crew their life back. 'I should stick with them for a while until I discover how they intend to do it.'

"Josh?" Kace turned to look at the wraith who was contemplating what he had just heard. "I don't know what your plans are now, but would you mind taking us to Stonefall? "

This was the part that Kace was anxious about. Joshua did not have any obligation to grant his request. If he refused them here, then it would mean either a very long walk back to the monsters' seat of power or waiting around for the council to send an airship out this way to check on their progress.

"Sure, I plan on accompanying you guys for a while. My crew and I don't have anything better to do right now anyway." Josh shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal while concealing his true intentions. 

"Thank you," Kace heaved a sigh of relief at Josh's willingness to help them out. "What are we waiting for? Gyn must be dying to return!"

Sophia, Josh and Grugda groaned at Kace's poor taste in his joke. They sincerely hoped that he would refrain from trying to be funny ever again! 

Before long, the monsters found themselves crowding onto the Freedom as Josh roamed around barking orders at his crew. Brenden busied himself with allocating the army to different coins and decks to accommodate the sudden influx of bodies. 

As Kace stood on the upper deck and gazed out at the oasis city, Shadow finally appeared from inside one of the buildings. He raced across the sand towards the gangplank with a panicked expression on his face!

'Don't tell me he was discovered!' Kace panicked at this sight. He sent Shadow because he believed that the Tu'Thrag goblin would get the job done without a problem!

"Josh! We have to leave! Now!" Kace roared as he pointed towards Shadow's figure while looking like he was fleeing from an angry dragon.

The wraith cursed at that sight before waving his arms in the air. The ghostly anchor began to raise itself at his gesture, and the sails unfolded without the crew doing anything! The Freedom lurched as it slowly began to gain speed.

Shadow's feet hit the sand faster as he saw the ship leaving without him! Before the Freedom could pick up too much speed, Shadow leapt onto the still lowered gangplank and collapsed, gasping for breath.

Joshua waved a hand again, and the plank withdrew while dragging Shadow's collapsed figure up onto the deck. Kace kept his eyes peeled as he stared at the oasis for any sign of Shadow's pursuers. As the dark-skinned goblin was dumped by his feet, Kace sighed in relief as the Freedom began to pick up speed. 

The oasis was soon left behind as the ship cut through the desert dunes with ease. Sending clouds of sand into the air in its wake. As Shadow found the strength to finally stand up, Kace could not help but frown. It just did not make sense that there was no sign of whoever had been chasing Shadow.

Kace raised an eyebrow at Shadow as a questioning look crossed his face. To which Shadow responded with an embarrassed expression.

"I had to run, you see." Shadow's tone sounded fearful as he spoke. "Lady Rysa detected me…"

Kace groaned when he heard that. He could not help but wonder how that would affect their relationship in the future.

"What did she say?"

"Well, that's why I ran. She asked me how I would pay for the book while standing there naked!"