Chapter 22

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Usiku opened the door to the cell for me. Halia sprang up from her bed like a wary animal, her braided, black hair flowing behind her like an animal tail. She stared at me with wary fear in her eyes that made me wince.

I wasn’t a monster. How to show her that?

“Just bringing you dinner,” I said, holding up one of the wooden bowls in my hand. The stew in there steamed. “Lana cooked it, so it’s pretty decent.”

Halia stared at it as I held it out for her. Behind me, Usiku dragged in a chair and then left, closing the door leaving me alone with Halia. The warrior stared at the food then the door. She looked hesitant. She wore the clothes we’d given her. It wasn’t the sexy garb of a badass warrior chick, but a pair of tight-fitting, leather pants and a low-cut blouse.

She took the bowl from me and retreated to her bed. She sat down on it cross-legged. I grinned at her and sank on the chair. It was wood and hard beneath my ass. This world didn’t believe much in padding. I supposed if you never had it, you got used to being without it.

I spooned up some of the stew with the pewter utensil. The dried meat had softened in the stew and picked up the flavors of the spices. I chewed on it, groaning. It was rather good compared to some of the food.

“What do you want from me?” Halia asked after she had taken a few bites of the stew. She stared at me with her intense, blue eyes.

“I want to convince you I’m not evil,” I said. “I don’t want adventurers attacking me all the time.”

“Because you know that we’ll kill you?” she hissed.

“Because I don’t want to kill you!” I stirred my stew around. “You know, people deserve to live. I’m not harming you, so why are you harming me.”

“Because this dungeon is a festering rot on this world,” she said, heat in her voice. “You are bleeding out the very life-blood of his world and making abominations with it.”

“Abominations?” I asked. “My will o’ wisps and wildhounds are not abominations. They’re cute monster girls.”

“Dangerous fiends that will spill out of here to assert your authority. You’ll be demanding trade. Tariffs. You dungeon builders always do.”

“Always?” I asked. I took a bite of my stew. “There’s never been one who didn’t pose a threat?”

She stared hard at me. “Never!”

“Because they attacked you first, or they were just minding their business when adventurers started breaking into their domain to kill them and loot their strongholds?”

“We have every right to defend ourselves!” She glared daggers at me. “You are attacking my village!”

“I have never attacked Astovin,” I growled. “I have never done anything to anyone in this world, and yet adventurers have found my dungeon and attack me. Like you. Why did you and your companions march into my dungeon?”

“To defend Astovin!”

“You said it’s under attack by oozes and satyrs. Did you see any of those here?”

“That’s...” She frowned. “That’s not the point. You are a threat. You’ll enslave Astovin if you’re not stopped.”

“You don’t know that. You can’t possibly know what I’m going to do. You’re judging me on crimes I haven’t committed. Have no plans on committing.”

“You will!”

“At first you said that you’re doing it to defend Astovin from a current threat,” I said, “to justify attacking me. But now it’s a preemptive attack because I might attack you. That’s moving the goalposts.”

“What?”

“Where you keep changing your goals when you don’t like the information you’re getting. It’s something people do to justify their actions as righteous even when they’re being proved to be the opposite. You attacked a peaceful community. My monster girls have never raided Astovin. I’ve been to your village with Lana. Where do you think I bought the meat in the stew you’re eating.”

She stared down it in shock.

“I heard about the dungeon builder that’s causing problems.” My jaw set. “He’s giving my kind a bad name. He acts just as arrogantly as you adventurers.”

“Arrogant!” she gasped. “Do not compare me to a dungeon builder! I’m nothing like them!”

“Oh, you didn’t break into my home for the express purpose of harming me?” I asked. “You came here to do violence even after I disabled all my defenses, held back my monster girls, and tried to talk to you. Would you even parley with me? No, you just attacked. You attempted to enforce your will on me with violence. Just like that dungeon builder—”

“I’m nothing like you filthy dungeon builders!” she snarled and threw the bowl at me.

It hit my chest and splashed stew across my robe. I felt it soaking me. The bowl fell to the ground and clattered there. She bolted to her feet, staring at me, her arms shaking with rage. I stood up to face her, not wanting to show weakness.