Chapter 78
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When Gren found Noir and Choco, they were trying to open up a door. "What are you two doing going off on your own?" Noir pointed towards the door before pointing at her nose and pretending that she was disgusted. "There's a bad smell behind the door?" Gren didn't smell anything but he also didn't have a dog's nose like the kobolds did.
The door's hinges were almost rusted through. One good hit with a hammer would probably break them... there was an easier solution though. Gren stored the door away before placing it off to the side.
"Hey, Shenzi, you should come and see this!" It looked like it used to be a place to store food. Decomposing crates were sitting in a corner and the shelves had what must have been food at one time. Off to the side of the storage room was a dead body that was decaying--a clear sign that it had been sitting for a long time.
Shenzi took off her helmet to hold her nose while examining the body. "It's hard to tell what killed this man but my guess is that it's related to the injury on their arm. I might be wrong and the bone was broken after their death but it looks like it was snapped in two."
"You're not sure about it?" Gren was surprised to see that the great tracker didn't have all of the answers.
"I'm a hunter. The dead bodies I've seen tend to be fresher and it's easier to tell how they died because there are usually monster tracks nearby." Shenzi was still looking around for any clues that might be able to explain what happened to the man. "If his death is not related to his broken arm then I don't know what else could have caused it."
Gren realized that they were going nowhere with the body. "I don't think we'll find anything here. It might be better to search that hatch we found." He wasn't sure how long it would take for the officials to check the cellar so he put the door back in its place. "We don't know what's down there so we all have to stick together. You two can't go running off again. If you find something then make a noise but do not leave our side. Got it?"
The kobolds agreed so the four of them returned to the damaged hatch. "So, who's going first?" All eyes were on Gren. "Me?"
"Well, you do have that shield on your back and you're the most experienced mercenary here." What Shenzi said was technically true but she had more experience in combat... "Besides, you wouldn't let any of us women go first into a scary pit, would you?"
"Shut it. You're only playing the woman angle now when it's convenient. I've seen you pretending to be a man in the guild so that you can get attention." Gren had also experienced a lot of attention but it was mostly from the older women in the guild. His room was filling up with things that they had crocheted for him but the stubble he was growing on his face helped to curb that trend.
"I don't do it for the attention that it brings me. Those poor women are starved for male attention since there are so few men around them." That's something that Gren had also noticed which is why he was happy to see that Midna had found someone. "We all know it is just pretend but sometimes that's enough to bring us happiness. It's much like how you and your wives pretend that you're an adult in order to bring the four of you happiness.
Gren could swear that he felt a dagger being stabbed into his back with that comment. Ever since he had freed them from the bonds of slavery they were all taking turns teasing him. Well, that was better than what it was like before; everyone seemed reserved with him back then. There were still some things that need to be worked on but over time the former slaves were regaining their humanity and they've started having fun.
Gren made sure his light was on and that his armor was on properly to help stall for time before taking the first step down. "You're going to be right behind me, right?"
"Yes."
Gren took the second step. "And you're ready to help if I get attacked?"
"Yes. Now, quit stalling."
Gren took the third step.
"If you say one more thing, I swear to my ancestors that I will kick you down the stairs."
Gren took the rest of the steps in silence... but only the steps. "Wahaha! There are no more stairs to kick me down!"
Shenzi walked by Gren while the kobolds followed closely behind her. "Those poor kids. There's no way that they'll have a normal life with a father like that. Remember, you two, never marry someone before you get to know them like the guild master did." That comment actually hurt his feelings a little.
There was only one way to go from the bottom of the stairs. The four of them continued on in silence as they explored the second floor beneath the mansion. The hallway led to a dungeon. There were shackles, cages, cells, and what looked like torture devices. Even if this place was used only for holding actual criminals--something that Gren doubted given its location--the person that ran this place had to be a really sadistic bastard. Some of the tools were clearly meant to be used to torture people in sexual ways; even if you could argue that torture worked to get information, that kind of torture was always unnecessary.
Most of the metal in the dungeon was rusted but that was to be expected since it was extremely humid. Inside one of the cells was an open section of the wall that led into a different passage. It was probably used as an escape route in the past if it led outside. "We could probably just block off this exit and call it a day if we just want to complete the mission. Either that or we could find out what's on the other side and complete the mission properly." Gren wanted to know what Shenzi planned on doing; he wouldn't mind cutting corners for such a vague mission like this one.
"We should go through and make sure that whatever killed that man is dead or gone." Shenzi thought that it would be bad if someone got injured because they didn't do their job. Gren went through the hole and was greeted with a familiar sight. The ruins really extended everywhere throughout the city, didn't they? Gren was really curious about the group of people that were able to build such a massive structure.
There was a broken ladder leading down but it was a short enough fall that it wouldn't hurt them. After hopping down, Gren helped the two kobold girls; the ledge was just high up enough to trigger the kobolds' fear of heights. After everybody was inside the ruins, Gren looked around. He wasn't going to clear any rubble underneath someone else's place so there was only one place to go which made things a lot easier. The four of them continued on their journey while ignoring the doors that were clearly rusted shut.
The group only stopped when they noticed something odd in the middle of the passage. Shenzi pointed towards the small dark brown potato-looking thing--most likely animal excrement--and started making hand signs. She used her hand to mimic something crawling. She pointed to Gren with her other hand and then made a stabbing motion towards the hand that was crawling. The one that was crawling died but it came back as a different one and bit her other hand that Gren thought was meant to represent him. Something stretching? No, that was just her stretching her hand. That didn't help Gren much but something was down here and it seemed like Shenzi was saying that it'd bite people. Why didn't she just use her words?
The small piles of animal excrement became more numerous as they continued down the hall. Gren was well-equipped and the knights said that his skills with a sword had already surpassed the average rookie. He was basically a different person now compared to how he was a few months. So... why did he still feel nervous?
Shenzi was leading the pack and signalled for Gren and the kobolds to stop. After pointing forward she pointed to her ears. Gren couldn't hear anything but the kobolds gripped their spears with both hands and pointed them forward. Beastmen and kobolds had much better hearing and their helmets were designed to allow them to take advantage of that fact; if they were preparing for a fight then they had to have heard something that he couldn't hear just yet.
Gren brought his shield from behind his back and drew the sword from the shield's built-in sheath. As they slowly moved forward, Gren could hear start to hear something from up ahead. It was a sound that he was unfortunately familiar with since he heard it in the past. The sound was faint but he was sure that it was an animal's squeaking. The pieces clicked together. An animal that would bite people--or Gren in particular--and made a squeaking sound. It looked like it was time to live up to the nickname that the women gave him as a joke.
Shenzi signalled for everyone to stop again before dashing towards a dark figure crawling around. With a quick slash from her blade it had its throat ripped open and it soon died without being able to alert the others. The way that Shenzi wielded her blade was impressive to watch; it was like the blade was merely an extension of her body. She returned to the group and whispered, "There are more up ahead. The area ahead is too open to fight them so the three of you should get ready while I go lure them over."
"Wait. Take a break while I get something ready." Gren had a better plan. "I've been thinking about what to do if we opened up another passage in the future and we encountered another group of rats. They seem to rely on their large numbers to overwhelm larger enemies like us so I came up with this."
{Deploy the Rat Trap XL}
A large metal structure that fit into the hallway appeared from his pocket dimension. Gren already had it constructed using the Advanced Arsenal months ago but didn't find any use for it. The amount of points it required to build was insane but Gren was glad that he built it now.
"What the hell is this?" Shenzi didn't know what she was looking at but that was to be expected since from this angle it just looked like a metal wall with a door on it.
"It's basically just a hallway designed to kill swarms of rats. If you're careful then you can get through without getting stabbed, sliced, or snagged but if you're a rat that's part of a swarm then even if you try to be careful you'll still get shoved into one of the spikes." Gren walked over to the door. It was a simple metal door attached with hinges and locked with a bar since the system didn't have any blueprints for locking mechanisms unless he spent research points on the 'Simple Mechanics' research project. That was also needed for firearms and vehicles so he'd definitely be getting it in the near future. "If you can lure them through here then we can kill them without a problem."
Shenzi looked through the now-open door and was made to wonder how Gren found the time to build such a diabolical... thing. "I'm not going to be running through this. Have fun luring them on your own while the three of us wait here."
"Fine. I'll lure them through. You just wait and see the results of my greatest masterpiece." Gren slowly made his way around the spikes and came out on the other side. He wasn't sure how he'd lure them away yet but he was confident that he could run away if he came face to face with them this time.
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When Gren found Noir and Choco, they were trying to open up a door. "What are you two doing going off on your own?" Noir pointed towards the door before pointing at her nose and pretending that she was disgusted. "There's a bad smell behind the door?" Gren didn't smell anything but he also didn't have a dog's nose like the kobolds did.
The door's hinges were almost rusted through. One good hit with a hammer would probably break them... there was an easier solution though. Gren stored the door away before placing it off to the side.
"Hey, Shenzi, you should come and see this!" It looked like it used to be a place to store food. Decomposing crates were sitting in a corner and the shelves had what must have been food at one time. Off to the side of the storage room was a dead body that was decaying--a clear sign that it had been sitting for a long time.
Shenzi took off her helmet to hold her nose while examining the body. "It's hard to tell what killed this man but my guess is that it's related to the injury on their arm. I might be wrong and the bone was broken after their death but it looks like it was snapped in two."
"You're not sure about it?" Gren was surprised to see that the great tracker didn't have all of the answers.
"I'm a hunter. The dead bodies I've seen tend to be fresher and it's easier to tell how they died because there are usually monster tracks nearby." Shenzi was still looking around for any clues that might be able to explain what happened to the man. "If his death is not related to his broken arm then I don't know what else could have caused it."
Gren realized that they were going nowhere with the body. "I don't think we'll find anything here. It might be better to search that hatch we found." He wasn't sure how long it would take for the officials to check the cellar so he put the door back in its place. "We don't know what's down there so we all have to stick together. You two can't go running off again. If you find something then make a noise but do not leave our side. Got it?"
The kobolds agreed so the four of them returned to the damaged hatch. "So, who's going first?" All eyes were on Gren. "Me?"
"Well, you do have that shield on your back and you're the most experienced mercenary here." What Shenzi said was technically true but she had more experience in combat... "Besides, you wouldn't let any of us women go first into a scary pit, would you?"
"Shut it. You're only playing the woman angle now when it's convenient. I've seen you pretending to be a man in the guild so that you can get attention." Gren had also experienced a lot of attention but it was mostly from the older women in the guild. His room was filling up with things that they had crocheted for him but the stubble he was growing on his face helped to curb that trend.
"I don't do it for the attention that it brings me. Those poor women are starved for male attention since there are so few men around them." That's something that Gren had also noticed which is why he was happy to see that Midna had found someone. "We all know it is just pretend but sometimes that's enough to bring us happiness. It's much like how you and your wives pretend that you're an adult in order to bring the four of you happiness.
Gren could swear that he felt a dagger being stabbed into his back with that comment. Ever since he had freed them from the bonds of slavery they were all taking turns teasing him. Well, that was better than what it was like before; everyone seemed reserved with him back then. There were still some things that need to be worked on but over time the former slaves were regaining their humanity and they've started having fun.
Gren made sure his light was on and that his armor was on properly to help stall for time before taking the first step down. "You're going to be right behind me, right?"
"Yes."
Gren took the second step. "And you're ready to help if I get attacked?"
"Yes. Now, quit stalling."
Gren took the third step.
"If you say one more thing, I swear to my ancestors that I will kick you down the stairs."
Gren took the rest of the steps in silence... but only the steps. "Wahaha! There are no more stairs to kick me down!"
Shenzi walked by Gren while the kobolds followed closely behind her. "Those poor kids. There's no way that they'll have a normal life with a father like that. Remember, you two, never marry someone before you get to know them like the guild master did." That comment actually hurt his feelings a little.
There was only one way to go from the bottom of the stairs. The four of them continued on in silence as they explored the second floor beneath the mansion. The hallway led to a dungeon. There were shackles, cages, cells, and what looked like torture devices. Even if this place was used only for holding actual criminals--something that Gren doubted given its location--the person that ran this place had to be a really sadistic bastard. Some of the tools were clearly meant to be used to torture people in sexual ways; even if you could argue that torture worked to get information, that kind of torture was always unnecessary.
Most of the metal in the dungeon was rusted but that was to be expected since it was extremely humid. Inside one of the cells was an open section of the wall that led into a different passage. It was probably used as an escape route in the past if it led outside. "We could probably just block off this exit and call it a day if we just want to complete the mission. Either that or we could find out what's on the other side and complete the mission properly." Gren wanted to know what Shenzi planned on doing; he wouldn't mind cutting corners for such a vague mission like this one.
"We should go through and make sure that whatever killed that man is dead or gone." Shenzi thought that it would be bad if someone got injured because they didn't do their job. Gren went through the hole and was greeted with a familiar sight. The ruins really extended everywhere throughout the city, didn't they? Gren was really curious about the group of people that were able to build such a massive structure.
There was a broken ladder leading down but it was a short enough fall that it wouldn't hurt them. After hopping down, Gren helped the two kobold girls; the ledge was just high up enough to trigger the kobolds' fear of heights. After everybody was inside the ruins, Gren looked around. He wasn't going to clear any rubble underneath someone else's place so there was only one place to go which made things a lot easier. The four of them continued on their journey while ignoring the doors that were clearly rusted shut.
The group only stopped when they noticed something odd in the middle of the passage. Shenzi pointed towards the small dark brown potato-looking thing--most likely animal excrement--and started making hand signs. She used her hand to mimic something crawling. She pointed to Gren with her other hand and then made a stabbing motion towards the hand that was crawling. The one that was crawling died but it came back as a different one and bit her other hand that Gren thought was meant to represent him. Something stretching? No, that was just her stretching her hand. That didn't help Gren much but something was down here and it seemed like Shenzi was saying that it'd bite people. Why didn't she just use her words?
The small piles of animal excrement became more numerous as they continued down the hall. Gren was well-equipped and the knights said that his skills with a sword had already surpassed the average rookie. He was basically a different person now compared to how he was a few months. So... why did he still feel nervous?
Shenzi was leading the pack and signalled for Gren and the kobolds to stop. After pointing forward she pointed to her ears. Gren couldn't hear anything but the kobolds gripped their spears with both hands and pointed them forward. Beastmen and kobolds had much better hearing and their helmets were designed to allow them to take advantage of that fact; if they were preparing for a fight then they had to have heard something that he couldn't hear just yet.
Gren brought his shield from behind his back and drew the sword from the shield's built-in sheath. As they slowly moved forward, Gren could hear start to hear something from up ahead. It was a sound that he was unfortunately familiar with since he heard it in the past. The sound was faint but he was sure that it was an animal's squeaking. The pieces clicked together. An animal that would bite people--or Gren in particular--and made a squeaking sound. It looked like it was time to live up to the nickname that the women gave him as a joke.
Shenzi signalled for everyone to stop again before dashing towards a dark figure crawling around. With a quick slash from her blade it had its throat ripped open and it soon died without being able to alert the others. The way that Shenzi wielded her blade was impressive to watch; it was like the blade was merely an extension of her body. She returned to the group and whispered, "There are more up ahead. The area ahead is too open to fight them so the three of you should get ready while I go lure them over."
"Wait. Take a break while I get something ready." Gren had a better plan. "I've been thinking about what to do if we opened up another passage in the future and we encountered another group of rats. They seem to rely on their large numbers to overwhelm larger enemies like us so I came up with this."
{Deploy the Rat Trap XL}
A large metal structure that fit into the hallway appeared from his pocket dimension. Gren already had it constructed using the Advanced Arsenal months ago but didn't find any use for it. The amount of points it required to build was insane but Gren was glad that he built it now.
"What the hell is this?" Shenzi didn't know what she was looking at but that was to be expected since from this angle it just looked like a metal wall with a door on it.
"It's basically just a hallway designed to kill swarms of rats. If you're careful then you can get through without getting stabbed, sliced, or snagged but if you're a rat that's part of a swarm then even if you try to be careful you'll still get shoved into one of the spikes." Gren walked over to the door. It was a simple metal door attached with hinges and locked with a bar since the system didn't have any blueprints for locking mechanisms unless he spent research points on the 'Simple Mechanics' research project. That was also needed for firearms and vehicles so he'd definitely be getting it in the near future. "If you can lure them through here then we can kill them without a problem."
Shenzi looked through the now-open door and was made to wonder how Gren found the time to build such a diabolical... thing. "I'm not going to be running through this. Have fun luring them on your own while the three of us wait here."
"Fine. I'll lure them through. You just wait and see the results of my greatest masterpiece." Gren slowly made his way around the spikes and came out on the other side. He wasn't sure how he'd lure them away yet but he was confident that he could run away if he came face to face with them this time.
When Gren found Noir and Choco, they were trying to open up a door. "What are you two doing going off on your own?" Noir pointed towards the door before pointing at her nose and pretending that she was disgusted. "There's a bad smell behind the door?" Gren didn't smell anything but he also didn't have a dog's nose like the kobolds did.The door's hinges were almost rusted through. One good hit with a hammer would probably break them... there was an easier solution though. Gren stored the door away before placing it off to the side."Hey, Shenzi, you should come and see this!" It looked like it used to be a place to store food. Decomposing crates were sitting in a corner and the shelves had what must have been food at one time. Off to the side of the storage room was a dead body that was decaying--a clear sign that it had been sitting for a long time.Shenzi took off her helmet to hold her nose while examining the body. "It's hard to tell what killed this man but my guess is that it's related to the injury on their arm. I might be wrong and the bone was broken after their death but it looks like it was snapped in two.""You're not sure about it?" Gren was surprised to see that the great tracker didn't have all of the answers."I'm a hunter. The dead bodies I've seen tend to be fresher and it's easier to tell how they died because there are usually monster tracks nearby." Shenzi was still looking around for any clues that might be able to explain what happened to the man. "If his death is not related to his broken arm then I don't know what else could have caused it."Gren realized that they were going nowhere with the body. "I don't think we'll find anything here. It might be better to search that hatch we found." He wasn't sure how long it would take for the officials to check the cellar so he put the door back in its place. "We don't know what's down there so we all have to stick together. You two can't go running off again. If you find something then make a noise but do not leave our side. Got it?"The kobolds agreed so the four of them returned to the damaged hatch. "So, who's going first?" All eyes were on Gren. "Me?""Well, you do have that shield on your back and you're the most experienced mercenary here." What Shenzi said was technically true but she had more experience in combat... "Besides, you wouldn't let any of us women go first into a scary pit, would you?""Shut it. You're only playing the woman angle now when it's convenient. I've seen you pretending to be a man in the guild so that you can get attention." Gren had also experienced a lot of attention but it was mostly from the older women in the guild. His room was filling up with things that they had crocheted for him but the stubble he was growing on his face helped to curb that trend."I don't do it for the attention that it brings me. Those poor women are starved for male attention since there are so few men around them." That's something that Gren had also noticed which is why he was happy to see that Midna had found someone. "We all know it is just pretend but sometimes that's enough to bring us happiness. It's much like how you and your wives pretend that you're an adult in order to bring the four of you happiness.Gren could swear that he felt a dagger being stabbed into his back with that comment. Ever since he had freed them from the bonds of slavery they were all taking turns teasing him. Well, that was better than what it was like before; everyone seemed reserved with him back then. There were still some things that need to be worked on but over time the former slaves were regaining their humanity and they've started having fun.Gren made sure his light was on and that his armor was on properly to help stall for time before taking the first step down. "You're going to be right behind me, right?""Yes."Gren took the second step. "And you're ready to help if I get attacked?""Yes. Now, quit stalling."Gren took the third step."If you say one more thing, I swear to my ancestors that I will kick you down the stairs."Gren took the rest of the steps in silence... but only the steps. "Wahaha! There are no more stairs to kick me down!"Shenzi walked by Gren while the kobolds followed closely behind her. "Those poor kids. There's no way that they'll have a normal life with a father like that. Remember, you two, never marry someone before you get to know them like the guild master did." That comment actually hurt his feelings a little.There was only one way to go from the bottom of the stairs. The four of them continued on in silence as they explored the second floor beneath the mansion. The hallway led to a dungeon. There were shackles, cages, cells, and what looked like torture devices. Even if this place was used only for holding actual criminals--something that Gren doubted given its location--the person that ran this place had to be a really sadistic bastard. Some of the tools were clearly meant to be used to torture people in sexual ways; even if you could argue that torture worked to get information, that kind of torture was always unnecessary. Most of the metal in the dungeon was rusted but that was to be expected since it was extremely humid. Inside one of the cells was an open section of the wall that led into a different passage. It was probably used as an escape route in the past if it led outside. "We could probably just block off this exit and call it a day if we just want to complete the mission. Either that or we could find out what's on the other side and complete the mission properly." Gren wanted to know what Shenzi planned on doing; he wouldn't mind cutting corners for such a vague mission like this one. "We should go through and make sure that whatever killed that man is dead or gone." Shenzi thought that it would be bad if someone got injured because they didn't do their job. Gren went through the hole and was greeted with a familiar sight. The ruins really extended everywhere throughout the city, didn't they? Gren was really curious about the group of people that were able to build such a massive structure. There was a broken ladder leading down but it was a short enough fall that it wouldn't hurt them. After hopping down, Gren helped the two kobold girls; the ledge was just high up enough to trigger the kobolds' fear of heights. After everybody was inside the ruins, Gren looked around. He wasn't going to clear any rubble underneath someone else's place so there was only one place to go which made things a lot easier. The four of them continued on their journey while ignoring the doors that were clearly rusted shut.The group only stopped when they noticed something odd in the middle of the passage. Shenzi pointed towards the small dark brown potato-looking thing--most likely animal excrement--and started making hand signs. She used her hand to mimic something crawling. She pointed to Gren with her other hand and then made a stabbing motion towards the hand that was crawling. The one that was crawling died but it came back as a different one and bit her other hand that Gren thought was meant to represent him. Something stretching? No, that was just her stretching her hand. That didn't help Gren much but something was down here and it seemed like Shenzi was saying that it'd bite people. Why didn't she just use her words?The small piles of animal excrement became more numerous as they continued down the hall. Gren was well-equipped and the knights said that his skills with a sword had already surpassed the average rookie. He was basically a different person now compared to how he was a few months. So... why did he still feel nervous? Shenzi was leading the pack and signalled for Gren and the kobolds to stop. After pointing forward she pointed to her ears. Gren couldn't hear anything but the kobolds gripped their spears with both hands and pointed them forward. Beastmen and kobolds had much better hearing and their helmets were designed to allow them to take advantage of that fact; if they were preparing for a fight then they had to have heard something that he couldn't hear just yet. Gren brought his shield from behind his back and drew the sword from the shield's built-in sheath. As they slowly moved forward, Gren could hear start to hear something from up ahead. It was a sound that he was unfortunately familiar with since he heard it in the past. The sound was faint but he was sure that it was an animal's squeaking. The pieces clicked together. An animal that would bite people--or Gren in particular--and made a squeaking sound. It looked like it was time to live up to the nickname that the women gave him as a joke. Shenzi signalled for everyone to stop again before dashing towards a dark figure crawling around. With a quick slash from her blade it had its throat ripped open and it soon died without being able to alert the others. The way that Shenzi wielded her blade was impressive to watch; it was like the blade was merely an extension of her body. She returned to the group and whispered, "There are more up ahead. The area ahead is too open to fight them so the three of you should get ready while I go lure them over." "Wait. Take a break while I get something ready." Gren had a better plan. "I've been thinking about what to do if we opened up another passage in the future and we encountered another group of rats. They seem to rely on their large numbers to overwhelm larger enemies like us so I came up with this." {Deploy the Rat Trap XL} A large metal structure that fit into the hallway appeared from his pocket dimension. Gren already had it constructed using the Advanced Arsenal months ago but didn't find any use for it. The amount of points it required to build was insane but Gren was glad that he built it now. "What the hell is this?" Shenzi didn't know what she was looking at but that was to be expected since from this angle it just looked like a metal wall with a door on it. "It's basically just a hallway designed to kill swarms of rats. If you're careful then you can get through without getting stabbed, sliced, or snagged but if you're a rat that's part of a swarm then even if you try to be careful you'll still get shoved into one of the spikes." Gren walked over to the door. It was a simple metal door attached with hinges and locked with a bar since the system didn't have any blueprints for locking mechanisms unless he spent research points on the 'Simple Mechanics' research project. That was also needed for firearms and vehicles so he'd definitely be getting it in the near future. "If you can lure them through here then we can kill them without a problem." Shenzi looked through the now-open door and was made to wonder how Gren found the time to build such a diabolical... thing. "I'm not going to be running through this. Have fun luring them on your own while the three of us wait here." "Fine. I'll lure them through. You just wait and see the results of my greatest masterpiece." Gren slowly made his way around the spikes and came out on the other side. He wasn't sure how he'd lure them away yet but he was confident that he could run away if he came face to face with them this time.
