Chapter Fifty-Six: The Cursed Dwarf

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Lurick fiercely berated the dwarves stationed at this outpost, especially the dwarf captain in charge. Enduring the scolding, the two dwarves remained silent, not daring to utter a word, until Lurick added, "For now, halve your beer rations."

"What! No, Yata!" The dwarf captain's voice carried a hint of fear, as if unable to imagine life afterward.

"No negotiations. Your future performance will determine what happens next."

Aliris and George were somewhat puzzled—was halving beer rations really such a severe punishment?

Seeing Aliris’s confused expression, Kana smiled and explained, "For dwarves, beer is like the blood in their veins. Among their people, beer is considered a strategic resource."

Aliris nodded, somewhat understanding.

Since it was late, they were assigned rooms to rest for the night. But after all, these were dwarven quarters, so the sleep was far from comfortable. They awoke early the next day.

Outside, Lurick and the others were already prepared.

When they arrived at the watchtower’s exterior, they noticed a herd of goats equipped with saddles had appeared.

"You’re awake. We need to hurry to the Flat Top Peak outpost. We’ll ride these war goats," said Kana.

The group looked at the goats; only Kana smiled, even reaching out to pet one. The others, including Popote, looked baffled.

George seemed to catch on, disbelief on his face as he pointed at the goats, "You don’t mean... we’re supposed to ride these things?"

"Hahaha, don’t worry. They’re fine fellows," Getari chuckled, mounting a goat beside him as a demonstration.

George glanced at the dwarves, then at himself, wanting to remark that he was far taller than any dwarf.

Kana laughed, "Don’t worry. Though dwarves are smaller, they weigh about one and a half times an average human. These war goats can easily bear our weight, though the ride will be bumpy."

Dwarves tended to be about 1.5 times heavier than humans, often armored to boot, yet these goats could carry them at swift speeds through the mountains.

After speaking, Kana mounted a goat himself. Though somewhat awkward, it was manageable.

"Alright, friends, get on. Time is of the essence," Getari urged.

The others clumsily mounted the goats—it was their first time riding them, after all.

"Let’s move out!"

Lurick led the charge, riding his war goat into a gallop, the others following closely.

The humans atop the goats immediately began swaying back and forth; their differing heights made the ride especially jarring.

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Yet, it was better than expected.

Leaning forward, pressing close to the goat’s body, improved the ride significantly.

The goats darted over rocky mountain paths with ease, as if walking on flat ground, even while bearing loads of a hundred or two pounds.

By midday, they could see a large outpost perched atop a mountain plateau.

It resembled a small fortress.

This place resembled what they had seen in the game, without much difference.

From afar, some dwarves spotted them and waved, pulling up the stone gate in the mountains to let them in.

As the war goats halted, George immediately dismounted and collapsed to his knees, pale and nearly retching.

Even Aliris looked unwell.

For both, the war goat ride had not been a pleasant experience.

"Yata? What are you doing here?" A heavily armored dwarf approached. Interestingly, the weapon he carried was a sword.

He glanced at Kana, the others, and Popote—a team that certainly drew attention.

Humans and ratfolk.

"Take me to the isolation ward first," Lurick said bluntly.

The armored dwarf with a brownish-yellow beard nodded and led them inside the outpost to a makeshift quarantine area, flanked by wooden planks.

His eyes rested on Kana and the others.

"Don’t worry, they’re friends I invited."

"Well then, very well."

He opened the wooden door, releasing a foul stench, identical to what they had smelled in the mountain cave shortcut.

Mixed in with the stench was the faint scent of alcohol.

Lurick stepped inside, the others following.

The room was fairly spacious, ventilated by windows, with beds lined along both walls.

Dwarves lay upon them; some moved about the ward.

Every dwarf bore pustules on their faces, some already ruptured.

Many clutched bottles of ale, looking utterly despondent.

Among dwarves, there was no such thing as being too sick to drink; in fact, they rarely fell ill.

"Yata?"

"Yata!"

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As Lurick entered, the dwarves grew excited, rising to greet him.

"Thank you for your hard work, my brothers."

Eric entered and headed straight to a bed where another dwarf lay. Though dwarves looked similar, this one bore a striking resemblance to Eric.

"Eric? Don’t come closer, you might catch it."

"This isn’t contagious. Didn’t you hear? You fool."

"Is that so? Maybe I was just drunk."

Observing the scene, Lurick turned to the dwarf who had led them inside.

"Ritanck, has the situation improved at all?"

The dwarf named Ritanck shook his head with a sigh.

"No, it’s the same as before. Some dwarves have worsened; they’re now babbling nonsense."

He led them further in, near the wall corner where several beds held dwarves nearly unconscious, their exposed arms and faces covered with pustules.

Their skin had begun to take on a faint greenish hue. One dwarf muttered incomprehensibly.

Kana’s expression grew grave.

"The curse’s corruption is deepening. If untreated, they will inevitably transform."

Dwarves were generally resistant, but this had reached a critical stage. It was unclear how long this had been going on.

"These must be the first infected," Lurick sighed.

"Yes, they were discovered to have issues two weeks ago, but even before then, they had red pustules."

An outrageous timeline—nearly a month by now.

To resist such a corrupting curse for so long was remarkable.

Ritanck frowned at Kana.

"Who is this?"

"This is Kana, a friend I brought to help with the plague and curse," Lurick briefly explained.

"Curse?" Ritanck furrowed his brow.

Until now, it had been called a disease.

"Yes, a curse from some powerful entity."

Lurick began to explain briefly what he knew, including what they had witnessed in the mountain cave shortcut.

After listening, Ritanck regarded Kana warily.

"So, human, how do you know all this?"