NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

We passed by dozens of ruined machines, wrecked houses, and corpses that came from both players and dwarves. It only represented the results of prolonging the war. Although the dwarven village became unknown to the soldiers, other players knew this place. Those people who wanted the weapons made by the best blacksmiths would flock into this kingdom, stealing those valuables from themselves.

I wanted to avoid Match's gaze at the dead bodies, but it was already too late. That girl wanted to join my trip, and this place was only the beginning of a catastrophe.

We had barely reached the iceberg of this cruel world, after all.

"Are there any dwarves left… alive besides you," I asked, and paused midway from my sentence.

The dwarf fell silent at first and refused to answer my question. I understood his silence and backed off my query, hoping that did not shift the atmosphere.

Our expedition took around fifteen minutes, walking around without uttering a word. The scenery changed, but the corpses and broken machines still appeared in the background.

As we stepped foot on the stair's apex, a ruined building welcomed our eyes.

"We're here…" the dwarf remarked, as he went inside. "Stay behind me, or else I won't protect you from the falling debris."

He motioned his hand and told us to follow close by. That dwarf also mentioned the collapsing ceiling and how he could protect us if that happens.

But for now, Match and I heeded the dwarf's instructions and carried on inside the structure. We could only pray for our safety as soon as we were inside the house.

The left side of the building showed countless supplies of nourishments. All the sacks had seasonal labels. I could only guess that the survivors of this den planned and limited their supplies to last for the entire year.

Upon looking at my right, a working board for blacksmiths welcomed my eyes. There was a fireplace, and some forged weapons lying around on the floor. This place looked more smithy than a destroyed room to my eyes, considering the damage dealt with outside of this place.

If someone could redesign the place, this smithy room would become a proper environment for blacksmiths. However, I brushed these thoughts away from my mind and continued walking towards an unknown realm.

Who am I to judge this building when I was not a resident of this kingdom. I cared little for the dwarves. And as long as they could help me, I would gladly do whatever these dwarves needed from me.

The three of us reached a room that served as the guest's place. This area was the space where the dwarves would greet any people who entered their smithy. Regardless of the ravaged interior designs, a couch or a bed was enough to make my lips curve upwards for a smile.

Since Match and I became experienced partners inside the woodland for around a month, a comfortable futon was more than enough to call it our haven.

"Why are you giving us free accommodations?" I asked, and went straight to the point.

Although the dwarf meant all of this for Match and me, I still found everything suspicious. I trusted no one except for Match, who was always with me during my trip.

"Straightforward, aren't we? Fine. That makes things quicker," the dwarf replied, and returned my gaze.

"My name is Draven Keghood, one of the seven dwarfs of Snow White. You are Red Rose or the infamous Red Riding Hood, am I right?"

"I-." Before I could give my answer, Draven cleared his throat and interjected my answer.

"You're the talk of the town-the wanted criminal that went against the Mainland and Nirvana. Although I do not know the reasons behind your infamous name, I still plan on helping you under one condition."

Draven already knew my identity as Red Rose. However, he was not an omniscient dwarf, since he only knew about me and not Match. There was also a possibility that Draven disliked threatening children, but I could only live that theory to my imaginations.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, while nudging Match behind my back.

A smell of violent aura lingered in the air, telling me that this dwarf was a dangerous man. Draven schemed all of this and led us inside his building. I would not feel surprised if that dwarf already placed a myriad of traps surrounding this place.

"Tell me what you want before I change my mind," I repeated.

"We don't have to fight. I'm not a fighter, anyway, so put that dagger down," Draven exclaimed, while pointing at my sheathed blade around my waist.

That dwarf knew I had a weapon. Draven glued his eyes to my figure, watching my every move with my hands. It was as if he knew about the blade's existence, considering that he was a smithy, building various arsenals for players and NPCs.

"That's a fine penitent's blade that you have there… Too bad you haven't unlocked it yet," Draven said, hinting to me that there was more potential for this dagger I had.

According to the game, this blade granted players powers for their righteousness. This blade used the emotions of the wielder and the amount of justice one would hold. And the weapon chose me as its host.

However, the power added to this weapon was incomparable to the ones sold in the market. This weapon could not slice through metals and brawny walls. It could only kill and slit the throats of those surprised people.

"I have heard that the two of you are on a quest to meet Alice in the land of Wonderland. I can get you there as long as you answer my favour."

Dwarven motioned his hand for the two of us to sit down. I told Match that everything went according to plan as long as she would listen to my instructions.

We nestled on the bench and continued our conversation. Draven's eyes glared into mine as we carried out the topic.

"How did you know about our goal? We have told no one yet? The soldiers could not possibly deduce that far, since they are hunting around forests and other lands, killing NPCs," I asked, while extracting some information from the dwarf.

Draven could only laugh at my interrogation. He was the one who invited us and started the questioning. However, as time passed by, I was the one who threw all the questions at him.

He finally noticed that the two of us were playing with each of our hands.

"You haven't seen the entire situation yet… Come and follow me. I will show you around," Draven instructed, as he slid the door open to another room.

Match and I tilted our heads, wondering what was on the other side. Since this building had hundreds of holes, I doubted something would surprise us on our way out.

But the thought got the better of me as the three of us stepped our feet closer on the other side. Our eyes wandered around and met people barely living and coping on their own.

Around a hundred dwarves rested on the sides, while another dozen laid themselves on make-shift beds. It only showed that some of them became fortunate enough and kept their lives.

"I will take your silence as acceptance of our current situation. And this all happened because of my lack of power. We could not find Snow White, and the rest of the six dwarves are all…"

Draven did not even complete his sentence as he spoke about the seven dwarfs of Snow White. Those seven were a part of the legendary tale told through generations. They were the ones that produced epic armours and mythical weapons known to players and non-player characters.

I could see why the soldiers wanted them gone. If NPCs could fight against the players, their priority target would be the weapons. If the supplies got cut off, the NPCs would never stand a chance against soldiers. And these players' guns as their weapons, with bullets that travelled at the speed of sound.

Even though he did not mention it to me, I knew Draven was a part of the seven dwarves. He told us "six of them," which only meant that he was the seventh and last blacksmith alive.

None of these dwarven villagers knew how to craft weapons. And even if they familiarised themselves with creating weapons, they cannot mimic the production that the seven dwarfs of Snow White did in their prime.

"By the looks of your expression, you found out that I am one of the seven dwarves… Well, you're not wrong about that!" Draven said, as he turned around in my direction. "That's why we need to find Snow White. She is the Queen of our kingdom. If we lost her now, our species would come to extinction."

Before we could even cruise the raging ocean, we must accept this side-quest. Even though it meant nothing to our goal, we still needed Draven's rusty hands to make…

"In exchange, I will give you a ship. You need it for your voyage towards Wonderland." Draven continued my train of thought as he flashed me a peculiar grin.