Trapped in a Grimdark World with the Power of Toon-Force!? - Part 13
After packing up all our things, Shanda soon arrived with Bob and Myrin; all of them looking rushed. Realizing she must have already explained things, I didn’t worry about it. Instead, Bob simply created the carriage, and we loaded everything up. Just as we were getting settled into our seats, we heard voices nearby, and getting closer.
“Their campsite should be around here, according to… ah, there they are. Mr. Galli, Mr. Bob. Hello.” The mine’s manager called out. Following closely behind him were two mercenaries and the thieving brat. Shanda and I both ducked down low inside the carriage, trying not to be seen.
“I’m dead.” I quickly whispered to Bob, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. I wanted him to tell them I’d died somehow if they asked about me.
“Not yet, we can still get out of this.” He replied.
“No! I’m dead.”
“Trust us, Emile.” He whispered, then replied to the manager. “Hello sir. How are you?” I looked over at Shanda, exasperated. But she gave me a look of determination, clearly having the same misunderstanding her father was.
“Very well now that the Trailseen Mercenary Company. These men from the company we hired want to speak with you about the robbery. They think it may have something to do with the graveminer.” He looked around. “Where is Mr. Emile?”
I watched through small holes where the carriage’s canvas cover connected to the wood frame. Through it, I saw no reaction on the brat’s face. To be fair, he never knew my name.
“I’m not sure at the moment.” Bob said.
“Are you moving your campsite, Mr. Bob?” One of the mercs asked.
“Well, yes and no. We’re leaving town, sir.”
“I hope this isn’t because of the graveminer. Our company will be able to dispatch it soon enough.” The lead merc said. As he talked, he glanced at the carriage several times. Likely hearing the boys talking inside. They were making enough noise to cover me and Shanda whispering to one another, thankfully.
“No no. We were talking about leaving as we’ve already collected the money we need for our journey, and all of this simple convinced us it was time to go.”
“I am very sorry to hear that Mr. Bob. But would you mind speaking with these men before you go? And you, Mr. Galli. And Mr. Emile, seeing as you are clearly leaving, do you know where he will be staying?” The manager asked.
“I’m afraid we told you everything we know already sir. As for Emile, he may have set up camp elsewhere.”
“Why are you lying, Mr. Bob?” The lead merc asked. I felt my butt cheeks clench as soon as the words left his mouth.
“Pardon?”
“Not quite yet, I don’t think. I do distain liars quite a bit.” The man said. “My Soul Power is a funny thing. I mostly use it in hunting monsters, but that isn’t what it is really for.”
“He knows I’m here.” I whispered to Shanda.
“I count two boys, a baby, two women, and three men.” The merc said.
“I’m confused.” The manager announced. The other mercenary put his hand on his sword. The brat took a step back.
“Why would Mr. Emile hide?” The merc asked. “Unless he had something to do with the graveminer, or the robbery, or both, and you are trying to help him escape…”
“Ridicules.” Bob snorted. “Emile had nothing to do with the graveminer. And he is the one who reported the robbery.”
“Well then, Mr. Emile. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this. Just step out and explain it to us all.” The man said, in a challenging tone.
“Bob.” I whispered. “As soon as I get off, get everyone out of here.” I was careful about it, buying them as much time to get situated for a speedy takeoff as I could. I wrapped my face in a loose bit of fabric like a cloak, and got off at the back of the wagon, so they wouldn’t have to wait for me to move. Moments before I did, I locked eyes with Bob and assured him that I would be fine.
The moment my foot hit the dirt, he drove the horses with a loud, “Ha!” They took off faster than any normal horse could go. And I was left alone, standing on a grassy hill, staring down two mercenaries, a brat, and a confused mine manager. The only thing standing between me and an angry mob was a thin strip of cloth that was probably once someone’s underwear with my luck. They needed time to get away, so I needed to draw attention.
“So, I’m told you wanted to speak with me? I hope you have an appointment.”
“Get the horses and get after them!” The lead merc said to the other.
“I don’t think you want to do that!” I said. The man hesitated for a moment.
“And why is that?”
“Because… he can tell you why!” I pointed at the brat, then muttered angrily under my breath, “Guess I didn’t need this.” I took off the makeshift mask and the brat’s eye went wide.
“That’s him! He’s a monster! That’s the lich from the city!” The brat yelled, and suddenly all eyes were locked on me. Not just the mercs’ or the brats, or even the manager’s, but the eyes of passersby and everyone in nearby campsites. “I cut his head off but he didn’t die!”
“That’s right!” I yelled, trying desperately to keep attention on me. “And now I’m… I’m here for revenge!” The mercs drew their weapons, and the brat moved away and drew his.
“A lich?” The lead mercenary asked.
“Aren’t they usually more… decrepit?” The manager asked.
“How else would you explain it?” The brat yelled.
“Maybe his Soul Power kept him alive? I’ve heard stranger.” The other mercenary, who I managed to keep distracted long enough to hopefully forget about chasing the others, and putting the boys at risk.
“It wasn’t his Soul Power, he also possessed me! Took control over my body and made me his puppet.” The brat said.
“That is a gross oversimplification of what happened.” I defended.
“I’ve heard liches have strange unique abilities that allow them to posses people.”
“Well… there’s one more thing you should know!” I said. Both men raised their swords, and the brat cowered.
“And what is that?” The lead merc asked.
“This won’t be a fight.” I said, bending my knees, and getting ready.
“Oh? A slaughter then?”
“No. It’s a chase scene! See ya!” With that, I turned around, facing the opposite direction of where the others had gone, which meant I was headed further into town. My legs became circular blurs, and a cloud of dust in my exact shape was the only thing left in my place. The world became a blur too as I ran. At first, I didn’t have much control. My torso and arms flapped around in the breeze as my legs carried me wherever they wanted to go.
In the distance, I heard, “On the horses. After him!” Then breathed a sigh of relief. I was moving fast, but my body was really overreacting. An unfortunate side effect of the joke, I think. In reality, I wasn’t moving much faster than the horses. Once I got myself right way up again, the wind became negligible.
“He’s as fast as a horse?!” The lead merc yelled.
“He is a lich!” The other agreed.
They started to gain on me slowly, and I had to think fast. What I needed was a burst of speed. And since I managed to get lucky and become the roadrunner instead of the coyote, there was only one thing I needed to do. “Meep meep!” With that, my speed doubled and I managed to zoom through the town, cutting around buildings and through trees and shrubs, all in an effort to break line-of-sight and hide for a minute. Soon, I zipped behind a house, and stopped. I could still hear them; barking orders to search, calling for reinforcements.
“I need a plan.” Knowing that relying on speed was probably not a great idea, I got to work thinking up ways to evade the mercs, or use my Soul Power to my advantage. “Gotta be both, not just one.” Running around, I gathered whatever I could find that may be useful, and stuffed them into my pocket. Thanks to cartoon logic, everything fit just fine. “Paint and brushes, check, hopefully that trick works twice. Wood, check. Nails, check. Hammer, check. Farmer’s disguise, check. Black powder, check. Boy I hope this doesn’t blow up in my face.” I said, talking both about the powder and my plan. Only one thing was left. “I managed it before on accident, and according to what Bob said, it may be my soul evolution, so maybe I can control it a bit more.” Closing my eyes, I focused on a joke, something that would be both helpful, and funny. When I opened them again, I opened them twice. There stood a second me, and proof I had some measure of control over my Soul Power. At least as long as I had a joke in mind. Of course, I kinda already proved that with my escape attempt earlier. But hey, can’t go ruining a dramatic moment with something as mundane as logic and reasoning.
Both of me ran at top speed. The clone put on the disguise, and ran to the mine while carrying all of the supplies. I ran towards the mercs.
“Where is he?” A man on a horse asked. He was talking to several others on horses of their own. Everyone was listening to him. I zipped up, stopped, stood just to the side of him, and waited.
“He can’t have gotten far.”
“He can’t have!” I agreed.
“We’ll check every house.”
“Every house!”
“We are the Trailseen Company! He won’t get away.”
“Yeah, not from us. Not a chance!”
“Thank you for your support in this hunt.” He said, turning to me.
“No problem.” He stared at me. I stared at him. He looked confused. I shrugged.
“Get him!”
“Yeah! Get him!” I said and ran. While running, I cut my speed a bit so they stayed right on my tail. They swung and stabbed at me with whatever weapon they had. At some point, I think someone started throwing rocks, but couldn’t be sure. I ran and kept going, in and out of houses, around building. Hoping they didn’t notice I was leading them to the mine, while still trying to pick up as many more mercs as I could in the chase. When I started, only four were chasing me. By the time I got to the mine, it was almost the entire company. The only one missing was the brat. All the while, my other self was hard at work readying the plan. The plan itself was simple. I needed to leave, but if I did now, the company would chase me, and the mine would remain closed. So, I needed to clear the graveminer out and then leave.
Arriving at the mine, I dove into a bush at top speed, and my clone stood in front of me, disguised. Moments later, cavalcade of mercs arrived. “He went in there! The monster! I saw him go!” The clone said in a vaguely hick accent while pointing at the mine’s entrance.
“Two for the price of one.” The leader who’d been with the brat and sensed me in the carriage said. At first, my blood ran cold, thinking my plan had been seen through. But maybe he could only sense one of us since we were so close, or since we were technically the same person, because he turned his attention towards the mine’s entrance. “Get our supplies. We are going in. Men, form ranks!” He turned to my clone. “Thank you, kind sir. Finding these monsters will be much easier with more good people such as yourself.”
“Aw, weren’t nuthin.” Clone me said. A few busy minutes later, they all started to file down the mine’s entrance. I rushed out of my hiding spot and clung to the bottom of the minecart just as the last of the mercs went down; unaware I was even there. Just as we went down, my clone vanished.
“Everyone off. Light the torches.” A voice called out in the mine. It was dark, but there was already several sources of light around. Most of the mercs had torches, and some carried extras while sticking close to those who had light. They started to split off into groups. Each searching for me, and the graveminer.
They broke up and went down several different tunnels, drifts, and adits. But rather than follow any random group, I followed the leader who found me. His men called him Treek. “Sound off. How many of us are there?” He asked the darkness. From what he said at the carriage, he could sense people, so this probably wasn’t for his benefit. One by one, everyone called out. When it got to my turn, from my hiding spot, I called out the next number in order.
“Twelve.” I said from the darkness.
“Thirteen.” Followed another voice. Not a beat was missed. Then there was a pause.
“Anyone else? …Alright then. Let’s move. Follow the lights and stay in a line.” Everyone started following Treek, and I hung back at the end, hoping no one got curious and turned around.
Posted Aug 29, 2026, 3:03 AM UTC