Far away, in a small bar, a demon sat itching. Their skin was itching, and they were irritated about it. They were busy, for one, trying to make a deal with a farmer that had found an artifact. The demon wanted the artifact badly, as they had found that it would allow them to get closer to their goal. They had been working so hard to find it for centuries, only for a farmer to find it. And on top of the annoyance at barely understanding the farmer with his thick dwarven accent, their skin was itching.

  Someone had used their name. Their name! No mortal was supposed to have an inkling of it. They had destroyed all the copies of the Daemonium, made by those pesky priests and priestesses. They had gotten a nice payoff for that work. So why in all the hells was their skin itching? They had missed what the dirty dwarf had said and had to play it back in their mind. Something about… cabbages? No, they wanted a new cow and more acreage. Maybe.

  “Look, I’ll give you enough gold for all of that and more. Can we make this deal or not?” They demanded.

  The dwarf farmer exclaimed something that was obviously gibberish. “I canna da e, wi oot ta payers!”

  They groaned and looked at the bartender for translation. “What did this thing say?”

  “He wants a contract. Gods know why. He can’t read. But he thinks it will keep him safe from the government and the aliens. Whatever that means.”

  The demon sighed. The last thing they wanted was for there to be a paper trail, even a small one, that could be used to figure out what they were doing. But business was business. And if the mud-loving dwarf wanted a contract to brag to his sheep with before buggering them, then so be it. They pulled out a standard contract and began rearranging it and putting in the necessary terms. Plus some loopholes to rip the dwarf’s grimy little soul out if it told the wrong people about it. At worst, they could sell the soul into slavery. In fact, they decided to have some fun with the contract and put some more riders into it to make things worse for the dwarf if he talked about it at all. They smiled as they wrote those in. They were being petty, but in their defense, this should have taken less time.

  “Ti tin ess oot ma wag. Ta welum to et!” the grimy dwarf exclaimed with the chest of gold in front of him and the contract in his hand. The demon figured the gibberish was directing him to getting the object out of the dwarf’s wagon. They left some gold with the bartender, enough not to be remembered easily, but not so much as to make the bartender think of them fondly. It was a fine line, but they knew their way around mortals. They had too much experience with the short-lived shits. They absently scratched their neck as they found the object and slipped it into their bag.

  Now they needed to find out who said their name. And check on the newest mage. Vexarith liked to keep an eye or two on their prey. Their competition. They decided that as long as no one else was saying their name, and the itching went away, they would forgive the culprit. Probably some old researcher. After all, they had just gotten the item they needed to finally take the One True Light.

  *****************************************************************

  I had one of those moments where breaking down sounded like a good idea, but I didn’t. for some terrible reason, I was now back on track. At least, I was from the point of view of the Voice. But there were a lot of other things that needed doing, at least for Harper and Juan. And right now, I didn’t feel comfortable going without them to the blinking spot on my map, which was a cave system. Who knew what was going to be in those caves? I doubted I would survive it, not by myself. I didn’t know if I could survive getting there.

  At least I wouldn’t have to deal with that demon. And there wasn’t anything it could offer me that would be acceptable. So, all I had to do was convince the Voice that we needed to go get some people to deal with the mercenary menace. Or at least inform them of the fact that the Falcon Company was at large in that area that I did not know the name of right then. I hope they weren’t following us.

  I looked around the workshop, the mess, and my friends. Eric had grabbed a bucket, deciding I was going to throw up. Seeing all the paper lying around, I wasn’t surprised his first thought was to protect his work by helping me avoid vomiting on any of it.

  “Finn, are you okay?” asked Harper again.

  Wishing I had a glass of water, I carefully nodded my head. I wondered if the Voice wanted to help me get home. “I… I’m fine. It’s just a little overwhelming. Does anyone know what the voice is, what it wants?”

  “Not really,” Juan muttered. He looked worried and went to look at the sheets again.

  “I bet the Lich knows. They know a lot of things about this world and how things work. You could ask the Lich,” said the old wizard. Seeing that I would not share my breakfast with the room, he had put the bucket down.

  Juan turned around, angry. “No! We do not deal with the Lich. The price is too damn high!” His face flushed, and he got louder. “That son of a bitch asks too much of people and knows too much. It is better to stay as far away from him as possible!”

  There was a story there, but with all the emotions in the room, I didn’t think I could get it out of him. Hell, I didn’t even want to try. But I made a mental note that if all else failed, I would find the Lich. Of all the things I’ve learned studying political science, the fact anyone had that much soft power and knowledge and freedom meant they had something, whether it was blackmail, weapons, or that they were valuable to everyone. Or a combination of all the above. Whatever beef Juan had with the Lich, it happened long ago. I couldn’t allow that to prevent me from utilizing every tool to get home. Almost every tool.

  Eric put his hands up in a calming fashion. “I’m sorry Juan. I wasn’t thinking. Of course. Things are already very complicated without bringing in that ancient creature.” He went to his desk and sat down. “I really need to get some sleep.”

  ************************************************************************

  “Do you think the Voice will mind if we find the people to deal with the mercenaries?” I asked. We were sitting in our suite after lunch, talking about what our next steps were going to be. The blow up at the Royal Wizard’s office had put a damper on things. And Juan was still irritated about Eric bringing up the Lich.

  “I don’t know, boy. All my time here has left me with little information on it, other than its role in teaching new people how to access everything and understand the basics. And as I have told you, it’s offer to send us home for figuring out the riddle and the associated quest. What did you say the quest was that it gave you?”

  “I think it was ‘Track The Beast’ or something.” I replied. A glimmer of understanding began in my mind. And it wasn’t shiny.

  “I think the voice wants you to solve the riddle,” whispered Harper. She and Juan looked at me with worry.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  “Wait. I have to solve this stupid, asinine riddle? I’m a big picture guy! This isn’t my kind of thing. None of this is…” I trailed off, frustration seeping away. If I was the only one in decades to get this quest, it was specific to my class. And that meant, “Mages are targeted because of this quest, aren’t they?”

  “It looks that way, Finn. I’m sorry, my boy, but it looks that way.” The old man looked tired, but hopeful. Like there finally was a way to make things right. I still didn’t know what drove him to continue fighting and helping others, but I was grateful that he was in my corner.

  “The best thing to do is to head to your blinking dot. The cave system? Or was it mines? Either way, we’ll head there immediately and deal with this beast. Then we’ll go through the mountains to the main army and get some help to clear out the Falcon mercenaries in rural Marea. Finally, we will follow the quest chain of the riddle. Finn, whether you like it or not, this is the only shot home. For all of us.”

  Harper laughed, “No pressure, Finn.”

  “Fuck me,” I muttered. I won’t go into the feeling of unfairness, or the onset of self-pity I felt in that moment. It was short-lived and I just don’t enjoy talking about that stuff.

  There was a knock at the door, loud and curt, cutting off all further discussion. Harper went to the door, opening it. “Yes, what can I do for you?”

  An uptight voice replied from out of sight, “I’m sorry to bother you, Ma’am, but I have an urgent summons from King Daffin. He requires General Juan and his companions at once. I am to escort you all immediately to the palace without delay.”

  The summons in itself, though requiring our immediate attendance, turned out to be immediate only for us. One hundred men, forming an ‘honor guard,’ escorted us to the palace. I thought it was excessive, but Juan and Harper acted like it was normal. Though Juan’s jaw clenched several times, which made me wonder. Once at the palace, we were escorted to a pleasant room where we were to wait under the eye of four guards, two on each door. The room, mostly green with blue trimmings, had two double doors facing each other. I feel I needed to point out that by ‘pleasant’ I meant the feeling invoked by visiting a nice old lady who loves flowers and antique furniture. It was kind of stuffy in an overdone fashion, but comfortable.

  With the guards in front of the doors, I got the distinct feeling that we could not leave. Which sucked as we waited. And waited. It was about an hour before the king arrived with a couple of advisors. And crossbowmen.

  The room was big enough that they were able to spread out and aim at their target. Me. I was their target. King Daffin stopped eight feet away from where we stood when he entered the room. “General Venegas. We had the most interesting visitor this morning. A mercenary commander by the name of Xander. He had several interesting things to say to us. Such as having his entire company within our walls. In our city! Do you know what else he told us?”

  Juan bowed slightly, “King Daffin, I-”

  “He told our royal person that you had brought something worse into our city,” interrupted the incensed monarch. “A fucking mage. Tell us, General. What have we done to you that you would bring such a monster into our home, let alone our kingdom?”

  Juan stiffened. “Your majesty. If I could be so bold…” Juan replied, and the king motioned harshly for him to continue. “This mage has not, and likely will not, become the monster other mages have. He is my trainee, and I will see his training through. If, and this is a big if, he turns, I will kill him myself.”

  The king stood there, glaring at Juan. Then at me. When he looked back at Juan, he must have seen something in his eyes that made him consider. “We believe you would, General. We believe you would. Very well,” he said. The king motioned for the crossbowmen to lower their weapons. He suddenly looked very tired. “But that does not change the mass of Nallothian mercenaries holding our people and city hostage. Nor their commander We have in a guest suite.”

  I was about to speak, but Juan put a hand out in front of me while he continued. “And this Commander Xander. I assume he wanted something in return for leaving your fair city?”

  “He wants this mage. And We are not necessarily opposed to handing him over.” The king moved over to an overstuffed armchair and plopped down into it. He pressed his fingers to his temple, rubbing in small circles. “This is not how things are supposed to go, Juan.”

  Juan sat across from the king, sensing that the formality was over. “Daffin, I don’t think we can trust this Commander Xander. But he and his company are the problem. They must have been following us from the backwoods of Marea where I found young Finn.” He paused for a moment, “But we cannot just hand him over to mercenaries in the employ of the man attempting to conquer the Twelve Kingdoms. We need a better plan.”

  The king nodded. “I know. Which is why I hope you will get help. I’ll aid you in this however I can, but my hands are tied, Juan. You were there for my father when our kingdom and the rest of the 12 Kingdoms needed you. I need to give the Commander an answer before the end of the day.” King Daffin stood up then and headed toward the door. “You have until then, General. My men will give you what aid they can.” He left, but a nervous man with a weird, segmented bandoleer across his chest stayed behind, wringing his hands.

  The man stepped forward as the crossbowman filed out, “uh, General Venegas? I… I’m Nelson. The Chamberlain? I can provide you with assistance?” Nelson looked like he might bolt at any minute, or faint.

  “Your name is Nelson?” I asked incredulously.

  “Y-yes, your maginess. It was my grandfather’s name? He was an-an earthborn? Like you?” he replied.

  “Maginess?” I asked. Juan hushed me with a gesture.

  “I knew your grandfather, Chamberlain. Good man,” Juan said with a smile. “I think we will need your help with figuring out how to get around these mercenaries without being seen until we’re out of the city.”

  The chamberlain seemed to relax a bit at Juan’s kind tone. “I-I might have an idea for that, General. B-but you won’t… You won’t like it.”

  *********************************************************************

  Harper paced angrily in the room. “Why the fuck does it have to be the sewers? It’s horrible down there! The rats, the smell, the big fucking rats, and the stuff that won’t come off my boots no matter how much I wash them!”

  The nervous chamberlain had left fifteen minutes prior to get some old plans of the palace. He swore there was access to the sewers somewhere in the massive building’s lower levels, but he would have to grab the plans to show us. He also had maps of the sewers, which annoyed Harper even more, as she had wandered lost in the sewers by herself for close to a week several years prior. She claimed there had been a quest she was following, but it hadn’t helped her get lost.

  Juan sipped some tea Chamberlain Nelson had brought, and stayed calm, watching her. “Calm down, Harper. I’m sure that we’ll be fine. There is a distinct possibility that the sewers are in better shape now than they were.”

  Harper stopped. “You really think so?”

  Juan sipped some more tea. “No, but we’ll be fine. It can’t be worse than facing an entire company of battle-tested mercenaries or handing Finn over to them.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. I mean, they won’t hurt him. Right? If all else fails, we can die gloriously in battle! That would be better. Yes. Finn, you’d do that for me? Right?”

  It was astounding how badly she was taking the idea, and it made me wonder myself. “Harper, how bad can it be? It’s just the sewers. Once we’re used to the smell, all we have to do is follow the map and leave by a drainage pipe or something. Then off to the caverns!”

  She shook her finger at me, her eyes wide. “ho, no Finn. Don’t ‘it’s just the sewers’ me! These sewers are an old, falling apart hell hole of darkness and squeaking that never ends! And you don’t get used to the smell! I was down there forever. Please don’t make me go back down there. You’re my friend. You’ll sacrifice yourself. Because you are so noble.” She sat down, smiled, “See, Juan? He’s okay with going with the Iron Falcon Company. We can stay here, where it is safe.”

  Juan looked sadly at his tea, setting it down before speaking. “Harper. You found your way out before. Nothing down there was able to stop you. Not the darkness, nor the rats.”

  “It wasn’t just rats down there, old man, there were other things. Things I had to fight in the darkness!”

  “Harper,” he said softly.

  “What!” she replied.

  “Did they kill you? Are you still stuck down there?”

  “No, no, they didn’t. Yet.” She replied. “And no I’m not.” She put her face in her hands and screamed into them. That was the moment that Nelson came through the door with his arms full of rolled up parchment and books. He cried out, sending the parchment and books flying everywhere. This shocked Harper out of her fit, causing her to turn around in time to get a parchment to the face.

  Juan, who had been the picture of patience and calmness, burst into laughter. I joined him at the ridiculousness of it. I mean, it was the perfect slapstick humor. How could we not laugh? The guards in the room also laughed, and eventually, so did Harper. Nelson just looked at us all, aghast.

  “You’re all mad,” he said.

  follow so you don't miss a release. Comments are always welcome!

  Patreon!