The Imprisoned God

The Delinquents Series (Book 1)

by Hans Bezdek

Copyright © 2019 Herrin Enterprises LLC

All Rights Reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The Arcane Staff Series:

The Elf Thief (Book 1)

Released April 2018

Lost Citadel (Book 2)

Released May 2018

Final Barrier (Book 3)

Released June 2018

The Half Dragon of Yaerna Series:

Tumbler Short

The Ilkas Diamond Job (Book 0)

Released February 2018

The Gathering Arc

The Shattered Sword (Book 1)

Released December 2017

The Time Shield (Book 2)

Released January 2018

Grimkell's Mace (Book 3)

Released January 2018

The Heralding Arc

Durnskeep (Book 4)

Released March 2018

Ravendale (Book 5)

Released July 2018

Aelric (Book 6)

Released July 2018

Second Dragon War Arc

Darkness of Old (Book 7)

Released August 2018

The Ancient Crown (Book 8)

Released November 2018

The Winged One (Book 9)

Released December 2018

The Delinquents Series

The Imprisoned God (Book 1)

Released August 2019

The Mage's Tower (Book 2)

Released August 2019

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Feel free to reach out to me with questions or comments at hans.bezdek@gmail.com

CHAPTER ONE

You can do this.

You're the best. All of these people will see how fantastic your reasoning is and will quit any talks of rioting. If anything, they will thank you for your time and maybe even buy you a drink!

Farr Pontes repeated these thoughts a few times with his eyes closed. He usually found that having an extra shot of confidence made things go more smoothly. Granted, he was rarely in short supply. Farr let out a breath, puffed his chest out, and straightened his posture. He opened his light blue eyes and smiled at the others.

"I don't think this is going to work," said Yri bluntly.

Several of the city's guards that had formed a wall around them glanced nervously their way. Farr wasn't sure if their protectors knew who he and his companions were, but they had been told to guard them and lend them any support they requested. Farr hoped they wouldn't be needing any. The raised platform they were about to walk up was a couple of stories tall, so surely the angry peasants on the other side wouldn't be able to get to them.

Surely.

"What?" asked Farr, deflating slightly. 

"Agreed," nodded Khuwa, the orc's arms crossed. "I'd say you have a good chance of getting pelted with rotting vegetables."

"Oh, can I eat some if they do?" asked Cupcake. The demon was in his usual form of a miniature pink pig with wings and flew in a circle around Yri excitedly. She batted at the pig, who easily avoided her hands. While Yri was just a few years younger than Farr, she had a tendency to act like a five year old whenever she fought with Cupcake. "I haven't tried vegetables yet!"

"I don't care what you do," sighed the pale warlock, giving up on trying to get the imp to stop.

The armed guards around them parted as a gnome with a robe made of green and orange leaves pushed through their legs. "There you four are! Have you decided what to do?"

"Well, Grex, I'm about to talk sense into the crowd," Farr explained to the short druid. "Yri and Khuwa don't think it will work-"

"Neither do I," added Cupcake.

"- and they think I'll get food thrown at me."

"Ah," nodded Grex.

"You agree with me, right?" Farr asked the gnome.

"Oh, gods no!" laughed Grex. "I'm with the others on this one. You're going to have a rough time."

Whatever confidence Farr had gotten from his positive self-talk was all gone now.

"Did you finish with the animals?" Khuwa asked the gnome.

"I did," nodded Grex. "Met a few birds that found my request quite reasonable in exchange for some bread."

"What else are we to do?" asked Farr, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand. "We were explicitly told not to kill anyone, but to keep the crowd from going into a full revolt."

"We could try knocking sense into them," offered Yri. Farr gave her a blank stare. "Non-lethal knocking, of course."

"I'd rather not unless we absolutely have to," said Khuwa, shifting on her feet.

Farr looked at Grex for any input.

"You're the boss," shrugged the gnome. "We'll go with whatever you decide."

"I can do this," said Farr with a wink, turning his attention to the steps. "Just watch and learn."

The others shared doubtful looks behind him, then followed him up onto the platform.

Farr and his team were several feet above the gathered crowd of a few hundred peasants. The mass had quieted down as they saw the group step onto the platform, and Farr suddenly felt the weight of everyone's eyes on him. He straightened his brown, simple tunic and ran a hand through his auburn hair, hoping he didn't just make it worse.

He cleared his throat a few times, then began.

"Good citizens of Hunera! Know that your city has heard your demands for better pay, less corrupt guards, and a day off of work at the end of every week," said Farr, keeping a smile pasted on his face. "They are looking into these matters now, and I'm sure you'll hear about what they decide very soon. You should all give yourselves a round of applause for the great work you've accomplished!"

No one clapped.

"Fair enough," said Farr, clasping his hands together. "The point is, your faithful government is taking a serious look into these matters, so you're all free to go home now. Or back to work, I suppose, since you don't have any days off..."

"We ain't goin nowhere!" shouted a woman in the crowd. This was met with a unified cheer.

Farr glanced back at his companions for support, but none was coming.

"Why not?" asked Farr, turning back to the crowd. "I told you, your government has heard you. There's nothing left for you to do."

"We ain't stoppin until we get change!" shouted a man in the crowd. There were more cheers at this one, along with people raising homemade weapons.

"Sure you don't want to go with my plan?" Yri asked.

"Not yet," Farr replied quietly, then raised his voice to the crowd again. "Now, now! There's no reason to get out of control. Your demands sound reasonable enough. I'm sure the people that run this city will ultimately meet you at least half way."

A green ball was chucked up from the middle of the crowd, hitting perfectly in the middle of Farr's chest. The rotting head of lettuce dropped to his feet, where Cupcake excitedly took a few bites.

"Seems they aren't in agreement," said Grex.

"I'm starting to get that feeling, too," sighed Farr, wiping a hand over his shirt.

"What part of the government are ya with?" called out another peasant.

"Well, uh, actually, we aren't part of the government. We were hired by them," said Farr with an uneasy smile.

This caused the crowd to break out in chatter among itself. Once they quieted down some, the same peasant asked what they were all thinking.

"Which guild are ya with?"

"The Delinquents," said Farr proudly.

The crowd was silent for a moment.

Farr turned back and winked at the others. The crowd must have been so impressed that The Delinquents were called in. They must have known this wasn't a fight worth getting into.

"Ya hear that?!" shouted the first peasant, turning back to address the crowd. "The city is so scared of us that they had to go out and hire some mercenaries no one has ever heard of to deal with us!"

The crowd lifted their weapons again and threw a few more pieces of unwanted food at Farr, whose patience had finally run out. It was one thing to ignore or argue with him. It was another thing to dishonor The Delinquents.

His right hand shaking, he raised it high and willed his magic into his palm. Fire erupted from his hand and stretched out a few feet, holding its shape as he swiped the flaming sword in front of him and lowered it to his side.

That got the crowd to quiet down.

"He's a sorcerer!" shouted a few people.

That wasn't exactly true since Farr was actually a blademagus, but he wasn't in the mood to get into a squabble over words. Regardless, he appeared to be getting the crowd's respect for the first time.

"The Delinquents were hired to keep Hunera from destroying itself with a revolt!" shouted Farr. "It doesn't matter to me what you think about that, but know that we will not allow you to bring harm to anyone!"

"Um, Farr?" said Khuwa, sounding a little concerned.

He ignored the orc, feeling like he was on a roll. "You've tried to make your point through order, but if you want to go about it with violence, Hunera will come to fear the name of The Delinquents!"

"F-Farr..." tried Grex.

"If this town wants a fight, it will have one!" finished Farr, the man's blue eyes bright with rage.

The crowd was filled with wide eyes and gaping mouths. There were panicked cries and the mass began to flee.

"They're willing to burn this place to the ground!" cried one peasant.

"They're maniacs!" shouted out another. "The mayor hired maniacs to put us down! We don't stand a chance!"

Farr couldn't help but smile as he turned to the others. "See? I told you we didn't need to actually fight them."

They each backed down the steps, eyes focused to his right side.

"What's the matter?" asked Farr, raising an eyebrow.

"I think the citizens weren't moved so much by your speech but rather your flaming sword," said Grex.

"I'll admit it helped," shrugged Farr.

"You might want to get off the platform while there's still one left," offered Yri.

Farr glanced down to his right, confused. The confusion quickly left him as he saw that some of his flames had licked the wooden platform and were now rapidly devouring what remained of the wood.

"Not again!" groaned Farr, dispelling his sword and jumping off. Seconds later, the platform collapsed and the guards scattered.

"Maybe you should learn some water magic," offered Yri as Farr uncomfortably got back to his feet.

She probably had a point.

CHAPTER TWO

"You really need to watch where you point your weapons," said Grex, their group entering Hunera's town hall. The building was not particularly impressive but was easily the tallest structure in Hunera. A clock was mounted at the top of the building, which had been broken for who knew how long.

"I know," sighed Farr. "Can you all do me a favor and not mention it when we get back home?"

"No promises," said Cupcake.

"I command you not to speak a word of it!" said Yri sharply. The demon pig glared at her but didn't say anything. No one was fully aware of what Yri could and couldn't demand of the demon, besides the two of them. Farr was surprised this fell in the could category. "If Farr gets moved to a different position within the guild, we'll have a new leader assigned to us. You haven't seen how useless they can be."

"Thanks, Yri," grinned Farr.

"They make even Farr look like a genius!"

Farr felt less sure of the compliment.

"I don't think the officers would care too much either way," reasoned Khuwa. "We accomplished our task, which is all that matters. Right?"

"It's not like our guild isn't known for this kind of thing," agreed Grex. "Although that doesn't mean we should continue destroying our employer's property.

Farr and his group passed through the building without being stopped by anyone. In the short time they had been in Hunera, they had made themselves known to pretty much everyone. They took a few turns and ended up in front of the mayor's wide doors.

"Come in!" came a voice from inside after Farr knocked.

The mayor's office was painted white, with all of the furniture inside of it made out of light brown wood. There were bookshelves on either side of the room, each with a long, empty panel in the middle of them. A desk was in the center of the room, a few golden quills and loose papers on top of it. The mayor of Hunera sat behind it and assessed them as they came in.

Mayor Turze was a stout man who looked like he had been born to be a politician. He was finely dressed, had a mustache that was a bit too long, and a smile that was whiter than a pearl.

"Ah, the Delinquents have returned!" he said, waving at them to approach. "I've heard news of your success."

"We're glad you're happy with it," nodded Farr as the four of them lined up across from the table from the mayor, Cupcake on Yri's shoulder.

"Your people shouldn't be giving you any more trouble for quite some time," added Grex, standing on the tip of his toes so that he could see Turze over the table. "Plus, you'll know if they start planning another revolt in the next few years."

"I will?" asked the mayor, tilting his head to the side. "How is that?"

"Grex spoke with your birds," explained Khuwa.

Mayor Turze blinked and his smile faltered. "I... I beg your pardon?"

"I spoke with some of the pigeons in this town," said Grex. "If they hear of another uprising forming, they'll come tap on your windows."

"I see..." said Turze, sounding like he didn't but that he wasn't interested in continuing the conversation.

Farr smirked at the misunderstanding. The others seemed to forget that most people weren't like them. He couldn't blame them. Whenever they were back home with the rest of The Delinquents, they were surrounded by others that had different, sometimes useless, abilities. While there were certainly other druids in the world, Grex was the only one in the Epworth Empire that Farr had ever heard of. Turze probably thought they were crazy, but there was no need to change his perception now that their job was done.

"Are we done?" asked Yri, stifling a yawn. "I'd like to get back to Runeford before it gets too late."

"More or less," said the mayor. "I just wanted to make sure you understood that your pay will be less than we initially agreed upon."

Farr narrowed his eyes at the man. "Oh?"

"You're breaking your part of the contract?" asked Khuwa, the orc's voice a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Now, now," said Turze, raising a hand for everyone to remain calm. "You've got to see this from my point of view."

"The point of view of a liar?" asked Yri.

"I'm happy that you stopped the revolt before it got started," continued the mayor, ignoring the warlock. "However, you destroyed a very valuable landmark in our town."

"That old, decaying platform?" scoffed Yri, looking away. "You should be able to replace it with something better for less than a gold piece!"

"I'd be happy to put a new one together for you, free of charge," offered Grex. "I'd only need to go out to a nearby forest and request the help of-"

"That won't be necessary," said Turze, shaking his head. "By only paying you half of the original deal, we'll be able to take care of this ourselves."

"Half?!" exclaimed the group.

"There's simply no way around it," sighed the mayor as if he had exhausted all possibilities.

"Is that so?" Fire erupted out of Farr's right hand again and he took a step closer to the mayor. As a representative of The Delinquents, he couldn't let an employer get away with trying to pay less than what was promised. It made his guild look weak, and if word got out, others would begin to shortchange them.

Turze calmly hit a button on his desk. The side panels in the bookcases raised up on both sides of them, causing Farr to take a half step back. A dozen of the town's guards came in, their weapons at the ready.

"What, do you keep them standing in that room all day or something?" asked Farr, his fire sword extinguishing.

"More likely that he knew he might need them for this meeting," said Grex, the gnome anxiously glancing up at all of the guards.

Farr didn't like where this was going. Not that he was worried about his life, of course, since they could easily kill everyone in this room. That wouldn't exactly help them get paid, though, and the families of all these guards probably wouldn't appreciate it. The Delinquents had enough enemies as it were.

Yri and Farr locked eyes. Farr gave a slight nod, which Yri returned.

"How dare you think you can do this to us!" began Yri, the warlock walking over to block Turze's view of the others. "You think we will just take this lying down?!"

Farr retreated to Khuwa and lowered his voice as Yri continued to berate the mayor. "You know we can't let this happen, right? The Accountant will be furious with us."

"But what can we do?" asked the orc, nervously glancing about.

"Pull your weapons out and threaten them," he whispered.

The orc's gray eyes widened. "B-But I don't want to fight them!"

Farr patted the much larger Khuwa's arms to calm her down. "I know that, you know that, but they don't know that. You're like, three times as big as anyone in this room."

"Trust me, you won't have to fight anyone," said Farr. "If things get out of hand, the three of us will take over."

Khuwa looked unsure of herself but nodded. The orc pulled out her two massive axes off of her back and took a few steps forward. Farr's fingers tingled as he summoned the necessary magic, then he pointed them at Khuwa. Electricity sparked around the axe heads, making occasional zaps as she thrusted them out before her.

Turze's eyes bulged as he saw the dark green orc flex and slice her sparking weapons through the air. Khuwa let out a frustrated shout, causing the guards to stumble backward. Yri stepped out of Khuwa's way, Cupcake floating around the warlock's head in excitement.

"Have you ever seen an orc barbarian go on a full rampage?" Farr asked Turze. "I have. I've seen a lot of things in my life, but my stomach always turns a bit when I see the broken bodies that Khuwa leaves in her wake when she gets this made."

"I-I d-don't think t-this is n-necessary," stammered Turze.

"Agreed," nodded Farr. "Why don't you go ahead and pay us what you agreed to, and I'll make sure the big scary orc leaves with us before she paints this room red?"

Turze hesitated. Khuwa gave a nervous glance back at Farr, who winked at her. The orc turned back to the mayor and let out another roar.

The mayor didn't need any more prodding. He snatched up a quill as quickly as he could a jotted some numbers and his signature onto a piece of paper. Turze pushed the paper in their direction and immediately drew his hand back before Khuwa could chop it off.

"Much appreciated," said Grex, taking the paper and shoving it into a pocket on his feathered robe.

"Pleasure doing business with you," said Farr, bowing to the mayor. "Let's go, Khuwa."

Yri and Grex led them out while Farr and Khuwa were the last to leave the room. The orc continued to wave her axes in random circles before her, only stopping once they were out of sight and Farr killed his magic on them.

"Great work, Khuwa!" exclaimed Grex as they hurried through the halls. "You really put a fright into them!"

"Thanks," said the orc, blushing as she put her axes on her back. "It was all Farr's idea, though."

"I'm just glad we got our money," shrugged Farr as they left the building. "The Accountant would've bitten our heads off if we came back with anything less than the full amount."

"Now let's hope the town's portals aren't down for maintenance," said Yri. "I'd hate to give Turze time to rethink this and send his whole army after us."

"I doubt he'll do that anytime soon," giggled Cupcake. "I haven't smelled fear that yummy in a long time."

CHAPTER THREE

King Valdrick let out a long sigh and leaned back in his throne. He had reached his early 50s and his hair was now more silver than brown. While he strived to stay in shape, said shape had become a tad more circular than he'd have hoped.

"Is... is something the matter, sire?" asked Commander Brudor, hesitating in the midst of his presentation to the king and his advisors.

The large, stone courtroom was always a little too cold for Valdrick's taste, but it was one of the most secure rooms in all of the U'Raze Kingdom. He had half a dozen advisors with him, all of whom had their own agendas and ideas. Still, they were some of the smartest men and women that Valdrick could possibly surround himself with, and he tried to take their input seriously.

"This whole matter simply reminds me how in debt we've become," replied King Valdrick, shaking his head.

"I-I'm terribly sorry," said Brudor, bowing slightly. "Unfortunately, we must find a way to repair the infrastructure across the kingdom."

"We've done perfectly fine since the... incident," chimed in Helga, one of the advisors. She was only a few years his junior and had been with him for many years. "I think you overestimate the need to fix a handful of bridges."

The incident which Helga referred to was one of the biggest embarrassments of Valdrick's reign. For seemingly no reason, trolls from the Tenebris Mountains struck all across the realm in the middle of the night, destroying roadways, wagons, and bridges. There was hardly a useable roadway in most of the northern and eastern parts of U'Raze. Valdrick had purposefully outlawed any expansion deeper into the trolls' mountains, partially to keep somewhat friendly relations and mostly because earlier attempts to mine the mountains had been completely unfruitful. He had a feeling some had disregarded that decree, and now his people were paying for it.

"With all due respect, no one in this room ever ventures out of Wilnam," pointed out Brudor. Several of the advisors shifted uncomfortably, but no one could argue that. "The roadways are hardly useable even ten miles east of the city. Not only are the common folk complaining about it, but it has slowed production of goods all across our land."

Which would only make their economy weaken, surmised Valdrick. This was bound to be expensive no matter what they chose to do. Getting retribution on the trolls wasn't even an option, as the creatures had less gold than it would take to fund the military to annihilate them.

"What is it that you need to rebuild?" asked Valdrick. "Workers? Lumber?"

Brudor shook his head. "We've got enough of each of those. What we are really lacking is iron."

Valdrick closed his eyes as the room filled with groans.

"Great, more opportunity for the Raptor Islands to charge us exorbitant amounts for their iron!" growled an advisor.

"We should storm one of the islands and take all they've got!" added another.

"I'd recommend against that," said Brudor, shaking his head. "The Epworth Empire is in an alliance with the Raptor Islands. We'd be starting a war I'm not confident we could win."

"Agreed," nodded Valdrick, which caused the advisor who recommended the attack to stammer on about how he was only joking. "So long as the Epworth Empire is protecting the Raptor Islands, we have no choice but to pay their high prices."

An advisor in the back loudly cleared his throat. Everyone turned as Denro, a sagely old man struggled to his feet. He and Helga made up Valdrick's inner circle, and their counsel had yet to steer the king in the wrong direction.

"There is another route to get the Epworth Kingdom out of the way," grinned Denro, the wrinkles on his face spreading. "One that won't take up the military's valuable time."

"I like the sound of that," said Brudor. "How would that work?"

"With all due respect to the Commander, it's best if only a few people hear what I have to say," said Denro, glancing sideways at the king.

"We'll figure something out and get back to you, Commander," said Valdrick, nodding for the man to leave. "Thank you for bringing this news to my attention."

Brudor's face hardened for a brief second before relaxing again.

"Of course, my King," he bowed.

"In fact, I think everyone but Helga and Denro may take a brief recess," said Valdrick, knowing that the others would interrupt Denro as much as possible, trying their hardest to get some piece of credit if Valdrick agreed with the man's plan.

The other advisors weren't thrilled at missing the opportunity but knew better than to argue with the king. A moment later, the doors closed and a deafening silence filled the room.

"Are you familiar with the god, Aodh?" asked Denro.

Valdrick did his best to remember which of the gods Aodh was. While a handful of the gods and goddesses were still worshipped and occasionally intervened in the world, most had left, died, or simply disappeared. Since he couldn't recall this one off the top of his head, he assumed Aodh belonged to the latter category.

"Refresh my memory," replied the king, not wanting to appear ignorant.

"Aodh was one of the most feared gods of the Wustitian Era," explained Denro. "As unpredictable as he was powerful, time has remembered him as Aodh the Mad God."

"The Wustitian Era ended over two thousand years ago," scoffed Helga. "I hardly see how mentioning this long-dead god is any help."

"You're wrong on two accounts," grinned Denro as he held up as many fingers. "First, the Wustitian Era came to an end exactly two thousand years ago in five days. Second, and more importantly, Aodh isn't dead. He's simply been contained by several of the other gods and goddesses."

Helga glared at Denro for correcting her. "Why are you wasting the king's time with this history lesson? If a god is trapped and unable to escape, I highly doubt we can do anything about it."

"Wrong again," chuckled Denro. The man pulled a scroll out of his robe as Helga's face turned dark red. "The Mad God's prison will be weakened for the next several days. Our most esteemed wizards have been studying the phenomenon for many years now, and have concluded the magic of his chains must regenerate every one thousand years to keep Aodh at bay."

"This is all very interesting, Denro," said King Valdrick, quickly chiming in before Helga had another chance to argue with the man. "But are you proposing that we unleash a god so feared by the others that he was locked up? That would bring just as much devastation to our land as to the Epworth Empire."

"Ah, but Aodh's cell is on Epworth's continent," grinned Denro.

Valdrick blinked.

"That's good and all, but my point remains," said the king. "Once the god has finished with the Empire, who is to say he wouldn't come to us next?"

"Gods can't cross over water, my liege."

"They... they can't?" asked Valdrick, tilting his head. "Then how are priests and paladins able to heal their allies when fighting in foreign lands?"

"It appears that the gods and goddesses that they worship can still send those that petition them help," shrugged Denro. "I'm no expert in this matter, admittedly, but I do know that they can't cross bodies of water."

"That seems a rather strange weakness..." said the king, glancing at Helga.

The old woman sighed and shook her head. "It pains me to say it, but I've heard the same thing."

"Is that so?" asked Valdrick, tapping a finger against his chin. If that was the case, then surely this could be a worthwhile endeavor. There was only one problem with it. "This sounds like a suicide mission for whoever does it."

"It would probably be best to send someone expendable," offered Helga.

"As harsh as that sounds, Helga is right," nodded Denro. "Although, who is to say that Aodh won't thank the one who unleashes him? Surely he will be thrilled to be out of his captivity after all of these years. It would make sense for him to spare the one who saves him."

"If someone has earned the moniker of 'the Mad God' I'm not sure we should bank on using logic," mumbled Helga.

Valdrick leaned back again in his throne. He didn't like the idea of sending someone off to certain death. Still, if he could distract the Epworth Empire for the foreseeable future, that would allow them to take over at least one of the Raptor Islands. They'd have all the iron they could ever want, free of charge. Kings did need to make sacrifices...

"Very well," said Valdrick, nodding to himself. "We will try this plan of yours, Denro."

"Most excellent, sire!" said Denro, the old man almost giddy.

"Who shall you send to the Empire?" asked Helga.

"I think Perkins would love this sort of task," mused the king.

Helga rolled her eyes, then remembered where she was and cleared her throat. "Perkins? Are you sure we want to trust someone like him for this important job?"

"I share the same concern," added Denro, now looking less thrilled. "While he certainly doesn't lack the fighting skills required should he be captured, I'm not sure we can count on him to stay the course and arrive on time."

The ancient wooden doors creaked open, cutting the conversation off. Valdrick and the others turned their attention to the woman poking her head in.

"Sorry to interrupt, my king," said one of Valdrick's assistant. "A Mr. Zane Ersten is here, requesting to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

"Ah, that's right," nodded Valdrick, remembering his next meeting. "It'll be just a moment."

The doors shut again, and the king's eyes brightened with possibility.

"What if we sent someone with Perkins?" thought Valdrick out loud. "Someone who could keep them on the right track?"

"It should only take one person to break Aodh's chains," said Denro, "but I don't see any problems with having someone else there, too."

"But who would you trust with guiding Perkins and setting the Mad God free?" asked Helga.

Valdrick smiled at the two advisors. "You're about to meet him."

CHAPTER FOUR

Farr and his team exited the portal and arrived in Runeford. The capital of the Epworth Empire had continued to grow ever since Farr was little, but enough of it had stayed the same for him to still feel a sense of homecoming whenever he returned.

"Ah, The Losers have returned," grinned one of the portal guards as Farr and the others passed by. He was the only elf, and leaned lazily on his pike as the other guards laughed.

"It's The Delinquents, Quinn," growled Farr. With the portal being a major entry point to the capital, the powers that be always had a handful of guards watching over it. Quinn was there more often than not whenever Farr had to come in or out of the city. Farr had known Quinn from years and couldn't remember a time when the elf didn't harass him.

"Same thing," shrugged the guard. "What did y'all do this time? Save a cat stuck in a tree?"

"We stopped a peasant's revolt," said Grex.

"No loss of life," said Khuwa proudly.

"Pssh, waste of time," said Quinn, shaking his head. "Only way to get rid of silly ideas is to permanently stomp it out."

"I've got a burning feeling they'll think twice before trying it again," giggled Cupcake.

"Cupcake..." warned Yri.

Farr and his team left the unimpressed Quinn behind as they made for their guild's headquarters. Since the guilds of the Epworth Empire brought in a lot of gold, they were granted the lands closest to the portal for ease of use. Some of the older guilds, such as Wizard's Banner, Ulref's Soldiers, and The Iron Clobbers, had entire compounds on the main street. The Delinquents had started only a couple of centuries earlier and instead was only comprised of a few buildings several dozen streets back.

"I'm looking forward to some nice sleep," said Yri, stretching out as they passed by the large, impressive walls of the other guilds. "The beds in Hunera felt like sleeping on a pile of rocks."

"It wasn't that bad," said Farr.

"Maybe because you were given your own room, meant for visiting merchants. Us lowly plebs had to sleep in a communal room with the help."

"I tried to get them to let you guys have your own rooms, too," lied Farr. He had meant to do that, but it sort of slipped his mind.

"That's okay," said Khuwa, putting a hand on Farr's shoulder. "We know it's not your fault. Those are the privileges with being a higher rank."

After a few more minutes of walking, the group finally reached their home right as the day began to turn to night. The Delinquents' headquarters was comprised of five buildings. One looked like a typical warehouse, another was a large barracks, and the remaining three had the outward appearance of office buildings. It might not have looked like much compared to the other guilds, but Farr liked to think it gave them a bit more charm.

"We'll get a few days off now, right?" Khuwa asked.

"We should," nodded Farr. "I doubt we already have another job to do. I'll talk with the commander and check to be sure."

"I hate talking with that woman," shivered Yri. "She gives me the creeps."

"I think most people say that about you," oinked Cupcake.

Yri swatted at the pig demon, who narrowly avoided her hand.

"I'd rather talk to the commander than the Accountant," said Farr, his eyes slowly drifting to Grex.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure that the Accountant gets the paperwork from our trip," chuckled the gnome, patting his pocket as he went toward the warehouse.

"You're the best, Grex!" Farr called after him. "Let's all grab breakfast tomorrow and I'll let you know what I find out."

"Works for me," said Yri, heading for the barracks with Cupcake in tow.

"Tell Commander Indures I say hello!" said Khuwa, waving goodbye as she followed after the warlock.

Farr entered the middle office building, then went to the fourth floor. A gnome woman stood behind her desk, writing on a stack of papers nearly as tall as she was.

"Good to see you, Wendy," smiled Farr.

The gnome looked up in surprise, then went back to writing as she spoke. "Sergeant Farr, back already? I don't think the big boss expected to see you for another day or two."

"What can I say?" said Farr, leaning against the wall. "My team and I really know how to get results quickly."

"Like that time it took you a month to track down a councilor's missing pet chameleon?"

"Those things can change colors," protested Farr.

"Or that time it took you a week to find a fugitive that had been staying in the room next to yours the whole time?"

"I thought he was just a shy person..."

"Or how about that time-"

"Okay, I get it," said Farr, holding up a hand. "We might not be the fastest at what we do, but we never come back empty handed."

Wendy glanced up from her writing and raised an eyebrow.

"We rarely come back empty handed," said Farr on further thought.

Wendy giggled as she went back to writing.

"Is Indures in?"

"Commander Indures is in," said Wendy. "You can go on inside, if you'd like. She doesn't have any more appointments for the rest of the night."

"Perfect," said Farr, walking over and putting a hand on the doorknob. He hesitated. "Um, how has she been today?"

Wendy stopped writing and thought about her answer for a moment. "Sort of in a strange mood, I'd say. It's been like her thoughts are elsewhere."

"That's not that strange for her."

"Well, more than usual," yielded the gnome.

"I guess I'll have to just take my chances, then," Farr said to himself, then opened the door.

Commander Indures' office was spotless as always. The two chairs in front of the granite desk were placed equidistant from one another, perfectly mirroring one another. Farr always wondered if Wendy came in after every meeting and cleaned and fixed everything, so nothing would be the tiniest bit out of place. 

Indures' large chair sat empty, as the woman stood staring out of her window up at the night sky. Commander Indures was half angel and half human, colloquially referred to as Aetherials. Her light skin was sparkling as always, her long blonde hair almost reaching her feet.

No reason to be nervous, Farr. No one died, and you came back with the gold. She doesn't know about the fire mishap.

Farr cleared his throat.

Commander Indures glanced back at him, her blue eyes seeming to look through him rather than at him. "Sergeant Farr! You've returned faster than expected. Did something go wrong?"

"Not at all," said Farr, seeing no need to mention the fire or Turze trying to get out of paying them. "Corporal Grex is delivering the paperwork with the full commission to the Accountant as we speak."

"I knew we could count on you," smiled Indures, turning her attention back to the window. "How does your team fair?"

"Everyone is doing well. Khuwa says hello."

Indures laughed. "I say hello back. Is your... warlock, proving to be a problem?"

Farr fought back a smile. People consorting with demons were people angelic beings never desired to work with. Farr wasn't entirely sure how Yri was brought into The Delinquents, but assumed some of the other officers managed to convince Commander Indures that she would be more of an asset than a liability.

"Yri and Cupcake have been nothing but helpful to the team," he replied.

"For now," said Indures quietly.

Farr wasn't a fan of the awkward silence that followed, and decided to get right to it. "We were curious if you had any more tasks for us at this time, or if we'd be given a few days off to recuperate."

"Ah, a good question." The commander turned from the window and took her seat, motioning for Farr to sit down, too. "It is good fortune that you and your team returned when you did. There actually is another mission we have for you."

Farr did his best to mask his disappointment as he took his seat. The rest of the team wasn't going to like hearing this. "Of course."

"This mission has a certain reward associated with it, I should mention," continued the aetherial. "I think you've more than proven yourself capable over the last few years, and that is deserving of not just a raise, but a promotion to captain."

"C-Captain?!" repeated Farr, leaning forward and sitting up straighter. Since Farr had been brought in to the guild, he had moved his way up faster than he had anticipated. He had made it a long term goal to one day lead all of The Delinquents, assuming, of course, that Commander Indures would retire. Being bumped up to an officer so soon was unheard of.

"Absolutely," smiled Indures. "Your dedication to The Delinquents rivals anyone's, and I believe there is something in you that will prove valuable to the rest of the officers."

"I-I don't know what do say," admitted Farr.

"There will be plenty of time for you to figure that out on this mission," she assured him. "This one may prove to be difficult."

"I'm ready for anything," said Farr confidently.

"Good. Because I need you to stop Aodh the Mad God from escaping."

CHAPTER FIVE

"He should just be a few more minutes," said the king's assistant.

"Thank you!" beamed Zane with a shockingly white smile. The man was in his late twenties and had deep blue eyes. He held himself with complete confidence, which may or may not have been rightfully earned.  

Zane Ersten sat on the wooden bench directly in front of the assistant's desk. There were several other benches along the hall, where people about to see King Valdrick would typically sit and do their best to ignore the assistant or anyone else in the room.

The idea hadn't crossed Zane's mind.

"How long have you been working for the king?" asked Zane, his silver armor squeaking slightly as he leaned forward eagerly to talk with the assistant.

The woman sat down and tapped her fingers along her desk nervously. "A few years now, why?"

"Just making conversation," shrugged Zane. "What's your name?"

The assistant was taken aback for a moment then narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the man. "Deborah... Why?"

Zane laughed. "It's polite to learn people's names, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," said Deborah, her guard up. People seeking to speak with the king were always scheming and up to something. She was sure the armored man had some sort of angle.

"Do you like it?" asked Zane.

"My name?"

"Working for the king."

She knew it. This had to be a test, and the man was a spy for the king.

"Of course!" she said quickly. "King Valdrick is a very kind and fair man!"

"That's most certainly true," nodded Zane, thinking back to the few interactions he had with the man. The king was always nice to him, probably because of all the work the young paladin had done for him over the past decade. He hoped King Valdrick would remember all of that when Zane made his request.

The man got up from the bench and approached Deborah's desk. The woman tensed up and her eyes went wide. Zane leaned on the desk and smiled at her.

"Do you worship any of the gods?" he asked.

"That's a personal matter!" said Deborah quickly. "I-I can't be fired for my religious practices or lack thereof!"

"I know," said Zane, slightly confused. Why was she talking about getting fired? He decided sharing first would prompt her to open up more. He patted the symbol of the sun on his left shoulder. "I'm a paladin of Nera. My family have been followers of her for generations."

"I-I respect your religious views."

"Um, thanks," said Zane, unsure of how to respond. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"N-Nothing illegal!"

"Hey, me too!" smiled Zane, glad to finally find a point of connection with the woman.

The doors to the king's throne room creaked open and a wrinkled man smiled at them.

"Oh, thank the gods!" cried out Deborah.

Zane and the old man stared at her.

"Erm, I mean, I hope you have a nice meeting with King Valdrick," Deborah said, nodding politely to Zane.

"Thank you!" he smiled back as he approached the doors. "It was uh, different, talking to you!"

The old man closed the doors behind them as Zane entered the room. The few times Zane had met King Valdrick had been in other locations, mostly for receiving public commendation or awards. This cold, quiet room wasn't much to Zane's liking.

He approached the king and knelt, keeping his head pointed down. "Oh, gracious and wise king. Your humble servant Z-"

"Yes, Zane, I remember you," chuckled Valdrick. "You can go ahead and stand up. There's no need for so much formality here."

"Oh. Okay, then," said Zane getting to his feet and glancing at the other two people in the room.

"This is Helga and Denro," explained the king before the paladin could ask. "They are two of my most trusted advisors. Anything we discuss here is entirely private, and nothing leaves this chamber."

"Nice to meet both of you," smiled Zane. Denro's smile seemed genuine, while Helga's was clearly forced. Zane's philosophy was a fake smile was better than no smile at all, and he wasn't deterred by it as he turned his attention back to the king. "I would like to make a request, if you would be so kind."

"Is that so?" smiled Valdrick. "Ask away, and I'll see what I can do."

Zane took a deep breath, puffing his chest out and standing as straight as he could. "If you will allow it, I would like a permit to start my own guild."

The paladin noted Helga and Denro exchanging a look, but kept the bulk of his attention on the king.

"Interesting," said Valdrick, leaning forward. "But why not join one of the guilds that have already been started? They've got much history to them."

"And I have nothing but great honor and respect for them," nodded Zane. "But, truth be told, I've found that none of them want me."

The king's eyes widened. "Really? But you've done so much for the U'Raze Kingdom! Surely any guild would love to have you join their ranks."

"At first, many guilds did try to get me to join," admitted Zane. "One after the other, though, they all asked me to leave. They cited a 'conflict of personalities', sir."

"I'm sorry to hear that, my boy," said Valdrick, sounding like he truly meant it. The king leaned back in his throne and brought the tips of his fingers together. "Granting a new permit for a new guild could cause some waves with the established ones. The gods know how much they loathe competition. To be honest, I'm not sure if it's doable."

Zane chest deflated. "I... I was afraid of that."

"Surely there is something we could do to help him, sire," said Helga.

"Yes," added Denro, walking up and patting Zane on the shoulder. "If the young man has helped your kingdom before, surely you can return the favor."

The paladin fought back tears at the compassion the two advisors were showing him. How lucky was he to have such kind-hearted people coming to his aid? 

The king looked Zane over carefully. "That seems only fair, I suppose. Very well. I can probably make it happen, if our young paladin would be so kind as to help me out with a little task."

The glimmer of hope was all Zane needed. "Of course! I'd be happy to help you with anything you need!"

"Most excellent," smiled Valdrick. "I've got a very sensitive matter that I need someone to take care of, and I think you'd be the perfect person to do it. I'll spare you the extra details, but we need you to travel in secret to the Epworth Empire and unleash a god named Aodh. Are you familiar with him?"

"I'm not," admitted Zane. "I worship Nera and have no reason to go looking for any deities, so I haven't spent much time learning about the others."

"Perfectly reasonable," nodded Valdrick. "All you need to know is that Aodh and the people on that crescent continent have an old rivalry, and he will keep them out of our hair for quite some time."

"I see," said Zane, connecting the dots. "Two quick questions, if I may."

"Go on."

"First, will I die when he is set free?"

The king shifted in his seat. "There is a chance, I won't lie to you. However, I have complete faith in your abilities. On top of that, we will be sending another with you. I have full assurance that with his help, the two of you will make it back to us in one piece."

The confidence of his king was more than enough for Zane. "That's very kind of you. The second question I have is what will happen when Aodh is finished with the Epworth Empire? Won't he come our way?"

Denro and Helga snickered at this, causing Zane's face to flush. The king smiled at the paladin and shook his head.

"Nothing to worry about on that end, Zane. After all, deities can't cross over water. Everyone knows that."

"Ah, of course! Must have slipped my mind," lied Zane. He quickly changed the subject to avoid further embarrassment. "When is my travel companion ready to leave? And how long do we have?"

Valdrick nodded at Helga, who produced two scrolls and handed it over to the paladin. Zane held both of them up, one brown and one purple.

"All that you need to know can be found in the purple scroll," explained King Valdrick. "You will need to venture first to Bjorn's Harbor and search for a man named Perkins Huss. Present him with the same scroll, and the man will be sure to accompany you."

"What of the brown scroll?" asked Zane.

"That will be the one you need to read off of to release Aodh," said Denro. "Simply read it aloud once you reach the caged covering."

"Seems simple enough," said Zane, shoving both scrolls into his bag. "And when I return I will be granted a permit to start my own guild?"

"The very hour you step foot again in Wilnam," smiled Valdrick.

Zane smiled and bowed, partially to show his thanks and partially to hide his emotions. "Thank you all so much for this opportunity! I won't let you down!"

"We know you won't," nodded the king, a small hint of regret in his voice that Zane didn't pick up on. "Until we meet again."

CHAPTER SIX

"Uh... come again?" asked Farr.

"Have you not heard of Aodh?" asked Commander Indures, turning her head to the side. "He-"

"No, I know about him," nodded Farr, remembering the god from his schooling. "I... I'm just surprised to hear that he's escaping."

"He's always been trying to escape, of course," said Indures, leaning back in her seat. "The thing is, we believe he is going to be assisted this time."

"Who would be insane enough to release him?" scoffed Farr. "That's assuming it's even possible."

"We can't know for sure if it's possible until he happens, but even the magic of the gods is not typically something that lasts forever."

"That's true," yielded Farr, knowing better than most the limits of magic. "But who would do this, and why?"

"Two questions that we don't know," admitted the aetherial. "That will have to be part of your mission to figure out. At least, you'll need to learn who it is in order to stop them. The 'why' isn't as important, but could be infinitely more interesting."

Farr fell back in his seat as his mind raced. Aodh the Mad God had caused so much chaos and death thousands of years earlier that he was considered responsible for setting civilization back millennia. It would require someone just as insane to let him out. And if they did manage to unleash the god, how could his team possibly survive?

"This sounds like it could be very deadly," he muttered.

"It could," yielded Indures. "On the other hand, it could not."

Farr raised his eyebrows for her to continue.

"While we believe the timing is right and that we are reading the stars correctly... I don't think I need to remind you that our astrologist isn't perfect."

"Wait a minute," said Farr, rearranging himself in his seat. "Are you saying the person who had been telling you all of this is Walter?"

"Of course."

"The same Walter who believed the stars were telling him our crescent of a continent would split in two about three years ago?"

"...Yes."

"The same Walter who is right less than five percent of the time?"

"Ah!" said Commander Indures, pointing a finger at Farr. "But he is right, sometimes!"

Farr suddenly wasn't so worried. Walter was The Delinquents lead astrologist. The goblin was friendly enough, and usually meant well, but Farr couldn't remember the last time he had accurately predicted something. Even when he was right, it was usually something incredibly small, like when a guild member would find a bag of copper in the streets.

"Let's say, hypothetically, Walter was wrong," ventured Farr. "My team gets to Aodh's prison, checks it out for a few days, and no one ever comes to open it... What does that mean for us?"

"The mission is to keep the god from escaping," Indures reminded him. "If you return to us and Aodh hasn't been released, then by all means, it sounds like you accomplished your task. You and your team will be compensated as always, given a few weeks off for a well-deserved vacation, and you will be promoted to captain."

A smile returned to Farr's face. This sounded like a sure thing. While the others might grumble about having to go, the promise of a few weeks off might pacify them a bit. The worst thing that would happen to them is they'd be a little bored for a few days while they waited around an ancient crypt. It should be straight forward.

"Okay," said Farr. "We'll take it."

"I'm happy to hear that," smiled Commander Indures. "Best case, Walter is wrong once again and you'll get an easy final mission before becoming an officer."

"While I remember who Aodh is, I don't exactly remember where he's trapped," admitted Farr. "Where is it that we'll be going?"

"Aodh is contained in a covering located at Death's Eye."

"Death's Eye... I'm not familiar with that. Which part of the Empire is it in?"

"It's not in the Empire."

"Oh!" said Farr, surprised. He had always heard about the destruction Aodh wrecked on the continent, he hadn't read of him elsewhere. "Is he on one of the Raptor Islands or the U'Raze Kingdom? Surely not the Carobin Federation?"

"Death's Eye is on this continent," assured Indures. "It isn't within the bounds of the Empire, though. It resides in the Lund to the south."

Farr groaned and ran a hand over his face. This wasn't going to be so simple after all. Even if no one came to release Aodh, it was going to be a pain for his team to get into and through the Lund.

"Not even the northern Lund, huh?" he asked. "At least that would be closer."

"Unfortunately not," she nodded.

"I imagine there aren't any portals leading into the Lund?"

The commander laughed in response.

"Yeah, I guess that would cause a load of problems," nodded Farr in resignation. The Lund was filled with wild magic, the likes of which could hardly be contained. He had read stories in school about foolish mages that journeyed out into the Lund in hopes of finding power beyond what was known. They almost always found it, and it always killed them... or worse.

"The closest portal to the southern Lund is in Voze," explained Indures. "You will need to make your way down to Fort Pel, the closest entry point along the wall to Death's Eye. Once you make it into the Lund, you will continue southeast for about a day. You'll know when you find it."

"I'm sure the Lundori will be happy to see us," said Farr dryly.

"They do love visitors," she replied sarcastically.

"According to Walter, when will Aodh be broken free?" asked Farr.

"Just a few days from now, unfortunately. That's why we need you and your team to leave first thing tomorrow. It will take you several days to make it Death's Eye, assuming there aren't any hiccups."

Farr had a feeling that was unlikely.

"How long will we need to stay there once we arrive? In case no one shows up, I mean."

"I discussed this with Walter a few hours ago and he is confident that one week from today is a safe time to leave," she answered. "He believes that there is some sort of time limit on when Aodh can escape, although none of us know the specifics."

"Setting up camp for a few days in the Lund might end up being as dangerous as Aodh being freed..."

"Certainly not... But it won't be pleasant, I'm afraid."

"Will we be given any more help?" asked Farr.

"I will have Wendy make sure you all are given some supplies to last the week, along with some papers to get through Fort Pel. You all will be given a per diem as well, although I have a feeling the Lundori won't be interested in your money."

"What about backup?"

"There won't be any," said the commander. "We've got teams out all across the Empire and beyond right now on missions. We have a few in reserve, but we can't risk sending out any more people in case we get some paying jobs."

"So we might be saving the world and no one is paying us for it," laughed Farr.

"You also might be doing little more than camping and avoiding Lundori for a few days," countered Indures. "As you said, Walter isn't right very often. It would be foolish of us to miss out on earning some gold because we sent too many people out into the Lund."

"I guess that's fair," admitted Farr.

"Any other questions for me, Sergeant?"

Farr tried to think of any but nothing more came to his head, besides a feeling of dread and wishing he didn't have to go. "No, I think I know all that you can tell me."

Commander Indures got to her feet, as did Farr. The aetherial reached her hand out and shook Farr's. "Thank you and your team for all the work you do for The Delinquents. I'm looking forward to having a new captain around when you return."

"Thank you for the opportunity," nodded Farr. "I'm sure my team will be just as excited."

CHAPTER SEVEN

They weren't.

"This is lame," complained Cupcake, fluttering around Farr's head. "I feel like this is some kind of secret way to torture us."

Farr's group had taken the news about as he had expected that morning. Yri and Cupcake were upset, Khuwa was quiet but annoyed, and Grex was somewhat excited. Since Farr had already accepted the job, though, it wasn't like there were any other options. The promise of extended vacation calmed them down, along with the fact that Walter was their only source that Aodh was being freed.

Within an hour, they had taken the portal to Voze and had soon left the peaceful city behind them. It was a several hour trek through the woods to reach Fort Pel, and not an exciting one. While there was a dirt road that connected the city and the fort, it was rarely used. Trees that had been downed from storms were strewn across their path, as were overgrown shrubs and weeds. Halfway down the path, they had yet to so much as see another person.

"Cupcake might be right," nodded Yri, walking with her arms crossed. "I wouldn't put it past the commander."

"Why would Indures want to torture us?" asked Khuwa, sounding slightly worried.

"She hates Cupcake and me."

"No she doesn't," said Farr, stepping over a thin tree that had fallen in the path.

Yri and Cupcake stared blankly at him.

"She wouldn't make the rest of us suffer just to torture you," reasoned Farr, without completely admitting they may have a point.

"I don't think this is so bad," countered Grex. The gnome had been smiling almost nonstop from the moment Farr explained they were heading into the Lund. While Farr enjoyed studying the craft of being a blademagus, that was about it. Grex, on the other hand, was always desiring to learn more about absolutely everything.

"Not all of us are treehuggers," said Yri, looking in disgust at a couple of birds flying overhead.

"Don't worry, Yri," chuckled Grex. "I'm sure we'll end up in some cold, dark cave sooner or later."

"If only we could be so lucky."

While Yri and Grex argued over the merits of wildlife and no life, Khuwa leaned forward to talk with Farr quietly.

"Are you sure we should have accepted this?" she asked.

"Of course!" exclaimed Farr, taken aback. He hadn't even considered declining back when he was talking with Commander Indures. "Why do you ask?"

"Stopping a god seems kind of... serious," said the orc carefully. "Like something that our high ups should be taking care of."

Farr stumbled over a branch he didn't notice and nearly fell flat on his face. Khuwa kept that from happening by grabbing the back of his tunic and holding him up.

"We're entirely capable of taking care of ourselves, see?" grinned Farr as the orc gently put him back on his feet.

"I know we work well as a team, but I'm not sure if teamwork alone can defeat a god like Aodh."

"Lucky for us, then," said Farr, his eyes now focused on the uneven road at his feet. "Our job isn't to fight him, just keep him from getting out. Even then, the odds that someone is evil enough to actually want to set him free is pretty low."

"I don't doubt for a second that there are men and women evil enough to want such a thing," said the orc quietly. Khuwa's eyes drifted to Yri and Cupcake, who were now bickering with one another about whether Cupcake's desire to fly would keep him from enjoying living in a cave. "You haven't seen much of the world, Farr. We both know you lived a very safe life in the capital. The only demon you've ever seen is Cupcake, and I worry you might be underestimating the darkness that is just waiting to strike."

"Sounds ominous."

"I'm being serious. Not everyone wants the best for others."

Farr wanted to say he knew that, but before he could open his mouth, everyone's attention snapped to their right. There was some light rustling to their side, and a squirrel appeared. The small creature hopped past them back the way they came, letting out a few squeaks as it went.

"A new friend of yours?" Cupcake asked Grex.

"Thankfully. It appears there are people watching us," whispered Grex, the gnome keeping a smile on his face as if nothing was happening.

Farr tried to keep his composure as his eyes rapidly scanned the area around them. The road looked like it curved up ahead around a thicker set of trees, but outside of that everything looked and felt like it had for the last hour or two.

"What should we do?" Khuwa asked.

Farr thought about it for a moment and glanced at the gnome. "How many?"

"Didn't say."

"Want me to burn this part of the forest down?" asked Yri, some hope in her voice. "That'll flush them out."

Farr shook his head slightly, to Yri's disappointment. "That won't be necessary. Grex, why don't you wait until it's safe and do your thing while the rest of us continue forward."

"You got it," said the gnome, stopping and pretending to mess with his shoe.

The rest of the group continued down the path. Farr put his hands in his pocket to seem non-threatening, while Cupcake landed on Yri's shoulder. Farr could hear Khuwa take a breath every time there was the smallest noise to either side of the road.

A couple of minutes went by without anything happening.

"I-Is it possible the squirrel was lying?" asked Khuwa.

"Can squirrels lie?" asked Farr, never considering the question before.

"Everyone lies," replied Yri. "But it would be odd for one to lie to Grex. I can't think of a time when an animal did that to him."

Farr shrugged, starting to wonder if Khuwa was right. "There's a first time for every-"

He was cut off by loud rustling in front of, beside, and behind them. Large men, orcs, and a troll stepped out of the forest and formed a circle around them. Farr quickly counted the eight men as they approached, weapons sheathed but by no means hidden.

"Looks like it's not this time," giggled Cupcake.

"What do we 'ave 'ere?" asked the troll. The brute was even bigger than Khuwa, and smelled like rotten eggs more than the average troll. Farr was surprised they didn't catch a whiff of the creature sooner.

"J-Just a few travelers passing through," said Khuwa, getting a little closer to Yri and Farr.

"Bit rare fer travelers to come down this 'ere road," said the troll, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he looked over them.

The group looked like highwaymen to Farr, which added to the confusion for why they were here. Surely there were better, more populated roads to camp out on in order to separate poor travelers from their money.

"We're heading to Fort Pel," said Farr, taking the troll's attention off of Khuwa. "As far as I'm aware, this is the only road headed there from Voze."

"I told ya!" barked one of the men behind them. "I told ya they had to be coming fer us!"

"I think you need to clean your ears out," said Yri dryly. "We're on our way to Fort Pel."

"Which makes ya guards!"

"Does this thing on my shoulder look like a guard to you?" asked Yri, nodding to the winged pig.

"Howdy," grinned Cupcake.

The circle took a collective step back when the pig spoke. Several of them exchanged nervous glances, everyone's hands on their weapons.

"Even if ya ain't guards, ya must be workin with em," said the troll, pulling out a bloodstained mace. "The Dirt Stabbers ain't turnin ourselves in to the likes of ya."

"There isn't any need for violence," said Khuwa, putting her hands up in an attempt to get the troll to stop.

"Hold on... You call yourselves the Dirt Stabbers?" scoffed Farr. He looked at Cupcake. "Can you believe that?"

"That is certainly one of the worst I've ever heard," snickered the pig.

"You two aren't really helping..." sighed Khuwa.

"Beat em to a pulp!" roared the troll, raising his weapon and charging at Farr.

The blademagus pointed at the troll's weapon. Fire sprang from the mace, licking at the air around it.

"Woah..." marveled the troll, turning his weapon over in his hand as he watched the flame.

"Did you just enhance his weapon?" asked Cupcake. "You know he's not on our side, right?"

"Erm, just a minute," said Farr, blushing. That hadn't gone exactly as he meant it to.

He pointed again, this time heating the metal hilt instantly and causing it to glow red. The troll let out a surprised cry of pain and dropped the mace, waving his hands to try and cool them off.

"Much better," nodded the flying pig in appreciation.

The highwaymen were caught off guard by what had happened to their leader's weapon, causing them to hesitate. Before they could decide what to do, there were several howls from the forest on their right. Four medium sized coyotes sprang out and jumped on the bandits closest to them. The men cried out in a panic, struggling to get their blades out.

Farr brought his hands together, then slowly pulled them apart. An arc of electricity sprang between his hand, taking on the rough shape of a bow. He held it up with one hand while pulling back on the middle of it, producing a thin bolt of lightning that took on the shape of an arrow.

He pointed it at the troll and smiled. 

"Still want to fight?"

"Retreat!" screamed the troll, running into the woods without looking to see if any of his bandits were coming with him. "Retreat!"

The rest of the highwaymen broke rank and ran after their leader, three of the coyotes nipping at their legs as they ran. One of the coyotes stayed with Farr's group, and slowly shifted its form.

"Conveniently those coyotes weren't too far away," said Grex, adjusting his robes as he completed his shapeshift. "Very friendly group."

"I think the bandits might find them a little too friendly," laughed Yri.

"Should we go after them?" asked Cupcake.

Farr considered it as he dispelled his bow and arrow. The human shook his head. "No. We're not getting paid for it and it'll just be a waste of time. We should continue on to the fort, and mention it to them there. If they want us to take them out on our way back, we can do it then."

Cupcake sighed as they continued down the trail. "We never get more than a few seconds of fun..."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Zane had never been to Bjorn's Harbor before. The smell of the ocean filled the air around him, almost overpowering the stench of half-eaten fish that littered the city streets. The constant thumping of boots on wood droned in the background as men and women tried to get sailors and visitors to purchase their wares. Zane was particularly tempted by some bakers that had set up a few tents in the middle of the harbor, but knew he had wasted enough time getting to the city. He needed to find Perkins and get on his was before much longer.

The paladin wasn't exactly sure how he was going to find the man, however. He tried asking some of the merchants, but once they realized he wasn't there to buy anything they would ignore him and look for other potential customers. Zane contemplated going to a guard station and trying to learn where Perkins resided, but worried they would question why he was looking for the man. King Valdrick had made it clear this was to be a secret kind of mission, and Zane didn't want to risk angering him by letting word slip before he had even left U'Raze.

As he looked for more people to ask, his eyes fell on a rundown building across the street from him. The sign above the door read Drunkard's Home. That wasn't the name of a kind of place Zane would normally walk into, but figuring they might know something, he took a deep breath and entered the bar.

The dozen or so men of different races inside stared at him as he entered. They were spaced out among the twenty round tables and didn't look particularly welcoming. The two things they all had in common were the mugs in their hands and the unclean faces and clothes. Zane realized his shining armor made him stick out. He put on a smile and waved at the room.

"Hi there," he said, doing his best to be friendly.

Everyone turned away and went back to their conversations. Zane didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

"Where ya comin from?"

Zane looked over to see a goblin bartender leaning lazily on the bar.

"Wilnam," replied Zane, taking an empty stool across from the bartender. "Took almost two full days to get here."  

"Why's that?" frowned the goblin. "Shouldn't take more than a day to get here from the capital."

"All the roads are still torn to pieces," sighed Zane, shaking his head. He had hoped to make good time on this stretch of the journey but that hadn't happened. "I thought it wouldn't be so bad out west, but I was wrong. Got lost a couple of times."

"Oh yeah, those blasted trolls," laughed the bartender. "Forgot that whole mess happened. Haven't left the harbor in years, I haven't."

"You must know the people here very well, then," guessed Zane. "Could you help me find someone?"

"Depends," said the goblin, eyeing Zane suspiciously. "You a guard?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Fairly."

The goblin grunted. "Good 'nough for me. What be the name of the lady you're lookin for?"

"There's no lady-"

"There's always a lady," chuckled the goblin.

"Huh," said Zane, opening his scroll again and scanning it for any information on Perkins he might have missed. "I sort of assumed Perkins was a man..."

"Perkins!" the goblin half shouted. "Perkins Huss?"

"Yes! Do you know her?"

"Ya were right the first time," said the goblin, shaking his head. "Perkins be a man. Well, rather an elf, but ya know what I mean."

"Do you know where he is?" asked Zane.

"Should be at the Thirsty Snake next door," nodded the goblin.

"Oh, is that his favorite bar?"

"I like to think this one is his favorite, but it's their day to have him."

Zane stared quietly at the bartender for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't know what that means."

"We rotate days on who gives him free drinks," said the goblin, as if that explained everything.

"But... why would you give him free drinks?" asked Zane. "Can I have a free drink?"

"No, sorry," shrugged the bartender. "You don't have the same effect as he does on the other patrons."

Zane looked around the bar again, not noticing anything out of the ordinary with the customers. "What effect is that?"

"He causes them to drink more," chuckled the goblin. "Increases my sales every day he's in, he does."

Zane still didn't understand what the goblin was going on about, but decided he didn't need to. He placed a silver piece on the bar and thanked him for his help, then left for the Thirsty Snake.

Zane immediately knew why he hadn't noticed this bar earlier. The building was even more run down than the Drunkard's Home from the outside, and quite a bit smaller on the inside. There were two long tables in the middle of the room, with a tiny bar on the far end. A portly orc woman stood behind the bar, while only two patrons sat at one of the tables. One of them was a human, the other an elf.

Hoping he had finally found Perkins, Zane headed for their table and examined the elf. The potential Perkins was slender like most elves, with his dark hair pulled up into a ponytail. He wore blackened leather that looked like it had seen all of the elements, along with a matching eyepatch over his right eye. The elf had two swords strapped crossing his back, plus two more sheathed on each of his hips.

"Exactly," nodded the elf, deep in conversation with the man. "What is the point, you know? We're all going to die sometime anyway."

"Why... Why are we even here?" slurred the man, staring deep into his mug, which was next to ten empty ones.

"Also a good question. Some say we are here to suffer. Some say we are here to prevail over temptations."

"Wha-What do y... do you think?" asked the man.

"No reason," sighed the elf, taking a sip of his own mug. "We live, and then we don't. What happens while we're alive doesn't matter."

The man mumbled something into his mug as he took a deep swig and Zane took a seat across from them.

"That's a bit of a depressing outlook," said Zane, beginning to hope this wasn't the elf he was looking for.

"Our existence doesn't depend on our outlook being depressing or joyful, you know," said the elf, glancing at Zane's armor. His eye fixed on the sun on Zane's shoulder. "Ah, the sign of Nera. No wonder you don't care for what I'm saying. You probably think the gods give us meaning."

"I do," admitted Zane. "I suppose I like to think of life as a happy opportunity."

"And death?"

"Another opportunity," guessed Zane.

"Or it just might be the complete darkness of nonbeing."

"I... I..." stuttered the other man, getting to his feet. His cheeks bulged and he ran for the back. "I'm gonna be sick!"

"Some people can't handle these kinds of talks," said the elf, shaking his head in disappointment after the man.

"Or that number of beers," said Zane. Not knowing if or when the other man was going to return, the paladin figured now was the best time to speak more privately with the elf. "I've been looking for a Perkins Huss. Is that you?"

"Nera's followers are being sent to convert me now?" chuckled Perkins. "I guess I should be flattered."

"No, I'm not here to convert you. Well, unless you want-"

"I don't."

"Fair enough," said Zane, pulling out his purple scroll. He laid it down in front of Perkins, who stared at it without moving. "Um, I was sent by King Valdrick. I think it's easiest if you read through that."

"King Valdrick, eh?" said Perkins, unrolling the scroll and scanning through it.

"Yes," nodded Zane. "My name is Zane Ersten, and the two of us are being sent to-"

"Unleash Aodh?!" gasped Perkins, his eye practically jumping out of his head as he stared at the scroll.

"Um, would you mind keeping that down?" asked Zane, glancing back at the orc bartender. She didn't appear to be paying them any attention, but he didn't want to risk it. "It's supposed to be a secret."

"I assume this will be to destroy the Epworth Empire," muttered Perkins to himself. "But what happens when he's done there? Surely he'll come here..."

Zane chuckled and shook his head.

"Why's that funny?" asked Perkins, narrowing his eye at the paladin.

"Gods can't cross water," said Zane matter-of-factly. "Everyone knows that."

"Huh. Are you sure about that?" asked Perkins, not sounding convinced.

"Absolutely," lied Zane.

Perkins thought about it for a moment then shrugged. "Doesn't bother me any. When do we leave?"

"Right now, if you can."

"Aw, but I was just getting through to Stewart, you know," said Perkins, glancing to the back. The man still hadn't returned. The elf tapped the table as he thought. "Hmm, he might be a bit."

"You can always finish when we get back," offered Zane.

Perkins laughed at that and got to his feet. "When we get back, good one. Alright, let's get out of here and find us a boat."

Zane got up to follow him, unsure of what the elf found so funny. He had a feeling Perkins was going to be a strange traveling companion.

CHAPTER NINE

Farr had seen the ancient stone walls that marked the border between the Epworth Empire and the Lund a handful of times before. The wall had been built a distant time in the past, when the Empire was still trying to take over the entire continent. Legend had it that the wall was imbued with some kind of ancient magic that kept the people and creatures of the Lund out, but Farr wasn't so sure. He had a good aptitude for sensing magic and felt nothing coming from the walls. Granted, he rarely tried to feel for ancient magic.

Unfortunately, he certainly felt the dark aura pouring out from over the top of the walls. The Lund was filled with wild magic, which had kept the ancient kings and armies from conquering the land. Magic or not, the wall appeared to keep the Lund out, while several forts were built every thirty or so miles away from one another to quickly spring to a defense, should the need arise.

Fort Pel was one of these, and the place looked worse for wear. What was once probably an intimidating set of structures, looming high over the Lund with its tall towers and exuding the full strength of the Epworth Empire in its thick walls, was now crumbling. There was a gaping hole where a fifth tower should have been, and Farr could see black burn marks on parts of the fort that faced the Lund. Dozens of guards stared out at the Lund of the walls flanking fort, each with bows and arrows in their hands.

"This looks a lot worse than I expected it to," said Yri, sounding concerned as they approached Fort Pel.

Khuwa nodded. "They have seen battle, and recently. It looks like they are expecting another one at any moment."

"You think we will be lucky enough to witness the Lundori in action?!" gasped Grex.

"I'm not sure lucky is the right word," muttered Farr. He knew the chances were high that they'd come across some of the Lundori on their way to Death's Eye, but he assumed it would be once they were closer to their destination. He figured Fort Pel would be a sign of safety for them and was disheartened to see that wasn't the case.

Of course, he certainly didn't want his team knowing his concern. He cleared his throat and put on a confident smile. "I'm sure this is all standard protocol for them. Their job is to keep the Lundori where they belong, so it only makes sense they look prepared. I'm sure all of this damage is from an earlier fight. It could have happened centuries ago, for all we know."

"That's true," said Yri, relaxing slightly.

"I don't know..." said Khuwa, sounding much less convinced.

"Even if they are fighting with the Lundori, that's a good thing," said Farr, trying to think up something on the spot. "It will mean there's less that we have to fight through the deeper into the Lund we get."

"Makes sense to me," nodded Cupcake, floating over to land on Khuwa's shoulder. "That could work in our favor."

"Perhaps," yielded the orc.

The Delinquents passed into the fort, catching the eyes of those they passed by. The families of the guards had formed a tight-knit community among themselves over the generations, and the visitors caught most of them by surprise. Farr asked for directions to the leadership of the town and was cautiously pointed to a tower in the middle of the complex.

Entering the tower, they were immediately approached by several guards. Farr had a feeling they had been watching them from one of the windows above.

"Outsiders," said an elven guard suspiciously. "We don't get many of you coming through. What is the meaning of your visit?"

"We're part of The Delinquents," explained Farr, pulling out Commander Indures' paperwork. "Our guild has sent us into the Lund for a specific task. This should explain what you need to know."

The elven guard scanned the paper while the other guards watched them. When he had finished, he nodded but held onto it. "This does seem to be in order, but we must take you to Major Esper first."

"Why can't you just let us through?" asked Yri, a mixture of anger and confusion in her voice. They rarely needed to talk to someone's superiors when simply passing through. "We're clearly not Lundori."

"Major Esper can explain," said the elf, turning and walking away before any further questions could be asked.

The others exchanged confused looks.

"I guess we're supposed to follow him," shrugged Farr, doing so.

They followed the guards up several floors, carefully watching their step as they went. Many of the stairs were in serious need of repair, but the guards didn't seem to mind. They came to a sudden stop once they reached the sixth floor, one of the rear guards telling them to wait.

A few moments later, and they were escorted into a small office. An aging man sat behind a plain, wooden desk reading their letter. His armor had a number of scratch marks on it, and the bags under his eyes let Farr know he was in need of a few nights' rest. The rest of the guards waited outside, as the room wasn't large enough for them plus The Delinquents.

"The Delinquents, huh?" said the man finally. "So many guilds I've never heard of."

"We're one of the best," smiled Farr.

"That so?" asked Major Esper, putting the paper down and interlocking his fingers in front of his face.

"Absolutely," nodded Farr. "You wouldn't happen to know of a group of bandits called the Dirt Stabbers, would you?"

"Dirt Stabbers?" repeated Major Esper, his eyes widening slightly. "Yes. They've stolen from our people many times, and we've heard reports from traders that they've been mugged by them."

"We just took care of them for you," announced Farr.

"You killed them?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"Ah, you must have tracked them to their base and destroyed it," reasoned the man.

"More like we beat them up a bit and sent them running away," admitted Farr.

"Should've kept after them," muttered Yri disapprovingly.

"That's still impressive," said Major Esper. "Truth be told, we're in need of some fighters like yourselves."

"Have the Lundori been attacking?!" asked Grex, a little too excited.

"They have," nodded the man. "Every night for the past week."

"Is that why your men didn't let us through?" asked Khuwa, glancing out of a window and watching the sun begin to set. "It's not safe?"

"Safe," scoffed the man. "It's never safe when you're this close to the Lund. But yes. While the threat of an attack is so high, anyone foolish enough to go in there has to be brought to me first to make sure they can handle themselves."

"And?" asked Farr.

"If what you say about the Dirt Stabbers is true, you'll probably last longer in the Lund than most."

"That sounds promising," said Cupcake.

Major Esper looked at the pig on Yri's shoulder, opened his mouth, then quickly shut it again. The man had probably seen enough crazy things to know he didn't need to add any more to his plate.

"So, we can go?" asked Farr, taking a couple of steps backward. "I'm sorry to hear about all the fighting you've got going on, but we've got places to be."

"We'd really love to have you help, even for just one night," said Major Esper, sounding almost desperate. "We can pay you!"

Farr froze.

Khuwa gave the blademagus a nervous look. "Farr..."

"You'll pay us?" repeated Farr, taking a step forward. "And just for one night?"

"Yes!" said the guard, shifting through some papers on his desk. "We can afford to pay you and your team a total of... a thousand gold?"

It wasn't an insanely high amount, but it also wasn't anything to flatly reject, either. Their mission to stop Aodh from being released would probably be a waste of time. While Farr was promised a promotion regardless of if they had to fight someone or not, he felt like actually fighting someone would be more impressive to the other officers and Commander Indures. Since that wasn't likely to happen, if he could accomplish a little side job here and come back with a thousand gold pieces for their time...

"Just a moment," he said, motioning for the others to join him a few feet away in a huddle.

"What are you thinking?" asked Khuwa quietly.

"I'm thinking we do it," whispered Farr, looking around at each of them. "But I don't want to sign us up for this side job without the rest of you being on board."

"I'm in!" quipped Grex eagerly right at Farr finished.

"You know I'm not interested in fighting any more than I have to," sighed Khuwa.

"You can try talking to the Lundori when they attack," offered Farr. "You could see if they would be open to peace."

The orc pondered this. "Do they speak the same language as we do?"

"That's what's so exciting about this!" squealed Grex, the gnome actually shaking. "The Lundori are a complete unknown! All attempts to gather information on them has ended in failure and death."

"Is that supposed to make us want to help fight them?" said Yri dryly.

"Aw, come on!" whined Cupcake, fluttering in front of the warlock. "Can we please fight? Pretty please?"

The warlock swatted the pig out of the way.

"I'm fine doing this if everyone else wants to," decided Khuwa. "If there's the chance to talk some sense into the Lundori and save some lives, I think it's worth the risk."

Everyone turned to Yri. Cupcake again flew in front of the warlock's face, getting uncomfortably close.

"Please, please, please!" begged the demon.

Yri sighed. "Fine, if it'll shut you up! But you owe me!"

"Yay!" oinked Cupcake, flying around the group as Farr turned back to the guard.

"Alright, Major Esper," smiled Farr. "You've got The Delinquents at your disposal."

CHAPTER TEN

"Do boats go up and down like this all the time?" groaned Zane, doing his best to not run to the side of the boat and get rid of the past three days worth of food.

It had been nearly two full days since the two of them boarded Gloria, a boat that took citizens of the Epworth Empire to U'Raze on vacation and back. The ship's captain was a little suspicious of the two of them when they first approached, but a small bag of gold changed his disposition. Since then, the two had kept mostly out of sight, keeping to themselves while keeping an eye on the others.

"Afraid so," said Perkins, his arms crossed and scanning the open ship, watching people mingle and dance. Everyone seemed to be in vacation mode.

"I don't think I like sailing, then."

"I don't mind it," shrugged the elf. "Don't really mind most things, you know."

Zane took some deep breaths and put his hands over his head. He hated feeling so sick. If someone with the Empire figured out the two of them were actually from U'Raze, he wouldn't be able to help fight their way off the ship.

"Excuse me," came a friendly voice to his side. "Are ya alright?"

Zane glanced over to see a dwarf wearing a tropical shirt and light blue shorts. His beard had multicolored beads tied in it, and was thrown over his left shoulder.

"I've been better," admitted Zane.

"Was the same way, meself, on the way over," nodded the dwarf knowingly. The dwarf quickly dug into his pocket.

Before Zane knew what was happening, Perkins was on the dwarf, a dagger pressed against his throat and the elf's free hand over his mouth.

"W-What are you doing?!" hissed Zane, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, everyone else was inebriated and didn't pay them any attention. The paladin wasn't sure if that would last if someone spotted the dwarf's dead body.

"Hands out of your pocket," said Perkins firmly.

The dwarf slowly pulled his hand out, revealing a small bottle.

"What's that?" asked Zane.

"Mmm mmm mm!" said the dwarf under Perkins' hand.

"Probably some kind of poison he was going to use to kill us," said Perkins, snatching it out of the dwarf's hand and taking a step back.

"K-Kill ya?" asked the dwarf, rubbing his hands over where the dagger had been just a second earlier. "W-Why would I do that?"

"You tell me," said Perkins, putting his dagger away and examining the bottle.

"I-I was just tryin to help the lad!" protested the dwarf. "That helped cure me seasickness!"

"It did?" asked Zane, reaching for the bottle.

Perkins pulled his hand back before Zane could get it, thrusting the bottle toward the dwarf.

"Hey, why did you-"

"Drink it," Perkins said to the dwarf. It wasn't a request.

"B-But I already did," said the dwarf, confused.

"I don't see how this is necessary," Zane mumbled.

"If I'm right and this is poison, the dwarf will die," said Perkins simply. "If not, then you can have some."

The dwarf looked like he wanted to argue, then let out an annoyed sigh. He snatched the bottle and took a quick swig of it, handing it back to Perkins.

"Ya happy?"

"Rarely."

Zane took the bottle from Perkins, shaking his head and pulling the elf back some to give the dwarf room.

"I'm sorry about that," said the paladin. "I really appreciate the help. My friend is... well, a little on guard."

"I can see that," muttered the dwarf.

Zane stretched out his free hand. "I'm Zane. This is Perkins."

"You're too trusting, you know," said the elf.

"Maybe you should try it sometime," offered Zane.

"Pass."

"Tomm," replied the dwarf, taking and shaking Zane's hand. "Wish I could say it was nice to meet ya, but it was pretty troubling, truth be told."

"You can never be too careful," shrugged Perkins, going back to scanning the area as Zane drank Tomm's bottle.

Immediately, the potion did its work and Zane felt as good as ever. "This stuff really works!"

"Aye, that it does," smiled Tomm. "Let me finally enjoy the sea a bit, although it ain't really fer me."

"I assume your people don't like the water, generally speaking," guessed Zane, offering the rest of the bottle back to the dwarf.

"Keep it," said Tomm, holding a hand up. "I ain't plannin on doin this again. And yer right, we dwarves don't usually leave the safety of the ground beneath our feet."

"What brought you out to U'Raze, then?" asked Zane.

"Just turned 300. Decided I'd do somethin new. Try and broaden my horizons."

"A bunch of good that'll do you," mumbled Perkins.

"Aye, was a waste of time and gold," agreed Tomm. "Travelin ain't fer me. How about ye two?"

Zane and Perkins shared a quick look.

"Um, we were, uh," stammered Zane.

"We're heading to Epworth from U'Raze," said Perkins freely.

Zane glared at the elf.

"What?" asked Perkins. "It's the truth."

"Yer from U'Raze, eh?" chuckled Tomm. "That's new. Most of the people from yer kingdom never want to visit us."

"It's nothing nefarious," said Zane quickly.

"Don't know what that means," shrugged Tomm. "What made the two of ye wanna come to our little crescent?"

"Sightseeing," Zane managed, almost sounding nonchalant.

"Makes sense," nodded Tomm. "Where are ya hopin to go first?"

"The Lund," said Perkins.

Tomm's eyes widened. "The Lund?! Ha! Ye must be mad!"

"Why?" asked Zane. "I'm not very familiar with the areas in the Epworth Empire."

"The Lund ain't technically in the Epworth Empire, lad," said Tomm, shaking his head. "While most of the crescent belongs to us, there is a section to the north and south that don't. That be the Lund."

Zane was surprised to hear the Empire hadn't managed to take over their whole continent yet. Once they reached the Lund, maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as Zane originally thought. Maybe the people inside of the Lund would even be willing to help them?

"We've tried taking parts of it over during the last few centuries, but it always ended in disaster," continued Tomm. "There be wild magic in there."

"Sounds interesting," said Zane honestly.

"That's why we're going to go see it," said Perkins. "There's sure to be things in there that you can't see anywhere else in the world."

"Assuming ye survive long enough," chuckled Tomm.

"I think we'll be able to handle ourselves just fine," said Perkins. He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Or we get the sweet release of death."

Tomm laughed nervously and glanced at Zane.

"Don't ask," advised the paladin.

"Wasn't plannin on it."

The boat suddenly rocked violently, sending everyone on the boat to the floor.

"W-What was that?!" asked Zane, scrambling up.

"Might've hit a giant rock, or something," guessed Perkins, getting up lazily. "I'm not too worried about it."

"You never are," mumbled Zane, looking around.

"There shouldn't be no rocks or nothin out here," reasoned Tomm, now back to his feet. "They sail this way all the time and should know where it's safe."

There were some screams from the other side of the boat, followed by some hoarse laughter. The three of them hurried toward the side of the nearest cabin and looked around the corner as dozens of people ran past them.

Another ship had smashed into the side of Gloria. Zane would've thought this was just a bizarre accident, except for the black sails with skulls on them and the large, well-armed men hopping onto their ship.

"Are those... pirates?" asked Zane.

One of the large men thrusted a sword into the air and laughed loudly. "Run all ya like, but we'll be takin all yer goods sooner or later!"

Perkins let out a long sigh. "Well, this is bound to slow us down."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Farr looked out across the bizarre landscape that was the Lund. The ground looked almost like it had been completed charred, except it shimmered in the wind. On closer inspection, it was actually grass that had somehow taken a black and brown color. The trees were likewise darkly colored, except for the leaves which were a reflective silver. The blademagus could sense a subtle magic coming from the vegetation, and unintentionally shivered.

"You can feel it too, huh?" asked Grex, grinning next to him as the gnome also absorbed the scene. "There's something about it that's like nothing I've ever felt before."

Farr nodded. "Concerning."

"More like fascinating," giggled the gnome. "I'm going to try to take some samples of this place back with me when we leave."

"That sounds needlessly dangerous," mumbled Farr.

"But potentially worth it!" Grex rubbed his hands eagerly together. "The articles I could publish... I'd make a name not just for myself, but for The Delinquents! We might get more recruits with magical tendencies!"

"Well, that wouldn't be so bad," yielded Farr. It was no secret that The Delinquents were in need of more members. Compared to most other guilds, theirs tended to have a high turnover rate. It wasn't that people hated it there or looked for other, more desirable guilds. It was more so that every so often people sort of... died.

This was the risk with all guilds that took on dangerous work, of course. However, since The Delinquents attracted people that were on the outskirts of their societies, most of the guild members happened to be a bit eccentric. This led to some questionable decision making and skill levels that weren't always properly matched to the task.

Farr knew he and his team were no exception, but their track record had more successes than average, and he was proud to have not lost a single person. Well, not lost a single guild member rather. They weren't flawless at rescue missions, and there was that whole debacle with the late Prince of Watertree that he tried not to think about.

"Are you two tired of looking ominously over the landscape?" asked Yri as she, Cupcake, and Khuwa approached. "We checked out our sleeping quarters and they don't look half bad."

"I doubt we'll be getting much sleep tonight," sighed Khuwa, looking up at some of the blackened burn marks on the nearest towers and walls behind them. "It will be a busy night."

"I think we'll be fine," shrugged Farr.

Khuwa and the others looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Really?" asked Grex. "That's unlike you."

"What are you talking about?" bluffed Farr. "I'm always confident we'll be fine."

"No, you say that all the time, but you rarely look it," said Cupcake.

Farr felt his ears burn but he held his ground. "I think the guards here are overreacting. Realistically, it's probably little more than a few Lundori coming and attacking at a time. These kinds of places are only here to fight and act as protection, so it's natural that they would want to make any small thing seem like a big deal."

"Isn't that more concerning?" asked Yri. "If Major Esper and the others are this paranoid about just a handful of Lundori, that must mean they are very powerful."

"So you don't think you can handle them?" asked Farr with a smile.

Yri scoffed. "Please. You know I can handle anything."

"Um, I think you're forgetting who does most of the work," said Cupcake, hopping off the warlock's shoulders.

"I'm the one who summoned you, which means anything you do in a fight is ultimately thanks to me," said Yri, holding her head high. "And besides, I could level this fort even without you."

"Oh, I'd love to see that," said the demon pig, fluttering up a few feet and looking over the area. "Plenty of armed fighters and stone defenses reinforced by some occasional runes, not to mention this place is the size of a town."

"You think I can't do it?" asked Yri, growling and taking a step forward.

"P-Please don't!" said Khuwa quickly, putting her hands up and stepping between the warlock and her demon. "There are innocent lives here!"

"We should probably save our fighting for the Lundori," offered Grex. "I don't think burning up our recent employer will help them like us."

"Outsiders!" came a familiar voice. Farr and the others turned to see the elven guard that had first brought them to Major Esper approach them.

"She was just joking!" insisted Farr.

"Huh?" asked the guard.

Grex nudged Farr and smiled up at the elf. "How can we help you... I'm sorry, I can't remember your name."

"It's Aeulon," replied the elf.

"Just one name?" asked Cupcake. "Seems a bit pretentious."

"It's the only name of mine you need to know, pig," said Aeulon firmly. Cupcake looked like he had a comeback ready, but Yri shot the demon a look. "I think it would be best if we got out of the open and into a nearby safe facility. The Lundori could be watching us at this very moment."

Farr looked back out at the trees and didn't see any eyes staring back at him. Even though he still believed Aeulon and everyone else at Fort Pel was overreacting, he figured the elf probably knew the Lundori and their tactics better than they did. The Delinquents followed the elf behind two of the towers and into a small stone building that hadn't been damaged.

The room was filled with several long tables, almost all of which were occupied by human, elven, and dwarven guards. There were a number of pikes, spears, and other weapons leaning against the wall near the entrance. Farr wondered if all of the buildings in the fort had that feature. The whole town was ready to fight at a moment's notice.

The room became quiet as they entered it, and Farr could feel everyone's eyes on them. Aeulon guided them to a table in the back and ignored the looks.

"Seems like this place really knows how to make people feel welcomed," whispered Farr.

"They don't get many visitors, remember?" pointed out Khuwa. "I can't blame them for being curious, if not suspicious."

Aeulon sat down as they reached the table and gestured for them to do the same.

"I wanted to thank you for offering your services to help us this evening," said the elf. "I understand that you all survived a skirmish with the Dirt Stabbers?"

Cupcake landed in the middle of the table and snickered at the name.

"We more than survived," said Yri. "We could've finished them off, but we weren't sure if it was worth our time."

"I see," nodded Aeulon. "It sounds as if you have very... unique skills."

"We're good at what we do," replied Farr. "Speaking of which, I'm the leader of this group. Are we expected to follow someone's orders as if we were citizens of Fort Pel in any kind of fight, or will I be able to command my guild?"

"Major Esper will allow your group to work autonomously," said Aeulon. "I'm in agreeance with him that it would be best if your guild did not fraternize with any of our troops. I'm sure you understand."

"I'm afraid I don't," said Farr, tilting his head to the side. "What are you getting at?"

"There's something off about the four of you and your pet pig," said Aeulon, meeting their eyes evenly. "I don't mean to come across as overly harsh, but I think it would be best if you kept to yourselves."

"You're the one that brought us in here!" growled Yri as she glared at the elf.

"I never said you couldn't be in the same room with our people."

"Do we really want to protect people who think they're better than us?" the warlock asked Farr.

"Hasn't that kind of been the norm?" he replied.

"They usually at least pretend to not feel that way," said Yri, fixing her glare again on Aeulon.

"I'm not saying we are better than you," argued the elf, shaking his head. "I'm simply saying there is something about your group that is different."

"And you're worried that we'll contaminate your troops," reasoned Grex.

The elf opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off.

A loud gurgling noise penetrated the night. The men and women of Fort Pel immediately sprang to their feet and a battle horn went off from the top of one of the towers. Aeulon grabbed one of the spears leaning against a wall by the door and hurried out.

"Is the battle starting?" asked Farr, following the elf out along with his friends. "What was that gurgling noise?"

"It's the Lundori battle horn," explained Aeulon as he walked quickly to the front of the fort. "It comes from one of their strange creatures."

"There will be a chance to speak to them before the fight, yes?" asked Khuwa, as they came around a final tower's corner.

"If you'd rather die talking than fighting, have at it," replied the elf guard, gesturing over the Lund as they reached the edge of the wall.

The silver leaves of the forest in the Lund shook as humanoids ran from the safety and obscurity of the trees and into the open grasslands. Farr's eyes widened as the numbers kept coming and coming. This wasn't going to be a minor skirmish.

This was going to be a full scale battle.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"I'm gettin outta here!" shouted Tomm, sprinting away from Zane and Perkins. Before Zane could call for him to wait, the dwarf had disappeared into the panicking masses.

"Let's get back to our room," offered Perkins, not sounding particularly bothered that pirates were now running around, assaulting people.

"Shouldn't we help them?" hesitated Zane.

"You want to risk more people learning we aren't from Epworth?"

The paladin didn't like either option. With a heavy heart, he nodded and followed after Perkins.

The two of them mixed in with the crowd, careful to keep their distance from the pirates that were quickly cornering individuals. From the amount of gold he saw changing hands, it looked like the pirates picked the right boat to rob.

Zane and Perkins maneuvered their way down another level, nearing the row of cabins they had been assigned to. Some of their neighbors had gotten the same idea, and Zane could hear people locking their doors as they passed by them. The paladin wasn't so sure this would keep them safe for the entire time the pirates were raiding Gloria, but it had to be better than standing idly around in the open.

They reached their room and hurried in. Right as Zane closed the door, a scimitar jammed itself between the door and the frame.

"You know, that's probably not good," remarked Perkins.

The door was kicked open by the owner of the scimitar, knocking Zane onto the ground. By the time he got back to his feet, the scimitar was pointed at his throat.

"Can I help you?" asked Zane politely.

"That you can," snickered the pirate, guiding Zane back and against the wall. Perkins had a sword pressed to his own throat as he leaned against the wall next to him.

The two pirates were both orcs with similar dark green skin. The one on Zane looked like he did nothing all day but eat protein and workout, while the one on Perkins was possibly the skinniest orc he had ever seen. Zane wished they could trade.

"Give us all yer stuff," said the muscular orc.

"It'd take way too long to take all my weapons," argued Perkins. "It'd be best if you just took whatever was lying around the room."

"Why's a half-blind elf need all them swords, eh?" asked the skinny one, noticing the high number of the weapons for the first time.

"I'm a bit of a collector," said Perkins evenly.

"That means they'll be worth even more!" cheered the orc.

"Does money make you happy?"

The two orcs blinked, shared a look, then looked back at Perkins.

"Eh?" they said in unison.

"Why does money make you happy?" asked Perkins. "All it does is give you material gains, but they fade away sooner rather than later."

"It's better to have more stuff than less stuff," argued the skinny orc.

"Why, though?" pressed Perkins. "When we all pass from this life, it's not like we can take any of it with us. Everything in this world is fleeting."

The skinny orc was having trouble processing this.

"Shut up!" barked the muscular orc, not in the mood for a debate. "Give us all ye've got, save yer depressing ramblings."

Perkins glanced at Zane. "Kind of rude and unnecessary."

"Armored human!" barked the orc. "Gimme yer things. Now!"

Zane leaned his head back and tensed his neck.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said.

"Then I'll have to-"

Zane snapped his head forward with as much power as he could muster, headbutting the orc square in the face. The pirate's nose exploded with blood and he stumbled backward, dropping his weapon from the shock.

The pirate on Perkins let out a snarl and shifted his attention to Zane.

"Yer gonna pay fer that!" he barked, leaping at the paladin and thrusting with his blade.

Perkins' grabbed the orc's wrist, stopping the blade an inch before it reached Zane's face. The pirate turned to face the elf, but never made it. With his other hand, Perkins managed to pull out one of the swords on his hip and shove it through the pirate's rib in one fluid motion.

"You know, you might want to stop your opponent before he gets some backup," Perkins said calmly as he pulled out his weapon and let the dead pirate collapse to the floor.

Zane turned his attention back to the other pirate, who had nearly reached the door. Pulling his mace out, the paladin whispered a small prayer to Nera then flung it at the pirate. Halfway through the air, the mace started glowing as if it were made of gold. There was a sickening thud as the mace connected perfectly with the back of the orc's head, and the pirate crumbled upon himself.

"Nice throw," commented Perkins, wiping his blade off on the pirate's shirt.

"It was all by the grace of Nera," said Zane, retrieving his mace.

"Nice team effort, then."

Zane pulled the dead pirate back into their cabin, then poked his head out to see if any of the other pirates had noticed what had happened. There was a lot of chaos still going on, and it looked like no one was the wiser. He quietly closed the door, then turned back to Perkins.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked.

"Plan?" chuckled the elf. "Wait in here for the pirates to eventually leave. Hopefully enough of the crew will still be alive for us to make it to Epworth. Worst case, I'm sure the two of us can find a lifeboat and row the rest of the way there. Shouldn't be more than a day away at this point."

"But the pirates could start killing people," protested Zane.

"Most likely."

"This boat is filled with innocent people!"

"Innocent people... from the Epworth Empire," clarified Perkins.

"So? We should help them!"

"You're joking, right?" asked Perkins, his eye narrowing. "The whole reason we are on this ship is to get to Epworth and release a god that will ravage the continent. Thousands of innocent people will die, you know."

"N-Not necessarily," said Zane, seeing the reasoning in Perkins' argument but not wanting to agree with it.

"You know Aodh's nickname was the Mad God, right? Did you think just the military and some guilds would fall to something like that?" scoffed Perkins.

Zane hadn't exactly thought about it. He rarely thought about what he was ordered to do, and just did it to the best of his ability. He trusted King Valdrick's orders, and believed that anything that might be morally gray was something the king had judged as a necessary evil.

"Civilian casualties happen in wars," said Zane, not willing to commit any more than that.

"A war we are starting."

There was a terrified scream outside their door followed by heavy footsteps.

"We can debate this later," said Zane. "Look, it's in our best interest to fight the pirates. It will speed up our journey, especially if we can save most or all of the crew."

Perkins pursed his lips as he considered that.

"We also might get a reward for saving them," ventured the paladin.

"I'm not really motivated by money, you know," said the elf, shaking his head. Still, he pulled out another of his swords. "But I do like the idea of getting there quicker, and you seem like you'd complain about this the rest of our journey. Let's do it your way, I suppose."

The two of them exited the cabin, weapons at the ready. A couple of pirates to their left noticed them, then shouted to a few more pirates to their right and pointed at the not-so-easy targets.

"Plan?" asked Zane.

"Kill them all before they kill us?" offered Perkins.

"Not very eloquent, but it should work."

The pirates charged at them, each bringing up their weapons as they ran. Zane began whispering a prayer to Nera while Perkins wasted no time springing into action.

The elf targeted the three pirates on their right. Diving forward, Perkins slid beneath the wild swings of the three enemies with ease, holding his swords out to his side as he did so. The blades ate through the achilles tendons of two of the pirates, dropping them to their knees as he got to his feet. Switching his hold on the handles, Perkins ruthlessly shoved each sword down and into the back of the necks of each downed pirate.

The sole living pirate rushed at the elf now that his blades were buried, lunging for Perkins' midsection. The elf let go of the handles, jumped back, and pulled the two swords across his back out. Roaring, the pirate leapt again after the elf and swung wildly. The elf effortlessly swatted the weapon to his left, brought both blades up and level with the pirate's neck, then removed his head from the rest of him.

Zane finished his prayers right as his two pirates reached him. They each swung at a different angle on the paladin's chest and connected. Unfortunately for them, a fraction of a second before they did, the front of Zane's armor began glowing bright yellow. The weapons broke as they connected with his holy armor, the tips dropping uselessly to the floor.

"W-What the...?!" cried one of them.

"May Nera have mercy on your wicked souls," said Zane quietly.

Spinning on his left foot, Zane brought his mace up and across the left pirate's face. Before the first pirate hit the ground, the paladin kicked out the knee of the second one. The pirate let out a grunt and tried to strike Zane with his destroyed weapon, which then further shattered. It was the last thing the pirate did.

"Looks like Nera might have her uses after all," said Perkins as he sheathed the swords on his back and got his other two out of the pirates. There were some more screams from above them. "Ready for round three?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Farr had never seen a Lundori before.

They held the same overall shape as humans, except for the silver tendrils on the top of their heads that acted like hair. Their skin was a dark purple, with unique black tattoos covering their faces and exposed skin. The Lundori charged with weapons that paralleled the spears, swords, and pikes of the Empire's, only with the blackened wood of the Lund.

Arrows shot out from the walls around Fort Pel, hardly visible in the night sky. Farr's eyes widened as several of the Lundori raised their hands and a thrust of magic exuded from them. A wave of translucent energy formed several feet above the Lundori just as the first of the arrows rained down. Each arrow stabbed into the magic shield, then slowly floated around in it as if it had entered a body of water.

"That's not good," remarked Yri, scanning the battlefield. The Fort Pel defenders were slowly advancing into the Lund, but holding and not straying too far from the walls. "These archers are worthless until we get those shields down."

"If that's even possible," said Grex, who sounded more curious than nervous. "We don't know if only some of them can use magic or if it's something innate to all Lundori."

"There's only one way for us to find out," said Farr, turning to the others to come up with a plan. "I say we get close to the front line and see if we can fight their magic with some of our own. Grex, you do what you can to slow or stop the Lundori. Yri, you and Cupcake see if your attacks can make it through their magic."

"What if I don't wanna?" asked Cupcake defiantly.

"Then you'll do it anyway," said Yri, narrowing her eyes at the demon.

The pig stuck his tongue out at the warlock.

"I'll try to empower some of the weapons of the defenders that seem most capable," continued Farr. "Khuwa, you... Uh, where's Khuwa?"

Somehow, Farr had lost track of the giant orc. Unless she was crouching down and hiding from them, he should've easily found her towering over any of the nearby fighters.

"Oh, you didn't see?" asked Cupcake, nodding toward the battlefield. "She's at the front of the line."

Farr's jaw dropped as he now saw Khuwa a dozen paces ahead of the slow-moving line. The orc had a nervous smile on as she approached the Lundori, her weapons still on her back.

"She's going to get herself killed!" cried Farr as The Delinquents hurried to reach her before the Lundori did. Above all the noise of the conflict about to break out, they were just able to make out what Khuwa was saying as they reached the line.

"There's no reason for this!" shouted Khuwa, waving her hands and shaking her head toward the Lundori. "We mean you no harm!"

The Lundori were closing in, weapons still at the ready and looking as if they either couldn't understand the orc, or didn't care.

"I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding!" continued Khuwa. "Maybe we can talk this through?"

As an answer, two of the Lundori at the front of the pack chucked their spears at her. The twisted dark wood spun as it arched through the night air, and it seemed that Khuwa noticed them too late. As she tried to take a step out of the path that was going to be too slow, two pillars of dirt shot up from the ground in front of her. The spears connected with the dirt and snapped in half as Khuwa fell to the ground.

"Looks like my nature magic still works even with the strange vegetation of the Lund!" laughed Grex. "Lucky us!"

The attack on Khuwa was enough to get the Fort Pel defenders to charge the final bit of distance between them and their enemy. Battle shouts mixed with the clanging of metal against metal as the Empire and Lundori clashed. Farr and Yri struggled to pull Khuwa away from the front line and back up to her feet.

"What were you doing?!" demanded Farr.

"I-I was trying to stop the fighting before it began!" said Khuwa, trembling as she got to her feet.

"Without talking to us about it first?!"

"I k-kind of figured you'd try to stop me..."

"Not smart, Khuwa," sighed Yri. "You easily could have died, or gotten us killed while we came to help."

"Yri's right," said Farr, shaking his head. He pointed back to the fort. "Go back to the town and wait for us to finish this fight."

"But-"

"That's an order!" shouted Farr.

The orc hung her head and left the battlefield without another word. Farr felt a ping of guilt, but he knew it was the best thing to do for the moment. He needed to channel his anger back at the Lundori.

"I'll try and knock down those magic shields," said Yri, heading off to the side.

Farr turned his attention back to the front, where he saw that the Lundori and the defenders were evenly matched. Whenever an elf or a dwarf would fall, a Lundori would as well. The defenders appeared to be making some progress on the left flank, where Grex and Cupcake were helping out.

The gnome threw his arms out at a group of Lundori, and immediately vines sprang out of the ground at their feet. The blackened branches encircled the Lundori's feet, causing a few to trip and the others to stay in one spot. The Fort Pel fighters cut them down without hesitation. Meanwhile, the flying pig floated over the Lundori's heads unnoticed. Cupcake went right for one of the Lundori creating the magic shield along the left. The pig landed on the Lundori's shoulder and giggled. The humanoid turned to look at the pig, but the last thing it saw was the green fire that shot out of Cupcake's mouth. The green blaze quickly consumed the Lundori, and the magic barrier faded in an instant.

This certainly got the Lundori's attention, and Cupcake had a less comfortable flight back to the defender's side as he dodged left and right around a few thrown spears and a sword slash or three.

Farr brought his hands together and apart, creating his electric bow. Taking aim at the Lundori that were focused on Cupcake, he let loose shot after shot of lightning. Each Lundori he hit was flung back, some not making it again to their feet. When his demon ally was clear, a familiar figure caught his attention.

Aeulon and a few other guards had pushed deeper into the Lundori army. They were putting up a solid fight, but the elf appeared to be struggling against a large Lundori. The enemy feigned an attack on the elf, then stabbed into the back on an unsuspecting defender.

Holding his bow in one hand, Farr held his other out toward Aeulon and sent out a strand of magic. The tip of the elf's spear burned red as orange flames licked off of it, causing the Lundori and Aeulon to both hesitate in surprise.

"It's me, Aeulon!" shouted Farr. "Keep it up!"

The elf nodded and jabbed again at the Lundori. The humanoid backed away as the Aeulon pressed in, finally landing a shallow strike. The flames lit onto the Lundori's clothes, catching the shocked humanoid's attention for a second. It was all the opportunity Aeulon needed, and the elf finished the Lundori off.

Green fire again ignited in the night sky, this time coming from the far right side. Yri had her hands outstretched and pointed at the protective Lundori barrier. The green fire entered into the shield and swirled around like the arrows did. However, the Lundori around the barrier cried out in a panic and began running back to the forest. A few seconds later, and the green fire broke free of the barrier and fell to the ground, igniting on the black and brown grass.

The loud gurgling noise that signaled the start of the fight could be heard again, and the rest of the Lundori started to retreat. The defenders were bolstered and took some free shots at their enemy, especially from the archers who were now able to make contact with their targets on each of the flanks.

The Delinquents didn't bother to give chase and instead they each made for the fort. They had accomplished what they needed to in order to get paid.

"That was fun," snickered Cupcake as he landed on Farr's shoulder.

"You certainly got some eyes on you," replied Farr as Yri and Grex joined them.

"Thanks for taking some of them off of me," oinked the pig. "Too bad Yri had to go overboard and scare them all off."

Yri shrugged, her breathing more labored than usual. "Learned that it requires more energy to break one of those barriers than I thought it would, but it's doable."

"It also appears that, while they all have magic connected to them, not all of them can use it," added Grex, staring off as he thought aloud. "Most interesting. I wonder if-"

"Let's save this talk for after a good night's rest," sighed Farr, feeling spent from all the magic and travel of the day.

Talking with Khuwa about her foolish actions could wait until tomorrow. He had a feeling they'd need all the energy they could get once they ventured deeper into the Lund.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Aaa!" cried a pirate as he was tossed overboard by Zane.

"T-Thank y-you," cried a gnome and his wife.

"Get inside a room and lock the door," instructed Zane, following the line of sliced and broken pirate bodies to Perkins.

The two of them had cleared the bottom level of the ship and were nearly done with the main level. Zane could see most of the remaining pirates boarding their ship, not wanting to risk a fight with the two men butchering their ranks. He heard the clashing of metal against metal and turned around a corner in time to see his elven friend finish off another pirate.

"Looks like the rest are running away," Zane said happily.

"Works for me," said Perkins, staring down at his weapons with disappointment. "These take forever to clean off, you know."

"It's well worth it to save some innocent lives," smiled Zane.

"If you say so."

Zane and Perkins approached the pirate ship, brandishing their weapons in case any of them had any funny ideas. The large man that had originally boarded Gloria was standing at the front of his ship, glaring at the two of them. Zane always considered himself to be tall for a human, but this pirate was at least two heads taller than him. The pirate had a number of scars across his face, more probably hidden underneath his thick beard.

"Ye've made dangerous enemies today," the man warned them.

"Doubt it," said Perkins.

The pirate's glare intensified. A commotion behind the large man caught Zane's attention, and the paladin's heart dropped.

Several pirates were restraining hostages. While that was reason enough for Zane to be upset, one of the hostages he recognized.

"Get yer hands off me!" shouted Tomm, punching one of the pirates in the face. This opened up a gap and the dwarf ran for it. Right as he jumped for Gloria, several hands grabbed his feet and dragged him further back on their ship. The dwarf grunted as he was kicked a few times for retribution.

"Perkins..." said Zane, gesturing at where Tomm disappeared.

The elf let out an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't have noticed."

"He's helped us out by giving us that potion," insisted Zane. "We owe it to him to save him!"

"That could've cost him only a few copper, you know. Is risking our lives really worth it for just a few copper?"

Zane decided to try giving Perkins a bit of his own medicine. "Are our lives really worth anything?"

Perkins straightened his back and blinked a few times. He turned to Zane and smiled. "Looks like I'm rubbing off on you, huh?"

"Maybe. Well? What's it going to be?"

Perkins chuckled and spun his swords over in his hands. "Can't argue with myself. I was gonna help him anyway, though. One of the few things I live by is helping those that help me, you know."

The two of them charged the pirate ship, causing most of the pirates to backpedal in surprise. The ship hadn't left yet as there were still a few stragglers left, which made jumping on easy enough for Zane and Perkins.

"What are ya waitin fer?!" demanded the pirate captain, shifting his glare to all of his subordinates. "Chop em up and feed em to the sharks!"

Some of the pirates took the motivation and came forward to fight. Several others took the prisoners and shoved them down into the center of the ship.

"Looks like we've got to carve our way through," said Perkins, catching one attack with his left blade while throwing one of his one with his right.

Zane used his glowing armor to push through the pirates, striving to get to the prisoners before the pirates decided to bring them any harm. Scimitars, hammers, and swords shattered against him, none leaving so much as a mark. The paladin swung his mace at the pirates that didn't jump out of his way fast enough, sending them crumpled to the floor or out into the sea.

"His head, ya fools!" came the captain's voice. "Aim fer his head!"

Knowing what was coming, Zane slowed and took a defensive stance. As a hammer swung at his face from the left, he brought up his gauntlet to catch it, then brought the mace swiftly across the pirate's knee. Another thrusted out with a scimitar at his neck, but Perkins appeared in time and blocked the shot with his own blade.

The two of them together again, mixed with the fact that the pirates had run low on usable weapons, the men backed off, not wanting to be killed.

"What are ye worthless maggots doin!?" screamed the pirate captain.

"Now is our chance," whispered Zane, nodding at the door that brought them into the heart of the ship.

Perkins and Zane hurried to the door and down the steps, careful to watch their backs and not give the pirates any unnecessary openings. They reached the middle of the ship without having to fight anyone else, and soon found themselves standing across from some very worried prisoners, and even more frightened pirates.

"W-What kind of f-freaks a-are ye?!" whimpered a troll pirate.

"D-D-Don't hurt us!" cried a human one. "P-Please!"

Perkins glanced at Zane. "Well?"

Zane pointed his mace at the nearest pirate, who let out a shriek.

"Let the hostages go and we won't kill you," said the paladin firmly.

"R-Right away!" nodded the pirate, who frantically gestured for the captured people to move toward Zane and Perkins.

"Ye did it!" said Tomm as he and the other fifteen people crowded around them. The dwarf looking a bit sore but was smiling nonetheless. "Ya saved us!"

"We're not free quite yet," said Perkins, glancing up at the top of the stairs. The doors had been shut behind them and they could hear pounding. "I think they're trying to trap us down here."

"B-But that m-means we're trapped, t-too!" cried one of the pirates.

"Nothing to worry about," said Zane confidently. The man closed his eyes, offered his mace up to the roof, and said another prayer to Nera. Everyone looked on in astonishment as the mace suddenly glowed bright red.

Perkins and the others quietly watched as Zane slowly walked up the steps, eyeing the middle of the doors.

"If you're on the other side you might want to step back!" Zane shouted.

The banging immediately stopped. Zane gave them a few more seconds to leave, then he brought his hammer back. Twisting forward with all of his might, he brought the mace into and through the middle of the doors. There was a brief explosion of wood as the doors burst out and off of their hinges, along with all of the panels the pirates had been trying to hammer into the other side.

"Alright, everyone," said Perkins, waving for the hostages to climb the steps. "No pushing or shoving. You might want to, you know, be quick about it, though."

Zane led the way as the hostages filed in behind him and in front of Perkins. The remaining pirates had backed away, hoping Zane and Perkins wouldn't notice them. That is, except for one.

"No one makes a mockery of me and me crew!" shouted the pirate captain, jumping in front of Zane.

"Move," warned the paladin.

The pirate captain lunged forward with his scimitar aimed at Zane's neck. The paladin stepped to the side, brought his mace back, then smashed it into the pirate's outstretched arm. The scimitar rattled to the ground as the pirate captain lost the ability to use his arm. Zane kicked him in the chest, sending him to the floor and out of the way.

Zane took a few steps toward the downed pirate, mace in hand. The man glared up at him, growling in pain and anger but not saying anything.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Perkins.

"Nearly your entire crew has been killed," said Zane. "Your arm is broken, and even if it wasn't, it's clear you can't beat us."

The pirate captain glowered at him. "Just kill me already... I'm tired of listening to ya yap."

Zane put his mace back on his hip and shook his head. "Sorry, not going to happen. Not today, anyway."

"Huh?" said Perkins, all of the pirates, and all of the prisoners in unison.

"You're being given a second chance on life," said Zane walking away and stepping off the boat. "As Nera has mercy on me, so I shall on you. Leave this place and turn from your ways. This path only leads to death."

There was some disappointed grumbling from the prisoners, but they ultimately followed Zane off of the boat.

"What are you doing?" demanded Perkins. "Why don't you kill him? He's the whole reason for all of this!"

"He's clearly made his mistakes, but he is no longer a threat to us. I think there has been enough shedding of blood today," said Zane. "Besides, I don't see why you care if I kill him or not. We all die one day, right?"

Perkins opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"I'm not sure I like the new you throwing my words back at me, you know," said the elf, getting back onto Gloria.

The pirate captain and what was left of his crew were suspicious toward Zane and the others, moving slowly as they prepared their boat to leave. Once they dislodged their ship and kicked off, they started moving quicker in case their opponents changed their minds. The pirate captain stood at the back of the boat, nursing his arm while his glare never left the paladin.

"I'll remember ye!" barked the captain as the ship drifted out of sight. "Mark me words, I will remember ye!"

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The bodies of the fallen Lundori and Fort Pel defenders had been cleared from the battlefield by the time Farr and the others woke up and ventured back to Major Esper's tower. Compared to when The Delinquents had first arrived the day earlier, the people of the fort seemed in surprisingly good spirits. Many of the guards nodded and smiled at them, and even a few townspeople waved.

"Glad to see we're getting the recognition we deserve," said Yri, holding her head high. "Nothing like a little fire to catch people's attention."

"I'm surprised word traveled so quickly," remarked Farr, waving back to two children. They giggled and ran off.

"The people of the town watched the battle anxiously," commented Khuwa, who had been quieter than usual that morning. Farr still hadn't gotten around to talking to her about her inappropriately dangerous behavior the night before. "They were all worried for their loved ones, but when they saw the green flames coming from both sides of the fight, their nervousness turned to excitement."

"It looks like the Lundori had used fire before," said Grex, the gnome glancing up at the scorch marks on the tower they were about to enter. "I'm sure the people of Fort Pel appreciated having it deployed on their behalf for once."

"I'm glad you four didn't give the Lundori a chance to use it on you," said Khuwa.

"That was nice. It also would've been nice to have you out there with us," said Yri, glancing sideways at Farr.

The blademagus took a deep breath. It seemed like now the time to have the uncomfortable chat had come. He hated having to reprimand people, especially those he considered friends. But it had to be done.

"Khuwa..." he began.

"I realize I was being foolish," admitted Khuwa, saving Farr from having to start. "But with the Lundori already charging and Fort Pel preparing to meet them, I had to do something!"

"And that something was venturing out on your own without saying anything to us?" asked Farr.

The orc hung her head and didn't reply.

"You could have easily gotten all of us killed when we tried to get to you," sighed Farr. Khuwa looked like she had beaten herself up about this enough. "Never go off like that on your own again."

Khuwa nodded somberly. "I understand."

"Good," said Farr, clearing his throat. "Now let's move on and not make this weird."

"Well, weirder than we already are," pointed out Grex.

"Hold on, you aren't going to punish her?" asked Cupcake, sounding mildly disappointed.

"Of course not," said Farr, shaking his head. "She was trying to do a good thing, she just went about it in the wrong way. Besides, if I was going to punish someone whenever they did something I didn't like, you'd be permanently in a field of flowers with children holding hands and dancing around you."

The demon pig shivered. "And people think I'm wicked!"

The Delinquents entered the tower, where some guards happily escorted them up to Major Esper's room. One of them went inside for a moment to let him know they were there, and they were ushered in without delay.

"Our heroes!" exclaimed Major Esper, a wide smile on his face as he held his arms open. While he still looked like he hadn't slept in days, there was a spark of joy in his eye.

"We were just doing our job," said Farr, bowing slightly. He wasn't used to praise and always found it uncomfortable.

"Of being heroes!" exclaimed Cupcake from his master's shoulder. The demon clearly didn't share Farr's feelings.

"It's a heavy burden, but one that The Delinquents can carry," added Yri, giving a subtle wink to the pig.

Farr was always a little uncomfortable whenever the warlock and her demon were on the same page.

"Ah, before I forget," said Esper, reaching underneath his desk and producing a leather bag. "As promised, here is your thousand gold. Feel free to count it."

"Don't mind if I do," said Yri, snatching and opening the bag, pouring its content onto the desk. She began counting while Cupcake threw out random numbers in an attempt to mess her up.

Major Esper turned to Aeulon and raised his eyebrows. The elf coughed and slightly bowed toward The Delinquents.

"I apologize for my original assessment of you," said Aeulon, sounding genuine. "I was quick to be suspicious of you, but it is obvious now that you're not only skilled, but willing to help our people."

"No need to apologize," smiled Grex. "We're used to people not enjoying our presence."

"That doesn't make it right," said Aeulon, who turned to focus on Farr. "Thank you, especially, for the use of your magic on my weapon. I'm not sure how I would've fared without it."

"We appreciate the kind words," Farr nodded to the elf, feeling his cheeks burn with the further praise.

"The Lundori retreated faster than ever before," smiled Esper. "I have hopes that they will think twice before attacking us again. While that might not last, it will hopefully give my troops some time to get some much-needed rest and medical attention."

"Would you consider staying longer?" asked Aeulon. "We won't be able to pay as highly for additional days, but I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement with your guild."

"I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately we really must be off as soon as we can," replied Farr.

"You by no means owe us an answer, but may I ask where it is you are off to?" asked Major Esper. "While we aren't sending any scouts out at this time, we have in the past and could possibly provide some advice depending on what you seek."

Farr glanced at the others, unsure of how much to say. Grex and Khuwa shrugged, while Yri and Cupcake were still busy counting coins and didn't pay them any attention. The blademagus considered the options and ultimately didn't see any harm in telling them the truth.

"We're headed to Death's Eye," explained Farr. "While it is some shaky information, our guild believes there is the chance the Mad God will be released in the next few days."

Major Esper and Aeulon exchanged a concerned look.

"That would explain the sudden Lundori aggression," whispered Aeulon.

"Agreed," nodded Major Esper, the man leaning back in his seat.

"You think the Lundori and the Mad God could be connected?" asked Khuwa.

"One thousand!" declared Yri cheerfully. She glanced at the others and her smile slipped as she began putting the coins back in the bag. "Uh, you can continue."

"It's entirely possible," nodded Major Esper. "It's not as though the Lundori are normally like this."

"They aren't?" repeated Grex, taking a half step forward. The gnome pulled out a scroll and quill and listened eagerly.

"While we've had some minor conflicts with the Lundori over the years, we've never had them come to Fort Pel and launch an attack," explained Esper. "In fact, we used to do some occasional trading with them. We would give them some of our older weapons in return for their exotic foods and furs."

"I bet you're regretting that now," murmured Yri, the bag of gold disappearing into her cloak. "Never give a potential enemy anything you wouldn't want to be used against you."

"We assumed it would strengthen relations," sighed Esper. "Not one of my finer ideas."

"There's no way you could've known that at the time," said Aeulon, standing firmly beside his leader.

"A little over a week ago they made their first attack," continued Major Esper. "We had slipped into complacency and paid for it. Their wizards destroyed some of our buildings, and we lost too many men and women when we fought them back. I had assumed they were doing this out of retribution for something one of the scouts had done that I wasn't aware of, but maybe it is somehow related to Aodh."

"Do you think they could be the ones to let him loose?" asked Grex.

Farr was taken aback at the question. He hadn't considered the Lundori trying to break the Mad God out. It would certainly explain their hostility toward the Empire and people of Fort Pel. Plus, not much was known of the Lundori and their practices. Could they possibly be worshippers of Aodh?

"It's not outside of the realm of possibility," said Major Esper somberly.

"If that's true, then it's even more of a reason for us to hurry there," said Yri.

"Allow us to draw up a map of the known Lundori locations before you go," offered Major Esper. "We've had some men check on Death's Eye from time to time, and if you follow their pathway, you may be able to reach it without too much conflict."

"Aside from any changes in the Lundori, of course," added Aeulon. "If they are actually wanting to unleash Aodh on the world again, they'll surely be positioned around his prison."

"Let's hope that isn't the case," said Farr. He didn't like his squad's odds if it would be five against hundreds, if not thousands, of hostile Lundori fighters. "Now about that map..."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Gloria finally reached Julius' Port, which brought many cheers from those aboard. Zane was one among them. While the potion that Tomm gave him had gotten rid of his seasickness, the paladin had decided the sea wasn't for him. He preferred traveling, and fighting, on land.

Julius' Port was much larger than Bjorn's Harbor. The structures here were all made of stone, some even metal. Large inns made up the bulk of the buildings Zane could see from the ship, while the scent of deliciously cooked meat let him know some taverns or restaurants weren't too far. While he'd have liked to rest up and enjoy some of the large town, they didn't have much time to spare.

"You know, that wasn't too bad of a ride," mused Perkins as they stood toward the back of the line getting off of the ship.

"Really?" asked Zane, shaking his head as they took a few steps forward. "Did you already forget we were almost killed by pirates?"

"Neither of us were ever killed," countered Perkins. "Some of the other patrons? Sure. But us? I think not."

"Anyone being in danger puts a damper on things for me."

"How noble! Especially for one that intends on releasing an unkillable monster on the very people he was so worried about."

Zane looked around and held a finger to his lips. "Knock it off! Someone could hear!"

"No one's paying attention to us," said Perkins, waving Zane's concern away. He then looked around and saw a number of glances their way. "Oh. Right. Everyone's nervous around us now."

"Or overly appreciative," sighed Zane.

After they had saved Gloria and its passengers from the pirates, they were met with a hero's welcome. Everyone wanted to shake their hand and talk to them. At first, anyway. Shortly after dinner, they began to hear whispers questioning why the two of them were on the ship in the first place, and whether they meant them even more harm than the pirates had.

The two of them keeping to themselves probably didn't help assuage the fears of their fellow travelers. Zane didn't want all of the attention in what was supposed to be a secret mission, however, and Perkins wasn't interested in the flattery or offers of money.

They quietly followed the line down to the harbor, putting the rest of their conversation on hold until they were alone. They made to go deeper into the town, but four guards approached them.

"This looks promising," said Perkins dryly.

"These the two?" one of the guards asked a woman Perkins vaguely recognized from the boat.

She nodded, then scurried away.

"Uh, is something the matter?" Zane asked.

The guard that had asked the woman adjusted his armor. "Perhaps. We've heard that the two of you put on quite a show on the way here."

"We are men of many talents," bowed Perkins.

"We don't need any kind of reward or acknowledgment of us protecting the ship," said Zane bashfully. "All we want is to put the matter behind us and get on our way."

"Multiple passengers came up to us, claiming that two suspicious people who were well armed had caused a commotion," said the guard firmly. "The people on board were scared half to death"

"That's quite the way to describe what happened," chuckled Perkins.

Zane failed to see the humor in the situation. "What are they talking about?! Our ship was attacked by pirates and we saved them and their belongings!"

"We then checked with the captain of the ship to learn which Epworth citizens had done this," continued the guard, ignoring Zane's protests. "And he explained that you two never showed your papers when you got on."

Perkins and Zane exchanged a look.

"Told you we shouldn't have done anything," mumbled Perkins.

Zane couldn't argue with him. He had done what he thought was the right thing, and in return the people they rescued complained to the guards about them. If this was what the people in the Epworth Empire were really like, he had less of a problem letting Aodh free.

The paladin ran his eyes over the guards. The four of them looked capable enough, but they weren't ready for a fight. Zane and Perkins couldn't allow themselves to be captured, so that looked exactly like what the guards were going to get.

"I'm telling you, we did nothing wrong," continued Zane. "We saved the people on that boat. Surely that is worth something."

"Honestly, I don't know if what you're saying is true or not," admitted the guard. "But either way, you've come to the Epworth Empire without any paperwork. Do you have some now that you'd like to show us?"

Zane looked at Perkins.

The elf shook his head. "Not exactly."

"I see," said the guard. "Well, then. We have no choice but to-"

"What's goin on here?!"

Tomm stomped forward and glared at the guards.

"Did you come from the Gloria?" asked the only guard that appeared to know how to speak.

"Aye, same with these two," nodded the dwarf as he crossed his arms. "What's it to ya?"

"Then you must be aware that these two posed some problems for those on your ship."

"Ha!" laughed the dwarf humorlessly. "Ya've got yer facts mixed up. The two of em ain't done nothin but save people's lives."

The guard shifted on his feet. "Regardless of that matter, the fact is that the two of them were smuggled on board from U'Raze."

"Aye, that they were," agreed the dwarf.

"Uh, Tomm..." said Zane, concerned that the dwarf thought he was helping when in fact he was making the situation worse.

"Then we have no choice but to arrest them for trying to sneak into the Empire," reasoned the guard. He motioned for the other guards to approach. Zane and Perkins tensed up, each of them slowly reaching for their weapons.

"Now, now," said Tomm, stepping between each group. "I think there's another option."

"Oh?" asked the guard, raising an eyebrow. "For enemies of the Empire?"

"Ya've got it all wrong," sighed Tomm, shaking his head. "They ain't no enemies of us. In fact, they're me bodyguards."

"They are?" asked the guards.

"We are?" asked Zane and Perkins.

"Aye," nodded Tomm. He looked left and right, then lowered his voice and leaned in toward the guard. "Ya see, it's a huge pain and cost to get permits fer mercenaries from other nations to come over. The whole thing would cost me a fortune!"

"I see," said the guard, itching his chin. "Well, while I'm glad that they aren't here in an effort to sabotage the Empire, I'm afraid we still can't allow them in without you finishing the work permits for them."

Tomm pulled out a small bag. "Or... I'm sure ye all could look the other way in exchange for ten gold each? That's gotta be quite a bit more than ya make in a day."

The guards all looked at one another. There seemed to be a debate in facial expression, then the talkative guard turned back to Perkins and Zane.

"So... the two of you are this dwarf's bodyguards, yes?" he asked.

"Uh, yup," nodded Zane.

"Indubitably," smiled Perkins.

"I... I'll assume that means yes," replied the guard. Tomm stretched out the bag toward him. With a sigh, the guard took the bag and stuffed it into a pocket. "Very well. The three of you get out of here immediately."

"Thank ye fer yer time," smiled Tomm, nodding for Zane and Perkins to follow him.

The three walked by as the guards continued in a different direction. A few moments later, and the three of them had blended into the thick crowds of Julius' Port.

"Thank you so much for your help back there," said Zane, patting Tomm on his shoulder. "I don't know what would've happened if it weren't for you."

"I know," replied Perkins. "We'd be fighting our way out of this town."

"Aye, but ye two deserve a break from fightin after savin me life," chuckled Tomm. "I'm sorry the rest of the people on the boat made up some lies about ye. Promise not all of us livin in the Epworth Empire be like that."

"It's not your fault," shrugged Zane. While he was thankful for the dwarf's help, he wasn't sold on the rest of the citizens being like him.

"Anyway, me caravan's gotta go past the wall that separates us from the Lund," said Tomm. "Since the two of ya are headin that way, foolish as it may be, want a ride?"

"Are you sure?" asked Perkins. "You've already paid us back."

"Aye, but we're friends now, ain't we?" smiled Tomm.

Zane and Perkins looked at one another. The elf shrugged, deferring the decision to the paladin. Zane would have preferred traveling on their own, but if word about them spread, they might bump into other guards that wouldn't be so likely to take a bribe. The dwarf had already proven himself to them, and a caravan that knew its way to the Lund was sure to be faster than wandering around on foot.

"Yes," nodded Zane. "I suppose we are. And I think we'll take you up on your offer."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"This map looks like it was drawn by a five-year-old," muttered Farr, flipping the paper over a few times to figure out where they were.

The Lund wasn't making the map any easier to read. Trees were in every direction around them, their heavy and plentiful leaves blocking out most of the sunlight. Everything looked more or less the same. The only thing they knew for sure was that they had been walking for roughly six hours.

Hopefully, those six hours were in the right direction.

"I don't like this," said Khuwa, the orc walking with one of her giant axes in her hand. That was rare. The orc continued to wear her armor and weapons out of respect to the culture that she grew up with, even if she ultimately disagreed with their blood lust and need for war. For her to actually be prepared for a fight meant that she had learned from her first encounter with the Lundori.

"What's not to like?" asked Yri dryly. "We're only deep in a hostile area, surrounded by strange plants, and have no idea where we are or how far we are from Death's Eye."

"Which is a lovely name in itself," added Cupcake, floating a foot above the warlock.

"Even I am a bit uneasy," admitted Grex, glancing over his shoulder every few steps.

"Why?" asked Farr. "We already know your druidic powers still work here."

"The trees give off a strange aura to me," admitted the gnome. "I'm afraid that if I call upon them they might not respond, or worse. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they would join the Lundori in attacking us. Of course, I haven't tried to do so yet. Maybe now would be a good-"

"No," said Farr, Yri, and Khuwa in unison.

"Probably for the best," nodded Grex, smiling to himself. "On top of the trees, the creatures here are... different."

"I haven't seen any animals," remarked Khuwa. Farr also hadn't, and for that matter hadn't even heard any rustling since they entered the Lund.

"They've seen us," replied the gnome. "And again, I'm not so sure if I can convince them to help us like I can the usual wildlife."

"So that just leaves you with the ability to manipulate the ground," said Farr, making a mental note for any future fights in this place.

"Perfect," sighed Yri. "There's a good chance that we'll have to fight off an army of Lundori on our own, and one of us can't even use half of their abilities."

"But surely someone as powerful as you can take them all by yourself," said Cupcake, rolling his eyes.

"I never said such a thing," said Yri, crossing her arms. "Fort Pel was different."

"Besides some buildings, I don't see how," said Cupcake. The flying pig spun around and continued to float backwards as the rest walked. "You just can't hit moving targets, is that it?"

Yri held up a finger and pointed it at the demon. "I guess we could find out right now, couldn't we?"

"Calm down, you two," said Farr. While he hadn't seen the two actually physically fight before, it always seemed like something that could happen at a moment's notice. While it would be interesting to see Cupcake and Yri at their full power, now was certainly not the time or place for it.

"Nothing for me to worry about," oinked Cupcake with glee. "Yri couldn't... couldn't..."

Farr noticed the pig stop floating backward. It also wasn't like the demon to stop talking mid-insult. He and the others paused. Cupcake's typically black eyes appeared glazed over, and almost gray.

"Yri," said Farr firmly as he turned to the warlock. "I get that you're within your rights to discipline your demon, but now isn't the time for this. Knock it off."

Yri slowly walked around Cupcake, her eyes narrowed as she examined the demon. "But I'm not doing anything..."

"This isn't you?" asked Farr, moving from annoyance to concern in an instant.

"No," said the warlock, rubbing her chin as she thought.

"C-Cut it out, Cupcake," said Khuwa, nervously adjusting her grip on her axe. "This isn't funny anymore."

Based on how Yri was reacting, Farr had a bad feeling that the demon wasn't playing a joke on them. He held his hand up to Cupcake's face and waved it back and forth. There was no reaction. The demon hadn't blinked for over a minute now.

The pig suddenly spun around, then dashed off into the trees to their right.

"Cupcake!" demanded Yri. "Return!"

The pig didn't hesitate as it continued on its path through the trees.

Farr glanced back at Yri, whose face was paler than usual.

"That... That should've worked," said the warlock quietly.

"Do we follow him?" asked Grex.

"Won't we get even further lost if we do?" asked Khuwa.

The two of them looked at Farr, who in turn looked at Yri. The warlock looked surprisingly worried for her demon. While Cupcake was more of an honorary member of The Delinquents than an actual one, it looked like he might need their help.

"Let's go!" shouted Farr, running off in the direction that Cupcake went.

The others followed quickly behind as the blademagus peeled through the forest, quickly scanning the trees as he went for any sign of the demon. He caught the blur of movement up ahead and to his right, then followed after it. After pushing through a particularly thick set of trees, there was a slight clearing that let him see the back of Cupcake as the pig flew to the south.

"Cupcake!" shouted Yri, passing Farr as she tried to close the distance between them and the pig. "Cupcake, return! Return!"

The pig wasn't listening. Again he disappeared through the blackened trees. The Delinquents weren't giving up, however, and continued their pursuit.

"Grex!" said Farr, glancing back to see the gnome had turned into a pigeon in order to keep up with everyone. "The next opportunity you get, try and get vines from underground to spring up and trap Cupcake!"

The bird chirped and flew ahead of them. The trees in this part of the forest began to be more spaced out, and they again could see the back of Cupcake as he weaved through the landscape. The pigeon shot ahead in an attempt to close the distance. When he was less than a dozen feet back, the pigeon transformed back into a gnome.

As Grex fell to the ground, he stretched his arms out toward Cupcake. Four black vines sprung out beneath Cupcake and reached for the demonic pig. Without looking, Cupcake flew over the first vine, spun between the second and third, and easily outdistanced the fourth.

Grex grunted as his face met with the floor. Before he could get back to his feet, the rest of the Delinquents passed him, with Khuwa yanking him up by his robe and carrying him.

"Nice try," she said.

"That pig's not easy to tie up," sighed Grex, dusting off his robe as Khuwa continued to carry him.

The group began to slow in spite of themselves. They had been running for too long and were starting to run out of breath. Farr grew less sure that they would catch the demon. Would he eventually return to them if they couldn't? Would they find their way back toward Death's Eye now that they were legitimately lost?

The trees parted as they slowed. A slow moving river cut through the forest, its water appearing to be the same as in the normal world. Farr vaguely remembered seeing a river somewhere on the map that Major Esper had given them, but his attention was focused on what floated before them.

A brightly shining figure stood next to the river. As Farr's eyes adjusted, he realized that the figure was an elven woman. She wore a white gown, a golden crown, and several silver bracelets. Her long blonde hair reached past her feet, which were hovering a foot off of the ground. She held Cupcake out before her in one hand, gently petting him with her other.

"Woah..." gasped Grex.

Farr shared the sentiment.

The elven woman shifted her attention to them, her emerald eyes scanning each of them thoughtfully as she smiled.

"Hello, travelers," she said, her voice almost singing.

"H-Hello..." said Khuwa, slowly and gently putting Grex back down. The orc glanced at the others and lowered her voice. "What do you think she's doing?"

"Looks like she's petting Cupcake," said Farr simply.

"Does... Does he like that?" asked Khuwa, tilting her head to the side.

"Doesn't seem like it's bothering him any," pointed out Grex.

"I guess that's true," yielded the orc. "Do you think that means she's friendly?"

"Possibly," nodded Farr. "I don't think she means us any har-"

Yri stalked forward and held her hand up and palm out toward the elf.

"Release my demon," announced the warlock, a ball of green flames forming in her palm, "or die."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Yri," cautioned Farr, holding his hands up. "Calm down..."

"No!" said Yri, taking another step toward the bright elf as the ball of green flames grew larger in her palm. "She's done something to Cupcake, and if she doesn't let him go on her own, then I know one way to make her!"

The shining elf smiled and held her hands, and Cupcake, out. The demon pig floated away from the elf and back to the warlock. When he got close, Yri dispelled the fire and grabbed Cupcake.

"I believe there is a misunderstanding," said the beautiful elf. "I don't intend any of you any harm."

"What did you do to him?!" demanded Yri, holding Cupcake up and examining him. Farr could see that the pig's eyes were still gray. "He still isn't back to normal!"

"I apologize," said the elf, bowing her head slightly toward Yri. "My very presence seems to have this kind of effect on demons. It's not something I can turn on or off."

"Maybe if I turn you off..."

"Yri," said Farr, quietly but sternly. They didn't know who this elf was or how she could have this kind of power over Cupcake. If she meant to kill them, surely she would've attacked them before they found her. They should hold off on fighting unless they absolutely needed to, especially now that they were in the heart of the Lund.

"Please, madam," said Grex, walking forward and bowing deeply to the elf. "Perhaps you can explain to us who you are?"

"Of course," beamed the elven women. "I am the Goddess of the Wild."

"A goddess!" exclaimed Grex, his face turning red as he bowed a few more times. "I should've known someone of your beauty couldn't have been from this world!"

"I've never met a deity before," marveled Khuwa, kneeling down and bowing her head toward the elf. "It's an honor."

Farr bowed as well, not knowing what else to do. He noticed Yri didn't follow them in showing respect to the elf.

"I suppose that explains why demons get put in a trance when near you," said Farr as he finished his bow. "Does that happen to most gods?"

"Some," said the elf. "Although, truth be told, I haven't interacted with any of the others in many centuries."

"Why is that?" asked Grex.

"I keep to this land," explained the Goddess of the Wild. "I believe you travelers call it the Lund. None of the other gods visit here."

"Because of Aodh, right?" asked Farr.

The elf's eyes focused on him and he felt his knees grow weak. He gave a nervous laugh and smiled.

"That is correct," she said. "Even though he is chained, they fear that even getting near to his prison will risk setting him free. My home isn't far from there, and I've found that not be true at all."

"You live near Death's Eye?" asked Khuwa. "That's where we were headed!"

The elf shifted her focus to the orc, and Farr felt like he could breathe again. He wasn't normally one to get befuddled by someone, but this elf was the most stunning woman he had ever laid eyes on.

"Perhaps it is destiny, then," said the Goddess of the Wild. "I just finished gathering food for my pets and was on my way back. Please, allow me to escort you to my home."

"More like you want us to escort you," snarled Yri. She looked back at Farr and lowered her voice to a whisper. "She's using us."

The Goddess of the Wild's laugh sounded like wind chimes in a soft breeze. "I appreciate your concern for me, warlock, but I think you will find it quite the reverse."

"Why is that? If you don't mind me asking," said Farr, ignoring Yri. He couldn't blame the elf for wanting their help back to her home. While he would normally charge someone for being protection, he didn't see the harm in doing this one free of charge.

"Not at all," smiled the elf. "You see, the Lundori have a great respect for power. They know of me and the strength that I bring. Because of this, they always keep a wide distance from me."

"So we'll have safe passage with you!" exclaimed Grex, smiling at the others. "This is wonderful news!"

"Indeed, you are doubly in luck," continued the Goddess of the Wild. "I can have us travel at a much faster speed than your legs could take you, so long as we are in the Lund. I'll have us there in no time." 

"What luck!" exclaimed Khuwa, the orc grinning a toothy smile.

Yri stared hard at Farr, but the blademagus paid her little attention.

"Then it's settled," smiled Farr. "We'll travel there together."

Yri looked down at Cupcake, who still wasn't back to himself. With a sigh, she nodded.

The Goddess of the Wild spent a few minutes constructing a circle around them in the ground with some help from Grex. The gnome asked her a few questions, but it seemed that this was some higher form of magic mortals wouldn't be able to use. When they were finished, the elf moved to the center of the circle, held her hands together, and closed her eyes.

Several minutes passed.

Farr blinked and looked around. Everything seemed exactly the same.

"Impressive," scoffed Yri, grinning at Farr. "This seems like a very efficient way to travel."

"It takes a moment to kick in," said the elf quietly.

A few seconds later, and the trees outside of the circle appeared to flash by them in a blur. Everything inside of the circle remained static, however.

"Incredible..." mumbled Grex, pulling out a scroll and jotting something down quickly. "I've never seen magic quite like this before."

"Sure you have," said Yri, trying not to let the elf get too much credit. "Our portals act essentially the same way."

"Very good, warlock," smiled the Goddess of the Wild appreciatively.

Yri didn't return the smile.

After a few minutes of watching the Lund pass by them in a blur, the trees slowed until they came to a complete stop. They were now on top of a large cliff, which overlooked a large mound. To their backs was a deep cave, with a small source of light coming from inside of it. Past the cave Farr could see similar large rocks and cliffs, behind which the ocean occasionally crashed into. Trees dotted their own cliff, but were fewer in number than those spread out beneath the cliff, aside from the mound which was bare of any plant life.

The mound had a dark metal object in the middle of it, covered in large, metal chains. While he couldn't be sure, it looked like the container continued deeper into the ground. Knowing what it was, it made sense that it did.

Aodh's prison.

"So that's it, huh?" asked Grex, writing again in his scroll. "I've got to say, it's not as impressive as I pictured it in my head."

"It was simpler times millennia ago," shrugged the elf. "The gods were more concerned with effectiveness than style."

"Seems reasonable to me," nodded Farr. He glanced sideways at Yri. "You taking us here must have saved us hours, possibly days."

Yri mumbled something and went back to studying Cupcake. She gently smacked him a few times, but the pig's demeanor didn't change.

Farr motioned back to the cave. "Is that your home?"

"It is," smiled the elf. "Would you like to come inside?"

There was a loud mixture of chirping and buzzing coming from inside of the cave. The Delinquents each took a few steps back, their eyes locked on the entrance.

"Uh, I think I'd prefer to stay out here," said Farr.

"Is something the matter?" asked the elf.

"What is that noise?" asked Khuwa, gulping.

"I know what it is, and what it comes from," said Yri cryptically.

The Goddess of the Wild didn't need to answer them and Yri didn't need to explain any further. Several dozen small creatures slowly walked out of the cave. None of them were taller than a foot, and each of them were either black, red, or dark yellow. Most of them had wings, several had long tails, and all of them had sharp talons and sharper teeth. They exuded a smell of burnt rubber, causing Farr to briefly cover his nose as he adjusted to it.

"These are my pets," said the Goddess of the Wild simply.

"Y-You keep demons for pets?" asked Khuwa, gripping her axe tightly.

"And a lot of them," added Grex.

"You mentioned something before we left," said Yri, her voice quiet. "You said you were out looking for food to feed them. Only... I don't see you carrying anything."

"Ah, but I did find them food," said the elf, her bright glow suddenly dimming. The light twisted and became a dark shadow, hovering and shifting around her. The elf's skin paled and her white gown turned blood red. Her emerald eyes turned a dark red and she smiled wickedly at The Delinquents. "You."

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The caravan to the wall had been a peaceful ride for Zane and Perkins. Tomm's friends had been very welcoming to the two, especially once Tomm explained how the two of them had saved him from the pirates. Their journey along the winding road was filled with tales of Tomm's younger exploits, and how each of them had met the dwarf.

While Zane appreciated the stories, he was more interested in making a mental map of the surroundings. Assuming things went well, he'd need to figure out a way to get back to Julius' Port so that he could escape back to the U'Raze Kingdom before Aodh began his reign of destruction. The first stretch of the well-kept road from where they landed had been open grasslands, with farms dotting the horizon. The road cut through four separate forests, each not much longer than a fifteen-minute ride. More farmland took up the space between the forests, with very small towns set up that offered a place to sleep and eat.

Unlike the roads back home, which were now being heavily patrolled by guards since the trolls attacked, Zane had only noticed a handful of guards on the roads. They were also busy protecting carts that were moving along the road, and not concerned at all with any of the average civilians crossing each way. This meant that as long as he and Perkins kept to themselves and didn't act threateningly toward any travelers they probably wouldn't be harassed or asked for papers.

The caravan slowed as they neared the towering walls for the first time. They had again entered a forested area and the foot traffic had completely disappeared for the time being.

"This be it," said Tomm, hopping off the caravan with a rope and grappling hook.

"We've really got to hop the wall here?" asked Zane, eyeing the tall structure warily. It was taller than he expected it to be. If what Tomm had said about the Lund's mysterious magic was true, it was probably for the best.

"Aye," nodded Tomm. "Unless ya wanna go through one of the forts that be guarding it. Don't think that'll be any easier fer ya, though."

"It's best to avoid more eyes on us, you know," nodded Perkins. He took the grappling hook from Tomm, spun it over a few times, then chucked it at the top of the wall.

It bounced off the edge and fell back to them.

"Uh, been a bit since I've used one of these things," admitted Perkins, the elf's ears turning red.

After a few more failed attempts, the elf managed to get the hook stuck on something at the top of the wall. He tugged at it a few times, then nodded to Zane that they were ready to go.

"I suppose this be where we part," smiled Tomm sadly. He stuck his hand out and Zane shook it.

"Thanks for everything," said Zane. The paladin hesitated as the dwarf nodded and turned back to join the caravan again. "Tomm... I know you don't like the sea, but it might not be a bad idea to leave the Crescent sometime soon."

"Oh?" asked Tomm, turning back and raising an eyebrow. "That be yer way of invitin me to come say hello in U'Raze?"

"Something like that," said Zane, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "Just... Be careful."

"I'll do me best, lad," smiled the dwarf. Tomm rejoined the caravan and they were off.

"Feeling guilty yet?" asked Perkins.

Zane glared at the elf. "If you think what we're doing is such a bad thing, then why agree to do it in the first place?"

"Something to do," shrugged Perkins, taking hold of the rope and scaling the wall. "I also never claimed to be that moral of an elf. Besides, everyone's going to die sooner or later, you know."

The two of them climbed the wall, resting briefly on the top to take in the black wood and silver leaves of the trees that greeted them on the other side. Zane felt a blip of nervousness, then descended the rope into the Lund. He had to push through any concerns or fears he had. They had come this far already.

"I don't think we'll be getting that hook loose anytime soon," said Perkins when he landed next to the paladin. "Might as well leave it here, you know. We can use it to escape on the off chance we live long enough to make it back here."

"We'll be fine," said Zane, venturing off into the forest of the Lund. "I have faith that our king wouldn't steer us wrong."

"Said every dead fighter," mumbled Perkins as he followed after him.

The two of them crept through the Lund, eyes peeled for anything living in it that might come for them. Perkins slowly pulled out two swords after half an hour of walking, causing Zane to grab hold of his mace.

"Did you see something?" asked Zane.

The elf gently shook his head. "Heard."

"Which direction?" asked Zane calmly.

"One up ahead to our left, the other up to the right."

"I'll take the left if you want to handle the other," offered Zane.

"Works for me."

The two of them rushed forward, veering off in their designated directions. The paladin could immediately hear the rustling that the elf had mentioned and zeroed in on its location as he ran. Zane whispered a prayer to Nera as he closed the distance, and his mace shone with a bright light. He brought his weapon back as he broke into a slight clearing, then...

Stopped.

The creature standing before him was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It held the vague shape of a horse, but with a lizard's tail and skin. He might have assumed it was a young dragon, save for the creature's dark blue eyes that shimmered like ghostly flames.

Lower your weapon, fair paladin.

Zane gasped, hearing the scratchy voice of an ancient being in his head. He lowered the mace as he was asked to do, but didn't let go.

"How did you know I was a paladin?" asked Zane quietly.

I heard your prayer to Nera, came the voice. Besides, not many others carry a hammer that glows with divine light.

"Ah... I guess that makes sense..."

What has brought you and your elven friend to this land known as the Lund?

Zane thought quickly. He reasoned that Perkins was probably speaking with another of these creatures, which was bound to ask him the same question. When the two of them gave separate answers, that could spell trouble for them. He needed to try and guess what Perkins would reply with.

"We've come to... explore," said Zane, keeping it vague.

To explore... and kill?

"Not if we don't have to. We only have our weapons at the ready because we heard of how dangerous the Lund can be."

Wise for those foolish enough to choose to enter here of their own will. The creature turned and began to walk away. Others in this land aren't as friendly as we. Best of luck in your exploration.

"Wait," said Zane, holding out his free hand.

The creature paused.

"How... How do we get to Death's Eye from here?"

The creature turned to face him again. The dark blue flames examined Zane carefully, causing the paladin to feel horribly uncomfortable.

I know not what you would want with such an accursed place. I recommend you shift your attention elsewhere.

"It's the main thing we came here to see," admitted Zane. "I'd appreciate your help, but even without it we are heading there."

The horse-like creature turned and began to walk away. Zane's shoulders sagged as he realized the being wasn't going to help them find Aodh's location. While the rustling of the creature faded, he heard louder rustling behind him.

"You wouldn't believe what I saw," said Perkins, shaking his head as he walked out from among the trees.

"A horse with blue flames for eyes?"

Perkins blinked. "What an uncanny guess!"

"I just spoke to one, too."

"Oh," chuckled Perkins. "Since you're alive, too, I take it the creature didn't fight you either?"

Zane nodded. "At least for now. What did you tell yours?"

"That we were out here exploring," shrugged the elf. "Couldn't think of anything better than that."

The paladin relaxed. Assuming the two creatures spoke to one another, Zane and Perkins' stories lined up. While they would be suspicious of why they were headed to Death's Eye, there wouldn't be a reason for them to come back and fight with them.

"I tried to ask mine for help finding Death's Eye, but it just walked away," said Zane. "No worries, though. I'm sure we'll be able to find it on our own."

Perkins glanced to the side and did a double take. "Um, did the horse thing disappear that way?"

"Yeah," said Zane, glancing back. "Why do you... ask..."

Zane realized that the area the ground where the horse walked away was now sparkling with a light blue substance. The paladin walked over to the sparkling area and looked up ahead. The substance continued on in a path through the woods as far as he could see.

"You know, I'm thinking it decided to help you after all," smirked Perkins.

"I think you're right," smiled Zane back. The paladin put away his mace and jogged down the path. "Let's hurry before it disappears!"

CHAPTER TWENTY

The demonic imps let out a collective high pitched scream as they rushed from the cave to meet their prey. The Delinquents tightened together, Khuwa now pulling out her second axe while Farr formed his lightning bow.

"So you're a warlock, too," Yri said to the supposed Goddess of the Wild. Yri continued to hold Cupcake without making the slightest move to go help the others combat the demons.

"Astute observation," sneered the elf.

Farr brought his string back and let loose several bolts of lightning at the demons. Each one that he hit let out a screech and lifelessly bounced away. Unfortunately, whenever one fell, five more took its place. Farr continued the barrage as the demons closed the distance, hoping to at least lower the number of the creatures before he and his friends were overtaken.

Grex had more success, at least initially. Holes appeared underneath the imps at random spots, causing the creatures standing above them to tumble into the ground. The holes immediately closed whenever the imps disappeared. After about ten of the demons fell for this trick, however, the rest of the imps either took to flying a few inches off the ground or jumping over the holes as they appeared.

"You were able to take some control over Cupcake not because you were some goddess, but because you've practiced the demonic arts," reasoned Yri.

"Uh, we could use a bit of help, you know!" insisted Farr.

"I was worried you'd know what I really was when you first laid eyes on me," replied the elf with a nod. "After all, having a low level of mind control over demons is such a basic skill. Mere apprentices are capable of such things, at least for a brief time. Thankfully, you're not even at the level of one so weak in our art."

"Why would I want to get into the mind of a demon?" scoffed Yri. "All they do is tell you lies and taint you. I bet this horde of imps has got you under their thumb."

The elf's laugh still made Farr's heart skip a beat, but now for a very different reason. The cackle sounded otherworldly and harsh.

The first line of imps reached them. Thankfully, Khuwa knew better than to try to come to a peaceable agreement with demons. The orc jumped into the first wave with a twist, twirling her two axes out in front of her as she landed in the middle of the line. Six imps were cut in two immediately, and four more quickly followed as Khuwa slashed out to her left and right in quick succession.

"While a minor warlock can be tempted by a demon's influence, someone of my innate ability can easily overpower them," said the elf. "It's too bad that you never learned the skill to read their minds before your unfortunate end here. You can learn all sorts of things from them. Where their master is going, what they're trying to stop from happening, and how weak the bond that ties master and demon is."

Yri's eyes widened briefly. "He... He told you how weak our bond is?"

The elf's dark red eyes sparkled with glee. "Oh, did he! He was practically begging me to turn him against you so that he could be under the power of a real warlock, and not some hack."

Another wave of imps came at The Delinquents, so Khuwa sprung once again to action. After cleaving another dozen or so, a third wave pushed at them. Farr pointed at Khuwa's axes and sent forth some of his magic. The axes burst into flames, causing the imps to hesitate and take a few steps back.

"Looks like they fear fire more than my blades!" remarked Khuwa. "Keep this up if you can!"

"I'll do my best," nodded Farr. This bought them some time, but his magic energy would eventually run out. They needed everyone fighting. He glanced over at Yri. "Quit talking and help us!"

"Oh, she's not going to be of any assistance," chuckled the elven warlock. She waved at Cupcake. The demon floated away from Yri.

"Cupcake... Kill your master!" hissed the elf, raising her hand and pointing it at Yri.

The demonic pig turned in the air and faced Yri.

"Oh no!" said Yri, covering her mouth with her hand. "No, Cupcake!"

Farr pointed his lightning bow at Cupcake while keeping the flames going on Khuwa's axes.

"I can try to get the ground of the cliff to protect Yri, but it will only slow him," said Grex.

Farr hesitated. He hated the concept of having to fight and possibly kill Cupcake.

The pig opened its mouth, forming a small ball of green flames.

Farr was running out of time. He had to make a choice and stick with it.

"Don't! Don't do it!" said Yri, her voice almost muffled by her hand.

The green fire disappeared as Cupcake's mouth closed. Then he laughed.

Farr lowered his bow. "Huh?"

"You're such a horrible actress!" oinked Cupcake, shaking his head. The pig's eyes were no longer gray. "You made me break character!"

Yri's hand slipped from her mouth to reveal a big smile. "I'm sorry! I couldn't take you seriously. It took all I had to not double over!"

"W-What...?!" asked the elf, her head tilting to the side.

"Aw, are you not able to get it?" asked Yri, pouting mockingly at the other warlock.

"Now, now," said Cupcake, spinning around and facing the elf. "It's not her fault I planted false thoughts in her head."

"I-Impossible!" stammered the elf, taking a half step back. "The others already confirmed you were coming here!"

"Exactly," nodded the pig. "And you really helped us out, just like I hoped you would. You realize the mind reading thing goes both ways... don't you?"

The elf blushed and didn't respond.

"I knew that you lived close to where we were going and that you could get us here far quicker than we could. I gave you enough truth to make you believe me, then I lied about how weak the bond is between Yri and me."

There was some movement out of the corner of Farr's eyes. Spinning around, he shot another bolt of lightning at an imp that got too close to Khuwa for comfort.

"Is now really a good time to be talking?!" shouted Farr.

Cupcake rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let me take care of these rodents for you."

The pig shapeshifted into something vaguely humanoid, then grew larger and larger. The demon's skin became blood red, and every inch of him was covered in muscle. Giant wings shot out of his back as four horns grew on top of his head. The demon's face jutted out with long, sharp teeth, while his black sunken eyes looked like they were made of shadows.

The fighting had stopped. Farr, Khuwa, and Grex were speechless. The imps looked up in horror at the far more threatening demon.

The red demon crossed his arms. "How about we do this. I'm giving you imps a chance and I'm breaking your bond. Return to our realm, or I will eat each and every last one of you."

The imps all nodded frantically, then there was a barrage of pops. One by one the imps disappeared, not one of them looking like they were planning on challenging Cupcake.

"W-What are you doing?!" screamed the elven warlock. "Come back! I demand that you come back and protect me!"

"Just as you thought you could break our bond, he broke theirs," explained Yri.

"No!" hissed the warlock. "It's one thing for a powerful warlock to do such a thing, but an ordinary demon?"

"Hey, calling me ordinary hurts my feelings," said Cupcake, turning back to the elf and frowning.

"Plus, it's inaccurate," shrugged Yri. "Cupcake isn't a normal demon. He's a demon lord."

The elf's dark red eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

"That's more like it," smiled Cupcake.

"For him to tell you our bond was weak meant that he knew you'd try to break it," continued Yri. "We've been trying to break the bond between us for years now. We'd love nothing more than for you to break it, but based on the type of demons you chose to control... it's clear that isn't happening."

"By trying to get me to go against my master without having the strength to match her, you set me free," concluded Cupcake. "I haven't heard of warlock trying to mind control demons in a long time, so I didn't have my guard up against it since I can remember. I guess the new school of warlocks have forgotten their history."

"T-This can't b-be happening..." mumbled the elf, taking a few steps back.

"Cupcake," said Yri, raising her hand toward the elven warlock. "Kill."

The red demon dove at the elven warlock with frightening speed, tackling her to the ground before she could take another step toward her cave. There were a few swings of Cupcake's claws, a crunch, and then he stood up.

There was no trace left of the evil elf.

The demon shifted, growing smaller and turning pink. As fast as he had turned into a terrifying demon lord, Cupcake was back to his flying pig self.

"I'm full," said Cupcake, patting his stomach. "Anyone want to check out the cave and see if there's any dessert inside?"

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It had been a somewhat uncomfortable night's sleep for Farr. Thankfully, It had nothing to do with their sleeping arrangement. The cave that the fake Goddess of the Wild had was well furnished, with comfortable beds and couches of fine quality. There were numerous books that Yri and Grex scanned through, while Khuwa was happy to find a stockpile of fruits and vegetables in the back of the cave. They could hear the constant crashing of waves on the far side of the cave, but that soon became almost soothing.

The uncomfortable night was due to the new realization of who, and what, Cupcake was. Images of the hulking red demon filled Farr's mind every time he shut his eyes, sometimes accompanied by the speed at which he devoured the elven warlock. While he was glad that she was dispatched so easily, it made him worried what would happen to him and the others if Cupcake ever turned on them.

When the sun began to rise, Farr grabbed something that resembled a blue banana and sat down at the edge of the cliff. He took in the orange and pink sunrise, feeling the soft, cool breeze of the morning air on him. Even though the landscape before him looked unlike anything he had ever seen before, not to mention the Mad God's cage just ahead of him, he was still on the Crescent. There was something calming about that.

"You're up early."

Farr jumped in surprise and the blue banana he had been enjoying tumbled out of his hand and off the side of the cliff.

"Calm down, it's just me," chuckled Yri, taking a seat next to him. She was holding three of the bananas and passed one to him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, not meeting her eyes as he took it.

"You okay?" she asked, opening her breakfast and taking a bite.

"Uh, yeah, of course," said Farr, glancing around. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," shrugged the warlock. "You were acting weird last night, though. You were super quiet and kept looking at Cupcake like he was going to jump you any minute."

"Oh," said Farr, feeling his ears burn. "I mean, why shouldn't I? We finally saw what he was really like yesterday."

"That's not his true self," said Yri, shaking her head. "That was a much smaller and palatable version. He was doing you all a favor by keeping it small."

"That was small?"

"Relatively speaking. I don't see why you are treating him any differently, though. You've always known he was a demon."

"But not a demon lord," pointed out Farr.

Yri looked offended as she glanced at him. "What, did you think I was so weak all I could do was summon some low-level demon?"

"No, I'm not saying that," said Farr quickly. "It's just... well, I guess I got used to the flying cute pig appearance and stopped viewing him as something evil and dangerous."

"Huh. I wonder if that's part of why he chose that form," wondered Yri, turning back to the sunrise as she thought aloud. "I always assumed it was just because he wanted to annoy me as much as possible. More than assumed, actually. He's explicitly told me that."

"Yeah, I've been around when he's said it," nodded Farr, opening up his banana and giving it a try. It was sweeter than the bananas he had back in Runeford, but not overbearingly so.

"Anyway, you have nothing to worry about," said Yri, taking another bite of her own. "I'm not sure if you were paying attention, but he can't go against my direct commands. I've made it abundantly clear to him that no one in The Delinquents is to be touched." 

Farr thought about it and nodded. It did seem like Yri had control enough over Cupcake. Besides, if this was common for warlocks to do, there was clearly some stability in it.

"So it's pretty normal for warlocks to summon and bond with demon lords?" he asked.

Yri laughed. "No. I've never heard of someone else doing it."

Farr blinked.

"It might not have been the smartest thing to do," admitted Yri. "But a few years ago, before I joined up with The Delinquents, I got tired of summoning the same, boring demons over and over again. Imagine only summoning fire on a spear every time you used magic for years on end."

"I suppose that would get boring," yielded Farr. "Granted, I don't think my first thought would then be to summon something called a demon lord..."

"I figured I had grown powerful enough to do it," she shrugged. "And I was right. Unfortunately, I hadn't anticipated that the bond created wouldn't be easily broken."

"That's how you know Cupcake was manipulating the elf?"

Yri nodded. "While we don't always work well together, we do have a common goal. Cupcake is powerful, but he gets on my nerves. I think he views me with a level of respect, but he'd much rather be back in his home realm. We both are looking for a way to break the bond."

"Ah," nodded Farr.

In one sense, it was nice to know that Cupcake wasn't going to slip out of Yri's control anytime soon. That meant he wouldn't have to worry about the demon killing him in his sleep. On the other hand, it was interesting to see that the warlock had a higher goal than to just make money and get by with The Delinquents. That must have been the reason she joined them in the first place. By traveling the world and meeting powerful individuals, maybe one day she would come across one that could break the bond and free them both from one another.

"You two talking about me?"

Cupcake flew over and landed between them.

"This might be hard to believe, but the world doesn't revolve around you," said Yri.

"But it should, shouldn't it?" giggled the demon pig. "That was a lot of fun yesterday. Do either of you think we'll get to have some more today?"

"I don't think so," came Grex's voice from behind them. The gnome and Khuwa joined the rest of the group.

"What's got you so confident that we won't?" asked Yri, raising an eyebrow.

"While the elven warlock clearly told us many lies yesterday, I believe she was speaking the truth about her relationship with the Lundori," he explained.

Cupcake nodded. "From what I could see in her mind, he's right. The Lundori know that she lives up here and they leave her alone."

"That might change once they realize she's gone," said Khuwa.

"We'll be long gone before that happens," said Farr. "We only need to be here a few more days. If the Lundori normally keep their distance from her, I highly doubt they'll check in on this place before the time is up."

"But what about when they go to unleash Aodh?" wondered Grex.

"Then we have a great spot to take shots at them from," reasoned Farr. "Maybe we will manage to keep them away long enough to keep them from succeeding in time without having to get any closer."

"Seems a little cowardly," mumbled Cupcake.

"Not all of us can turn into large demons," replied Farr.

"Oh, that's just me?" said the pig, tilting his head to the side. "I must've forgotten."

"Hey, what's going on over there?" asked Khuwa, pointing down the cliff to their right.

Farr scanned where she was pointing but didn't notice anything. "All I see are trees."

"No, she's right," said Yri. "There's some movement a few feet in on the eastern side of the clearing."

"Right... the east side..." said Farr slowly.

"The direction the sun is rising in," said Yri flatly.

"Oh, right!" blushed Farr. He squinted and covered his eyes as he tried to see what the others had.

Sure enough, he could just make out the movement of some Lundori through the branches. They were facing away from them and looked to be stalking toward something.

"Are they hunting for food, do you think?" wondered Khuwa.

"Maybe," nodded Grex.

"Further to the left," said Cupcake, gesturing with his snout. "I see armor shining in the sun. I haven't seen any Lundori dress like that."

Farr could just make out what he was talking about, along with another person walking beside the armor wearer.

"What are they doing out here?" wondered Farr.

"In a few minutes? Dying," said Yri bluntly.

"Should we help them?" asked Khuwa.

Everyone's attention turned to Farr.

The man hesitated. They were in an excellent spot to view Death's Eye and make sure none of the Lundori were trying to free Aodh. If they left to fight, the Lundori could let the Mad God loose without them knowing. If they didn't, there was still a good chance the Lundori would see them coming down from or back up to the cliff, and it would no longer be safe since they would know the elven warlock was dead.

But did he really want a couple of lost travelers to get killed when they could've stopped it?

Sometimes, he really didn't like being the leader.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"At what point do we start to question if this is the right way?" asked Perkins, disheartened as they traveled through the Lund.

Zane had been starting to wonder that as well.

The paladin and the elf had been following the glittering path that the bizarre creatures of the Lund left them since late in the afternoon the day before. They followed it for a while once it got dark, but evening in the Lund proved to be particularly dark. While they could have followed the sparkling material in the night, they were completely exposed to whatever else lived there.

While the two creatures they had met seemed friendly enough, it was no guarantee that the path didn't lead to an ambush. Even if it didn't, that wasn't to say some nocturnal creature in the strange land wouldn't also be drawn to the shining path and stumble upon them. They agreed that the risk was too great, and took turns sleeping until morning.

"It's not like we have a better option right now, is there?" asked the paladin.

The elf sighed. "I suppose not. But if that thing didn't like the idea of you going to Death's Eye, it could be making us walk in large loops around the Lund. We could be walking in circles for the next month and never know it, you know."

"I say we continue to trust the path, at least for another day or two," shrugged Zane. "If by tomorrow evening we aren't standing on top of Aodh's prison, then we can veer off the path."

"Sounds reasonable enough," said Perkins, taking a deep breath and putting his hands behind his head as they ventured through the strange forest. "I've been thinking... what do we do if we run across anyone?"

"Someone in the Lund?"

"Sure. If there are forts along the wall, they probably send out scouts in here from time to time. Plus, we've already come across two sentient creatures. I'm not sure how much longer our 'sightseeing' and 'exploring' vagueness will work, especially with scouts for the Epworth Empire."

Zane considered it. They had been questioned a handful of times already, and when they left the Lund to head back to the U'Raze Kingdom, they were bound to be questioned some more. It was in their best interest to get on the same page with their lie.

"We could say we were looking for a place to test our fighting skills?" offered the paladin.

"Eh..." said the elf, turning his nose up at the idea. "But there are a lot of other places across the world we could be doing that."

"Maybe we could say someone's daughter ran away and we have reason to believe she came here," suggested Zane. "We're here to save her."

"That's a bit better," said the elf slowly, adjusting his eyepatch. "I feel like it's a bit stereotypical to go with a damsel in distress, though. Plus, how would she have gotten in here?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Zane took a step around a pink plant that turned slowly as if it was watching him. He involuntarily shivered. The paladin couldn't wait to be done with this task and back in a familiar place. "Even the flowers here have me on edge."

"They do have a very unique collection of life here, don't they?" snicked Perkins. The elf removed his hands from his head and snapped. "That's it!"

Zane spun around. "Death's Eye?!"

"No, not that," said Perkins, shaking his head. Zane grumbled and went back to following the trail. "We're here because your neighbor - no, brother! - is horribly sick. We happened upon a witch doctor that explained the only way to save your dear brother is through the help of a special potion. He has all of the ingredients, save for an elusive flower that is only found in Death's Eye."

"But... what if there aren't any magical flowers growing by the prison?"

"All the better," smiled Perkins, clapping his hands together. "We can say that we must have been lied to, and we'd need some time alone at the place to consider our options and mourn for your brother." 

"I don't know," said Zane, looking off to the sides of the path for anything that might be dangerous. "We're kind of playing with people's emotions."

"Exactly," nodded the elf. "We'll exploit that. That's what makes it so good, you know."

"I'd feel kind of bad doing that..."

Perkins groaned. "Zane, how many times do we have to go over this? We're sentencing the people on this crescent to certain death! I think manipulating them into believing us with a fake story is the least of your moral concerns."

"Not everyone will die," protested Zane. "Many will surely leave to the other continents and islands."

"Ah, perhaps that is one of our king's ideas," pondered Perkins. "Destroy the Epworth Empire so that its citizens becomes his. Think of all the taxes!"

"I'm sure the king wishes no harm upon the innocent," said Zane resolutely. "He is a good man."

"Just the death of all the innocents that are about to occur over the next few days..."

"War is a sad affair," shrugged Zane. "I can only hope Nera will have mercy on them."

"That'd be nice, wouldn't it," chuckled Perkins. Zane glared at him, causing the elf's smile to slip away. "Anyway, I think this is our best bet if we are stopped. Take the moral hit, unless you can think of something better to tell people."

The paladin ran through a few more ideas in his head as they walked. None of them seemed particularly convincing. He hated to admit it, but Perkins' plan was probably the best they were going to get.

"Fine. My brother can be dying."

"Perfect!" beamed Perkins. "Granted, we're all dying with each passing moment, but I get what you mea-"

"Hold on!" said Zane, holding his hand up to quiet the elf's existential blabbering.

"I wasn't going to keep going, you know," said Perkins, rolling his eye. "I know you don't want to hear the truth I speak of."

"No, look," said the paladin, gesturing before them. The sparkling path had ended.

The two of them looked back and saw that the path behind them had disappeared as well.

"That might not be good," mumbled Perkins. "Think the creatures took us to the middle of the Lund and left us here on purpose?"

Zane certainly hoped not. He took a few more steps and looked all around them.

"Wait, do you hear that?" said Perkins, taking a few steps past Zane and cupping his ears.

The paladin closed his eyes and tried to focus. He could hear something, if a bit faintly. "Could that be... waves?"

"That's what it sounds like to me," nodded Perkins, continuing in the direction. "The scroll mentioned Death's Eye was close to the coast. Plus, it looks like there's an opening up ahead... a big one!"

Zane felt his heart pounding harder as he chased after Perkins. He could see the clearing now through the trees, along with a large cliff, rocks, and something on a mound up ahead. As they pushed past some more branches, he could just make out chains on top of the mound.

"T-That's got to be it!" gasped Zane.

Perkins nodded. "We actually did it... We found the Mad God's prison."

Then they heard the snap of a twig to their left.

Perkins had two blades out in an instant, Zane taking only a second longer to get his mace at the ready. The two of them stood closer together and faced in the direction of the snap, holding their breaths.

A tense moment passed by. Then another.

"Maybe that was our imagination?" whispered Zane.

"We both imagined the same sound in the same direction?" scoffed Perkins.

"Yeah, probably not..."

The branches of a tree several feet in front of them shook. Someone appeared out of the branches and stood before them.

The person was dark purple, with several dark tattoos on their face, arms, and chest. The man had something like tendrils for hair, and dark red eyes. He held a spear of blackened wood with a sharp metal point in his hands, pointed at them.

"Uh, hello," said Zane, trying to smile as he waved with his free hand.

The humanoid didn't respond. The man stared hard at them silently.

"Maybe they don't wave in their culture?" offered Perkins. He spoke louder. "Can you, you know, understand us?"

The purple man blinked and remained silent.

"Do you think this is a scout for the Empire?" whispered Zane.

"I find that hard to believe," replied the elf.

"We, um, we don't want any trouble!" said Zane loudly and slowly. "We've only come to get a flower for my brother."

"Right, just a flower!" nodded Perkins.

The man continued to stare silently at them.

"Should we leave?" whispered Zane. "We can come back at a different angle."

The branches around them rustled in unison. Over ten more purple people stepped out in a circle around them, each holding a weapon pointed at the outsiders.

Perkins spun around and put his back to Zane.

"You know, I don't think leaving is going to be so easy," said the elf.

The armed men charged them before Zane could reply.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Farr and his friends ran for the treeline as quickly as they could, taking the cliff down and reaching the side of the mound that made up Aodh's prison in just over a minute. They kept their eyes locked on where the Lundori were surrounding the two figures, unsure of how much time they had left.

"Want me or Cupcake to set off some flames?" offered Yri through huffs of breath.

Farr shook his head. "Can't risk your two setting the whole place on fire. Not only could the people we're trying to save die in it, but it'd act like a beacon to any Lundori around for miles."

"I never get to have fun," pouted the demon pig.

"You just ate someone!" said Khuwa.

"Yeah, over twelve hours ago," said Cupcake, as if that was an unacceptable amount of time to go without consuming a person.

The circle of Lundori was now closing in on the two travelers. Farr didn't think they'd make it in time at their current pace. They needed something to act as a distraction.

"Grex, do your thing and get there as fast as you can!" commanded Farr.

"On it!" shouted the gnome.

Grex shifted into a bobcat and dashed forward, breaking away from the rest of The Delinquents. Farr and the others watched him go as they pushed themselves to run as quickly as they could.

The bobcat reached the Lundori before they threw their first strike. With a growl, Grex jumped onto the back on the closest Lundori and tackled him to the ground. The rest of the Lundori spun to see the new threat, which gave the armored man and one-eyed elf an opportunity to launch an attack of their own.

And they took it.

The elf was the first to leap at the Lundori, while the armored man appeared to be mumbling something. The elf slashed with both blades at the Lundori closest to him, downing the humanoid and finishing him off with a thrust of his blades. Another Lundori was on him before he got his blades out of the first one.

To Farr's surprise, the elf simply let go of his weapons and produced two more, slightly shorter, blades. The Lundori lunged forward with his spear, barely missing the elf. The one-eyed fighter brought his swords up by crossing each of them, trapping the spear before the Lundori could pull it back. With a flurry of motion, the elf spun the spear free of the Lundori's hands and sent the weapon flying into some nearby bushes.

As the elf downed his freshly unarmed opponent, the armored man started to move. Farr noted that the front of his armor was now glowing, as was his mace. Two Lundori based themselves with the man, one with a spear and the other with a two-handed sword. The Lundori with the spear shoved it forward, connecting with the armor over the man's heart. The metal tip of the spear shattered as it met the armor.

The Lundori, not reacting with any level of surprise, adjusted his grip on his stick and attempted to swing it at the armored man's head. The man ducked underneath the wild attack, brought his mace back, then swung at the exposed Lundori's midsection. There was a loud crack, and the Lundori was sent flying through several trees behind him.

The Lundori with the two-handed sword swung at the man's back before he could stand straight up again. The armored man opted to fall to the ground, where he rolled out of the way of the strike. The Lundori brought his weapon up again to swing at the downed man when Cupcake barreled into the unsuspecting humanoid's hands.

The two-handed sword fell a few feet away, and the bewildered Lundori tried swatting the flying pig away. While he was focused on the pig, Yri stealthily stepped forward and placed her hand on the Lundori's side. Black magic surged out of her hand and into his body, and the humanoid collapsed.

Farr and Khuwa met with three of the remaining Lundori.

"I-I'd still prefer to not kill them," muttered the orc.

"Are you serious?" protested Farr.

"S-Sorry..."

Farr sighed but nodded. He motioned for her to hold out her hands, then pointed at them. Two large mallets made of ice formed in her hands, and she grinned at the blademagus.

"Watch out!" said Farr, looking over her shoulder as the Lundori charged her.

Khuwa swung as she turned, smacking the closest Lundori in the face with a mallet and sending him spinning to the ground.

The two standing Lundori both lashed out with their swords at the same time. Khuwa brought the mallets up and blocked the swords, the force of them causing the blades to dig partway into the ice. Farr quickly caused the ice to close in around the blades, and when the Lundori tried to pull their weapons back they found they couldn't.

The orc let out a laugh, tossed the mallets and the swords away, then grabbed both of the Lundori by their throats.

"Sorry about this," she said, then headbutted each of them.

The two Lundori dropped to join their friend on the ground, unconscious.

With all of the Lundori either dead or otherwise incapacitated, The Delinquents dusted off their hands and met with the two travelers. Grex shifted out of his bobcat form and joined them, smiling up at the elf and man.

The armored man and the elf exchanged a surprised look when they realized the bobcat had been Grex, then sheathed their blades to talk with their momentary allies.

"Looks like you two didn't need our help after all," said Farr, putting his hands on his hips and smiling at them.

"We certainly appreciated it," smiled back the man in armor. He stretched out his hand toward Farr. "The name's Zane. This here is Perkins."

"Pleasure to meet you," smiled Farr, taking Zane's hand and shaking it. "I'm Farr and this is Khuwa, Grex, and Yri. The pig is Cupcake."

"Hi there," oinked Cupcake.

Zane focused his attention on Cupcake. "A talking pig with wings... The Lund has everything, it seems."

"Cupcake isn't from the Lund," corrected Yri. "He's my demon."

The armored man took a step back and rested his hand again on the hilt of his mace.

"Easy there," said Farr, raising his hands. "Cupcake won't hurt you. Yri's got him well under control."

Cupcake smiled at Zane, his teeth shifting into sharp ones.

"Mostly under control," corrected Cupcake.

"Cupcake..." said Yri in a warning tone.

"Oh, I'm just playing around with him," whined Cupcake, reverting his teeth back and landing on the warlock's shoulder. "I think he's a priest or something, based off that holy energy that was coming from him."

"He's a paladin," explained Perkins with a shrug. "Works for Nera, you know. Don't get him going on it, though, or we'll be here for the next month."

"Nera, huh?" asked Cupcake, tilting his head in thought. "Met her once. Nice enough goddess."

"You have met Nera?!" asked a wide-eyed Zane.

"While that certainly sounds interesting," interjected Farr, "what are the two of you doing out here?"

Zane looked to Perkins, who immediately explained. "It is a sad tale, so I'll keep it brief. Zane's brother is terribly sick and probably doesn't have much time left. A witchdoctor we came across mentioned that there's a flower that has some healing properties that he'll need. The only problem is it can only be found at Death's Eye."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Zane," said Khuwa quietly.

Farr nodded sadly in agreement. A bit of an odd coincidence as far as the timing was concerned, but Farr thought the story was believable enough.

"What kind of flower is it?" asked Grex. "I'm a druid, in case you couldn't tell from the bobcat. I've actually got quite a lot of experience with plants and healing."

Perkins and Zane exchanged a look.

"Does... Does your knowledge extend to plant life in the Lund?" asked Perkins, adjusting his eyepatch. "All the things in the place seem pretty unique to me."

"Unfortunately it doesn't," admitted the gnome. "But, if we can't find the plant, maybe I could find a substitute for you that would work just as well!" 

"Er, that's very kind of you," hesitated Zane. "But, uh, the witch doctor didn't give us specifics outside of it being a plant growing near Aodh's prison. He didn't say anything about what properties it had."

"Ah," frowned Grex. "That's too bad."

"What about your group?" asked Perkins. "What are the five of you out here for?"

"We're with a guild called The Delinquents," said Khuwa.

"Oh? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with them," admitted the elf. "We're from the U'Raze Kingdom."

"No worries," shrugged Yri. "We don't have much of a presence out there."

"We've received word that someone may try to release Aodh from his prison," explained Farr, who chuckled and shook his head. "I know it sounds crazy."

"Y-Yeah..." agreed Zane.

"Any idea who would do such a thing?" asked Perkins.

"We think possibly the Lundori," replied Farr. "They've been attacking the forts more frequently and have been acting strange."

"Not much is known of the Lundori," added Grex. "For all we know, they could be worshippers of Aodh."

"You know, I could see it," nodded Perkins.

"I think we should get back to the cave soon," said Yri, looking down at the three unconscious Lundori. "It'll give us a chance to see any Lundori coming. It also overlooks Aodh's prison, so we could try and spot the flowers from there."

"We'd be happy for the two of you to stay camped out with us," offered Farr. "The place we're at the Lundori are afraid to go to. Once the time when Aodh can be released is passed in the next few days, we can even help escort you guys back safely through the Lund."

Zane and Perkins exchanged another look, then they both shrugged.

"That sounds reasonable to me," said Zane with a big smile. "Lead the way!"

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Zane couldn't believe his luck. The Delinquents had proven themselves to be capable fighters against what he had later learned were the Lundori, and now he and Perkins had help in the event more creatures of the Lund tried to attack. On top of that, the cliff they were using as a base had a clear view of Aodh's prison, and Zane could easily see the chains from where they stood.

The idea to try and use the scroll from this distance had crossed his mind, but he ultimately decided against it. Odds were that he'd need to be closer, and if he attempted it and failed, his new friends would be quick to turn their weapons and magic on him. He didn't fully understand how, but The Delinquents knew someone was coming to release the Mad God, and they were here to stop it. Little did they know they know held the very two people who were going to do it.

He had lived his whole life attempting to do the right thing, but he had to admit it felt pretty good to be pulling a trick on this group.

"So the elf turned out to be a warlock all along?" gasped Perkins.

"It was quite the surprise for us, too," nodded Grex.

"Not me," said Yri proudly. "I kept telling them she was bad news."

The Delinquents had shown Zane and Perkins around the cave, and everyone was currently sitting outside on the cliff, a small fire going in the middle of them. Zane could see rain clouds in the distance, coming in from over the sea that crashed into the rocky coast behind them. He was leaning toward releasing Aodh before the storm arrived. Maybe he could pretend to need to use the restroom and sneak off...

"True," nodded Farr. "And Yri was also the one that got us out of it."

"Oh, Yri did, did she? Once again I'm treated like a useless tool," complained Cupcake.

"Well, you aren't useless, but you are a tool," grinned Yri.

Zane watched as Perkins laughed with the others as Cupcake and Yri began swatting at one another. He didn't feel so bad betraying the group since a warlock and demon were part of it, even if they seemed friendly enough at the moment. From what he had gathered from the story of how they got access to this cave and cliff, the two were more powerful than they let on.

"Looks like we might get some rain soon," said Farr, gesturing at the sky. "We might as well enjoy our time out here before we get stuck in that cave. Khuwa, want to help me bring some food out here?"

"And I'm sure you'd like to look for that flower," said Grex, getting to his feet as the other two disappeared into the cave.

"That would be ideal," said Zane, seeing his chance. "No need for everyone to come, though. Perkins and I can just hurry down."

"I wouldn't do that," warned Yri, shaking her head as she and Cupcake finished their quarrel. "We think the Lundori could be watching it. If you go down there, there's the chance they'll jump you before we can get there."

"I'll take a quick look for you and bring back anything I see," said Grex.

Before Zane or Perkins could protest, the gnome had shifted into a pigeon and fluttered off in the direction of Death's Eye.

"Shouldn't be more than a minute or two," smiled Yri. "So, have the two of you come across anything strange in the Lund?"

"Not really," lied Zane.

"Some freaky horse things with flames for eyes," said Perkins at the same time.

Yri laughed. "I guess they didn't leave an impression on Zane."

"I, uh, didn't want to bore you with it," said Zane, shifting uncomfortably on the ground.

"They had a tail like a dragon, but no wings. They also spoke in our heads," said Perkins, turning toward Cupcake. "I wondered if they might be some type of demon?"

The pig twisted around in the air for a moment as it thought. "Not to my knowledge. They might be native to the Lund."

"We've got food!" came Khuwa's voice. She and Farr reappeared holding strange looking fruits and vegetables. They laid some on the ground before Perkins, whose eye lit up.

"I'm starving!" smiled the elf.

"Help yourself!" laughed the orc.

A bird flew over to them and shifted into Grex before Perkins could decide which to try first. The gnome wasn't carrying anything and had a pained look on his face.

"What's the matter, Grex?" asked Farr.

"I just checked near Aodh's prison for any kind of flower," said the gnome softly. He looked away and shook his head. "There wasn't any. I... I'm so sorry..."

The Delinquents all looked at Zane. Even Cupcake looked like he had a tear forming in his eye. Perkins didn't seem particularly bothered, instead still focusing on the food before him. Zane needed to act upset, and he realized this could work in his favor.

"I... I think I need a moment," said Zane, trying his best to sound choked up as he got to his feet.

"Of course," nodded Farr sympathetically.

Zane took a few steps away, then looked back at the elf. "Perkins... would you mind accompanying me?"

Perkins looked up at Zane, down at the food, then up again. "Uh, you sure? I completely understand if you want to grieve on your own, you know."

"I'm sure," said Zane, staring hard at Perkins. He then realized everyone was watching him, so the paladin covered his face and turned away. "I'm sure this is hard for you, too."

Perkins sighed, scooped up a few pieces of fruit, then got up.

"I can't think of a reason not to come, then," he relented.

"You're a good friend," Khuwa smiled at the elf.

Perkins made a noncommittal noise and followed Zane toward the cave.

When the two of them were out of earshot, Zane pulled Perkins close and pretended to weep on his shoulder.

"You're really playing this up," said Perkins, patting the paladin on the back. "To think, just a few hours ago you were against manipulating people's emotions. I've had quite the effect on you, it seems."

"I've got a plan," whispered Zane. "Had to get you away from the others."

"Oh?" asked the elf, taking a bite of food.

"I think I can sneak off to Aodh's prison as long as you keep them distracted," nodded Zane. "You can say that after talking with me, I just needed some time to be alone. While you talk with them, I can recite the scroll the king gave me."

Perkins chewed his food quietly for a moment, then swallowed. "You know, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Not this again," groaned Zane.

"Hear me out," said the elf, gesturing back at The Delinquents. "This group came to help us against the natives when they didn't have to. It doesn't feel right to betray and kill them like this."

"Why are you so worried about them now?!" argued Zane, still pretending to lean on his elven friend in case the others were watching. "You hardly needed any convincing when I first told you what we were planning to do! Everyone's going to die sometime, right?"

"While that's very true, I also live by helping those that first helped me," said Perkins, again patting Zane on the back and nodding. "Releasing Aodh means he will kill them for sure."

"I don't think so," said Zane. "Aodh has been trapped inside that thing for hundreds of years. He's going to be thrilled that we let him out! I'm sure he'll spare them if I ask him to."

"The gods aren't known for taking orders from mortals," warned Perkins. "Especially one that has the moniker of the Mad God."

"Trust me, I'm sure I can convince him," insisted Zane. "We'll ask him to spare them, and then we'll go with them back to U'Raze."

Perkins glanced back at The Delinquents. "I don't know... They seem pretty committed to their guild. This would be causing them to fail their task. They'll be mad."

"I'm sure our king would be happy to pay them for their services," countered Zane. "Guilds only ever do things for money. It will ultimately be a win for them."

The elf took another bite and didn't look particularly convinced, but he didn't put up a fight.

"Look, we've come this far," concluded Zane. "We're literally at Aodh's front door. All we've got to do now is let him out. The hard work is done."

Perkins let go of the paladin and took a step back. "You know, I kind of figured we'd have this talk if we ever made it to Death's Eye. The funny thing is I thought I'd be the one saying we should do it, and you'd not want to."

"I'm loyal to the king, and the U'Raze Kingdom," said Zane firmly. "I'm willing to do what is best for our country."

"Even if the country doesn't want what's best for you?"

Zane hesitated. "I'm confident King Valdrick would not send us to our deaths."

Perkins smiled at Zane, but the paladin felt that there was something sad in it.

"Okay," shrugged Perkins. "I'll do as you wish. If today we die, then so be it."

"Thanks, Perkins," said Zane, placing a hand on his shoulder. The paladin turned and began down the cliff.

He'd make sure Perkins didn't regret this.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"I feel so bad for him," said Farr, watching Perkins comfort Zane from a distance.

"He must be really close with his brother," agreed Khuwa, the orc lowering her head. "I know what it's like to lose family, and it isn't great."

"I could check again," offered Grex, nervously tapping his fingers together. "Maybe I overlooked the flowers?"

"Wait," cautioned Yri. "The elf is returning."

They settled down and pretended to not notice as Perkins rejoined the group, taking his seat again in front of the fire.

"Hey guys," smiled Perkins. "Zane decided he's going to take a little walk, but he won't stray too far. He needs some alone time."

"Understandable," said Farr, the rest nodding in agreement.

"Grex offered to go look again," said Cupcake. "I could go, too. Four eyes are better than t-"

"That won't be necessary!" Perkins half shouted.

The others looked at him, stunned.

"Um, it's just best if we put this all behind us," chuckled Perkins, picking up what looked like a purple apple. "It'll just make him more upset when he comes back and we have to tell him again about how there is no flower, you know."

"But you wouldn't have to tell him," suggested Yri.

"I couldn't trust myself," said the elf, shaking his head and raising the apple up. "I'd let something slip."

Farr put a hand up. "I wouldn't bite into it like that!"

The elf chomped down then dropped the purple apple, yelping and grabbing his mouth. "W-What in the world?!"

"You've got to crack those open," said Khuwa, picking it up and breaking it with ease to show him. "The outside is hard as a rock."

"I noticed..." said Perkins, checking his mouth for blood.

"I'm sorry again about the flower not being here," said Farr, grabbing some food himself. "Do you think Zane will be okay waiting a few days before we leave for the wall?"

"I don't foresee that being a problem," said Perkins.

"Good," smiled Farr, relieved. While Zane had been a bit standoffish since they met him, he had grown to like Perkins company. "I was wondering, aside from helping your friends, what else is it that you do back in U'Raze?"

"Oh, not too much," said Perkins, stretching out and leaning back. "For a couple of years, I was a well-paid mercenary for King Valdrick."

"Sounds exciting!" said Grex.

"That's what I figured when I started, but it didn't really turn out that way," replied the elf.

"I suppose not much excitement happens in the U'Raze Kingdom, then?" asked Yri, the warlock taking a bite of a black orange and handing the rest to Cupcake. "I don't mean to offend, it's just that we don't get much news of your country."

"No offense taken," shrugged Perkins. "There are certain things happening there that can be construed as exciting, I just found myself getting put on less and less important jobs."

"Why is that?" asked Farr.

"From what I heard, I depressed the other people I worked with, you know. Apparently, they didn't appreciate my existential dread and discussions on death."

Farr thought back to when they were walking up to the cliff from where they found them in the forest. The elf mentioned being apathetic to living and dying a few times, but had otherwise been curious about The Delinquents.

"You haven't talked about it with us very much," pointed out Farr.

"That's because I'm preoccupied," smiled Perkins. "Helps keep my mind off of things. That was sort of the reason I became a mercenary in the first place. I found that fighting and encountering new things made me feel more in the present, and my thoughts didn't have time to wander, you know. Alas, even jobs that involved fighting or killing had a lot of downtime."

"Are you still a mercenary for the king?" asked Farr.

"Uh, you mean like right now?" asked Perkins, shifting on his arms. "I told you, I'm just helping Zane find a cure for his brother."

Farr laughed. "No. I meant are you still under employment by U'Raze."

"Oh," said the elf, relaxing. He looked up at the sky and considered the question. "In a sense, I'm available if needed. However, I'm not in it for the money. If the task doesn't seem exciting enough for me, I pass on it. I think that has angered some of the king's advisors, but so be it. While it doesn't really matter, if I had my way, I'd die doing something interesting rather than something mundane, like chasing down some merchant that hadn't paid his taxes on time."

Farr could respect that. "What about joining a guild? Have you ever considered that?"

"You offering?" asked Perkins, raising an eyebrow.

"Not yet, just getting a sense for how you'd feel about it," said Farr, leaning forward. "The Delinquents are always looking to grow. We offer good pay. Benefits aren't too bad, either, so long as you don't require medical, financial, or other kinds of needs. Sounds like that isn't really what you're after anyway, though."

"Not particularly," admitted the elf.

"Since we're working our way up the guild hierarchy, we get a wide array of jobs," continued Farr, putting on his best salesman smile. "While we have some downtime occasionally, we try to complete the tasks as quickly as possible. And if staying in the U'Raze Kingdom is a deal breaker, I'm sure we could talk about expansion."

Perkins was quiet as he stared at the campfire. "You're too kind."

"Again, not an official offer," said Farr, trying not to pressure the elf too much and scare him off. "We can discuss this more on our way back to the wall in a few days, once this mission is complete."

"Are you allowed to recruit?" asked Yri, giving Farr a hard look.

"I'm able to recruit as much and whenever I'd like to," said Farr, puffing his chest out and crossing his arms.

"And you don't have to talk to the rest of the guild about it?" asked Khuwa, the orc looking uncertain. "That doesn't sound right..."

"I mean, anyone I recruit would have to ultimately pass the judgment of the officers before they are officially made members," admitted Farr. "But that's mostly just paperwork!"

"Sounds a lot like you can't recruit people, then," said Cupcake.

Farr was temporarily deflated, but then remembered what was coming. "Maybe not right now, but once we finish making sure the Lundori don't release Aodh, I'll be promoted."

"You're getting promoted for this?" asked Perkins, the elf sitting up straight.

"Somehow," said Yri, rolling her eyes.

"Hey..." said Farr.

"Farr is a good leader," said Khuwa, getting up and stretching as she smiled at Perkins. "This is his final test."

"I... I see," said Perkins, glancing at his feet. "What will happen if you fail?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," chuckled Grex. "We have a fairly good record."

"So this would be a hard loss, then," mumbled Perkins.

"Oh, definitely," nodded Farr. "Not only would I lose out on becoming an officer, but we'd probably be responsible for letting loose a killing machine on the whole continent. Can you imagine?"

Perkins' face paled slightly.

"Hey," said Khuwa, pausing in mid stretch. The orc was squinting and had her hand over her eyes. "I think I see something at Aodh's prison."

"The Lundori?!" asked Farr, jumping to his feet along with the rest of The Delinquents.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," said Perkins, slowly standing up as well.

"No, there's just one person there," said Khuwa.

Farr could see it now. On the mound down and across from them stood a single figure, a brown scroll out in front of him. He appeared to be reading it aloud, occasionally glancing down at the chains in front of him.

"That's Zane!" exclaimed Grex. "What could he be doing?"

"Uh... Looking for flowers, probably?" offered Perkins.

"It looks like he's the one that's trying to unbound Aodh!" growled Yri, spinning on Perkins. Cupcake hopped off of Yri's shoulders and began circling the elf. The pig did not look happy.

"C-Calm down, everyone," said Perkins, keeping his hands up. "I'm sure there's a, you know, perfectly reasonable explanation of what he's doing. In fact, I-I think that was the scroll the witchdoctor gave us!"

"The witchdoctor gave you a scroll?" asked Grex.

"You know, he did," nodded Perkins quickly. "Zane must be looking through it to see if we missed something about where the flower could be."

"And he's reading it out loud?" scoffed Yri.

Perkins hesitated. "Zane's a bit of a weirdo, in case you didn't pick up on that yet."

"You're lying, he's unleashing the Mad God!" shouted Yri. "Cupcake. K-"

"No!" shouted Farr, jumping between Perkins and the warlock.

"Excuse me?" asked Yri, the warlock looking furious.

"We don't know for sure what he's doing, and we don't know that Perkins is part of it," said Farr. "I'm telling you to not attack Perkins until we know more."

Yri opened her mouth, but Khuwa spoke first.

"I don't think Perkins is really going to matter right now!" called out the orc, gesturing around the mound.

Farr followed her finger to see at least fifty Lundori coming out of the forest and approaching Zane. Even from a distance, he could tell they were focused on the chains in front of him.

"Oh no..." said Grex, shaking his head. "If Zane doesn't finish the spell, it looks like the Lundori will!"

"Come on," said Farr, sprinting to get to the side of the cliff. "We've got to get down there. Now!"

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"At least let me kill Zane!" demanded Yri, chasing after Farr as they raced to get to Aodh's prison. Cupcake flew a few feet ahead of her, checking to see if any Lundori were trying to flank the group.

"No!" growled Farr.

The Lundori were closing in quickly, but Farr believed he and the others would get there before the humanoids did. While they were severely outnumbered, he had to believe they could fight them off. There wasn't time to come up with any other plan.

There was also the problem of Zane. If he was reciting a spell to unlock Aodh, they were probably too late anyway. However, there was the possibility something else was going on. Maybe Perkins was telling the truth, and Zane was simply reading the instructions from the witchdoctor out loud to see if they overlooked the flower? After all, why would a paladin of Nera possibly want to let loose the Mad God?

"How should we fight?" asked Perkins, running beside Khuwa as she carried Grex.

"You aren't joining in," insisted Yri.

"Of course he can," said Farr, shaking his head. "And to answer his question, we've got to stop them from getting to the center by any means necessary. Unfortunately, that will mean we have to spread out in order to cover as much of the area as we can."

"Got it," nodded Perkins. The elf looked to Yri. "Don't worry, you've got my word I'll help."

"How can we trust you?" demanded Yri.

"I don't think the Lundori intend on letting me live either way," said Perkins.

Cupcake spun around to face Yri and nodded. "He's got a point."

Yri glared at Perkins. "Don't get in my way."

"You know, I wasn't planning to."

"We've got to get their attention," said Farr as they reached the base. "We need them to waste time fighting us before they can get to Aodh."

"Cupcake, grab their attention!" ordered Yri.

"On it," oinked the pig, flying up at an angle. When the demon decided he was high enough, he began to quickly fly in a circle. As he did so, green flames erupted from him, spurting in every direction and creating a kind of circlet of fire.

That got their attention.

The Lundori slowed to a stop, their handful of archers taking shots in an attempt to quickly take the demon out of the fight. As they were distracted, The Delinquents struck.

Farr was the first to reach a Lundori. Calling a fire of his own, orange flames shot from his right hand and took the shape of a sword. The Lundori somehow heard him and brought his mace up and around as he spun. The mace connected with the sword, which held as firm as any real blade.

The blademagus brought his weapon back and made several strikes at the Lundori, who blocked each one without much effort.

Unfortunately, Farr had always been more interested in conjuring magic and using it to benefit others. This meant he hadn't spent much time learning the art of sword fighting himself.

Fortunately, Perkins had.

The elf lunged forward, the two blades in his hands whistling as they sliced through the air. The Lundori worked as quickly as he could to block the attacks with his mace, but was too slow. With a flourish of blades, Perkins dropped the humanoid.

"Nicely done," nodded Farr as the others spread out. "I would've had him eventually, though."

"I figured time was of the essence," grinned Perkins. He looked at the center of the mound. "More seriously, I'm worried about Zane."

"He seemed capable of protecting himself before," said Farr.

"But he isn't moving."

Farr looked up and saw the elf was right. The battlefield was loud and distracting, but the paladin continued to stare down at the scroll and hadn't moved.

"I think something strange is happening to him," said Perkins.

"I'll get to him," nodded Farr, running for the top of the mound.

As he did so, Cupcake flew for some of the Lundori to the far north side, letting loose a spray of green fire. Two of the Lundori dropped, while the others chucked spears and shot arrows at the flying pig. Cupcake easily flew over and around the projectiles, cackling as he went. He circled overhead briefly, then came back down on the same group of Lundori.

There was a little squeak as the tiny pig flew face first into an invisible wall of magic.

"They're bringing those shields up again!" cautioned Grex, just a dozen feet behind Yri.

"I'm on it!" called out Yri, jogging toward four Lundori that had their hands up and in Cupcake's direction.

The pig let out an annoyed grunt then tried to fly around the invisible shield. There was another squeak as he flew into a wall on his left. Then another to his right.

"Uh oh!" shouted Cupcake, attempting to fly away.

He smacked into a final wall, then collapsed into the invisible cage above them.

"I'll take care of this!" announced Yri, summoning green flames into her hands.

"Don't!" shouted Khuwa further to the east, kicking a Lundori in the chest and sending him sprawling back into another two. "You'll burn up Cupcake, too!"

The warlock hesitated, then dispelled the flames with a curse. She turned her attention to the Lundori spellcasters and ran for the nearest one. Pulling a dagger from the side of her robe, she lunged at him.

The Lundori jumped back, keeping his hands pointed up at Cupcake. He shouted in a strange language, clearly calling for some other Lundori to come and help him. Unluckily for him, everyone close to him was engaged in a fight of their own. Yri continued the assault, striking out closer and closer as he continued to hop out of the way.

Finally connecting with the spellcaster's chest, the Lundori let out a cry of pain as Yri quickly stabbed and yanked out her sharp blade, kicking him over for good measure. The magic he was contributing to the spell broke, and Cupcake slowly fell to the ground. Yri ran to the pig and dove, catching him before he hit the ground.

Meanwhile, four Lundori circled Grex, two of them with swords and two with spears. The gnome looked back in forth in a panic as they slowly stepped closer. All four attacked him at the same time, shocked as their weapons clashed against one another's.

A tiny gnat flew from the midst of them, transforming back into Grex several feet away. The druid turned back and thrusted his hands out. Vines shot out of the ground and quickly trapped three of the Lundori. The fourth one was too fast, and was able to hack his way out of the vines. The humanoid stumbled toward the gnome, pulling his weapon back.

The floor fell out from underneath him with another wave of Grex's hands, and the gnome hurried off.

Farr reached the top of Aodh's prison before any of the Lundori had. Zane was staring down at the scroll, eyes unblinking as he muttered under his breath.

"Zane, what are you doing?!" shouted Farr. He looked to his right and saw a particularly large Lundori stalking toward them.

The paladin didn't respond.

"Whatever you're doing, this isn't smart!" continued Farr. "Your brother wouldn't want you to die like this, would he?!"

More muttering.

"Zane!" shouted Farr again. The large Lundori pulled his spear back and chucked it with all of his might at the stationary paladin.

Farr jumped into Zane, tackling the man out of the way of the Lundori spear. The two of them tumbled to the ground, Zane moving slowly and acting stunned.

"W-What's going on...?" mumbled Zane.

Farr got to his feet, feeling a slight sting on his left side. He looked down to see a mild cut and a small amount of blood coming out of it. The Lundori spear must have nicked him.

"The Lundori are here to try and unleash Aodh," said Farr, pointing at Perkins. The elf's blades sparked with electricity. He was surprised for half a second, then smirked and tried them out on the nearest Lundori.

Zane held his head as he got to his feet, appearing to not have heard Farr. "That was so strange... I went into a trance while I read that scroll."

"From the witchdoctor?" asked Farr, confused as to why that would have happened to him.

"No," said Zane, shaking his head carefully. "To break Aodh free."

Farr's heart dropped.

The fighting around them slowed to a stop. Farr looked over his shoulder to see that all the Lundori were staring at the top of the mound. Their weapons were held loosely in their hands now, and there was a distinct look on their face. It wasn't excitement or joy... but fear.

Farr spun around to see the top of Aodh's prison. The chains were glowing bright yellow and throbbing.

"What have you done?" whispered Farr.

One of the chains cracked in half.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Zane watched in awe as several more of the glowing chains snapped in half. He hardly remembered reading the scroll that caused this, and it sounded like it had somehow put him into a trance. While he wished the king or his advisors would've mentioned that to him when they first gave him the scroll, the deed had been done.

The Delinquents grouped up next to him, along with Perkins. The Lundori paid them no attention. All of their eyes were locked on the glowing chains.

Then suddenly... the chains stopped glowing.

A deep silence covered the mound.

"Huh," said Farr, running a hand through his hair. "Is that it? Maybe it wasn't enough for Aodh to-"

There was a large explosion as the metal top of the prison shot off, soaring high into the sky and falling in the direction of the ocean. The Lundori raised their weapons and took several steps back, but none ran away.

"You were saying?" asked Yri.

"Nevermind."

Black smoke billowed out of the opening in the ground. Zane wouldn't have been surprised if someone thought it was a volcano if they hadn't known what was inside. The rain clouds moved in and a light drizzle started. Over the sound of the rain they could hear a loud, metal banging that started deep inside the pit and grew louder.

A human-sized hand appeared on the edge of the opening. Then another. A man appeared as he hoisted himself up. The figure coughed and rolled over the top, landing with his back on the mound.

"Whew!" laughed the man. "Nothing like that has happened in thousands of years for me! A lot more smoke from that spell than I remember..."

Even though Aodh had been inside the prison for millennia, his skin was still lightly tanned. His dark hair was shaved short, with etchings on each side. The god wore a black leather robe that was tight fitting, but appeared as flexible as if it were made of silk. Zane thought he could pass easily for a mortal, except for the god's wide, wild eyes that were dark purple.

Aodh looked around, smiling as he saw the mass of people staring at him. The god laughed and scurried to his feet, dusting himself off.

"What's this? A welcoming party?" cackled the god. "You shouldn't have!"

Everyone was too afraid to speak, even the Lundori.

"A bit of a quiet group, hmm?" nodded Aodh. "No worries. It's not like I've had absolutely no one to talk to for a few thousand years..."

"What do we do?" whispered Grex.

"What can we do?" whispered back Farr. "Several gods couldn't even kill him. We have to wait and see what happens."

"Don't worry, everyone," whispered Zane. "I can get us out of this."

"How?" asked Khuwa.

"I hear some whispering!" announced Aodh in a singsong voice. "Would one of them happen to be the one that let me out of my unbearable cage? Hmm?"

"I-It w-was m-me," stammered Zane, taking a few small steps toward the Mad God.

Aodh tilted his head to the side and tapped his cheek. "You were the one whispering or the one that let me out?"

"Well... b-both," admitted Zane.

His ears burned as he felt The Delinquents' eyes on him. Zane looked their way to see Farr, Khuwa, and Grex with hurt in their eyes. Yri held a motionless Cupcake, her eyes full of hatred and anger.

He felt a pang of guilt, but knew there was no other way he could have completed his task. They were sent to stop him, and no matter how he explained it, they would've done all they could to keep Aodh from being unleashed. He hoped they would get some solace in the Mad God possibly sparing them. Surely they could start over fresh in one of the other countries.

"Was it now?" grinned Aodh. He beckoned for the paladin to come closer. "Come here. Let me get a better look at you."

Zane nervously glanced at Perkins, who was wide-eyed and subtly shook his head. While Zane agreed this wasn't a great idea, it wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter. The paladin slowly walked up to Aodh.

The god squinted and looked the paladin over as Zane kept his eyes locked on the ground at his feet. After a few seconds, Aodh let out a grunt of approval.

"I see," concluded the god. "And how did you free me, if I may ask?"

Zane pulled out the brown scroll and offered it up, his hands shaking. "W-With t-this."

Aodh gently took it, opened it, and glanced through it.

"Oh, now this is interesting," giggled Aodh. "This is interesting indeed."

The god rolled the scroll up when he was done, handing it back to Zane.

"Uh, t-thanks," mumbled the paladin.

"Consider it a keepsake," chuckled the god. "Your name?"

Zane gulped. "Z-Zane." 

"Zazane?" repeated Aodh.

"N-No," said Zane, taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself. "Just Zane."

"Ah, you are nervous," nodded the Mad God in understanding. "And rightfully so. I mean, it's not like they lock just any god up, right? Only the really wicked and powerful ones."

Zane made a noncommittal noise.

"Well, Zane," continued Aodh, placing a hand on the paladin's shoulder. "You have nothing to fear. I mean, you're the one that saved me from that wretched prison. I think the very least I can do is spare your life, don't you agree?"

"I-I appreciate it," nodded Zane.

"Regardless of what you may have heard, I am a merciful god," smiled Aodh, placing a hand on his own chest.

Zane lifted his head and smiled. What luck! Now he could show Perkins that there was nothing to worry about after all. He and The Delinquents would be protected. The paladin would also work to see if Tomm and his friends could be spared, as well, but he'd give it a little more time before requesting too much of the god.

"May I m-make a further request?" asked Zane.

Aodh nodded enthusiastically. "Please do!"

Zane looked back and nodded for Perkins to move forward.

The elf shook his head.

Zane nodded for him to come again. Perkins sighed and inched his way forward.

"Oh merciful Aodh," said Zane, bowing to the god. "I could never have made it here without the help of Perkins. May you please spare him as well?"

The paladin knew The Delinquents probably didn't appreciate being left out of the request, but Zane needed to play this carefully. Asking Aodh to not kill a group of people was probably more difficult than asking to spare them one at a time. Once the Mad God decided to have mercy on Perkins, Zane would move on to Farr.

Aodh smiled as he took in Perkins. "This elf helped you?"

"Indeed," nodded Zane. "We come from a land called the U'Raze Kingdom and sailed several days to get here. It was quite the trek to get here once we reached land, too."

"The U'Raze Kingdom," repeated Aodh, turning the phrase over in his mouth a few times. He blinked a few times and turned back to Zane. "You'll have to excuse me. I've not kept up with the name changes over the years. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course," nodded Zane, trying to remember what his land would've been called the last time Aodh was free. "I can't quite recall what it would have been referred to as in your time."

"That's quite alright," said Aodh, turning back to Perkins. "So, elf, why was it that the two of you came to set me free? Curiosity? Do you wish to worship me? Perhaps some fascinating legends have developed since my time in chains?"

"Mostly... Mostly because our king told us to," admitted Perkins.

"Oh," said Aodh, his shoulders sagging. "That's it?"

Perkins shrugged. "Afraid so."

Aodh's face contorted and his hands tightened into fists. "I would've assumed my name would spread all across this world while I was unjustly imprisoned. Thousands would seek to find me, and only those most worthy would do so. And now I've been released by some mere henchmen on behalf of some king in a foreign land?!"

Everyone was quiet for a moment as the Mad God shook with anger.

"If I may," said Perkins, "I think in times of frustration like this, it's best to remember that life isn't exactly fair. In fact, at the root of it all, there is nothing more to life than what you make of it."

Aodh appeared to calm down. "Oh?"

"Just because you didn't get what you wanted, doesn't mean you can't set up a new goal," continued Perkins, feeling like he was helping. "That's what gives us the illusion of meaning and makes us feel better."

"But... that would make life quite meaningless, wouldn't it?" asked Aodh quietly.

"Exactly," nodded Perkins with a slight grin. "I believe life is meaningless."

"Hmm. Well, yours certainly is," said Aodh. The god reached his hand out at Perkins and a thin black spear shot from it. The projectile caught Perkins in the chest and went clean through him. The elf's eye widened as he took two steps back, slowly looking down at his chest.

"You know... I guess it is..." coughed Perkins.

He collapsed and didn't move.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Farr couldn't believe what was happening. Aodh had been released, and it was all because they had helped Zane and Perkins against the Lundori earlier. While he had just heard Perkins admit to being in on the plan to let the Mad God loose, he still felt shock and sadness seeing the elf taken out like that.

"Perkins!" cried Zane, running to his downed friend.

"Ugh, I feel so much better now," laughed Aodh, shaking his head. "Sometimes it's best to just let go of your pent up frustrations. That's the most healthy thing, I think."

"Farr," whispered Khuwa. "The Lundori."

The blademagus followed her eyes and saw that the Lundori were creeping forward, closing the circle around Aodh, Zane, and Perkins. Farr had assumed the humanoids would be thrilled to see Aodh come out, but they had acted just as scared and concerned as The Delinquents had. Plus, they looked like they were tightening their grips on their weapons.

"W-Why did you do that?!" demanded Zane, bending over Perkins and trying to stop the bleeding.

"I didn't like what he had to say," shrugged Aodh.

"You said you were merciful!"

"Eh," shrugged Aodh. "I guess I'm not that merciful."

A strange horn blew. Farr immediately recognized it as the same kind when the Lundori attacked Fort Pel. He glanced back to see more Lundori coming out of the forest, charging up the mound. The Lundori around them ignored them, all of them focused on the Mad God.

"Seems the people of this land remember me, at least," smiled Aodh. "That's refreshing."

"It looks like they are going to fight him!" exclaimed Khuwa.

"The Lundori never wanted Aodh to be set free," realized Farr. "They must have had their own way of knowing that the chains were weakened right now..."

"That's why they had been so hostile, even to the forts," reasoned Grex. "They didn't want anyone entering the Lund!"

The Lundori that had already been closing in threw all of their spears and shot arrows at the Mad God at the same time. Several Lundori sorcerers raised their hands, unleashing a cone of fire. Aodh smiled and held his hands up. A clear red bubble formed around him, catching all of the projectiles and the flames. While Farr could hardly make out Aodh from underneath the mass of weapons and fire, he was confident the god was unscathed.

"That's like the Lundori sorcerers," remarked Grex. "Maybe Yri should try to overload it with fire?"

"I can give it a shot," said Yri, passing Cupcake to Khuwa.

"This is all so very cute," chuckled Aodh from inside his bubble. "I really appreciate the people here giving me such a warm welcome. It's been ages since I've gotten a chance to practice my abilities on something other than a metal wall."

The spears and arrows slowly turned around as the Mad God spoke. The Lundori running up on Aodh slowed to a stop, unsure what was happening.

"Let's return these back to their owners, hmm?" asked Aodh.

The projectiles shot out from the bubble twice as fast as they entered it. The few archers the Lundori had were mowed down in an instant, with nearly half of the rest of their forces dropping with spears in them. The fire Aodh had absorbed shot out and struck those closest to him.

"You might want to reconsider giving him more ammunition," cautioned Farr.

Yri grunted. "Although I'd be surprised if he can't do something stronger."

The Lundori reinforcements ran up the mound, not slowing when they saw what Aodh was capable of. There was only one figure moving away from the Mad God, actually. Zane was carrying Perkins limp body over his shoulders, running through the Lundori and heading for The Delinquents.

"Now there's a target I can hit," grinned Yri, taking a step forward.

"No," said Farr.

"What? Why not?"

"We can deal with him after all of this," said Farr. "This clearly didn't go the way he hoped it would."

Yri didn't like this but obeyed Farr's order not to kill the paladin as he reached them, gently laying the elf down in front of him. He looked up apologetically at Farr, then placed his hands over Perkins.

"You've killed us," said Farr simply. "I'm sure you've realized this."

"This wasn't supposed to happen like this," replied Zane, waving his hands over the elf's body.

"Why would you do this at all?" demanded Yri. "Besides because you're an idiot."

"It wasn't an easy decision, but I know King Valdrick would not lead me wrong," insisted Zane. "And I fully intended to get Aodh to spare your lives as well, for what that's worth."

"That's really worked out for you," mumbled Yri, glancing down at Perkins' motionless body.

"Why would King Valdrick want this to happen," said Farr, shaking his head in disbelief. "Surely he knows U'Raze would soon fall to Aodh after the Empire did, right?"

"Gods can't walk across water!" said Zane, placing his hands over Perkins' chest. "Everyone knows that."

"Really?" asked Farr, itching the side of his face and looking at the others. "I've never heard that before..."

"I feel like I heard that in a tavern once," said Khuwa, watching Aodh toy with the Lundori.

There was an explosion off to the side. Farr looked to see a couple of Lundori sprawled out next to a crater while Aodh shook his head.

"I'm a bit rusty," complained the Mad God. "That should've blown half of this hill away."

It was worrisome to think about the kind of power the god could wield at his full strength, but that implied Aodh wasn't up to his previous standard. Maybe they could use that to their advantage...

"Why aren't you healing your friend, by the way?" asked Farr, noticing the elf wasn't looking any better. "Or are you not even a real paladin?"

"I... I am!" said Zane, holding his head and shaking it in disbelief. "This should be working..."

"What should be?" asked Khuwa.

"I've never had Nera not respond to my prayers before," he muttered.

A depressing thought crossed Farr's mind. "Try doing something you've always been able to. Make the front of your armor glow, or something."

Zane mumbled another prayer to Nera under his breath and looked down expectantly.

His armor hadn't changed.

"Why is this happening?!" cried the paladin in frustration.

"Nera is a goddess of light, right?" guessed Farr. Zane nodded. "I have a feeling she doesn't approve of one of her paladins releasing a force of evil and destruction in the world. If my money was on it, I'd say she's given up on you."

Zane's face paled and his eyes unfocused. "W... What have I done?"

The blademagus looked at the fallen paladin with pity. He should have known doing something like this would have negative consequences not just for them, but his relationship with his god.

"Grex!" commanded Farr. "Heal and stabilize Perkins if you can."

"What?!" hissed Yri.

The gnome walked over and inspected the elf's wound. He looked back up to Farr. "It's cutting it close, but there's still time. Are... Are you sure you want me to?"

Farr looked at the distraught Zane then back to Perkins. Odds were that by healing Perkins, all they were doing was prolonging the inevitable. Aodh was nearly done taking out all of the Lundori. It wouldn't be long before he decided to get rid of the rest of them.

"Do it," nodded Farr.

Grex got to work pulling out herbs from a small pouch on his belt.

"This is a waste of manpower," argued Yri. "We should kill these two for what they've done, not help them!"

"Focus on the task at hand," said Farr, gesturing to the Mad God. "We've got to try and defeat him or otherwise drive him off."

"What... What's happening?" asked the pig in Khuwa's arms, shaking his head.

"Cupcake!" exclaimed the orc, hugging him tightly.

"Can't breathe!" gasped Cupcake.

"Aodh's out," Farr informed the pig as Khuwa loosened her hold on the demon.

The pig looked over as Aodh flicked a Lundori fighter and sent him tumbling into the forest. "That's bad news."

"And now we've got to fight him," added Yri.

"That's really bad news."

"We've got no choice," said Farr, clapping his hands together and pulling them apart to summon his electric bow. "Yri, you and Cupcake take him head-on. Khuwa, you come with me around the right. I'll strengthen your axes, and try to hit him from behind with a few arrows."

"You can't tell me what to do," argued Cupcake.

"But I can," replied Yri. "And I'm saying you do what he says."

"We're going to die, then," said Cupcake bluntly.

"That's... highly probable," nodded Grex as he continued to work on Perkins. A light green glow of energy was forming over the elf's chest.

Farr looked over at Zane, who was still completely out of it. He decided the paladin wasn't going to be much help, anyway. Not without any of Nera's blessings, that is.

"You really think this will work?" Yri asked Farr, raising an eyebrow.

Farr looked up as the final Lundori fighters rushed at Aodh. The god disappeared in a puff of smoke, reforming behind them. He laughed, cupped his hands together, and thrusted them forward. Wind shot out of his hands, picking up the Lundori and sending them flying off the mound and deep into the forest.

"No," admitted Farr. "No, I don't."

Khuwa and Yri exchanged a look.

"I'm not going to pretend that this is going to end well," admitted Farr. "But it's either we die fighting him or we can wait around and die. I know what I'd prefer to do." 

Khuwa nodded, a smile forming. "Agreed."

"I guess this is it, then," smirked Yri. "It was an honor serving on your team, Farr. Even if it did end in disaster."

Farr smiled back. "That's The Delinquents' way."

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Farr, Khuwa, and Yri fanned out to form a half circle around Aodh as the last group of Lundori attempted to fight with him. The rain continued to fall softly on the hundred dead Lundori scattered across the mound. Smoke rose from the dozen or so holes along the top of the mound that the Mad God had caused.

Aodh laughed as he danced around the Lundori's strikes. When he grew bored with them, he opened his hands and shot the same kind of black thorns that had taken down Perkins. The last of the Lundori fighters didn't fare any better, and collapsed.

"Have I finally run out of those people?" Aodh asked himself as he looked across the battlefield. "Hmm. I'm certain there are more to find in this place."

Farr finally reached the other side of Aodh from Yri, his back to the cliff they had spent the night in. He looked to Khuwa, who was nervously waiting for his command. The blademagus nodded. The orc took out her two axes and banged them together. Farr sent forth his magic, and the blades sprang to life with electricity.

Aodh lazily turned in the direction of the banging, tilting his head. He glanced at Farr to his right and Yri to his left.

"You three don't look like the rest," he commented. "Were you adopted by them at a young age?"

"No," said Farr. "We aren't with them."

"I see," said the Mad God, crossing his arms and looking up at the rainclouds. "But then, why have you approached me this way? Are you intending on trying to fight me or beg for your lives? Because I must say, approaching me with weapons at the ready is not helping if you want to live."

"As if you'd let us live if we dropped them," spat Yri.

"Probably not," yielded Aodh. He looked over to see Zane on his knees next to the downed Perkins, with Grex performing his druidic healing. "But you come to fight me with only half of your group? That's rather insulting."

Farr nodded at Yri while Aodh was distracted. The warlock muttered something to Cupcake, who flew off of her shoulders and a few feet closer to Aodh. The Mad God turned toward Cupcake, an amused expression coming over his face.

"A flying pig?" laughed Aodh. The Mad God disappeared into a puff of smoke, reappearing next to Cupcake and scaring him. "I've never seen such a thing!"

"Easy with the personal space, buddy," said Cupcake, floating back a couple of feet.

"And a talking one at that!" laughed the Mad God. His laughter came to a sudden end and his eyes locked on Cupcake's. "Hmm... Hold on. You're a demon, aren't you?"

That had blown any chance of surprising the god.

"Now Cupcake!" shouted Yri, pointing at Aodh.

The demon pig nodded and started to shift. Aodh quickly put his hand out, and his eyes flashed red for a brief second. Cupcake strained and oinked as he tried to expand into his demon lord form, but nothing was happening.

"Uh..." said Cupcake, turning anxiously toward Yri.

"What's the matter?" demanded Yri. "Transform and attack!"

"Trust me, I'd really like to, but it ain't happening."

The Mad God clapped and chuckled to himself. "Surely you didn't think I'd let you transform."

"What did you do to him?!" shouted Yri, a ball of green fire appearing in her hand. She chucked the ball at Aodh, which grew as it neared him. Aodh calmly watched the green fireball approach, grabbed Cupcake, and tossed the demon at it.

The demon oinked out in surprise and pain as the ball of flames connected with him, sending him tumbling over himself through the air and crashing several feet away. Yri let out a panicked cry and ran after Cupcake.

"Yri, watch out!" warned Farr, but it was too late.

Aodh jumped forward as she crossed by him. Before Yri knew what was happening, Aodh shot two thorns. Each one went through her shoulders, knocking her back. She shouted in pain, thrashing on the ground. Aodh had disabled her arms.

Khuwa charged at the Mad God, letting out an orcish battle cry as Farr leveled his electric bow and unleashed a few arrows. Aodh danced out of the way of Khuwa's wild swings, but got hit by one of Farr's arrows in the side.

The Mad God grunted in annoyance and glared at the blademagus. He reached his arm out, a ball of energy forming in it. Right before he released it, Khuwa landed a blow in the middle of Aodh's chest. The god bared his teeth as the electric current coursed through him, jutting his arm up slightly as he released his magic.

The ball of destructive energy shot over Farr's head with terrifying speed, crashing into the cliff behind him with the sound of thunder. He turned around in time to watch the cliff structure disintegrate, along with all of the rock surfaces behind it. The waters of the ocean were pushed back for a moment, then swelled in to fill the space that had once been occupied by the cliff. Farr was glad the water wasn't able to reach the top of the mound, but could see now that potential power that Aodh wielded.

Khuwa was also distracted by the exhibition of power, and took her eyes off of the Mad God. Between surges, Aodh managed to punch the orc in her temple, dropping Khuwa unconscious. The axe was still in his chest, and he placed his hands on each side of the flat surface. With a painful roar, he pulled the pulsing axe out of him. Pressing inward, he snapped the axe head in two and let the pieces fall to his feet.

It's up to you, Farr. You've got to do this.

It may seem pointless, but you've got to try something!

Farr took another shot with his bow. The Mad God disappeared into a puff of smoke before the arrow of lightning reached him, appeared behind the blademagus.

"Your group is particularly annoying," mumbled the god. He kicked Farr in the back, sending the man tumbling forward.

Farr's electric bow had been dispelled. With a grunt, he got to his feet and pulled his hand back. He had just enough magic for one more weapon.

"The Delinquents have been called worse," said Farr, igniting a sword of orange flames in his hand.

"You call yourselves that?" chuckled Aodh, shaking his head. "How unfortunate."

"It's our guild," clarified Farr. "And even if we die here today, the rest of us will come and defeat you!"

The blademagus ran forward and sliced horizontally at the Mad God. Aodh jumped back, then jumped forward, grabbing the blademagus' wrist that held the sword.

"You're not as talented with your weapon as the orc was," stated Aodh.

"I don't have to be," said Farr. Then he punched his free hand into the gash in the god's chest.

The Mad God let out an otherworldly scream, then struck Farr across the face with his forearm. The blademagus felt his nose break and stumbled back, tripping over a loose rock and losing the magic that had been holding his sword together.

Aodh stalked forward as Farr sat there, knowing he had expended all of his energy.

The Mad God laughed and shook his head. "You managed to genuinely hurt me. I can't even remember the last time I felt physical pain."

"Get used to it," grinned Farr. "There's more coming for you as long as you stay here."

"From you?" asked the Mad God, raising his eyebrows. "I think not."

"You can't even defeat us at our full strength right now," chuckled Farr. "You've got no chance once the rest of The Delinquents find you.."

Aodh's eyes narrowed. "Oh? And what makes you think that?"

Farr nodded in Cupcake's direction. "Surely a demon, even a demon lord, is no match for a strong god. But you've trapped him in this form, limiting his power."

"Removing a powerful ability from an enemy is a sign of weakness, is it?" scoffed the Mad God.

"Not on its own. However, you've already shown you're struggling with controlling your power after all these years. The blast that took out that cave was a fluke caused by my electricity on Khuwa's axe, and you know it."

Aodh frowned.

"We're not even the strongest in our guild," laughed Farr. "Once they learn we're gone, they'll send the stronger ones after you."

Aodh looked down at his chest, then back to Farr.

"None of this means I shouldn't kill you right here and right now, though," said Aodh, holding his hand up toward Farr's face.

"It doesn't," agreed Farr, smiling as he looked at his end in the Mad God's hand.

Everything went quiet aside from the sound of the gentle rain and the soothing waves rolling in through the destroyed land. Aodh stared at him with his wild, unblinking eyes. Farr braced himself, wishing the wicked being would get this over with.

"Hmm," said Aodh, tilting his head. "You may be onto something. Perhaps I've gotten too rusty, what with being out of practice for a few thousand years. If this guild of yours, The Delinquents, would really come after me before I'm back to my former strength... that may prove to be problematic."

The Mad God lowered his hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Farr.

"Thinking," replied Aodh. He squatted down to eye level with Farr. "While I have decided to spare the one called Zane, I'm more than a bit peeved some king thinks he can control me. The elf mentioned sailing here... is this U'Raze Kingdom on another island or continent?"

Farr nodded.

"I see. The Delinquents, are they also in the U'Raze Kingdom?"

"Not yet," admitted Farr, confused at what the Mad God was getting at.

"Hmm," said Aodh, standing up. "I have decided. As that dead elf suggested, I have made for myself a temporary goal."

"And what would be that?" asked Farr.

"I will look for my siblings while I regain my strength," explained Aodh.

"You... have brothers and sisters?"

"One of each," nodded Aodh. "No idea if they are both still alive or free, but I'm confident I'll find out sooner or later."

Farr was quiet. He couldn't imagine three of Aodh.

"Then I'm going to destroy this U'Raze Kingdom," continued the Mad God. "Once that's done, I'll come back and fight with The Delinquents. To make things interesting, I'll allow your group to live, so you may pass on the message and prepare. I do enjoy a good fight."

Farr tried to control himself. Not only were his friends going to make it through the day, but he'd be able to warn the rest of The Delinquents before Aodh got to them!

Laughter broke through the air. Farr and Aodh looked to see Zane getting to his feet, laughing loudly as he did so.

"What seems to be the joke?" asked Aodh.

"Your captivity has made you even crazier than before!" laughed Zane.

"Hmm. Do elaborate," said Aodh politely.

"Have you really forgotten?" snickered the paladin. "Gods can't cross bodies of water."

Aodh stared at the ocean, his face contorting slightly. "Hmm. Is that right? I can't seem to remember..."

"That was the genius of King Valdrick's plan," grinned Zane. "You're trapped on this crescent, meaning the U'Raze Kingdom will be free of the Epworth Empire's interference for as long as you're around!"

Aodh glanced back at Zane and frowned. He disappeared into a puff of smoke, a few seconds later reappearing at the base of the mound in front of the waves of the ocean. The Mad God took a breath and placed a foot onto the water. Then his other foot.

The Mad God stepped on top of the ocean, calmly walking over the waves that would have swept away anyone else. He turned around, smiling at Zane and Farr. Over the waves, rain, and wind, the two of them could clearly hear the Mad God's manic laughter. 

Zane's mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide in horror.

Aodh waved at them, turned around, and slowly walked away from them on the water.

Farr leaned back onto the mound and closed his eyes.

They were beaten, exhausted, and had failed their guild... but they were alive.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Farr sat on the edge of the mound looking out as the sun was beginning to set through the large hole that had once been a cliff. The rain clouds had moved on shortly after Aodh disappeared just over two hours earlier. There was a soft breeze from the ocean that made Farr thankfully to still be alive.

When he watched the sunrise that morning, he certainly hadn't expected the day to go the way that it had. They had totally, completely, unconditionally failed. That meant Commander Indures would be upset, there would be no promotion, and, to cap it all off, Aodh was wandering the world.

It was hard to find any positives coming out of all of this. Walter would probably be happy that he was correct in his prediction. King Valdric0k might get what he rightfully deserves. There was also the matter of all of Farr's friends being alive, which was certainly a plus. Grex staying back to heal Perkins had proven to be a great decision, as the gnome was unhurt and spent the majority of the past two hours healing each of them. Somehow, he was able to get everyone into fairly good shape before running out of energy.

"He's waking up!" called out Khuwa, grabbing Farr's attention.

"W-What the...?!" came a gasp behind him.

The blademagus got to his feet and joined with the others as they surrounded Perkins, with Cupcake landing on Yri's shoulder to get a better look. The elf tried to sit up, but could only manage a fraction of it. He relied on his elbows to not weakly fall again onto his back.

"Whew!" laughed Grex, wiping some sweat from his brow. "I was not certain that he'd pull through."

"Looks like you have more of a will to live than you've let on," smiled Zane sadly.

They were the first words the paladin had spoken since Aodh had left. Farr had spent the majority of his time making sure Yri or Cupcake didn't kill the powerless paladin. Farr believed the man had suffered enough, and the warlock taking her frustration out on him wouldn't help anything.

"I... I can't believe it," said Perkins, staring down at his wounded chest with awe. "I take it Nera decided to have mercy on me, eh?"

Zane's smile slipped.

"Not quite," said Farr, patting Grex on the shoulder.

"The druid saved me?" asked Perkins, confused. "But... I had betrayed you."

The gnome waved the thought away. "I've helped people who have done worse. Also, it was Farr's call."

The elf nodded appreciatively at the blademagus. "You know, you all are too kind. What happened to Aodh, by the way? Did you all somehow manage to kill him?"

"Not exactly," said Farr, recounting everything that the elf had missed.

"I knew it!" said Perkins, wincing as he spun his attention back to Zane once the blademagus had finished detailing all that had happened. "I knew that 'gods can't walk on water' thing couldn't be right!"

"I really was... or rather am, a fool," agreed Zane.

"You can say that a few hundred more times," muttered Yri. Farr shot her a look. "What? You know I'm right."

"What about your demon pig thing?" asked Perkins. "Is he still stuck like that?"

"I hate it when people act like I can't answer for myself," pouted Cupcake.

"Sorry," laughed the elf. "Well?"

"I've tried to change forms a few times, even into something smaller," sighed Cupcake with a shake of his head. "Nothing."

"Does that mean he's like this forever?" asked Khuwa.

"I'm not familiar with a spell as powerful as this one," admitted Yri. "Since it hasn't ended yet, I'd assume it won't leave until the one who cast it is dead."

"Which realistically means forever," said Cupcake sadly.

"I'm sure that makes the paladin happy," sneered Yri.

"I-It doesn't!" said Zane.

"I find that hard to believe," she said, crossing her arms.

"Words can't describe how sorry I feel," said Zane, water forming in his eyes. "All these people died trying to stop Aodh, not to mention Perkins and the rest of you. Your group has done nothing but try and help me, and I took advantage of all of you. Now Aodh has gone off to destroy my homeland, along with any other lands he encounters along the way. I... I've lost everything. Even Nera has abandoned me."

Khuwa stepped up to the paladin. Farr almost told her to stop, but knew it was unlike the orc to betray his explicit orders. Zane looked at her feet, too ashamed to meet her eyes. She put out her arms...

And hugged him.

"It's okay," said Khuwa, tears streaming down her own face. "We all make mistakes."

"You've got to be kidding me," sighed Yri, shaking her head.

"What, like you've never made a mistake?" asked Khuwa over Zane's head.

"Mistakes? Sure," nodded the warlock. "Knowingly unleashing someone called the Mad God? Can't say I have."

"Maybe it slipped your mind," snickered Cupcake, flying in a circle around his master. "That seems like something that isn't easily remembered."

"At least he acknowledges that what he did was wrong," pointed out Grex.

"Oh, not you, too!" complained Yri. "Surely you can see that he's only sorry because of all the bad things that are happening to him!"

"Most likely," agreed Grex. "But that's better than nothing. Besides, killing him won't do us any good."

"We can't know until we try."

"There will be no trying anytime soon," said Farr pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah," sighed the warlock, rolling her eyes.

This was as good a time as any for Farr to bring up something that had been on his mind. He knew it would be met with mixed feelings, but with Khuwa and Grex seemingly accepting Zane's apology, and Farr finding it genuine, the others might be more okay with it.

"What are the two of your thoughts on joining up with us?" asked Farr.

Zane and Perkins looked at each, then back to Farr.

"You mean for getting out of here?" asked Perkins.

"Past that," said Farr, shaking his head. "I'm inviting the two of you to become honorary members of The Delinquents."

"You can't be serious," groaned Yri, running her hands over her face.

"I don't know..." said Perkins, wincing and holding his chest. "I'm not one for long term commitments."

"View this as a trial run," offered Farr. "Since we didn't stop Aodh from being let out, I won't be promoted yet. You'll stay as an honorary member until I become an officer. When that time comes-"

"Assuming you don't die, first," added Cupcake.

"- you can let me know if you'd like to be considered for a full position with the guild or not," finished Farr, ignoring the demonic pig.

Perkins smiled and leaned back. "Are you sure? No telling when I'll be back to my usual form, you know."

"That's perfectly fine," nodded Farr. "The Delinquents have done more with less."

The elf closed his eye and quietly thought about it for a moment. He opened it and laughed to himself. "Why not? I sort of owe you with all that's happened."

"Glad to have you," smiled Farr. He looked back to the others. "Aren't we?"

Grex nodded and smiled, Khuwa gave a tentative nod, and Yri gave a warm glare.

"Overjoyed, as you can tell," snickered Cupcake.

Farr turned to Zane, who had been staring at the ground not making a sound while Perkins talked. The paladin looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"How about you?" asked Farr.

"I... I don't think I can," admitted Zane.

"Look at that," said Yri, shaking her head. "He's right for once!"

"Enough!" said Farr firmly. "We can discuss this more at a later time, Yri, but I have made up my mind!"

The warlock narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips disapprovingly. She kept them sealed, to Farr's relief.

"I appreciate your generosity, Farr, but what could you possibly do with me?" asked Zane. "I'm nothing without Nera."

"You may be fairly weaker than you were before, but that doesn't make you worthless," insisted Farr. "For you to come all the way out here and do something most people would find impossible, I'm guessing there's something within you that The Delinquents would love to have. Besides, none of us are perfect. That's kind of our specialty."

Zane looked at Perkins, who encouraged him with a nod.

The paladin sighed. "It's not like I have any better alternatives."

"That's what we like to hear," smiled Farr, putting out his hand.

Zane smiled back and shook it.

Farr didn't know for sure what the future would bring. What he did know, however, was that while they may be weak for the time being, The Delinquents had just grown in strength by two new members.

The End.

How will Farr explain their failure to Commander Indures? Will Zane be able to fix the wrong he has done, or will Yri get to him first? Find out below in the next installment of The Delinquents Series: The Mage's Tower!

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The Arcane Staff Series:

The Elf Thief (Book 1)

Released April 2018

Lost Citadel (Book 2)

Released May 2018

Final Barrier (Book 3)

Released June 2018

The Half Dragon of Yaerna Series:

Tumbler Short

The Ilkas Diamond Job (Book 0)

Released February 2018

The Gathering Arc

The Shattered Sword (Book 1)

Released December 2017

The Time Shield (Book 2)

Released January 2018

Grimkell's Mace (Book 3)

Released January 2018

The Heralding Arc

Durnskeep (Book 4)

Released March 2018

Ravendale (Book 5)

Released July 2018

Aelric (Book 6)

Released July 2018

Second Dragon War Arc

Darkness of Old (Book 7)

Released August 2018

The Ancient Crown (Book 8)

Released November 2018

The Winged One (Book 9)

Released December 2018

The Delinquents Series

The Imprisoned God (Book 1)

Released August 2019

The Mage's Tower (Book 2)

Released August 2019

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