Two Brothers

by Phoenix Grey

  Item Class: Rare

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0.4 kg

  Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

  Briefly, he wondered if the horns were as valuable as the monster core would have been. He certainly hoped so. Guilt swept over him as he noticed Lonnell still sitting there. This was not the time to think greedily. His friend needed comfort.

  Congratulations! Quest: Defeat The Dark One has been completed.

  It took everything you had and came at a great cost, but the demon has been vanquished. All the strife that the inhabitants of Crescent Island have had to endure because of it should now subside. You have lost a dear friend but have gained 210XP.

  Azure scoffed inwardly. Was the prompt mocking his friend's death or trying to be sympathetic? He couldn't really tell. Worse than that, had this been destined to happen from the beginning? If it had been, then this was a cruel joke. He hated that he felt this way―had gotten so attached to someone who he had suspected was evil. He hated himself for having been suspicious of Uden in the first place, his mind and heart still torn over whether or not the half-imp had actually been a villain. He just hated this entire situation.

  Quest: Bring Uden Home

  There is no greater love than sacrificing yourself for a cherished friend or family member. Uden may have been led astray by the demon, but he proved to be a good person in the end. Honor his memory by returning his remains to his home so that he may have a proper funeral.

  Difficulty: Easy

  Success: Return Uden's remains to his parents

  Failure: Die or fail to return Uden's remains

  Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

  Azure walked over to Lonnell and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We have done what we came to do. We should take your brother back to your parents' farm. I'm not sure what your burial traditions are, but I would like to help with whatever I can. Then we need to go to Cragbell and tell everyone what a hero he was―tell them that they were wrong. Maybe even tell them that they were what caused all of this in the first place and that he was what saved them from it.” Wasn't that ironic? Ironic and an injustice. Yes, he felt exceedingly sorry for how Uden had met his demise. It appeared that life in The Realm was equally as unfair as the world he had come from.

  With his words of kindness, the prompt disappeared. Of course, he was going to help bring the half-imp's remains home. He owed Uden at least that much...even if the bastard had indirectly tried to kill him.

  Lonnell gave a brisk nod, sniffling once before he began to gather Uden's bones. Azure immediately knelt to help, his heart breaking as he watched his friend try to hold himself together. They carefully placed Uden's remains in Lonnell's Bag of Holding and then stood to take their leave.

  The sound of stone crumbling alerted them to a new path. Stepping through it led to a tunnel of dark obsidian which Azure could only assume was the first level of the dungeon. Uden had mentioned that once they defeated the dungeon boss, a quick way to the surface would appear.

  Silence filled their every step as they walked. Thankfully, there were no foes to be seen. Azure was glad. While he hadn't been injured in the battle with the demon, nor had he lost much stamina, he still felt weak and tired―more emotionally than anything else. Of course, he would do what he had to to survive, but there was no fight left in him for the pleasure and adventure of it. He was just done.

  It wasn't until they saw the literal light at the end of the tunnel that another enemy presented itself. Correction. Enemies.

  "Oh fuck," Azure whispered under his breath, coming to a stop and reaching back for his bow. He gritted his teeth, too exhausted to deal with this shit.

  At the mouth of the cave, two new goblin warriors waited for them. Both of them Analyzed as orange. No doubt, the archer was still perched on the cliff's edge. Even if they managed to draw the warriors into the cave to fight outside of its reach, they would still have to deal with the archer once they made their exit.

  Congratulations! The skill: Analyze has reached Level 5. This skill allows you to see how dangerous a foe is in relation to your own level. Use this skill frequently to avoid getting yourself killed.

  Azure brushed the notification away. There was no time to pay attention to it. He glanced over at Lonnell, who already had his staff in hand. The scowl on his face was a clear sign that he wasn't in the mood for this either.

  "Wait!" One of the warriors held a hand up as he watched Azure nock an arrow.

  The goblins were not moving towards them, probably trying to stay within the protection of their archer's range. They would, no doubt, venture into the cave once Azure started shooting, though. At this point, the adventurers had the advantage. If the goblin warriors didn't move, he could shoot them both dead where they stood. As it was, he might even be able to do it before they were able to reach him and Lonnell.

  "You kill The Dark One?" the goblin half asked, half grunted.

  "Yes. It is dead," Lonnell responded.

  "You have proof?" the other goblin questioned.

  Lonnell glanced over at Azure. Damn him for having put the horns in his bag. He would have to drop his aim to dig for them.

  "I've taken its horns," Azure announced, his arms quickly growing tired from drawing the bow for so long.

  "You show." The first goblin nodded at them.

  "If we show you, will you let us pass?" Lonnell asked, skirting around Azure to start rummaging through the bag at his hip.

  The goblins said nothing. They simply stood there with their spears in hand, waiting.

  It took Lonnell a moment to locate the horns. Azure wondered how difficult it must be sorting through the dozens of bat wings he had collected. He also wondered how well the recall was while rummaging through someone else's bag. All Azure had to do was think of an item when he stuck his hand into his bag, and he could easily locate it. Maybe it wasn't the same if someone else looked through a bag that didn't belong to them.

  Lonnell pulled out the demon's horns and held them up for the goblins to see. One of them grunted and turned to the other to begin whispering in their gruff language. After a moment, they both stepped aside, opening up the cave entrance for the adventures to leave.

  "One free pass. Gift for defeating threat to all. You leave, but don't come back or we kill you. This is not a treaty between our people," the goblin to the left told them before stepping out of the cave to shout up to the archer.

  Tension melted away from Azure's shoulders as he loosened his grip on the bowstring. He desperately hoped it wasn't a trick. Just to be sure, he leaned over to Lonnell and whispered, “Do you think it's a trap?”

  He shook his head. “No. They're not very good at setting traps. He's probably relaying what the chieftain told him. Their job was to keep people from getting into the cave, but since the demon is dead, it doesn't matter anymore. It was taking their people too if they weren't providing other victims, so they're most likely grateful.”

  Azure hadn't needed that much of an explanation. All he cared about was that they weren't going to get stabbed in the back when they were passing the goblins.

  "We will not try to fight you, then," he told them. "Joint celebration gift that this threat is defeated." Hopefully, they wouldn't take offense to that. If he weren't so tired, he would have been tempted to kill them since he did have the advantage. But right now, he just wanted to get back to Manny's farm and rest. The less resistance they faced, the better.

  They passed without incident, the two goblin warriors standing like sentinels as they exited the cave. Another tremor of fear and distrust snaked through Azure as the goblins began to follow them once the two adventurers were outside. His entire body was wound with anxiety. When he heard the sound of rocks falling, he immediately turned on his heels and reached for the hilt of his blade.

  Azure's heart lurched up into his throat. The goblins furrowed their meaty brows at him, but his gaze quickly shot past them to where the entrance of the cave was beginning to crumb
le.

  Lonnell placed a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down. This is just what happens whenever a dungeon is conquered.” He then looked up to address the two goblin warriors who were now clutching their weapons a bit more defensively. “Apologies. My friend here has amnesia, and he did not remember what happens to a dungeon once its boss has been defeated. We will be on our way now.” Lonnell bowed his head respectfully towards the goblins and then tugged on Azure's shoulder to indicate that it was time for them to go.

  "Apologies," Azure parroted quickly before following his friend.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THE REALM – Day 36

  The adventurers made a detour to Baremire to tell the Tree Queen about their victory, opting to stay the night before continuing on their way. She gave her condolences and told Azure to keep the armor. The rest of their journey was uneventful.

  Azure could feel nervousness welling up inside of him as they approached Manny's farm. His heart broke for the man. Even though Uden wasn't biologically his, he knew that Manny loved him like a son.

  He stood back and let Lonnell handle things as Manny rushed to greet them from the wheat field, a smile on his rugged face. It wasn't long before his expression contorted into one of extreme grief. They all returned to the house together where Lonnell dropped the grim news on his mother. She fell to her knees in a fit of sobs, and Manny quickly came to her side, though he soon followed suit in tear-shedding. They clung to each other in their grief, and Lonnell joined them, leaving Azure feeling like an outsider—remembering that this wasn't his family or his world.

  Congratulations! Quest: Bring Uden Home has been completed.

  Uden did a great service to Crescent Island by helping to defeat the demon. You have honored his memory by returning his remains to his parents. You have earned their eternal gratitude and 90XP.

  Due to the sorrow around him, Azure took little joy from having completed the quest. This didn't even feel like it should have been a quest. It was just the right thing to do.

  He excused himself and stepped outside, leaving the family to mourn. The sun was still shining brightly, though it would be setting within the next hour. Uden had died, but the world at large seemed unaffected. Life went on, just as it had historically when anyone died. Time stood still for no man. It was not a griever or a forgiver.

  Azure spent the rest of the evening walking around the farm, appreciating the glow of the sun as it kissed the field of wheat with hues of gold and yellow. Walking past the garden, he remembered his first lesson with the half-imp. That was back before the demon had gripped him, but even then it had been apparent that Uden didn't quite mind the destruction. It had been a means to an end for him...though certainly, he hadn't expected to have such a final one.

  All that Uden had wanted was to leave the island and learn more magic. That fight probably would have gone down much differently if they had some powerful spells at their disposal. A smirk played across Azure's face as he thought about how unstoppable the half-imp would have been with a full arsenal of magic under his belt. Either a strong ally or a formidable foe. It was hard to decide which side of the coin Uden would have eventually landed on. Overall, though, he hadn't seemed like a bad guy. A mix of good and evil, just like everyone else in the world.

  Magic, though. Azure sat on a rock overlooking the garden thinking about the small glimpse he'd seen of magic in The Realm so far. Uden's ability to imbue arrows with light magic. Lonnell's small flame spell. All the wonders of Baremire. Azure wanted that. At least, a piece of it. At that moment, he decided that he would still go to the mainland. He would seek out one of these magic schools that Uden had talked so excitedly about and try to learn a few spells for himself. So far, he'd seen no indication that he had to fall in line with a specific class. As a human, he could become a necromancer or a battle mage or anything else his heart desired.

  Having decided this, Azure expected to see a quest prompt display, but nothing presented itself. While he had been relieved at first to not immediately have an objective after dropping off Uden's remains, now it was just starting to feel unsettling. He tried not to focus on it, hoping that the system wasn't broken.

  As the sun began to set and he headed back towards the barn, he thought about what he would do next. Traveling to the mainland was at the top of his list of personal objectives, but other things needed to be taken care of first, like going to Cragbell to sell his loot to Ruthren and then figuring out how to even get to the mainland.

  Part of him wanted to start for Cragbell tonight. Even though the sun had set, traveling had become second nature to him. Azure doubted he would run into any goblins. Now that the demon had been dealt with, the land was no longer poisoned. They had little reason to venture this far for resources.

  But he felt it would be inconsiderate to go without Lonnell, and now was definitely not the time to ask. Azure had promised he would stay at least long enough to help with, and bear witness to, Uden's funeral, and he was a man of his word. It would probably do him some good to rest anyway.

  With nothing else to do, he decided to settle in early for the night. Tomorrow would be a more appropriate time to speak to Lonnell about traveling to Cragbell. If Lonnell didn't want to go, then maybe Azure could offer to pick up whatever they needed to perform the funeral.

  As he was closing his eyes for sleep, there was a knock on the barn door.

  "Come in," he said groggily, thinking about how strange it was to even say that. It reminded him of when he was a teenager and his mother wanted to enter his room. He briefly wondered if that had ever even been real.

  The door slid open, and Lonnell offered him a soft smile before stepping in. “You look ready for bed already.”

  "We've had a long journey." Azure sat up against the barn wall. Straw clung to his armor. Despite being safely back at the farm, he refused to take it off.

  "That we have." Lonnell nodded, carrying over a lantern and taking a seat a few feet away. "My father wanted me to offer you Uden's bed. You are a good friend and should not be sleeping out in the barn."

  "I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine sleeping here." Those were words Azure never thought he'd hear himself say. Truthfully though, he enjoyed the solitude that the barn offered. A chance to be alone with his thoughts.

  "In the straw?" Lonnell picked up a piece from the floor and flicked it. "Awfully uncomfortable."

  "A feathered mattress compared to the cold, hard floor we're used to sleeping on." He smirked.

  "I suppose so." Lonnell dropped his gaze. It was clear from his solemn expression that his brother's death was still weighing on him.

  "Did you want to talk about something?" Azure offered.

  "Not really." Lonnell paused for a moment, then snorted. "It kills me that no one will ever know what we went through. What he went through to save the island."

  Ah, so he did want to talk after all. Azure was willing to listen. It was his job as Lonnell's friend.

  "We will tell them," he said.

  "But they won't know. Not really." Frustration was plain in the lines of Lonnell's face. "You can hear a story a million times, but you have to live it yourself to truly appreciate the significance."

  "I suppose. But no man can live every story." Azure sighed. "I'm sure that it feels like your brother's death wasn't justified." It wasn't. The people who had created the demon with their hatred should have been the ones out fighting it.

  "It all feels so pointless." Lonnell cradled his head in his hands. "They will feel bad that their hatred brought the demon to our island, but they will also be happy that Uden is gone. He was always a trickster"a nuisance to many. Maybe they'll even feel that the end justified the means."

  "I would hope not. The last thing we need is another demon to pop up from their hateful thoughts," Azure commented, feeling exhaustion from the idea of having to go through the same ordeal all over again. Perhaps the whole scenario would respawn. That would be horrible. "If that ends up being the case, it can have the
island."

  "That's not funny." Lonnell glared at him.

  "I'm not laughing." Azure countered with a deadpan expression. "If the people of Cragbell are filled with that much hate, then they all deserve to die."

  "That's an evil thing to say."

  "Well, it's how I feel." Azure looked away, not enjoying the tension between them. "But I digress," he quickly changed the subject, "now that the demon is slain and things will return to normal, what are you going to do?"

  Lonnell thought for a moment. “I suppose I'll just continue on as I have been. Help my father with the farm. Save up money to buy a plot of land and start my own.” A smile spread across his lips―the first real smile that Azure had seen Lonnell sport since before they'd defeated the demon. “I think I'm going to ask Bronna to marry me. I'm old enough now to settle down and start a family.”

  "Good luck with that," Azure did his best to sound enthusiastic for his friend.

  "What about you? What are you going to do?"

  "I think I'd like to go to the mainland." Azure shifted his weight, half-hoping that Lonnell would want to join him. That hope had faded since hearing about the possible upcoming nuptials. Even if Lonnell didn't want to tag along, it wouldn't stop Azure from going.

  "What business do you have there?"

  "Uden talked about some magic school. I'd like to check it out."

  "Ah yes. Hawking's School of Land Magic," Lonnell said with a soft smile of remembrance.

  "But I have no idea how to get there. No idea, really, about how to even leave this island." Azure gestured around them.

  "Well, first you would need to buy passage on a ship leaving for the mainland. There's a small port to the south. You could probably find passage to Squall's End there."

  "And how much would that cost?"

  "I've never sailed before," Lonnell admitted, "but I would think it would be at least one gold coin."