Into the Hells

by Christopher Johns

  “Couldn’t stay away from the action, huh?” I ribbed the older Paladin a little. He gave me a sly smile in return. “That’s great guys. So what about the people you were training then, Zhavron? They cool?”

  “They will make an excellent guard, as I told you earlier.” He nodded. “My lieutenant is currently training the others in unit tactics, subject control, and close quarters battle. They should be getting back here any minute.”

  As if on cue, the door opened, admitting twelve men and women who looked dirtied, bruised, and much worse for wear than the tall and muscular figure behind them.

  And that figure was Vrawn. Her green skin glistened slightly with sweat, her fiery orange mohawk tied into a braid that left the sides of her head clear and clean shaven. Her thick and corded muscles shook bare in a tight-fitting, sleeveless blouse the color of cream tucked into brown breeches and soft looking black boots. She took up most of the doorway, but despite her large frame and muscles, her waist was thin for her bulk, and she still boasted a very feminine build. Her blue eyes swept the room, taking in all the patrons. She saw my friends and smiled, her pillowy lips parting to flash her dainty tusks.

  Before she spoke to any of us, she turned to her people. “Eat, do not overfill yourself. If any of you vomit again during morning training, I will be very disappointed. Dismissed.”

  “Ma’am!” they barked in unison with smart salutes. She returned it and turned toward us. The cold, ordering tone gone from her voice, replaced by warmth.

  “Hello, all of you.” Her feminine and breathy voice carried to us. She stepped in, her surprisingly light footfalls leading her to us. “I had not known you would be here so soon. Is Zeke well?”

  I smiled softly. “Yes,” she looked my way in confusion, “I’m doing as well as can be done, Vrawn. How are you?”

  I looked at Zhavron, and I swear I saw the mischief in the old buzzard’s eyes. He had purposely hidden the fact that she was here. Oh, I’d get mine.

  “Zeke, you are not as I have remembered.” A look of concern passed over her features. “Are you truly well?”

  “Yes, this is one of my natural forms as a Kitsune. I have several. This, a fox, and a human. You saw my human form because I didn’t want to have anyone trying to take my tails.” I wagged all five of them to the right and made sure she could see them.

  “That was a good idea.” She nodded, smiling wider. “I would love to hear more of your travels. Do you have time?”

  I looked to the others who all had wolfish grins well in place. Especially Bokaj, for some reason.

  “We’re just going to see a Dragon—no big deal.” James waved offhandedly. “We need to restock on food, make sure we’re golden from a potion standpoint, and then see to the village. He’s got plenty of time, Vrawn.”

  “Thank you, James, was it?” When he gave her a broad, toothy grin, she clenched her fist as if to grab something. “I appreciate your candor. It really is so nice to see all of you again.”

  “See to the village?” Bokaj grunted in question, suddenly worried. “We got shit to do. We can’t slow down now, man.”

  “We aren’t slowing down. We’re getting ready,” Jaken explained. “It’s a fucking black Dragon. We can’t just go in half-cocked, or did you like getting your ass kicked in that cultist village?”

  He slapped the table with a hand and bared his teeth at Vrawn. “We’ll be leaving as soon as we can then!”

  You lot do know that I’m going to tell her about Maebe, right? I sent them with our telepathy earrings while Vrawn went to a table at the other side of the room.

  They all nodded vigorously, and I shook my head in defeat. Bunch of assholes. I piled a bunch of different foods, fruits, and vegetables on to a plate before walking toward Vrawn.

  I put the plate in front of her before sitting off to the side of her position.

  “Thank you.” She picked up a fork and began to eat slowly before pausing. “Please, do not wait for me to finish. Tell me of your tales.”

  “I can do that.” Talking to her was easy, even though the first time we had met, she had been working in a bathhouse. Long story short, she was a lady of the night for the bathhouse I had gone to called the Steam Palace.

  No, not a vampire. Just willing to sleep with people for coin. Which I’m cool with, as long as she and anyone in that profession are completely willing participants. It just wasn’t for me. Then and now. She respected that, but when I tipped her a decent amount of gold, it had put me in her good graces.

  I started from where we left the hospitality of her friend Giledt’s place, the Marching Mercenary. It took her a plate and a half of food for me to finish things. She didn’t interrupt, she didn’t move other than to look at me, eat her food, drink water, and blink.

  “So, then we took the kids and brought them here.” I motioned to where the four boys sat at their table, looking like they were about to pass into a food coma. “Now, we’re on our way to talk to a black Dragon to see about blessing James. And that’s everything. But how did you come to be here?”

  “Well, business wasn’t the best for me in the city, and Giledt had heard from Captain Zhavron that he was looking for strong-armed and upright mercenaries to take to a village on your groups’ behalf as a guard. I had known much from my time as a child in the ways of combat, so I offered my services with a glowing recommendation from Giledt and Remy. Remy and the ladies were sad to see me go—I protected them while I was there, but my sister offered to take over for me so they will be fine.”

  “Your sister is taking over as a… courtesan?” I offered lamely.

  She smiled at the attempt. “We like to work—when people will have us—and she is much stronger than I. Better suited for enforcing the laws of the bathhouse, as she was a guard herself for some time in the capital. She’s retired now, though. It will be nice for her to relax there.”

  “Well, I’m very happy for her.”

  “As am I.” She closed her eyes and stretched until the line of her body was clearly visible to me. “And this Maebe. You called her your ‘girl-friend’. Is this a similar term to lover?”

  “It is.” I nodded.

  “And she knows of me?” Her fiery eyebrows raised slightly.

  “She does, and she wasn’t upset with you.” I splayed my hands toward her.

  “And she wasn’t upset with you?” Her face was unreadable.

  “No. Maebe and I were only friends, so we weren’t in a relationship at that point in time,” I answered honestly, then added quickly, “and I didn’t know that we would be—not even in my wildest dreams—when I met you. I’m sorry.”

  She laughed. “You do not need to apologize, Zeke. I understand. My affections for you are real, and I do not feel that they are unwarranted. You are thoughtful, kind, considerate, and strong.”

  I didn’t know what to do with myself or the forward compliments. I had never been good at taking compliments. Not knowing what to do with my suddenly-bashful ass, I looked away and acted as if I were trying to find something to drink.

  “I like you.” She shrugged. “I have since I first met you and you were thoughtful enough not to judge me based on my profession. Also, I am not afraid of a Fae Queen. If anything, I would gather she wouldn’t care what or who you did.”

  “That may be true, and she did seem confused as to why I didn’t take the, uh… service you offered.” I blushed furiously despite my comfort in her presence. A knowing smile flowed over her features, and she looked away herself.

  She was so nice to be around—soft-spoken, intelligent, quick-witted, and thoughtful. Why was I suddenly so self-conscious? It was like being a kid again. Shit!

  “Then she is as most royals I have ever heard of.” She laid a large hand over mine comfortingly. “They do not care if someone strays, as long as they are strong enough to do what needs to be done.”

  “That’s a very weird thought.” I frowned.

  I mean, as a concept, it made sense. There were base urge
s and needs that people had that sometimes clouded judgment, but those lapses in judgment often led to darker things than what was being thought of here—things that were deplorable and vile.

  Besides, those needs weren’t distracting to me. Not really. I was here for a purpose. Anything else just kind of happened.

  “While it might be to us, it isn’t for them,” she explained. “What is most important is that their power is secure and that they and their chosen remain in power, but that is not for us to decide or speculate on. I would like to meet her.”

  “Uh, okay. If she’s around sometime soon, I’ll let her know,” I said haltingly. This was a very odd sequence of events for me. The thought of just never mentioning it to Mae crossed my mind, and I found that deeply appealing. If she asked, I’d tell her. But until then? Mum’s the word.

  “She is not here with you?” I shook my head, so she smiled even wider. “Then that means I have you to myself.” Her eyes had taken on a different shine that I hadn’t seen in anyone’s gaze before.

  Uh, guys? I projected to my friends. I need an adult!

  “Hey, Zeke!” Muu called, and I almost sighed in relief. I looked over, gratitude on my face; I noticed the evil look on his face as he stood by the door. The others were gone already. “You enjoy your time with Vrawn, buddy—we’ll take care of the shopping and whatnot. Vrawn, you take care of him. He needs a stern hand at times and adult supervision.”

  I blinked in disbelief, then looked back to Vrawn to see her beaming at my friends and their retreating figures. “That was so thoughtful of them. Come. I want to show you the walls and see if there’s anything you can think to do as well.”

  I knew in my heart of hearts that she wasn’t so naive as to not know that something was off, but I don’t think she cared. It was sweet, but it made me wonder how smitten with me she truly was.

  I groaned inwardly, vowing then and there that I would find some way to get back at those bastards. It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable with the woman. Not really. It was just that I didn’t want to hurt her feelings and that she didn’t seem to be fazed by the fact that I was dating a Fae Queen who could wipe this village from the map with ease.

  She touched my shoulder and shook me from my thoughts gently. I gave her a reassuring grin and stood to follow.

  As I walked by, Zhavron called out from his seat, “Take the day, lieutenant! I will handle your instruction for the rest of today.”

  The trainees still eating groaned, and Zhavron’s howling laughter chased us out of the tavern and into the sunlight.

  Vrawn led me to the side of the tavern. Then we kept going through the houses and buildings until we got to the wall. It stood an easy sixteen feet tall, made of roughly hewn wood that looked to be hastily made. It was sturdy—don’t get me wrong—but it was far from some of the better defenses I had seen since arriving here. There was a good amount of space between the wall and the buildings inside—at least twenty feet of dead space that would be a battleground if anyone made it over.

  I tapped the wall with my foot, and it didn’t move, but that didn’t necessarily mean it wouldn’t fall over if it was hit hard enough. Looking both directions, I noted that there were support logs, easily as thick as my waist leaning against the fence every fifteen feet or so.

  “And there are plans to bring in stone to build a true fortification?” I asked Vrawn as I looked over the handiwork.

  “There are talks of plans,” she corrected. “The logistics needed elude the masons, and the amount of time it would take is reprehensible.”

  “What about an enchantment?” I wondered aloud.

  “We do not have anyone with that ability in the village that I am aware of.” She shrugged. Her blue eyes wandered the top of the fence line slowly. “I worry. The mayor and Sir Dillon informed Zhavron and I of what had happened. This wall was a quick thing. A work of haste, and while it will hold, it will not hold long. I have plans for it, but there is much to be desired.”

  “Well, you have me.” I smiled. “I’ve never done something like this though, so I need to see how to do it.”

  “You are going to try and enchant this wall?” she asked breathlessly, a look of wonder on her face.

  “I’m going to go find someone who might be able to show me how.” I smiled as I cast Teleport, and Vrawn disappeared from my sight.

  Chapter Three

  It took no time at all to get into Djurn Forge after arriving at the entrance. The Ironnose guards let me through with no issues. I power walked to my destination as I tried desperately to justify what I had just done to myself.

  They hate Orcs here, man, I explained to myself. Her coming along would have made a relatively quick trip to the Dwarves almost an act of treason. Better that she possibly be a little miffed with you than potentially dead, right?

  Yeah. That would work for now. I think.

  The Light Hand Clan. I arrived at the gated compound—the buildings made of a strange looking metal—and the gates swung open. I had been here so many times. All the memories of fun times I had been mentally abused by the crazy Dwarf who led the Dwarves in this compound.

  I’m teasing; she was just nuts, but it was to be expected since she had spent years carefully cultivating a crazy persona to protect herself by earning people’s ire.

  Feeling so at home, I walked into the main building, a squat affair with one door on this side and marched myself to Shellica’s room.

  I heard discussion on the other side, then knocked rather than opening the door and bursting in.

  “Enter!” Shellica’s cultured voice shouted from the other side of the door.

  I walked into her spartan-looking workroom and bedroom to find her standing with the only other Dwarf in the clan that I knew aside from Granite, Natholdi, and Fainnir—Vilmas.

  Both Dwarves, thinner than the rest of their race, eyed me in surprise. Shellica, the older Dwarf with gray hair, bright green eyes with deep smile lines around them, grinned manically.

  “Well, there’s a face I didn’t expect today.” She stepped toward me and pulled me into a hug. “Why are you here, lad? You should have told me you were coming. I would’ve prepared some items for you to enchant!”

  “Sunrise Village has a wall issue,” I began. “I was wondering if there was a way to enchant the wall without having to spend an ungodly amount of time on it, or would it be more practical to have them get the masons needed to build a true wall of stone and then enchant that?”

  Shellica seemed to smile impossibly wide before returning her attention to Vilmas. “Just what you needed, lass.”

  Vilmas looked confused, then horrified. “No!”

  “Yes!” Shellica hissed in triumph.

  Vilmas, her white hair hung over her face in disarray, looked defeated. This was the first time I had spent so much time around her that I was able to see more of her now than when we had first met a while back when she had acted as a messenger for the clan head. Her eyes were a golden hazel with long and thick eyelashes that most women had to apply a good deal of makeup for. Her round cheeks were cute and rosy in color. The rest of her figure was well muscled for a member of the Light Hand Clan, but she was still thinner than that of most Dwarves.

  She stood there, wringing her hands nervously as Shellica flitted about her room gathering things.

  “But, Lady Shellica, please—I don’t want to go out of the compound,” the younger Dwarf tried to reason. “Let alone to somewhere I don’t know anyone.”

  Shellica stopped and forced the poor woman to look her in the eyes with an iron grip on her quivering jaw. “Vilmas. I did not ask what you wanted. I said that it was what you needed. Do you know why you are stuck at the cusp of grandmaster?”

  Vilmas shook her head, and Shellica sighed knowingly. “It’s because you fear the unknown, lass. You are too afraid to branch out. To try new things. Sure, with an item, there’s almost no one better than you, even me.”

  The older Dwarf looked to me then, and I underst
ood what I thought she was wanting.

  “You know, I’ll be there.” I looked at her imploringly. “This village has come under attack, had their children stolen, because they dared help us. I need to do what I can to protect them. I don’t want to screw this up, and I need the best. I think that’s you. Will you help them? Please?”

  Vilmas heaved a great sigh and looked as though she might flee before asking—her voice barely a whisper, “Are there other Dwarves?”

  I nodded once. “There are a few. One of them, Rowland, is a good friend of mine. Real nice guy. A smith. The smith. I’m not sure what clan he’s with, but I don’t think he’s ever been here. ”

  She looked from me to Shellica then back.

  “Okay. I’ll help you for a little while.”

  “Excellent!” Shellica clapped, her smile radiant more than crazy, and she reached out to grab my arm in a death grip. “Go and get a bag together while I torture Zeke here.”

  Vilmas fled from the room as I muttered a string of curses under my breath at the pain. Seconds later, there was a loud bang and a string of curses from a male Dwarf, so vehemently creative I couldn’t help but be impressed. Until the last one.

  I poked my head out the door and bellowed, “Hey! You retract that fucking statement!”

  There was a pause, and then the deeper, likely male Dwarven voice growled, “I retract that statement about your children.”

  “Those are her fuckin’ kids, man!” I bellowed in reproach.

  The cursing stopped, and I heard footfalls moving away.

  “Thank you, lad.” Shellica chuckled and sat on her bed. I gave her a thumb up, and she looked at me critically. “What I said was true. She needs to expand her ability, but I don’t want the girl in harm’s way.”

  “I will be right there learning what I can from her and helping, and the lieutenant of the Village Guard has a special interest in keeping us both safe, so she will be fine.”

  “Special interest?” She waggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly, then calmed. “Good. See that she has the things she needs. And that she’s taken care of, for me.”