Demi Heroes

by Andrew Lynch

  ‘Oh. One second! Looks like there’s some official business to handle.’

  Markun pulled a silly looking hat from his pocket. Lucian assumed it denoted his station as magistrate of the town. Lucian was not happy with this revelation.

  They all turned to see who had called for Markun, now revealed to be the highest local authority. The man had a bruised face and rumpled clothes, but he was unmistakable. The horrified look on his face as he recognised Lucian confirmed it.

  The messenger.

  Chapter 10

  Everything was going according to plan.

  Except for them being there. Right as the complication they were causing was tying up the local authorities. Rather less administrative slowdown when the criminals were right in front of you.

  The messenger froze in shock for a moment, but rallied and pointed an accusing finger. ‘Magistrate, these vagabonds attacked me!’

  ‘Oh.’ Markun seemed nonplussed. ‘Lads, is this true?’

  ‘How could you even ask that?’ Lucian said, incredulous. ‘After all we've been through together, Markun? Old friend!’

  ‘Hasn’t been that much, really.’

  ‘Surrender now! The other two thugs have been apprehended and locked up,’ the messenger announced.

  This made everyone freeze for a second. A single messenger dealing with Khleb, let alone Gar? No, there must be something more dangerous.

  Markun made a strange gesture. The messenger nodded, turned on his heel, and ran off in the direction of the main square. ‘This is a bit of an issue. I thought I could just make a bit of money from curious tourists and send you on your way. But – assaulting Empire messengers?’

  ‘We can explain that,’ Lucian said feebly. ‘We are... we are just such big fans of Moxar that we didn’t want his reputation damaged.’ Even Lucian felt this wasn’t a very convincing argument.

  ‘I see that now, of course. But as I said, that is a bit of an issue for me. You see, I’ve just burned down several buildings, in my own town, to make sure there was a legitimate reason to send those messengers out to the surrounding cities. Also to stop them from buying any of our horses. Wouldn’t want them getting there any faster.’

  ‘Burned down your own town?! What could Moxar have done to you that deserves such revenge? That’s insane, Markun!’

  ‘Possibly. But I'd rather be a bit insane than risk my master’s wrath.’ An evil grin spread over his face.

  Lucian hadn’t put two and two together before, and cursed himself for his stupidity. Markun’s red clothes were the same as the red from the dead bandit in the cave. He was even wearing the same insignia, just not as a brooch, but on his hemp neck chain. How had his observational skills failed him this spectacularly? He’d also paid Markun thirty silver pieces, which seemed like it may have been relevant, but Lucian wasn’t sure how.

  The sound of heavy footsteps pounded behind them. Lucian knew without looking that the messenger had been sent to find guards. He risked a quick glance, and sure enough, guards had been summoned. Coincidentally, the same guards from the town entrance. All five of them. And their spears.

  Lucian gave a questioning look to his team. ‘We can’t handle five guards plus a messenger. And this lunatic,’ Darrius answered, nodding at Markun.

  Lucian knew what had to be done. Fight or flight. Now was the time for running. So quite why his hand was pulling out his hatchet, he wasn’t sure.

  ‘Behind me!’ his mouth commanded the others, although he was sure he had meant to say “Run”. Very odd.

  Much better, he thought to himself as his body finally started running away from the guards. The sensation of movement didn’t last for as long as he would have liked. He found himself hooking an arm around Markun’s neck. He shielded his own body behind Markun’s and placed the hatchet against the big man’s throat. Gods, he’d run forwards, not away!

  Darrius and Jess had drawn weapons and rushed to take up positions behind him. Who knew, maybe this was the right decision. Certainly this part had gone better than if he had planned to do it. Maybe he really should be a Hero, and just concentrate on not thinking about anything he did.

  ‘Just like Captain Monohughe at the last stand of Captain Monohughe, I’ve captured your leader!’ Lucian shouted to the guards, who had readied their weapons. ‘Let us go, and he'll come to no harm.’

  ‘Didn’t Captain Monohughe die?’ the old guardsman who had bested Lucian on the bridge shouted back.

  ‘Damn. Yes, he did. Ignore that!’ Lucian whispered into Markun’s ear, ‘Call them off, or this isn’t going to end well for you!’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure I'll be just fine. Guards! Get them!’

  That was not what Lucian had hoped for, but actually, was exactly what had happened to Captain Monohughe, now that he thought about it.

  Lucian’s arm moved before he had time to think, drawing his hatchet back, slicing Markun’s throat. But there was no bite of flesh. His blade skittered over skin as if it were stone. There was no effect at all! In panic, he pushed hard at Markun, sending him stumbling into the guards.

  The three of them turned to run, using the charred walls of the barn as an obstacle course, running into the collapsed building.

  Lucian hadn’t been thinking clearly when he had tried to slice Markun’s throat. It had been pure instinct. Reaction. But he’d never killed a man in cold blood before. It had always been a fight of life or death, not a hostage situation. Although Markun did just admit to having a “master”, and wore the same red as the bandits. Was that enough? Killing an innocent wasn’t heroic, but killing an evil henchman was. And anyway, he hadn’t killed Markun. Still, this was getting him nowhere. He focused on not just the action at hand, but his preferred action of running away.

  Lucian should have paid more attention when he turned to run, because he had led his group into a small box of a room. A large stable with an ash covered floor. More importantly, with no way out. He turned to try another direction, but two guards appeared in the door. Lucian hoped the rest had been forced to follow protocol and stop to help their magistrate to his feet.

  The guards ran at the trio as one. Darrius immediately used his swordsmanship to peel one of them away, shouting, ‘Take my gold, will you?!’ That left one for Jess and Lucian to deal with, and the knowledge that five more guards were right behind them.

  When a hatchet had to deal with a spear, there was only really one chance of not being impaled. When the guard lunged, hope he missed, and then leap forwards and hack his arm off. Lucian was aware his hatchet wasn’t an elegant weapon.

  Backing up, Lucian snapped at Jess, ‘What can you do for me in here, Jess?’

  ‘I... I can... give you some wind?’ For once she sounded unsure of herself.

  ‘No fireball to the chest or anything? I'd like to give you time to focus, but one of us will be stabbed in about four seconds, so hurry!’

  The guard had a malicious look on his face. Realising he outmatched his prey, a base instinct kicked in as he heard the fear in their voices.

  Jess planted her feet, mumbled some words, and lifted her hands. A light, and brief, gust of wind swirled around the small stable they were trapped in. Underwhelming, but it kicked ash up into the air. Whether by accident or design, Lucian couldn’t be sure, the ash blew in the direction of the guard, blinding him but leaving Lucian only slightly inconvenienced. The ash cloud grew thicker, and Lucian lost sight of Darrius and Jess, barely able to see the guard in front of him.

  Lucian jumped at the chance, knowing it wouldn’t last long. A wild swing hit nothing but air. A second lucky swing bit into the spear shaft, making the guard drop it to the ground. In a panic the guard turned and ran blindly, clearly hoping not to feel an axe lodge in his back. Lucian followed through the stirred ash hanging in the air, and saw his guard being stabbed at wildly by Darrius' guard, apparently also blinded and panicked.

  Lucian and Darrius stopped, and shared a glance at the panicked violence. It was primal and terrifyin
g. Hardly a glamorous duel for honour. Lucian was no stranger to violence or death, but he found himself wondering how often Moxar saw this happening, yet continued to do what he did. Was Moxar strong willed, or simply barbaric?

  Darrius pulled Lucian away from the two scrambling, dying guards, who were clearly no longer a threat. They readied themselves, waiting for the larger group to storm the room.

  They both jumped as a loud crack sounded behind them, and turned to see - thank the Gods - Jess kicking through a burned wood panel.

  ‘Run!’ Lucian managed to say, correctly this time.

  While spending an hour hiding in nearby unburned stables, Lucian filled Darrius and Jess in on the weirdness that was Markun. His roundabout guidance, stone skin, and unnamed master. They had no light to shed on the mystery.

  They knew their goal now had to be freeing Gar and Khleb, followed by a quick escape. Once the clomping of boots from passing guards died away, they made their way through the town, zipping from one alley to another, barely avoiding patrols. Or perhaps the guards just weren’t looking for them. Lucian had no idea how much Markun would use his position of magistrate to his advantage. Did the town know about their magistrate serving a higher power?

  Lucian had no time to worry about these greater issues as they flattened themselves against a corridor wall inside the town prison. Dusk had settled outside, but here the burning torches kept everything well lit. The town’s prison was half hearted to say the least. No guards, and the rooms so far had only been imprisoning dust, unused for months. The corridor was using the same light grey stone as the rest of the town. They had come to a dead end, with two doors left to check.

  Lucian peered through the grate of the first door and saw several people sitting on benches. Six men were seated round the outside of the room, and their clothes instantly marked them as travellers. These weren’t the bandit red cloaks of the town, these were dark brown and black. The same as Lucian.

  ‘Blood of the Gods,’ he whispered under his breath. ‘He got the Legs and Mouths.’

  ‘From the Company? Then we shall free them,’ Jess said confidently.

  Lucian didn’t need to look again. The bodies had been propped upright, but the unnatural stillness couldn’t be hidden. He had noticed the smell as they’d made their way into the depths of the prison, but all prisons reeked like that. It now clicked with him that all the other cells had been empty. And this wasn’t the rot of the long dead, this was fresh blood.

  Lucian shook his head, and not wanting to repeat the experience, pointed to the final door. He told Darrius, ‘Take a look’.

  Darrius peered through the grate. ‘That’s them. Judging from how well Gar is doing at dicey cardy, they’re definitely alive, sir.’

  Lucian’s back was starting to ache from hunching over and sneaking for so long. He gave an order, although it came out as casual suggestion.

  ‘All right, we haven’t seen any guards. May as well stop hiding. We're in a well lit corridor, and if they look, they'll see us.’

  Jess and Darrius stopped skulking and stretched out a bit. ‘Right. Now, how are we going to get through this door? Got any fire in you, Jess?’

  ‘Of course. I will begin,’ she said, setting herself a few paces from the door, her staff held aloft.

  Lucian and Darrius waited for a moment, and then realised that not much was going to happen any time soon.

  ‘How are you at picking locks?’ Lucian asked Darrius.

  ‘Not really my skillset, sir. Always had Khleb around for that.’

  ‘Damn. Well we can’t just stand here forever. Maybe we can slide Khleb some lock picking tools?’

  ‘We've still got all our equipment, boss,’ Khleb said through the door.

  ‘Oh. Hello men,’ Lucian said, taken aback. ‘Didn’t realise you could hear us! Don’t worry, we'll have you out in no time.’

  ‘No bother. We could get out any time we wanted, boss. You know how this entire place is made of stone?’

  ‘Yes?’ Lucian said, not sure why that was relevant.

  ‘Turns out they don’t seem to know much about wood. This door is rotted through. Gar here could break through it in a few kicks.’

  ‘Oh.’ Lucian gave a test knock on the door. It gave a very distinct impression of hollowness. ‘Well, why haven’t you escaped already?’

  ‘Figured we should wait for you guys.’

  ‘What if we hadn’t come?’

  Khleb laughed. ‘Hadn’t thought of that!’

  ‘Right. Well would you like to kick it down now so we can get out of here?’ Lucian suggested.

  ‘Could do. Or you could use the key.’

  ‘If we had it, yes.’

  ‘It was just above the door when we were marched in here. Lack of guards, we figured.’

  Sure enough, Lucian then saw the key hanging right next to his head. In his defence, it was a grey metal key against grey stone. He unlocked the door.

  ‘Good to see you guys,’ Lucian said. ‘The messengers? Did you stop them?’

  ‘You know it, boss. Give this deadly duo a task, and we'll sort it out.’

  ‘Should I ask about the new ring you seem to have on your finger, Khleb?’ Lucian said, trying not to roll his eyes.

  ‘Oh, uhh, no?’

  ‘No time right now. If you handled the messengers, how did you end up in jail?’

  ‘One man, made of stone,' Gar said.

  ‘Yeah, possibly should have mentioned, but we had time to reflect in there, and we think we might be a trap,’ said Khleb.

  Jess stopped channeling her spell, which was definitely going to happen, and as she rejoined the group, Lucian flicked a glance her way. He caught a shadow in the corner of his eye. A figure at the far end of the hall.

  ‘Hello, Huckers and friends,’ Markun called.

  ‘I ain’t your friend no more,’ Khleb spat.

  ‘Oh, don’t be so sore, buddy. Jealousy looks ugly on you,’ Markun said. ‘Kinda suits you perfectly, now I think about it.’

  ‘You know him?’ Lucian asked.

  ‘Sure. Used to run with me and some of my gang. Mad Marky.’

  ‘Sounds about right,’ Darrius said.

  ‘Do you know anything about him that may help us?’ Lucian asked.

  ‘He’s changed a lot. Put on some muscle. And some height, which seems strange. Gained magical powers. So, nothing relevant, no,’ Khleb said.

  ‘Markun, we just want to leave. We won’t cause any trouble,’ Lucian shouted down the corridor.

  ‘Oh, well then, off you go lads!’ Markun said, roaring with laughter.

  ‘All right, we can do this as a team,’ Lucian said. ‘Let’s go!’

  Gar thundered to the front and stuck his shield out, keeping firmly to one side of the corridor so Jess or Lucian could shoot past him. Darrius and Khleb followed close behind, ready to attack a weak spot. Jess began preparing a spell, and Lucian drew his bow.

  ‘Let’s see if your eyes are made of stone too,’ Lucian taunted as he let his first arrow fly.

  It went wide and hit the wall behind Markun.

  ‘Was that another gust of wind from you, Jess?’ Lucian asked hopefully.

  ‘No.’

  Lucian nocked another arrow, and took aim. He pulled the string and gave Gar the order, ‘Charge!’. He let the next arrow loose and it stayed true. It hit Markun on his left arm, but skittered off. It had no effect apart from a small rip in his sleeve.

  Markun braced himself for Gar’s impact. It was very strange to see someone two metres tall hit a normal sized man and be stopped dead. Markun had made himself an immovable object.

  ‘Jess, can you counter his magic in any way?’ Lucian asked, as he realised any effective attack was still out of the question.

  ‘Perhaps. His magic is not his own. I will try and weaken the connection.’ With this, Jess sat down cross legged, and closed her eyes.

  With his men blocking the shot, Lucian put his bow and quiver on the ground and took out his
hatchet. His brief words with Jess had been time spent they didn’t have. In those few seconds the scene had changed from a glorious charge to a desperate battle. Gar had been thrown on the floor and was picking himself up. Darrius' rapier had snapped against the stone of Markun’s skin. Khleb was trying his best to get a dagger in Markun’s eye, but Markun had Khleb by the wrists.

  Lucian charged Markun. In the seconds it took to sprint from the end of the corridor, Markun headbutted Khleb, leaving him a ragdoll on the floor, and turned to face Lucian’s charge. Lucian knew this was going to end badly - what could a hatchet do to stone?

  Lucian jumped and brought his arm and body down as one, hoping to at least chip Markun. Markun caught the axe in one hand and grabbed Lucian’s throat in the other.

  ‘Why are you fighting so hard to protect Moxar’s reputation? This has nothing to do with you,’ Markun said, free to talk since he was in no danger.

  Lucian couldn’t speak as the stone grip tightened around his neck. He felt his throat burning with pain.

  ‘World need Heroes!’ Gar bellowed, swinging his giant sword into Markun’s side.

  Markun flinched and dropped Lucian.

  Lucian’s throat still felt like it was in a vice, and he choked and spluttered. As he gave himself the luxury of hanging his head to try and breathe again, he noticed a small chunk of stone half the size of his palm, lying next to him. Hit stone hard enough and it would break. He smiled through his pain.

  Markun’s attention was fully off Lucian now. Markun had swung back at Gar, who was stumbling down the corridor, trying to remain standing after a stone fist to the face.

  Gar managed to turn and pull his shield up in front of him. Lucian wondered for a second how he was so good at keeping that shield, but so bad at holding on to his sword, which had once again found itself on the floor.

  Lucian got to his feet and pointed a clueless looking Darrius to help the unconscious Khleb. The dropped bulk of Gar’s sword glinted invitingly, reminding Lucian of their first encounter. A skeleton. A dropped sword winning the day.

  By this time, Gar had collapsed to the floor, with Markun kneeling on his chest. The shield protected Gar’s body. Unfortunately, Markun was punching Gar’s face.