“I’m here.”
“Ready?”
“I’m ready, Beno.”
“Good luck.”
Shadow wore all black to help her blend into the night. She avoided the mana lamps. Didn’t get within even twenty feet of them. Skirting around the back of Jahn’s Row, she reached the bakery.
There had been four guards posted at the front, each of them armed as if they were going to war. There was only one at the back. Standing on his own, looking glum. Nobody wanted to be stuck outside in the wasteland at night. Not when it got cold.
She’d expected the guards, but seeing them still worried her. It made her think about what would happen if she got caught. She’d have to fight them, and she didn’t know if she could.
Ever since the witch had played with her mind and made her kill Redjack, Shadow couldn’t bear the idea of violence. As a rogue, it made her job hard. Killing was basically half her skillset. The other half was sneaking. If she could only use one of her skills, she was only half as much use to the dungeon.
That was a big problem because she had a lot of making up to do to the rest of her dungeon mates. It didn’t matter that Anna had been in control of her mind. Redjack had died by Shadow’s hand. She had to repay everyone for what she’d done.
“I’m here, Dark Lord,” she thought.
A voice spoke in her head.
“Can you get in?” said Beno.
“There’s a man outside.”
“You need to sneak past him.”
“Thank you, Beno. I didn’t realize you had sent me, a rogue, here to sneak past someone.”
“Why, oh why, do I always end up with kobolds who talk back to me?”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Shadow. “Now let me work. I don’t need you buzzing in my ear.”
She scanned the shadows around the bakery. The yard was empty. Not much cover. The guard only had a lamp with him, but even so, the only way to get close was to crawl into his line of vision.
Maybe she could skirt around. Get in his peripheral vision, move slowly...
A hand grabbed her neck and lifted her off the ground.
“Gotcha!”
A man, easily twice her height, held her by the scruff of the neck. A guard. Dark eyes. A malicious look in them.
“Sneaking around are we, monster? Come to look at your friend’s handy work? Come to celebrate what that freak did, have you?”
Her legs dangled above the ground. He could kick him in the face. Maybe bite him. Get him to release his grip. When she was free, she could reach for the knife on his belt…
Then it felt like she’d been stabbed. But she hadn’t. This was a shock of fear running through her. Every time she thought about using a knife, she remembered Redjack’s face. She felt sick.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to bite the guard, kick him, or anything like that.
The guard by the bakery doors held the lamp up so it glowed on his face. He had a ridiculous mustache that was only half-grown. He was much younger than the rest of them. A new recruit put on night duty. Kind of like how Core Beno always put newer kobolds on mining duty until he got an idea about their other skills.
He squinted. “Hill? That you?” he said.
“Found one of those wolf things,” said the guard. He held Shadow up like he was a hunter showing off a pelt. “Live in the dungeon with the core, don’t they? It was sneaking around.”
“We better get Chief Galatee.”
“You go fetch her. I’ll make sure this little rat doesn’t escape.”
Shadow saw movement to her right.
A man spoke in a northern accent.
“She’s a little wolf actually, pal. Not a rat.”
A fist smashed into the guard’s face. So fast, so strong, that it crushed his nose. He fell onto his back and slammed onto the floor, and then he was out.
The other guard backed away, but the man was on him in three steps. Another punch and the guard was dozing.
The stranger picked up the lantern and held it up. Shadow saw the light glow on their face, and relief flooded through her.
“Eric?” she said.
“Hello, Little Wolf. I’ve missed you.”
Eric looked just as he always did. He was shirtless for no discernable reason. Barbarians tended to do that. His hair was ridiculously glorious and flowed like water, just like always. Despite the condition of his hair, he looked like he was allergic to soap.
It was a surprise even to herself how glad she was to see him. Not just because he’d knocked the guards unconscious. Eric was a friend. Shadow couldn’t say she had many true ones. Most of the guys in the dungeon were wary of her now. They knew that she’d been under Anna’s control when she murdered Redjack but all the same, they still blamed her for it. Maybe in a small way. Maybe not even meaning to blame her. But they did.
It was silly, really. She hadn’t known Eric long. But he’d gone with her on a mission to assassinate Sir Dullbright. On the journey there, he’d taught her things. He’d talked to her like an equal. He had a nice way about him, and he didn’t judge people.
“What say we get a drink, now these chumps are sleeping?” said Eric.
“I don’t think the tavern is the best idea at the moment.”
“Right. I heard about all that murder business. I swear, Little Wolf. Townsfolk can’t stand a bit of bloodshed, can they? The slightest stabbing and they lose their minds. They want to try living in the wild sometime.”
“I just need to take care of something for Beno. Can you wait here?”
“Aye. Want me to kill these two?”
Shadow thought about it. The idea of killing someone made her stomach twist. It was impossible to think she’d once assassinated a mayor. As if the memory belonged to someone else.
She couldn’t tell Eric that was the reason. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he’d think she was going soft. Like the townsfolk who were scared of blood.
“Better not. It would cause more trouble for Core Beno.”
Eric kept watch over the guards while Shadow sneaked into the bakery. The guards posted at the front were chatting to each other outside. Though she’d lost her more violent skills, Shadow had lost none of her stealth talents.
She checked what Beno asked her to look at.
And then she checked again.
She made doubly sure. It was surprising even to her, even after Beno had already told her what he expected her to find.
With that done, she left without making a sound.
Back in the cold night air at the back of the bakery, she knew she should report back to Beno. But she held off a second. She glanced at the unconscious guards. They were threads left untied, and a rogue shouldn’t leave threads.
“When they wake up, they’ll remember I was here.”
Eric stared at them. “Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Getting knocked out tends to scramble a man’s brains. But even if they remember, can things get any worse for you or Beno? I’ve heard the rumors.”
“I better get back to him.”
“Walk with me for a while. I haven’t seen you since they removed the witch’s spell from you. I’m sorry I left so suddenly, Little Wolf.”
“We didn’t get a chance to speak,” said Shadow. “They got Anna to remove her spell from me, and by the time I felt like myself again, you were gone.”
“I saw some things in the dungeon I didn’t like.”
“Beno told me. Razensen.”
“Aye. The icy beast. I know the core needs his monsters, but some things are just too dangerous. When that monster got angry…I’ve seen a lot, Little Wolf. But I’ve never seen such raw fury combined with an ungodly power. It scared me, tell you the truth. I told Beno that I wouldn’t work for him while that creature was around.”
“He’s gone now,” said Shadow.
“I heard that, and I’m out of work. That’s why I’m back.”
“Oh.”
Eric squeezed her shoulder. �
��I came here to see you too, of course. How are you?”
“I’m…”
Having nightmares every night. About Anna. About Redjack. I see myself killing him. Sometimes, he gets to me first, and he slits my throat. Other times, the rest of the dungeon mates string me up for what I did and watch me bleed.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Right. Sure. You know, us barbarians stick to our own company,” said Eric. “But not always. I once ran with a group. A girl named Axe led us.”
“Her name was Axe?”
“Her Pa wasn’t very imaginative. When she was born, he had an axe beside him. Her brother’s called Shield, you know. And that’s not to mention her older brother, Loincloth… Anyway, the group of us, we raided the tomb of a demon called D’zelegghyu, brother of D’zelegghypm, son of D’ze…”
“I get it, Eric.”
“Right. Staying on track…. we killed the demon, stole goodies from its tomb, and all was well. Another fine piece of barbarianism.”
“I missed your purposeful stories that get straight to the point,” said Shadow.
Eric gave her a playful punch that almost sent her off balance. “Cheeky scamp. Point is, ever since we raided the tomb, something was wrong with Axe. She kept telling us there wasn’t, but I could sense it. Something had happened to her in the tomb. It was brewing inside her. I decided to have a little chat.”
“And her feelings came spilling out, and then you made love in front of the roaring fire?” said Shadow.
“You’ve been reading too many of Core Beno’s stories.”
“So what happened?”
“Axe kept things to herself. Then one night, she slaughtered everyone in the group. Tried to cut my throat, but I broke her hand. Before I could do anything else, she ran off the edge of a cliff. Killed herself.”
“What?”
“Turns out D’zelegghyu had possessed her. I reckoned she’d known it was coming. She was too scared to say anything. But if she had, we might have been able to get her to a red priest or a cleric or something.”
“I’m not possessed, Eric.”
“No, but you’re hiding something. Ever since what happened to Axe, I always promised myself I wouldn’t just live in ignorance. If something was wrong with a friend, I’d make ‘em tell me. So…”
“So?”
“Are you going to tell me, Little Wolf?”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m fine.”
CHAPTER 6
The geologists had been working on the outskirts of Yondersun since the town’s inception. Barely a few houses had been built before they asked permission from Chief Reginal to study the rocks. I didn’t know why. Something to do with unnatural formations, and what they could tell them about the early days of the world. Boring stuff. I didn’t really know, because I never studied rocks. Rocks are stupid.
They conducted their research from a series of tents. The one in the middle was a great spread of canvas, bigger than a Yondersun lodge. Must have been to help them get out of the heat. They’d dig rocks when it was cool, study in the tent when it was hot. Dotted around were smaller tents for sleeping in.
This morning, many of the geologists were walking back and forth. Unlike Yondersun, where my mere presence made people stop, stare, and point, the geologists didn’t care. Here, Shadow, Eric, and I barely got a glance because they were so absorbed in their work. That would have suited me fine, except I needed their help.
“Excuse me?” I said to a woman walking by, trying my hardest to be polite.
She ignored me.
I focused on a guy who had a sack full of rubble in his hand.
“I need to ask you something…”
Too late. He was already gone.
Eric grabbed the collar of an older geologist, wrenching him off his feet. He dropped a pickaxe and yelped.
“My friend wants a word,” said Eric.
The geologist didn’t look like most academics. Tanned skin, burned so many times by the sun that it made an elephant’s arse look supple. Lean arms. Not much muscle, but no fat at all. Lots of little cuts and nicks on his skin, maybe from those teeny hammers they used.
“We pay levies to Yondersun to study here,” said the geologist. “We have every right to work without interruption. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
“I’m sorry about my friend. He doesn’t know his own strength,” I said.
“I do,” said Eric. “It’s tremendous.”
“We have a question, that’s all,” I said.
“We’re busy!” huffed the geologist. “We just found rock garments from the Hetaeric era! Don’t you know what that means?”
“I don’t have the slightest idea.”
“It means I don’t have time to listen to you prattle. I’m sorry if I sound rude, but this is a big deal!”
“No problem,” I said. “I’ll let you play with your pebbles, but I just needed your expertise to identify where a certain rock came from. Of course, if you don’t think you have the knowledge…if you can’t do it…that’s fine.”
“Let’s not talk silly. I have more experience than the rest of these young whelps put together,” he said, gesturing at the geologists around him. They were, indeed, young whelps compared to him.
“Prove it then,” I said.
“Fine, let’s see it,” he said stretching out his hand. “Come on. The rock.”
“Shadow?”
Shadow took a glass vial from her satchel. It was a quarter full of little specks of dirt she’d taken from the shoes of the four dead people. I’d noticed it when I was in the bakery yesterday. With the angry mob and all the trouble that followed, I couldn’t look closer. It only stuck out to be because the specks of rock were almost fluorescent yellow, whereas ground in and around Yondersun was orange and brown.
The geologist held it up to his eye. “Are you trying to insult me?”
“Sorry?”
“A child could tell you where this comes from. There’s a crater two miles east. The rocks are deontic. Bring me something harder next time. Or don’t. I am very busy.”
“And that’s the only place it could come from?”
He scoffed as if it was obvious to anyone, even non-geologists. “Of course.”
“Thanks for your help. Congratulations on the big discovery.”
We left the geologists to celebrate whatever great finding they’d uncovered. I was much more interested in what this meant.
So was Eric, apparently.
“What does this mean?” he said.
“We found dirt on the dead guys’ boots. The dirt came from the crater. That means the four people who died must have been to the crater,” I said. “And it must have been not long before they died.”
“Ah of course…” said Eric. “No, I don’t follow you.”
I’d say one thing for Eric; he was always honest. Even in his failings. We could all learn from him.
“It means that it’s not unreasonable to suggest those people died in the crater, and not in town. And that they were moved to the bakery afterward. We can’t say for definite, but there’s a chance.”
Eric, who was unnecessarily shirtless today just as he was every day, crossed his arms. “And why does it matter where they snuffed it?”
Shadow answered him. “It fits in with Beno’s theory that whoever is kidnapping townsfolk, also murdered those four people. Then they dragged them to the bakery, got Gary drunk, and left him to take the blame.”
“People are being kidnapped?” said Eric.
“I’ll explain on the way to the crater,” I said. “First, I want to ask Shadow something.”
“I’m an open book.”
“That’s a good one, Little Wolf,” said Eric.
“Exactly. What a load of nonsense. Anyway, I detect some cynicism about Gary from you,” I said. “Do you think he did it?”
Shadow took her time before answering. That wasn’t like her. Normally, she just spat whatever words came to mind. Usuall
y sarcastic ones. I supposed she’d been acting differently lately.
“I think that just because an explanation sounds nicer, doesn’t mean it’s the truth,” she said.
“You think Gary did it?”
“Anything can happen, Beno. I am proof of that, after what I did.”
“What Anna made you do,” I said.
“Same thing.”
The crater was a depression in the wasteland soil. It was maybe a quarter of a kilometer in circumference. The surface rocks were colored bright yellow, almost like little pebbles holding sunlight inside them. Disgustingly bright, in my opinion. Darkness is always better. There’s a reason all the best spells are called dark magic and not bright magic.
“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” said Eric. “This world we live on. Stones that were here before we were. They’ll still be here when we’re gone. Funny how those geologist lads can look at these stones and understand everything better.”
“Not everything. And just knowing more about the world doesn’t change its natural course. You live, you die. If I’d have been cleverer in my first life, would I have avoided dying?” I said.
“Living’s mostly about luck. Trust me. The roll of a dice. Either the arrow hits you, or the wind carries it away. Either you manage to get your horses to stop before they run you over the cliff, or you pull on the reins just a second too late. You can study as far back as a million years, and all that will ever matter is the here and now.”
Eric nodded. “Most people try and cram three days into one. They live for yesterday, tomorrow, and spend whatever’s left of their energy on today. Barbarians are taught differently. It ain’t all just shouting and killing.”
“And having glorious hair,” said Shadow, who had been silent and looked thoughtful up to now.
“Aye. That too.”
“Maybe if I’d been cleverer,” I said, “I’d have avoided my first death. Or postponed it, at least. I’d still be out in Xynnar somewhere, living as a man. I don’t know. The academy doesn’t tell us cores how we died. I suppose I wouldn’t have avoided death forever.”
“None of us do.”
Shadow looked at me. “Are you saying you don’t care about the past, Beno?”
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