by Hans Bezdek
The next day they had come across another group of Resistance fighters. They were one of the first from Newbridge to arrive, and told the newcomers that everything seemed to be working in their favor. They had a couple of mages that could make themselves invisible for a time, and they’d check on Kutarm’s forces while delivering messages in and out of town.
It was as Zeke had heard. Many of Kutarm’s men were being pulled back, and those that remained appeared exhausted from the unending siege on Burston. The walls of the city were holding strong, and a few of the holes that the invaders managed to create early on were quickly filled back up and defended.
This meant that the Resistance didn’t want to strike too soon, as Kutarm’s forces were growing weary and diminishing every day. Zeke had made his complaints known, to the chagrin of some of the others. Mostly Kriket.
Zeke pushed the flaps on the tent open.
“Kriket!” shouted Zeke. “What is this about-oh!”
Zeke put his hand over his eyes as he got a glimpse of the lizardman with his pants down. He desperately tried to get the image out of his head, but was now worried it’d be seared in there forever.
“Why wouldn’t you knock!?” hissed Kriket, quickly putting his pants on again.
“There’s nothing to knock on without bringing the tent down!” said Zeke in defense. “Besides, it’s not like I expected you to be naked!”
“I was changing before laying down to get some sleep! People do that, you know?”
“Okay, okay,” sighed Zeke. “I’ll make sure I make a noise before I enter next time. Is it okay for me to look?”
“Yeah,” grunted the lizardman. “What is it that you want? You know we’re going to attack tomorrow, don’t you?”
“I do,” said Zeke slowly lowering his hand. “But I don’t see why we won’t attack tonight.”
“There seems to be more troops leaving,” explained Kriket. “We might as well wait until the morning before striking.”
“But we’re just going to have to fight those men some other time!”
“How many times do we have to have this discussion?” wheezed Kriket.
“We’re just letting them get away!”
“It’s better to let some get away now and guarantee a victory for tomorrow than risk killing a few more people but losing,” shook the lizard’s head. “There’s the chance that once we take out Lord Kutarm the rest of his men will surrender. They won’t have anyone to follow anymore, at least not someone as powerful. There’d be no reason to hunt them down then.”
Zeke opened his mouth to argue, but a sound behind him cut him off.
There was a ruffle at the tent entrance.
“Anyone seen Bethany recently?” asked Don, peeking his head into the tent and looking around.
“I haven’t,” said Zeke, shaking his head.
“Last I saw her was around noon,” said Kriket, crossing his arms.
“Okay, I’ll keep looking,” said Don, nodding his thanks and leaving.
“She keeps disappearing at night from what I’ve heard,” said Kriket slowly. “Something strange is going on with her…”
“Maybe things aren’t going well with her and Don,” shrugged Zeke. “She could just be getting some space from him.”
“Perhaps…”
Zeke understood the lizardman’s concern, but thought there wasn’t anything more to it. Bethany had become quiet around camp ever since they arrived, and seemed to disappear nearly every night. Zeke guessed that she was having a disagreement with Don, which was causing her to avoid him. He was sad to see it happen. His split with Sloane and Delvin hurt, and it’s not like they were married.
He wondered how the two of them were doing. He both hoped they were having success and hoped they weren’t. He didn’t want any harm to come to them, of course, but it would be nice to be proven right. Still, he said some things that he regretted. He felt a bit guilty about it, but Sloane came at him just as hard.
“Is there anything else you wanted to bother me with?” asked Kriket, breaking Zeke from his thoughts.
“No…” said Zeke. “Actually, yes.”
Kriket sighed and made for the front of the tent.
“Where are you going?” asked Zeke.
“If you’re going to keep pestering me all night, I might as well stretch my legs some,” said the lizardman.
“This isn’t so much a pester as a request,” said Zeke, following the lizardman out of the tent.
There was only a small magical fire going in the middle of the camp, giving only a bit of light for the humans to see with. They couldn’t risk building a bigger fire without drawing the attention of Kutarm’s men, so they had to make due. This wasn’t a problem for Zeke or Kriket, however, and they moved through the forest without much of an issue.
Several non-human Resistance fighters, including Londar, kept watch on all sides of the camp. Zeke hadn’t been assigned that duty for some reason. He suspected that Kriket thought he’d be too tempted to try and attack if given the opportunity. The lizardman was probably right.
There were nearly a hundred people in total at this hideout, which was just one of ten. Mages were keeping communication up between the camps and Burston, and supposedly everything was in place for first light the next morning. There would normally be more movement after dark, but it seemed like everyone was trying to rest up before the big day. Zeke would try to not take too much more of Kriket’s time.
“Let’s have it with this request,” said Kriket, keeping his voice low so they wouldn’t wake anyone.
“I’ve mentioned a couple of my old accomplices,” began Zeke. “You remember Delvin, the gnome.”
“Yes, yes, and Sloane the female archer,” nodded Kriket. “You’ve been talking about the two of them nonstop.”
“I… I have?” asked Zeke, surprised. He figured he’d only mentioned them a few times.
“Nearly all of your stories have involved them,” wheezed Kriket with laughter.
“I guess they’ve been pretty important to me in the past...” conceded Zeke.
“Not just the past,” said Kriket, shaking his head. “It’s clear they still mean something to you.”
“Delvin, sure. Sloane? Not so much.”
“You can lie to yourself all you want,” shrugged the lizard.
“I’m not lying!” said Zeke, getting annoyed.
“Keep your voice down,” smirked Kriket. “Look, maybe I’m wrong. You didn’t seem like the kind of guy to just write off your friends because of a little disagreement, but who knows. None of my business.”
Zeke remained quiet as they walked, unsure of how to respond.
“Anyway, what was that request?” asked Kriket.
Zeke winced. He was going to sound like an idiot now when he asked if Kriket would like to travel with him to find Delvin and Sloane after the battle.
“I was sort of wondering if-”
“What are you talking about?!” shouted a man’s voice a dozen yards away in the trees.
“Is that Don?” whispered Zeke, thankful for the temporary distraction.
“It is,” nodded Kriket, waving for Zeke to follow him towards the voice.
“We’ve got to go!” came a woman’s voice.
“Guess he found Bethany,” whispered Zeke. He and Kriket could now see the two of them talking behind some trees. Bethany looked to be in a complete panic, while Done looked calm, if a bit confused.
“The plan is to attack tomorrow,” explained Don. “Why would we just run away?”
“Their lieutenant told me to leave right as it turned dark!” said Bethany. “It’s part of our deal!”
“Deal?” asked Don, his face contorting in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s no time to-”
“Actually, Bethany,” said Kriket, as he and Zeke stepped into view. “We’d definitely like to know what you’re talking about.”
Bethany’s eyes widened as she looked back and f
orth between Kriket and Zeke. She opened her mouth, then turned and sprinted away.
“Stop her!” hissed Kriket, giving chase.
Zeke dashed after the woman, confident the chubby lizardman wasn’t going to be particularly speedy. After a few seconds, the elf got in front of her, grabbing ahold of her shoulder.
“What are you doing?” laughed Zeke. “Why are you trying to run from us?”
Bethany looked up at Zeke with a horrified expression. “I-I’m s-so s-s-sorry…”
“You’re sorry?” asked Zeke, tilting his head to the side. Realization dawned and he nodded knowingly. “Oh, were you the one who ate that extra chicken leg? It’s honestly not that big of a deal.”
“Bethany!” said Don as he and Kriket caught up. “What’s gotten into you?”
“W-We all need to get out of here as f-fast as we can,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I’ve done s-something h-horrible.”
“What have you done?!” asked Kirket, taking a threatening step towards the woman. “Tell us what you’ve done!”
“I-I told them w-we w-were going to attack tomorrow,” sniffed Bethany. “I-I’ve been talking to them s-since we got here. I-I just want me a-and my husband safe!”
“Them?” asked Don, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’ve been talking to Kutarm’s men? You’ve betrayed us?”
“I-It was t-to keep us s-s-safe!” she cried. “Y-You don’t understand! I’ve s-seen what they’ve been gathering the last t-three days!”
Kriket looked ready to attack her. He turned and angrily rubbed his clawed hands over his face, as if he looked at her any longer he’d not be able to control himself.
“What they’ve been gathering?” asked Zeke. “You mean like-”
A blackness darker than the night shot out from his left, tackling Don and shoving him into a tree.
“Don!” screamed Bethany. She tried to run to her husband, but Zeke held her back.
It was too late for the man.
The black creature’s claws had pierced through the man’s chest and out of the back of the tree. Don stared lifelessly ahead, probably dead before he could ever see what killed him. Zeke considered that to be a luxury.
The black creature turned its head towards Zeke and Bethany, its eyes glowing bright red.
Kriket pulled out two curved blades from behind his back as he jumped in front of Zeke and Bethany, holding them out towards the ungodly creature.
“Demons!” he shouted towards the camp. “Demons are upon us!”
Chapter 17
“More contenders!” squealed Anthony, waving his hands up and down excitedly.
Sloane was a bit worried about whether he was more excited to have people take his test or about the possibility of getting to kill them.
“So, how does this work?” asked Sloane. “Are these tests of strength or intelligence?”
“Calm down, Anthony, calm down,” the shade mumbled to himself a few times, attempting to get ahold of his breathing. “Not exactly, but we’ll take them one at a time, shall we? Don’t want to ruin any surprises!”
“Okay,” nodded Delvin. “So… what’s the first trial?”
“Just to clarify, you two knowingly accept this test? Even with certain knowledge that if you fail, you will be killed?” asked Anthony.
“We do,” nodded Sloane confidently.
“W-We do…” said Delvin begrudgingly.
“Wonderful!” shouted Anthony, snapping his fingers. The words around the door suddenly lit up bright green. Before anyone could do anything else, the lights came out of the letters and circled around Sloane and Delvin.
“W-What is this?” demanded Sloane. “Is this the first trial?!”
Immediately, the green lights disappeared.
“No, no,” said Anthony. “That was simply the deal being locked in. Don’t mind that at all, it was mostly just for show.”
Sloane wasn’t sure if she bought that, but didn’t press the topic.
The shade stretched his hand out to the ground. Smoke filtered out from it, forming into the shape of a small creature. The smoke stabilized and hardened as dirt mixed into it, forming a solid rabbit.
“A bunny?” asked Delvin, staring down at the creature as Anthony floated away roughly thirty yards.
“Your perception skills are bar none, young Delvin!” exclaimed Anthony. “That is, indeed, a bunny. The first trial is to beat the little creature to me in a race.”
“Seems simple enough,” shrugged Delvin.
Sloane wasn’t so sure. There must’ve been more to it if people were failing this.
“Can both of us get a chance?” asked Sloane.
“Sure,” nodded Anthony. “Who’d like to go first?”
“Delvin would,” said Sloane before the gnome could respond.
“I… I would?” asked Delvin.
“Like you said, it should be simple enough,” shrugged Sloane. “Go ahead and win this one for us.”
“Works for me,” nodded Delvin, turning back to the shade. “When does the race begin?”
“Line up next to Mr. Fluffy, and simply begin running,” said Anthony. “The race begins then.”
“Mr. Fluffy?” asked Sloane, raising an eyebrow.
“I thought it was a fitting name,” smiled Anthony.
The gnome walked up next to the rabbit and stretched out for a moment. When Delvin was ready, he took off in a sprint.
The rabbit immediately kicked off, quickly passing by the gnome. Mr. Fluffy reached Anthony in less than six seconds, while it took Delvin about twice that.
“Mr. Fluffy is the winner!” laughed Anthony, the rabbit resting in his arms.
“D-Dang it,” huffed Delvin, slightly hunched over. “That was faster than I thought it’d be.”
“The bunny is pretty fast…” said Sloane, trying to come up with a plan. The rabbit would surely beat her on her turn as well.
Mr. Fluffy hopped away from Anthony and returned to its starting position. Sloane walked up and stood next to the rabbit, still trying to come up with a plan.
“Too bad Zeke’s not here,” said Delvin, beginning to get his breath back. “He’d have managed to beat the rabbit.”
“We don’t need Zeke,” muttered Sloane, although she had to admit the gnome was right.
“What is this ‘Zeke’?” asked Anthony.
“He is one of our friends,” explained Delvin.
“Was,” said Sloane emphatically.
“Ah,” nodded Anthony sadly. “He’s dead.”
“No, they just had a falling out,” said Delvin.
“Why, I hope that’s not true,” said Anthony, his head hanging slightly. “A good friend is nothing to give up easily.”
Finally coming up with a plan and eager to change the subject, Sloane removed her bow and took out an arrow.
“What… what are you doing?” asked Delvin as Sloane muttered an incantation.
The tip of her arrow glowed blue, so she took a step forward.
Mr. Fluffy took off, and Sloane pointed her bow down and forward. Leading the rabbit, she let the shot loose.
“Mr. Fluffy!” cried Anthony as the arrow nicked the back of the rabbit.
Sloane took off running, risking a brief glance to make sure her plan worked. The back feet of the rabbit crystallized with ice, causing the bunny to trip and fall behind. Sloane kept her head down and reached the shade several seconds before the rabbit recovered and hopped to him.
“Did… did it,” panted Sloane, hands on her hips as she caught her breath.
“You shot Mr. Fluffy!” exclaimed Anthony, comforting the rabbit in his arms.
“I just tagged him, he’s fine,” said Sloane with a shake of her head. “Besides, the thing isn’t real.”
The shade blinked.
“Oh… right,” he said, snapping his fingers. Mr. Fluffy became a gassy substance again, the dust sprinkling down as the smoke dissipated. “Congratulations! You’ve completed the first trial!”
>
“You did it!” cheered Delvin, rushing up and hugging Sloane’s leg.
“Let’s save the celebration for when we complete the other two,” laughed Sloane, patting the gnome on his back.
“Good idea,” nodded Delvin. “So Anthony… what’s the second trial?”
“The second trial is… you must bring me the head of a dragon,” said the shade.
“W-What?” asked Delvin. “That s-sounds dangerous...”
“Doable,” nodded Sloane. “Just any dragon would do?”
“Any dragon head works,” nodded Anthony. “You have one hour.”
“Only one hour?!” gasped Delvin.
“That’s impossible!” shouted Sloane. “We haven’t seen any dragon in the Juentes Canyon, and it would take more than an hour to get there even if they did have some!”
“Huh,” said Anthony, scratching the side of his head. “There used to be tons of dragons around here. That might explain why no one has ever passed this trial. A few have passed the first, but none have passed this one.”
“So you’ll change it, then?” asked a Sloane, hopeful.
“Afraid I can’t do that,” said the shade. “Like I said, it wouldn’t be fair to the others.”
“But this hardly seems fair to us now that you know there aren’t any dragons around,” pointed out Sloane.
“You could be lying to me, or there could be some still hiding out there and you just haven’t noticed them,” countered Anthony. “There’d be no way for me to know.”
Sloane grumbled, but she could see where he was coming from. This would be easy if he just let people lie to him in order to pass the trials.
“What happens if we don’t return in the hour?” asked Sloane. “You’re stuck here, right? You wouldn’t be able to get to us if we just never return.”
“Remember those green lights that were just for show?” asked the shade. “That’s if you don’t try to run away. If you can’t complete a trial and just try to outrun my zone, the lights will actually reappear around you and detonate.”
“R-Really?!” asked Sloane.
“I’m afraid so,” sighed Anthony. “I wish it didn’t have to be that way, but if there wasn’t that kind of insurance, everyone would just leave and not take my trials seriously. There wouldn’t be any fun in that.”