by Hans Bezdek
The uncomfortable night was due to the new realization of who, and what, Cupcake was. Images of the hulking red demon filled Farr's mind every time he shut his eyes, sometimes accompanied by the speed at which he devoured the elven warlock. While he was glad that she was dispatched so easily, it made him worried what would happen to him and the others if Cupcake ever turned on them.
When the sun began to rise, Farr grabbed something that resembled a blue banana and sat down at the edge of the cliff. He took in the orange and pink sunrise, feeling the soft, cool breeze of the morning air on him. Even though the landscape before him looked unlike anything he had ever seen before, not to mention the Mad God's cage just ahead of him, he was still on the Crescent. There was something calming about that.
"You're up early."
Farr jumped in surprise and the blue banana he had been enjoying tumbled out of his hand and off the side of the cliff.
"Calm down, it's just me," chuckled Yri, taking a seat next to him. She was holding three of the bananas and passed one to him.
"Thanks," he mumbled, not meeting her eyes as he took it.
"You okay?" she asked, opening her breakfast and taking a bite.
"Uh, yeah, of course," said Farr, glancing around. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know," shrugged the warlock. "You were acting weird last night, though. You were super quiet and kept looking at Cupcake like he was going to jump you any minute."
"Oh," said Farr, feeling his ears burn. "I mean, why shouldn't I? We finally saw what he was really like yesterday."
"That's not his true self," said Yri, shaking her head. "That was a much smaller and palatable version. He was doing you all a favor by keeping it small."
"That was small?"
"Relatively speaking. I don't see why you are treating him any differently, though. You've always known he was a demon."
"But not a demon lord," pointed out Farr.
Yri looked offended as she glanced at him. "What, did you think I was so weak all I could do was summon some low-level demon?"
"No, I'm not saying that," said Farr quickly. "It's just... well, I guess I got used to the flying cute pig appearance and stopped viewing him as something evil and dangerous."
"Huh. I wonder if that's part of why he chose that form," wondered Yri, turning back to the sunrise as she thought aloud. "I always assumed it was just because he wanted to annoy me as much as possible. More than assumed, actually. He's explicitly told me that."
"Yeah, I've been around when he's said it," nodded Farr, opening up his banana and giving it a try. It was sweeter than the bananas he had back in Runeford, but not overbearingly so.
"Anyway, you have nothing to worry about," said Yri, taking another bite of her own. "I'm not sure if you were paying attention, but he can't go against my direct commands. I've made it abundantly clear to him that no one in The Delinquents is to be touched."
Farr thought about it and nodded. It did seem like Yri had control enough over Cupcake. Besides, if this was common for warlocks to do, there was clearly some stability in it.
"So it's pretty normal for warlocks to summon and bond with demon lords?" he asked.
Yri laughed. "No. I've never heard of someone else doing it."
Farr blinked.
"It might not have been the smartest thing to do," admitted Yri. "But a few years ago, before I joined up with The Delinquents, I got tired of summoning the same, boring demons over and over again. Imagine only summoning fire on a spear every time you used magic for years on end."
"I suppose that would get boring," yielded Farr. "Granted, I don't think my first thought would then be to summon something called a demon lord..."
"I figured I had grown powerful enough to do it," she shrugged. "And I was right. Unfortunately, I hadn't anticipated that the bond created wouldn't be easily broken."
"That's how you know Cupcake was manipulating the elf?"
Yri nodded. "While we don't always work well together, we do have a common goal. Cupcake is powerful, but he gets on my nerves. I think he views me with a level of respect, but he'd much rather be back in his home realm. We both are looking for a way to break the bond."
"Ah," nodded Farr.
In one sense, it was nice to know that Cupcake wasn't going to slip out of Yri's control anytime soon. That meant he wouldn't have to worry about the demon killing him in his sleep. On the other hand, it was interesting to see that the warlock had a higher goal than to just make money and get by with The Delinquents. That must have been the reason she joined them in the first place. By traveling the world and meeting powerful individuals, maybe one day she would come across one that could break the bond and free them both from one another.
"You two talking about me?"
Cupcake flew over and landed between them.
"This might be hard to believe, but the world doesn't revolve around you," said Yri.
"But it should, shouldn't it?" giggled the demon pig. "That was a lot of fun yesterday. Do either of you think we'll get to have some more today?"
"I don't think so," came Grex's voice from behind them. The gnome and Khuwa joined the rest of the group.
"What's got you so confident that we won't?" asked Yri, raising an eyebrow.
"While the elven warlock clearly told us many lies yesterday, I believe she was speaking the truth about her relationship with the Lundori," he explained.
Cupcake nodded. "From what I could see in her mind, he's right. The Lundori know that she lives up here and they leave her alone."
"That might change once they realize she's gone," said Khuwa.
"We'll be long gone before that happens," said Farr. "We only need to be here a few more days. If the Lundori normally keep their distance from her, I highly doubt they'll check in on this place before the time is up."
"But what about when they go to unleash Aodh?" wondered Grex.
"Then we have a great spot to take shots at them from," reasoned Farr. "Maybe we will manage to keep them away long enough to keep them from succeeding in time without having to get any closer."
"Seems a little cowardly," mumbled Cupcake.
"Not all of us can turn into large demons," replied Farr.
"Oh, that's just me?" said the pig, tilting his head to the side. "I must've forgotten."
"Hey, what's going on over there?" asked Khuwa, pointing down the cliff to their right.
Farr scanned where she was pointing but didn't notice anything. "All I see are trees."
"No, she's right," said Yri. "There's some movement a few feet in on the eastern side of the clearing."
"Right... the east side..." said Farr slowly.
"The direction the sun is rising in," said Yri flatly.
"Oh, right!" blushed Farr. He squinted and covered his eyes as he tried to see what the others had.
Sure enough, he could just make out the movement of some Lundori through the branches. They were facing away from them and looked to be stalking toward something.
"Are they hunting for food, do you think?" wondered Khuwa.
"Maybe," nodded Grex.
"Further to the left," said Cupcake, gesturing with his snout. "I see armor shining in the sun. I haven't seen any Lundori dress like that."
Farr could just make out what he was talking about, along with another person walking beside the armor wearer.
"What are they doing out here?" wondered Farr.
"In a few minutes? Dying," said Yri bluntly.
"Should we help them?" asked Khuwa.
Everyone's attention turned to Farr.
The man hesitated. They were in an excellent spot to view Death's Eye and make sure none of the Lundori were trying to free Aodh. If they left to fight, the Lundori could let the Mad God loose without them knowing. If they didn't, there was still a good chance the Lundori would see them coming down from or back up to the cliff, and it would no longer be safe since they would know the elven warlock was dead.
But did he really want a couple of l
ost travelers to get killed when they could've stopped it?
Sometimes, he really didn't like being the leader.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"At what point do we start to question if this is the right way?" asked Perkins, disheartened as they traveled through the Lund.
Zane had been starting to wonder that as well.
The paladin and the elf had been following the glittering path that the bizarre creatures of the Lund left them since late in the afternoon the day before. They followed it for a while once it got dark, but evening in the Lund proved to be particularly dark. While they could have followed the sparkling material in the night, they were completely exposed to whatever else lived there.
While the two creatures they had met seemed friendly enough, it was no guarantee that the path didn't lead to an ambush. Even if it didn't, that wasn't to say some nocturnal creature in the strange land wouldn't also be drawn to the shining path and stumble upon them. They agreed that the risk was too great, and took turns sleeping until morning.
"It's not like we have a better option right now, is there?" asked the paladin.
The elf sighed. "I suppose not. But if that thing didn't like the idea of you going to Death's Eye, it could be making us walk in large loops around the Lund. We could be walking in circles for the next month and never know it, you know."
"I say we continue to trust the path, at least for another day or two," shrugged Zane. "If by tomorrow evening we aren't standing on top of Aodh's prison, then we can veer off the path."
"Sounds reasonable enough," said Perkins, taking a deep breath and putting his hands behind his head as they ventured through the strange forest. "I've been thinking... what do we do if we run across anyone?"
"Someone in the Lund?"
"Sure. If there are forts along the wall, they probably send out scouts in here from time to time. Plus, we've already come across two sentient creatures. I'm not sure how much longer our 'sightseeing' and 'exploring' vagueness will work, especially with scouts for the Epworth Empire."
Zane considered it. They had been questioned a handful of times already, and when they left the Lund to head back to the U'Raze Kingdom, they were bound to be questioned some more. It was in their best interest to get on the same page with their lie.
"We could say we were looking for a place to test our fighting skills?" offered the paladin.
"Eh..." said the elf, turning his nose up at the idea. "But there are a lot of other places across the world we could be doing that."
"Maybe we could say someone's daughter ran away and we have reason to believe she came here," suggested Zane. "We're here to save her."
"That's a bit better," said the elf slowly, adjusting his eyepatch. "I feel like it's a bit stereotypical to go with a damsel in distress, though. Plus, how would she have gotten in here?"
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Zane took a step around a pink plant that turned slowly as if it was watching him. He involuntarily shivered. The paladin couldn't wait to be done with this task and back in a familiar place. "Even the flowers here have me on edge."
"They do have a very unique collection of life here, don't they?" snicked Perkins. The elf removed his hands from his head and snapped. "That's it!"
Zane spun around. "Death's Eye?!"
"No, not that," said Perkins, shaking his head. Zane grumbled and went back to following the trail. "We're here because your neighbor - no, brother! - is horribly sick. We happened upon a witch doctor that explained the only way to save your dear brother is through the help of a special potion. He has all of the ingredients, save for an elusive flower that is only found in Death's Eye."
"But... what if there aren't any magical flowers growing by the prison?"
"All the better," smiled Perkins, clapping his hands together. "We can say that we must have been lied to, and we'd need some time alone at the place to consider our options and mourn for your brother."
"I don't know," said Zane, looking off to the sides of the path for anything that might be dangerous. "We're kind of playing with people's emotions."
"Exactly," nodded the elf. "We'll exploit that. That's what makes it so good, you know."
"I'd feel kind of bad doing that..."
Perkins groaned. "Zane, how many times do we have to go over this? We're sentencing the people on this crescent to certain death! I think manipulating them into believing us with a fake story is the least of your moral concerns."
"Not everyone will die," protested Zane. "Many will surely leave to the other continents and islands."
"Ah, perhaps that is one of our king's ideas," pondered Perkins. "Destroy the Epworth Empire so that its citizens becomes his. Think of all the taxes!"
"I'm sure the king wishes no harm upon the innocent," said Zane resolutely. "He is a good man."
"Just the death of all the innocents that are about to occur over the next few days..."
"War is a sad affair," shrugged Zane. "I can only hope Nera will have mercy on them."
"That'd be nice, wouldn't it," chuckled Perkins. Zane glared at him, causing the elf's smile to slip away. "Anyway, I think this is our best bet if we are stopped. Take the moral hit, unless you can think of something better to tell people."
The paladin ran through a few more ideas in his head as they walked. None of them seemed particularly convincing. He hated to admit it, but Perkins' plan was probably the best they were going to get.
"Fine. My brother can be dying."
"Perfect!" beamed Perkins. "Granted, we're all dying with each passing moment, but I get what you mea-"
"Hold on!" said Zane, holding his hand up to quiet the elf's existential blabbering.
"I wasn't going to keep going, you know," said Perkins, rolling his eye. "I know you don't want to hear the truth I speak of."
"No, look," said the paladin, gesturing before them. The sparkling path had ended.
The two of them looked back and saw that the path behind them had disappeared as well.
"That might not be good," mumbled Perkins. "Think the creatures took us to the middle of the Lund and left us here on purpose?"
Zane certainly hoped not. He took a few more steps and looked all around them.
"Wait, do you hear that?" said Perkins, taking a few steps past Zane and cupping his ears.
The paladin closed his eyes and tried to focus. He could hear something, if a bit faintly. "Could that be... waves?"
"That's what it sounds like to me," nodded Perkins, continuing in the direction. "The scroll mentioned Death's Eye was close to the coast. Plus, it looks like there's an opening up ahead... a big one!"
Zane felt his heart pounding harder as he chased after Perkins. He could see the clearing now through the trees, along with a large cliff, rocks, and something on a mound up ahead. As they pushed past some more branches, he could just make out chains on top of the mound.
"T-That's got to be it!" gasped Zane.
Perkins nodded. "We actually did it... We found the Mad God's prison."
Then they heard the snap of a twig to their left.
Perkins had two blades out in an instant, Zane taking only a second longer to get his mace at the ready. The two of them stood closer together and faced in the direction of the snap, holding their breaths.
A tense moment passed by. Then another.
"Maybe that was our imagination?" whispered Zane.
"We both imagined the same sound in the same direction?" scoffed Perkins.
"Yeah, probably not..."
The branches of a tree several feet in front of them shook. Someone appeared out of the branches and stood before them.
The person was dark purple, with several dark tattoos on their face, arms, and chest. The man had something like tendrils for hair, and dark red eyes. He held a spear of blackened wood with a sharp metal point in his hands, pointed at them.
"Uh, hello," said Zane, trying to smile as he waved with his free hand.
The humanoid didn't respond. The man stared hard at
them silently.
"Maybe they don't wave in their culture?" offered Perkins. He spoke louder. "Can you, you know, understand us?"
The purple man blinked and remained silent.
"Do you think this is a scout for the Empire?" whispered Zane.
"I find that hard to believe," replied the elf.
"We, um, we don't want any trouble!" said Zane loudly and slowly. "We've only come to get a flower for my brother."
"Right, just a flower!" nodded Perkins.
The man continued to stare silently at them.
"Should we leave?" whispered Zane. "We can come back at a different angle."
The branches around them rustled in unison. Over ten more purple people stepped out in a circle around them, each holding a weapon pointed at the outsiders.
Perkins spun around and put his back to Zane.
"You know, I don't think leaving is going to be so easy," said the elf.
The armed men charged them before Zane could reply.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Farr and his friends ran for the treeline as quickly as they could, taking the cliff down and reaching the side of the mound that made up Aodh's prison in just over a minute. They kept their eyes locked on where the Lundori were surrounding the two figures, unsure of how much time they had left.
"Want me or Cupcake to set off some flames?" offered Yri through huffs of breath.
Farr shook his head. "Can't risk your two setting the whole place on fire. Not only could the people we're trying to save die in it, but it'd act like a beacon to any Lundori around for miles."
"I never get to have fun," pouted the demon pig.
"You just ate someone!" said Khuwa.
"Yeah, over twelve hours ago," said Cupcake, as if that was an unacceptable amount of time to go without consuming a person.