Heroes of the Realm Chapter 6: Lies

The moonlit night was enough for Thayne's half elven eyes to see clearly by. He followed behind Bud easily through the dark forest, suppressing a sigh of boredom. This must be another part of the epic adventures the bards leave out of their tales, he thought. The mindless drudgery of chasing a foe through the woods.

The sun had set hours before, and soon after they had arrived at the woodworker's cottage. It took Cassandra no time to find the goblin's trail and off they went into the brush. Thayne had been expecting a battle right then and there, but quickly realized that it wouldn't make sense for the goblins to be hiding right outside the house waiting for them, nor would it make sense for them to be in the immediate area since they'd had at least a day to wander away.

How you doing?

Thayne heard the voice interrupt his thoughts and swiveled around to see where it came from. He saw Roland walking next to him, his eyes gazing at him with a half smile on his face.

"What?" Thayne asked before he was immediately shushed by Bud in front of him.

I said how are you doing? 

Thayne was shocked. He realized he hadn't heard the voice so much as thought the voice, but it still wasn't from his own thoughts. It was an outside voice talking to him inside his head. He looked back at Roland whose smile now crossed his face.

Don't bother answering. I can't hear your thoughts. 

Thayne looked somewhat relieved. He'd heard vaguely of mind readers, people and creatures with the talent to infiltrate someone's thoughts, but he'd never seen it done before. The effect was unnerving despite what Roland claimed. Thayne decided to test the theory by remembering the image of the human naked and shimmying earlier that day.

Roland's expression never changed. Either he was expecting the image or he really couldn't read Thayne's mind.

Just give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. How are you?

Thayne looked at him then held up his hand and wavered it. He then put his hands together and leaned his hands on them with his eyes closed. Thayne snorted which brought a disapproving look from Bud.

Yeah I feel ya. He messaged. If we don't find them by morning I think we should probably give up.

Thayne nodded. This adventure was seeming a lot less adventurous by the minute. He started to wonder if he had made a mistake.

Until he heard the drum beats.

***

Such revelry my love.

Roland was crouched at the edge of the clearing, with the rest of the party in various hiding places nearby. The clearing was a burned out piece of dirt with at least thirty goblins in it, most dancing around a huge bonfire. Standing on a log near the light was a goblin wearing a horses skull as a helmet, and was chanting something in the high pitched language.

Roland had never seen goblins in the wild before. He'd seen them as servants, slaves, even as sacrifices but never wild and as unruly as this. They danced wildly around the flames, gibbering loudly as they waved cruel weapons to the sky. Occasionally one would nick another in their frantic movements resulting in a brawl between the participants, usually with one dead and the victor continuing their dance around the flames.

They're are only two positions in the universe, my love. The servant and the master. 

Roland was used to blocking out the voice in his head, but the words stuck with him this time. These goblins couldn't coordinate their own dancing without getting killed, how could they have attacked the farmhouse without suffering a single casualty?

The roar cut across the field like a knife through flesh. Bud had both axes out and was running at full speed towards the nearest goblin reveler, and within an instant the creature was in three pieces. Cassandra let loose an arrow and Talesian a spell of red fire from his fingertips. Roland turned to his right to see Samantha drawing her sword , preparing to join the fray.

"Hold back," he said to her out loud, their element of surprise lost. "I don't believe we have seen the leader yet."

Samantha looked at him for a moment. "What about the one on the stump?"

Roland glanced at the creature for a second as it screeched and ran the opposite direction. "I don't know what that is but a leader it is not. Goblins are too stupid to take out a farmhouse on their own, and they're far to stupid to survive this long hidden in the Kind."

Samantha nodded and settled back down in the brush. They watched together in silence as their companions tore through the hoard.

***

Bud cut through the goblins like a farmer through a bramble patch. Each swing cutting down another of the gibbering foes. His goal had been the one wearing the skull, assuming he was the leader and could easily disband this pathetic party as soon as he took the beast's head.

It wasn't until he heard the crack of thunder that he stopped to look up. Above him a swirling vortex of clouds circled in the firelight. Bits of lightning sparked angrily near the center, like a beast snarling at its prey.

Bud saw the light flash, then heard the boom all without feeling the pain. It wasn't until his limp body hit the ground that he registered that he'd been hit, then all went dark.

***

Talesian was picking off the goblins that had survived Bud's original attack when the lightning hit. He jumped now noticing the clouds and sparks emanating from it. He'd heard that some goblin shaman could call upon the elements, but surely this couldn't be it. He just managed to dive out of the way as a bolt thundered down, knocking him to the ground and causing his hair to stand on end.

"Spellcaster!" he screamed into the chaos. "Find the spellcaster!"

A goblin ran up to him, tiny crude dagger slicing as it charged. Talesian had no time to ready a spell and only cowered at his attacker until the creature was knocked back by a wave of energy that passed over Talesian's head. Thayne stepped around him into view and offered a hand.

"Remember your place," Thayne said as he helped the elf up. "On your feet and away from charging goblins!"

Talesian barely stuttered a thank you before Thayne was running into the fray, violin poised to use his unique magic to inspire his comrades. Talesian looked up to the menacing cloud with a grimace. His priority had to be whoever conjured it or they would not survive the night.

***

Stealth was never easy in full armor, hence why Samantha never cared to employ it. Though in the chaos of the battle, with screaming goblins, spells from her companions, and now a thunderstorm out of nowhere, she could bet that nobody was listening to her clanking through the brush. Roland had gone the other way as soon as they had spotted the unusual cloud forming.

She was near the opposite end of the clearing when she saw the figure dart out from behind the tree ahead. It was only a split second, but Samantha saw a woman's face with hair nearly down to her calves peek from behind the tree just as a bolt of lightning struck somewhere on the field. As the figure turned back she locked eyes with Samantha before the light faded and the area went dark again.

Samantha had no choice. She charged the tree, sword swinging, hoping to connect with flesh in the nearly perfect dark. She wasn't surprised when she felt her sword sink a little into the tree, cursing her luck and her temper.

The next lightning bolt struck her directly in her left arm, causing her to scream in pain as she collapsed to the forest floor. She stayed conscious enough to see what looked like a wolf with yellow eyes stare at her then run into the forest.

***

Hugo watched Bud's eyes flutter open and he breathed a sigh of relief. His hands glowed with a warm yellow light as it passed over the half orc's blistered chest, slowly melding the skin back together. When the half orc tried to sit up Hugo gently pushed him back down.

"Hold still ya great piece of meat, I ain't done yet!"

"Did we... Win?" Bud asked between breaths. Breathing would be something he'd have to get used to for a little while until he was fully healed.

"In a manner." Hugo said as the light of his hands faded. "The gnome and the elves are chasing down a few that ran, but we still haven't found whoever made the firework show, and I ain't seen Lady Blacksmith in a minute, or the other human."

Hugo took a moment to look up a the scene. At least two dozen goblin bodies were strewn on the ground where they had fallen, the massive bonfire still burning brightly. The few that were still alive were being taken care of by Cassandra's twin short swords and her dog. Hugo tried to push the worry for his friend away as he knew that she was a strong lass capable of taking care of herself.

Bud sat up on his elbows, surveying the scene. "What the hells is that?" he asked as he pointed to east of the battlefield. Above the treeline a bright red symbol illuminated the sky.

Hugo's heart dropped to his stomach as he stood up and began running towards the symbol. It was Dwarven, a clear symbol used in the ancient tunnels his ancestors hailed from.

It was the symbol for medic.

***

Such a pitiful display of power, my love.

Roland watched as Hugo carefully moved his hands along the wound at Samantha's side. The burn was severe when he found her to the point that Roland thought she may be dead, until she gasped for breath and rolled over. His spell was the only thing he could think of, only a minor illusion, but effective nonetheless to get the cleric to his location.

Humans are so frail, my love.

He closed his eyes and tried to push the voice to the back of his head. This was his fault, he told himself. He had warned her about the leader and now this...

Roland checked around looking for any indication of another body, hoping that Samantha had felled the spellcaster before she went down, but to no avail. Whoever had done this had either done it from a distance or surprised the warrior.

Samantha sat straight up, eyes wide and gasped for air, like a drowning man in the sea.

"Wolf," she cried. "Wolf!"

Hugo and Roland exchanged confused looks.

"There are no wolves here," said Hugo. "Actually, why aren't there wolves here? Surely we didn't kill all that they had back at the meadow..."

"No," said Samantha as she scrambled to her feet, Hugo's hands still glowing as they healed charred flesh. "There was a wolf right here, with yellow eyes. I saw it, and her."

"A she-wolf?" asked Hugo, still confused.

"No, some sort of witch. Hiding behind that tree." she said and pointed. The movement caused her to cringe in pain and Hugo to continue his healing work on her.

Roland walked to the tree she indicated, his eyes having no trouble without light. The ground was untouched, clear of any footprints both human and wolf.

Clever witch. Hid her tracks my love.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. He had agreed with the voice once tonight. Maybe not acknowledged it, or talked back to it, but he had taken its reasoning, its guidance, and now it was gaining strength. The voice could be lying, he knew, but if it lied that decreased the chances of Roland listening to it next time, meaning they're had to be some truth to the words.

"I don't see anything," called Roland after another moment of contemplation. "I don't see anything at all."

Heroes of the Realm Chapter 5: Decisions Part 2

Gimini was not at all surprised when he walked into the tent that it was far bigger and more luxurious on the inside. He'd suspected it was why the idiot elf had insisted on staying in it rather than find a bed at the woodworkers house.

He quickly blended into the shadows near the door and took in the rooms splendor. The inside of the tent was a large hexagon with wooden floors. The middle had a sunken in sitting area for two, featuring two large leather chairs and a wood stove, though where the smoke went Gimini could only guess. On one side sat a modest but still comfortable looking bed and opposite a wash station.The roof arched into cathedral like ceilings over twelve feet above the wood floor, with pillars made from raw birch. The walls were made of intricately designed tapestries which colors shimmered in the torch light. Across from the doorway was an impressive desk where Talesian was busily writing in a large tome and muttering to himself, his pointed hat hanging on a coat rack behind him.

Gimini moved through the room silent as a shadow until he was standing beside the distracted wizard. He smiled to himself.

"What you writing there?" He asked in a loud but friendly voice.

Talesian jumped out of chair and let out a loud yelp. His quill blotted on the page as he landed on the floor and tried to recover the fractured remains of his dignity.

"What are you doing here? Are you going to rob me?!" the elf yelled, still too surprised to do anything useful.

"Maybe, I haven't decided yet." Gimini said conversationally.

"I'll report you!" said Talesian.

"Not if I kill you first." Gimini said as he shrugged.
Talesian stood up at that, his hand beginning to glow as it had earlier at lunch. "I'd like to see you try."

"Pfft, I wouldn't kill you in here," Gimini laughed. "This tent is the only thing of value you have, and I'd hate to have to clean your blood out of it."

"If you think that a peasant like you can understand the delicate magics it takes to build my sanctuary-"

"It's the top clasp on the door of the tent. when it's secure the interior is a normal small tent but when it's opened the interior becomes this obscenely decadent eyesore."

Talesian's jaw dropped, which made Gimini smile even more.

"I've seen magic items like this," Gimini continued. "It's a basic portable space concept, but of course yours is elven made, which means the quality and craftsmanship are top notch, so it would be quite valuable on the open market."

Talesian stood up straight, recovering the last of his composure. "So is this what you intend to do good sir? Steal my tent?"

"It would hardly be stealing," Gimini said. "I mean you are leaving anyway so you probably won't have any use of it."

"It would still be stealing weather I need it or not," the elf said.

"Though the part that confuses me," said Gimini ignoring the elf's logic. "Is why you would set this thing up in the middle of the day behind a perfectly serviceable tavern if you were just going to leave anyway. Seems like a lot of trouble."

"I... I hadn't found the right horse yet." Talesian said, uncertainty cracking his well practiced sneer.

"We're in a farming community Tal, the only thing they've got here are horses and produce."

"I haven't... Found one that meets my standards. A nobleman cannot be expected to ride a mere draft horse into a major city without-"

"Of course," interrupted Gimini "There is the possibility that you hadn't fully decided on leaving yet."

Talesian looked offended, a look that Gimini would've put good gold on was practiced as much as the rest of his facial expressions.

"Oh please," he said, righting the chair. "You may be an uptight magic user who thinks he's better than everyone else due to the sharpness of his ears, but I saw you yesterday against that ogre. You could've run away and nobody would've blamed you, but you stood there and fought it. I saw the look on your face too, you looked like a boy at his first time in the brothel. I bet you've never used magic against something that could actually hit you back. All those fancy spells you've got and all you've ever done is demonstrations for teachers and party tricks, but out here, away from everything, you actually get to do real magic. Dangerous, exciting, life-or-death magic. And while the snooty aristo inside you is already dreaming about your safe halls and piles of money, there's a spark in you that wants to see what else you can do, and what else is out here that you never knew about."

Talesian stuttered but no words came to him. He just stared at the gnome and tried to get anything coherent out.

"Yeah, I'll rob you, if you decide to take off I'll take this pretty tent and let you figure out your way home without it, but I don't think you will. I think that, come sunset, I'm going to see you inside that tavern, because for all your whining and prissy little problems, you are an adventurer."

***

Thayne sat on the edge of the fountain tuning his fiddle. Travel was not really good for such a delicate instrument but this little guy seemed to be holding up pretty well despite the action.

The sun was beginning to turn the sky red as it sunk into the west. The small group of children that had watched him for the last hour were starting to filter away as names were called to supper. None were brave enough to approach the half elf, and Thayne didn't mind. He was used to solitude. He liked it when he needed to think.

Bud walked through them and they scattered like leaves in the wind. He sat next to Thayne on the fountain and drew one of his massive dual axes. Silently he began to sharpen it with a whetstone produced from a pocket.

Of all the people he'd traveled with in the last day, even compared to the elf wizard, Bud intimidated Thayne most of all. Always shirtless, his muscles flexed with the simple action of sharpening, showcasing strength Thayne would never have. The half orc was a terrifying presence, as even sitting he was at least a head taller than Thayne.

"So you going?" Bud asked as though they had been talking for hours.

"Going?" Thayne replied, a slight squeak in his voice betraying his youth.

"Yeah, going. With that woman and the little bearded guy."

"You mean Hugo, the dwarf?" Thayne asked.

"Is that what he is? Huh." Bud shrugged.

Thayne wanted to ask if he'd really never seen a dwarf before but he shook the thought out of his head, choosing to focus on the question at hand. "I don't know."

"Hmph," said Bud.

"Are you going?" asked Thayne.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Thayne realized he knew nothing about the half orc. Since they'd met yesterday he'd said very little about himself.

"I've always wanted to go on an adventure," Thayne said, barely realizing that he was talking. "I dreamed of being a legendary hero that the bards sing about, someone who slays monsters and saves the world."

"Then why not go?" asked Bud, the sparks flying from his blade.

"I... Well... This isn't how I imagined it." Thayne said. "I didn't know that they're would be so much resistance. I thought we'd ride into town, the villagers would tell us their plights or a king would send us on a quest, and off we'd go to slay a monster or rescue a damsel. But in the last day I've been arrested for killing a monster in a major city, slept in a home where the owners had died in just hours before, and was then accused again of killing said owners and stealing their property. That's hardly the stuff of a bard's tale."

Bud didn't say anything but kept sharpening his axe. The occasional spark flew onto the dusty road.

"What have you always wanted?" The bard asked.

Bud stopped sharpening and examined the blade. "I don't really know honestly. I just sort of go where the wind takes me."

"Have you always done that?"

"For as long as I can remember, all year and a half."

"Year and a- what?"

Bud smiled as he stood up. "There. Now you have an even better reason to stay: To find out my story."

***

The orange sky lit the tavern as though it had the stained glass of a great cathedral. Everything was colored an orange red as though the world had turned to liquid gold.

Samantha sat at the same table she and her companions had taken breakfast, her gear ready for the evening's excursions. Next to her sat Hugo drumming his fingers.

"Have you ever seen a dragon?" She asked.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Hugo, looking confused.

"A dragon, you know, one of those big fire-breathing lizard things. You ever seen one?"

"I did once," said Gimini as he trotted down the steps. "It was a whelpling. They kept it in a freak show I visited. Thing was inside a big ol' glass jar."

Samantha looked up at him. "No I mean an alive dragon, a big one breathing fire."

"That's actually a misconception," said Cassandra following Gimini down the stairs. "Only red dragons breathe fire. Other dragons breathe all sorts of things."

"Really?" said Samantha, genuinely surprised. "What else does a dragon breathe?"

"Depends on the color," said Roland as he walked into the door. "Black dragons spit poison I think, or it's acid."

"It's acid," said Talesian following behind Roland. "Blacks spit acid and greens spit poison."

"Are we talking about dragons?" asked Bud coming down the stairs. "I saw a white one freeze a killer whale before eating it."
"Wait so there's red, black, green and white. Any others?" Samantha asked counting off on her fingers.

The others looked around, waiting for someone to speak up. The group went silent as they considered what dragons were missing, as well as companions.

"Well," Samantha said. "Shall we get going?"

One by one they left the tavern and headed to the only logical spot to start looking for the goblins-the woodcutter's house where they had spent the night. Before they were out of sight of the tavern though, Samantha turned when she heard a voice.

"Wait for me!" yelled Thayne as he ran down the road. Fiddle in one hand and pack flying wildly in the other. The group stopped as the half elf caught up.

"Glad you decided to join us," said Samantha as they started marching on. "Do you know anything about dragons?"

Heroes of the Realm Chapter 5: Decisions part 1

Thayne woke up to shouting coming from somewhere below him. For a moment he thought it was Old Barney yelling at a barmaid about a broken glass, till the memories of the last day flooded into him. He opened his eyes and sat up in the bedroom he'd slept in the night before.

"Roland, wake up!" he said as he nudged the still sleeping man. "Something's going on."

Roland swatted at him and said something incoherent. Thayne slapped his bare shoulder in response.

"Alright! Gods I'm up!" Roland said as he began to rub his eyes.

Thayne got out of bed and peered out the window. Below he saw three knights, their armor shining in the morning sun. Two were on horseback and one was dismounted and was currently in a shouting match with Samantha. The two on horseback kept looking between themselves and the combatants.

"I think there's trouble," Thayne said. "I think those are more guards-what in hells man?!"

Roland stood up from the bed letting the sheet drop off of him. Thayne saw that the only thing he was wearing was the pointed cap on his head.

"What?" asked Roland through a yawn.

"You're naked!" Thayne exclaimed.

"And?"

"And I slept next to you!"

"And?"

"And... You were... Are... Naked!"

Thayne felt his face get red as Roland continued to stretch away the morning soreness. He'd had no brothers and no father to speak of, so he'd rarely seen anyone naked besides himself.

"Thayne here's a revelation for you: We have the same parts. See?" Roland began to shake his hips at Thayne causing him to blush even deeper.

"I... I should go... See if I can help downstairs." he said as he ran out of the room followed close behind by Roland's laughter.

***
Hugo, Gimini and Bud stood behind the houses front window, watching the show. Samantha was almost nose to nose with a knight, both screaming about proper procedures,goblin battle tactics and local law.

"Three gold says he hits her first right in the nose." Said Bud.

"I'll take that" said Gimini.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "She won't lose control that bad. This is standard negotiating tactics for her."

"Then why not put some gold on it?" said Bud, a smile on his face.

"Because it's beneath me," said Hugo. "I don't take easy bets."

Gimini and Bud both chuckled.

"What's going on?" Asked Thayne as he approached the window.

"Well these good men believe that we butchered the family that lived here, made it look like a goblin attack, then took over their home." said Hugo calmly.

"Oh," replied Thayne. "Are we going to get arrested again?"

"I hope not," said Gimini. "I've got five gold riding that we stay out of jail tonight."

"Wait," said Hugo, easing the building tension between his eyebrows with his fingers. "You bet that we wouldn't end up in jail and that Samantha would throw a punch at the knight?"

"Yes he did," said Talesian stepping beside him. "Do you not have any faith in our de facto leader?"

"I have all faith in her, and I believe that we will not be going to jail, but I don't understand the gnome's logic."

"Wait, there's a bet?" Thayne asked.

Before more bets could be made Cassandra strolled around the house with another knight and Moonlight in tow. Samantha and the arguing knight both turned to look at them. Cassandra's knight was dressed in less ostentatious armor, consisting of leathers and a cap.

They approached the other knights holding several arrows and started talking in a tone that the indoor observers couldn't quite make out.

"What are they saying?" asked Thayne.

"I would hope that they're explaining how none of this is our fault," said Hugo. He and Samantha had met the knights earlier that morning when the homeowner had failed to make his usual rounds at the local marketplace. The knights had suspected foul play but as usual wouldn't listen to a word either of them had to say. Hugo suspected it was because he was a dwarf and Samantha was a woman, though hopefully after this they would change their minds about doubting either in the future.

After a moment, Samantha and Cassandra turned back towards the house and began walking up. The knight that had been arguing with Samantha climbed back on his horse and the three rode away while the last jogged back into the woods.

As they entered the group began bombarding them with questions, except for Gimini who was busy pestering Bud for his winnings. Hugo stood back and waited to hear the explanation.

"They don't think we did it," Samantha said after a moment, "But I think they want to put it on us. It's only Hugo and I's connection with the Temple of War that prevented them from throwing us all in chains."

"Do they know of the goblin attacks?" asked Hugo.

"They claim that it's impossible since goblins don't come this far into the Kind, and so it must've been bandits pretending to be goblins, basically what they accused us of being."

"Bandits?!" exclaimed Hugo. "There's a whole mess of dead goblins back at our campsite only a couple hours from here!"

"Not anymore," said Cassandra.

The group looked at her suspiciously. "I went back there with that other ranger since I can travel a lot faster through the woods without all you around..." She said smiling. "Anyway, when we got back there all the bodies were gone."

Everyone looked surprised at the news. Hugo didn't truly know that much about goblins but from the ones he'd seen last night he would highly doubt that giving proper burial to their fallen would be a high priority to the creatures.

"So... what do we do now?" asked Hugo.

"For now," sighed Samantha, "We get breakfast."

***

Talesian sat between Gimini and Roland at the large round table in the tavern. The village where it sat, for what it was, was less than an hour by cart, which the group found in the barn as well as six sturdy horses to pull it. At the first chance they got they'd told the town leaders what had happened to the family, corroborated by the knights who had ridden ahead of them, though the knights insisted the family was attacked by bandits disguising their attack as goblins. The group turned the wagon over to the town to do with it and the house as they please.

The tavern was the biggest building in the village, standing at two stories and featuring a large common room. The second floor had rooms for travelers to stay, though each one was about the size of a standard prison cell.

Talesian was glad to be back in civilization, no matter how rural it was. The adventuring for what it was had served as an interesting distraction at best and a miserable association with miscreants at worst. His plan from here was to buy a horse and ride to the nearest city with a proper teleportation circle and return home immediately, with fantasies of never leaving his family estate again.

Samantha broke the silence that loomed over the group since their food was brought, a watery beef and vegetable stew that screamed for seasoning.

"Something's not right," she said without looking up. The rest looked up from their food at her.

"Yes, the seasoning is definitely lacking," said Talesian. "I think even some rosemary would make this far more-"

"Not the soup!" Samantha shouted upending her bowl. Talesian eyed her, once again swallowing his own anger at her ill breeding.

"Then my lady I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what you could be referring to," Talesian said, pretending that this was a proper social function rather than yet more time spent among the heathens.

"I'm referring to, my dear lord elf, the matter of the... the goblins. I'm talking about the goblins, alright? Why are they here? Why is the local guard so adamant about covering it up?" she said, venting her frustration.

"To that my dear I'm sure I don't know." said Talesian. "While it is an intriguing puzzle I'm afraid that it will have to go unsolved for me. I intend to find a suitable mount as soon as possible and return home immediately."

The rest of the group stayed silent at that, staring at Talesian. After a few moments the tension became unbearable and he spoke. "Well what did you expect exactly? We're hardly heroes. The village's problems are their own, and we were only going to travel together until we were safely out of Seagull's Landing's jurisdiction, at which point I assumed we would all return to our normal lives."

"Is this how you all feel?" asked Samantha to the group.

Nobody said a word, yet nobody made eye contact with her besides Talesian.

"Come now, my dear, besides you and your stalwart companion surely you know that a..." He glanced at Bud "...diverse group such as this could not get along for long. We are not an adventuring party."

"Why can't we be?" asked Thayne, his voice small as he spoke into his hands.

Talesian shot him an icy stare as he sat down his spoon with a firm clack.

"I believe it is about time you learned your place in this world, young one." He said as he sat tall in his chair. "There are some divisions that some people should never cross, weather political, theological or hereditary. The idea of a heroic band of adventurers from across the realms is nothing but a fairy tale, told to common children to give them something to think about while they go about the mondanity of their lives. In reality such parties usually fall apart after a few weeks due to their inherit incompatibility with each other. I would suggest that in the future you learn those incompatibilities better, or you will find yourself in a situation where you are not welcome and where you don't belong."

Bud stood up at this. "Now I've had it with you thinking you're better than everyone else just because your parents had money and were the same race! Say something elitist again and I'll..."

"You'll what? Die consumed by fire before you get to me?" Said Talesian, fed up with the half orc almost as much as he was with the half human.

Bud reached for his axes as Cassandra and Thayne grabbed one arm and Hugo grabbed the other, all three straining to hold him back.

"You weak armed little spell-spitter! Why don't you take that attitude back to the damn Underdark with the other drow elitists!" Bud yelled as he tried to get across the table.

"How dare you, ser!" Talesian said as he stood up, a glowing orb of fire appearing in his hand.

"Enough!" Shouted Samantha as she banged her sword down on the table. The group stopped and looked at her.

"Talesian you're right. We're not a real adventuring party. Frankly I'm surprised we haven't tried to kill each other before now, but here we are. Fate brought us together but as of now nothing holds us bound. I can ask no more from any of you than what you have already given. If you so wish to go your separate ways from here please do so with my gratitude for your service and know that in me you will find a friend should you ever need it. But tonight, at sunset, Hugo and I are going to track down these goblins and see why they're here and why the guards are so afraid of them. I would be honored if any of you would wish to join us in this endeavor. Meet us at this table at sunset if you do. Just remember this: It took none of you any time or heartbreak to leave Seagull's Landing, so I assume none of you had anything worth fighting or living for back there. Maybe it's not much, but maybe making sure that the fate of the family we found last night isn't shared by anymore families if it can be helped."

Samantha sheathed her sword and walked out the bar door, with Hugo close behind. Talesian lost whatever appetite he'd had for the stew, as did the rest of the group, and one by one they each left the inn.

***

The summer wind blew through Cassandra's hair as she watched Moonlight chase insects in the field. She'd needed some space to think so she'd taken him to the outskirts of the village where she'd found an unused pasture to let the dog play in. Watching him jump and play made her smile.

"I have a question,"

Cassandra jumped at the sound of the voice. She turned to see Roland standing over her and the rock she was sitting on.

"I apologize. I did not mean to startle you, my dear." he said as he looked down at her.

"Why do people keep calling me that?" Cassandra asked as she looked up at him?

"Call you what?"

"Dear? Is it because my armor is brown?"

"Not at all," Roland said as he sat down beside her. His black hair fell around his face in straight lines. Cassandra was sure when they'd met it had been curly, but that was in the dark so she could've been mistaken...

"Dear is a term of endearment" he explained. "It's like when a man calls a woman his "dearest". It doesn't mean she's the most deer-like person he knows, it means that she is very dear to him."

"I see, so am I dear to you?"

Roland looked surprised again. "I mean... Well... It can also be a saying... " he stammered. "I mean we're not betrothed, but I don't hate you... Though I hardly know you..."

Cassandra laughed. She'd spent little time with the human yet she'd grown to like him. "I understand now. Thank you."

"How does a person who grew up in civilized society not understand what being called dear means?" he asked.

"It's simple, I didn't grow up in civilized society." she replied looking back at Moonlight.

"Ah, it makes sense then." he said.

"Where did you grow up?" she asked.

"Does it matter? The point is I'm here now. Samantha's right, everything I own is on my person. I have nowhere to go except not where I'm from."

Cassandra considered that for a while as she looked at him once again. He wore black leather armor, which on closer inspection she saw was not dyed but was cut from a leather that was naturally black. His matching hair came out from under his cap spilling over his almost porcelain face. His bright green eyes looked back at her with an almost unnatural beauty.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, beginning to look nervous.

"Nothing, sorry" she said. "You had a question."

"Yes. I did. How do you get your abilities?"

Now it was Cassandra's turn to look confused. "My abilities?"

"Yes, the way you control your familiar," he said gesturing towards Moonlight. "And the precision of your arrows. How do you get these abilities?"

"Um..." Cassandra said, thinking. "Well, I didn't use magic if that's what your asking. Moonlight is my companion. I've trained him, he's loyal to me because I have a way with animals. And I learned how to shoot my bow through practice."

He considered her for a moment before asking "So do you consider your abilities evil?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Well I've seen you kill with them. You killed those goblins and wolves last night."

"They were going to kill us! It was either us or them! I wouldn't just outright kill someone!" she said indignantly.

"I didn't mean... What I meant was... How do you tell the difference between good and evil?"

Whatever Cassandra expected it certainly wasn't that.

"Well... For me... I would suppose... "She started, trying to understand the question. "It would depend on the person?"

"Please explain my de... Cassandra." Roland said.

"Well... Take my bow for example. I used it last night because I didn't want to die, and I didn't want anyone else to die either. I consider that reasonably good. I don't know about goblins... Maybe they needed to rob us so they could sell our stuff for food, or eat us because they were starving, I don't know. They weren't going to take the time to explain themselves so I didn't take the time to ask." she explained, feeling more comfortable with her answer. "But let's say that, right now, I took my bow and I killed you dead right here.

Roland lifted his eyebrow considering her again. "Do you really think you could get a shot off before I could get a spell?"

"Yes but that's besides the point." She said as he chuckled. "My point is I have no reason whatsoever to kill you. I could take your things and sell them and get some money off of them, but besides that you have done nothing since we met last night that has threatened me or anyone else. In my opinion you don't deserve to die, so if I or someone else killed you..."

"It would be evil." Roland finished.

"Yes." she said.

"Then what about leaving a people defenseless to a problem they don't know about? "

She laughed softly. "That would most definitely be evil."

Heroes of the Realm Chapter 4: Ambush

Samantha's whetstone sent sparks into the dying fire. The constant sound like a chant to the war god she prayed to. The stars shown down on her little camp, several tents set up around the warmth of the campfire. The only other noise was Bud snoring loudly from a stony outcrop just outside the tents. He was the only one to not have a tent after they retrieved Roland's pack from the nearby forest. He laid completely sprawled out on the ground, as though he were sleeping on the finest silks.

Samantha smirked at the sight of him then went back to her sharpening.

She'd taken the second watch that night, right after Bud. They'd decided that despite their supposedly safe surroundings it was best to keep an eye out in case the farmers decided to come back in force. They would've moved on but between their escape and the ogre attack the party was just too tired to keep going.

Samantha smirked again, this time at the idea that she was in a party, the common term for a group of adventurers. In most of the realms a party was a group designation, like a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows, a way to classify a group that formed together. She'd studied parties in her training, from how to fight with them to what to do if one encountered one as an enemy (Go for the casters first, try to take the healer down if possible, keep an eye on anyone who has a ranged weapon...) but she'd never really thought she'd be in one, especially one not like this. Her and Hugo were both on their first official assignment from the Temple of War, and that's about as big of a party she'd ever been in.

She frowned at the thought of the Temple. She'd need to file a report soon.

A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Cassandra's bright yellow dog, Midnight, poked its head up suddenly with its ears perked. The dog had slept outside of the halfling's tent, and up till now hadn't made a single movement.

Samantha stood up as the dog started barking. A dog like this, she thought, was far more suitable on a farmstead and not out in the wilds. Better to have a mastiff or a wolf hound, no matter how cute and precious his sweet little face was. She'd give him a piece of salted pork to quiet it down.

She heard the arrow before she reached the dog. It feathered the log she was just sitting on, vibrating with the force of the impact.

Samantha spun, sword in hand toward the direction of the arrow and where Midnight was barking. She saw shapes charging out of the woods at a fierce speed, large and loping with a chorus of screams and yells coming from them.

She held her sword in a defensive position, knowing that she couldn't swat every arrow that came at her, but maybe one or two would give her an advantage until they were close enough to strike. As loud as she could, she also yelled to her party "Attack!"

The first beast lumbered into the light. It was a wolf, massive with grey fur, and a goblin loosely tied to its back. Its green skin and yellow teeth shining in the firelight as it swung a crude blade towards the nearest tent. Before it finished its arc, an arrow sprouted from its mounts eye socket, and the beast fell to the ground with the surprised goblin underneath it.

Samantha turned to see Cassandra with bow in hand, patting Midnight on the head.

***

"Aim for the wolves!" Cassandra shouted as she loosed another arrow at another wolf, toppling its rider in the process. Goblins, she remembered, were cowards and would only fight if they felt they had the advantage. If their wolves were gone and they had to face down a party then they would most likely flee.

Of course they weren't facing the full party. Samantha was chopping through both wolf and goblin with glee, swinging her long sword as easily as a farmer would swing a hoe. To her right she saw Roland and Gimini get out of their tents and start fighting as well, with Roland acting as bait while Gimini snuck up behind their targets.

Bud was still asleep where he had been earlier that night.

"Wake up Bud!" she shouted, hoping someone would hear her. She saw Gimini look over and throw something into the air. Just before it landed on Bud it burst into a shower of sparks and crackles, raining down on the sleeping half-orc. Bud immediately stood up with both axes in hand and started swinging at the nearest opponent.

"Thanks!" Cassandra shouted as she fired another arrow.

As arrows rained down on tents she noticed that Talesian had yet to even poke his head out, while Hugo seemed to be rolling around inside his tent swearing about buckles and clunky armor. After loosing another arrow she saw Thayne stumble out trying to wiggle into his skinny leather pants, only to trip over and fall to the ground where a goblin tried to ride him down.

"Thayne!" was all Cassandra could get out before a black tentacle whipped out and grabbed both wolf and goblin a second away from bearing down on the lad.

Cassandra turned to see six more black tentacles springing from Roland's back as he stood just behind the tents, his eyes glowing with an eerie green mist. He had several other riders and wolves in his grasp and with one movement he slammed all that he was holding to the ground. Those that got up ran for the woods.

"Damn!" was all she could get out as the tentacles retreated back into his being and his eyes returned to normal.

"I owe you guys," Roland said, with a smile on his face.

***

Within ten minutes the party was back on the road marching at a swift pace. Cassandra had gone ahead of the party to scout a new place to sleep. Roland walked beside Bud, ahead of Thayne and Talesian with Hugo taking up the rear. Ahead Samantha marched with sword drawn and Gimini stayed on the side of the path just out of the torchlight.

You did excellent, my love. 

Roland was used to ignoring the Voice by now, though he was grateful to have others with him. The voice was easier to drown out when he could hear other voices.

"Soooo... Does this happen to you folks often?" he asked, trying to break the silence the group had fallen into.

You could've taken out all the goblins by yourself, my love.

"This is actually our first goblin attack," said Thayne through a yawn. Introductions were done just after Roland's rescue earlier that evening.

"Let's just hope it's our last, for your sake" said Talesian to the half elf. "The next goblins likely won't give you a chance to pull your pants up."

"I didn't see you in the fight," said Bub.

Why do you ignore me, my love? 

"I was busy prepping the correct spells." Talesian said with a sneer. "Yesterday's exertions have completely drained my magic reserves, and I needed time to prepare the most optimal spells for the battle. The boy would have no such excuse though, for even a poorly trained bard should be able to conjure something useful at a moment's notice, even if it is playing that ridiculous instroment. Leave it up to a half-blood to enter a battle with his-"

Bud turned around and stopped in front of Talesian. "What did you say about half-bloods?"

The entire group stopped. Bud stood there with his arms crossed and his fingers gently touching the hilts of his axes. The tone of his voice had been so calm, so placid you'd almost think they were discussing the weather, but the look in his eyes said volumes more. Talesian stood looking up at him from under his wide brimmed hat, his jaw clenched in fury. Thayne stepped back till he was standing beside Hugo, his eyes darting from Talesian to Bud so rapidly Roland thought they were going to spin out of their sockets.

"Come on, wizard," Bud said calmly. "Tell me what a half-blood would enter battle with."

Just then Cassandra burst out of the bushes causing the entire party to jump but Bud, who stood motionless staring at Talesian.

"I found a place!" she said excitedly, her dog padding up beside her. "What's going on?"

What interesting friends, my love.

"Oh, just a night of not enough sleep and too many goblins," Roland said with a smile. "I'm sure that if we decrease one and increase the other we'll all be just fine. Tell me dear, what is it that you found?"

"I'm not a deer," Cassandra said with a huff. "And I found a farm house, but you may not like it.

A half hour later they stood before a farm house set several yards back from the main road. It was two stories and sprawling with intricate woodwork adorning every piece of exposed wood they could see. The aesthetic was ruined by the numerous arrows sprouting from the structure, and the dead family lying single file outside the open door.

"What in the hells..." Roland said, staring at the scene.

"The arrows are goblin," Cassandra said. "But goblins would never attack a house like this, and if they did they'd have looted it and burned what's left to the ground. Most everything is in tact inside and...."

"...and here it stands..." Hugo finished.

"Is it a trap?" Gimini asked, his dual daggers already out.

"I doubt it," Cassandra said. "Goblins aren't clever enough to leave traps this elaborate. They're usually more of the pits with spikes at the bottom types."

Roland knelt down and examined the bodies. Each one was killed with what looked like a single stab through the heart, perfectly circular as though someone had put a fist into their chests.

"This doesn't look like goblin work," he said after a minute.

Perhaps if they were raised from the dead-

"Well, we need sleep," Roland said. "There must be room inside. I say we stay here and inform the authorities in the morning. No chance they'd hit the same place twice, is there?"

Cassandra shook her head. "No, whatever they were going to do they've done it already. Probably keep some watches just in case though.

Perhaps it's just as well, my love. You need your sleep. 

***

Gimini wandered through the house, the early light of morning peaking through the trees. He was supposed to be on guard duty but he was bored and had begun considering his situation.

It wouldn't take much effort, he thought as he stepped through the sitting room where Samantha laid sprawled out on a sofa. He could easily rob every one of the group then slip away into the morning. He thought about how much he could take as he made his way up the stairs.

He wouldn't need much. Just enough for passage in the next town. Buy a horse or rent a carriage and he'd be gone. They'd never catch him in a million years. He may even be out of the Kind by the time they were up, if he was lucky.

He opened a door into the parents bedroom. On one half of the bed Roland was curled up in the sheets, his long black hair spilling out from underneath his black cap. On the other side was Thayne, still fully dressed including the thin sword he wore on his belt. Gimini smiled at the sight. Obviously the kid didn't want to be caught unaware again.

As Gimini looked at the young half-elf he saw for a moment a child in worn blue pajamas, curled up in bed with a stuffed owlbear in one arm and his dad's belt tied around his waist, with a wooden sword stuffed tightly at his side.

Gimini shook the image out of his head and wiped away a tear. He couldn't rob these people. Thayne thought he was on some grand adventure, like a bard's tale told late at night in a tavern. The reality of the world would hit the lad soon enough, and Gimini decided he didn't want to be the one to introduce him to it.

He walked around the bed and gently opened the nightstand drawer and began robbing from the dead.

Heroes of the Realm Chapter 3: Introductions

It was a nice dungeon, Hugo decided, as far as dungeons go. The cell was on the fourth floor of a guard tower overlooking the sea. If one was tall enough they could look out the windows and get a great view of Seagull's Landing, and he assumed judging by the salty air coming from the windows outside the bars if one were to see through those one could get a fantastic view of the sea.

The only view Hugo had though, was of four of the other prisoners resuming their shouting match.

They'd been at it off-and-on for the better part of four hours. From what he'd gathered the orc was angry at the gnome for stealing his coin purse, though it was returned. The elf was angry at the orc for spilling his tea, though he'd magically cleaned the mess off his coat since. And the halfling was screaming at all three of them for spoiling her bounty, even though he was sure she couldn't have taken out the beast on her own.

This was the way of the world, sadly. Everyone holding onto old grudges from the past even if they don't effect them now.

Hugo was hardly one to judge, he thought glumly. Between shouting matches he had approached each of his cell mates in turn and offered his healing skills. The elf with the fiddle politely declined while the one in the floppy hat gave him a cool rejection. The halfling welcomed it as did the orc, though Hugo cringed when he saw the orc blood dripping from several wounds. Orcs and elves aside though, Hugo had to fight an internal battle before approaching the gnome, only doing so after reminding himself that Solaris shines on everyone equally, and if He Who Shines could stand the thieving race, so could he.

Hugo looked at the elf sitting on the opposite side of the bench from him. This one he didn't understand. He'd seemed confused more than anything when they were arrested, and had hardly spoken a word since they entered the cell. Hugo thought he looked younger than the other elf, but it was hard to judge with a race who aged so slowly and lived so long, but if he was a human he would guess he was maybe 16. He wore simple peasants clothes with a leather vest serving as his only form of armor. His skin was a light olive, not as dark as the wild elves he'd seen, but not even close to as light as the one currently screaming about the price of a decent shirt in this city. His dark curly hair was cut short revealing only slightly pointed ears, again not quite like the other elf in the cell.

"Half elf." Hugo said, realizing what the man was.

The half elf jumped as though Hugo had hit him with his mace. The rest of the room went quiet to look at him, which Hugo blatantly ignored.

"You're a half-elf." said Hugo, pointing.

"Yes," the boy said, reaching up to his ear. "My father was a wild elf."

The other elf made an indignant noise. "I would suppose you never met him, yes?"

"No, I haven't." he said looking down.

"Typical." the elf spat, looking down at the young half elf.

Before anything more could be said, the door slammed open followed by a troop of guards with Samantha walking among them. The pink dress was gone and her steel plate shone as bright as any of the guards. Her long blonde hair was put into a simple bun showing off her striking features. She was taller than several of the other guards, a trait that human men seemed to find attractive, as well as her long muscular body. She had the face like a marble statue, perfect and delicate but you knew that if you tried to harm it you'd do far more damage to yourself then you ever would to her.

"Good news folks, you are not being executed" said the man ahead of Samantha. As soon as they were arrested, she'd shown her credentials and had disappeared since, presumably negotiating for their release.

"Why do I feel like there's a but?" the gnome said suspiciously.

"We're being banished." Samantha said, looking straight at Hugo. "We're to collect whatever things we have in whatever inn and are to be escorted out of the city at sundown."

"Which way out of the city?" The orc said. While healing him, Hugo had noticed that the man had smelled like the ocean.

"North side," said the guard. "You will be escorted out of the north gate. We considered sending you off seaside but..." He glanced at Samantha with a frown. Samantha maintained her soldier posture, maintaining eye contact with Hugo.

"But we saved the city!" cried the half-elf. "We're heroes!"

"You're being let out alive," said the guard. "Consider that our thanks."

***

The gates shut with a loud clank behind Bud. The sun was setting somewhere off in the woods and the darkness had already crept to the gates. He looked at the rest of the group, their equipment since returned to them and their bags packed from wherever they were staying. They stood awkwardly, not knowing quite what to do next.

"Well, now what?" asked Bud to nobody in particular.

"I think we should get as far away from the walls as possible," said the gnome. "Before they decide to use us as target practice."

"That's not a bad idea," the human said. "Hugo and I need to get back to our people anyway and file our reports."

They began walking up the road in silence, except for the dwarf Hugo and the human who talked quietly between the two of them. After they crested the second hill and were out of sight from the walls, the halfling asked "So what people do you work for?"

"We work for the temple of War, in Tarn." said the human.

"Oh, are you a paladin?" the halfling asked, her dog walking beside her.

"No," the human said. "Just a person who can lift a sword and who wants to help."

"Lady Blacksmith is a sworn warrior of Gabrius ," the dwarf said. "At least she swore the vows once..."

"That was one drunken night" the human said annoyed. "And you know I hate that name."

"What is your name?" Bud asked.

The pair stopped and turned around. The rest of the group formed a circle in the road, with Bud opposite the armored pair.

"I suppose if we're going to be travel companions for the moment some introductions are in order." the dwarf said. "I am Hugo, formerly of Clan Silverhammer. May I present Lady Samantha Blacksmith of the Silent Hill Blacksmiths." Both bowed in turn as though this was long practiced.

"Cassandra Butterhill," said the halfling. "And that's midnight" she said as she pointed to the brown dog by her side.

"Talesian of the Honorable House Quithlana, 8th House of Katumal." said the elf as he bowed with a swish of his hat.

"Gimini" said the gnome, his arms crossed. Hugo said something under his breath which made Samantha smack him in the back of the head.

"Thayne Allen" said the one Hugo called a half-elf earlier, looking awkward at the group.

"Your father's name?" said Talesian with a smirk on his face. For some reason Bud wanted to punch that smirk right off his face.

"No," Thayne answered confused. "It's my mother's."

"Of course it is." said Talesian.

"I'm Bud." said Bud, trying to move the conversation before he put Talesian into the ground.

"That's an odd name for an orc," said Cassandra.

"I'm half-orc. And it's more of a nickname... it's just what they called me on the ship."

"Oh, are you a sailor?" asked Cassandra.

"Not anymore." said Bud.

"It's getting dark," interrupted Samantha. "We should probably see if we can find a place to set camp for tonight and try to get out of Kind tomorrow."

The group trooped off, chatting occasionally as they went. They still weren't friends, Bud thought, but at least they weren't at each others throats. And they might stay that way depending on if Talesian could keep his damn mouth shut.

***

Talesian had never been more humiliated in his entire life. First his best cravat had been stained (Thank Thoth his magic could fix it!) then he'd have to fight alongside a dwarf, an orc-oh excuse me, a half orc- and a half-human with the other half obviously wild elf!

As he marched on he noticed more scuffs on his boots. He'd cleaned them at least a dozen times since leaving the city with his magic, but by now he was tired of the effort and decided to clean them when they stopped to camp. He hadn't planned on actually walking very far on this trip, maybe spend a night watching griffins on the cliffs of Mandare, but extensive walking was never his style. he wished that the guards had let him return to the Magic Sanctuary where he could use their teleport circle to return home and report his mistreatment to his parents, who would be furious to hear how a member of the 8th house of Katumal was being treated.

The darkness stole the color from the world but to Talesian's elf eyes none of the detail was lost. The human though drew out a torch and lit it with a single strike, its flame becoming a beacon in the gloom. While it ruined Talesian's night vision he did appreciate having something warm and familiar to follow.

As they turned a corner they happened upon a shrine to Calbhac along the side of the road, with a statue of Lord Laurentus, the patron diety of the Kind. The smaller shrine was worn and looked like it was seldom cared for, while the taller statue of the noble knight looked almost brand new. Rumor was that the statues to Laurentus were replaced every few years, while the icons of other dieties were left to deteriorate.

Behind the statue was an acre of land cleared from the forest. The shrine indicated that the land was meant for travelers to rest, as Calbhac, God of the Road would want. While Talesian didn't agree with the theology, he appreciated the sentiment.

"We can camp here," said the human.

A round of agreement was heard in the group as they began to walk into the field. Packs were dropped as talk of supper and a fire began. Talesian had never been to one of the roadside sanctuaries of the Wandering God, but he had heard that while they were supposed to be places of peace for all travelers, many of them were still frequently used by bandits to ambush the weary.

As he looked across the field, he saw a light flicker between the trees at the far end from where the party was setting up. At first he thought it was a trick of the torch, until he saw it several more times and realized it was a lantern.

"I do not believe we are alone here," he said to nobody in particular.

The dwarf, displaying what Talesian thought was customary for dwarf manners, called out to the light.

"Oiy, who goes there?"

The light stopped moving for a moment then appeared to get brighter. The rest of the group stood around Talesian, not sure weather friend or foe would come out of the woods.

What did come out were three men, two of whom were carrying a third between them. The one on the left held a lantern up towards the group while the other merely dragged the middle companion along. The one in the middle seemed unconscious.

"What's all this then?" barked the dwarf.

"This'ere fellow was using dark magic, so we decided to teach him a lesson." said the man with the lantern. As they approached Talesian could see the build of a farmer with a thick scraggly beard and weathered skin.

"I"m sorry, you must be mistaken." Talesian said. The men stopped in their tracks looking confused.
"Magic is neither dark nor light my good sirs. Magic in and of itself is benign. It is the user that can wield it for good or for ill. Pray tell, my good sirs, how did this man use magic against you?"

The men looked dumbfounded. Talesian continued to look at them, seeing parts of them in light with color and parts in shadow in shades of grey. The man between them had yet to move on his own. His hair was long and black and covered his face like a veil. On top of his head was a hat with a pointed tip that looked like a cheap version of Talesian's own wide brimmed pointed hat.

"We seen em do dark magic" said the man on the right, speaking for the first time. "It was right over there. He made green flames appear."

"Well now good sirs, green flames are hardly cause for alarm," he said calmly.

"Why don't you bring the fellow over here and we can help figure out what ought to be done with him," said the dwarf. While Talesian didn't like it he had to agree. While the major cities in the Kind had Sanctuaries of Magic, many of the rural areas were not friendly to the arcane, believing it to all be in league with devils.

"We could do that, but if we wake him up he may do magic again and kill us all!" said the man with the lantern. "Best kill im now while we's have the chance!"

Talesian was stunned. Surely these men did not have the authority to execute a criminal. He was about to speak when their prisoner looked up and locked eyes on Talesian. The elf saw the man's face, a patchwork of scrapes with one eye nearly swollen shut.

Please! Help me! I don't want to die!" 

Talesian heard the voice in his head as if it were next to him. Mental communication was not a foreign concept to the elf, since he'd studied most of his life to become a wizard. Between the voice and the look in the man's eyes something stirred within Talesian's soul. Living his life at the knee of tutors and waited on by servants he'd never truly seen the outside world. This trip was supposed to be a little vacation, the first trip outside his homeland. His plan was to do some studying and explore one of the more esoteric cities on the continent, maybe go griffin watching, but that had all been disrupted today.

In his short time in Seagull's Landing he'd seen many wondrous sights, but he'd also seen poverty for the first time. He'd seen how peasants lived, and he'd seen desperation in people's faces. When facing the ogre he'd seen the terror such a powerful being could invoke in those that did not have the means to defend themselves, and had used his magic for the first time to attack another living being.

Now in that split second looking into the man's eyes he knew what he was seeing: It was desperation, and the fear of someone helpless against something that could destroy them.

The spell came from his fingers almost faster than he thought of it. A streak of red flame bust from his hand hitting the man without the lantern in the chest. He dropped the prisoner as he attempted to put himself out. Before the other man could react a second bolt tore through the air shattering the man's lantern and lighting the dry summer grass on fire. The two men screamed as they ran away in terror from the elf, leaving their prisoner to crawl away from the flames on his own.

"By the gods!" said the dwarf as he reached out his hand and caused water to rise to the surface of the ground, drowning out the flames. The water immediately receded from where it came, thanks to the dwarf's small miracle. Talesian hurried to the man on the ground and helped lift him to his feet. Despite being battered he seemed more or less alright.

"Thank you," he said as he stood trembling in the night.

"What's your name sir?" Talesian asked, as the others circled them.

"Roland," he said. "I am forever in your debt."

The others, who up to this point had let Hugo and Talesian handle the situation, all began talking at once. Some talking to each other about the exchange, others asking Roland questions about why the men had taken him. He explained that he was using magic to hunt for food when the farmers happened upon him and decided that he was evil.

As Hugo began to use more of his holy magic to heal the man's wounds, the human, Samantha, sidled up to Talesian.

"I wouldn't really picture you as the hero type," she said with half a smile.

Talesian looked her in the eyes and for the first time since becoming associated with what he considered to be a group of mismatched common rabble, he smiled.

"Neither did I."

Heroes of the Realm chapter 2: First Fight

Hugo stood awkwardly playing with the ends of his braided beard in the second story room of the inn.

"Are you sure this is the best way?" he asked again.

"Yeah, believe me, it'll work" came Samantha's voice from behind the partition.

"I still don't like this," he said. "I would hate to be thought of someone who took part in lascivious activities."

Though to be honest if he even tried anything unseemly with Samantha Blacksmith he would probably find himself flat on his dwarven behind faster than he could call on Solaris for protection.

"Don't worry," she said as she struggled behind the screen. "After we're done I'll explain who you are and why we're here and it'll all be fine."

Hugo doubted it would be fine. Subterfuge was always a double-edged sword, and he feared being cut for no reason.

"I'm sure we can-" he said before something outside the window caught his attention. It was a gnome wearing a green cloak clinging to a massive ogre using two daggers as handles. The ogre was thrashing around trying to get him off while arrows appeared on his hide.

Before Hugo could say anything he was shoved aside as he saw Samantha smash through the window, sword drawn with a pink dress half pulled on over her armor.

Hugo regained his footing, brushed himself off and muttered "That works". He then picked up his mace, kissed the holy symbol around his neck, and calmly walked out the door.

***
Thayne watched from behind the bar as people crowded into the tavern. Shouting could be heard outside as well as the occasional roar. A man came up to the bar and shouted to nobody in particular "Ogre attack! Ogre attack!"

This was it.

This was the call Thayne had been looking for. Three months of working in a tavern in the big city and he finally had a lead. A call to adventure.

He saw a guest, a dwarf in shining armor and wielding a mace come down the stairs and push his way through the crowd to the open street. Thayne saw this as the final sign. He took off his apron, grabbed the pack he'd had ready since he started working here and his fiddle, and followed the dwarf through the crowd.

The scene outside was chaos. The ogre was nearly two stories tall and was currently trying to grab a small person on its back. Another small person, a halfling woman, was behind it knocking an arrow. An orc stood across the street with two axes, covered in blood and laughing. To his right, a tall man in a pointed hat said something strange before a ball of purple energy flew out of his hand and split in half before both balls hitting into the ogres chest. On his left the dwarf was trying to swing at the creatures foot with his mace. The oddest thing he saw by far though was a woman in front of him. Her blond hair spilled over her torn dress, which had bits of armor poking out of it. She held a massive sword with two hands and was sweeping it at the monster.

Thayne decided to help her so he set his fiddle and started to play. With the music he poured his soul, his magic, into the notes. It was his gift, to inspire others with his own personal magic. He focused the music on the woman in front of him who swung her sword and slashed the ogre across the chest. As the creature stepped back she glanced over her shoulder, met Thayne with intense brown eyes, and said "Thanks."

Thayne smiled and channeled his music towards the person on the ogre's back.

***

Gimini decided as he rode the back of the thrashing ogre, his twin daggers stuck in the meat of its massive shoulder blades, that this was not his day. He'd pictured himself having lunch, maybe a glass of wine to wash it down with. As it was he was just trying to figure out how to survive the next few minutes.

It was then that he heard the sound of a fiddle being played from somewhere near the street. He wondered for a moment why in the hells anyone would pick now to start playing, but the melody touched something in him that made him feel oddly stronger.

He suddenly had an idea. Planting his feet on the ogre's back he kicked off with all his might, performing a back-flip off the ogre and onto the pavement. He landed surprisingly well in a crouching position, both daggers to either side and both dripping with blood. The halfling he'd encountered earlier was standing next to him with an arrow knocked and looking at him with surprise.

"We really must stop meeting like this, my dear" he said with a smirk. She let out a laugh and fired into the giant beast.

***

Samantha was having a fantastic time. The ogre was a monstrous thing, looming over her frame despite the creature being hunched over. With the gnome off its back she redoubled her efforts to attack the beast, and noticed her companion, the shirtless orc, matching her fervor.

She'd been startled to see the orc fighting the ogre, as she was lead to believe that the two species usually worked together. This orc was far different than the ones she'd seen before. She usually saw them wrapped in animal furs with crude weapons, but this one had hand crafted studded leather pants and fine boots, and he wielded two well crafted hand axes. He was shirtless, which was something Samantha had never seen on an orc, but was something she decided she appreciated.

Samantha and the orc moved like dancers at the ogre. His swings were viscous yet somehow graceful,  like a cat mauling a deer. Hers were timed, well trained, and disciplined, yet somehow the two fighting styles flowed. He would attack then she would, both keeping their weapons from striking the other, both stepping in on their turns. When the creature would swing with its gangly arms to try and claw at her or the orc, they would parry then step back in, as though they had rehearsed this fight a hundred times.

Between their fighting and the others attacks, the ogre started to tire. It had over a dozen nicks from her and the ogre's blades, as well as a smashed foot from Hugo's mace, bruises to the face from the gentleman in the pointed hat's magic, shoulders bleeding from the gnomes daggers, and arrows sticking out everywhere like a partially plucked chicken. As it staggered, Samantha looked at the orc and he bowed his head, indicating that she could finish it off. She gave a small bow with a smile then put her sword through the beast's head, finally killing it.

The small crowds that had formed on either end of the street started cheering. Samantha hadn't even noticed their gathering till now as she looked at her companions. Most were exhausted and Hugo was using magic to heal the halfling who seemed to have taken a hit before Samantha had arrived. She turned around to thank the magic user when she saw several soldiers in full plate armor, swords drawn, push their way through the crowd. Each had a shield with the symbol of Lord Laurentus emblazoned on it, with matching symbols on their armor and helmets.

"You're all under arrest!" the first man shouted by way of greeting.

Samantha was taken aback by this. They'd just killed an ogre. She looked directly at the man who spoke.

"For what?!" she shouted.

"For causing a disturbance!" He replied. "Drop your sword!"

"Why didn't you get the ogre for causing a disturbance? He was the one who started it!"

"We'll see! Now drop your sword!"

Samantha swore as she threw her sword to the ground and was grabbed by the guards. This was definitely going in her report, though she was glad she didn't have to try the whole damsel idea.

Harvey Loveless Mysteries 4: Dorm

It's weird to think that people still go to college. 30 years ago all basic beliefs in religion, science and philosophy was turned on its head when a giant creature came out of the ocean near South Carolina and proved that we had no idea how anything worked. But people still get married in churches, movies still get made about space travel, and for some reason people still go to college, which is why I could find myself walking through the doors of a men's dormitory at 8 A.M., despiting wanting nothing more but to go back to bed.

Coffee in one hand and sunglasses firmly in place, I entered the dorm's common room. The usual smattering of students sat in just barely comfortable armchairs, doing everything from frantically typing on laptops to sleeping. I walked past them, doing a quick scan for anything that looked Necronomicon-ey. No such luck, though I did see an amusing Freddy Mercury tee shirt I'd have to remember to pick up later.

I continued up the stairs past a sign that said "Men Only". The rule had been ignored by plenty of students over the years to smuggle late-night girlfriends in, but knowing Nick the thought probably never crossed his mind. I took the stairs up to the third floor and, after wondering why the hell this place didn't have an elevator, made my way to room 304, Nick's room.

The door was unusual in the fact that it wasn't covered in the usual posters and stickers that decorated the other doors. It only had a simple nameplate that said "Spinner/Sanders". I knocked and waited for an answer. The door opened slowly to reveal Nick, not looking like he'd slept since the events of last night, peering out from behind.

"You decent?" I asked. The awkwardness hadn't left my office till he did last night. It's unusual for friends to drop their pants in front of each other, much less casual aquaintences from support groups for those not wanting to become a monster.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." he said and let me in. The room looked like it was a model for perspective residents. Everything was so neat I felt like I was cluttering it just by being there. Two beds sat at either side of the room, with a desk directly opposite of each. Sitting in one was who I presumed was Barry, Nick's roommate. He was dressed in a black turtleneck with matching jeans, as tough he was about to recite poetry in a coffee shop somewhere. Nick closed the door behind me. He was in the same sweater/jeans combo he was in last night, and I wondered if he'd slept in it.

"Nice place," I said as I stood there awkwardly.

"Barry, this is Harvey, the guy I told you about. Harvey, Barry." said Nick, though Barry never looked up from his computer.

"Yeah hay" Barry said.

"Hi" I said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Barry, I'm sorry but I need the place." Nick said to his roommate.

For the first time Barry looked up. "Nick, you've never needed the place before. Oh la la!"

Nick rolled his eyes as Barry packed his laptop into a backpack and took a step toward the door. "Don't make a mess boys!" he said as he left.

"Sorry about that," said Nick as he quickly shut the door. "Barry's gay and thinks I am too since I never go out with girls."

"Right," I said, setting my coffee down on the desk. "Does he know about..." I asked while motioning to his belly.

"Oh no! I always change in the bathroom. Modesty is one of my biggest rules for myself." Nick said.

"Right," I said again. "Listen, let's get to the task at hand, where is this friend of yours who showed you the bootleg book?"

Just then a knock came at the door and Nick opened it to reveal a man with Nick's muscly build but who had at least five inches on me. He was huge to the point of almost unreal. He had in his massive hands a stack of papers loosely tied together with an equally massive rubber band.

"Harvey, this is James," Nick said. James extended his hand out to me and I took it. For a moment it felt like I was shaking a bunch of bananas.

"Yo," he said smiling. "Hay Nick, is this guy cool?"

Nick looked even more nervous. I interjected. "Yeah, I'm cool. Is that the thing?"

Apparently that was all the veneration James needed as he grinned and slapped the pile of papers onto the desk. "Yeah, man! A genuine Necro!"

I eyed the stack cautiously. It looked like any other stack of printer paper, dog eared with a coffee ring on the top like someone had used it as a coaster at one point, but I'd seen Nicks.... Affliction... and I knew something was up.

"May I?" I asked as I reached for it.

"Be my guest," said James as Nick made the sign of the cross behind him.

I removed the rubber band and started flipping through the pages. It was identical to the one Tom had shown me except this one had extra notes in the margins in various handwriting and the back to some of the pages had doodles and cartoons illustrating different passages, particularly the sex rituals.

The thing was that, once again, I could tell it wasn't real. A real Necronomicon teems with power, and calls to anything touched by the Eldrich around it, so that little voice in the back of my head that tempts me to use magic would've started screaming. This thing though, nothing. No drawing towards it. No loud voice. Just paper with lewd pictures.

"How does it work?" I asked, feigning interest while stopping on a particularly detailed drawing.

"Dude, you just do the ritual for whatever you want to do and it does it." He said as if explaining to me how the phone works. I lifted my eyebrow at him hoping he'd elaborate.

"Here, let me show you." he said pushing me aside with ease. Nick tried to object but I caught his eye and shook my head. I needed to see what this guy did with the book.

James flipped through the book till he found a page he liked. He then produced a piece of chalk from his pocket and began drawing a set of symbols from the book onto the desk. My stomach twisted as I watched him write, wondering if this may've been a bad idea. He then began chanting in a language I'd never heard.

The thing was, I'd seen a real Necronomicon, a few times. I'd used one only once, but it was an experience I'd never forget.

Imagine my surprise then when the symbols began to glow with a sickly green fire. I instinctively stepped back and began to reach for my own power. Before anything else happened though there was a loud pop and the glow disappeared. On the desk sat a steaming cooked burrito.

"Um... what?" was all I could say as I stared at the burrito torn from the aether.

"Food summoning spell!" James said as he picked up and bit into the eldrich snack.

I wanted to say "There's no such thing" but apparently there it was, clear as day. A ritual spell that summoned food, but didn't require making a pact with an otherworldly creature.

"Can I see that?" I asked and held out my hand for the bitten burrito.

"Sure, man." James said with a mouth full of food. I took it carefully not to spill the contents. It was perfectly warm, not hot enough to burn but just right to make it the perfect tasty treat. I smelled it and got the aroma of fresh beans, cheese and chicken. I felt a little stupid examining the thing, I'm supposed to be a magic Dick Tracey not college Gordon Ramsey.

"Where are you from?" I said to the burrito, throwing some of my power behind it. At this point I was at a complete loss so figured one shortcut wouldn't hurt.

My vision faded as I saw the burrito go back into the pages of the book then the book quickly restore itself to when it was first copied, then I saw it go back to the copier and becoming blank pages again. Then I followed the papers that book was copied from, then the book it was copied from and over and over through eight different copiers till I arrived at the original book.

It was small, about the size of a paperback novel, and not very thick. It was wrapped in black leather with a white shard of metal woven into the cover. It wasn't a Necronomicon, it was something... else... I saw the woman in a plain white dress, her blond hair coming in waves off her face. She looked like she was on her way to a Renaissance fair but there was a modern copier in front of her. She looked nervous as she made the first copy of the book.

My vision cleared and I was sitting on the floor of the dorm room. My back was to the bed as I sat in a sitting position. I had a splitting headache for some reason. The burrito was cold in my hand.

Nick and James looked at me with worry in their eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Dude, you totally spazzed out!" said John excitedly.

"Are you okay?" asked Nick, his face pale and shining with sweat.

"I think so... Sorry I tried to do a tracer spell..."

I felt something burning on my stomach. I lifted up my shirt to expose the tendrils coming from my naval, black and otherworldly and saw that the spot where they'd last grown a little since using magic on the idiot cultists had retreated. In its place was the regular under tanned flesh of my stomach.

"Interesting..." I said, which I decided was the best thing to say when you have no idea what the hell's going on.

Heroes of the Realm Chapter 1: Meetings

Bud walked down the bustling street unimpeded. He realized why Captain Fisker always had him stay on the ship whenever they stayed here. Mostly human, the inhabitants avoided eye contact wherever possible with the dripping wet half-orc as he walked up the cities market street.

Most port towns wouldn't look twice at a half-orc, but the kingdom of Kind was a different beast entirely.

He idly padded the small bag of coins at his hip, reassuring himself that even here an innkeeper wouldn't turn him away if he could pay, and thanked sweet Gabrius that he at least had the coin to do so. He was exhausted, and while he could sleep anywhere, one night at an inn would probably do him good.

***
Gimini Cogworthy knew a mark when he saw one. Walking up the Trade Street, bare chested and soaking wet, the orc had to be drunk. Didn't see much of his kind around here, but the gnome wasn't about to question his good luck.

He slipped into the crowd, bright green cloak billowing around him. Most thieves traditionally wore black but Gimini wasn't a fan of advertising himself to targets. Using the magic inherit to his race he conjured an illusionary fly to buzz around the orc's head. In an instant Gimini had the bag of gold and was walking back into the crowd.

He was only a dozen steps away when he heard "Hay!" coming from behind him.

Gimini broke out into a run.

***
Talesian of the Honorable House Quithlana sat enjoying his afternoon tea at the quiet little bistro near the marketplace. The book he read had a particularly interesting chapter on the frequency of goblin hoard attacks on the Western Planes during the avocation of Vulmon the Generous.

If the chapter hadn't been so interesting he may've noticed the gnome running at full speed around the corner, running across his table and jumping over the back gate. Unfortunately by the time he looked up all he caught was a glimpse of an orc smashing through both himself and the table and slamming into the gate with a roar, breaking its hinges.

Talesian was so insulted by the rude disturbance of his reading (And the spilling of his tea over his long coat) that he decided to go after the miscreants himself and turn them into the city guard at once.

***

The dog stopped in front of an inconspicuous building and began to howl. Cassandra drew her bow and knocked an arrow. The creature had to be near here, but in the city she was completely lost. Moonlight howled again and began scratching at the wall of the building, indicating it was inside.
She looked around trying to spot an opening without looking too conspicuous. She saw a window 15 feet off the ground and made an annoyed huff at it.

Human cities were too tall.

Removing a grappling hook from her belt, she began to tie a rope to it while estimating if she could get ahold of the bars. In the wild her size rarely made any difference, as an owlbear could take out a halfling just as easily as it could a human, but in the city everything felt just a little too far out of her reach, like she was a child.

After a couple swings she managed to nab the bars and climb up to the window, her athletic body having no trouble with herself or her gear. At the top she peered through the glass at her prey: An ogre stood in a large room, pacing back and fourth in front of a human with a whip.

"What in the hells..." she whispered as she peered in. Before she had time to decide on a plan of attack, her dog Moonlight started barking below. She looked down to see a gnome in a green cloak grab her rope and start climbing up, with an orc- no a half orc- hot on his heels. In a moment the gnome was sitting on the small window sill staring down at his persuer.

"Good afternoon," the gnome greeted.

"Good afternoon," replied Cassandra, now beyond confused.

The half-orc and Moonlight both seemed to be below them barking, though the half-orc sounded far more threatening, especially wielding an axe in each hand.

"Look, I'm sorry, here." said the gnome as he dropped a small purse down. It clinked on the pavement with the unmistakable sound of gold, but was completely ignored by the half-orc.

"Did you steal that from him?" Cassandra asked, arranging herself to a similar sitting position next to the gnome.

"Well, yes, but in my defense I thought he was drunk." he replied with a smile.

"How is that a defense?" She asked.

Before he could reply she saw the half-orc throw an axe and barely miss their heads. This was getting out of hand.

"Now see here," Cassandra said, pulling her bow back out. "You got your gold back, if you still have issue with this man then take it up with the city guard, but don't go dragging me into it by getting me killed!"

Either Cassandra's words or the arrow in her hand convinced the half-orc to calm down because he took a deep breath and visibly relaxed, though kept his eyes glued above him. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't going to have to kill this idiot, though she felt like she should remember something...

Just then a man with a floppy pointed hat and a long black and gold jacket turned the corner.

"You owe me a new cup of tea!" he shouted, pointing at the half-orc. The half-orc turned to him and opened up his arms as the other man approached.

"I'm sorry but he stole my purse!" he shouted as he pointed up to the gnome.

"I thought you were drunk!" the gnome shouted back.

Cassandra was about to try and have the man explain again why that gave him a right to steal when the wall they were sitting on exploded outward in a shower of stone and dust. Her and the gnome both managed to tumble to the ground without taking any serious damage, though the half-orc and hatted man were both sprawled on the ground. As the dust settled Cassandra realized three things at once: The first was that the man had lost his hat and she could now see that the man was an elf, second was that her bow was no longer with her, and third that she had completely forgotten that the only reason she was on that wall was that she was tracking an ogre through the city.

An ogre that was now standing in front of them.

Harvey Loveless Mysteries 3: Support

I have to think that every church has one of these: a grimy room specially made for support group meetings. The Sunday parishioners get gothic ceilings, stained glass windows, and paintings of naked people flying through the clouds. We get a water heater, metal chairs and a coffee pot from when the first Bush was in office.

Not that we needed the space. We had five this week, four participants plus Father Gregor. He sat directly across from me in our little circle. He was young for a priest, probably late 20's, but I respected him more than any priest I'd ever met. I don't know if he took this job voluntarily or if he ticked off a higher up, but he always acted like he genuinely wanted to be here. Support groups were never fun, but this one was exceedingly looked down upon.

I always thought it was funny, if someone voluntarily drinks and wants to stop then they're a hero. If someone is born to become a monster and don't want to they are still labeled with the monsters.

Father Gregor started out with the serenity prayer. Our group had just whole hardheadedly ripped off the Alcoholics Anonymous protocol, including the steps, though recovery had different meanings here. Some of us will never truly recover.

After a short silence Nick was the first to speak. He was a little shorter than me but outweighed me by at least 100 pounds. All of it was pure muscle though, which he tried to hide under baggy jeans and an oversized sweater. He kept his blond hair at a close military style length, and never used product in it. I always meant to ask him why he didn't attend the survivor meetings, since he wasn't like the rest of us, but it seemed like too personal of a subject to broach.

"A woman came up to me at the gym this week," he said, never looking up from his massive hands. "She said she'd seen me around before, and wanted to say hi. I tried to act cool but at one point she touched my bicep and I cringed away. I smiled and said I was sore. She seemed weirded out but was still friendly and kept talking. I think we had a real connection."

"That's great!" said Father Gregor, real enthusiasm shining through is green eyes. "I'm glad! That's such a good step forward. Remember that God did not make women to be our enemy."

I glanced at the woman sitting directly opposite from Nick, though she didn't seem to notice the comment. She was, as usual, staring at her gloved hands as though she was looking for the answer to all of life's mysteries in the silk.

"Thanks, Father" Nick said, turning a little red. It's unusual to hear a priest praise a young man for being touched by a young woman, but in this case it was a positive step. At 18 Nick was at a party where he got drunk and went to bed with a pretty girl. Halfway through the act she shucked her skin and revealed herself to be a massive insectoid creature, trying to get his DNA. By that point Nick was past the point of no return and she got what she came for. He'd been terrified of women ever since.

The woman in our circle, Alice, looked up and said she wanted to go next. Her eyes were abnormally large and seemed to portrude in an unusual Steve Buscemi if his mother was part iguana sort of way. Her mouth was a little too wide when she spoke, and her unusually pale skin was pock marked with scabs and scars, many of which were self inflicted.

"I haven't found new scales in over a week," she said enthusiastically. "The doctor says that my showers are fine and that it's sea water that's a problem. I can even do salt water since its something in the ocean itself that triggers... episodes..." She trailed off, her enthusiasm draining away like a balloon with a hole.

"Have you been to the beach this week?" asked Father Gregor, concern in his eyes.

"No, I haven't" she said quietly, returning her odd gaze to her hands. "I've been taking extra shifts so I'm too busy to go, but I've wanted to." She wore a red gingham waitress uniform complete with apron and name tag. Her "skin condition" was listed as a medical issue so her employers let her keep her gloves though it was a mystery to everyone how she kept them so clean.

"That's good! Remember about idle hands..." said the Father, smiling at her kindly. The mention of hands made hers twitch a little. I'd never seen her without the silk gloves, but from what I'd heard about the operations on her fingers she'd been through, I don't think I wanted to. About every six months they would have to go in and remove the excess skin growing between her fingers. She always seemed much happier after the operations, and I think her next one would be coming up soon.

Alice was a result of a similar DNA collection process Nick had gone through. A race of sea beasts had been breeding with the residents of a coastal town for centuries before the city was raided and its residents quarantined. Some of the lines had moved away from the town beforehand, and some of their children still showed signs of their heritage. The most extreme would grow gills, scales and webbed digits coupled with an extreme urge to return to the sea and join the bizarre underwater race.

Attention turned to the last member of our little meeting, besides yours truly. The man was in his mid fourties, though he looked far older than he did. He was wearing stained sweat pants and a thin blazer, and rocked a beard that would be the envy of any hipster. His eyes were always darting around the room, occasionally stopping on something in the middle distance only he could see, at which point he would close his eyes and count to ten before going back to his searching.

"I... I think... I slept last night... No dreams..." he said. His voice was shaky like he just emerged from a polar bear plunge.

"Nate that's great news!" said the Father in his usual upbeat tone. "Is the medication helping?"

"I... Think so...." he said before snapping his eyes shut and counting to ten quickly. Six years ago he was a stock trader who had made the wrong investments to the wrong people and had ended up owing more than he had. In a desperate move he'd turned to magic hoping to gain the ability to see a little into the future and know what stocks to trade when. The ritual had gone wrong somehow and the creature he had dealt with for power gave him the ability to instead see the unseen world, meaning that he now saw the plethora of spirits and demons that surrounded humans on a constant basis. He lived in the church now and worked as its janitor. Apparently his wife remarried recently in another city.

Nate never looked directly at me.

"And how are you, detective?" the Father asked turning to me, his wide grin as warm and friendly as it would be meeting at a summer barbecue.

I inhaled slowly. "I cast three spells last night."

"Oh Harvey, what happened?" Asked the priest, his concern genuine on his face.

I explained the circumstances of the previous night, with the cult and the woman on the table, leaving out Detective Holms' visit this morning.

"Harvey, do you know Luke 22:42?"

"I had no idea she was my sister and she kissed me anyway?"

The priest looked confused for a minute before breaking out in laughter. The rest of the group followed nervously.

"No no, it says "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."

I nodded my head in agreement although I had no idea what he was talking about. To be honest I'd never read the Bible cover to cover. Not for its length or even language, I was just a little weary of religious tomes. In my experience they usually lead to trouble.

"I think that while your condition is not ordained by God, it can be used for good. And if you use it for his will, to help those in need, you can sanctify it, make it into something good that he can use."

  

It wasn't really what I interpreted the passage to mean, but the rest of the group nodded in agreement so I did as well. The meeting wrapped up with a small discussion on the meaning and significance of step two, most of which was done by Father Gregor. We adjourned with another recitation of the serenity prayer and one of those freestyle prayers the priest liked to do. While everyone was standing up, stretching, shaking hands and meandering towards the coffee and doughnuts I casually said "Hay has anyone heard about a fake Necronomicon floating around?"

The room froze and all eyes fixed on me. I'm apparently not as great at acting casual as I thought I was.

Father Gregor spoke first. "Harvey, you remember the first rule: We are here to recover not gain more dark knowledge?"

"I know," I said feeling slightly sheepish. "It's for a case I'm working on. The thing's bogus anyway."

"I would still rather you didn't bring things like that up in meetings," he said, the concern in his voice turned down and the dad authority turned up.

  

The members resumed their activities and I headed for a doughnut. I knew better, I know I knew better, but it was worth a shot. As I decided between cream filled or chocolate covered Nick sidled up to me.

"I need your help," he whispered, trying to look like he was getting a doughnut but was instead shuffling them around the box.

"Well, the cream filled is out, but the chocolate is good" I said as I took a bite of my newly acquired doughnut."

"No, I mean, I need your help, with something else" he whispered nervously. Nate came up to pour a cup of coffee and Nick immediately walked away, tilting his head in a way that meant I was to follow him. I rolled my eyes and did so.

  

"Look, is there somewhere we can talk, in private?" he asked, still glancing at the others in the room.

"We are talking in private" I said while still chewing on my doughnut. The kid was young, probably early twenties, and I figured it was about time he learned how to ask for something directly.

"I mean, like your office? Can you meet me at your office in like, an hour?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes again and fished a card out of my coat pocket and put it in his beefy hands. "In one hour." I said and headed for the door.

~~~

The best part about my office was that there was a door in the back of it that, when cleverly opened with the cunning use of a doorknob, lead to my apartment. Waiting for Nick was far less of an inconvenience than I wanted him to believe, simply because people who knew me and what I did tended to think that I would do odd detective jobs for them for free. When he got here I was going to tell him that if it wasn't group related I'd be charging him for his time, though I can't imagine what it would be if it was. Did he want me to be his sponsor? In his case he wasn't really trying to recover from using magic, nor was he fighting off the urge to do solo reenactments of "The Little Mermaid" every night, he was just afraid of women. What would he want me to do, get him girls? Did he think I was a pimp?

It was nearly ten, near the time we were supposed to meet and I sat with my feet propped up on my desk and my laptop on my legs going over the case notes from the last few months. Seven cults. I hadn't really thought that much of it honestly. A busy season, yes, but I'd rather deal with kids in Halloween costumes than the real thing any day of the week.

A knock came at my door. I want to say that it sounded nervous, but that was probably just projection. Plus not many people knock on a detective's door at 10:00 at night and are excited. The two groups just don't seem to meet.

"Come in" I yelled, putting my computer down on my desk and adapting a more professional posture. I only had my desk light on, less for effect and more because I preferred not to waste electricity.

Nick stood in my doorway, his huge form taking up most of the space he occupied. He came in nervously and stood at the other end of my desk, his hands clasped tight in front of him.

"Have a seat," I said, "Take a load off."

As he sat down I heard my poor guest chair groan in protest once again. If I kept getting larger gentlemen in my office I'd have to upgrade sooner rather than later.

He kept staring down at his hands in the poor light. He'd yet to say a word. "Can I help you?"

"I... I...." he said "I think I have a problem."

  

"Yes," I said, starting to lose patience. "We've established this, hence why you're here."

"The black spot, how did you get it?"

I was taken aback by the question. The group knew I did magic but I had only told Father Gregor why and how.

"How do you know about...."

"I think I have one" he blurted out.

I was again taken aback. I swore I could feel the black tendrils on my chest twitch at that point, as impossible as it was.

"Um... Okay..." I said not sure what to say. It's not a feeling I have often and not one I'd like to have again.

"I noticed it a few weeks ago. I talked to Father Gregory and he said you had a similar problem. I wanted to bring it up but I didn't know how and then when you brought up the fake book..."

I perked up at that. "Wait, what? You know about the book?"

"Yeah," he said. "Someone in my dorm had a copy and I thought it might have some answers so I took it. And now I think I've been tainted".

"Okay" I said, putting my fingers on my head to preemptively nurse the headache I could feel coming on. "You can't get tainted from a fake Necronmoicon. It doesn't have any power. It's just-"

"But I was!" he yelled then collected himself. I was surprised, this was the most emotional I'd ever seen him get.

I had an idea. "Nick, why don't you show me the taint and I can tell you weather or not it is what you think it is."

Nick looked nervous. "Don't you need more lights?"

I shrugged and clapped my hands twice. The room lit up in an instant. He jumped and I had to stifle a laugh. When I'd first moved in here the voice had whispered that I could use my powers to turn on and off the light to the point where I thought that alone would drive me insane, so I installed a Clapper. Problem solved.

"Okay," said Nick as he stood up. I figured it had to be an errant mole or a rash, something stupid that I could tell him was fine and at worst send him to a dermatologist. At the very least I expected it on his arm or chest, so I was a bit surprised when he started undoing his belt and unzipping his pants.

"Woh Woh!" I said, throwing my hands up. "I said show me THE taint not YOUR taint."

He didn't stop as he pulled down his pants, revealing form fitting UnderArmour underwear. I wasn't sure when he dropped them what I was more surprised by: The fact that there was a man bare from the waist down standing in my office, or the fact that starting at his genitals and tendrilling across his hips and up near his naval was the same black coloring that I had coming from my chest.

"I um..." I said. "I'd like to see this fake Necronomicon and talk to the friend who had it. Also I'll take the case"