Tez was an old drunk. He stood out in the tavern. His silver-white sheaf of hair tied up in a small ponytail. His skin was more like folded saggy leather. His left arm was gone, cut at the elbow. What caught David’s attention was the sunglasses. It was a sheet of black outside. Inside was not so bright either, but Tex had them on, laughing at the serving girls as they refilled his cup. He waved with his right hand and touched the older women who peddled nightly services in the taverns, but never settling for one.

“He looks ready to fall over himself and die,” David said, frowning. The man was beyond finished. His robe, once grey but now a different kind of black, sagged off his shoulders. A sword leaned against his table. A katana. David realized. The sword was as strange as the man.

He’d been difficult to find. They scanned through the slums, the taverns over at Hoethe, and the dice halls. They asked children, known thieves and people Tara thought used to work for Tez. When they found him, Tara pulled David two tables to Tez’s left. David had wanted to meet him immediately. They’d wasted enough time and he didn’t want to waste more staring at the drunk fool.

“Tez’s hand was cut before he got in the tower. He was an annoying old bat, but that sword has cut down more people than I have killed. Or so the story goes.”

David carefully observed the man. There was nothing dangerous about him. His frame looked relaxed. There was something familiar about the way he was dressed though, but David was almost sure he had never met the man before this. Still, his robe was different from any other man in the tavern. Most wore armor or loose linen shirts anyway.

“You think he is oblivious to us watching him?” Tara asked, then she stood up and Tez's smile faded almost immediately. His head leaned sideways as if he was listening for Tara. David felt his heart race. Tara gestured for David to follow. Tez adjusted as they got closer, his body gathering into position like a snake poised to strike.

“You are still wound tight, Tez,” Tara said sitting down. No one paid them any mind. Tara was a tall and sinuous woman, but there was a threatening streak hidden in all that sensuality which made people avert their gazes, hiding under the guise of disinterest.

“Tara,” Tez said as if testing the name in his mouth. The drunken slur was gone and so was the lazy smile. The smell of wine clung to the old man. Now that they were closer, David could see just how old he was. Ancient was the word. His skin hung in huge loose flaps. When he turned to look up at Tara’s face, his frown showed a hint of anger, not fear.

“I see you have heard then,” Tara said, a playful smile pulling her lips up. She was at ease even though she knew that Tez wasn’t as helpless as he acted. David pulled a chair to the table and they both sat down opposite Tez.

“You the rotten children killed Galan?” Tez asked with a wry grin. His face turned to David, brows lifting slowly. “I guess this is your new plaything now?” Tara scoffed and Tez took another drink of his wine. His Japanese was subtle, probably eroded by his years in the tower. He shook his head and slammed his cup on the table.

“I was having a good time when I sniffed your decadent scent and my belly churned with sourness.”

Tara chuckled. “That might be old age, Tez. And we won’t be in your hair for long. We need your help with something.”

One of the serving girls approached the table, a new bottle of wine in hand. She saw Tara, stopped, and turned sharply. Tez hissed, but Tara beamed, leaning on the table. David leaned away, the smell of wine and dirt too heavy on the old man. Then he noticed the scar stretching from Tez’s forehead down through his glasses and his cheek. They were deep gashes. Healed now, but the scars were horrifying without the red of blood. He tried to imagine how much pain that must have been and realized he’d probably suffered worse.

“You want the portal out of here?” Tez said. He gave a curt nod. “I knew he shouldn’t have hid it from you kids. You should have been allowed to go up there and see what we saw for yourselves. Then you’d have appreciated the gift of life he gave to you little ones.”

“Gift? He robbed us of our choices, made us accomplices to his stupid idea of life, and made us slaves to his lies.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Ah yes, you sound just like the child you are, Tara. Ignorant, but pretending you know enough to decide what you should have.” He picked up his cup to drink again. His face wound up in a frown when he realized the cup was empty. He turned toward where one of the serving girls was pouring wine for another table. “You ruin everything, Tara.”

“I am glad you think so, Old Tez. But you are wrong. Do you remember what the task for the floor is? Or you have lost your memory in wine and whores?” Tez grunted. “My friend here wants to finish that task.”

David saw the old man freeze. It was subtle, but the vein on his right hand strained, and then he sighed. David searched for the serving girl. He waved her over when she met his eyes through the dim light. Fear, David realized, was what they felt for Tara. He wondered what kind of reputation Tara had in this part. He gestured for the girl to serve Tez and leave. The old man grinned, finishing the drink in one long drink and then whistling for the girl to come back.

“You want to face Krak?” Tez asked, chuckling. His cup shook in his hand as he started to laugh violently. His wine poured over the rim, on his hand, and on the table.

“Tez!” One of the older serving women called from another table and Tez waved at her.

“Sorry Milia, these folks are making my ribs hurt,” Tez said, then he turned to Tara. “You will die. It will not be fast because Krak is a cruel monster. He will enjoy your death because he is probably bored. Do you understand? There is no going against that monster. There is only waiting for whatever end awaits us.”

“We do not want to wait, Tez. That was what Galan did and now he is dead. We do not want to wait. You want to stay here and die? That is your plan? When did you lose your sense of what is wrong? Was it when they cut your arm outside the tower or when Han took your eye?”

“You make insults into poetry, young Tara,” Tez said with a sick grin. “Once, we went against Krak. A friend like yours got us agitated and thirsty for adventure. He was dumb, but he was strong. An enhancer. He could make things more than they were supposed to be. With his help, Galan created his hidden world and I was able to use my Heavenly Reverberation technique. With him, we thought we could do anything, ascend the tower to the end and become the first heroes to do so.”

“And Krak killed him?” Tara asked, obviously not interested in the story. Tez grinned, shaking his head miserably.

“He made us kill him,” Tez said, smiling wildly as if hit a haunting mix of nostalgia and guilt. David saw the raw self-loathing in the folds of his face and the forlorn way he stared at his good hand on the table. “He defeated us and then gave us the option of killing him or all dying. It was an easy decision for me. For Han and Galan it wasn’t. But I was new, still giddy with the possibilities that come in the future. There has been none, Tara. Krak is absolute here. There is nothing beyond him.”

“I have seen powerful beings, Tez,” David said. “I have witnessed powers that blot out the light, shrouding it in complete darkness. I have been given despair and death and brought back to life as if those concepts were merely constructs to play with.”

“You have seen god?” Tez asked, a mocking smile on his grim face. Tara chuckled, but David wasn’t amused. He leaned forward, hoping the old man could see how serious he was with his one good eye.

“I have seen things worse than god,” David whispered. “And trust me, Amareth and his ilk are not the worst of it.”

Three Gaoran guards walked into the tavern, barking for drinks as they found a table. Tez leaned toward their voices and then turned back to David. The man was smooth with his scrutiny. How he checked for danger and then settled when he found none. David found himself wishing he’d seen the man before his many woes weighed down on him.

“Then what is?” Tez asked.

“Beating the towers might not be the end,” Tara said, whispering so none other could hear her. “According to David and the others, we might be in a game of gods. And we are just pawns.”

Tez sighed and let himself settle into the ribbed back of his chair. There was a look of understanding and pain on his face. There were other scars on his face, but only the gash across his cheek held David’s attention. He adjusted his glasses, something as foreign as they were in this world of stark horror.

“Why should I trust anything you say?” He asked, but David could hear his decision in his voice. He saw it in how much close Tez leaned and the conviction in his voice. “Why should I hitch my life to yours?”

“Because this is the only chance you have to avenge your friend,” David said before Tara could reply. “You get to put up one more fight. And if you die, you know that you weren’t on the side, watching. You acted, you contributed. You weren’t a decrepit waste who watched his friends die and let his life gush away. Like me and Tara and our other friends, you will be one of the people remembered for clearing the way. You will matter.”

Tez was silent for a long couple of seconds. David waited for the answer he knew was coming. And when Tez gave it, he heard Tara sigh beside him. Tez laughed, shaking his head as if he’d just realized a joke that they had missed. Then he stood up, picked up his sword, and asked them to follow him out. As they walked through the guttered streets of Gaora’s semi-slum, Tez told them all he knew about Krak.