Donavan scowled at the darkness. His features shadowed amidst flickering firelight. His left hand clenched into white knuckles. His right hand gripped a mangled goblin corpse wrapped in canvas. The first of a dozen more that lay at his feet.

Behind him, Asheeri shoved what she could into a knapsack. Wynn cradled Jules in his arms. Inhuman chitters and rasps echoed around them in a mocking symphony. Piss yellow eyes flashed as they caught reflections of firelight.

Disgusting.

These creatures were disgusting.

What he was about to do was disgusting.

The smell would be even more disgusting.

Donavan lifted his arm, holding the goblin's remains over the campfire. Flames licked upwards, grasping at the canvas until they found purchase. He held it there, letting the fire swirl up around the corpse. The tips of the flames tickling at his fingertips.

Donavan took a step forward and flung the stinking load into the night, streaking blood and fire.

The Goblins stopped their mocking.

Donavan grabbed the next bundle. Once it too began to burn, he sent it soaring. He was not aiming for the goblins. He was aiming for the trees. He filled the air with bloody meteors. Some hit the dirt with wet splats, others caught in the limbs of dead trees. Their contents tumbled down through the branches. As bodies fell, flames arose.

The night retreated before Donavan's onslaught. The shadows the goblins clung to disappeared as fire took their place. He could see the creatures now. They looked small. They looked scared.

Good.

"Asheeri, Wynn, go now!"

The two darted into the trees. They could see where the goblins were, but it didn't mean they were out of danger. Donavan scraped rocks off the ground, walked to the base of the cliff, and jumped. He soared upwards, cresting over the top. This time ready for the landing.

Donavan slammed down atop the cliff. Now, a hundred feet above their campsite. He had a bird's eye view of the battlefield. He saw the shapes of Asheeri and Wynn running north-west, along with the goblins in their path.

He didn't need to kill them. He just needed them to move.

Donavan pulled his arm back like a pitcher, a fist full of rocks in his hand. With an exhale, he began the next phase of his barrage.

He didn't aim. Just threw one handful after another a few hundred feet in front of where Wynn and Asheeri were running. Trees cracked and plumes of dirt bloomed in the wake of his lethal rain.

He sent one volley after another until Wynn and Asheeri had made it deep enough into the trees. Once they reached the edge of the blaze, he would have to catch up. Donavan took a few steps back and made a running leap off the top of the cliff.

The wind tore past his ears as he sailed above the flaming treetops. He hit the ground and tumbled into a roll and came up running. He was starting to understand what this body of his could really do. Within seconds he pulled up beside Wynn.

Sweat slicked the mans brow. He was struggling to keep pace. Jules's head lolled back and forth as she lay cradled in his arms. He was slowing them down.

"Give her to me," Donavan said.

Wynn looked at him. His eyes were red and puffy. Reluctance painted across his expression. But Wynn relented. He placed Jules into Donavan's arms with all the reverence he could in the middle of a mad dash into the night. Donavan felt her skin, too cold against his palms, but sure enough, her chest rose and fell.

"Asheeri. Where are we going?" Donavan asked.

"Back towards the village."

"Wait we can't go back." Wynn yelled, "It took us days to get this far. Jules can't hold out that long. We need to do something now."

"What options do we have!" Asheeri shouted. "We lost all our supplies. There are still goblins behind us. We can't stop here."

The two continued to argue. Donavan just looked down at the limp girl in his arms. A crimson stain grew thick on her white blouse. Each breath seemed to come weaker and weaker.

Hadn't she mentioned having a sister? Who would tell her what had happened? Donavan didn't know anything about her, much less where to find her. Did she have other family? The only other connection he knew about was the Bakers family. But goblins had killed them too. Right before Wynn showed up to save the day.

Just background characters as far as Erwin was concerned. Nothing more than props to set the scene so Wynn could be the hero.

Not much different from Donavan In Away. He too was only here to serve Wynn's story. A spectacular threat, destined to be even more spectacularly cut down. The crowing achievement of Wynn's legend. He had more in common with the people here than he thought. They were all in the same boat. Put here to satisfy the whims of a god who only cared about a single person.

but looking at Wynn now... Eyes caked in blood or mud. Constantly glancing at the girl in Donavan's arms. If he knew, he'd probably be more heartbroken than anyone. None of them deserved this. Not Jules, not him, not even Wynn.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

There was only one thing Donavan could think to do.

He had seen magic performed once so far. The lewd head priestess of the temple had healed Caspiera's wounds in mere moments. Erwin had said that Donavan's body was capable of magic, but only when he wasn't wearing the ring. But the ring also hid his identity as this story's biggest villain, whoever that was. If he took it off now how would Wynn react? Would Erwin be angry for blowing the big surprise?

Impossible to know. But Jules was meant to be one of Wynn's lovers. Surely Erwin would understand. But what if he didn't? Was she worth the possible consequences of trying?

She was. He realized with some surprise. She was a ridiculous anime bunny girl with bright pink hair and a brighter personality. And despite Erwin's lacking characterization of her. She had dreams, fears, and goals like anyone else. And though Donavan was loath to admit it. He did feel somewhat responsible for her. He was the one who encouraged her to do 'something brave' after all.

Donavan reached for the simple band around his finger.

This way

Donavan stopped. He'd heard thoughts inside of his head, but they weren't his own.

Don't respond, Don't do anything to indicate that someone is speaking to you. I wish to help. Head west from your position. You will come across a small creek. By its bank, there will be an entrance to a cave. There you can take refuge.

Was it Erwin? It didn't sound like Erwin, but then again it was in his head. He must've been doing what he could to intervene.

"I may have a place we can go," Donavan spoke up. Asheeri and Wynn stopped arguing and turned to him. "West from here, I think I saw a cave when I was on top of the cliff. We can decide what to do from here"

The two nodded at each other and began jogging west.

The voice had not lied. Sure enough, Donavan spotted the creek and then further down, the cave.

"Are we sure about this?" Asheeri said coming up behind him, "This could be a monster den for all we know."

"Do you have a better option?" Donavan asked.

"It feels... right somehow?" Wynn said, stepping forward to the mouth of the cave.

"What in the void does that mean?" Asheeri asked.

Wynn didn't answer and stepped inside. Asheeri shot a look at Donavan. He shrugged and followed after.

He'd never been deep in a cave before. So he wasn't certain how it was supposed to look. But even though his gambling days were over, he'd put money down that it wasn't supposed to be this. Two hundred feet down a tight and winding decline, the cave widened out into a spacious cavern. The far wall was dominated by a massive... bank vault. That was the only thing he could think to liken it to. Ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide, made of some milky material. Not quite metal, but not quite stone. The only imperfections on its glassy surface were strange geometric diagrams. Much like a bank vault, the center had a circular protrusion. It was where the wheel to open it would've been. But he could see no means of opening it.

But the strangest thing was that despite the utter alien nature of this place. Donavan felt a sense of Deja Vu.

"This should be good enough." Asheeri said, "Let's see what we can do for Jules, put her down over here."

Donavan complied and stepped back. "Where are we?"

Asheeri went to work assessing the damage. "Looks like a Hollow."

"Hollow?" Donavan tried.

"You've never heard of a Hollow? Oh right, I forgot, you don't know anything." Asheeri sneered and went to work on Jules.

"To be honest," Wynn said, staring at the vault. "No one really knows what they are or why they're there. But they're intricate underground complexes. Sometimes they're filled with all sorts of amazing stuff. Magical artifacts, strange devices—"

"And monsters," Asheeri added. "So leave it alone."

"We wouldn't be able to get into this one anyway. It's Sealed. Seekers have been trying to figure out how to get into the sealed hollows for decades and no one has ever managed it." Wynn said.

Asheeri stood up from where she crouched over Jules and turned to face the two men. "I need you both to leave."

"What, why?" Wynn asked.

"Because I'm going to take off her shirt and clean up the blood so I can dress the wound. I'm not about to let you two get an eyeful while she's out."

The idea that they would be in the mood to leer at Jules in this condition was downright offensive. But Donavan wasn't about to waste Asheeri's time and focus arguing about it. "Wynn, we'll head back up a little bit. Make sure no goblins followed us down here."

"Don't go too far. Stay in earshot."

Wynn nodded, albeit reluctantly, and the two men walked fifty feet back up the cave.

They walked in silence, leaving Donavan time to think. What was the voice that had beckoned him here? It had to be Erwin right? He probably had some kind of backup plan. Especially with the way Wynn had reacted at the entrance. But something felt off.

Erwin? Are you reading my thoughts, was that you?

Nothing. That was probably a good thing. If Erwin could read his thoughts, that would be a big problem. He wasn't planning on sticking around to see this story reach its conclusion. It was better Erwin didn't know that.

"I'm sorry," Wynn said, their walk becoming a slow trudge.

"Huh," Donavan turned. "Sorry for what?"

"For charging the goblins like I did. You were right, it was a stupid move."

Donavan sighed. It was too dark to make out Wynn's expression, but it definitely wouldn't be his usual boyish grin. "Don't beat yourself up over it. There's no point to it. We all got put in a bad situation."

"But I screwed up. If I didn't run off, Jules wouldn't have gotten hurt"

"Don't do that," Donavan said.

"Do what?"

"Spend your energy blaming yourself instead of focusing on the now. Maybe Jules wouldn't have gotten hurt if you hadn't charged. Or maybe you both would have gotten hurt. Doesn't matter now. What happened has happened. What matters is what we do next."

Wynn didn't speak for a moment. "'Did they teach that at your monastery?"

"Uh, sure." Donavan chuckled. It was more the three decades of disappointments and hard life lessons, but he could chalk it all up to his non-existent monastery.

"If only I was strong like you," Wynn said after a stretch of silence. "If I had power like yours, something like this wouldn't happen again."

Donavan exhaled into the dark.

“You will have power, Wynn. More than me. But Jules didn't get hurt because you lacked power.”

Donavan felt more than saw Wynn look at him.

“I don't understand.”

Donovan reached for his pocket expecting a pack of smokes to be waiting there. Then he remembered he’d been trying to quit, and threw out his stash. He also remembered he was in a cave in a fantasy world and Malbaros probably didn't exist here anyway. This place sucked.

Donavan sighed. “Jules got hurt because Jules got hurt. Shit happens. There isn't always a reason for it. If you hold yourself accountable for everything that goes wrong, you'll go crazy. And things will still go wrong.”

“So what, I just forget the whole thing?”

“No, of course not. You can always be better, always learn from your mistakes. But no matter how powerful you are. Some problems don't have an easy answer."

Wynn frowned. "What am I supposed to do then? If more power won't solve any problems, then what's the point?"

Donavan felt for the kid. One of the appeals of fantasy was how clean-cut a story could be. The good guys were unquestionably righteous. The bad guys were unashamed bastards. No question as to who deserved to be struck down. The good guys always won because they were good. If only that was how it worked.

If it weren't for Donavan though, that's exactly what Wynn's life would've been. In ways beyond his understanding, It was probably his fault Jules got hurt. He couldn't know what deviations his presence was having on the storyline. But things were wildly different from the draft he was familiar with. He doubted things would get easier from here on out. Wynn needed to prepare for that.

"It isn't about having more power. It's about how you wield what power you do have." Donavan said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... great power comes with—" Donavan sputtered, "—I mean when faced with a hard choice. Like charging the goblins or staying back to protect your allies. You need to consider the consequences of those decisions. The more power you have, the greater consequences your actions will have. Which means the more power you have, the more wisdom you need to wield it with."

Donavan could bet Wynn was frowning at the floor. This was the first time Wynn hadn't seemed so young, so boyish.

"How am I supposed to know what the wise choices are?"

"By making the wrong ones first."

Wynn turned on him. Donavan only peered forward, gaze distant, remembering a past that was now a world away. "It takes pain and suffering to truly comprehend the weight of your choices. And it often won't just be your suffering either."

"That doesn't seem fair."

"No one said it would be. We all have difficult choices to make. All we can do is try to make the choices that align the most with who we are."

The cave was quiet between the two for some time.

"I don't want to be someone who lets others get hurt. Not if I can do something to stop it." Wynn whispered.

Donavan smiled. It may still be a bit naive, but the man's heart was undeniable. "I think that's a good start."

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Who are you?"

The question caught Donavan off guard. How would he answer? Continue spewing some nonsense about being a traveling monk. That's what he should do, but the idea of hiding behind that lie seemed distasteful at this moment. He could tell him that he was secretly a super-powerful villain. that he was pretending to be his friend so he could manipulate him. But only because an immature shut-in of a god forced him to. Yeah, that would go over well. All that was really left was the truth.

"I—" Donavan started, not knowing what would follow.

Whatever he was going to say was lost in the light of a torch approaching them with the sound of hurried steps.

"Don, Wynn, come quick" Asheeri yelled, pain laced her voice. "We're losing her."