“What do you call yourself, Master?”

Raylas jumped as the girl broke her silence. Hours had passed as they traveled and Raylas was feeling about ready to drop. The Fort had come to view not long before and they were finally approaching the broken gates. There was just one entrance into it and the gates had long since collapsed in rot. He actually helped in cutting up the last pieces for the main fire when he was here with the caravan.

“Raylas,” he answered as he gave her a glance.

“Is this your home, Master Raylas?”

Raylas chuckled. Someone of his stature owning a fortress? Even if it was abandoned there would be no way that could happen. Any town that heard of such a thing would assume he was just a bandit who decided to set up camp and would set out to purge him.

“No,” He sighed. “But this will be our encampment for tonight. We need to hurry and build some defenses before night hits.”

The girl paused and looked around at the crumbling walls.

“Is this not defensive enough?” she gestured.

“Not for what is coming,” Raylas grimaced. “They’re undead. Either we destroy them or they’ll surround us until we starve. You can’t escape them unless you sacrifice someone.”

“Sacrifice?”

“Throwing food at them.” Raylas gagged. “They don’t stop long for animals, but if you throw a human or human-like creature at them they’ll feast and lose focus allowing you to escape.” He shivered thinking of his companions who would be following him now, hungry for his flesh. “For some reason that distracts them and they lose track of anyone else who was following. It is the only reason the undead have not killed everyone by now.”

“Then we can’t stop them with a sacrifice because you are the only human here?”

“You’re here too,” Raylas pointed out.

“I’m a djinni,” she giggled.

Raylas snorted and pulled out his weapon. The doors to the fort were rotted away, but they were still obstacles which blocked the view inside. He placed his back against the wall and signaled the girl to do the same.

“They don’t care about your nationality,” he said. “Kasan, djinni, or even an Imperial won’t make them hesitate. I won’t willingly throw anyone at a horde even if it means surviving. That kind of selfishness will cause you to be cursed.”

The girl slowly moved and leaned against the wall. Raylas rolled his eyes as he peered around the corner into the dark of the Fort. There were no unusual shadows inside or moving figures, but not everything is easily noticeable, but there were some changes to the last time he was here. Some wooden beams had been shifted toward the other side of the room, scratches all across them.

“Then how will you survive tonight,” she inquired.

He took a rock and tossed it inside. There was no sound or movement. Raylas smiled in satisfaction as there appeared no uninvited guests living in here since the caravan passed through. He entered and scouted the inside, searching for clues of who poked around after they left.

“Easy,” he replied. “I won’t sacrifice a human to save myself, but there is no curse to sacrifice a monster. Now, I’m going to need you to…” He looked at her and frowned. “What is your name, by the way?”

“You can call me whatever you wish, Master,” she bowed yet again. Raylas groaned and signaled her to stand up.

“Okay, then.” He paused a moment and thought before snapping his fingers. “I’ll call you Harlot until you find something else to wear.”

“I would prefer it if you didn’t,” she snapped.

“I don’t have anything else to call you.”

“My previous master called me Sapphire,” the girl pouted, crossing her arms.

“Sapphire?” Raylas asked. After the jewel? What a weird name to give a girl. Speaking of, what color was that gem?

“After the ring,” Sapphire jumped at his question. “I am Sapphire, Sapphire Ring in fact. My old master liked to keep me and the other djinni’s–”

“Then I’ll call you Sapphire,” Raylas interrupted. He pointed inside what used to be the Fort’s main hall. “Now, I’m going to need you to do some work and it needs to be done quickly. We don’t have much time if we want to have a chance to live until dawn.”

The girl’s mouth snapped shut, her mirth disappearing, and then sighed as she lowered her arms in defeat.

“What do you desire, Master Raylas?”

“First thing is first,” Raylas took off his pack and set it onto the ground. “Gather all the wood you can and pile them in the middle of the courtyard and also over there by the stairwell.”

“That's it?” she asked.

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“Yes,” Raylas dismissed. “I have my own job to do and would prefer to get some sleep before we start. So please do it quickly.”

The woman stared for a few moments before huffing and storming off. Her temperament was rather poor, but that was to be expected from the delusional.

While she was busy Raylas continued his scouting. There were tiny feet in the dried mud. A few spots of dried pinkish blood were smeared across a few surfaces, and even when he went into the tower he saw evidence of tampering and scratching of the old furniture and walls. In the last room he finally found the evidence he needed. A small soiled loincloth which was left abandoned.

It seems that there were some curious goblins around, which made Raylas smile as he began to formulate a plan.

He went back to his pack and pulled out some rope. It was just long enough to do its job today, but he’ll have to buy more next time he arrives in town.

Raylas started to tie his rope into a loop and took it out to the courtyard. There was a large tree sitting near one of the edges within clear view of the Fortress’ tower. He took a hold of a branch and pulled it down, tying the loose end of the rope onto it and placing the loop on the ground. Using another strand which he cut off he carved a latch system which was used to hold the branch down.

Satisfied, he took out some clothes from his pack and ripped them into strands and tied each together. It was then connected to the latch and stretched out across the courtyard into a window leading into the main hall. He finished the trap by pulling out a handful of salt and piling it into the center of the rope then propping the rope up a short length from the ground.

Satisfied he gazed around to see the girl making a decent sized pile in the courtyard. He smiled and waved for her to come to him.

She sighed in obvious relief and waltzed over.

“Are we done?”

“Not quite,” Raylas said. “Finish moving the wood then come watch the trap from the window over there. Wake me up if you see anything come into the yard.”

“Wait, you’re going to sleep?” she gasped.

“Yup,” he chuckled. “So don’t take too long. Activity scares away the wildlife.”

He gave her a pat on the shoulder and moved over to where she dumped his cloak. He took it up and headed inside the main hall and sat down by the end of the makeshift rope. He sighed in relief as he closed his eyes and quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Something touched his shoulder.

His arm shot upward and grasped the attacker. She let out a stifled scream and Raylas jerked awake as he looked around.

The light in the sky was still bright but there was a red tint to it. At the far end of the hall was a pile of broken tables and some debris he assumed to be part of a door. He looked over at the girl who was glaring at him. He released her wrist and she shook it painfully.

“You told me to wake you,” she whispered.

“Force of habit,” Raylas apologized. He leaned forward and peered outside into the yard. A deer had arrived and was sniffing around curiously. Raylas smiled. This was exactly what he wanted.

“So what are you–”

Raylas hushed the girl and signaled her to watch the deer. She narrowed her eyes and did as ordered. He stood still and waited.

The deer caught the scent of the salt and started toward it. Raylas’ heart beat faster as it got closer and paused in front of the loop. It looked at it then down at the pile of salt, and then up and around the area.

Raylas closed his eyes so the animal wouldn’t see any sort of reflection or gaze. They had an uncanny ability to know when they’re being watched. After a few moments he opened them and saw the deer had lowered its head through the loop and was licking up the prize.

He yanked rope and the lack released, tightening around the deer and yanking it upward. The deer howled in fright and tried to run but the rope and branch were too strong.

“We got it!” Raylas cheered as he leapt up. The sleep and adrenaline of a successful catch helped him feel like a new man. He rushed outside, followed by the girl.

“So we have dinner tonight, right?” She asked, clearly eyeing the animal hungrily.

“We have dinner, but no for us.” Raylas laughed as he approached the creature.

It gazed at him with terror and tried to flee but the rope yanked it back. Defeated, it beat its hooves against the ground.

Raylas, undisturbed by its threat, came close and punched it in the face. The creature fell over dazed and Raylas jumped on top of it as he pulled out his dagger. He held it down, dagger ready, then remembered the girl.

“Go light the fire in the yard,” he ordered.

“But…”

“Do it because we don’t have much time left,” he said as he looked into the sky. There was maybe an hour or two left of light, but by the amount of distance he put between the zombies and here they might arrive before it fully set.

Sapphire gave the deer a sad look before nodding and leaving. Raylas nodded in approval at her obedient nature, then gave the struggling deer a hard look.

It didn’t take long to finish preparing the deer and soon it was howling in fear and pain. Raylas left it and did a quick rinse to remove the blood.

The fire in the middle of the field was also starting nicely. The girl had finished preparing everything so it was starting to grow. Black smoke rose into the sky as the wood took and the fire rose.

“Gather everything and head to the tower,” Raylas then ordered. “Light the pile by the staircase once we are settled.”

“What about the deer?” She asked.

“Deer is prepped. Now we just need to wait.”

“What are we even doing?” Sapphire snapped, clearly exasperated. “Why are torturing that animal and starting these fires?”

“Because,” Raylas laughed then became serious. “The undead will follow us until we are dead, unless there is a sacrifice. So what better way than to give it what it wants.”

“You’re going to sacrifice a human to them?” She sneered.

“We are not going to sacrifice a human,” he said. “We are going to give them something more to their level.” He headed inside and took his cloak and pack. “We’re going to give them some goblins for dinner.”

Sapphire paused then looked between the smoke and wailing deer, then sighed. She followed after and helped gather the few loose items.

“Truly the heir of Aasim,” She mumbled.

“Hurry up,” Raylas called out. “I want to have the fire inside roaring before those creatures get a whiff of that deer.”