When they arrived at the exit of the dungeon, they found a mess. Many of the trees surrounding the clearing were splintered or gashed. Cultist’s bodies littered the ground. The moonlight reflected off puddles of blood.

There’d been a massacre here.

A number of well-armed men moved through the camp, transporting the bodies into a pile. It looked like the plan was to burn them. Vetica drew her dagger, but Arroane held a hand up.

“Relax, these are my men,” he said.

“They aren’t cultist?” Charlie asked. But he realized they weren’t dressed like cultist as soon as the question had left his mouth. Most of their clothes were ragged and well-worn. Of course, they were also covered in blood. They might not be cultist, but they were killers. They were the ones responsible for the ever-growing pile of bodies. Charlie was glad he’d left the hostages in his dungeon for now. He knew what he might have to do to stop Cendra’s resurrection. He knew that might mean killing cultists. But the hostages he had taken were weak. He’d take them to a prison or a guild or something. Someone who could put them in jail instead.

Arroane shook his head. “No, they aren’t cultist. These men are loyal to me. They’ve masqueraded as my servants since we’ve infiltrated the cult. Well, some of them are actual servants, but there are also soldiers and people we’ve recruited from all over Aysela among them. Good men. Brave men. You can trust them.” He led them towards the camp.

Vetica sheathed her dagger as she walked, but she still looked a little uneasy about it. She’d settled down towards Arroane since they’d talked about…whatever they had talked about on the way through the dungeon. They’d spoken in hushed tones and Charlie hadn’t been able to hear any of it. Instead, he and Merlin had talked about how cool it was to see the scalers evolve, and the possible implications of future core functions. It’d given Charlie lots of ideas for the future.

“So, now that we’re here—” Merlin was only part way through his question when someone called out his name.

“Merlin?” a man’s voice shouted from up ahead. He was a huge man, wearing a green tunic. He was carrying the bodies of three cultists in his hands as if they weighed nothing. A generous amount of blood had splattered over the front of his shirt. The corpses plummeted. The large man let them fall without care. He looked shocked.

Shocked to see Merlin.

Merlin’s eyes shot open. His face contorted into the most horrified face Charlie had ever seen. “Oh, no…”

“Merlin!” the man yelled again.

Merlin took a slow step backward.

The large man broke into a run. He lumbered across the camp, each footstep rocking the ground. The men under Arroane’s employ all stopped what they were doing to see what the commotion was.

Merlin turned and rushed back towards the dungeon.

Charlie tilted his head. “What’s going on?” he asked.

On Charlie’s shoulder, Mousifer’s head also tilted. Suddenly, he perked up and pointed his paw toward the lumbering man excitedly. “Squea! Squeak!”

Bleedy nodded his head. “Bleedy!”

Charlie looked at each of them. “Wait, you two have seen him before? Where?” he asked. The large man was quickly catching up with Merlin.

“Squeak!”

“Oh. His cellmate in prison. The serial killer,” Charlie translated. It fully dawned on him a moment later. “Oh! The serial killer!”

Merlin was close to the mouth of the dungeon. He looked over his shoulder and saw how close his pursuer was. “Charlie! Close the dungeon right now! Seal me in! Do it fast!”

The serial killer laughed as he chased Merlin. “Merlin! It’s me, Brutus!”

Charlie got ready to do as Merlin had asked when Vetica stopped him.

She held a hand up to tell him to wait. Her hand covered her mouth as she watched the two men run. It looked like she was trying not to laugh. “I’d like to see this play out, actually.”

Charlie shrugged. If Vetica wasn’t worried about it, it was probably fine. Probably. Plus, it was kind of funny.

Merlin almost made it into the dungeon. Almost. But in the end, the large man ran him down. He wrapped his arms around Merlin’s stomach and pulled him into a big bear hug. Well, except for the fact Merlin was facing the wrong way. Brutus twirled in a circle excitedly. Merlin’s legs flailed in the air.

“Merlin! Friend! It’s been so long!” Brutus exclaimed.

“Ahhh!” Merlin screamed in terror.

“Ahhh!” Brutus screamed in delight.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh!”

Charlie giggled at the two screaming men. Brutus pressed Merlin away from him, with either of his massive hands on one of Merlin’s arms. Then Brutus lifted Merlin into the air above his head. “This is the best day of my life!” Brutus shouted.

Merlin made a strange noise. It sounded like something in between screaming and crying.

After Brutus had finished tossing Merlin around like a rag doll, he dragged him over so that he could meet the rest of Merlin’s friends. He didn’t let Merlin go far, though. He wrapped an enormous arm around Merlin’s shoulder. The serial killer was wearing a huge smile on his face. “I can’t believe you’re alive, Merlin!”

Merlin wore a blank expression. His hair was tousled, and he stared at the ground. “I could say the same thing about you. What happened to your execution?” His voice was monotone. Merlin shot a look at Charlie, his former friend, and betrayer.

Charlie covered his mouth. Vetica wasn’t the only one trying to stifle a laugh now.

Brutus turned his head. “Huh? Oh! See that old guy over there? That’s Isrich, the captain! He’s good at cards. Remember when we used to play cards?”

Merlin sighed. “Yes, I remember the single time we played cards.”

Brutus chuckled at that. “I knew you’d remember. Anyway, the captain showed up at the prison the day of my execution. Told me they needed a guy like me. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I joined. Never thought I’d see my best friend here, though!”

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“We’re not best frie—” Merlin stopped before he got it out. He realized it was probably for the best not to dispel Brutus of that belief. The man had probably killed people for less before. “Well, great. Now I know who to thank.” Merlin glared at Isrich.

“I did it, by the way! I took your advice!” Brutus beamed.

Merlin blinked. He turned to look up at Brutus. He cleared his throat and did his best to hide the concern on his face. “My advice?” he asked.

Brutus frowned. “You know! Your advice! You told me I should push myself and go after those men in the red robes! I realized you were right. I couldn’t stop after beating the town record. So, I decided to follow my dreams and really go for it. Can you believe two men in red robes became my cellmates the day after you left? I got them both. I realized it was a sign. Ask, and the universe provides. Now look at me, I got over half those guys!” He pointed to the pile of dead cultist.

Charlie and Vetica exchanged a look. Now they knew for sure how the cultists Vetica had turned over to the town guards had died.

Merlin looked at the corpse pile and swallowed. He turned back and shot Charlie a panicked look. He straightened up when Brutus finished admiring his work and turned back toward Merlin. “You’ll never guess my new number!” Brutus said.

Merlin took a deep breath. “Charlie, I’m starting to wonder why there are so many serial killers in our circle. I get Vetica is technically an assassin, but—”

Brutus perked up. He figured out pretty quickly which one of them was Vetica. “Wait really? We should get together and swap secrets sometime. It’s hard to meet like-minded people. What’s your trademark? Oh, do you ever eat—”

Merlin held a hand up. “Please don’t finish that sentence.”

Vetica shook her head. “What? Eat what?” She looked bewildered.

Orb laughed in the background. “I freaking love this guy! He’s hilarious!”

“I’m all for catching up with old friends, but let’s get back to business,” Arroane said. “Isrich!” he called out.

Captain Isrich was speaking with some of his men. He looked over at Arroane and nodded. After barking out a few more orders, he hurried over. “Lord Arroane. It’s good to see you’re well. How may I be of service?” he asked, half-bowing.

Arroane paused, noticing something. “Isrich, is that John over there?” Arroane looked surprised, but not necessarily disappointed.

Charlie recognized the man almost immediately. He’d been the cultist fighting alongside Arroane in the dungeon earlier. The one that could use a defensive hex.

Isrich scratched the back of his head. “Most of them turned tell and ran as soon as they realized the battle was lost. A few fought back, but we killed them easy enough. Truth be told, I gave that John fella a chance to escape. Wasn’t long before he was back here though. He’d taken off his robe and planted himself right in front of that cage. Threw his arms out and said a bunch of junk about dying to protect it. He was convinced it was the right thing to do,” Isrich said.

John was helping pack up supplies. Arroane turned to look at him. “I see…well, your gut is usually good about these things. I’ll leave him in your care.”

Isrich nodded. “Yes sir, how are we proceeding then, and who are these people with you?” he asked.

“Allies. The baby and the dungeon core can talk. Don’t make a big deal about it. I’ll explain later. Let’s finish here as soon as we can. I’d like to get on the road soon.” Arroane turned to Charlie and the others. “As I said, I have business to attend to now, business that will help me keep up appearances.”

“Speaking of, won’t the fact you got all these men killed hurt you there? I mean, they’re definitely calling you to human resources when you get back to the office. How ya gonna explain all this?” Orb asked.

Arroane laughed. “The cult prioritizes results and results alone. I’ve legitimized their attempts to approach and do business with nobles. Without me, that would’ve taken a lot longer. I get results. I spend time, money, and resources…” He said that last word while looking at the pile of dead cultists. “But I get results. This won’t be an issue. I always make sure to lose a few men wherever I can. Lowering their numbers, a little at a time. Still, the cult has many beings under their control. They won’t even blink at this. All that matters to them is Cendra’s resurrection.”

“I don’t like that word, beings. It implies they have allies that aren’t humans,” Orb said.

“Then it implies correctly,” Arroane said. He turned and looked toward the cage. “I’d like you to try now, dungeon core. See if you can’t fix my son.”

Parent floated up. “My analysis says that…”

Arroane held a hand up. “I’d like him to try. I know what the outcome will probably be, but I’d like him to try.”

A few men were already rolling the cage towards them. Isrich pulled the covering off of it.

Charlie gasped. Taro, or at least, monster Taro, was definitely just a kid. As soon as the covering was removed, Taro turned and fixated on Charlie and his friends. The cursed child dived towards them, stretching its hand out to try to grab them. Arroane reached back, but Isrich grabbed his arm. “I’ve already fed him. A boy shouldn’t eat his father,” he said.

Orb turned to look at Charlie. “What the hell kind of quote is that? Did he get that out of a cannibal’s self-help book or something? Sheesh,” he said, so that only Charlie could hear. With that, he floated past everyone and up the cage. “Long time no see, man! Sorry that I called you ugly last time. I know you can’t help how you look, but hopefully I can!”

“Argh!” Taro screamed. A few flecks of spit landed on Orb. He shivered.

“You know what? I take my apology back. Someone get this guy a toothbrush!”

“Orb!” Charlie shouted.

“Fine, fine. I’m on it. Can everyone turn around, though? I’m a nervous sentience-r.” He didn’t wait for them to turn around. “Greater Sentience!”

Taro’s hand flailed. He was still desperately trying to grab onto someone.

Arroane frowned. “No change. That’s too bad, but not unexpected. We’ll try again once the power has developed further.” Arroane turned to Charlie and the others. “We’ll finish cleaning up here before seeing to our business. I have an estate just outside of Port Carrus. Have any of you ever been?” he asked.

“No. At least, I haven’t,” Merlin said. “Is that where you want to meet?” he asked.

Arroane nodded. “Yes. Tend to any business you have and then head there. There is a guild in town. Wait there. When I’ve returned, I’ll send someone to find you.”

Orb bounced from side to side in the air. “Alright, so you just want us to hang out for a few days?” he asked.

“No. As I said earlier, the cult will move in just a few months. This is the time for training. Speak to the guild leader in Port Carrus. It’s a respectable guild, but their members take jobs all over the world. They often sign up for quest, hop on a boat, and don’t return for months. Overseas quest last awhile but pay well. With their best and brightest pursuing those opportunities, some decent local quest get left on the table. They have adventurers who take them, but I guarantee you’ll be able to find some work.”

Vetica raised a brow. “They won’t let us take a quest unless we join the guild. I’m not eager to tie ourselves down like that.”

Isrich chuckled. “Find the guild master and tell him you're an associate of mine. He’ll let you take a quest then, even if you don’t join.”

Merlin nodded. “Aright, we’ll do that. Thank you, both of you.”

“Oh!” Brutus raised a hand. When nobody acknowledged it, he waved it with more fervor.

“What is it, Brutus?” Isrich asked.

“Can I go with them, captain? I’ll be good! Promise!” Brutus said.

Merlin’s eyes shot wide open.

Isrich barked laughter. “No, Brutus. You’re needed here. Besides, if people spot one of Arroane’s servants going around doing quests, they’ll be suspicious.”

Brutus’ head fell.

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s too bad. I was really hoping you could come,” he said.

There was a twinkle in Isrich’s eye. “Don’t worry, you two. I’ll make sure to give Brutus plenty of time off when we’re all back at the estate. You can catch up more then.” He winked.

Merlin froze so hard that Charlie wondered if his soul had left his body and floated away.

Brutus clapped his hands together. “Great!”

Isrich smirked. Then he snapped his fingers. “That’s right! Boss, should I recall the contracts to look for dungeons now that this is wrapped up? There’s a lot of money tied up that we could allocate elsewhere now.”

Arroane nodded. “Yes. We’re done with the search.” He turned to Charlie. “If you’d like, take some time to revisit the guild you took the contract at. The one you used to lure us here. We left enough gold there for five or six more contracts. I can send word ahead that you’re coming to retrieve it.”

Merlin’s soul snapped back into his body. “Absolutely. We’ll head straight there.”

Arroane laughed. “Very well. One week. Meet us in Port Carrus in one week.”