“Where are we going?” Orb asked, chasing after Bleedy. The racooneever had burst out of the room at Charlie’s command.

“To find Merlin! He can help her!” Charlie said.

Orb shot past Bleedy and froze in his way. Bleedy came screeching to a halt. “And how exactly are you going to find him, Charlie?”

Charlie sat there, dumbfounded. “Uhm, well…”

“Bleedy.”

“Wait, did you just say your own name?” Orb asked.

Bleedy nodded. He started sniffing along the ground before finding what he was looking for. “Bleedy!” he called out again, shooting off with Charlie. Orb spun in frustration before taking off after them.

They arrived at a tall building along the town’s center street. Outside the building was the same cart Merlin had stood on to speak earlier that day. Bleedy jumped up on the cart and ran up to a wooden crate on it. He sniffed at it before perking up, inhaling more deeply. He somehow managed to slide the top piece off and peeked his head inside.

When he pulled it out, his mouth was full of hair.

Or at least, something that looked like hair.

“What the heck is that? Did you just come here for a snack?” Orb asked. Bleedy kept chewing, a content look on his face. “Great, so… we have no idea where Merlin is.”

Charlie turned toward him. “Well, he can’t be far. This is his cart!” He looked up and noticed a couple of rooms still had lights on. “Bleedy, can you take us up there?”

Bleedy looked up and scanned the building. He nodded. He dipped his head back in for one more serving of the gross-looking snack and then began scaling the building. They stopped at the first window and saw a short, older man staring in the mirror of his room. He had scissors in his hand and slowly clipped away large chunks of white hair. His hand slipped, and the scissors landed with a clang against the hardwood floor.

A woman’s voice called from behind a door in the room. “Ron! What was that? I better not come in there and find you cutting your hair again! I like it long.”

Ron sighed. Looking at the clump of hair in his hand. He looked around for somewhere to hide it, and then promptly gave up and put it in his mouth. He covered his mouth with a hand and struggled to swallow the evidence. The man looked back in the mirror at his now uneven bangs and sighed again.

“What’s up with everyone eating hair today? Anyway, let’s keep moving, Charlie.” Orb said.

Charlie nodded. “Okay, Bleedy, let’s try the next one.”

Bleedy climbed up onto the next floor, and Charlie patted him on the head when they saw Merlin sitting on the edge of his bed. This room was smaller than the other. A single room with only a bed and a couple of chairs inside.

Merlin rested his face in his hands. “What was I thinking? I let that whole situation get out of hand!” He lifted his head and allowed himself to fall back onto his bed. He stared at the dimly lit ceiling. “Maybe I should make it right, find a way to help that poor woman. But… if they figure me out… that could be really bad, too. Maybe I should just leave town before it’s too late.” He stood up and hurried to the door, but then paused. “No. The innkeeper will wonder where I’m going.”

He turned back and ripped the sheets from the bed, tying them together as quickly as he could.

Bleedy leapt to the side as Merlin made his way to the window and threw it open, flinging the sheet rope outside. Charlie got the impression this wasn’t Merlin’s first time leaving in this manner.

Only a few minutes had passed.

Merlin looked around the room one last time and climbed out. He’d just gotten outside and settled in for his descent when he turned to his left and saw a furry creature clinging to the wall next to him. On its back was the silhouette of a baby with a bright blue orb where one of its eyes should be.

A veritable demon waiting outside to strike.

Merlin screamed, losing all of his strength, and promptly released the rope he was holding.

Big mistake. He fell three stories and landed hard on his back in the mud.

Charlie looked down after him. “Hm, maybe he’s scared of the dark?”

Merlin shot up, the memory of falling still fresh in his mind. He scooted away from Charlie and his companions until his back met the wooden exterior wall of the inn. At least, it should’ve been wooden. Instead, he felt abrasive rock against his back and turned to look at the transformed wall of the building.

“Can you hear me?” Charlie asked him. Merlin’s head snapped back around, searching for the source of the voice. With a groan, he realized it was inside his head.

“What do you want?” Merlin asked.

“We’ve come for you, Merlin,” Charlie said.

“Squeak.”

“Yeah, don’t say it like that, Charlie. You’re going to scare him,” Orb said.

Merlin leaned against the wall, scrambling to his feet. He squinted into the darkness, trying to find the voice’s source. Well, all the voices. He quickly realized there was more than just a single demon. “Please don’t kill me. I just want to go. Please, just let me go.” His eyes honed in on his cart and he took a tentative step toward it. “I have coin! And some other goods as well. Take them! They’re all yours, just… spare my life!”

Charlie patted Bleedy on the back and they stepped closer. Moonlight caught them at a new angle, and Merlin saw them clearly for the first time. “We don’t want any of that! We came because of Hilda’s mother! The cure didn’t work. She’s sick. The doctor says she needs magic!”

“Hilda?” Merlin shook his head. A flash of recognition. He searched for an answer in the mud beneath his feet. “The girl from the stage… the doctor really said that? He can’t help her?”

Charlie shook his head. “No. He said without magic she might not even survive until tomorrow night.”

Merlin seemed taken aback at the news. He shook his head. “That’s… magic isn’t an option. I can’t help her. I’m sorry.”

Charlie frowned. “What about that root you mentioned before? Where can I find some of that?” Charlie asked.

“Right. I looked at that. Apparently, it doesn’t grow far from here. The innkeeper said they used to harvest it and sell it to nearby villages. It’s used for more than just curing Darwanes Syndrome. People use it in all sorts of medicines, foods and even potions.” A passing breeze blew the hanging rope of sheets he’d tied earlier into his face.

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He swatted at it.

He composed himself again, clearing his throat. “But a month or so ago, the people who went to harvest it from the forest never came back. Neither did the search parties. The town pooled their money together to pay a passing adventurer to investigate a couple weeks ago, but he hasn’t returned either. Whatever’s out there, it’s not good. It’s just too dangerous.”

Charlie turned to look at the tree line in the distance. “Hm. Okay. That direction then?” He pointed.

“Uh, yes, but… didn’t you hear me? It’s dangerous!”

Charlie patted Bleedy on the back, and his trusty steed started walking in the direction Charlie had indicated a moment before. Orb and Mousifer trudged along after him. “See ya, sucka,” Orb said as they headed off.

Merlin hurried after them, trying to cut them off. “Wait! That’s not fair at all.”

Bleedy kept walking. Charlie looked up at Merlin, who hurried beside them. “What’s not?”

“You’re a baby! I can’t just let you go into the woods by yourself! Let’s…let’s talk this through!” Merlin stammered.

“I’m not by myself. All my friends are with me. But if you’re worried, come with us,” Charlie said.

Merlin shook his head. “What? No! That’s insane. You want to travel through the woods at night? There could be anything out there!”

Charlie shrugged, rocking from side to side as his furry mount trotted on towards the forest.

“Wait, but…Nope. I’m not getting dragged into this. This is all a dream. You fell and hit your head, and your unconscious. None of this is real…”

Charlie turned and looked over his shoulder. “Bye Merlin! It was nice meeting you!” he called out.

Merlin groaned. He turned back, chancing one last glance at his cart. “Fine, I’ll come with you. But if it looks too dangerous, we’re coming back!” he said.

Charlie didn’t say anything, he just smiled. His head bobbled as they continued on for the woods, searching for a cure for Hilda’s mom.

They walked through the lush forest outside of town for a while, Bleedy keeping pace with Merlin. Merlin swatted leaves and branches out of his way as they walked.

After a half hour of explaining how Charlie had somehow ended up in the hands of the Knights, and later, with Richard and Mary, they caught Merlin up on everything they had experienced. How Mousifer and Bleedy had joined them, and even how they had faced the witch Lusafeen and escaped unscathed. Merlin took it all surprisingly well.

But that might’ve been because falling three stories out of a window is likely to cause a little brain damage.

Bleedy came to a halt, sniffing at the muddy ground with great interest. “What is it?” Charlie asked.

Bleedy turned to look at Charlie. “Others,” he said.

Merlin crouched and looked around, searching for what Bleedy was detecting. “Others? As in people? Monsters? What are we talking about here?” He swallowed.

“Others.”

“Thanks for clarifying.”

Merlin’s head snapped, and Charlie looked up. They could hear the faint rustling of conversation not far from them. Merlin and Bleedy moved slowly toward the noise. Orb trailed them, quiet and dim to avoid anyone spotting his usual bright hue.

Charlie could see the odd limbs of men through swathes of moonlight penetrating the tree line above.

“I’m just glad we’ll be finished soon. I’d be happy to never see a tree again,” one of the men said.

The other laughed. “Aye. Soon, friend. Soon. Arroane will reward us greatly for this haul. And Lord Cendra, well, as I said, soon.”

Charlie craned his neck, watching as the men finished up whatever they were doing. They each threw a bag over their shoulder and walked deeper into the forest. Something inside the bags rustled with each step. The men wore bright red robes with strange runes on them and had hoods pulled over their faces. They disappeared, walking into a patch of tightly knit trees. The moonlight wasn’t able to flood the forest floor there.

“Oh. Oh…that’s not good.” Merlin backed away from the foliage and his eyes darted around the ground as he tried to collect his thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked.

“We shouldn’t be here. They’re with the Cult of Cendra… if they find us…” Merlin trailed off.

“Cendra… we heard that name before. Lusafeen said it,” Orb said. Charlie tilted his head up at Orb and thought about it for a second. He nodded as her words came back to him. She had mentioned someone named Cendra.

“What’s the Cult of Cendra?” Charlie asked.

“Bad news. Very bad. We need to go back to town.” Merlin paused. “I think I know what happened to the villagers who went missing now. If the cult is active here, they may not want anyone to know what they're up to. If they find us…well, it’s best we don’t find out.” Merlin turned to walk back to town.

“Wait! What about Hilda’s mom? Without that plant, she’ll die. We can’t leave without it,” Charlie asked.

Merlin didn’t turn around, instead his gaze simply fell to the ground. “Charlie…we can’t help her. If we stay, we’ll only get ourselves killed. It won’t do her any good if we all die. We can report to the villagers what we learned, at the very least, so they know not to send anyone else out here.”

He paused. “Look, I really don’t want to be the guy who abandoned a baby out here. But I don’t want to die. So, stay if you want. But you shouldn’t. Even if you are a dungeon baby or whatever.” Merlin took a few reluctant steps back toward the village.

Charlie shouted after him. It came out gibberish. He reached out with his mind before Merlin had gone too far. “Don’t you care at all? Even if the cult finds us, we can fight! You can use your magic!” Charlie said.

Merlin stopped. He turned around and aimed a palm towards Charlie. “Emerald Hex Elemental,” he said. An emerald-colored hex appeared. From it, a ball of fire surged outward toward Charlie.

It was fast.

Too fast.

Charlie went to cover his face with his hand. Bleedy lifted up on his hind legs and held his arms out, shielding the others from the attack. The fire shot through, dissipating in the air behind them.

Bleedy opened a single eye to inspect himself, surprised his body wasn’t scorched.

“Squea!” Mousifer cursed. He started patting Bleedy down, trying to put out imaginary flames.

“He missed?” Charlie asked.

Orb spun, trying to piece together what happened. “That was an illusion, wasn’t it?” he asked.

Merlin nodded. “I’m not a magician. Well, that is, I can’t use magic that actually does anything.” He sighed. “Hazel Hex Heal. Scarlet Hex Search. Void Hex Violence,” he said.

One after another, the hexes manifested, each sending colorful rays of magic all around him and then disappearing into the night. “It’s a sham. That’s all I’ve ever been. I’m no magician, Charlie. I’m just a bad guy in a terrible world, taking advantage of good people. Sorry, kid.”

“Then don’t be,” Charlie said.

Merlin blinked. “What? What do you mean?”

“Don’t be a bad person. Help me save Hilda’s mother. We can do it, all of us can. Together.”

Merlin squinted. A laugh escaped his lips. “It’s too late for that. I’ve taken advantage of too many people. I’ve accepted that by now. But you can be different. You can be good. Just not tonight, not like this. Not in a way that will get you killed.”

Charlie shook his head. “Who cares what you did before? I’m not asking about before. I’m asking you to be good now.”

Merlin paused. “I can’t just be good all of a sudden… it doesn’t work like that.”

“Why not? You just made that up. It’s not true. Maybe you can’t really use magic, but you can be good. You don’t need magic to be a good person. Start now. Be good, now,” Charlie said.

Merlin’s shoulders fell. “You think… you think someone can just decide to be good? Just like that?”

Charlie nodded.

Merlin stared at him for a bit before sighing. “You really do remind of someone. But…can I really…” He paused, trailing off.

“Squeak.”

Charlie turned toward Mousifer. “You really think that will work?”

Mousifer nodded.

Charlie concentrated. He puffed his bottom lip out and stared wide-eyed at Merlin.

Merlin’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? You’re going to pull that?”

“Is it working?” Charlie asked mentally, puffing his bottom lip out a little more.

Merlin laughed. A hearty laugh. “You’re ridiculous.” He sighed. His head fell back, and he stared into the night sky. “Fine. Fine. I guess I might as well give it a try. It’s been a while since I tried playing hero.”

“Really?” Charlie’s face lit up.

Merlin shrugged. “Let’s go find that stupid plant.”