Shouting could be heard from within a dwarven shop in the White Rabbit District, where two dwarves engaged in an epic battle of words, each refusing to yield. There were many kinds of arguments between dwarves that could turn heads and astound, but none were like the arguments between dwarven family members. Within the shop, two stout figures were forehead to forehead, shouting at one another with all the air that came up from their lungs.
One dwarf would present a fact to support their argument, while the other would attack them personally. If one brought up the past, the other would counter with the future. One dwarf demanded proof of an accusation and the other would present the needed evidence. Besides the two that argued, there was a third dwarf who cheered and bellowed with joy at every turn the argument would make. Half an hour rolled by of screaming and hollering before a tipping point.
Both dwarves arguing were red faced and seemed that they were about to blow up. Glick, one of the dwarves, became unsteady on his feet, eyes unclear and only able to find his debate opponent by his blurry image. The other, Dwindle, kept on his feet by the need to rescue his friend, though he felt queasy and wanted to lie down. His arguing with humans had made him soft, he realized. Only arguing with dwarves truly made a dwarf sturdy in debate, but he tried to hold on nonetheless.
When both were about to keel over, the third dwarf, Lorbrite, jumped in between them.
“Debate done!” Lorbrite shouted with enthusiasm, acting as if he were refereeing, but it worked and the tension released almost instantly. Dwindle and Glick had to steady their bodies on something to keep from falling, both heaving in and out heavy breaths, exhausted.
When Glick could stand without swaying, he grunted, “Damn is it good to see you, Dwindle!”
Wiping off sweat from his brow, Dwindle smirked, “It is good to see you too, Glick.” They then hugged and patted one another on their stout backs.
“That was a hell of a show, lads,” Lorbrite praised, still humming from the exciting argument, hoping in the future he would have the pleasure of being in an argument of such magnitude himself.
With the debate settled, Dwindle had no issues recruiting his cousins once again for another rescue mission, though Glick had his reservations, he kept his peace. His other cousins often criticized Glick on his favoritism of Dwindle, but Glick didn’t mind. A dwarf chasing a dream was foolhardy to him, but he couldn’t help but respect Dwindle for trying. Plus, their Dwindle was the bravest among them. Glick always admired that about him.
Escorna, the city of the damned, was as magnificent as any district above ground, although the inhabitants of the city were clothed mostly in dark garb while some hid their identities in masks. Buildings here were just as high and just as lavish. The cobbled streets had sage symbols that allowed carriages to have a smooth ride without bumps, much like the upper districts. The most striking difference, however, was the presence of slaves and thralls.
Zini couldn’t stop scowling as he traversed the streets, eyeing the people that had slaves in tow behind them. Shops shouted for him to enter to peruse their wares of artifacts and books, everything pertaining to the dark arts, but he kept moving. His scowl deepened into a look of disgust and anger as he came across a stage built near a marketplace, where underfed people dressed in gray were being auctioned off like cattle, their worth reduced to a mere price tag.
It took all he could to keep walking and to hold back his Umbral Hand magic from smashing the stage to pieces. He had to move forward for the sake of his relationship with Red since the necromancer had a fondness for him. Despite being a dark magic user, Red chose to help him when Zini was in his most dire situation, about to be killed by Badlanders. Zini decided he would return the favor by rescuing Red’s companion.
He arrived at a charcoal-colored structure that loomed over him, resembling a miniature castle of dark gray stone with decorative battlements. A gate opened along the walls, revealing an entrance to allow passage for the black sage symbol carriage carrying Euness and other captives. Men in white masks and robes took over from there, unloading the carriage and dragging its living cargo to a nearby storeroom.
Before they could load them in, a dark skeletal hand crushed the men in masks, leaving them unmoving, pressed into the dirt.
A voice full of vigor shouted, "If you want to live, come with me!" Those in chains lifted their heads and saw a pale young man in simple clothing shouting at them. Zini had decided to make a move, knowing that it was as good a time as any to rescue Euness since not many enemies were in sight. A dark claw made of magic, leaping like a viper, shot towards the captives, shattering the chains that bound them.
The dark castle next to them erupted into a commotion, sage symbol lights coming to life from within. Shouting voices from inside demanded to know what was happening outside.
Meanwhile, Zini busied himself with carving runes into the dirt using his Umbral Hand magic. He created a circle around himself and the captives and commanded, "Stay within the circle!" His eyes moved rapidly as he drew rune after rune with his dark claw.
With such little time to prepare, taking this many people with me will be quite difficult, Zini thought worriedly, but he knew he didn’t have the heart to abandon them.
“Aren’t you Red’s friend?” asked a squinting older man who seemed to have a hard time seeing.
“Yes, Mister Euness” Zini answered, his dark green eyes never leaving his work. “And don’t worry. I’ll get you guys out of here.”
While trying to find clues about Poly’s whereabouts, Euness had ventured too deep into The Hole and encountered the most perilous predators that lurked within. Despite his best efforts, he was captured and taken to the city of the damned.
More men in masks exited the faux castle and began shouting upon seeing Zini, air distorting around them as they began to exude mana. Violet light shone when each of them began to draw sage symbols in the air. A dark skeletal hand swiped at them, causing their magic to misfire, but they remained upright and began to engage in battle against the skeletal appendage.
“Come on, come on,” Zini muttered, sweating.
Suddenly, a woman's piercing scream cut through the chaos. "Baley? Where are you?" she wailed, looking frantically around.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Zini's attention was drawn to the weeps of a girl, who was far off. He then saw the woman dart towards the girl, and he yelled, "No! We're about to go! Get back here!"
“Not without my child,” the woman screeched, grabbing the girl before turning to run back.
More men in masks appeared, making Zini have to summon more hands to fight them with. He had to release his dark claw in order to power more Umbral Hands to fight with, leaving him with only his finger to draw runes with. The woman and the child stumbled and fell at the same time the masked men began to beat back Zini’s skeletal hands.
The circle Zini had drawn exploded with violet light and distortions appeared in the air around them like ripples on water. Despite his magic finally being complete and an escape being possible, Zini would hold off, determined to save everyone. He pulled back one of his skeletal hands that were locked in battle, using it to pull the woman and child back over to them, but in doing so, he allowed the masked men to gain ground. One of them stepped forward and from a sage symbol drawn before them, fired a bolt of dark energy at Zini.
Zini managed to conjure a dark curtain of magic that engulfed everyone in the circle just as the woman and child passed back into its lines. In another flash of violet light, they disappeared from view, leaving the masked men shouting in fury.
A dazzling violet light exploded at the apparent edge of a cliff, and out of it materialized Zini and twenty others. They landed gracefully on runes that Zane had prepared ahead of the rescue, providing a designated destination for the group to transport to. The necromancer fell to his hands and knees as he gasped for breath, sweat dripping unceasingly from his face. Transporting so many people with hastily made magic took a toll on him.
“We’re out of that demonic city!” a man celebrated, nearly crying.
“Can we make it back to Soalde from here?” another asked.
“Where are we?” asked the woman who was with her child. They backed away seeing a bottomless pit just beyond the cliff’s edge. Nearby, a stone bridge could be seen that connected to another cliff across the vast darkness.
“Are you okay?” Euness asked Zini, kneeling next to the necromancer.
“Yes,” Zini breathed out heavily, “I just need to catch my breath.” A dark symbol suddenly appeared on his chest, causing him to grit his teeth. “Tracking magic…” he hissed, thinking back to what one of the masked men had shot him with. He looked back to Euness and those around them, “No time to get our bearings, we have to move. We’re being tracked.”
“Who’s that?” asked the child with them, pointing across the chasm.
On the other side of the stone bridge, holding a lantern that exuded a dark light, a hunchbacked man with a gruesome face was standing there, watching them.
“Lilia?” Rose said, recognizing the woman leaning against her carriage.
“Rosey,” the young woman, Lilia, smiled. Her smile dissolved her bored expression, revealing her true beauty, which showed her to be as beautiful as Rose. She stepped forward with her arms wide, expecting a hug.
Rose however backed off and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Lilia’s hands fell to her side, a look of disappointment in her golden eyes. “Dawrite returned home without you. Your parents asked me to check on you.”
“Well, you see that I’m fine.”
“Don’t be like that,” Lilia pled. “Rosey, it’s me..”
Rose scowled, “They only sent you because they knew I wouldn’t cause a fuss with you. I am a Hunter now. They said they would respect that.”
Lilia wrapped Rose in her arms and cooed, “I’m not your parents, Rosey. You don’t have to argue with them through me. I have only ever been your friend.” She pulled out a piece of candy and handed it to Rose. “It’s your favorite chocolate.”
Rose swatted it away and shouted, “If you’re not my parent, stop treating me like a child! We’re the same age, Lilia, but you always act as if you’re older!” Rose then turned to Red and the others, “Let’s go. There’s no reason to linger here any longer.”
“Rosey…” Lilia muttered, clearly hurt. Had she done something wrong? She couldn’t grasp why Rose had become so distant these past few years. They had grown up together. Was it the arranged marriage with the Fore family that had Rose so on edge? But that had nothing to do with Lilia.
The sound of munching caused Lilia to turn and find a rather handsome young man chewing the chocolate Rose had batted away. Lilia’s bored expression returned. She never liked pretty boys. They always showed themselves to be sly dogs with impure intentions. Lilia only hoped this sly dog wouldn’t try anything with Rose.
But as she continued to stare, the young man kept chewing, keeping an even gaze with her, seeming like a cow chewing cud. Why had he picked up the chocolate in the first place? It was dirty. The young man swallowed and kept staring at Lilia.
Lilia asked tentatively, "Would you like some more?" She noticed an expression in the young man's eyes and hesitated for a moment. Upon receiving a nod, she offered him another piece of chocolate, which he began to chew on again. "Do you enjoy the chocolate?" Lilia inquired, to which he nodded once more. There was something peculiar about the look in his eyes, as if he possessed the innocence of a child who had only just matured.
Before she knew it, Lilia was petting him. He didn’t mind and kept chewing. “How strange,” Lilia wondered aloud. The young man was nothing like how he looked. He reminded her in that moment not of a sly dog, but of an actual one. Her hand was suddenly grabbed and wrenched away.
“Stop treating Red like a child,” Rose chided Lilia angrily. “Stop treating everyone around you so pretentiously, Lilia!”
“Rosey…” Lilia tried to say but Rose had turned around and began walking away, dragging Red along with her.
As Rose’s group began to walk away, Lilia saw someone she recognized. “Joker,” she called out. The blind woman stiffened hearing her name.
Joker smiled innocently and greeted with a bow, “Vice Guild Master. I, uh, didn’t see you there because, as you know, I am blind.”
Lilia said sternly, “There have been five reports of you sexually harassing other guild members and causing emotional harm to more than fifteen others.”
“Emotional harm!?” Joker exasperated, “Such meaningless complaints are beneath your attention, Vice Guild Master.”
Lilia noticed she didn’t bother disagreeing with the sexual harassment accusations. Lilia then levied, “You told a guild mate that the only reason they were in a team were the two big reasons hanging from their chest. The woman you told that to has yet to return to the guild and has taken up occupancy in an inn where witnesses say she had been spending the last few days eating and drinking while crying.”
“But I’m blind!” Joker said, attempting pathetically to curry sympathy. She could sense instantly it wasn’t working and sighed, “Fine. I’ll apologize.”
“Thank you, Joker. Now, where are you all going? You all make quite an odd group, and you and Rose have never interacted before.”
Joker moved closer Lilia with a hand over her mouth as if she were about to share a secret, whispering, “To tell you the truth, I’m about to score with that looker you were talking to earlier. He’s handsome, isn’t he?”
Lilia’s bored expression didn’t falter as she stared at Joker, sensing the blind woman wasn’t being forthright, but the Vice Guild Master did not have reason enough to voice her concerns. She chose instead to ask, “There have been a string of murders in the Red Fox district and the Gold Boar district. Have you heard anything about it?”
Joker let out an exasperated breath and replied, “Do I look like a guard? Why would I know something about that?”
“Joker, there’s no need to get short with me.”
“Well, I don’t know, Vice Guild Master. I’ve been here at the guild waiting on my team.”
“The Royal Suit is going on a quest?” Lilia prodded.
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Joker asked with impatience, her hands planted on her hips.
“…never mind,” Lilia sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “The Guild Master has asked a lot of me this time around and it’s left me feeling strained. I’m afraid I’m being punished for getting in the way of someone important in the city.”
“The City Lord?”
“Someone connected with him. I don’t know who but they have quite a bit of influence to affect our guild.”
“Well, good luck with that. Am I free to go?” Joker asked, her white eyes finding Lilia’s face somehow.
Lilia could see Joker’s patience had run out and nodded, “Then be well, Joker.”
“You too, Vice Guild Master,” Joker replied and skipped over to join the others in the carriage.
Lilia’s golden eyes remained trained on Rose’s fancy carriage as it started to pull away into the night. “What are you up to Rose?”