Marcus woke up slowly. He found that he was feeling groggy. He tried to get up but groaned and lay down again. He tried to open his eyes but it felt too bright. At least his whole body did not feel on fire this time.
“Oh, good! You are finally awake!”
The statement brought some weird memories to Marcus. Something about being tied and waking up in a cart. Then he realized that those memories were not his and he was watching someone waking up in a cart with their hands tied. Weird.
Marcus turned towards the source of the voice to find Tasha standing a few feet away from him and looking at him with concern. Marcus sat up gingerly. He observed his shoulder. He was sure that he had been hit with a firebolt type spell by those imp creatures in whatever place they had gone through but it felt completely okay. Even there were no problems with his trench coat armor.
Marcus looked around to find his backpack lying to his right. He sighed with relief when he spotted it. He was not sure whether he had lost it or not when he was running for his life.
Marcus checked the backpack. The contents seemed to be fine even if they were slightly squished. Tasha moved towards him and he turned to look at her. She gave him his longsword.
“It fell off your back as you went through the portal”, explained Tasha.
Marcus thanked Tasha and slung the longsword across his shoulder. Then he dusted himself and looked around.
As far as he could tell, it seemed that they had landed in a desert type region. He could see for kilometers around him and all he could see was a dry flat region covered in red soil. Marcus bent down and touched it. It felt like normal dirt and sand but it was red in colour.
Marcus looked up to see a red sun shining overhead him. The sky was also bathed in a red tinge. It felt as if the entire world here was filtered through a red tint and everything took on the red hue as a result.
Marcus said to Tasha, “It’s all red.”
Tasha gave a short laugh and said, “Welcome to Twarftha, the prison planet of the demons. The red is necessary. It helps keep the demons weak.”
“Twarftha”, mouthed Marcus, “Quite the name. What does it mean?”
“Prison Planet.”
“Makes sense. Why was I expecting something else?”
“Come on then”, said Tasha pointing in a direction, “I feel my parents’ energy from that direction. We should start making their way there.”
“How far do you reckon we are from your parents?” asked Marcus as he started to follow Tasha.
Tasha shrugged, “I do not know. However, I do know that they are in that direction.”
“Which direction is that?” Marcus asked, looking at the sun. Traditionally the sun rose from the East and set in the West. But, he was not sure that was right on Twarftha.
“North”, replied Tasha.
This confirmed to Marcus that on Twarftha the sun indeed rose from the East and sat in the West.
“I have some questions. Care to answer now?” asked Marcus.
Tasha said, “I will, but are you alright with talking while walking.”
“Yes.”
“Good then ask away.”
“Where are we?”
“On Twarftha. I think I cleared that.”
Marcus huffed and said, “Where on Twarftha. These plains look like a rather dried up desert without much sand. I see no demon in sight for kilometers around. I also do not see any places to hide if we are detected by demons.”
“You are not wrong. There are not many places to hide from demons here. But, there are also no demons here. This area, where we have portalled to, is called the Burning Plains. Demons do not reside here. There is nothing out here that would sustain them.”
“So, why did you choose this location to be our site of arrival?”
“Because there are no demons here. Any other portal would lead you near to a demon encampment, or a village, or a town, or for that matter, a city. Here we can easily infiltrate their region and rescue the team that is trapped here.”
“Good point”, said Marcus, “However, did you even consider that this region might be quite far from where the five adventurers are held prisoner? Also, what if they are kept at separate locations? How will that help us?”
“Pray that what you just said is not true”, said Tasha softly.
“Because?”
“Because, if what you said is true, then we are truly screwed.”
Marcus gave a dry humorless laugh. They walked in silence for some time.
Then Marcus asked, “What was that place we went through when we got here? I mean, I have portalled before on Una. I do not go through an orange purple place with floating rocks where there are flying imp type creatures trying to kill me. You know.”
“They are called durloghs. Those flying imp type creatures”, said Tasha, “They are not exactly demons or of demonic origins despite their appearance. They are actually guardians.”
“And what do they guard?”
Tasha looked at Marcus with an expression as if she was contemplating giving him an answer. She shook her head and continued to walk. Marcus assumed that she was either thinking of a way to answer his question or debating whether she should answer the question. Marcus did know which and he waited in silence. He was patient. He knew he would get his answers. Eventually. Hopefully.
“There are two types of travelling through portals”, said Tasha after some time, “Interplanetary portal travel and intraplanetary portal travel. Intraplanetary portal travel is travelling through portals on the same planet. Interplanetary portal travel is travelling between portals on different planets.”
“I kind of guessed what they were based on their names.”
Tasha glared at Marcus and he made a gesture of zipping his mouth.
Tasha continued, “For an intraplanetary portal, the spell that is cast to activate the portal… hmmm… to put it simply, it tears a hole through space and time and you are able to go to the other side where the portal is opened. By using an array of spells and crystal constructs, we are able to connect two locations with greater accuracy. Those are the portals that you use while moving from one location to another on Una.”
Tasha paused, collecting herself and then continued, “Interplanetary portal travel is a bit complicated. It is actually a bureaucratic process whose reigns are held by the durloghs you just met.”
“You mean the durloghs which attacked us.”
“Yes.”
“How? They did not seem dangerous. I mean the spell which hit me did not do much damage.”
Tasha grinned and Marcus could see a glint in her eyes.
She said, “They might be weak physically and magically but they are practically immortal. You cannot kill them while they are in their home dimensional plane. It is the same dimensional plane that we passed through.”
“How come?”
Tasha sighed and said, “I will explain to the best of my abilities if you do not interrupt me.”
Marcus again made the gesture of zipping his mouth. Tasha rolled her eyes and said, “I am not sure you understand what zipping your mouth means.”
When Marcus did not reply, Tasha proceeded with her explanation, “The dimension plane or the realm which we passed through, the home realm of the durloghs is known as The Realm out of Space and Time. And yes, that is its name. The Realm out of Space and Time. It is a long name, please do not ask me to go into the history of it, and it is where the durloghs live.”
“The realm was discovered by a Game Master, whose name I shall not reveal as you are neither a Game Master nor one in training. When the GM discovered the realm, he encountered these durloghs. Many things happened, I will not go into details, but in the end negotiations occurred which allowed the Game Masters to travel to different planets through portals. However, only Game Masters and those approved by Game Masters would be allowed to travel through the portals. Every time you wish to travel from one planet to another through portals, you have to have the permission of durloghs to pass through The Realm out of Space and Time.”
Tasha took another pause in her explanation. She brought out a bottle from her backpack and took a small swig of water.
Tasha then said, “If you pass through illegally, like we did, then the durloghs attack you and are allowed to kill you. I mean, I could have negotiated with the durloghs for safe passage but there was always a risk of other Game Masters knowing, and that is dangerous.”
“Why is it dangerous?” asked Marcus.
Tasha looked at him with an expression that sent chills down Marcus’ spine.
Tasha said, “You do not want to know. Suffice to say, we made it through their realm without any issues and I have a feeling they wont recognize you nor remember you. And I am pretty sure that I hid myself well. They would not even realize I was there.”
Marcus frowned, “When did you hide yourself?”
“When the durloghs were attacking us.”
“Oh! Okay.”
They walked in silence for a few moments before Marcus spoke up, “Can we not do interplanetary travel like we do intraplanetary travel. Open a portal tearing through space and time and just going through.”
“Hmm. You see, I gave you a crude explanation of how a portal works. Detailed explanation is a trade secret and as I said before…”
“Yes, yes, I know. I am not a Game Master or associated with them or a Game Master in training.”
“That you know of.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“What?”
“Well, you do have amnesia, don’t you?”
Marcus blinked at that statement. Then he frowned. Was he associated with the Game Masters in any way? He remembered what Marbas, the demon lord, had told him ages ago. He was what they called a Game Destroyer. He still did not understand what that meant and Memory was no help either in this case. Should he discuss this with Tasha? No, he decided, this was too risky a topic to discuss with Tasha.
“I mean if I had been associated with Game Masters in some way, there would have been signs, wouldn’t there be?” asked Marcus hopefully.
“There should have been, but you do not have them. However, there is something mysterious about you. Something I can’t put my finger on. And my parents are also not helpful. But, I have hope. I think I can figure out what you are.”
“I thank you for the sacrifice you are making of your time to reveal my identity”, said Marcus drily and Tasha laughed.
They walked in silence for some time. Then Marcus said, “You know. You did not explain why the durloghs are immortal in The Realm Beyond Time and Space.”
“It is The Realm out of Space and Time”, corrected Tasha, “And you are right. I did not. Simply put, they have an inherent magic that makes them immortal in their realm. I am sure if you were to take a durlogh out of The Realm out of Space and Time, you might be able to kill it.”
“Might?”
Tasha shrugged, “Well, no one has tried it yet. And I doubt anyone is going to. Interplanetary portal is more important than sating one’s curiosity.”
“And you are a hundred percent sure that no one has tried to take a durlogh out of their realm and tried to harm it?”
“The deal for travelling through their realm would be cancelled if anyone tried. I doubt any sensible Game Master would risk agitating or angering the durloghs. There is not much to gain and more to lose.”
“Hmmm.”
Marcus was lost in his own thoughts about the durloghs and the Game Masters for some time. He looked around. The reddish desert landscape did not change much. Marcus could not even tell if they were making any progress or not. It was all so uniform and dull.
The red sun beat upon Marcus and Tasha as they trudged through the Burning Plains. They drank water sparsely but they did take sufficient breaks. Walking in the heat was tiring work; physically as well as mentally.
“You know, I have been wondering”, said Marcus, “What if your parents are successful in their negotiation and manage to free the adventurers without our help.”
“Then one of them will take us with them once they are finished”, said Tasha.
“And what if they have to leave before we reach the adventurers and they do not have a successful negotiation?”
“Then they will put a discreet spell on each of the adventurers so that we can track them before leaving this planet.”
“And what if they are not able to?”
“They will be able to.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they are Game Masters. You cannot fathom the power a single Game Master has. And here we have two Game Masters. Trust me, if they want to cast a discreet spell, they will cast a discreet spell, and no one other than another Game Master would be able to stop them. And there is no other Game Master on Twarftha.”
Marcus did not keep track of time as they walked. It felt like hours to him. As the red sun started to set over the Western horizon, he could see a faint hue of blue over the Eastern horizon. The red sun set and a blue sun arose bathing the world in a blue tint.
Marcus looked at Tasha and questioned, “What the fuck?”
Tasha took a deep breath and said, “Twarftha revolves around two suns placed in such a way that night does not fall on this planet. The red sun is called Rubrum while the blue sun is called Caeruleum. They both have similar effects on the demons, keeping their power in check.”
“So the demons would be quite weak here.”
“They would still be stronger than you considering you have no magic.”
Marcus threw his hands in the air and said, “I still don’t understand what the fuck I am doing here. Seriously. I mean, why did you bring me in the first place?”
Tasha looked at him with a strange expression and said, “To help the adventurers. For some reason my mother was adamant that you would be vital for their rescue. I don’t know much but I believe in my mother’s instincts. They are never wrong.”
Marcus wanted to insult Leyda Lightweaver but he was sure that it would not sit well with Tasha. Instead he simply grumbled and continued to walk.
Marcus looked at the unchanging terrain as they walked. He was now starting to feel tired. He did not know where they would be sleeping. There seemed to be no shelter in the Burning Plains and he needed to sleep safe from the blue sun in the sky.
Marcus said, “Are we going to take a rest? I am tired.”
Tasha looked at him and frowned, “This is not good. I am sorry. I forgot you needed sleep.”
Then she snapped her fingers and a tent appeared out of nowhere.
“You can sleep in here”, said Tasha, “I will keep watch.”
Marcus opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He did not know what to say. Exhausted, he unslung his longsword and backpack, stepped inside the tent which was large enough with two bedrolls, crashed on one of them and fell asleep.
Marcus was not sure for how long he slept. He suddenly felt someone shaking him.
“Wazza-”, said Marcus groggily as he woke up.
“Are you well rested?” asked Tasha, “You have been sleeping for eight hours now. I think it is sufficient for you to carry on.”
Marcus grumbled but did not say anything else. He ate some of the rations and finished his business after requesting Tasha to give him some privacy. She raised a small wall.
After he was ready, they started to walk. The blue sun was now nearing the horizon and Marcus was sure that the red sun would rise soon. After a few hours, Marcus’ prediction came true.
Marcus and Kyrie walked like this for about two days as per Marcus’ estimation. Marcus asked her about Tasha’s parents' signatures and she told him that she could still feel them North.
At the end of two days, when the blue sun was setting and the red sun was rising, Marcus noticed a change in the scenery. Even though it was far away, Marcus saw a hill.
Marcus said, “I presume the burning plains are coming to an end?”
Tasha looked at where Marcus was pointing and her mouth thinned.
Tasha said, “Yes, we must go there. I believe the city is beyond that hill type structure.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“My parents’ magical signature feels close. Really close.”
Marcus grumbled to himself, “This is close! Fuck, my feet are killing me.”
It still took them a day to reach the hill. It was a dry hill. Nothing grew on its slopes and Marcus could not estimate how high it was. He concluded it was high for a hill.
They did not go over the hill, thankfully. But they went around it. As they went around it Marcus saw the scene change as if by magic. On the slope which Marcus had not seen before, there was a large forest which extended quite high up in the hill.
Marcus and Tasha stopped at the start of the forest. Marcus looked at the forest and then at the barren land behind them. He looked to his left to find the forest extending for quite some distance. There was barren land behind it.
“What the fuck”, said Marcus gesturing at the forest.
Tasha said, “Don’t think too much. It’s all magic.”
“It’s all magic”, mimicked Marcus, “That cannot be your explanation for everything.”
“It is not. But for this, it is.”
Marcus decided not to argue further. He was tired and he was not sure whether his argument would be fruitful. Instead he decided to flop down under a tree.
He said, “I am tired. Can we rest here?”
“Not here”, said Tasha shaking her head, “We need to find shelter. This is now demon territory. We cannot risk getting caught.”
They did not have to walk long. They found a small cave after walking for about a couple of hours and after ensuring that the cave was safe, they decided to camp there.
“Today I will sleep too”, declared Tasha.
“You don’t need to tell me that.”
“Hmph.”
Tasha again summoned the tent inside the cave. They both slept in the tent for quite some time. It seemed that in spite of her earlier declaration, Tasha did indeed need rest. She slept for about twelve hours while Marcus was up after sleeping for about ten hours.
After they had woken up and gotten ready to hike, Tasha handed Marcus a potion.
“What’s this?” asked Marcus.
“In simple terms, an energy potion”, came the reply, “We have been walking for quite some time. We are both physically tired. This will help. We need to sneak into demon territory and help the adventurers escape. We need to be fresh and energized for it.”
Marcus downed the potion and indeed felt better. It was as if all the fatigue of the past few days had simply disappeared. He felt ready to take on anything.
“This is amazing!” Marcus exclaimed, “How come you did not give this to me earlier.”
“Because I have a limited stock. I can use this only when it is required.”
“We are not near or in a city yet.”
“But we are there, Marcus. The city is not far away. Come.”
Marcus was confused by Tasha’s statement but followed her. The forest ended after a short trek and he could see large walls bathed in blue in front of him. Marcus and Tasha watched the walls rise in front of them, safely from behind a thick bunch of trees.
“What’s this?” asked Marcus.
“The walls of a demon city”, replied Tasha, “At least a hundred feet tall I presume.”
“I don’t see any gates.”
“We are not near a gate. And I don’t believe we would be using a gate.”
“Then how the fuck are we going to get in?”
Tasha grinned at Marcus and he had a sense of foreboding.
“What do you know about sewers?”
Marcus groaned and swore at that. His day was going to get a lot worse.
***
Marcus had not been wrong. His day had indeed gotten worse. Tasha had led Marcus to the right, keeping in the forest till they found a sewer grate. It was at least twenty feet high and ten feet in width with an oval shape. Dirty water flowed out of it, making a path into the forest in which Marcus and Tasha were.
Tasha melted the sewer grate and they stepped in mucky and dirty water. As Marcus walked, his feet squelched under him and his face made a look of disgust. Tasha seemed to be walking naturally. The smell or the dirty mulch under her feet did not seem to bother her. For Marcus it was pure hell.
Marcus gagged at every breath he took and somehow managed to keep his breakfast down.
Marcus said, “How much further do you think we need to go?”
Tasha shushed him and said in a whisper, “Don’t talk too loud. And I don’t know. This is an unknown network of sewer tunnels we are entering. I can feel the magic of my parents from that way. Let’s see which path leads there.”
“I am going to die of this fucking smell”, muttered Marcus as he followed Tasha slowly.
Do you want me to help? said a voice inside Marcus’ head.
Memory, is that you?
Who else you great buffoon.
Marcus was feeling too tired to argue with Memory. He wondered how Memory was active when he had gone to a different planet.
I am not restricted to Una only, you primitive idiot. I am the product of your spell, not Rauros and Leyda, Memory shouted inside Marcus’ head.
No need to get all fucking pissy. Help me if you can. I am in no condition to fucking argue with you.
You must be in dire condition considering how much you are swearing.
I do not fucking swear that much.
Of course you don’t. I am giving you a memory of a spell. You will be able to cast it. Be aware, it might tire you as the spell would be cast of your own magic. Are you ready?
Wait. What the fuck was Memory saying? Marcus’ own magic. Did Marcus have innate magic which he suppressed somehow?
How do you think you constructed me in your mind if you did not have magic, Marcus? said Memory in response to Marcus’ thoughts.
What memory said made sense. Marcus nodded and Memory flooded his mind with a memory of a spell. Marcus immediately knew how to cast [Sensitize Nose]. Interesting spell. He cast it surreptitiously, ensuring Tasha did not realize he had cast it. He immediately noticed the difference. The smell had not gone away but somehow he was able to handle the horrible smell of the sewer. It did not give him the nauseating feeling that he was having earlier. Marcus now moved with much more ease than before, however their pace was still slow.
After what felt like hours of going through various sewer ways, several hours of twists and turns, Tasha finally stopped. She looked up. Marcus started to say something but she shushed him again. Marcus could see the frown on her face.
After what felt like an eternity to Marcus she said, “My parents seem to have gone away from Twarftha for now. I do not feel their magic anymore. However, I do feel five different mana signatures right above us. It seems that they have marked the adventurers and left. It seems that their negotiation failed.”
“No shit, duh!”
“No need to be condescending. As I had said earlier, my mother predicted that this could happen. That is why we are here.”
“Oh! I thought we were here for the fucking sights. The two fucking suns. The flat plains which fucking heat you up. The thick forest which was fucking hot and humid and this lovely sewer which makes you fucking gag and feel like vomiting every two seconds. Nice tourist place. Fucking fantastic. I feel very glad that you brought me sightseeing.”
Tasha glared at Marcus and Marcus glared back.
Tasha said, “I believe that we may have some issues but we need to park them till we rescue the adventurers and are back on Una.”
“And how do you propose we fucking do that?” asked Marcus, his voice dripping in malice.
Tasha opened her mouth to say something but before she could say anything an unknown voice said from behind them, “Well. Well. Well. And what do we have here?”
And at that time Marcus knew that they were fucked.