The shining sun lit the inside of my earthen living quarters to greet me as I awoke. I had commandeered one of the clay houses for myself. This was somewhat of a rarity since many of the houses had to be shared by two to three people. However, when I asked Marco if he would like to share a living area he refused and said that since I made them we should be able to have our own.
My back had been killing me this morning, so I made a mental note to find something softer to lie on. We did have straw to make mattresses out of, but that was it. There were no other luxuries in these houses. I had opted not to have a door placed on my house. Instead, I use my powers to seal the doorway each night and when I leave for the day. My golem sat in the corner of the one-room building. Since the day we returned from our outing, I had once again combined the golems into one entity. This time I had taken extra care with it and even inscribed some runes on it to maintain its power better. As punishment for that day, Tiger forced me to build the rest of the monster races' shelter. So that homelessness did not overrun the small village that formed around the outpost.
Today though I was finally free from my punishment. I had intended on using the day to invade one of the dwarven mines. There were rumors that these mountains contained diamond vanes. The diamonds would be deep in the recesses of the dwarven mines. At least that is what I speculated. If I could get my hands on diamonds, I could continue to strengthen my golem. It might even surpass its current limitations.
I made my way out of my home and into the center of the outpost to find Tiger. I would need to clear my idea before I ran off to enact it. Tiger had been sending out Marco recently every day to engage the dwarves and cause chaos. She had said it was his punishment, but I knew it was not a real punishment for Marco. Tiger had been clear that she wanted at least one of us within the confines of the outpost. She said that it was in case the dwarves attacked us head-on.
"Tiger," I started as I found her.
She was currently in the middle of barking orders at the soldiers. I had not understood the monster race language since the day I had evacuated the souls back out of my body. That was fine since I did not feel in control when there was more than one soul in my body.
"What is it, Devin?" Tiger asked me before I could finish speaking.
"Could I get sent out today instead of Marco? I wanted to invade a dwarven mine to hunt for diamonds."
"Not today Devin."
"Why not? I am done with building homes. There is nothing left for me to do in this village. Besides, you haven't even set a date for our invasion!"
"Enough!" Tiger screamed, "You and Marco will stay here today."
"Why?"
"I got word that Mouse is coming back to the outpost today and for me to surrender my forces over to him. That stupid Mouse wants to put a stop to what I am doing here. I don't get why the general would have removed me from my post and reinstated that idiot!"
"Marco and I will not follow Mouse's orders. I promise you that if Mouse tries to take control of Marco, it will be the last thing he does."
A goblin scout came up to Tiger and whispered something in her ear. “Looks like you will get your chance at Mouse,” Tiger said. “He is on his way with a powerful entourage. I would assume that it is some of the ranked weapons and other officers. Go get Marco and meet me East of the outpost along the road to Rockforge.”
I moved through the cluttered streets of the outpost village. I would have gotten to Marco quicker if I hadn’t placed the houses at odd and variable frequencies. But that was a problem for a different time. Now I needed to get Marco and face the enemy.
It happened all too quickly when I came to Marco's house and let myself in. I called out, “Marco Tiger needs…” I didn’t finish the last part. He was lying there entangled with some orc girl. “Marco, what are you…” I paused again. Now was not the time for me to fight with Marco. “Meet me on the road that leads eastwards,” I said, staring daggers at the ground. A tear dropped onto my cheek.
“Devin, it’s not what it looks like,” Marco said. But I slammed the door behind me and marched toward the destination Tiger had outlined. A few of the buildings had been in my path again. But this time, they moved instead of me. It startled many of the occupants. It would startle anyone if their entire house shifted to the right or left. One had even come out to yell at me in their monster tongue. His house suffered the unfortunate fate of reverting to dust. Along with that, when he approached, his face met the fist of my golem.
“Quite a ruckus you're causing back there,” Tiger questioned when I arrived at her side.
“I want to kill something,” I replied with only anger in my voice. As I said this, Marco caught up with us, out of breath. He must have run the entire way to try and catch up with my wrath. Even though we had become soldiers, he was still out of shape and it showed when he started dry heaving.
Marco tried to apologize to me. “Devin, it meant nothing. Besides, I thought we were just friends?” Friends! He had thought that throughout that time, it was nothing but friendship.
I was about to add his soul to my collection when Tiger said, “That’s enough of that. We have work to do, and Marco, the next time you try to apologize, try saying sorry first.” As Tiger finished her thoughts, figures became visible on the horizon.
The figures soon approached us. I recognized two of them. One was Mouse, Tiger's ex-assistant, and the other was 18, the ranked weapon who had helped me along. 18 stood there, towering over his comrades. I had almost not recognized Mouse because his face was now no longer hidden behind a mask. He had an all too normal face, forgettable in a way. But his plump frame alongside the fit soldiers had given away his identity.
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“Tiger,” Mouse began, “I will take control of your outpost as of today. By the royal proclamation of his royal highness the king.”
“Mouse, how lovely it is to see that disgusting face of yours. Would you like some tea so we can talk about this like civilized adults?” Tiger responded, unfazed by the words coming from Mouse.
“The inquisitors are no more!” Mouse spat at her. “The king himself declared it not too long after I had returned to the capital.”
“What?” The new information seemed to surprise her. “I have not received news of such a thing! As an officer of his majesty’s armed forces, I have the right to such knowledge.”
“Well, here the knowledge is. I am delivering it to you.”
A knight with armor that looked more decorative than practical began, “Tiger, it’s over! You and that damned general of yours can both rot in work camps!”
Tiger’s lips pursed into a wicked smile. “He did it didn’t he? I would like to say my condolences to your family, Arnold. But, I really could not be happier about this turn in developments.”
The man with the fancy armor who I now knew as Arnold drew his sword. As his fingers touched his blade, I motioned the golem forward.
18 took a step back as I did, noticing my intent. I kept my eyes peeled on him as my golem shattered Arnold’s bejeweled sword. He flew to the ground, clutching his hand from the impact. Before the golem could finish Arnold with a direct blow, a metal fist landed on the golem’s side.
“Kill them all now, Regie!” Arnold shrieked. Regie’s arm glanced off of the golem’s blood-red sword. Sparks went up as his fist harmlessly hit the ground below. The golem countered with a punch of his own, sending Regie face-first into the dirt. “What are you doing, Regie? Stand up now!” Arnold commanded.
“I think it would be wise for you to surrender now, Arnold,” came the voice of Tiger. Her voice radiated a sense of calmness into the chaos. “Regie is strong, but he is no match for a tireless construct.”
“Damn you!” screamed Arnold as he charged at Tiger. I don’t know if Arnold had never seen actual combat because it seemed a foolish move to make. The golem showed him how foolish the mistake had been. Before Arnold’s shattered remains of a blade could meet the flesh of Tiger, the giant quartz blade slashed into the back of Arnold. He fell to the ground, and his armor seemed to tear at the seams. The golem’s blow had managed to leave him in a pile of his own blood.
“No!” shouted Regie as he got back to his feet. He slammed his entire body into the golem. The golem didn’t even move from the spot he killed Arnold. Instead, the golem turned to face Regie, who was now panting. The golem grabbed Regie by the neck and squeezed.
“Now Mouse, do you and the rest of your friends want to take up arms?” Tiger mocked. As she said, these 18 moved from his place. His movement showed his calm demeanor. To mine and Marco’s looks of surprise, he took a place behind Tiger. He now stood shoulder to shoulder between Marco and me and faced Mouse’s squad.
“Maam, if you don’t mind, I will choose the winning side,” 18 remarked.
“You swore an oath!” trembled Mouse.
“So, did the rest of us,” mused Tiger. “But, if you and the rest of your men don’t live.” Tiger paused as she moved behind the three of us. “Well, then following me would just be an extension of their duty.”
Fire erupted from the men. Marco did not need any other signal to showcase his potential. It was like he was flexing to 18 and the rest of Tiger’s army who had gathered at the sounds of fighting. It was a concerto of flames and death. The fire seemed to move in time as it jumped from one host to another. Unlike the orc champion or the dwarves, these men did not contain the willpower to fight back the flames.
When the last man went up in flames, I turned with my golem to leave. Marco tried once again to speak to me. “Devin, can we talk?”
“No, I get it. We were nothing but some kind of fling after all.” I turned to leave, letting the golem be behind me. I didn’t want Marco to stop me again, and I needed time to reflect on what I thought was an us.
I followed Tiger, unsure of what was next for us. Had the king disbanded the inquisitors? If he did, then who was I supposed to follow? These questions need to be answered. I knew the only way to get any real semblance of truth was to follow Tiger and question her. Both 18 and Marco seemed of the same mind. The three of us formed a line following Tiger as she made her way through the onlookers.
No sooner had Tiger sat in her office chair than I and the other demonic affinity users slipped in. The golem closed the door behind us and stood guard outside.
“Is it true?” I asked.
“Is what true?” Tiger asked.
“The thing about no more inquisitors,” I stated.
“Yes,” came the voice of 18. The large man hardly fit into the office. His back bent because the ceiling was too low. Since Tiger was a woman of modest height, I had never considered it necessary to make the building taller. Now I was having to rethink that decision. “The inquisitors are finished. Now we weapons serve the royal guard. That is until they can reestablish an order to house us in.”
“What now then!” Marco demanded. “If we aren’t even on a mission for the kingdom, what are we doing here? I don’t desire to be hunted for the rest of my life.”
“Enough!” Tiger shouted. “We stick to the original plan. My plan! No more games and no more diversions. Understood?” She looked over at all of us. She then paused on me. “471 do you have any objections?”
“No ma'am,” I replied. I didn’t have any truthfulness. All I wanted at this point was for this part of my life to end. I had hoped leaving the village would be a glorious adventure. But what awaited me outside was death and despair.
“Under the cover of darkness, we will strike the dwarves tonight. I can’t afford to have any more aristocrats show up while we still have the dwarves to fight. So, each of you get some rest and be ready when I call,” Tiger said.
18 moved out of the office, first bumping into me as he left. Then Marco and I followed behind. Marco grabbed at my arm as we left Tiger’s office. “Can we talk? I don’t like how you have been acting around me,” Marco began.
“How have I been acting?” I returned.
“Devin, stop, that’s not what I mean and you know it.”
“No, I don’t think I know what you want. You made that clear today. Now I would like to rest alone.” Marco just watched me go. A part of me wished he would just grab me and hold me close. I knew he wouldn’t take the risk, though. It was for good reason he had seen me turn people into dust with a motion of my hands.
As I wandered through the maze of the outpost, I had more time to think. Maybe I was the crazy one. We had been just fooling around together and never made anything more official. Marco was the only friend I had left. I knew I couldn’t afford to lose him. But I also didn’t want him to get off easy.