The five of them stood in a semicircle around the throne. After Ba'arith had vanished and the Mask of Mandu appeared, no one had said anything. Besides a little soreness and pain, they were weren't seriously injured. They had gathered discarded weapons and grouped up, now staring down at the object they had come for, occasionally casting glances at one another.

Rogue John was the first to break the silence: "So who's gonna grab it?"

"You?" Ryujin asked, shrugging.

"You'll forgive me if I'm a little hesitant." The halfling glared up at the dragonborn.

"Is it because it's been in the possession of a demon?"

"What do you think?"

"Enough," Slade said. "We've come all this way. Someone has to take it..."

Jasper took a deep breath. Here it was before him, and he felt hesitant to take the mask. He hadn't imagined a demon's involvement, but he had always known it would be dangerous. He couldn't back out now. Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but Artie responded first: "I'll do it."

Jasper looked at his best friend. Artie was almost always anxious, nervous about what people might say or do, uncertain about his own future and how it would go. Now, he had a stern look on his face. Artie had never looked so determined.

Artie looked back at Jasper and nodded his assurance. "It's for Cerana." He pulled his pointy wizard's hat down tighter on his head and stepped forward. He reached out, scooped the mask up, and nothing happened. They all waited with bated breath, but all was calm. Artie turned to face them and let loose a relieved chuckle before he stuffed the mask into his pack.

Jasper patted his friend on the shoulder, smiling. "You're brave, Art."

Artie grinned and said, "We just stood up to a demon and won. I think we're all pretty brave!"

Rogue John squinted at the young wizard. "I'll be keeping my eye on you... Don't go sproutin' no horns."

"Let's get out of here," Slade said, leading the way. "I'm ready for some fresh air."

As they walked, Artie continued to beam. He couldn't help himself, and Jasper found himself laughing as his friend's joy spread to him. "That was crazy!" Artie exclaimed. "We just killed an actual demon!"

"We didn't even think twice," Jasper said.

"I can't believe it! And no one else will, either..."

"This should get us out of at least one exam, right?"

Artie groaned. "I don't know how we can ever go back to that boring old school ever again after something like that!"

"You don't mean that," Jasper replied, not the least bit convinced.

"Yeah, you're right." Artie heaved a huge sigh. "I'll be happy if we never have to do anything that scary ever again."

Jasper smirked. "There's the Artie I know."

They rounded the last corner and down a long tunnel the exit came into view, Rogue John said, "Slade, let me see a bottle. I've been dry far too long."

"Which piece do you want?" Slade asked.

"Eh?"

"They all busted. I fell on my back when Ba'arith kicked me in the face and I landed on my pack."

"What?" The halfling balled his fists and closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. "Next time... just take your pack off... before you fight..."

"I'll be sure to make time for that."

"Thank you."

Slade rolled his eyes and looked at Ryujin. "You've been awfully quiet. What's wrong?"

"The demon knew Sano," Ryujin said in a deep grumble. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Just forget it, Ryujin," Jasper said, feeling more cheerful than he had in a long time. "We got what we needed, and the man asked us never to bother him again. I'm happy to oblige."

As they passed through the stone doors from before, however, they were greeted by twenty armed monks, led by Master Sano.

"What's going on?" Ryujin roared, stepping in front of the others and placing a hand on the hilt of his katana.

"I'm surprised to see you all still alive and in one piece. I was expecting the demon to emerge from the tomb," Sano said in a calm voice.

"Why didn't you warn us?" Slade asked.

"I did... I warned you the mask was dangerous. I assume you found it."

Artie couldn't resist the urge to clutch his pack a little tighter - something that the monk caught right away.

"Stay back!" Jasper said. He wanted to draw his wand, but thought better of it. "We'll fight you all."

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"You will lose." Sano waved the other monks on. "Surround them and take them hostage."

They were bound quickly, and their weapons taken away. They wanted to resist, but realized it was futile as even more monks appeared out of the darkness of the jungle night. The five hostages were led away from the tomb, but not before the monks sealed it once again.

Instead of taking them back to Tiger Spires Monastery, the monks took them to another abandoned site in the jungle. It was nothing but a giant, circular stone platform that sat above ground level in a wide-open clearing. Cracks ran through it where it had corroded and begun to separate. Weeds and moss had started their takeover. There were bloodstains that had been baked into the stone from years past, as well as a couple of dried bones scattered around. There was no question that this had been an ancient site of sacrifice.

The prisoners were forced to their knees and the monks encircled them, weapons at the ready.

"Not your first time playin' executioner, eh?" Rogue John said, looking at Sano.

The monk replied, "I do what I must. That mask has been nothing but trouble, despite the stories."

"You're a snake," Slade said.

"We only wanted it to help our friend," Jasper added, gritting his teeth.

"Having the mask will not stop bad things from happening, and when an occasion arises that the mask can't help, you will feel more powerless than ever," Sano said.

"Why didn't you just destroy it?" Ryujin asked, venom in his accusation. "Why kill those who seek the mask instead of ridding the world of it?"

"It fell into Ba'arith's hands before I could. I wasn't going to risk the lives of my students to get it from the demon, so I used a basic enchantment to lock him away."

"Why not send us on a wild goose chase? Surely you knew there was a chance we would find the tomb when you sent us to Yahoma?"

Master Sano looked up at the moon and took a deep breath. He put his hands behind his back and looked each of them in the eye. "I thought Ba'arith would handle you. We only came along to make sure the doors were sealed back. Then, when you emerged alive, I knew you were too powerful... you are dangerous, and possessing the mask will only make you more dangerous."

"Then destroy the mask and let us go," Artie pleaded.

"It's too late. You will dream of what could have been, and then you will come for me and my students out of revenge. I will not allow it. I apologize that it must be this way."

"Hell of a thing to apologize for," Rogue John said.

"Wait, please!" Artie said. "If the students that Murata had harmed could have been saved with the mask, wouldn't you have used it? It's the same way with our friend."

Sano stared into his eyes, considering. Jasper, Slade, Ryujin, and John looked from one to the other. The only noises that could be heard were the jungle critters of the night. Sano sighed and looked away. "I do what I must. Kill them."

"Whoa, wait! Wait!" Artie pleaded again.

Rogue John and Ryujin started screaming curses and struggling against their bonds. Jasper's eyes widened as a few of the monks traded their staffs for hatchets. He looked to Slade, whose nostrils were flared, though he was otherwise calm. Each one of them had a monk standing before them, their own personal executioner. Jasper couldn't take his eyes off of the hatchet in front of him, entranced by the way it gleamed in the moonlight.

"Oh, Cerana!" Artie cried out. "I'm so sorry... We failed you!"

The monk standing in front of Jasper lined the blade of the weapon up with his neck, checking to make sure he could get the angle that would provide the most merciful kill. Rogue John and Ryujin were still shouting, and Artie was crying next to him. Jasper didn't have time to think of what to do. His mind was empty.

The monk brought his hatchet out, but before he could attack, the weapon was wrenched out of his hand and he fell to the ground as if kicked in the back of the knee. Above him, the hatchet was floating, but in the blink of an eye it came down to lodge itself into the monk's skull. The other monks reeled in terror, giving Ryujin time to reach out and clamp down on the arm of his executioner with his sharp fangs while Rogue John hopped to his feet and headbutted him in the groin.

Ryujin severed the monk's arm with his crushing bite and spit the appendage and the weapon on the ground. He then opened his jaws wide and a great stream of fire arced out ahead of him, forcing the other monks to back away while the closest of them shrieked in pain. The floating hatchet next to Jasper dislodged from the dead monk's skull and moved into position behind Slade and cut his bindings. Once free, Slade snatched the hatchet, and in that moment, the dark elf Udai materialized and immediately rushed forward to take on the closest monks with a flurry of kicks and punches.

Slade used the hatchet to cut Ryujin and John free before helping Jasper and Artie. Udai - who had trained in hand-to-hand combat since childhood - was making short work of the monks. He threw some to the ground and grappled with them one moment, and then the next he was flipping through the air. The monks' wooden staffs couldn't touch him as he dodged from side-to-side, ducking and rolling, sweeping legs and breaking bones.

Ryujin's fire sent many of them retreating, but Rogue John was so angry that he ran faster than he'd ever run before just to tackle one and started beating him. Another monk that thought he would get away caught a hatchet in the back that the halfling threw with expert precision. Slade protected Jasper and Artie, whose wands had been confiscated with the other weapons. The two young wizards raised their fists, but no monk ever got close to them before Slade had chopped them down with the hatchet.

Slade screamed as his hatchet bit deep into the neck of the last threat. Several of the monks lay groaning in pain on the ground, especially the dozen that had faced Udai. He had killed only a few, whereas most of them had only suffered broken bones. Jasper and Artie looked around in surprise at all of the bodies surrounding the sacrificial site. They had no words, even to one another.

"You dark elf son of a bitch!" Rogue John screamed, charging over. Before he made it to him, his anger subsided and he laughed out loud. "Gods bless you! I almost thought we weren't gonna get out of that one."

"Yes, Udai, thank you," Ryujin said, shaking his hand.

"Good to see you again, Ryujin," Udai said, smiling. "Although, I must admit I've seen you for about a week now. You just didn't see me."

"A week?" John exclaimed, his anger inflamed again.

Udai nodded and crossed his arms. "Slade and I agreed that it was best if I kept my involvement a secret in case I was needed in the shadows."

Jasper glared at Slade. "You were a part of this?"

The mercenary nodded. "I was, and I'm glad to see it worked out."

"You didn't think to help with the demon in the tomb?" Ryujin asked.

"Demon?" Udai was taken aback. "I didn't know about any demon - I thought it was just Murata and his wife down there. Before I could follow you down, I discovered Sano and his students trailing you, so I decided to hang back."

"Glad you did," Artie said, beaming with joy.

"Murata's dead - killed by the demon Ba'arith," Ryujin said, "and Sano got away."

"Shall we go hunt the bastard down?" John asked, retrieving their weapons for all of them.

"No," Jasper said. "We still have the mask, don't we?"

Artie nodded. "They never took it. I guess they wanted to kill us first."

"Then we've got what we came for. Sano lost a lot of students here today, and he was paranoid because of the mask. We have the mask and we have nothing to prove. Let's put Sano and the monastery behind us."

"I think that is a wise decision," Ryujin said.

"As you say, Jasper," Slade said. "Let's begin our journey home."

Rogue John looked up at Udai, hands on his hips. "Do us all a favor, elf, use your magic to go invisible again and don't talk to us the rest of the way home."

Udai chuckled. "Still mad we left you out of the plan?"

"Depends. You bring any ale?"

"Drank it all."

"Then I'm still mad."