Joan glanced up at the other captives in the cage. Not much had changed throughout the day. The old man occasionally glanced at her, but he seemed unwilling to match her gaze. Still, at least he wasn’t a corpse. The boy who seemed to be scared of what was outside of the cage seemed to have finally fallen asleep, she hoped it would help him to clear his mind of whatever dark thoughts resided inside it.
However, even while the night went on the last person in the cage kept glancing at her with that angry look. She wondered if he really was going to start a fight with her. The last thing any of them needed was to be fighting amongst themselves while the demons watched.
Joan would need to deal with him before she acted on whatever plan she had. Of course, first she had to come up with that plan. She glanced towards the door of the cage. The lock didn’t look very complex and, once more, she felt a wave of thankfulness to Chase. The changeling could have picked any lock in the city within three seconds and, while she had been nowhere near as good nor had she practiced in ages, she suspected a lock like that would be easy enough to pick.
The big question was what to do afterwards. Getting her sword was obvious. As much as she wanted her other blade, there was no way she could risk spending too much time here and trying to retrieve it. Viglan had eventually picked it up once more, so it was likely with him. Once she had the other sword, she had to find a way to get out of here. But she didn’t know where she was or where she could even go. They were behind the demon lines, so west wasn’t an option unless she wanted to run straight into their main forces. North was where they were already headed and south was where they came from. East was deeper into demon lands and that could be deadly at the best of times.
But deadly was better than dead. She’d been in the demon lands before, there were paths and roads she could take that could, in theory, get her home. While they were dangerous and possibly all but suicide, waiting here wasn’t really an option.
Once she did get out of here, though, she had to focus on the more pressing matter. Korgron and Andreas. If two of the chosen were working for the Demon Lord then she had to, somehow, find out what he was doing keep them under his thumb. None of this would work if the two weren’t able to join the other chosen in stopping the Inferno God.
If she couldn’t get them to her side, then she’d…
Despite herself, she felt tears welling up in her eyes and she hugged her knees to her chest even tighter, trying to bite back a sob. Sometimes it all felt so terrible and hopeless. Two of the chosen already lost before she even had a chance to exist. How could she possibly fix this? The whole world was depending on her and every moment it felt as if there were new blocks in her way that shouldn’t exist.
Maybe the Nameless One was right, there was no way for her to succeed. If a hero couldn’t do it, what chance did she have? Andreas and Korgron were the Demon Lord’s now and nothing she said or did could change that. Maybe it was just time that she accepted that. They won, she lost, the world was doomed. Nothing she did could change that. Best to just die now and let the gods take her away before the Inferno God awoke.
“Maybe you should stop pitying yourself so much and just focus on what you need to do,” Joan whispered to herself, shaking her head. She glanced to her left hand, though she couldn’t see the mark in the darkness. She didn’t know if she could do this, she didn’t know what she had to do.
But she couldn’t do nothing. She couldn’t let it just happen. She’d died a thousand times to get here and she would not stand by and just watch it happen again. If the Inferno God wanted to destroy this world then she would fight him the whole way there, even if the most she could do was throw rocks at his knees and claw at his toes.
Joan would head east, deeper into the demon lands. Once she found out where she was she would find her way to Korgron’s home and make her case there. It would be a dangerous journey, but she had to try. She’d make Korgron see what was happening wasn’t right, that she couldn’t serve the Demon Lord. It couldn’t be that hard, Korgron had always been a rather reasonable person unless she was pushed too hard. Filled with pride but willing to give all she had to her people and those who needed it. A great ruler. She even had a decent sense of humor, donning the title of ‘Korgron the Vile’ just so the humans would be able to have their little fearful fantasies about what the demon queen was like. She’d come around, eventually.
Joan still didn’t know how she could fix this or even if she could, but she had to take this step. She had to try. She would not allow herself to sink entirely into despair no matter how hopeless it seemed. She’d given up too much to just let it happen.
She lifted her head and almost let out a yelp when she realized the angry man had gotten to his feet and made his way to her, now towering over her. She readied to kick out in case he launched an attack on her.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
Joan froze in place, her eyes going wide before looking up at him once more. He looked as angry as ever. Even in the dim light he looked furious, but that tone of his was anything but. “Ummm, no?” she said. “Should you?”
“Are you sure? You look familiar,” he said before, to her surprise, dropping down to sit besides her. “You look incredibly familiar.”
“Uhhhhh,” Joan said, staring at the man. She glanced back towards the main camp of demons, but now most of the fires had died and the celebration was seemingly over. She returned her gaze to him. “I don’t think so.” She tried going through her memory to remember anything about him, but his face didn’t come to mind in the slightest. She would have remembered someone so angry watching her.
“How did a kid like you end up here?” he asked.
Joan couldn’t help feeling a little creeped out by this. She had expected him to throw a punch at her, not ask her life story. A part of her wished it was the first, that she knew how to deal with. “Bad luck, teleportation magic gone wrong.”
“So you didn’t live near here?” the man asked.
“Why would I live-- oh,” Joan said, her cheeks going a little red. She glanced out towards the woods. This had all been human territory not too long ago. Now the demons ruled. “No. I’m not a survivor. I’d be amazed if there were any left at this point.”
“There used to be more of us,” the man said.
“Of us?” Joan asked.
“Yes. Some of us ended up joining the demons. Some managed to escape. A few even went deeper into demon lands,” he said.
Joan nodded, though she didn’t get why he was telling her this. “Okay?”
“It hasn’t been easy living here. I’m surprised a kid like yourself managed it,” the man said.
“I didn’t,” Joan said. “Bad magic, I told you. I was in the capital until recently. How about you?”
“Lived in a small village, Skystead.”
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Joan’s eyed widened and the word triggered something in her so fierce she almost felt as if she had been slapped. “Skystead?” she asked in a soft, gentle tone. Despite herself, she couldn’t help it. Something about that place felt so incredibly familiar.
“Yes. A beautiful little village, or at least it was once. Before the demons came and destroyed it.”
Joan nodded. Skystead. It had to be important, she could feel it. Had something happened there? Had it been one of the villages she’d passed through as the Hero? Had one of the chosen mentioned it at some point? Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t remember it no matter how hard she tried. She mentally cursed once more, of course her mind wouldn’t work again. Why should she have access to the very information she so desperately needed in order to save the world? “It sounds nice. You lived there?”
“I did,” the man said. “My name’s Gerard. The sleeping man over there is Lamberto and the other one is Caius.”
“I’m Joan,” she said. She glanced towards Caius who was sleeping against the bars. “What happened to him?”
“Same thing that happened to all of us,” Gerard said. “Bad luck. Caius and Lamberto don’t talk much. The old man mostly just sleeps, the other one just stares at the woods as if there’s something worse there than in these camps. I think it’s fairly obvious what’s happened to them.”
“They’ve given up?” Joan asked.
“Most do out here, eventually,” Gerard said. “It’s not easy. Some end up joining the demons just for a chance to survive. Others take the chance they might be able to break through and get back to human lands. Others go the other way, deeper into demon territory.”
“Better to try and run through their lines than just wait to die,” Joan said.
“It’s not so bad,” Gerard said. “I’ve been surviving out here for years. If you’re careful, know the right places to go, you’ll survive well enough. It’s not easy, but you can do it.”
“Then how’d you get caught?” Joan asked.
“I wasn’t careful enough. Same as you, I imagine. Except there’s a bit of demon in you, isn’t there?”
Joan whipped her head around and glared at him. “Excuse me?” she asked.
“I was in this cage when that behemoth was charging, kid,” Gerard said. “We could all hear what was going on out there. You managed to control it all by yourself? No way you’re just a normal kid.”
“It was a trick, any human could do it. It just requires the knowledge on how,” Joan said with a sigh. “Please don’t compare me with demons. I’m not them.”
“You move like them too,” Gerard said.
“How?” Joan asked, narrowing her eyes on him and feeling a growing sense of unease.
“The way you carry yourself. Even when you look around. It’s like you’re always measuring everything.”
“Because I am measuring everything,” Joan said.
“Then you--”
“Because it’s the only way I can survive,” Joan said, cutting him off. “Because the only way I have any chance of getting out of this is if I am careful and ready to deal with anything and everything that comes at me. I’m not a demon, though I wish I had access to their power. It would make this a whole lot easier. I’m as human as you.”
“Oh? How do you know I’m human?” Gerard asked.
Joan blinked a few times, staring at him. She really wished she could see him better now. If only they’d left some torches out. She considered using a light spell to illuminate the area, but she had no desire to draw the attention of the demons to them. “Because you look human.”
Gerard was silent for a few moments before, very softly, he chuckled. “You’re right, though. I am human. Are you sure we haven’t met?”
“I think I’d remember you,” Joan said. Still, she supposed this might be an opportunity. “Do you want to fight me?”
“What?”
“You’ve been looking at me all day like you wanted to tear my head off,” Joan said. “I’ve been in enough fights to know what that face means.”
“You are a child,” Gerard said. “How many fights could you have been in?”
“A lot more than you’d likely suspect. I’m older than I look and was a mercenary until recently,” Joan said. She reached up and gripped the bars, using them to help pull herself up. “I stand by what I said. Do you want to fight me?”
“Of course not,” Gerard said. “Even if you were a demon, you’re still a kid. I just have a resting angry face, kid. It comes from my line of work.”
“Oh? And what is your line of work?” Joan asked.
Gerard didn’t answer, he only chuckled.
“Do you want out?” Joan asked.
“What?” Gerard asked.
“Do you want out of here?” Joan asked.
“Of course. I don’t want to be ‘tributed’, if that’s what you’re asking,” Gerard said.
“Where is Skystead?” Joan asked. The question shocked even her, though thankfully she doubted he could tell in the darkness.
“Excuse me?” Gerard asked.
“Tell me where Skystead is, or what remains of it, and I’ll get you out of this cage. It’ll be up to you if you can get out of here,” Joan said.
“Why do you want to know?” Gerard asked.
“That’s my business,” Joan said. She wished she knew why, but something told her it was important, she’d have to find out. Skystead. Something was there, she could feel it.
“Fine. A bit east of here there’s a river. Follow the river south and, eventually, you’ll come to it. Nothing more than charred remains, though. You’ll find an old watermill on the edge of the river, if it wasn’t torn down.”
Joan nodded before walking to the cage’s doorway. East and then south. Watermill. Odd, that sounded familiar. Maybe whatever she remembered when she got there would be enough to help get her home, there must have been something important if the Hero went there. She ran a finger along the lock for a moment before sighing.
A magical alarm, of course. That, at least, was easy to circumvent. “Thank you Chase for teaching me this,” she whispered before reaching up and plucking one of her hairs.
“What?” Gerard asked.
“Nothing, keep it down,” Joan whispered before gripping the hair in both hands and then sending a little magic through it, cutting it into two halves before ice washed over the pair, hardening them into two straight picks. She then reached out through the bars and gently slid them into the lock. It took a moment to properly attune them so they could work without triggering the warning on the locks, but then she got to work.
Even working blind it only took her a little over a minute to get the soft, satisfying click she was waiting for. A few seconds later and the door of the cage opened with a soft squeak. “Perfect, now just--”
Joan’s words were cut off by Gerard suddenly charging past her and shoving the door open, running out from the cage and into the woods.
Unfortunately, the door of the cage opening like that did the worst possible thing. An ear piercing squeak of old hinges being forced to move filled the air, cutting through the night like lightning.
She could already hear some confused sounds from the camp. She glanced towards the storage tent, thinking longingly of her sword, but no. She wouldn’t have a chance to get it now. She leaped from the cage, landing on the ground and almost falling to her knees, before running off into the woods.
River and then watermill. She could do this.
As much as she wished one of the chosen were here to help her, oddly she found she wished there was someone else here instead. Bauteut. Not because she thought the girl would be able to fight off the demons, but because her spell to see in the dark would be incredibly useful right now.
That thought was quickly abandoned a moment later when she heard yelling and then a horn echoing into the night.