Lucius crept closer to the creature until he was near enough to see the individual drops of blood flowing down its toothy maw. Sense Danger never stopped shouting at him the entire time. The level of warning was as great—perhaps even greater—than what he had felt from the terrifying Hobgoblin leader. He watched the monster in morbid fascination; it was the closest thing to a living demon he had ever seen—or perhaps a human-dragon hybrid. He had no idea how he was going to deal with this thing, but he didn’t like his odds in a head-on fight. He would need to think long and hard about how to face it.
Lucius rose from his crouched position; he had seen enough. But as he turned to move away, he felt his heart drop into his stomach when the creature suddenly spoke.
“I smell you. Stop hiding,” a deep, gravelly, inhuman voice floated into Lucius’ ears.
The blood drained from his face as he slowly turned back toward the monster. He had the urge to run but his limbs felt frozen in place when he realized it was looking directly at him. What he expected to happen next was that he would be thrown into a terrible battle for survival, what did happen however was something so different he never could have predicted it beforehand. The creature shifted its piercing eyes away from Lucius, back toward the now-dead animal in its clawed hands, and sat down lazily on a large boulder nearby.
“You were there when I first descended into this realm. Did you believe to have escaped detection then as well?” A terrifying smile stretched across the creature’s face, putting its razor-sharp teeth on full display. “Come, sit.”
The monster ripped a chunk of meat off the exposed ribs of the deer and tossed it onto a rock a few meters away. It glanced back at Lucius expectantly. “Oh, right—you creatures prefer to move your meat through fire.” The monster raised its palm into the air, and a small ball of flame quickly materialized. It casually tossed the flame onto the meat it had portioned for him.
Lucius could not make sense of the situation. It was too different from any of his past interactions with creatures of the Abyss. He decided to keep his distance, but he couldn’t help giving in to the desire to communicate with the creature. He allowed his aspect to fall away and exposed his figure. He stood there silently for a few moments as the creature watched him, deciding what he should say, before slowly opening his mouth, “You are the only Abyss creature that has spoken words I can understand. What are you?”
The creature's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Abyss creatures, “I am known as Magar, and I am no creature of the accursed Abyss,” He responded with a low growl.
Lucius couldn't stop himself from taking a step back when the growl reached his ears, but he planted his feet firmly the next moment and held onto the tree to his side, “Well, you aren’t from this planet. I watched you walk out of an anomaly,” He said skeptically.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Yes, you speak the truth. My world is also under siege from the Abyssal realm. I have fought against it for many years. My brothers and I were in the process of closing an anomaly, but we were betrayed. The traitorous fool left us to die, trapped in the Abyss. My brothers did indeed find their deaths in that place. By the time I came across another portal, I was the only one who remained. I had hoped against the odds it would lead me back to my home, but instead, I am here. I intend to return to seek revenge for my brothers, but the Abyss nearly killed me as it did them, and if I die then all hope for vengeance is lost. No, I must grow stronger before I attempt to traverse it again. Even so, there is no way to know which portal will lead me home. I am truly lost." He said
“As for why I can speak your language—I cannot. It is a simple trick of magic. The ability was a reward I received after clearing an anomaly. At the time, I had been quite displeased, thinking it a wasted reward.” Regret was audible in Magar’s tone when he spoke of his dead brothers, but it had quickly morphed into rage at the mention of the traitor.
“Don’t waste the meat. Eat.” Magar motioned to the place he had left the meat.
Lucius extended his hand toward the freshly charred venison, pulling it into his storage ring from a distance. “I’ll... uh... save it for later, thanks,” he said as he leaned against the tree again and watched Magar eat. “Its good to know you’re not a threat. You look strong—maybe we can work together,” Lucius suggested.
“The bitter taste of betrayal is still fresh on my tongue, I will not allow it to happen again. I have seen the place your tribe sleeps. I watched from afar as they put their meat over the fire. The smell drew me to that place; it intrigued me enough that I tried it myself soon after. It wasn’t to my taste—I still prefer to eat my flesh raw.” Magar grinned as he threw the last chunk of meat into his large mouth. “I will tell you how we can work together. I will leave your people alone; you must tell them to return the favor. I will kill the Abyss creatures that invade this area from the south. Your people will be responsible for protecting the north. If you find an anomaly that is larger than you can handle, you can show me its location. If you or one of your people attempt to deceive or harm me, I will slaughter you all.”
Lucius thought about it briefly before nodding. “I don’t have any issue with that. If I need to find you, where should I go?” he asked.
“A few minutes’ walk south from here, just off the road, there is a large cave. I will spend the nights in that place. When the sun is high, you will need to search for me in the forest,” Magar responded.
“Okay. My name is Lucius. If you run into any of my people, you can mention my name. It was good to meet you, Magar. I’m glad to have you protecting this forest,” he said before waving to the giant being as he started to head back the way he had come.
The entire experience was incredibly surreal. He didn’t know if he could trust Magar not to harm him or the other humans, but he was keenly aware that the warnings from Sense Danger had nearly disappeared while he was speaking with the creature. He hoped it was a good sign, that Magar had no intention of harming them. It was also quite a benefit to have such a powerful ally protecting the farm from the south. If Magar stayed in this area and did nothing else beside kill Abyss creatures and close anomalies, it would be a huge boon for the humans.
Maybe after some time passed, the powerful being would grow to trust them more and their cooperation could increase. How great would it be to have Magar by his side the next time he traveled into the Abyss to close an anomaly?