“I'm sorry,” Nate said. “I meant no offense with the nickname, Skelwulf.”
“We must go at once,” Skelwulf growled.
“I'm going with you,” Fuzzball said firmly.
“No,” Skelwulf glared at Fuzzball.
A voice called out from around the blacksmith's shop, “You alright, Nate?”
Zeff and Ellisandra ran up to him, avoiding the shards of glass and wood that were scattered around.
Nate smiled broadly, feeling his aura bolstered by the presence of more friends, “Better now. I need your help.”
Nate found himself suddenly unable to breathe and dangling in the air. “I grow tired of your insolence, boy. I will kill every one of these people if you delay another moment.”
Nate tried to choke out a word, and quickly mentally set up a chat between himself and the others.
“I need you all to gather around the Interface Podium.” He said mentally through the chat. “I have an idea.”
He coughed as he fell to his hands and knees, rubbing his throat. “Okay, fine.” The others followed them in and he stood next to the kitchenette his Interface Podium currently was. He sent some magic through it and it changed into an enchanting table, with glowing purple runes and slots for essence stones or other enchanting ingredients. The four corners of the table held purple orbs on small, three-legged stands.
Through the chat he sent commands for Fuzzball, Zeff, and Ellisandra to one at a time place a hand on an orb.
Skelwulf looked on in confusion, his anger threatening to billow out again. “I said no more delays!”
Nate simply smiled at him, trickled some of his Lucky power, and said, “I'm more than happy to close this up, but I need your help. Can you put your hand on that last orb? Just needs a little push to begin its transformation into a portable state.”
Skelwulf growled, but impatiently put his hand on the orb. The runes on the table pulsed a bright purple, and a tingling sensation spread over his chest as the carved Geas Rune glowed and floated out into the center of the table. All five of them felt the table pull from their magic reserves. Nate pushed his Lucky power to the max and prodded the Enchantment rune that read as a name. Quilly popped up next to the rune.
This Geas Rune is assigned to Zolis Fezim. Would you like to reassign this rune to yourself? Yes No.
“Yes!” Nate said aloud, feeling his exhaustion level spike despite all of his friends’ proximity significantly reducing the cost.
There was a flash of purple, Skelwulf's eyes went wide with shock, and Nate saw a pop-up for an instant before passing out.
Quest: Distraction Action Secret Objective Complete. Rewards have been added to your inventory.
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Zolis was halfway through his breakfast when he felt his connection severed from Skelwulf. “Grack?”
Grack appeared next to Zolis, “Yes, master?”
“Skelwulf has just been killed.”
“Shall I hire the usual?”
Zolis chewed another bite thoughtfully before answering. “Not yet. Send the Carrot Crew first. The Black Bunny owes me a favor.”
Grack bowed as he dipped out of Zolis's view, “Of course, master.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
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Nate awoke with a start as a strong red-haired hand gently shook him. Bright daylight shone through the window of his tavern room. They'd moved his bed back up. Terry, who had apparently returned during his sleep, lay curled up at the foot of his bed, though he hopped up at once when he noticed Nate was awake, a long dark purple tongue licking his face accompanied by a loud, happy screech that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
“Don't do that!” Nate laughed as he patted Terry on the head. “I'm surprisingly okay.” He felt an odd sensation, a connection not unlike the one he felt with Terry.
“Skelwulf is still here.”
Fuzzball nodded, “The others are downstairs too. It just so happens to have been my turn to check on you.”
“Thank you. I feel like I've been running for hours.”
“You keep overtaxing your luck power. It'll be a few days before you're back to full strength.”
With a groan, Nate swung his legs over into a sitting position on the bed. He tried to stand, and found that though he could, it felt like standing on a ship in a storm. “A little help, please?”
Terry and Fuzzball each took an arm over the shoulder, guiding him down into the tavern area.
“Nice place you've got here,” Ellisandra said.
“Thanks,” Nate groaned into a chair at the same table where Skelwulf sat. He said nothing, staring at the table. “I'm sorry I lied to you about the podium.”
Skelwulf looked up, and Nate noticed the fur near his eyes was wet. “I didn't think it was possible.”
“I used a lot of your own magic for it, so you helped me make it possible.”
“I am in your debt more than you can know.”
“Don't say that yet. I'm the one with the power over you now.” Skelwulf's eyes narrowed. “I'm just kidding. My first and only order for you is that you be free from the Geas Rune.”
Nate felt the tether to Skelwulf end as the rune shone brightly for a second before dissipating.
“Why would you do that?” Skelwulf said as his eyes widened. “I could easily kill all of you.”
“When I first got here, I had to make many choices about who I wanted to be. I could have changed to look like any of the people here, among other options. But I stuck with what I am for a number of reasons, namely that changing myself on a fundamental level would've left me feeling more lost than I already was at the time. This rune on you was keeping you from being your true self. Also, slavery of any sort is terrible and the only part I'll have in it is stopping it.”
Skelwulf nodded but said nothing, deep in his thoughts.
“Besides, what're friends for?” Nate said. “Anytime you need help, assuming I am capable of providing it, I will.”
“The same goes for you. I owe you that much at least.”
Nate smiled at him, “Now that you're free, what will you do?”
“I'm going to kill Zolis Fezim.” The absolute coldness sent an involuntary shiver down their spines.
“I've heard of him!” Zeff said, pulling his slate out.
“Zolis was the guy who had the Geas Rune before me.”
Fuzzball, though covered in fur, seemed to go pale. Terry crouched low and nuzzled him, and Fuzzball focused on patting Terry's side as memory flooded back into his mind.
Zeff slid the slate to face Nate and triggered a holographic image of a man whose age Nate couldn't place, looking very old and young at the same time. Must be the eyes. “Zolis Fezim is a member of the Tempeste Council. They oversee the Storm Chasers, the governmental workings of Tempeste, and host the competition known as the Battle of the Brands.”
Nate nodded, finally realizing that Fuzzball's face had drained and he looked ready to faint. “You good, man?”
Fuzzball shook his head, his eyes wide staring at the holographic image. “I was his apprentice.”
A sour look crossed Skelwulf's face and Zeff's mouth hung open in shock. Ellisandra thoughtfully chewed her breakfast.
“Zolis stayed in Gronwood?” Nate asked.
“He brought me here to set up gardens so he could test the strength of the Astral Collector and establish the rune chamber that held Terry.” He grabbed his head as more flashed through his mind. “And we… experimented on the people here.”
“Did he tell you where Terry had come from?” Ellisandra asked as she handed a large piece of meat to Terry, who eagerly devoured it.
“I… don't know. I need to process this.” Fuzzball stood and strode upstairs, staring in horror down at the ground as his thoughts coalesced.
The others silently watched him go before Nate continued, “Skelwulf, someone is coming here that would have been strong enough to save me from you.”
“How do you know that?” Skelwulf's head tilted in a very dog-like way that was almost adorable.
“Let's call it an aspect of my luck power. Regardless, you may not want to stick around just in case.”
They all stood at the same time, Nate nearly falling back into his chair, his knees shaking from the effort. The Chimeran walked around and extended a hand to Nate.
“If we meet again, I'll probably need your help,” Nate said as he grasped Skelwulf's hand, glad that some gestures seemed to have carried over. Skelwulf nodded and without another word left the tavern.
“You really have a way with people,” Zeff said as he sat back down.
“My mom always told me that being nice costs you nothing.”
“Says the guy who can barely stand,” Ellisandra said.
“Yeah, I guess this one did cost me a little. But it helped him in the end.”
When Skelwulf was outside the range of his party chat, a hum began growing louder and louder. Then their cutlery began to shake.