I sat in the bed as she sat next to me. Alexandria smiled as she tried teaching me about M__gic. Even if our __#$@-__ was a __-

It never happened Dais.

----------------------------------------

Averia wore her swimsuit as she chuckled “Come on ____! I know you don’t like the outdoors, but you have to admire the View” The sunset over the ))#34)_ As she lean___#@-_

You tried to flee, but you failed.

----------------------------------------

Nadel wipped the tears from her eyes "You have no idea how hard it _. I __ough_ you would be ____ the _____s. As they A_wa_s Lea__. When they fin_ 0_T..."

These people do not know you.

----------------------------------------

I finally left the Spire...

But the Spire has not let you go just yet.

----------------------------------------

The Spire pulsed around me as I continued running as fast as I could. Sweat drenched my forehead as I could hear it running after me. I was a red shirt, a minor background character trying to survive far past my ability.

Tossing more traps behind me I could hear him talking “You will not forget me. I am a part of your past.”

I turned around.

The Hand grabbed my head as I could see the black eyes embedded into the flesh staring into my own “I exist in your present.”

I pulled out the revolver

“And we shall met in the future.”

----------------------------------------

I snapped out of bed as the smell of smoke filled my nose. The various runes and alarms around my bed flared to life causing me to curse as I still hadn’t figured out how to make a good ‘Safe sleep ward’ that didn’t reak of smoke and possibly set my surroundings on fire.

"Salt and Ash." the curse cried out of my mouth "What happened to me last night?"

I tried crawling out of my bed in an attempt to quickly put out the smoking bits of carpet. Sadly for me I lacked the seemingly mythical healing ability most people in stories had… and that was being able to fully recover after a good night's sleep.

My legs practically buckled underneath my feet as all the pain and exhaustion from last night took over leaving me with a face full of slightly burnt carpet in front of my face. My mind felt like it was about to drift back into sleep, but the ever present slightly burnt carpet forced me awake.

With a huff I did the only thing I could do… and simply rolled over the slightly singed parts of the carpet until my brain figured out how my legs worked again or how to operate my arms… that or restore feeling to them.

“What time is it…” I muttered, partially waking up “And what problem is plaguing me today?”

Looking up from the tangled mess of sheets I glanced at the utter clustering mess of my apartment room back in Kornea. The same old haphazardly repaired bookcase stuffed full of various magical theories to comic books and novels. The TV stand was a random bazaar of random figures and minor experiments.

Trying to slither out of the tangled mess of sheets and whatever else had clung to my body. I struggled to pull myself up to stand… before promptly falling face first on the carpet again.

Say what you want, but I paid good money for my carpet! It never hurt having something soft to collapse on. Hardwood might look nice, but it wasn’t nearly as comfortable when you were stuck crawling across the floor while your body decided to remind you of every dull aching pain and injury you had gained yesterday.

“Rule one. Check for burns and wounds.” I reminded myself “After I count how many had been added I consult the Book of Injuries.”

The crude plastic binder sat on the edge of the desk as it had become a habit to list everything that had hurt me if only to list how best to treat those injuries. Since I was still alive it also helped to check what gave me these injuries.

After checking over to make sure they were simply mundane injuries… bruises, a possible twisted ankle… no not twisted. Just sore. I flinched as I had what looked like bullet wounds, but they had mostly healed over.

I didn’t remember getting shot recently.

“Not remember getting shot...” I spoke in a deep sigh “This is why I want to leave this city. The moment you forget when you got shot is when things have gotten too dangerous.”

Glancing at the desk I saw that it was still full of my old equipment as I must have forgotten to put it away last night. Various vials flickered with a multitude of colors in the dim morning light. The plastic tubes linking the mess probably needed to be washed out and… the cooling pot of ink hadn’t been sorted into more reasonable containers.

“I really need a more efficient way to practice.” I muttered as the blood stains on the cutting board were going to be a pain to wash out now that they had dried.

‘You should just try making pacts with spirits’ A fragmented memory played out in my head ‘Not all of this mad science or…’

I slapped myself in the face as the soothing pain snapped me back into reality “Magic isn’t crazy latin pseudo wards, twiddling of fingers, or ‘comes from the heart’ nonsense.”

Grabbing the inky black substance I began to start carefully filling the pens on the side “It comes from cost. It is refined by study. Then it is paid in blood, sweat, and tears before finally being reduced down to the dull and mundane.”

While this wasn’t my favorite method to practice magic it was the more economically feasible one considering my budget range. Everything was neat, clean, repeatable, and no hidden flaws that were kept away from the very repeatable and established magical/scientific papers published on the subject.

All that really mattered was how you used the knowledge and applied your tricks to hide it. The only reason why it was called ‘magic’ was because humanity had yet to figure out how all of the science worked yet.

I coughed as a bit of blood hit my hand… “Oh that’s not good.”

It was bad when you coughed up blood… worse when it lacked that nice healthy red color blood should be. What covered my hand was a very unrefined black substance as I felt a pain in my side. Another pained cough made me decide to skip the ‘home care’ method and take the dice with the hospitable.

Surely I hadn’t done anything to warrant anybody to try kidnapping me from the hospitable… for this week at least... Probably.

Stumbling towards the door I clenched my side and spoke up “Jack… what exactly happened last night and would it be too much to ask for a ride to the hospitable from… you…”

Instead of the normal wooden hallway that lead to the kitchen/living room where Jack should have left his stupid weight machine/tripping hazard out in the hallway again… was a hallway full of doors and a set of stairs.

The apartment specifically lacked stairs when not all of the neighbors in the apartment complex weren’t human. It was one of those swift brutal reminders that informed you that Kornea wasn’t a normal city.

“Gun first. Then stairs.” I muttered stumbling back into my room and retrieved the spare revolver and taser baton from my dresser. “If this is a dream… we can see if you can die when you try threatening me with death.”

The empty words hung in the air as I found the old style flame lantern and the red gloves covered in black ink symbols… Jack would hate me, but I’d rather be alive for him to curse me out for being an idiot as I took up the old tools.

The green flame flicked as soon as I picked up the lantern as I slipped the baton in my pocket before keeping the revolver leveled on the hallway. Each step still ached as I more or less stumbled down trying not to simply fall down the stairs.

What had been waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs wasn’t an eldritch landscape, confusing dream warping reality, or anything that rang ‘shoot first, ask questions if still alive’ which was generally a good thing.

Seeing two women stare at me in shock realizing that I was armed probably didn’t help… right up until I remembered I was practically kidnapped. So any feelings of guilt quickly were washed away by valid fear for my own life.

“Where…” My head still ached as I tried to sort out what happened last night “By the Spire. Where am I and do I need to threaten to do something stupid.”

“Too late for that boss.” A familure if annoying voice rang out “You already did the stupid.”

I stared at the old/hated face of an imp who sighed as he was hung up like some wild animal they had caught. Yet despite the obvious danger he was in, the pale red and white imp wore his same old classic ‘Always ready for a trade’ smile as if he wasn’t in danger at all.

“I have no idea what that thing is and whatever it promised you is probably a lie.” I flat out lied while trying to look for an exit

The fact that Futurm was here was always a bad sign. In fact I had made measures to ensure that we didn’t meet. Jack had even said ‘If I ever see you again I will shoot you’ and that man rarely threatened to try and kill anyone!

“Well last night I was setting up a trade for new real estate.” The imp spoke in mild offense “This morning I woke up here and trussed up like a christmas turkey!”

“This thing was working with the outsiders who invaded Willow’s Hill and killed twenty two members of the council.” One of the women replied as she didn’t hide her hatred “This creature was getting ready to sell our territory while the owners were dying.”

I glanced at the imp who wore a much more strained smile as it probably hurt to smile that hard as the Futurm tried to counter “And I didn’t get magically whisked away as if the laws of physics didn’t apply… much to my misfortune.”

Now memories of last night started to slowly trickle back in as I noticed the chain marks against my wrist keeping me confined within the city limits… how I had spent all of last night running and trying to hide as the sheer absurd amount of people had been sent after me.

As if reading my mind the imp shouted “Obviously not enough people since I’m hanging here, Nicka’li is hanging in the tree outside, and you somehow managed to escape the noose again.”

“So it was just my luck that I got stuck here when you all tried to invade this city?” I muttered wondering just how bad my luck was.

The imp laughed only to earn a sharp jab from one of the girls “Nope! As of yesterday you have officially been bumped up from an old grudge by Akara and now officially warranting the attention of Nyte himself after you managed to nearly escape without anyone realizing you stole the Eye of the Spire and one of the higher ups dying when they tried retrieving it from you!”

The cold lump of fear dropped in my stomach as any thoughts about visiting a hospitable were quickly silenced. I’d probably have a safer bet at trying to perform open heart surgery on myself than getting out of a hospital while Nyte was after me.

“I seriously doubt Outsiders wasted so much resources trying to chase after Kravos.” The woman with the pointed ear spoke as if she knew me “You bleed elves to fuel that infernal contraption!”

“Davin bleed’em as he wanted Ya’zell to translate the notes he made and tried to destroy. Akara wanted Dais for the whole window pushing scene. Trica wanted ‘Red Shirt’ for the whole ‘Graves Ball’ book…” He chuckled as I practically felt the noose around my neck “Which left Nicka’li…”

He paused trying to find the words before frowning “He was here last night, but he has been hanging on that tree for at least a good year. I’d be less concerned about ‘my perceived crimes’ than the folks here.”

That earned him another sharp wack as memories of last night trying to play in the back of my head again. It felt like that large missing gap from when I woke up last time, but I could remember more bits of it.

Mostly the running, paranoia, fleeing, hiding, and trying to escape which new colorful group was trying to capture and/or kill me before the old threats from Kornea decided they wanted first dips.

I coughed again as another glop hit my hand reminding me that I needed to be more concerned with today rather than yesterday. I had survived last night and it was my duty to ensure that I continued that trend as long as humanly possible… unless Reanimators were an option.

“Kravos are you okay?” That… one girl spoke.

My mind struggled to place the face. Tanned skin, black tank top and tight small pants? I wracked my brain trying to find her name as it starts with… a K? Oh no a knife. She was crazy psychotic ‘I stab you’ vibe knife girl!

Oh dear god! That was one who mutilated the corpse!

I quickly packed away only to stumble backwards due to forgetting that there were stairs behind me as I hit the stupid things hard. If they had a carpet then I wouldn’t have a really sharp pain in the back of my head right now.

Carpets… a pain to clean is better than a physical pain itself.

I felt the hands carefully grab me as this wasn’t a stranger grabbing me. There was a caution born out of concern as they panicked trying to help me get back up, while also trying to make sure I didn’t get hurt again. They pulled on my arm a little bit too hard, and cursed a bit yet there was concern in that tone.

After being blindly guided to a chair as my brain tried to figure out how to make sense of the gibberish that was supposed to be english… my eyes struggled to focus on the other girl. Nadel who by chance happened to be holding the revolver gifted to me in one hand and a staff in the other.

“So I take it we survived last night… or did we die?” I asked, glancing at the imp “Reanimators, strange rooms, and so forth…”

“No you are alive, but it's my job to make sure you stay alive.” Knife girl spoke in a way that was completely at odds with her yesterday “Seriously! You could have asked for my father’s help then risk having a dragon kill you!”

She nearly threw up her hands before panicking as I spotted the cloth with a bit of red and black… as she moved it to the back of my head. Oh great… survive a small army trying to kill me and die from a staircase.

That is why they removed them from apartment buildings in Kornea… they are secretly trying to kill everyone. Stairs were insidious torture devices made by the most twisted of minds after all.

“Didn’t know that was an option…” I muttered trying to remember something that was important “I mean… you never told us your name knife lady.”

The look of shock and pain filled her eyes as Nadel’s eyes widened as Futurm burst out laughing before the cosplay witch struck him hard with her staff. My own mind tried to figure out how the knife lady even got tolkien elf ears. That was one of those details you tended to pay attention to when seeing someone.

“Averia… Averia Willow?” The woman spoke with hints of growing concern in her voice “The half-elf?

“I’m pretty sure Red Shirt would have mentioned knowing a crazy elf dame when he was…” The imp mocked before the tanned woman spun around and cracked him hard against the face with her nearby staff.

Even despite the pain he must have been feeling the imp continued laughing as she screamed “What did you do to him! Why doesn’t he remember me! It was just yesterday that…”

“Second Law!” The pale imp sang in a mocking joyful tone “You can’t break the second law!”

“You can’t alter the mind without consent.” Nadel spoke in a loud whisper “Averia…”

The tanned woman didn’t listen as she grabbed the imp practically strangling him “You came here trying to kill everyone! You bleed elves to feed your infernal contraption and now you did this! Why shouldn’t I kill you!”

“Because we need answers.” A voice spoke up as everyone turned to face the speaker “Because Agatha Willow had set her trap far better than anyone thought possible.”

The tall dark skinned man had ruffled clothing as if he had slept in them and hadn’t bothered changing out of them. There were bags underneath his eyes covered up by a patch of makeup yet the unmistakable hatred in his eyes was hard to hide.

He looked at me with unease unsure of what to make of me… yet the clear blinding hatred for Futurm was clear for all to see. The imp had stopped laughing and returned with a hate filled gaze of his own.

“Twig Humper.” The imp practically swore as he spat at the floor “The dames I tolerate. You I don’t.” I glanced at the imp “They bargain with fae… If we knew you lot were here. We would have sent a crusade here instead, you troglodytes!”

The man returned a hate filled gaze of his own “Please tell us what caused you to butcher women and children in their beds as a mere ‘side effect’ of tracking down a lost object? Not even Agatha Willow was as debased as your ilk as a tyrant.”

Futurm laughed “Hah! Got to make sure you lot don’t try stealing from us again! If anything I’m betting old Nyte is working out a few phone calls to clear this place of you heretics.”

I held up a hand “Heretics? Futurm… you're an atheist.”

That caused a few odd stares at me as the imp countered “Divinely challenged is my preferred term, but even basic decency should be expected. They tried slapping a rotten pact on you the first time you met him! Couldn’t even get a proper pact right! That’s when the higher ups sent authorization to send ol’Fuithlug to burn em’out!”

That was news to me as I was both insulted that they stole… okay technically Fuithlug wasn’t mine anymore, but the point still counted! They forgot about me as they tried killing everyone linked to a bad pact…

“How much of that army was after me?” I asked, wondering if I stumbled across the next ‘holy crusade’ only without the government or ‘normal’ churches being involved.

You know… groups that could be bought out or reasoned with instead of being filled by holy burning convection that refuses any argument against it.

“Eh… half and half.” The imp replied much to my dismay “Called for reinforcements after the magic wall trick. Called for kill squads after we got a bad pact resonance… Bloody thieves probably trying to steal the Eye of the Spire! Probably had one of their heads explode trying to cheat it from yah!”

I raised my hand despite how foolish it looked “Okay… can I ask for a doctor for my head?” They all turned to face me “I kind of took a bad fall.”

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Some time had passed as Nadel had apparently been appointed as my ‘aid’ which essentially boiled down to trying to make sure I didn’t run away and to try and explain what was going on.

So that was a ‘no’ for getting me a doctor for my possible head wound.

Instead they had her adding more scribbles into her notebook as various people looking like they belonged in a fantasy Larp session walked into the house. Half of them didn’t pay me any attention as they were treating me like a sick house cat they hoped wouldn’t cough up a hairball on an expensive rug.

The other half stared at me as if I was going to suddenly sprout wings and eat their children as one mother actually tried to hide her children behind her as if fearing I would swallow their soul just by looking at them.

Nadel was busy trying to work with some sort of… potion as she tried to explain “You are the first male heir in… a long time. The first one who claims ownership by succession instead of marriage at least.”

“No offense…” I muttered trying to ignore the various glares “If you give me a plane ticket I will gladly fly out of the city.”

Walking and driving away wasn’t going to work with the ‘border patrol’ resting outside the city limits. Yet somehow my offer was met by sheer disbelief as if I was insane for wanting to get out of this powder keg before the fuse was lit.

Maybe not ‘powder keg’ and something more akin to nitroglycerin. After all powder kegs need something to set it off. Nitroglycerin on the other hand didn’t need help to suddenly explode.

Knife girl… no Averia just sat off to the side staring at me looking hurt, confused, and a little bit heart broken. The woman who I was almost sure had threatened to stab me with a knife yesterday.

Details are a little fuzzy, but I’m certain none of her feelings counted as romantic.

The witch coughed politly “Eye of the Spire… the silver orb thing that we should never be exposed to blood due to the ‘crazy reality warping nonsense’ as you called it?”

That sent a shiver down my spine because I had made damn sure to hide it. Even with my hazy memory of yesterday (possible head trauma notwithstanding). I was pretty sure that there was no hints, shows, or reveals of the cursed object and certainly no ‘showing’ of the damn thing either!

The look on her face said it all “You really find it unsettling that we know… also how many names do you have?”

“One for every new possible threat.” I dimly replied “Makes it harder for people trying to kill me to find others with a similar mindset.”

That actually earned a chuckle out of the elf girl which was both somehow endearing and slightly worrying. The latter due to the fact she could overhear the conversation and knew about the orb.

“How paranoid are you?” Nadel asked as she seemed to apply a bit more pressure to the back of my head before easing up “I mean… Endless Night… things are a bit messed up right now, but I have to ask.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

There was a long and silent pause as she seemed unsure of asking the question she wanted or worried that by asking the question I might learn something she’d rather have kept secret… just like me not wanting anyone to even know about said artifact lying unprotected in the room that looked like my old apartment room.

“You have no idea what the Witch’s Legacy is.” Averia finally spoke in defeat “You have no idea who I am… who we are.”

There was a deep pain in her voice as I swore there were hints of tears in her eyes. For some odd reason it hurt, yet the more rational part of my mind reminded me that Futurm didn’t trust these people and he’d trade, barter, and sell to just about anyone with the ink to pay.

“I remember someone trying to make a Pact with me yesterday promising not to kill me so long as I don’t try breaking any laws.” I spoke as Nadel froze up in fear “Also remember the Pact Rebound killing the man, burning some magical paper contract, and The Stitch Witch laughing…”

I never even finished the words as the eldritch being in question decided at that moment to just appear in the hallway as if waiting for her dramatic reveal. Nadel practically hid behind me while Averia pulled out her staff and a freaking cross of all things.

The being in question stared at it for a few seconds “I believe that works only if you believe in the God of Lost Causes…” She stared at the elf girl and then at me before speaking in a mocking tone “Though in this case Lost Causes might qualify.”

There was a loud ‘thud’ as a rather tall regal looking tanned skin man appeared. His entire appearance screamed ‘elven noble’ from how he stood, dressed, and somehow managed to get a truck sized wolf somehow magically appear right outside the window where everybody could see it.

There was an obvious tension in the room as the witch in question shook her head “I am here as a guest Lord of the Forgotten Woods. While Agatha’s spite has done much to harm this town it is my task to help aid in the repairs of my city.”

The elf king glared at her “Only the filth resting outside of this city keeps me from striking you down. Stay away from my daughter.”

That somehow earned a large harsh chuckle from the person in question that was both insulting and mocking at best… yet the girls seemed to be physically wincing in pain as if they were being struck.

“I work with the materials at hand instead of second rate bargains.” The Stitch Witch replied “There must be certain standards of quality to work with instead of merely picking through the dregs.”

That was when we all heard the thud of a sword. The Eldritch being showed her true inhuman nature as not everyone could casually examine a sword shoved straight in between their eyes. There was something certainly unnatural about the ease of her simply walking out of the blade and examining it as if it was a tacky singing bass fish on a wall.

“Iron?” The witch spoke in mild surprise “I thought your kind destested Iron.”

“For you… anything is worth a shot.” The elf lord practically snarled back

“Please…” Nadel was about to say something before her mouth was somehow forcibly shut as she nodded “Stitch Witch… why have you come? I must remind you that Kravos didn’t exactly come out uninjured in his trial last night.”

The Stitch Witch nodded her head “Ah… right. The favor you owe me Kravos Lynch… I want you on the first plane out of this city once the Council agrees to break the bindings on your wrists.”

“Deal.” I spoke without even needing a second to think.

Again with the dumbstruck stares as The Stitch Witch removed a Reanimator mask “Also their work was tacky… uninspired… yet I am envious of their medical expertise. Who taught them?”

“No clue… Davin might know, but the other folks in cloaks are probably calling for his head due to him bringing the undead dragon along.” I calmly informed her “So we are even? No hard feelings about me shooting you in the face?”

“What!” Averia shouted in disbelief “How!”

“For now…” The Stitch Witch replied carefully pulling the sword out of the wall “Though you may have made a terrible mistake just now.”

The elf king and creepy eldritch witch walked out of the room and into what I guessed was an office room. The type you expected business executives to make backroom business deals and powerpoints clip shows about ‘How we shall take over the world’ written planly for everyone to see.

The doors shut behind them as Averia spoke up “Okay… how did someone who couldn’t cast a basic cantrip go from that… to being able to shoot…”

“Don’t say her name.” Nadel quickly spoke in fear “She will hear it and Kravos doesn’t know it.”

The odd long pause as if somehow that was somehow more absurd than me panicking and shooting an eldritch witch in the face thinking she was related to eldritch monsters who could bring dead people back to life.

God I hated my life sometimes.

“Okay then…” The half-elf crossed her arms “You can’t remember me right now…”

It is hard to remember someone you never met, but I wasn’t dumb enough to say that outloud. I already had enough people outside the city trying to kill me. I didn’t need to try adding people inside the city to that list.

“But Nadel told me you were casting magic last night… like a lot of magic.” She spoke as if it needed to be repeated “I remembered you struggling with a basic cantrip going red in the face when I said ‘I would take off my top if you did succeed’ when we were over by the lake.”

There was a deliberate pause as Nadel’s face just grew red as while the woman who spoke it just sort of grinned as if that would somehow make me remember. The seconds passed by as my lack of relocation or understanding just brought that same look of heartbreak all over again.

It took me a few seconds before I realized why I didn’t remember as there was nothing wrong with my memories… but hers.

Nadel telling me what happened if someone captured an Heir of the Hill rang in my mind as I stared at Averia not in any romantic feelings or lust… but fear. Whoever she had been yesterday had been rewritten into whoever this person was… today.

That was enough to stop any romantic feelings or interest as the urge to flee from this city even by foot sounded promising! The worst the people who had been chasing me could do is kill me and then probably bring me back to life for proper torture and threats.

You know… sane but reasonable fears instead of sheer stomach clenching terror!

“That’s right…” Nadel spoke as there was unease in her voice “The Witch’s Legacy… lets you rewrite reality… or that’s the short version of it.”

Averia nodded her head with a hint of guilt “Only for part of the city… you get full control if you are the only one left of course… not that I’m trying to kill you!” She added in a panic “I have no idea what that thing did to you, but I really am not trying to kill you…”

She tugged on her hair in frustration trying to make it clear that she was being honest… and the creepy thing was? That nagging feeling that was screaming as I realized for some completely ludicrous reason… I believed her.

Not that believing her was crazy… but that it was if I knew I could take her word in the same way you would trust a good friend who promised you that they were telling the truth.

I glanced at Nadel and tried to whisper “I take it that is the reason why this council is paranoid about me.”

“Why do you seem to be trusting her over me.” Averia spoke in a slightly bitter tone as I hadn’t whispered soft enough “I thought you couldn’t remember…”

“She had plenty of opportunities to push me in front of a machine gun last night and she made a Pact to promise not to kill me.” I quickly replied “I’d offer to make one with you, but I understand if…”

The half-elf shot out her hand “I promise not to kill you! Same!”

I shook her hand as…

‘Averia smiled wearing a swimsuit meant to show off her curves. She chuckled at the edge of the cliff face that stood over the lake and whispered “Like the view?” before seemingly hinting at taking off her top before bumping me into the water and laughing…’

I pulled my hand back as the half-elf practically jumped back shouting as she clutched her hand. It was rather impressive for how far she could jump. Trust Averia Willow to never stand down from a challenge…

I didn’t know her. The memories half formed died as I tried to keep hold of my own sanity while all the while the half-elf stared at her own hand before looking at me wearing the largest smug smirk she had since raiding Alexandria’s…

“I knew you just couldn’t forget me!” She shouted in ecstatic glee before staring at her own hand “Just have to ask… are you still human?”

Somehow that comment annoyed me more than the unwanted intrusion of memories that didn’t belong to me. Call me odd, but I kind of took offense to people questioning my humanity!

“Yes I’m still human. I was born human, died human, brought back to life as human and so forth…” I muttered much to the shock and disbelief of the girls “Reanimators kind of get their name from their ability to bring people back to life.”

There was a long pause before Averia interjected “Sure, but you kind of had the handshake you get when Creepy Needle Lady shakes your hand… only less ‘I totally screwed up’ aftermath feeling. I mean I kind of get the unsettling feeling that my head would explode before I shoved a knife in your heart...”

“Your heart…” Nadel interjected “Creepy Needle Lady confirmed that he died of a heart attack when he tried using the death pact on Kravos before it went up in flames… literal flames.”

“Seriously…” The half-elf stared at me as if I had grown a second head “What the heck happened to you in this crazy nonsense city full of undead dragons, demons, and warlocks!”

I glanced at the closed doors where people were talking about my fate along with the possible (or real) fear that I could somehow warp reality due to the fact I wasn’t killed last night… something which held more credence after interacting with Averia.

“First of all… there are no demons in Kornea.” I spoke, earning a huff of disbelief from the two girls “They are technically non-human entities that merely look like demons… because if they were actually demons the Crusader factions would have already killed them all…”

“And that is somehow less insane than walking talking demons.” Averia spoke as if mocking the idea “Because last night there were a lot of ‘totally not demons’ binding people with pacts, unleashing horrific blood crazed monsters , before they sacrificed the elves they had captured in a ‘totally not a blood ritual’ to power their infernal undead abominations.”

“That last part is because Davin is essentially a mad scientist who lacks any morals.” I replied with as much of a straight face as possible “I have litteral books in my room explaining how the first two parts work.”

Trying to justify the ‘blood ritual bit’ by explaining the limitation of resources solved by the cold methodical sacrifice of ‘elves’ who’s blood could be refined into an alternative fuel source. That would probably get me stabbed… repeatedly.

“Well?” Nadel asked as she pointed towards the back of the house “What exactly is hanging outside?”

“Someone who tinkered with his genetics to allow more predatory traits to become apparent while trying to achieve a biological state of immortality akin to a lobster or jellyfish…” I paused as they stared at me “Without the whole ‘side effects’ that end up killing them instead of making them able to live forever if somebody doesn’t murder them.”

“The whole ‘demon look’ is mostly because the founder of their group hated crusaders and thought that looking like demons looked neat…” I took a deep breath “And because of the whole ‘Pact’ deal… Let others think they can cheat a Pact by letter instead of Spirit only to suffer a Pact rebound… You don’t have to be a demon to be an awful person.”

“But it does make for a good excuse…” Averia muttered “So the imp…”

“Can be killed by a shotgun.” I firmly stated “Though he is a natural born. His parents opted for becoming ‘Imp Lords’ for longer lifespans and not giving a damn about morality. The whole ‘imp child’ you can blame on the change in species.”

There was a long pause as explaining it certainly wasn’t making things better.

“Hey to be fair my first day ended with me nearly being killed by cops when I rested in the wrong inn getting here…” Averia looked slightly guilty “And that is without nearly being framed for murder, killed, left in an empty warehouse with two useless bodyguards…”

“Hey they sent the Knight of Damascus!” Nadel shouted in defense.

I glanced at her “That was really helpful when the undead dragon came by… or when the people with machine guns and rocket launchers just simply chased after us. Tell me how good a sharp pointy toothpick would have been against any of them?”

She grunted not wanting to admit I was right while failing to find a counterargument. Averia on the other hand looked as if I told her Santa Claus wasn’t real. Seriously the age of swords died when automatic weapons became a thing.

I’d place my bets on an old style gatling gun with an ammo belt over a field of knights.

Now that I didn’t feel like throwing up everytime I got up I decided to change the subject “So instead of debating about possible theological, ideological, or just how insane humanity can be at times… who wants to help me get a bag of Forgotten Mists from my room so that we can spy on the super secret council meeting in the other room?”

“Wear a mask.” Nadel spoke, rubbing her head “Don’t ask. Just wear one and get a good filter spell.”

“How effective is this… mist?” Averia asked in idle curiosity.

“It allowed us to literally walk away from everyone not wearing a gasmask last night.” I glanced at Nadel “How many times did we do it?”

“Far too many.” Nadel spoke with a shiver “Seriously… Those lunatics might have been using machine guns as bugle horns.”

----------------------------------------

I had to admit that whatever they made these potions out of it was very effective. I wondered what the side effects might have been, but my body only ached in pain as I was no longer coughing up blood or feeling if I was about to throw up.

Though Nadel kept a small selection on hand just to be safe. Averia on the other hand just stared in disbelief at the situation of us sitting in the corner of the room while the ‘Council’ tried to decide my fate.

Tried being the keyword as they were mostly arguing and shouting at one another. The time they had spent before we got here was apparently listing grievances they had with one another. Now they had simply gotten into the part of trying to place who got the blame for last night’s disaster.

So far Mr Hawkings seemed to be one of the three people in charge only due to the fact he seemed to have some semblance of a plan… and that was ‘forget blame. Focus on damage control’ as last night’s actions had somehow gone without anyone taking pictures, recording what happened, or getting plastered all over the internet.

It was saying something that I actually considered fairy tale magic as a possible answer when Averia told me about it… but then again the Witch of the Hill had access to something that let her have some degree of being able to toy with reality.

So magically having every digital device delete their data with all ‘photos’ get corrupted as the ‘bodies’ magically disappear probably helped if it wasn’t so terrifying to think about.

What didn’t help as Mr Hawking kept repeating was the people who had saw ‘Grandma getting eaten by a half naked abomination’ or trying to hide the sheer damage caused by the ‘Undead abomination that is making people pray it was a chemical leak messing with their mind instead of the reality’ which was saying something.

Maybe conspiracy theorists might go up… or maybe you get paranoid people who realized that monsters were real and decided to grab guns and start shooting without thinking things through.

Good news? They apparently fixed the perceived problems with the barrier keeping everyone who wanted to kill them (and me by extension) working… though at the cost of needing an Heir of the Hill to have control of the hill.. The Witch’s Hill to be more precise.

It was working for now, but only until another heir took claim of the hill… or let everyone else outside break in to cause a distraction. Everybody was operating under the assumption that Agatha Willow planned the entire attack and was leaving the ‘outsiders’ to serve as both a distraction and means to kill everyone who didn’t welcome her back with open arms.

That only left the issue on who got control of the hill.

Averia shook her head “They should just let me take control. Dad already gave me my piece of the Witch’s Legacy.”

“Oh right… because trusting an elf who had been banished for the city for Fifty or was it sixty years is a good idea?” Nadel spoke in obvious dismissal “Don’t forget that their reputation is bad enough to have our current problem camping outside the city trying to reenact the crusades.”

“My dad didn’t make contracts as shoddy as those storybooks tales!” Averia spoke seemingly offended “He just thinks I should help set up a law firm within the city…”

I pinched my nose “Because a law firm run by elves following Fae Bargaining Rules sounds like a good idea. Isn’t there supposed to be a whole… hidden masquerade thing going on or are people supposed to ignore the pointed ears?”

As if to confirm how bad the entire idea was her ‘father’ stood up. This was where half of the complaining and political problems came from. Not because the elf was seemingly way out of date with how things were currently being run.

No ironically the Gandolf impersonators would have loved that. Too bad for them the elf king seemed to go so far off expectations that I was checking to see if my possible head injury was messing with my hearing.

“The Masquerade is a stupid idea and it has clearly failed.” The elf spoke out loud “Look at the outsiders. Despite my personal bias towards them… they rule an entire city letting the supernatural and mundane operate freely without hiding who they are.”

I swore he was motioning towards me instead of the door as he continued “Look at the latest heir. He actually knows how to use a gun and fear guns far more than any of us who still play by the rules of the masquerade. The only group that seemed to have threatened him were people in gas masks and assault rifles than ancient pacts with forgotten beings and idiots playing with spellbooks handed down from Merlin himself.”

He shook his head “That ‘dragon’ that caused you all so much trouble was a mixture of necromancy, whatever foul magic they wove to animate it… and mechanical engineering. By the Roots of Yggdrel the thing was remote controlled as they were recording the whole thing!”

Nadel just rocked back and forth muttering about how ‘she has to be dreaming’ while Averia muttered about him being more annoyed at missing ‘Lord of the Rings’ in theaters. Still he did have a point about them being completely caught off guard by a paramilitary supernatural group kicking down their front doors.

Of course on the opposing side was The Stitch Witch… who’s entire idea seemed to be the opposite. Mostly in the fact they had been operating too openly which allowed them to be caught too easily. That they hadn’t simply delved deep enough into magical lore to protect themselves as they had grown too content with merely touching upon the surface of magical lore instead of delving deeper into it like their ancestors had.

I clearly disagreed with some of her points, but when she started making points about how some of the local gangs operated on the unofficial (yet widely known) secret that magic was real as some of the gang members were or had worked with the ‘magically gifted or rejected’ children of the magical community.

That it was because of this that Trica had apparently lured some of the gangs to cross the city border with the promise of easy money… Before quickly grabbing, abducting, torture, threats, and showing they were a heck of a lot scarier than their current magical city council.

That it was because of this ‘open secret’ that had allowed their enemies to figure out where to strike. That it was because they had grown lax in their security to allow ‘ordinary thugs’ to kick down their doors and slaughter so many of them.

More than half of the people there seemed to nod in agreement as she opted for an alternative idea… simply having me sign an agreement to give up my rights to ‘The Witch’s Legacy’ along with any other heirs… then forcing Averia to do the same.

Mostly as an attempt to make it binding both by the spirit of the Pact and the letter to ensure the other heirs couldn’t slip out of it or simply suffered sudden heart attacks if they tried.

As for the question of how to keep the barrier up… she had not so subtly hinted that she could keep the barrier up… so long as she took up Agatha Willow’s old spot.

Averia was not a fan of that idea at all and as we had to keep her from drawing attention to the room of paranoid and magically armed people who’d throw fireballs first and ask questions later.

“What’s the point of sitting here if we aren’t allowed to say anything?” Averia spoke in a mild huff.

“So that we know what they are saying and be prepared for what happens next.” I informed her “They don’t need consensus if simply kidnapping you and forcing you to sign through some absurd loophole. Heck they could make a hidden clause that by simply buying food from the grocery store would somehow misticly bind you into signing the contract from how loose these ‘Fae Pacts’ seem to be.”

“They couldn’t do that…” The half-elf retorted before pausing “Maybe the kidnapping bit… but they seriously can’t be going along with… her idea.”

“You think they have a choice?” Nadel spoke with a shake of her head “Look at that contract she has and how many people keep glancing at her. Agatha Willow cost the city two thirds of the council. Five votes might not matter before, but they certainly count a lot more now.”

“There are fourteen people.” Averia muttered.

“Your father is a ‘respected guest’ but he doesn’t get his vote to count until he sits on two more meetings.” the witch countered “While her vote still counts which means she only needs two votes to win at worst.”

Two people to convince after a night of horrors… or two people to threaten on what would happen to them if they didn’t have anyone to protect them from the most dangerous person within the room. Agatha Willow was dead and it was clear that people were more afraid of her than of the elf king.

The only question was if that fear would make them flock to her for protection… or cause them to not vote with her because they feared her more than they feared the people outside their city.

“We only have one sane choice.” The elf king spoke “Simply make my daughter in charge of the Hill. She lived in this city and she is not going on some tyrannical rule like Agatha Willow has done. I raised her to be better, but can you trust that the other heirs would be as safe? That she would be safer as you had run to Agatha Willow of all people for protection from her.”

That apparently made more people lean towards the elf as while they had only grown up on stories about him… but they knew just how terrifying the eldritch witch could be as her fingers sank into the table clearly annoyed at her opponent.

“The better question is why we shouldn’t use Kravos Lynch.” Mr Hawkings spoke up “He knows nothing about the Witch’s Legacy. He wants to leave and whatever Agatha Willow wanted from him… it could be used for the benefit of the city.”

Now I felt like stepping out of the mist and telling everyone that it was a bad idea. You do not pass around the One Ring and take turns putting it on and taking it off. You find small helpless people who couldn’t do much damage and if need be toss them with the ring into the nearest volcano.

“No. We have bargained for his safe passage out of the city.” The Stitch Witch spoke with a growing instance “Once he flees we can inform his pursuers where he has fled to. They can either try fighting us knowing there is no prize to be had or chase after their elusive quarry giving us time to ensure that the other heirs do not take control of this city again.”

The elf king shook his head “And let them take what they have been chasing after? I have no idea what this ‘eye’ is, but the sheer fact that they want it makes me want to keep it just to spite them!”

That got a couple of nodding heads even from the Stitch Witch faction. It hurt seeing how many people died due to their actions as doing any amount of petty revenge would be satisfying… The only problem was that they still had three leaks as one could be the new Agatha Willow who would gladly sell everyone out.

Far better to let the innocent magician flee the city and not at all because I would benefit from this totally selfless action.

“All he has managed to do was flee from his pursuers.” Mr Hawkings replied “Surely we can deal with a single fledgling wizard than an ancient elven fae lord or an equally ol… I mean a very crafty witch of your experience.”

It was at that moment I didn’t think The Stitch Witch saw us… I knew she saw us as she looked straight into my eyes. She was clearly getting ready to show everyone that I wasn’t as nearly ‘harmless’ as everyone had been led to believe.

Before I could sneak out of the door something gripped me from the back of my shirt and just yanked me across the room. People panicked as they couldn’t remember what was suddenly being dragged across the table knocking everything over, but when she grabbed me I felt a rush of wind just simply wash over me as a dozen yelps and shouts of surprise filled the room.

“Yes one mere helpless magician who was sitting in the corner listening to the entire meeting without anyone’s notice certainly isn’t a threat to anyone when he hears them plotting his fate without his consent.” The witch spoke with dripping sarcasm

It was just my luck that my mist didn’t seem to even affect her as she continued “Tell me magician. If everyone agreed to tie you up like a christmas turkey would you not take that handgun on your side and simply shoot the individual who suggested it and make everyone else forget they had even attended this meeting…”

The daming words hung in the air as suddenly ‘seemingly harmless’ was being removed as everyone glanced around the room and even checked to see if anybody had been sitting in the empty seats in sudden fear of her suggestion.

“And you want to give this Magician control of the Witch’s Hill and a piece of the Witch’s Legacy… when he could do this without it?” She spoke, holding me up higher “The person very adept at escaping people who sent a small army trying to kill him and complaining that they didn’t send enough people to do it?”

“Yes.” Mr Hawkings spoke much to her and everyone else’s disbelief.

“Why?” The elf king spoke in utter disbelief.

The man stared at them before pulling out a cellphone “Because he doesn’t know who we are… Alexandria Willow on the other hand.” He tapped his phone and revealed a picture of Alexandria… in what looked like an older picture hanging Nicka’li from a willow tree “Seems to have a connection to his city and I’d like to know what we are going to have to deal with.”

The next picture was far less subtle as it showed an annoyed woman holding a piece of cardboard with the words ‘I will be back’ in a magic shop… not a mundane one with fake magic tricks… no… one with an eldritch shopkeeper selling my brand of magic as the young witch had a gun on the counter.

“If we can’t deal with a runner who flees then what should we expect from her?” Mr Hawkings spoke. “I am simply asking him to maintain the barrier as the Legally appointed Council rules the city since he has agreed to Follow the Law as per our agreement for his continued survival.”

Six votes for Stitch Witch. Seven votes for Mr Hawkings and appealing to their fears.

The dark skinned wizard simply smiled as he shook my hand “I guess that makes this the Magician’s Hill for now… also don’t break any laws or I’ll kill you.”

Short, simple, and a grip that promised that he would certainly try to kill me if I decided to become the next Agatha Willow… on whatever she did to earn the ire of everyone here.

I simply nodded, not paying too much attention to it as I was more focused on the other two parties who gave their own half hearted excuses for future meetings as they didn’t speak to me, but more towards one another.

“I shall come by later to discuss the favor you owe me and of any…” She glared at Mr Hawkings “Revisions that may be required due to certain actions taken today by well meaning fools..”

She walked out of the room as her blackmailed/followers quickly followed suit, unsure where they stood, but trusted that she would protect them from the threat lurking outside their city borders.

The Elf king looked at me with unease “My daughter has said many things about you…” there was a pause “I hope for the swift recovery of your memories as the two of you good friends.”

“We already made a Pact to not try and murder one another.” I quickly replied “Can’t ask for more considering the circumstances.”

The handshake was brisk, but I tried not to sweat as I had no idea what my deal with the Stitch Witch was, but she seemed keen on keeping me alive if only to further her own goals. While she wasn’t happy with Mr Hawkings she found me as a better ‘owner’ of the hill than the elf king’s daughter.

Said person on the other hand was weighing the decision between trying to rekindle a relationship that his daughter never had with me… or just killing me to leave his daughter as the other possible alternative.

The flaw being that Agatha Willow owned a large portion of the votes as apparently her vote still counts. Thirteen votes with six of them owned by The Stitch Witch… those were not good odds.

He walked out of the room leaving Mr Hawkings to stay if only to ensure that I didn’t become ‘misguided’ in trying to support one of the other two factions. He carefully pulled out a couple of papers as I didn’t need to read them to realize what they were.

They were deeds to the house, land, and a very lengthy contract to give me one ‘Witch of the Hill Legacy’ in exchange for accepting that the Council was in charge of the town along with some legal wording that would have him shoot me if I dared ask a lawyer to look over it.

“Can’t you just let me go after I sign this?” I asked, trying to give it a shot “I don’t have a job here, a history, or any idea what any of this stuff is supposed to be. How can I even pay for the taxes on this property?”

The man uncomfortably cleared his throat “If it was that easy I’d agree to it, but you have to live here until we find an alternative… preferably one that isn’t compromised, seeking revenge, or trying to kill us all.”

There was a half mocking snort as even he didn’t believe any of the last three (or two) heirs would even fit those qualifications. Especially considering that he used one of them to frighten everyone else into voting for his plan.

He smiled “If you are in need of money I am sure we can come up with…”

“If you say payment plans then I will sell this house to the people outside the city.” I threatened him “You are dangerous, but I have run from things far more deadly than last night.”

His smile turned into a frown for just a moment before he shook his head “I was going to say alternative contracts since I can’t exactly write a check for dealing with… whatever those things were last night.”

The Council leader turned his back on me as he continued his tirade “We lived under a very nasty woman for far too long. We have two other non-human monsters who want to take the crown. So please bear with me if I think humans should be incontrol of our fates if only to ensure my children grow up with a better life than my own.”

He was playing the guilt game and I even believed that he meant the words. The only problem was that his speech promised nothing about me living in this wonderful future he envisioned.

“Would you rather we make a Pact?” I held out my hand “You don’t kill me and try to give me reasonable business deals and in return we go with what you said?”

He looked at me for a few seconds “I will have to check to see if anyone else has lingering thoughts on who they think you are… as you never came to this town until this week yet Averia Willow seems to think you are childhood friends.”

I lowered my hand “I guess that’s fair…”

It really wasn’t as he kept his hands firmly away from mine. Everyone knew what happened when you tried breaking a Pact with me now… and that if I tried breaking the pact I would die… or they would if they tried.

You know it says something about you when your odds when trusting the local eldritch boogeyman (or woman) gave you better odds at surviving than the local government.

“Until then… try to keep yourself alive.” He spoke trying to sound polite “Until we can figure out how to make this work for us all.”

He left me with a house with bills, no job, and as an added bonus… he didn’t break the chains keeping me trapped here as apparently being a prisoner was more beneficial than letting me leave so that the army outside could chase after me.

“Maybe I should have tried filling the room with mist and shooting him?” I muttered to myself