Brugo watched with a guilty conscience from the edge of the woods as Harpyn appeared and disappeared several times, followed by men in shiny armor and the small group of Sarizians. If they got their hands on the little mage, he didn’t want to think about what they’d do.

But then again, Harpyn was a wily fellow and seemed capable enough of getting himself out of tight spots on occasion. If he could just outrun the soldiers, they’d give up soon enough.

“I have to do something,” Anaya said, rising to go.

Brugo grabbed her wrist, holding her fast. “Don’t. It’s too dangerous.”

She shot him a look. “You mean to let him get captured in your stead?”

He furrowed his brow, stung by the accusation. “Of course not. But the only thing that happens if you go walking out there right now, is that you end up captured at his side. Trust me, we need to stay put.”

“What about the sword? Hm? If they get their hands on Harpyn, they’ll have the sword, too. Then you’ll have even bigger problems. Besides,” she yanked her arm free of Brugo’s grip, planting her hands on her hips, “I think you owe me a better explanation of what’s going on here. Is it true you killed someone?”

Brugo’s mouth dropped open. He shook his head, astonished by her words. Is that what she truly believed? Where had she heard such a thing? Slowly, he got a grip on his anger and gave a huff.

“I did not. But if I did, what difference would it make? We all stood there and watched that man die by that sword in the field. None of us made any effort to save him. And if we’d come upon him hiding between the stalks, I’ve no doubt that you would have been happy for me to dispatch him so you and Harpyn could claim the weapon. But no, I didn’t murder anyone. All I did was defy the egotistical little man that sits on the Emperor’s throne in Sariza. I refused to bow down to his demands, and I protected my men.” His voice faltered and his eyes dropped to the ground between his feet. “Only, it seems that my loyalty meant less than I thought, because they are now the ones that hunt me.”

He had to stop before his voice rose with the anger coursing through him. He’d given everything for those men. He’d even had to leave his own family behind to get to safety, all to defend them. And now this.

Thinking back on their time hiding in the culvert, he picked out the memory of the voices. Four men he knew. He supposed it was good that only four of them had come after him. But then, what if there were others? What if the entire guild had turned against him back in Sariza? What could the Emperor have offered them for their treachery? Surely it wasn’t riches. After all, the whole dispute between the Emperor and the Butcher’s Guild had started because of money. So what could it have been?

It didn’t matter. Brugo was now certain that once he made it to Yaal, he would never return to his homelands. He couldn’t risk it. And it was more important than ever that he found a way to free his family also. As long as they were in Sariza, he knew they were in danger.

In the time that Brugo was contemplating all of this, and Anaya was staring down at him, they’d both managed to lose track of Harpyn. When Brugo looked out past the houses to the open road, there was no sign of the mage, and only two of the soldiers were still in sight.

“We ought to keep moving if we’re going to meet up with him,” Brugo started, now in a surly mood. “No sense in making him double back.”

Anaya sighed, but she relaxed her stance and gave a slight nod as Brugo led the way, picking a path through the tangled branches. He worked methodically, keeping an eye out for movement beyond the trees. Soon, he spotted the rest of the soldiers, spread out and forming a loose half circle around a frightened Harpyn, who had himself backed up against a boulder. In his hands, the cursed sword blazed with blue and white light, and even at a distance Brugo could see the sparks flying angrily from its tip.

“That damned mage,” he cursed under his breath, anxiety tying a knot in his chest as his hand fell to the haft of his axe.

Anaya gave a little gasp of terror as the two of them watched the soldiers close the circle step by step. Brugo’s eyes darted from one soldier to the next, dreading what would come next.

With a roar, he charged out of the trees, sprinting toward Harpyn as fast as his tree-like legs would carry him. If Anaya followed, he had no clue. But he meant to stop those men from getting hurt. If it was him they wanted, they could have him, so long as the sword made it to Yaal where it belonged.

“NOOOOOO!” he screamed, and all eyes turned to him.

With a start, the soldiers shuffled themselves, turning to face his charge. Their swords came up, thrust forward as if Brugo might just run up on the tip of his own accord. But the moment they did all this, Brugo knew they’d made a fatal error.

The air buzzed for a second before the sword unleashed a powerful lash of lightning, striking down the nearest soldier where he stood. The man was blasted off his feet, thrown sideways as a sound that no human could purposefully make was ripped from his throat. He hit the dirt, sliding a short distance before coming to a final rest.

Brugo slowed, keeping his distance, but the soldiers were angry now. They didn’t understand, and he wasn’t sure he could explain it either. Still, he had to try.

“It’s me you want!” he shouted across the short distance.

“Aye! Murderer!” The bravest soldier cried, to a chorus of approval from his remaining friends.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“No,” Brugo said simply, already irritated. “I am no murderer, but you will all die if you do not heed my words.”

“So this is your mage then,” the soldier sneered. “We’ll just have to take him in with you. I’m sure the Emperor would love to know how Andrysfal has held onto magic all these years. Perhaps he’ll give us an extra bounty for the trouble.”

“It’s not what you think. Now listen, and listen carefully.”

The sword hissed and let off another sharp crack of lightning, temporarily blinding Brugo. However, when the spots cleared, it appeared that no one else had been hurt.

“How about we do this instead, traitor? You give yourself up, and then we can have a nice civil chat about the sword all the way back to Sariza? Once you’re in chains, of course.”

“That’s not going to happen,” he said calmly. “And you will never get your hands on that sword. It would kill every last one of you before it let that happen. I watched it suck the life right out of a man and leave him a burnt out husk on the dirt. That sword is not to be trifled with, and it is of the utmost importance that it gets to Yaal.”

The lead soldier took a step toward Brugo, eyes squinted in a scowl. “That’s precisely what a traitor would say. You betrayed your people and now you are working directly for the (King?) of Andrysfal, helping him attain weapons of war. For what? So he can destroy your homeland?”

“Hey! Will you shut up?” Anaya barked from Brugo’s side, her voice slicing through the air like a slap.

The soldier perked up when he saw her, a nasty smile twisting his lips. “And what have we here? Brugo’s already found himself a lover in this new land of his? I must say I’m impressed. You ditched the old wife and found a new one in what? Three days?”

“Ew, no!” Anaya protested, but then she gave Brugo an apologetic look.

The soldiers cackled. “Well, if you aren’t to be his wife, perhaps you’d make a fine wife to one of us? We could show you a real good time.”

Anaya growled and Brugo threw an arm out instinctively to stop her from charging straight at the man. Mercifully, she stopped herself, but she did not stand down.

“I’m going to give you one last warning,” Brugo tried again. “That sword must make its way to Yaal, and I intend to see it there. If you try to stop us, I can’t be held responsible for what happens next.”

The head soldier barely let him finish speaking for shouting something unintelligible and lunging in Brugo’s direction. His hand went to his axe in an instant, but he hardly had time to pull it from the loop at his side before the soldier was face down in the dirt, a darkened starburst seared through his armor where the lightning had struck.

“Anyone else?” Brugo asked, toeing at the man’s corpse and then rolling him onto his back.

His eyes were still open wide, but to Brugo’s horror, they had turned an inky black color. Brugo shuddered and turned away from the man, a queasy feeling creeping up inside him.

None of the soldiers made a move.

“I advise all of you return to Sariza. Tell the Emperor that I will turn myself in when I have seen this through. You all know me to be a man of my word.” He looked from face to face, imploring them. “But I fear if this magic is loosed on the world, we shall all perish.”

To his relief, some of the soldiers dropped their swords. They seemed unsure of themselves.

“What would you have us do?” one of them finally spoke up, glancing at his two dead companions. “We cannot return empty handed. You know we will be put to death.”

Brugo nodded empathetically. “I suggest you stay here until I return. Once the sword is safe, I will willingly go back with you to face whatever awaits me in Sariza.”

The soldiers murmured, forming a small knot as they discussed this idea.

“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Anaya whispered to him.

“No, but I had to try.”

One soldier stepped away from the group, turning to face Brugo. “You must take us with you.”

“All of you?”

“Yes. We are not so stupid as to let you leave. And we know that you could overpower any single one of us in an instant. So we will all go.”

Brugo groaned, rubbing a hand down his face and along one of his short tusks.

“And what about the others?” he asked, wondering about his former guild mates.

“They’ll come too.”

Brugo looked to Anaya for help, but she only shrugged. If this is what had to happen to get the sword to Yaal, so be it. They could deal with the repercussions later. Although, Brugo was already worried about the amount of attention they would draw with so many people in their traveling party, especially soldiers from the Sarizian empire in full armor.

“Fine. Go get them. I’d like to speak with them myself.”

Brugo, Anaya, and Harpyn sat in the grass, waiting impatiently for the messenger to return with the rest of the hunting party. Three soldiers still stood in a loose ring around the companions, hands on swords in case any of them made the slightest move to run.

In the center of the circle, the cursed sword lay wrapped in Harpyn’s cloak once more. It was quiet now, but Brugo still didn’t trust the thing.

“Sorry,” Harpyn whispered, his voice sullen. “I was just trying to find out where they were headed next. I didn’t mean to get caught.”

Brugo gave a quiet grunt. “It was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s best we get this under control now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was being followed before. It’s my fault.”

“Shush. None of us knew what we were getting into when we left Torg Uyen. Let’s just focus on getting to Yaal and then we can sort all this out. But… I’m not just going to let them take you back to Sariza without a fight,” Anaya said, her words defiant even at a whisper. “And… I’m sorry about what I said before. You’re not ew.”

He gave her a slight smile.

Just then, five men appeared on the path, walking toward their group. The soldier walked in front, three of Brugo’s former guild mates walked behind, and then there was the old man from the honey stand.

Brugo stood to greet them, although his former companions would not meet his eyes.

“Well then, I guess this is it. We are headed to Yaal. After that, I will return with you to Sariza, so you may claim your prize. Whatever it is, I hope it was worth it.”

The three men shuffled uncomfortably, but said nothing.

“This just arrived for you, I believe,” the old man said, ambling forward with shaky steps.

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Brugo.

Brugo took the paper, recognizing the seal stamped on the front. At least it hadn’t been broken yet. With everyone watching, he opened it, sadness and relief washing over him at once as he read the words scrawled in splotchy ink.

Dearest friend,

I hope that this letter finds you along your way.

Your contacts await you at the meeting place. They arrived yesterday and have secured a place for you to stay once you arrive. You will find them quite agreeable.

Furthermore, we have word from Sariza that your wife is safe and we have insiders working to bring her out of the city any day now. I shall send word to Yaal once she is on her way.

Stay safe.

~Miriam