The night went by almost completely without issue. Thing Two scarfed the evidence down like the corpse was a two dollar burger, and Nadeen took the casual dismemberment and consumption of a fellow human with an odd petulance. As though she was aware that something like this was going to happen, and accepted it even though she didn’t like it.

Afterwards, Thing Two and I just sort of sat in the tent, spending the whole night in a wary state as though awaiting an ambush. The idea of letting my guard down - even for one minute - was so stressful that I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it. Thing Two followed my lead, settling himself in the center of the tent, where I noted his grotesquely long arms could easily reach anywhere in sight. I was beginning to get the impression that my brother might be simple but he probably wasn’t stupid.

Nadeen spent a few minutes staring daggers at us while she rose to take off her armor and weapons, which we had unceremoniously put her to bed in. I’d like to say that was because I wanted to afford her some modesty, but truthfully I just had no idea how armor stays on. In television the stuff just seems to stay on all by itself and come off whenever its dramatically appropriate. I also would have probably snapped at any of the guards if they’d tried to undress her, setting off another impromptu fight or flight situation I doubt I would survive.

When Nadeen had finally stacked all her belongings in a corner of the room just to the side of her bed, she crawled back into the pile of blankets, covered herself, and went back to sleep.

So I waited.

And waited.

Aaaaaaand waited.

The sun rose on the second day of our time in camp, and I patiently waited for the medical help I was promised for Nadeen. When it reached its apex at noon, I reasoned they must be busy with the scene I had left in their little prisoner holding area. By the time night fell, I couldn’t tell if I was relieved that no one had come to ask where I was yesterday, or angry that I was being ignored.

By the third day, Nadeen had been asleep from almost the time I’d gotten back to now. Remaining still as the dead in her bed roll for over thirty hours - assuming this shithole planet had the same number of hours as my Earth. By mid day, she had begun to toss and writhe in her sleep, her temperature skyrocketing to ludicrous levels. The already thin girl began to waste away in front of me, her body eating itself to fight its fever. I began to worry that Things might be like Komodo dragons - our mouths full of hideous diseases and contagions that we were immune to but our prey were not.

Thing Two and I finally broke our vigil then, and I rushed out to the river to get a damp cloth - turning around to steal one from a stunned soldier doing laundry when I realized I didn’t have anything to wet. Thing Two caught on pretty quickly to what I was doing, even if he didn’t seem to get how it helped. His one and only attempt to hold the cloth to Nadeens forehead ended why I noticed he was smothering her with his palm. After that Thing Two mostly stuck to ringing out the cloth and dunking it back in the river while I tended our teenage ward.

By the night of that day I was pissed. It had finally dawned on me that medical help wasn’t coming. Thane had lied to me, and I was going to get him for it.

I shook my head and remembered Thane’s effortless strength, while I waited for a nearby guard to pass so I could move out from behind the tent I was crouched behind.

Maybe not Thane. But Erwin was fucked if I ever got my hands on him. Definitely. Probably. Maybe.

Seeing an opening, I jumped from cover, staying low to the ground in a way that would have caused me immediate pain to maintain if my spinal cord worked the way a humans would. I didn’t actually know where Thane slept. Or… if he slept. I’d noticed than in the three days since we had arrived the mooks that were guarding our tent hadn’t left once, save to split up and trail me when I was at the river. They didn’t seem to sleep, or eat, or get tired. More magic bullshit again.

But I was gonna have the last laugh - because I didn’t need to know where Thane’s tent was. I was taking a page from ol’ Toucan Sam’s book. I was just going to follow my nose.

My search didn’t take long. I was hampered more by the roving patrols than I was anything else. And even they seemed more focused on discerning threats from outside the camp, meaning they weren't paying all that much attention to little old me.

Still my nerves were practically shot by the time I made it to my goal, an austere little grey tent somehow even smaller than my own. There was nothing to distinguish it as belonging to someone important. No sign in front saying ‘Bosses Tent’.

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For all intents and purposes it was just one tiny, shitty tent, barely a foot away from a bunch of other, tiny, shitty tents. Thankfully, that proximity allowed me to use the tent in front of Thane’s as cover, as carefully crouched low to the ground then stuck a single finger under the tent flap, pushing it a few inches off the ground and letting me see inside the tiny enclosure.

Thane sat cross legged on his bedroll, surrounded by fetishes and trophies - presumably from other monster stupid enough to pick a fight with the man. Random chunks of bone and scraps of tanned hide hung all over the tent, suspended by strings tied to the four posts supporting the tents square roof. Erwin sat across from Thane, his armor gone in favor of a pristine looking white silk shirt that probably cost more than the whole camp combined, and a simple pair of brown pants.

Honestly, I probably should have been worried that the guy I refused to engage in combat was sitting in the same room as the guy I was slowly deciding I was okay with killing, but really the only thought running through my mind was a crass joke about brown pants and shitting himself when he died.

“...gave your word! It doesn’t matter whether you think it is worth it or not!” Erwins said, his voice causing my eye to twitch in anger just hearing it.

“Boy, you are sitting in a forest playing at banditry while I train your retainers in The Art so you can overthrow your brother. Do not speak to me of honor.” Thane said, tired and obviously exasperated.

“My loyalty is to my people, not to my brother. Our lands will be destitute in a generation if he is left in charge!” Erwins voice shot back, clearly not willing to back down. Thane sighed, and though I couldn’t see his face at this angle I could tell it was probably scrunched up in thought. His hand lowered a mug I hadn’t noticed previously on to the ground.

“Erwin” Thane began calmly, with a tone of voice like he was about to explain something very simple to a child.

“The girl has failed to bind a nascent demon. At best she will die. Much more likely, that monster will devour the tattered remnants of her soul after a long process of flooding it with mana, leaving her a hollowed out husk at the whims of the beast.” Thane paused to make sure Erwin got his point before continuing. Erwin sputtered incoherently at the larger man, as though trying to find fault with his reasoning.

“The only, only reason I have allowed them to stay here after you so stupidly brought them to our camp, is so that I can perform my sacred duty should that monster ever finish its ascension. I have no idea why it’s remained like this for so long, but no one of my order - even an outcast like me - would willing let a demon roam free.”

“What if you killed the monster now?” Erwin jumped in, perhaps seeing an opportunity to get what he wanted.

Whatever the fuck that was.

Jesus fucking christ I was killing Nadeen? And fucking Erwin was trying to help? What kind of fucking bizarro world was I in?

“It wouldn’t matter. The creatures mana is too weak to truly succeed at becoming a full demon, and I’m loathe to endanger the men if we fought seriously. And the girl would die either way. She forged a link to its mana source, but has no control over it. It’s just flooding into her, constantly, with no outlet.” Thane’s voice was full of a finality that sent chills down my spine.

“But-”

“Man was not meant to wield mana directly. We have the Spark, and they have the Fuel. Such is the way it has always been. Demons are the only exception Erwin. And that is why they cannot be suffered to live.”

“I will not suffer a woman to die under my care!” Erwin bellowed back, rushing to stand and knocking Thane’s mug over in the process.

Fuuuuck fuck fuckity fuck. Okay. What have we learned. Nadeen is getting mana poisoning from me. Somehow. I was some kind of fucking ubermensch monster that had to be killed on sight if I finished ascending. Whatever the hell that means. Erwin might not be totally irredeemable.

It is a true testament to how shitty life has been since I got here that out of all those things, the fact that I couldn’t be mad at Erwin over this was the most distressing.

Thane was silent for a few moments following the outburst from the younger man, then grunted once and bent over to pick up his mug. I tensed as his face came into view, remaining totally still as I prayed the bandit boss would overlook the tiny gap I had made in his tent flaps.

I released a silent breath of relief when he rose, standing up to place the mug on top of a small writing desk I hadn’t noticed in the corner through all of the other knick knacks in the room.

“Erwin. Go practice your Sigils. I’ll deal with the girl if it’ll make you stop showing up at my door every night.” There was an edge in his voice, as though inviting another retort, and I noticed he didn’t say he would help Nadeen. Just deal with her. I also took personal offence to calling the magical scrawl on Thane’s necklace ‘Sigils’ and mentally resolved to refer to them only as Runes going forward.

I’m not petty. I swear.

“Fine.” Erwin bit out through gritted teeth, whirling around to stomp out of the tent like a chastised child. I realized I probably shouldn’t be in front of the tent when Erwin left it and quickly rolled the the side. Then I scrambled on my hands and knees in a poor approximation of a soldiers crawl to the right of the tent - just out of sight of Erwin as he exited the tent.

He stalked off into the night, and I slowly stood to surveil my surroundings. I had to get back to Nadeen and Thing Two - I didn’t care how sick she was, we’d find another way to get her healthy, this place was going to turn into a death trap real quick once Thane left.

I sniffed the air, sensing something had changed in the few moments I had been thinking. There was a cloying scent there now. Like something burning. Like something igniting.

If I could have blanched I would have, but as it was, nearly no time passed between when I realized what was going on and what happened next. A blade of some kind sliced through the side of the tent so quickly I barely had time to register I was cut, and was followed immediately by a muscular arm that grabbed me by the throat, and yanked me back into the tent.

I was slammed down onto the ground with such ferocity I could actually hear my bones breaking, and I felt more than saw the depression in the packed dirt where I had landed. Thane was standing over me, his necklace glowing, along with his earrings, all the new rings he suddenly had on his hands, and the entire length of the curved blade of pure bone he had hanging over my head like a guillotine.

The blade looked like an extra curvy scimitar, and where the bits of bone accessory Thane wore normally each had one rune on them a piece, this blade looked like it was practically covered in an essay’s worth of them. They shone a dull blue light that I couldn’t seem to look away from, even as it began the downward motion that would end my life. 

Man. I’ve gotta stop trusting people just because they’re people.