Thoughts and memories came rushing to me in the vast darkness of my mind.
I was in a dream on a past that I would never forget...
Years ago inside the Demon Territory, my companions and I hid under the cover of darkness. We set a camp outside of the Demon Capital, Bahrut. We found a cave hidden by rocks and stalagmite inside the hilly forests of the winter wasteland. Our goal was one thing and that was to save humanity from a great impending threat. The Hero Gabriel had led us through many adventures and this time our quest was to vanquish the Demon Lord.
I sat by a campfire while eating some soup Martin had prepared. Martin was stirring the pot on top of the campfire vigorously as he felt the anticipation. Camille was off to the side, polishing her golden gauntlets while humming a tune. Liz was asleep covered by her large mage robes and pointy hat. Helem also known as Master Edwin prayed to the Gods while reciting a verse in soft whispers. Cassandra was near the entrance of the cave worried with fright.
We were all companions to the Hero of the Veil and dare I say, fledgling heroes ourselves. Myself a thief, Martin the berserker cook, Camille the fighter for hire, Liz a mage of the Elven forests, Master Edwin a priest of the Veil, Silvia a former spy of Solace, and Cassandra the knight of Balenos. I hadn't contemplated of how drastically my life had changed with my friends and I never knew how hard it would change. We all were united under the Hero of the Veil, the paladin Gabriel.
All of us were to our own devices but the noise of footsteps echoed constantly.
"They're late."
Cassandra paced back and forth erratically while we waited for Gabriel to return.
"Calm yourself, Cassandra," Master Edwin told her.
"I can't! Not when a spy is with Gabriel!"
I stopped and stared at Cassandra with distaste at her words but then continued eating my soup.
"Can you please stop?" I said. "She's one of us now."
Cassandra threw sharp glares at me while her golden hair flowed behind her.
"Aren't you at all worried in the slightest!?"
"No, because it's him."
The Hero Gabriel went out with Silvia to survey the landscape of the Demon Capital. Cassandra was worried about the Hero but more than likely she was just jealous that Silvia was with him. After everything we've been through, I didn't like how Cassandra treated Silvia. The only reason Gabriel and Silvia were out in the wasteland of Demon Territory, was for speed and surveillance. Silvia had many abilities of subterfuge and stealth that made detection almost impossible. Gabriel himself was more than enough to handle any potential threats. He also had an ability to scout the surrounding areas from a safe distance.
We had progressed a dangerous distance from our home after many days and nights traveled here. Having saved the populace from Demon attacks and striking back at monsters that roamed. Our mantra was the safety of the world and we lost much to come. A war started between Humanity and Demonkind. We were given the task of being a force to end it quickly by defeating the leader of all Demons.
Yet when we arrived we had hit a barrier and we found no clear entry into the Demon Capital. A wall of cold steel and magic prevented us from going any further. The walls had no clear entrance but smooth surfaces with strange markings on them. Security was tight with Demon soldiers on patrols and machines that roamed the walls of Bahrut. This, of course, didn't even consider the menacing monsters that roamed free in Demon Territory.
"What about you all?" Cassandra said to the others.
Everyone continued with what they were doing but they did offer her some words.
"Cassandra, pacing with worry is unbecoming for a child of the Veil."
"Come eat some soup," Martin said. "It'll warm your belly and make you strong."
"When we go back we'll get so many job offers! We'll be rich!" Camille said.
"Just sit down already," I said.
"Hush....noisy," Liz moaned out from under her hat.
No one dared to be loud after Liz spoke, she was a child but her magic was immeasurable.
Everyone stared at her for a while and hoped she would go back to sleep. Liz was quite a cranky and problematic child for us all. We all knew that she was secretly the adopted daughter of the Elven King. Although, I was the only one who knew more than that. One of the great wizards in the Kingdom of Bareth had once praised Liz for her magic ability and many have said that she was a genius. What's rather odd is that this genius was prone to temper tantrums for food and sleep. Her great power was almost uncontrollable for her, so we all tried to keep her calm.
Cassandra sat down at her spot near the entrance and hugged her knees.
We all knew how Cassandra felt but this was Gabriel. He could make the impossible probable and we all followed him. Although I sighed softly as Cassandra's love sickness was getting to be a problem. Only Silvia and Cassandra seemed to fight over Gabriel in our group. Gabriel was a man who wasn't entirely into romance when there were pressing matters at hand. Many girls have come and gone who loved Gabriel but he never reciprocated their love. Only Princess Helen seemed to have gotten something to stir within Gabriel. Cassandra was probably feeling the weight of her love against how she could die from attacking the Demon Lord. She never exactly told Gabriel her feelings for him even though everyone could see it clear as day.
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Cassandra glanced at Master Edwin who kept his eyes close while praying.
"Forgive me, Master Edwin," Cassandra said. "I'm just...we've just come so far."
"The Veil will guide us," Master Edwin replied while half opening his eyes "Rest now with us."
"But I..."
"No need for a confession, let's wait until the Hero gets back."
"..."
I saw this scene and sighed as I finished my soup. I'm glad that Master Edwin didn't involve himself like he usually does. Master Edwin does have some tact sometimes while most of the time he preaches to us. He was a follower of the Veil and constantly wanted us to improve our souls. For the matter of love and jealousy, I don't think Master Edwin thought himself to be qualified.
I never pressed into the matter with Cassandra as it was never any of my business. I did talk to him once about the girls but he never really gave me a definitive answer. In return, he asked about my own love life to which I told him that I wasn't as lucky as he was. I've had some physical relationships with women but none that could be considered love.
We were a group that had our own agendas but banded together to fight evil. My only other goal in life besides following Gabriel was the safety of the world and making sure Liz was safe. Master Edwin was close to becoming a cardinal and we hoped his dreams would come true. Martin was the son of a butcher in a long family line of the same profession. He became a mercenary to help the siblings he left behind. Liz was a child of the Elven forests and seemed to be on a secret mission that she couldn't say. Camille only thought about money and gathering more of it.
"Someone's coming..."
A noise echoed throughout the cave and I pulled out my short sword.
Martin stood tall and pulled out a cleaver from his side. Camille fumbled with her gauntlets before putting them on. Master Edwin pulled out his staff and covered the fire slightly with his body. Cassandra moved over to us and only Liz stayed sleeping. Everyone waited with bated breath for something or someone to appear.
"What's wrong?" A familiar voice said.
Gabriel and Silvia appeared suddenly in front of us like they were always there.
"Don't go showing up in the middle of thin air," I said. "I might just punch you one day."
"If you ever get a chance to hit me then I'll go on my knees and call you master!"
Everyone relaxed and Cassandra rushed to Gabriel's side.
"I was so worried about you Gabe!"
"It's okay Cass," Gabriel said. " We found the entrance to the Demon Capital!"
"There's actually an entrance?" Camille said almost dumbfounded.
Gabriel and Silvia nodded their heads as they blazed smiles of victory.
They explained to us that the entrances to Bahrut were on four sides. Those sides consisted of the directions toward the other Demon Cities that were North, South, West, and East of the capital. Those entrances were Gates fused with magic and machinery that made for short teleportation between the five cities.
"What? So you're saying we have to go to the other Demon Cities to enter the Capital!?"
"Yes and no," Gabriel said. "We just have to wait until one of the entrances are being used and piggyback a spell to create our own entrance through."
Everyone focused their eyes on Liz who had long since been awake.
"Can you do it?"
"I think I can," Liz said rubbing her eyes. "As long as the magic is working, I should be able to tell what's happening."
Liz had a keen sense of magic and she only needed to witness magic to understand it.
"That'll be a problem," Master Edwin said. "How do we know it'll be used? And I doubt it'll be opened for so long."
"Easy," Silvia said. " We cause a commotion and force them to use it. The soldiers aren't garrisoned in Bahrut but to the north in a fortress city."
Silvia gave a cold sneer and I understood their intentions.
"How did you find that out?" Cassandra said somewhat dubious.
"We, that is, Silvia interrogated some Demon soldiers from the patrol groups."
"Wait, what? I'm confused," Camille said perking her lips.
"Me too," Martin said as he scratched his head.
The mode of transportation is genius between the Demon Cities as they acted as a sort of one giant interconnected city. The flaw was space as the gates and walls to create the barrier were finite. Coupled with the transportation gates for which only so much space could go around inside. This meant instead of designated areas within cities, the cities themselves became designated to certain causes. The Demon Capital acted as the central hub of government while the other cities acted as living space, commerce, and military garrisons.
This was probably developed by the Demon Emperor who saw the dangers of living in Demon Territory and wanted to protect his people. As the Demon population grew, there was less space in livable areas. So, many had to venture further out into Demon Territory. Instead of transporting people and goods over long terrain they developed a sort of short range teleportation device. Sadly no one knows how to build any more of these things as they were made in the days of the Demon Emperor.
Everyone sat down as Gabriel went over the course of action for us.
"Most of the Demon military are on the battlefront of the border," Gabriel said. "So I don't expect much trouble but there are people who are risking their lives in the Demon War. We must not let it go to waste. We need four people to cause a commotion so they can call upon soldiers."
A feeling of determination for the cause welled up inside me.
"Demitri, Martin, Silvia and Camille, you four will be on that."
The four of us nodded in agreement.
"Liz will create a spell through a gate and make an entrance for us to go inside the city. Master Edwin, Cassandra and I will protect Liz to make sure it's safe. When the entrance is opened, I'll signal to you to make your way back to us and we'll all enter together. With Silvia's ability there is no need to prolong fights, just run if you must."
Gabriel looked at us with clear eyes and smiled his radiant smile.
"Don't die, we're doing this to save humanity!"
We all began to prepare for our confrontation with the Demon Lord.
I never knew then how much it would change the course of our lives for the worst.