We stalked around the perimeter of the building, making sure to be careful in case there was someone waiting for us. The rectangular construction of the mill was simple and efficient. There were three entrances, one for people who would enter the building that was reasonably sized, and two for the logs to enter one way, and exit the other after being processed.

The whole place looked like it was abandoned for at the very least a decade. Perhaps some competition or better position drove them out of business. Whatever the case, we could probably enter through a damn wall if we wanted to as the wood used in parts of its construction was already falling apart. Hargon could charge through any one of these points with ease.

After weighing all the options, it was decided that we would simply enter through one of the large gate doors. It afforded us the most freedom of movement that our whole group needed in order to operate effectively. We would have the option of an easy retreat as well in case things didn’t look good inside.

We split up on either side of the massive sliding doors. With a quick nod we opened both sides simultaneously. There was plenty of light inside, courtesy of many skylights built into the building, so there was no drastic change in visibility. That made sense considering people worked with sharp objects and heavy lumber here.

We were greeted by the sight of a large work area that was covered in dust, rust, and old rotted bits of wood. The main feature of the building was this large V-shaped chute that ran from near this entrance all the way through to the other side of the building. Along the way, there were a variety of former stations where people could work on the trees that were dragged in here.

There was no sign of life as far as we could see. Doubt about that mercs claims of Kala’s location tugged at my mind, but I wasn’t going to dismiss the chance on first looks alone. Standing around wasn’t going to get anything done, so we started to inch our way inside with careful steps, making sure to keep our eyes open for any movement.

As we crept silently through the interior, I saw the remnants of forgotten tools lying strewn about. It was mostly old saws and hooks, but as I observed them, I noticed something else amidst the clutter. The dust on the floor had been disturbed in several places. Clear signs of movement could be seen as trails of bare floor that had been wiped clean by boots led further into the building.

I silently pointed this out to my group who all now focused on the direction that this trail led. We followed it, trying to decipher whatever information from the signs that we could. It was difficult to ascertain how many individuals we were dealing with as the boot prints got muddled together in several places. However, there was a consistent pattern that looked like a long solid line had been drawn across the floor. This likely meant that something, or someone, had been dragged through here recently, and that someone was probably Kala.

My heart was starting to beat faster, like a drum tempo that steadily picked up the pace. I wasn’t sure what we would find at the end of this path, wasn’t sure what had happened to Kala between the time that she was kidnapped and now. A part of me was bracing for impact, fearing that they might have hurt her in some way.

Otar seemed to have noticed the tension in my body, and he placed a quick hand on my shoulder to reassure me. The presence of my friends around me was an anchor that kept me focused and in the moment. I gave a brief nod of thanks to him before turning my attention to the problem at hand.

The path we were following appeared to end at a set of double doors that led to a deeper part of the building that was cut off from the regular work area. We stacked up on the doors in preparation for a potential breach. I checked to see if it was locked, and it wasn’t, so we could just throw open the doors and rush inside.

Starting a silent countdown from three, everyone tensed in preparation for what would be explosive movement. As soon as the third finger fell, the doors were yanked open, and I rushed into the room with everyone right behind me. We all stopped right inside the entrance as we took in the situation.

This room obviously served a different purpose than the rest of the mill. Some of the context clues that could be used to piece together its use was the presence of some old desks and chairs that were pushed up against the far wall. This was most likely an office space, a place where orders and the input or output of goods were processed in paper form.

The previous function of the room mattered less, however, than the current function of the room, that being a hostage holding location. Five armed individuals stood near the center of the room surrounding a singular figure that was restrained in a chair. It was Kala, tied down to the arms and legs of the chair. Even her mouth was held shut by some rope that was bound tightly around her snout.

Immediately I felt my heart rate skyrocket. The first thing I did was scan her body for any sign of injury. She looked a bit dirty, and not at all comfortable, but other than that there were no open wounds or obvious signs of damage to her person. Relief flooded through me, but also concern as one of the kidnappers came up behind her, grabbed her underneath the jaw, forced her head up, and pressed the pointed end of a narrow dagger against her throat.

A chilled anger went through my body as he threatened to stab her, but that anger morphed into something else once I looked at the Ulgor behind her and realized that I recognized them, at least from their description. He was a massive Ulgor, one that could have even given Hargon a run for his money in a contest of strength alone. The most prominent feature of his already grizzled face, however, was a long scar that ran along the side of his head.

Understanding gripped me like a vice as the anger I felt exploded into a fiery rage. This was him. This was the Ulgor that stabbed Holdrem and left him to die. Everything in me wanted to charge forward and rip him to pieces in the most agonizing ways I could imagine. I was frozen in my tracks though as the knife was pressed against Kala’s throat a little firmer which drew an uncomfortable grunt from her. With everyone's attention now firmly on the two of them, he took the chance to speak.

“So, the valiant heroes come dashing in to save the damsel in distress. Sounds like the climax to one of those bardic tales that are told at the inns.” His deep throaty laugh echoed in the room and filled the air with its nauseating sound. “Never was one of for those sappy tales. Always so far from reality. I’ll admit, you’ve been far more trouble than I thought you would. However, your little story ends here, as does your heroism, because if you so much as twitch in the wrong direction, I’ll gut your little whore here.” To emphasis his point, he dug the tip of the blade into her neck to the point where it released a rivulet of blood that trailed down her body.

My teeth gnashed together in frustration. There was nothing I could do, no way to cross this distance in time to stop him before he would slit her throat. A feeling of helplessness consumed me as I could do nothing but acquiesce to this asshole.

“What the fuck do you even want from me?” I asked, hoping that there was something that could appease him. Money, supplies, weapons, I didn’t care what it was so long as it would just put an end to this. As much as I hated him and wanted to see him pay for what he did, Kala’s safety was more important than my revenge.

The asshole simply shrugged off my question. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just delivering the goods.”

I gave him a confused glare, but the question that was on my tongue was answered prematurely by the emergence of another person who I had not noticed before this point. A smaller robed Satyr moved out from behind a pair of goons. My expression changed to one of shock as this was someone that I had not expected to see here. Adder was standing on the side of the kidnappers.

For a moment I was stunned into silence, unable to form a coherent thought that survived long enough to make it out of my mouth. Eventually, though, a simple question managed to make it out, which kickstarted my brain and brought back that simmering fury. “Why? I know you don’t like me, and that you expected me to be different; but why did you do this? People died, my friend, died! You have a problem with me, then you take it up with me and leave other people out of it!”

He turned his nose up at me, but I also saw his stance falter for a moment. It was only then that I noticed that he seemed to be in a state of exhaustion with heavy dark circles under his eyes. “I’ve tried the proper path. I’ve pleaded with the bishop to reconsider his involvement with you, but he is too far gone, too drawn into your lies. I was forced to turn to less honorable means to prevent a disaster.”

“Hey!” the large Ulgor with the knife interjected with a dramatic flourish of his free hand. “I’m as honorable as they come. You pay, I act, no one else can tell me otherwise. That is the height of honor for someone in my profession.”

“You killed when I specifically told you not to!” Adder protested.

“It ain’t my fault the damn Trelnval wouldn’t relent, and he killed one of my boys as well! How was I supposed to just let that stand?”

Adder growled in frustration, even going as far as to grip one of his horns. “This was not how this was supposed to go. I was supposed to root out the false, let the real voice of the goddess speak true.”

I’d had it up to here. “What the fuck are you talking about! Why did you do all this!”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Because you are not the chosen! You can’t be. You hold no respect for the sacred institution of the church, you do not venerate the goddess as you should, and ever since you set foot in this city, I’ve had the same dream night after night.”

What? Dreams? More questions than answers were gained from that exchange, but he wasn’t done.

“The visions, they haunted me. I saw fire, death, rivers of blood running through the city, and at the center of it was you, always. It is a sign, it must be. A message from the gods that you are a pretender here to spread destruction.”

It was a message alright, although the message itself was a lie in this case. The likelihood of one of the gods fucking with me had increased significantly, not to mention the possibility that this war was also started by them as well. Frankly, it was piteous how easily Adder succumbed to what were basically bad dreams. I hope the bitch was at least listening to this and would keep a closer eye on her damn kids now.

“So, do you lose your mind every time you have a bad dream, or is this a particular brand of insanity that you have succumbed to?”

He appeared to be offended by my insinuation. “My mind is clear, more so than most in this city it seems. But I will show them the liar in their midst and the gods will reward me for my service.” His gaze became very serious as he glared at me. “This is what is going to happen; you will admit to everyone, the council, the citizens, the bishop, that you are not the chosen of the goddess. You will pay for your deception, and only then, will your friends be allowed to leave unharmed.”

So, that’s his game. It’s a stupid ass game, but one I can understand at least. The only problem was that the terms were unacceptable. Not only would it be a lie to do as he says, but it would damage everything that I am attempting to do here significantly.

There was one way to bypass all of that and prove that Adder was just being stupid at the same time, though I wasn’t very happy with the idea. I could simply offer up my own life, either convincing them to take it, or doing it myself. When I came back from what would certainly have been death for anyone else, he would see that he was wrong. Certainly wouldn’t be pleasant, but it was better than the alternative.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to suggest my alternative to him, the big merc holding a knife to Kala’s throat made a sharp inhale like something just poked him and flinched visibly. That drew more than just my attention as the big man reached up to the back of his neck. With a jerking motion he removed something from his body and then brought it in front of him to see what it was.

At first, I couldn’t make out what it was he held. It then became clear that it was because the object itself was so small that it was difficult to define. A long, thin, pointed, needle-like object that didn’t look to be made, but rather natural in origin.

Everyone was confused by the object, until something in the Ulgor’s face changed as his features fell, and shortly after, his limbs suddenly went slack. He started to teeter, like it took serious effort just for him to remain upright. But eventually the giant fell as he lost his balance and went crashing to the floor with a loud thump.

Nobody knew what to do as no one expected this turn of events. That indecision was broken when a new, rather diminutive, form jumped down from the rafters above and landed on the body of the Ulgor who just fell.

Dart?! I immediately recognized the Nactren spy as he leapt into action before any of the mercenaries could recover. With a whip of his arm and a slight flick of the wrist he sent a knife spinning towards an Ulgor. The blade was expertly thrown and sunk into the soft flesh of the throat, ensuring that his target wasn’t going to be getting up any time soon.

He didn’t stop moving though as Dart dashed towards another of the Ulgor who regained enough awareness to realize he was in danger and took a swing to counter. Dart twisted his body out of the way of the blow and slid between the legs of the larger man, slashing at the mercs tendon with a dagger as he went. There was a roar of pain as the merc dropped to one knee, unable to stand anymore. This put him at the perfect height for Dart to drive a knife through his temple and deep into the skull, killing him near instantly.

It was at this moment that I realized that I could be doing something as well; and considering that there were only two armed combatants left, my job would be rather simple. I rushed forwards to secure Kala and keep her safe as the rest of my group quickly followed my lead. With the tables turned, the remaining mercs quickly realized that they were not going to be winning this fight and surrendered in short order.

Things were on the downslope from that point forward. The adrenaline faded away as the threats were neutralized and the danger passed. My body was shaking as the constant stream of stimulants in my system was flushed, which made it somewhat difficult to free Kala from her bindings.

I had to take my time cutting pieces of the rope off her when untying them proved to be too difficult. After some effort, she was eventually able to stand and immediately threw herself into my arms. I pulled her close, reveling in the feeling of having her back safe and sound.

Kala started to mumble an apology as she tried her best to bury herself inside me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect them to... I wasn’t prepared for that, and I should have been, and everyone got hurt because of me, and...”

She took a shuddering breath and I had to stop her before she fell too far down that particular hole of self-loathing. “Kala, none of this is your fault. These people were delusional, and assholes besides. They’re the ones to blame.” I don’t know how much comfort that was, but she practically collapsed into me for a solid minute.

Speaking of blame, my gaze fell on the body of the large Ulgor who had been poisoned by Dart. He laid motionless and vacant eyed on the ground, probably dead at this point as whatever poison was in those needles had time to work. The object of my hatred was gone, and I hadn’t even done anything to make that happen. This left my rage without its primary target, so that left it to seek another outlet, and one immediately came to mind.

My ire commanded my gaze to turn towards the corner of the room. There, I was subject to a most loathsome sight. The two surviving mercenaries and Adder were corralled into the corner. The mercenaries were sitting down, accepting their defeat and trying not to bring any more trouble onto themselves. Adder, though, was still standing, a look of defiance on his face as he glared at the closest person to him, which happened to be Jorn.

My insides were practically boiling, and eventually I separated myself from Kala, much to her displeasure and confusion as she watched me walk towards Adder. Adder noticed me once I was halfway to him, and he directed his confrontational glare at me now.

“This changes nothing,” he began. “You may try to silence me, but I will continue to reveal your lies until you--”

I punched him in the face as hard as I could. The blow immediately put him on his ass as he groaned in pain. That wasn’t enough for me though, and I grabbed one of his horns with my left-hand while repeatedly hitting him with my right.

Blood splattered from both his nose and his mouth as I rained blows upon his face with every last ounce of force I could muster. It was only after the sixth punch that someone grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me back. Naturally, I fought against the force that was trying to separate me from the piece of shit I was trying to pound into hamburger, but they proved to be stronger than me as it turned out to be Hargon who was tugging at my arm.

“James, stop! You’re going to kill him.”

I released my grip on Adder’s horn, allowing him to crumple to the floor in a pathetic heap as I spun around to face Hargon. “Why shouldn’t I?! This is his fault! It’s all his fault!” Everyone's attention was on us now, and their faces held various levels of anxiety as they braced for what might happen next.

Before an argument could grow out of this confrontation, Kala stepped in, putting herself between me and Hargon. She had placed a gentle hand on my chest while urging Hargon to release my arm. Her touch had much more control over me than Hargon’s grip could ever hope to have anyway.

She convinced Hargon to let me go, and now she held my undivided attention. “James...” Her voice was quiet, and no other words need be said as her eyes conveyed more concern and caring than any words could possibly hope to match.

The fire inside me started to fizzle out, like all the oxygen that was once fueling it was removed, leaving the flame to suffocate in the void. All the tension that I had carried in my body since the news of the attack drained away. My body felt heavy. I was just so tired, and every other emotion inside me that had been shelved was now free to rise to the surface.

Grief was the first to make an appearance, and my vision started to get blurry. “They... they killed Holdrem.” My voice was trembling as I tried to maintain some control over myself.

Kala’s eyes drifted to the sputtering, bloody mess of Adder who was still moaning and groaning on the floor for a split second. I could feel the disgust she felt towards him, but her main concern was me. She pulled me into another hug, and I nearly collapsed on top of her. I could feel the hot tears rolling down my face as I squeezed my eyes shut.

I just wanted the world to disappear for a while; to leave me alone. But that wasn’t going to happen. It was always when things were at their worst that the world demanded the most out of you. There was a lot that needed to be done in the aftermath of this situation. With a sigh, I broke the deep hug with Kala and started to work on putting everything to rest.

“We need to get the guards in here, so they can put all these assholes in a cell. Jorn, do you mind?”

He nodded to me. “On it.” His response was quick and to the point as he turned and marched out of the building to gather some additional hands.

With that done I was now able to address the tiny elephant in the room. Dart was simply standing out of the way and observing everything from a distance. I approached and asked the most obvious of questions to start with.

“What are you doing here, Dart?”

He replied while his gaze remained on the prisoners. “I was tasked with keeping an eye on you and to make sure any clandestine activities directed against you would be sufficiently countered.”

“I wasn’t informed of this.”

“That is by design. It limits the likelihood that my presence is revealed while watching you and provides you with deniability should I act in the shadows.”

“But you didn’t see this coming?”

His eyes flicked at me for a second, and it was obvious that he didn’t like the insinuation that he was incompetent. “I had my suspicions of Adder since your meeting with him, but he did not present himself as an active threat to you, so I could not justify launching a deeper investigation while you remained mobile. Not only that, but I am but a single person, and the frequent splitting of your group in order to cover more ground, while understandable, makes it difficult for me to defend you both. I prioritized you as I was ordered to do so.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insinuate that you weren’t doing your job. I just... I wish that this could have been avoided. Things would have been so much easier that way.”

“Hmm, that it would.” While not exactly a profound statement on Dart’s part, it at least alleviated some of the tension.

After a moment of silence, I sighed and continued onward. “Well, let’s get this mess cleaned up.” There wasn’t much else to do, after all.

The guards showed up a little while later and helped us move the mercs out to the street. I fixed the damage to that one mercs spine, much to his relief, and they were all carted away to be processed into the local legal system.

This entire day had been a complete shit-show from start to finish. I felt like getting drunk and trying to forget that any of this happened at all, but part of me knew that would be a futile endeavor. Today would always be a blight upon my memory, and it wasn’t even over. The hardest part was yet to come as I would now be forced to say goodbye to a friend for the last time.