Friedrich tucked the minotaur mask under his cravat, where it sat upon his chest peacefully beside the fox mask. The spirit of the minotaur was strong and it was violent, a stark contrast from Kitt, who seemed completely docile in comparison. Friedrich wanted nothing more than to smash the minotaur mask to pieces, but he knew all too well that it would not let him do that.

Looking upon the lifeless, one-armed body of the baron, Friedrich felt disgust. The actions of Baron Pelagius were foul enough, but the taste of the baron’s flesh in his mouth was utterly revolting. It would linger in the back of his mind, haunting his dreams for some time.

With a shudder, Friedrich kneeled down, hoisted the baron’s body over his shoulder and stood up. He walked from the grass and onto the pathway of the courtyard, following it to a back door. His mind running at a thousand miles per second, Friedrich walked through the corridors, trying to find his way back upstairs to the ballroom.

“Goodness gracious!” called a voice from up ahead. “That…that is Baron Pelagius! He is dead?”

Friedrich nodded slowly to the servant. “Yes.”

“It’s you! You were the one with the elf in Lord Buckstone’s study. You have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

“Can you take me to Lord Buckstone?”

“With you carrying a corpse? I think not.”

“You will take me to Lord Buckstone,” said Friedrich, in no mood for the bureaucracy of aristocracy.

“I will do no—”

“Quiet! I am not asking you.”

The servant saw the contorted look of rage upon Friedrich’s face and his eyes widened. “Yes…yes, of course. Right away. Follow me.”

The servant guided Friedrich through another couple of corridors and up a set of stairs, leading Friedrich to somewhere he recognised; the lord’s study. He was brought inside and, to his surprise, Marina and Blackjack were standing before Lord Buckstone who sat at his desk. The servant walked over to the lord, whispered in his ear before excusing himself and heading back outside.

“You are Friedrich, then?” asked Lord Buckstone, looking at Friedrich before his eyes moved sideways to the body of Baron Pelagius still over Friedrich’s shoulder.

“I am, yes,” said Friedrich, his voice hoarse. “The demons, my lord, are they gone?”

“Yes,” said Lord Buckstone as Marina smiled at Friedrich and nodded subtly.

“Your companions have already explained everything to me. From what happened tonight to what happened twenty years ago…and the death of my boy.”

Lord Buckstone looked at the portrait of Luthrus that was hung upon the wall of his study.

“I am sorry for your loss, my lord,” said Friedrich.

The lord smiled a sad smile for a moment before turning back to Friedrich. “It is not for you to be sorry for something that happened years before your birth, Friedrich, but I appreciate the sentiment. I am just thankful that, at last, I have closure…I am just sad that someone I considered a friend was the one behind so much sorrow.”

“Sometimes the ones closest to us are the ones who we should be most fearful of,” said Marina quietly.

“It would seem that you are right, young Marina,” said the lord. “But to make a pact with demons…it is something that I can never fathom. Did you know that power fell into my lap through birth? I never sought it out, but I did what I thought was best with the money and power that I had. Pelagius? He was born into nobility too, but he worked incredibly hard to amass kupons. I knew he was smart and not one you would want to anger, but to think he wanted me dead to further his goals? It fills me with sadness.”

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“Lord Buckstone,” said Blackjack, “I appreciate that it is a difficult time, but there is the matter of payment for our services.”

After everything, Friedrich felt bad about taking payment, but Blackjack was right. He and Marina exchanged an awkward glance, both feeling uneasy and glad that it was the bolder Blackjack who was asking for the kupons.

“Of course,” said Lord Buckstone. “I believe the promised reward was five hundred kupons. As a matter of much more importance to me than I had first realised, I deem it appropriate to ensure that you each receive five hundred kupons.”

“That…is most generous,” said Friedrich in astonishment. “Thank you, Lord Buckstone.”

“Yes, thank you,” said Marina, looking fervently.

Lord Buckstone sighed. “It is a shame that the ball has been ruined and that you will not get to enjoy the music and the meal.”

“It’s not your fault, my lord,” said Friedrich.

“Maybe there’s another ball we can go to nearby?” Marina asked, nudging Friedrich. “Will you be my date for it?”

“Of course,” said Friedrich, smiling to mask his troubled heart. The will of the minotaur mask left him feeling empty inside.

“Ah, I thought that you and the Alaurian attended together?”

“No,” said Blackjack. “What gave you that impression, Lord Buckstone?”

Lord Buckstone looked confused. “Hmm, one of my servants said he…you know, it does not matter.”

Friedrich and Blackjack made eye contact for a moment.

“Friedrich,” said Lord Buckstone. “You were able to enter without being formally invited, is that not the case?”

Friedrich’s gulped. “Yes, I believe the entry spell was defective.”

“You think so?” asked the lord. “I presumed you were the son of Lord Gaerfyrd. You are about the right age and he is also called Friedrich, albeit I remember hearing that he was quite short. Am I mistaken?”

Marina and Blackjack looked at him, but Friedrich kept his focus on Lord Buckstone. “Yes, my lord. I have never heard of this man, I’m afraid you are mistaken.”

*

It was a new morning in Akatfall; a morning free from murder, free from The Butcher. Naturally, upon being told to keep what had happened quiet, word had spread around the circle of nobles quickly and filtered down to the rest of the city very quickly.

After a short trip to his portal vault to stash his reward for his services to the city, Friedrich headed towards The Flying Griffin; the inn at which Blackjack revealed she had been staying since arriving in Akatfall.

The young adventurer walked inside, now much more comfortable out of his fancy suit, once again with his sword on his waist and his shield fastened to his arm. He saw Marina and Blackjack sitting at a table waiting for him. Marina waved him over and he sat down at an empty chair.

“What took you so long?” asked Marina.

“I didn’t realise I had taken long,” said Friedrich.

“It does not matter,” said Blackjack, “you are here now.”

“That I am, Siriwen,” said Friedrich smugly.

“That is not my name,” said Blackjack scoffing, “and you are now out of guesses. It seems as though you will never find out my name.”

“Was I at least close?”

“No.”

“Which guess was closest?”

Blackjack’s emerald eyes rolled. “If you truly need an answer, your last guess was the closest. It is at the very least an Alaurian name. Where did you hear it?”

“I overheard it at the ball last night. Someone mistook you for someone called Siriwen.”

“That is good, because that is the name of the invitation I stole. I would have had to sneak in by other means.”

“Your dress was so beautiful,” said Marina. “Where did you get it?”

“There is a shop here in Akatfall that sells dresses by Hareld Ashcroft.”

“I knew it!” squealed Marina. “It had his signature style written all over it.”

Friedrich tuned out as Marina raved excitedly about her favourite designer in all of Mercia. She was so caught up in what she was saying that minutes passed without anyone else speaking until she finally realised that she had lost everyone’s attention and trailed off into silence.

“So, what’s next for you now, Blackjack?” asked Friedrich.

“I do not know,” said Blackjack earnestly. “What about the two of you?”

“We found passage to Kai’roh,” said Friedrich. “There’s a trader in the bay who said he was heading that way and would bring us along for a small sum. We’ll finally be able to fulfil Kitt’s request.”

“And what will happen when you do that?”

“I don’t know,” shrugged Friedrich, “but the power of his soul has helped me enough times that I truly feel like I owe him this request. The minotaur…not so much.”

“The minotaur’s abilities are not without their uses but, as I said, I do not trust the spirit within the mask. It has a sinister aura to it.”

“You think the spirit is sinister from the outside? You should see how it feels when I’m wearing the mask.”

“Can we not convince you to come with us to Kai’roh?” Marina asked Blackjack, looking hopeful.

“I do not know what there would be for me in a land of sand. I am no wood elf, but I like to see the trees and the grass.”

“Well, we will miss you.”

“We will,” said Friedrich. “It’s been nice having another adventure with you, even if it was brief.”

“I will…pray that you two find what you are looking for.”

“Go on,” said Friedrich, poking Blackjack’s arm with his finger, only for her to frown and snatch it away. “Just say that you’ll miss us, Blackjack.”

“Perhaps a little.”

Friedrich and Marina cheered, turning the heads of the other patrons, as Blackjack sat there looking embarrassed. She pulled her hood more tightly around her head to cover her face further in shadow.