“And what mask is it that you would like?” asked Friedrich, fearful that Namavar somehow knew about his minotaur mask.

Namavar smiled and walked back over to his chair. He sat down and lifted the cup that Teleri had refused and took a sip of tea. “There is a man who used to be in my employ,” he said, “that betrayed me. He was in possession of a mask housing the soul of a goblin and I believe he has hidden it somewhere in the desert.”

“And why can you not retrieve it yourself?” asked Teleri. “You have many other men, why would you need the help of strangers?”

“That swindler Bahadur, has found himself a little hideaway that gives him a clear view of those who approach. Should he see my men on the move, he will no doubt flee. If I am unable to catch him, I may lose the location of the mask forever. However, if three strangers approach then, perhaps, diplomacy is possible.”

“What is the mask?” asked Friedrich.

“The mask of a goblin,” said Namavar. “To blend in with one of the most invasive creatures in all of Eradrel would be a camouflage greater than any other. Not to mention the riches the little rats hide steal and squander; they would be ripe for the picking, wouldn’t they?”

“After your men attacked us,” said Marina, “why do you think we would be interested in helping you?”

“Look around you, young lady,” said Namavar, gesturing across the town. “I have the entire town of Legama under my control, do I not? I will pay you handsomely for carrying out this favour for me. Would a thousand kupons apiece let past misdeeds be put to bed?”

“Yes,” said Friedrich at once. “Just tell us where we can find Bahadur.”

*

“I stand by that this is a mistake,” said Teleri as the trio approached the rocky hills where Namavar had told them Bahadur was hiding. “A thousand kupons is not a paltry sum, as you will no doubt remind me, but we can find the money elsewhere without having to trust someone who tried to kill us.”

“A thousand kupons each,” Friedrich reminded her. “And I know that he Namavar can’t be trusted as far as we can throw him, but I don’t doubt for a second that he has the kupons to toss around.”

“It is not a question of whether or not he has the money,” said Teleri, “but whether we will be allowed to leave with our lives upon giving him the mask he desires.”

“He knows about your power, Friedrich,” said Marina. “He’s awakened the power of a moth mask already. Who’s to say he doesn’t want you to fetch the mask for him, then keep you prisoner until he can find a way to extract Kitt’s soul from you. If he does that, he will find the minotaur mask too. He could become the ruler of the island very swiftly if he amasses more power.”

“I don’t doubt anything you’re saying,” said Friedrich. “The reason he gave us for making us find the mask was to lower our guard. He probably will betray us, but not before I take his money from him.”

“Is it worth the risk?” asked Teleri.

“Everything we do has had immense risk,” said Friedrich, shaking his head as he started the ascent up the hill toward Bahadur’s hideout, “but at least we know we’re walking into enemy territory when we deal with him. The Ruins of Kotuga? Who knows what awaits us in there and whether there will be anything worth plundering?”

Teleri skipped up the rocks effortlessly as Friedrich and Marina climbed much more carefully. “And your point is a good one,” said Teleri, “but that does not mean we can know everything that someone that conniving has in store.”

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“Tell you what,” said Friedrich, grabbing hold off a sharp protrusion of stone. “We will find the mask first and then decide what to do with it afterwards? That will give us all time to mull things over.”

“Agreed,” said Marina.

Teleri sighed. “Agreed,” she said.

Namavar had told them that Bahadur had hidden away in an old ruined temple that had been half-claimed by the sand centuries ago. It sat somewhere near the top of the hill, but the trio had yet to set eyes upon it, so buried it must have been.

Teleri climbed with ease, her elven light-footedness being of great benefit to her, while Friedrich and Marina struggled as they neared the peak of the main large hill. The entire climb, they did not see the faintest trace of the ruined temple.

“We’ve…been tricked…already, haven’t we?” panted Marina.

Teleri looked back down the hill. “We appear to have been—"

“What?” asked Friedrich upon hearing her stop.

“There,” she said, pointing to a lone pillar on the far side of the hill in a small clearing; it was creeping out from the sand. It was only a couple dozen feet away, but it was the apparent last remnant of the temple.

“Namavar was wrong when he said it was half-claimed,” muttered Friedrich, shaking his head. “How does a temple get so buried this high up?”

“Any sign of Bahadur?” Marina asked Teleri.

“No,” said the Alaurian, slowly drawing her gaze across the hill below.

Friedrich stumbled as he made his way down the hill towards the clearing. He usually would have found this difficult, and perhaps even tripped, he managed to retain his balance and stay on his feet. Although he was still in human form, he suspected Kitt’s influence had granted him greater dexterity.

Teleri slid down on the sand while Marina lowered herself carefully towards where the pillar sat and all three stood before it. Looking around, there was no Bahadur or anything to suggest that he had even been here in the first place.

“Something smells,” said Friedrich.

Teleri sniffed the air. “Are you sure? I do not smell a thing.”

“Metaphorically,” said Friedrich, patting her shoulder.

“Do not touch me,” said the high elf, batting his hand away. “We are friends, but I would prefer my personal space not be invaded constantly because of it.”

“What’s that?” asked Marina, pointing towards the base of the pillar.

She hurried over and started scraping away the sand with her hands, but it filled itself in almost as quickly as she removed it. Friedrich rushed over and helped her, seeing what it was that Marina had spied. There was a hand sticking out of the sand that had been clinging to the pillar. He grabbed hold of the hand as Marina and Teleri desperately tried to uncover the rest of the body.

After much exertion, the arm was free. A heap of effort later and the top half of the body was revealed from the sand. With Friedrich, Marina and Teleri holding the body and giving a final heave, they pulled the man free and fell backwards onto the sand.

Friedrich stood up and dusted himself off, then examined the body. He brushed the sand off the dead man’s face. His mouth was fixed into a scream of anguish and his eyes were wide and encrusted with granules of sand.

“Bahadur?” asked Marina, also standing up.

“I think so,” said Friedrich.

“How did he get buried so deeply?”

“I don’t know, but it’s…strange.”

“There is something else afoot here,” said Teleri. “It must be the work of Namavar. He tricked us into coming here and we walked into his trap.”

“What trap?” asked Marina, looking up at her.

“I do not know, but there is something that we are missing.”

Friedrich started rummaging through Bahadur’s pockets, cupping out the sand as he did so. He was hoping that he would find something that may steer him in the…

“Aha!” he cheered, pulling out a roll of paper. He set it on the sand and laid it out flat. “It’s a map and there’s a mark near the western shore.”

“We still have a chance at finding the mask?” asked Marina, looking excited before turning to Teleri. “It looks like you were wrong after all.”

“You do not need to gloat,” said Teleri, “I am happy to be proven wrong if it means we do not suffer needlessly. I was only sugg—”

Teleri stopped suddenly.

“What was that?” asked Friedrich, standing up in shock. “You all felt it?”

“Yes,” said Marina.

The ground had unmistakably rumbled beneath their feet for a second before settling. Friedrich tapped the sand with his boot, gently at first, and then much more forcefully. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to happen, but was relieved when he was met with motionless silence from the sand.

“Shall we?” he asked the girls, gesturing towards the desert below.

The two nodded, but as soon as they all started moving towards the pillar to make their way down, the ground rumbled again. This time, however, it moved much more vigorously. So vigorously that both Marina and Teleri fell to the ground while Friedrich leapt to the pillar and clung to it to keep upright.

The sand at the centre of the clearing began to sink as a large creature of beige stone clawed its way to freedom and rose up, looming over the trio with its faceless body. They now knew what had claimed Bahadur’s life, and it desired theirs next.