“Civilisation, at last,” said Teleri, wiping away her sweat as she spotted the town half a mile away. “I cannot take another second of this heat.”

“Let’s be sure that this one isn’t overrun by bandits that want to kill us,” said Marina, half-jokingly as she rushed to the top of the hill and stood beside the elf.

“Every time we get ourselves into a mess, we find a way to get ourselves out of it,” said Friedrich calmly. “We’ll do the same again.”

“If things continue the way they’re going, we’ll run out of luck eventually,” said Marina. “There are only so many times we can stumble our way out of problems.”

“Or run away from them,” said Teleri, thinking of the tunaileans.

“We agreed not to bring that up again,” said Friedrich.

“Who’s listening, Friedrich?” asked Marina, rolling her eyes. “We can talk freely between each other, you silly fox.”

“Anyway,” said Friedrich, ignoring her. “Town. Let’s go.”

The party walked across the sand and onto the road leading into town, relieved to finally have somewhere to rest. A meal that wasn’t rations and a bed that was higher up than the ground would be a most welcome treat for the night, so much so, that Marina skipped along as Friedrich and Teleri followed.

“Where to first?” Friedrich called to the skipping mage.

“An inn,” said Teleri before Marina had the chance to answer. “I need shade before I combust. Anywhere will do.”

“An inn, it is,” said Marina, pausing to look around.

The people in town were all going about their business, taking little notice of the strangers wandering around. The streets being busy meant that the inn would be quiet and they could enjoy dinner then turn in early.

“How about here?” asked Friedrich, pointing towards an inn called The Grey Goblin.

Marina giggled at the name while Teleri shook her head despondently. They all proceeded inside and the girls sat at a table as Friedrich walked up to the innkeeper who was cleaning glasses at the bar. Before Friedrich had the chance to book a room and order everyone’s meal, someone spoke to him.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” came a deep voice.

There was a man sitting in the shadows at the corner of the bar with his hood up and his legs crossed. He was holding a flagon and took a small sip. As he raised his arm, his skin was revealed as much paler than the Asterrans of Kai’roh. Friedrich knew the voice well, and his hand moved up towards the two masks underneath his shirt.

“Easy there, easy there,” said Muriance, leaning into the light and revealing his face. He held up his hands, showing that he wasn’t holding a weapon. “Ain’t this the biggest coincidence in all the world, my friend?”

“Coincidence?” asked Friedrich, keeping a hand placed upon his chest as his other hand moved towards his sword.

“There will be no need for that, I assure you. I know what that mage friend of yours can do,” said Muriance, nodding towards Marina who was deep in conversation with Teleri. “Killed one of my men back in that ruin, did you know? Couldn’t get him tended to in time. I have no desire to share the same fate.”

“Why are you in Kai’roh?” demanded Friedrich.

“I can go where I please,” shrugged Muriance, “but if you really must know. I was to do a job for someone called Namavar. Word spread that he was a soul masker and I thought that perhaps I would be able to pilfer a mask from him, but…”

“But what?” asked Friedrich, feigning ignorance. He, of course, knew exactly what happened to Namavar, but revealing this to Muriance would only make him an even greater target.

“Well, he met an unfortunate end. Torn limb from limb, pinned to a wall and what have you. He crossed the wrong person, that much is for sure.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“And if you were seeking a mask from Namavar, why should I believe that you aren’t going to make an attempt to steal my fox mask? It would not be the first time…or the second.”

“I will not lie to you and pretend that I am a changed man,” chuckled Muriance. “But rest assured that I value my life and I am currently outnumbered.”

“Where are the rest of your minions then? Marina killed one, yes, but what about the others?”

“You’re asking an awful lot of questions, Friedrich. I haven’t done the same to you, have I? No, I think not. We will simply have to agree with each other that we are going to remain enigmatic from now on.”

“You know perfectly well that I cannot trust you to leave us alone.”

“Innkeeper,” said Muriance turning to the man wiping the glasses.

“Eh?” he replied.

“Friedrich, what do you want? As a show of good faith, your first meal is on me and I will make myself scarce. Perhaps we’ll see each other again somewhere much further down the road…and no, that is not a threat.”

Muriance drank deep from his flagon and slammed it onto the countertop. He stood up, tossed a handful of kupons down and walked out of the inn. Friedrich watched as the thief disappeared, not trusting him for a single second.

Marina rushed up to the counter. “Was that who I think it was?” she asked.

“Yes,” confirmed Friedrich, not taking his eyes off the door. “He’s gone, you don’t need to worry.”

“Are you sure he isn’t coming back?”

“He won’t be a problem,” lied Friedrich.

*

Friedrich listened carefully as he lay in bed. His ears pricked up upon the sound of the faint shuffling of clothes as someone climbed onto the balcony outside. He had deliberately left the window open, knowing that he would have a visitor. There would be no amendments, no matter how much Muriance had tried to play nice.

The young adventurer remained perfectly still as the thief climbed through the window as quietly as he could. It may have been quiet enough, had Friedrich been asleep, but he was at his most alert. He heard Muriance move around the room, checking through Friedrich’s meagre possessions for the fox mask, but there was not one to be found. Nor had Friedrich been foolish enough to keep the minotaur or goblin masks anywhere but on his body.

The soft footsteps made their way towards him, the faint squeak of leather growing louder with each step. Then came the slinking sound of a dagger being drawn from a sheath, but Friedrich still waited. Even as the blade sat within an inch of his throat, he did not move.

“Wakey, wakey,” said Muriance softly, and Friedrich finally stirred.

“You have disappointed me greatly,” he said as turned his head.

“Sorry, lad,” said the thief whose face was but a shadow in the night. “You know how much I wanted that mask. You’re the fool for having believed me. Now, where is it?”

“It’s gone.”

“Don’t play games with me, Friedrich. I can see the string around your neck. In fact, I can see two of them. It looks like this is the luckiest night of my life. Two masks for the price of none. Come on, now.”

Muriance held up a hand, beckoning Friedrich to take the masks out. He pushed the blade closer to Friedrich’s throat, and the young man slowly complied. He reached under his tunic and pulled out the minotaur and goblin mask together.

“Most interesting,” said Muriance deviously. “You weren’t lying about the fox mask?”

“No. It’s gone.”

“Where?” demanded Muriance.

Friedrich gave a sly smile and he transformed before the thief’s eyes. Muriance made to draw the knife across Friedrich’s neck, but he had shrunk so quickly that there was nothing to cut. The young man hopped off the bed and skittered over to his sword and shield before reverting to his normal form and picking them up as Muriance stood stunned beside the bed.

“The mask broke,” said Friedrich, “but I got to keep its power.”

“You awakened the mask?” asked Muriance, sounding alarmed. “You have bonded with the soul trapped within?”

“Yes. And you won’t be getting your hands on either of the other two.”

Friedrich thrust his sword forward Muriance leaped backwards, but Friedrich was not going to simply let him get away this time. He lunged forward, headbutting Muriance in the stomach, making him drop his knife. Friedrich reached back with his shield arm and slammed it into Muriance’s face, breaking his nose and activating the knockback, sending him spinning to the ground.

Having learned no lesson, Muriance climbed back up and charged at Friedrich, grabbing the minotaur mask with two hands and pulling it from his neck. As he tried to place it up his face, Friedrich dropped his sword and plunged his thumbs into Muriance’s eyes, making the thief scream in agony.

“Never!” called Friedrich. “Touch! My! Mask!”

He kneed Muriance in the chest and yanked his mask back, bringing it up to his face. As it came close to his nose, his door was flung open and in burst Marina and Teleri with their weapons raised.

“Friedrich, not here!” Marina told him.

“You have no idea the damage you could do,” said Teleri. “If the bloodlust takes you, every single person in this inn may not live to see the morning.”

Friedrich knew she was right and fought to pull his arm down. So filled with rage was he that he kicked Muriance in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. He continued kicking the helpless thief, who lay motionless on the ground until Teleri grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

“It would not be a good idea to commit a murder here, Friedrich. Provoked or not, I do not see this ending well for you. We should leave immediately.”

“I wanted a good night’s sleep,” said groaned Marina.

“You will not get many of those if we all end up thrown in a cell for the foreseeable future.”

Friedrich nodded as he stared at the limp Muriance on the ground. He tied the minotaur mask back around his neck and retrieved the rest of his possessions. He, Marina and Teleri did not hang around for much longer and were back on the road within minutes, seeking somewhere quiet and safe to sleep.