“I’m not sure which to get,” said Marina, tapping her finger on her lips as her eyes darted back and forth between a blue potion and a green potion. “On the one hand, it would be helpful to be able to heal our wounds, but on the other, if something poisonous is lurking then an antidote is much more valuable.”

“What is it you think will be waiting for us in the crypt?” asked Friedrich before turning to the shopkeeper. “We’ll take the healing potion.”

Friedrich handed over thirty kupons in exchange for the glass bottle filled with the restorative concoction and left the shop with Marina in tow. It was early evening in Eagle’s Crest and they had spent most of the day trying to find where they should go for their first delve together. The rest was then spent gearing up.

“I think we should have gone for the antidote,” said Marina despairingly.

“You would have said we should have gone for the healing potion if I had bought the antidote.”

“No, I wouldn’t have.”

“Indeed.”

Marina shook her head. “Forgive me for trying to be careful. Who knows what we’re going to find in the Crypt of Belzag.”

“Belziah.”

“The Crypt of Belziah, fine. The point is that we don’t know what’s in store for us there.”

“Undead, most likely. It is a crypt, after all. If we’re lucky, it’ll be skeletons, but if we’re less lucky, it’ll be some sort of zombie.”

“Why is it lucky if we find skeletons instead of zombies?”

“Zombies are fleshier and harder to break to pieces,” said Friedrich. “If we find a skeleton, all it takes is a good bash to the head and that’ll cave a skull in nicely, which I can do with both my sword and my shield. I’ve also heard that if you cut the limbs from certain zombies, the limbs will keep moving and try to attack you.”

“You’ve heard?” asked Marina with a raised eyebrow. “I thought you were old hand at all this adventuring business.”

“Old hand?” laughed Friedrich. “I’ve only been on the road for just over a year now. I can’t see everything under the sun in that short a time, sometimes you just have to take the word of rumours and hope it’ll steer you right.”

The two slowly walked along the street as the sky was turning a warm shade of orange, contrasting with the cooling air. It was the perfect time to go into one of the inns, devour a hot meal and get some much-needed rest ahead of their next big adventure.

“Oi, you two,” came a grizzled voice from a man cloaked by shadow. He was standing under an awning and had a hood pulled up over his head, revealing only a sharp chin that was dusted in stubble. To say that the man looked shifty would have been a great understatement.

“Can we help you?” asked Friedrich warily.

“I should say you can, young ones.”

“I’m not that young.”

“I’m young and we’re about the same age,” said Marina, “that makes you young too.”

Friedrich ignored her, as did the shadowed man. “Did I overhear right that you two were looking to go to the Crypt of Belziah?” asked the stranger.

“We talked about that a couple of minutes ago,” said Friedrich, looking suspiciously at the man. “How long have you been following us and listening to our conversation?”

“Forgive me, but the name Belziah made my ears prick up. You don’t hear it often and I was curious.”

“And what if we are planning to go to the crypt? How is that any of your business?”

“Well, perhaps I could interest you in a rare pendant that can ward off the undead?”

“That’s exactly what we need,” said Marina, hopping up and down excitedly.

“What’s your game?” asked Friedrich, still not trusting the man.

“No game,” said the man, holding up his hands, “just a simple trade. That means it’ll cost you something, of course. Two hundred kupons if you want to get specific about it.”

“I don’t have two hundred kupons to spare,” said Friedrich, turning to walk away.

“Wait, wait, wait,” said the man, taking a step forward. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a silver pendant with a ruby hanging from it. “Perhaps we can cut a deal? No kupons necessary.”

“I don’t have anything of value,” said Friedrich.

“What about that fancy mask of yours?” asked the man. “The one hanging from your belt. It looks like it’s made of wood, but the craftsmanship is mighty fine indeed. I’m sure that little gem in the forehead would make up the rest of the value. What do you say, my friend?”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Marina looked at Friedrich desperately, who shook his head. “It’s not for sale. You’ll have to peddle that pendant to someone else, I’m afraid.”

“That’s a real shame,” said the man, despondently. His head slumped for a while before he looked up and smiled. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Suddenly, three other men in cloaks jumped from an alleyway. One of them grabbed Marina by the arms while another restrained Friedrich; the third, yanked the fox mask from his belt and tossed it to the man who had been trying to coax it away from him. He held it up and looked at it as though he was mesmerised by it.

“Sorry about this, chum,” he said with a low chuckle. “I couldn’t pass up this rare opportunity to obtain a soul mask. You know what this thing does, so I’m sure you understand.”

With that, he ran off. His lackeys threw Friedrich and Marina to the ground, then making a run for it themselves.

“What do we do?” asked Marina as she climbed to her feet, but Friedrich had already sprinted after them. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” she muttered as she followed, clutching her staff.

Friedrich caught up to the first of the men and grabbed his ankle, tripping him. Marina trod over the thug as she hurried to keep up with Friedrich. The next two men turned to confront the pair head on, but Friedrich smashed the edge of his shield into one of the muggers’ faces, breaking a few of his teeth with a faint crack, while Marina zapped the other with a lightning strike, knocking him out cold—at least, she hoped he was only out cold. His small movements may have been spasming.

“There!” called Friedrich, seeing the would-be-merchant charging through a group of people and darting through the doors of a tavern.

Friedrich rushed after him, as Marina fell behind, struggling to keep pace. Friedrich threw open the doors and called out. “Is there a cloaked man with a mask hiding here?”

Most of the patrons simply looked confused while a couple pointed towards a room at the back. Friedrich wasted no time and ran into the room, finding it to be the inn’s kitchen. He looked around, seeing no sign of the thief, but the confused chef pointed towards an open window.

“Thank you,” said Friedrich hurriedly as he dove through the window and awkwardly rolled into the alleyway.

He looked left and he looked right, not sure which way the man had ran. He had to make a decision, and quickly. Right. He broke into a run again, his lungs and legs burning as he pushed himself. As he rounded a corner, he saw the hem of a cloak swish over a fall. Friedrich leapt with all his power at the wall, grabbing the top and throwing himself over too.

There was the thief. The man looked over his shoulder and spotted Friedrich as the young swordsman landed. Friedrich’s sudden appearance distracted him and he didn’t notice a loose brick on the ground and tripped. He fell awkwardly to the ground, dropping the fox mask which flew a few feet away.

The thief lunged for it from the dusty ground, but Friedrich pounced on him and pulled his arm away. The young man wasn’t going to tolerate thieving scum taking his possessions. Friedrich tugged at his cloak, choking the man who still desperately reached for the mask.

“Get off me, boy!” called the thief, but Friedrich elbowed him in the back of the head and his nose hit the cobblestones, dazing him.

Friedrich threw himself forward, stretching out his arm. He grabbed the edge of the mask with his fingertips and then climbed to his feet. As the bloody-nosed thief stood up and made for Friedrich, the young man brought the mask to within an inch of his face.

“You move another muscle and I put it on,” said Friedrich firmly. “You know what will happen next, don’t you?”

The man said nothing.

“Don’t you?” barked Friedrich.

“You rotten, little…” muttered the man, wiping the blood away from his upper lip with his sleeve. “Yes, I know,” he said more loudly.

“You called this a soul mask. What does that mean?”

The man let a single, sharp laugh escape. “You’re telling me, lad, that you have a soul mask and you have no idea what that means?”

“That’s what I’m telling you,” said Friedrich, watching the thief’s legs trembling. “Take a step back. Do it now!”

The man held up his hands and slowly moved backwards four steps. “Easy, lad. You win, I lose. The mask is yours, alright?”

“You’re right. It is mine. It was mine from the moment I found it.”

“That’s fair…that’s fair…”

“What’s your name?” Friedrich asked him. He kept his eyes on the man’s hands, taking mental note of the dagger in his belt and his abnormally lumpy boot. There was something concealed inside, Friedrich was sure of it.

“My name? It’s Muriance.”

“Tell me what a soul mask is.”

“The clue is in the name, is it not?” scoffed Muriance. “It’s a mask possessed by a soul. By the looks of your one, it’s possessed by the soul of a fox. Your transform into a fox when you put it on, is that not the case?”

Friedrich nodded slowly, careful not to let the mask as much as graze his nose.

“There are many soul masks in the world, but the magic used to create them is rare and powerful. It’s not a simple polymorph, lad, it’s an ancient form of shamanistic magic. To think that it was wasted by trapping the soul of a fox…by the gods. Think of the possibilities! A king…a sea serpent…a dragon! What a waste.”

“How much is it worth?”

“More kupons than I’ve got, son. More kupons than I’ve got.”

Friedrich heard a faint shuffling coming from behind him and placed the mask upon his face as someone lunged for him. Even through the pain of the transformation, he heard Muriance cursing. Friedrich darted forward as Muriance and one of his lackeys dived for him, but he scurried between their legs and ran from the alleyway as they knocked each other flat on their backs.

Back on the streets, he dashed along in search of Marina as many of the passersby pointed at him, amused to see a fox bounding through the town. Friedrich looked over his shoulder as he moved, concerned that he may be being followed, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary; not that that was especially reassuring right now. Muriance and his cronies were slippery and Friedrich had no doubt this would not be the last he would see of them if he hung around Eagle’s Crest for much longer.

He found Marina sitting at the edge of the fountain in the town centre, her head resting upon her hand. Friedrich was relieved to see that she was safe. She did a double take as she looked up and saw the golden fox skipping towards her.

“Friedrich?” she asked.

As soon as she said his name, he changed back into a human. A couple of folks nearby jumped out of their skin, never having seen such an oddity before. They immediately fled, fearful of this bizarre magic while a few other people muttered about sorcery.

“Agh,” Friedrich grunted, shuddering at the pain. “We need to get out of town now,” he said.

“But…the inn!” Marina squealed, trying to ignore the urgency in his face. “A warm, comfy bed for the night!”

“If you don’t want to be stabbed in your sleep, we need to leave.”

“A nice bed and being stabbed…or sleeping on soil and staying alive,” she muttered. “Yes, I understand. Let’s go.”

The two young explorers headed for the nearest way out of town, watching their backs as they moved. It was a relief when they departed from town, now making their way to the Crypt of Belziah earlier than intended. The only trouble being that Muriance also knew where they were heading, and he very much wanted the fox mask for himself.