Elmidath looked at Biustarn’s lifeless body, a slight sneer plastered across her features. “Why did you want to bring him with us?”

“I thought we could at least bury him near his home, or whatever it is he would have wanted.”

“Why? We didn’t owe him anything. In case you forgot, he betrayed us.”

“I know, but he still left behind family and other people who knew him. Maybe even cared about him. I thought we at least owed it to them. Though I guess the main reason is just that I wanted to feel like I was doing something good. I’m not sure I can say that about anything else we’ve done lately.”

After a slow blink, Elmidath stared at me, her skin still a pale shade of red.

“You can carry his body then.”

Normally I might have argued, given how much easier it would be if the both of us worked at it. But from the way Elmidath was wobbling in place, I wouldn’t be surprised if I soon needed to carry her as well.

“Where are we going, anyway?”

Elmidath frowned. “You know, I hadn’t really thought about it. Yueryurn’s remaining soldiers probably never want to see us again, so I guess we’re going back to Biustarn.”

“You don’t want to go to Sarinknell again at all, now that it’s more or less free?”

“I don’t see much point, there’s nothing of value left there now.”

“I thought you might at least want to see it one more time.”

“Maybe when I have something to show for all that I’ve been through. For now, I’m mostly just a failure and I don’t want to face the past like that.”

With a tepid smile, I swept my arm in the rough direction of Biustarn. “Then off we go; our newly freed kingdom awaits.”

“It’s hardly our kingdom. I imagine Miusin or one of Biustarn’s underlings will want to rule over Biustarn, assuming any of them are still alive.”

She had a point there; we really had no idea who still drew breath. It was entirely possible that the Ortisfel had already wiped out everyone else in the vicinity while we’d been otherwise occupied. I shook my head in disbelief, what a terrible reward that would be for all our hard work. Still, there was no sense making ourselves distraught over what may have come to pass. We could save the despair for after we’d discovered the truth of things.

I took a little while to get my bearings, and to give Elmidath time to recover, though I didn’t mention that second part to her. It seemed best to avoid the possible argument. We weren’t too far from Sarinknell, the trip wouldn’t take more than a day under normal circumstances.

However, Elmidath’s weakened state and the corpse I was carrying made the trip considerably longer. It took us about another full day before Biustarn’s toppled tower was in sight. While I didn’t have much regret over its owner’s death, it was a shame to see the beautiful structure destroyed. Yet another casualty in our war against the Ortisfel.

Technically the ogres had been responsible for its destruction, but in my view the Ortisfel’s dark machinations were clearly to blame. On the bright side, at least I’d never have to see the ogres again. Surprisingly powerful as they’d turned out to be, they’d surely either perished or become slaves to darkness in that subterranean realm. I would not have wished such a fate upon many, but for them it seemed perfectly fitting.

By the time we reached Biustarn, Elmidath’s condition had improved only marginally. Though to her credit, she’d made it all this way on her own despite stumbling more than once. It was a little concerning that she hadn’t recovered, hopefully some proper rest would be enough to do the trick. If not, then I had no idea what kind of medical aid we could expect in this world.

We were a considerable distance from Lord Biustarn’s former home when I stopped and turned to Elmidath.

“I think it might be best if you wait here with his body, that way I can go and explain things to Miusin, or whoever’s in charge. I’m not sure how well they’d react if they saw us just wander in there with his body in tow.”

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Elmidath sat down beside the corpse, which curiously didn’t seem to have decayed at all despite being dragged across the land beneath the hot suns for two days.

“Fine, just make it quick. I want to get this all over with already and sleep in an actual bed for once.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I wasn’t sure there were likely to be a lot of beds on offer, but they might be willing to make an exception for someone that had done so much for them. If not, well, maybe we’d have to insist. I didn’t really care if I slept outside for another night at this point, but I doubted it was doing Elmidath any good in her current condition.

As I drew closer to what was once Biustarn’s seat of power, I spotted a number of demons picking through the building’s broken remains. Were they looters? They were going about it in what seemed to be a relaxed manner, but perhaps that was only because they didn’t expect to be interrupted.

I was contemplating the best course of action as I drew nearer, when I heard a familiar voice ring out and turned toward it. Miusin was standing at the rubble’s edge, directing what appeared to be the clean-up. Waving to get her attention, I walked over.

Her eyes widened for an instant when she sighted me, before she relaxed into a practiced smile.

“Hello there, I wasn’t sure if I should expect you back, but here you are. Where’s Lady Sarinknell? Is she not with you?”

“She’ll be along shortly. Is there a chance we could talk privately?”

“Why? What sort of thing did you have in mind?”

She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, then burst out laughing when I shifted in discomfort. “I was just kidding. Sure, we can talk, it’s not like I was doing anything important anyway. Follow me.”

She led me a short distance away from the workers to a small hill that shielded us from view.

“So, what is it you needed to tell me? Something about the darkness, I imagine?”

“I do have much to tell you on that subject, but there’s one particular matter that I brought you here to discuss.”

I swallowed to moisten my suddenly dry throat as I mustered my resolve. “It’s about your father; we encountered him again while we were attempting to weaken the darkness. I regret to inform you that he did not survive the encounter.”

Miusin’s features stiffened, and when she spoke her voice lacked any hint of humour. “Did you kill him?”

“No. Strangely he fell by the hand of the very masters he’d gone to serve; the Ortisfel.”

“What? Why would they kill him?”

“I can’t really say for sure. Something to do with a power struggle I think.”

Closing her eyes, Miusin took several deep breaths. “I see. You know, I thought I’d already lost him a while ago, but now that I’m actually hearing about his death…”

Sniffling, a handful of tears ran down her cheeks before she regained her composure. “Somehow, it’s still a shock to actually hear it, even though I was expecting something like that. This was probably for the best anyway; for him and for us. Did you say they were called the Ortisfel?”

“That’s right.”

“From what you’ve said about them, he was better off dead than serving them.”

I didn’t know whether to compliment her on taking this well, offer my condolences, or agree that it was for the best, so I just kept my mouth shut. While I’d been through a few things with Miusin, I still barely knew her and it seemed foolish to overstep my bounds.

“I really couldn’t say. But there is one other matter I wish to discuss about him. After he fell, we brought his body back with us from the depths, Elmidath is waiting with it nearby. Um, what do you want us to do with it?”

Staring off into the distance, Miusin dabbed at her eyes.

“Bring him here, it’s only fitting that I bury him beside the ruins of our family home.”

“Is it alright if we bring him here openly? Or should we cover his body first?”

“That’s probably a good idea. Come with me for a moment.”

She led me back towards where the other demons were still working and retrieved a cloak.

“Here, wrap him in this.”

“Alright, I’ll see you again soon then. Bye.”

She echoed my farewell, then I returned to Elmidath. The young demon lord was still sitting in the dirt, right where I’d left her. She didn’t bother to get up, simply craning her neck toward me.

“How’d it go?”

“I met with Miusin, she wants me to bring the body to her.”

I knelt down and went to work covering Biustarn’s corpse.

“Well I’m glad at least someone wanted the damn thing.”

It was an unkind thing to say, but I got where she was coming from. Biustarn had been our enemy in his final days after all, and he’d hardly been our friend before that, whatever arrangements he and Elmidath might have had. Once his body was suitably shrouded, I stood up again.

“Alright, do you want to come with me? Or should I leave you here for now?”

Elmidath made a face, clearly struggling with the decision.

“I suppose I should go, there’s a lot to be done.”

“I can always handle it for you, I can always ask if there’s anything I’m unsure about.”

Shaking her head, she got up.

“Thanks, but I need to do this in person. It’ll be hard enough to get the villagers to listen without you speaking on my behalf.”

I wasn’t sure how much difference that would really make, as I doubted their opinion of either of us was overly favourable, but I imagine Elmidath had already considered that. Her subjects had made their disdain for us perfectly clear and I could hardly blame them after what we’d done.

“As you wish. We can always do that tomorrow though, once you’ve rested. It has been quite a long journey on top of everything else.”

“Huh, sometimes you actually make a lot of sense. Or maybe that’s just a sign of how tired I am. Come on then, let’s take Lord Biustarn home. Maybe that will at least earn us some favour with his subjects.”