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Two months before the departure - Hyland Imperium Palace
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The castle halls were empty, save for the echoes of two men speaking to each other. One sounded older, cold, but powerful. The other, young, brimming with emotion and hope but uncertain.
"I've ordered preparations for the Sanguine to start the first expedition to Midgand."
"Thank you, father."
"… Are you still certain? Do you really want to leave your brother and sister behind? You know how much I need your help. Forget about what happened. Your place is still here, with us, and what about your duties?"
"No, I don't want to leave any of you… but I am certain. The longer I stay here, the more problems I’ll cause. I will not deny what I've done, but there's no place for me here. I've already failed a lot of people, but I will not fail my family. They must have a future, and I will not deny them that chance."
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Aball, The Village of Longing - Crowe's residence
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"He is still unconscious.", Avernus heard the voice of an unknown girl, faintly. "You were supposed to stay in bed, Laphi! I told you a thousand times that you need to rest!"
Avernus barely managed to open his eyes. The pain was gone, and he hardly saw the two figures responsible for those voices; a young boy, probably ten or eleven years old, with blond hair that reached to his shoulders, and an older girl, in her late teens, with long, black braided hair.
Avernus gasped as he laid eyes on the girl. She was the same one that he saw in the jungle and the one who was whispering to him.
"I know, but I'm bored. I can't stand staying in bed all day doing nothing!", the young boy revolted.
The young girl frowned. "Don't argue with me. You won't get any better if you move around, and I'm always worried that…"
At that moment, the boy noticed that the injured man had already been awake, watching them squabbling for some time. "Velvet…"
The girl turned, and their eyes clung into one another—golden blazing eyes that burned with passion, love, and will to live.
"Oh… hi! Morning!", the girl said.
Avernus slowly turned his head to look around the room. "Where am I?… What is this place?"
"Umm… it is our home. You were found injured in the Morgana Woods after fighting with the daemon. I'm sorry, I tried to be quick and come back with help, but you already took care of the beast."
"The Morgana Woods?… Oh… the daemon. Now I remember…"
He tried to move, but was interrupted by the excruciating pain of his chest. The girl moved closer, trying to dissuade him from moving.
"Your injuries, they looked serious. I tried different medicines to ease your pain, at least. Still, unfortunately, the village doctor is in Taliesin right now, and we have only an apprentice animal doctor available to treat the sick and wounded. So we had to ask for his help…", the girl clarified, but her face immediately turned red upon realizing that she had disclosed too much information.
He smirked and wondered, "An animal doctor, you say? So this mess of a bandage is his work and not yours?"
The wound dressing was awful. Like it had been done by a blind man.
The girl blushed. "No! Of course not! I just helped with your clothes, and they were bloodied and dirty. They needed cleaning, so I took… um, we took those off."
The girl was acting nervous, her voice stuttered. The younger brother came to her rescue. "Velvet, would you please go and check on lunch? I think I can smell the meat burning."
"Oh, sure… you're right, Laphi. I'll be back in a sec."
On her way out of the room, she let out a sigh, stopped halfway, and returned to them.
The girl hugged the boy tightly, and he moaned in pain. "I'm sorry we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Velvet, and this here is my little brother Laphicet!"
Avernus barely managed to smile for both of them. "I'm Avernus. Thank you for rescuing me."
"We didn't do anything. Arthur and some of the other villagers did most of the work.", said Velvet.
Her brother, Laphicet, immediately continued. "Seres also helped! She was trying to heal you, but, somehow, she couldn't use her artes. She said that something was blocking her magic."
"That would be my protection arte. I use it to protect my body from getting influenced by external magic, although I wish I could perform an arte that heals stupidity."
Avernus mumbled something to himself, then a ball of green light appeared in his hand and went all throughout his body.
"Wow! Is that an exorcist arte? Are you an exorcist?!", both brother and sister wondered.
He narrowed his eyes at them. They recognized the arte, but it was the second time he heard the term ‘exorcist’.
"No… what's an exorcist?"
"Exorcists are the only warriors capable of fighting the daemons! You used an arte, just like them!", Laphicet answered.
"Oh, so you have warriors who can fight the daemons?"
"Yes, but they use malakhims for their arte. You don't have a malak with you, do you?"
Avernus' curiosity suddenly flared up. He nearly forgot about his pain and his problems. His trip was getting more and more enjoyable. First, a Kraken was almost killing him. Then he was saved and imprisoned by pirates with an earth malak as an accomplice. He fought a daemon, and now meets this boy who, out of nowhere, knew so much about artes and malakhim.
"I hope you didn't bother our guest here." A new voice instantly pulled him out of his dream. A silver-haired man in his early thirties, but with a stare as cold as ice, was standing behind them. Avernus spoke up before the two siblings could answer him, though he was still barely able to move.
"No, not at all. We were talking about how Velvet and Laphi helped me with my injuries."
"I'll go make lunch for everyone." Velvet quickly left the room, making way for the man to walk closer to Avernus.
"Velvet probably needs some help.", the man said to Laphi. With a nod, the brother followed his sister, but she suddenly turned back and gave him a furious gaze.
"No, I don't need help! Now go to your room and rest! I'll call you when it's ready!"
"O-okay…" Laphicet dropped his head dejectedly, and went back to his room.
Avernus smiled as he watched them argue. They both looked cute, living a simple life. Full of energy and hope.
"You’re good people… I'm grateful for what you have done for me."
"Don't mention it. We don't get many visitors nowadays since the daemonblight is consuming the land, and the roads are becoming more and more dangerous."
The man sat on the chair beside the bed. "It was impressive that you managed to kill the daemon without a malak.", the man cut to the chase. Avernus smiled. "It was nothing. I'm trained to deal with these kinds of situations."
But the man didn't push the matter any further, as if he already knew the answer. "By the way, you can call me Arthur."
"Avernus."
He extended his hand for shaking, but he noticed that Arthur's right arm was permanently held in a bandage.
"What brings you here, Mr. Avernus, if I may ask? You don't look like someone who’s native to Midgand."
"I'm a scholar. I sailed here from the far-continent. My ship sank a few days ago near the coast. Somehow, I survived and was lucky to end up here…"
All of a sudden, Avernus saw that a red-haired woman, wearing a strange mask, was standing in the door frame.
" Another malak? "
Arthur noticed his staring. "It seems you can perceive malakhim. Very impressive."
Avernus tried to change the subject, but he nodded in acknowledgment. "I don’t suppose you found any of my equipment, did you? Probably a chest and a staff?"
"After Seres and I watched you collapse, we rushed to help and managed to get you out of there before more daemons showed up. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to stay and look for your belongings."
"Lunch is ready!", Velvet cried out from the hall.
"I see. Then I need to go and retrieve my equipment before someone, or rather something, else tries to steal them again."
Avernus pushed the blankets away and slowly moved his body.
"Oh, your clothes… Velvet, can you bring the man's clothes from outside? I think they should've been dried by now."
"Sure thing, I'll bring them right away."
Arthur looked at Avernus' wrinkled face as he struggled with the pain.
"Need some help?"
He was able to let out a response, "No… thank you. I think I can manage."
"I see that you already healed yourself."
"Yes, that's right. Laphicet told me that your malak tried to use her healing arte, but something stopped her from doing so. I'm sorry, but you can't be too careful these days."
Velvet entered the room, carrying his clothes.
"So, you’re a sorcerer in addition to being a scholar. You are full of surprises, Avernus." Arthur observed and continued, "We will be waiting for you at the dinner table."
Velvet placed his clothes on the bed and quickly left the room with Arthur.
Avernus barely managed to stand up, still feeling numb as the healing process was not fully complete. He picked up his clothes and began checking them.
"Hmm… not bad for primitive washing. And the scent… Whatever she used to clean my clothes sure made them smell nice. Not bad. Not everyone knows how to wash these correctly."
After leaving the room, he saw the family of three already waiting for him at the table. But Seres, Arthur's malak, was nowhere to be seen.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." He sat at the table, and they all started to eat lunch.
Avernus had his first meal in days and immediately reacted to the rich flavor and tender meat that melted in his mouth. "Hmm… This is really delicious, Velvet. What is it?"
Velvet cheeks flushed pink, and she quickly broke the eye contact. She tilted her head to the right side, "Oh, thank you! It's prickleboar stew! My sister Celica taught me how to cook it. It’s Arthur's favorite."
As Avernus was speed eating the dish, he kept nodding in approval. "It is becoming one of my favorite dishes too. Your sister must be a really great cook like you, Velvet."
All of a sudden, her and Laphicet's faces went pale, and both lowered their heads.
"She passed away seven years ago.", Velvet said bitterly.
Avernus immediately stopped and slowly put the plate on the table, feeling an unbeatable level of guilt.
"I'm sorry, I… I didn't know."
Arthur maintained his cold and uncaring expression. "It's alright. Celica was my wife, so I too mourn her passing."
Avernus shook his head. "Now I feel awful for bringing that up. "
"So, Avernus, you said that you're from the far continent? Some countries there had a strict set of laws about the external relations.", asked Arthur.
Avernus came back from his reverie. "Y-yes. Hyland is pretty much open to a lot of the neighboring kingdoms, though. But how do you know about Hyland?"
It looked as if Arthur sneered. "I had a teacher that once visited your empire a long time ago."
Avernus had encountered a Kraken, malakhim, daemons, heard about warriors that used malakhim to fight daemons, and now someone who knew about the far continent. This trip proved to be something extraordinary.
"So what’s your journey all about? It’s okay if you don't want to answer it. I'm not forcing the matter.", Arthur continued calmly.
"No, it’s alright… How can I say this?... I came to Midgand in hopes of finding a way to stop the daemon threat for good."
Arthur stopped for a second, then continued with his meal, "What makes you think that there is a way to permanently stop the daemon threat?"
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"I'm not sure yet. My journey is based on assumptions that there are entities called Empyreans that could probably help. But I don't know how it’s possible. It's all from the notes of someone who once visited the far continent. A man named Claudin Asgard."
Arthur raised his head, leveling a shrewd gaze at Avernus as he heard the name of Claudin Asgard. "Do you know him?"
Avernus shook his head, "Never met him. Should I?"
Arthur grinned very slightly, "Are you aware of malevolence?"
"Yes. It is something that I'm completely familiar with. You can even say that I've worked with it. My people can hold daemons and monsters at bay, but not forever. The world needs a permanent solution, or none of us will survive for long.", Avernus responded.
"I couldn't agree more, Avernus. It seems that we have mutual interests. And fate brought you here. However, another matter needs my attention tonight, but I will return tomorrow."
"Leaving so soon again, Arthur?", Velvet asked.
"Yes, Velvet. I won't be home tonight, although this gentleman can stay here and watch over you until I return."
Arthur then looked to Avernus for his reaction.
"Don't worry. I can do that.", Avernus ensured.
Without uttering another word, Arthur left the house.
As Velvet cleaned the table, Avernus suddenly remembered his missing equipment. "Velvet, would you mind telling me how I can get to Morgana Woods?"
Surprised, Velvet frowned at him. "Oh, are you leaving too?"
Avernus raised his arms in the air. "No, I don't want to leave! I need to find my belongings before something happens to them. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can."
Velvet sighed. "Alright… Go down the path from our house and then go straight, turn left, and you'll see a big door that leads to Morgana Woods."
"Thanks. I'll be back before sundown."
After he went out of the house, Avernus turned back and took a good look at their home.
"Such a small, yet cute house they got here."
There was also a small garden with two tombstones in it. The left one was for Velvet's sister, Celica, and their parents. Beside them was a grave marked for Arthur and Celica's unborn child. Inscribed upon the tiny pillar were the following words:
“This little life will spread its wings and soar through the skies.”
Avernus clicked his tongue. "Celica was pregnant when she died? Damn it…"
He went down through the path from Velvet's house, and soon he found himself in the middle of the village.
"Hmm. Even the village itself is so small, and the weather… it's cold. Probably one of the side effects of the malevolence corrupting the air. Midgand seems to be even worse than the far continent."
He followed Velvet's instructions and spotted the main gate. The villagers eyeballed the stranger in their midst, wondering how he recovered so quickly. He did his best to avoid eye contact with anyone as their gazes made him uncomfortable enough. Finally, he reached his destination; a large wooden door guarded by a couple of village men.
"Can you open the door, please? I need to go outside."
"Oh, it's you, stranger… Sorry, but the forest isn’t safe, and it's probably filled with hordes of daemons. We can even hear their howling from here.", one of the guards advised.
Avernus coldly responded, narrowing his eyes,
"I don't care. Open the door. Now."
The guards looked at each other. One of them shook his head and said, "He killed a daemon single-handedly."
The other sighed. "Alright, it's your funeral."
Avernus exited the village, and the big door shut behind him with a loud bang.
One thing on his mind was bugging him. As he was searching for the area where he lost his equipment, he wondered,
"Strange. The woods are stuck in an autumn state, but how? Are the effects of the malevolence that severe? It's even killing off the vegetation. The situation here is even worse than back home."
After ten minutes of scouring the woods, he reached the area of his recent skirmish, but something was amiss, and it nearly made him panic.
"I can't feel the Dreamshadow nor the chest. Damn it! I was too late."
Angered, he exhaled and immediately started looking for clues. Barely a moment later, he found a set of small footprints leading to a cave beyond the area where he collapsed. He quickly made his way into the cavern, but instead of a typical cave, he found himself in a human-made hallway, illuminated by a few torches.
"What is this place? A temple in the woods? How come nobody told me about this?"
After passing the first hallway and into a dark room filled with stone columns, he heard footsteps. Narrowing down the location, he deftly grabbed the arm of the one responsible for making that sound.
"Gotcha, you little thief!"
"Let me go!"
Avernus used a torch to illuminate the individual he captured, and to his surprise, his eyes met with a short blond girl in a white outfit.
"Wait a minute, you’re that malak I saw the other day! What the hell are you doing here?! And what did you do with my equipment?!", Avernus raised his voice and released her arm.
She crossed her arms and looked in another direction.
"No."
"What?! What do you mean ‘No’?!" Avernus narrowed his eyes at the malak girl and let out a mocking laugh.
"Ha-ha! Okay, that was funny, but let me tell you, little missy; you are in big trouble now, so give back my belongings before I do something we’ll both regret."
The girl turned her head at him and demanded, "Help me and I’ll give all of your things back,"
"Help you? Do I look like a charity to you? Dammit, I need to work on my appearance more often. It’s not scary enough."
"No, but…", She glanced at him and continued, "You look strong and capable enough to take out daemons. I also have your equipment stashed somewhere, and there is no way, even with your foreign artes, you can even hope to recover them."
Avernus closed his eyes and sighed, "…Fine. Where are these daemons you speak of?"
The malak pointed towards the entrance of the main chamber.
"Down there, in the sanctuary. A group of them are trying to break into the inner chamber, but there are more along the corridor."
Both of them started to move towards the inner moisty and dank sanctuary, where growling could be heard, signaling the presence of daemons. Soon, they found themselves face to face with said monsters that appeared to be guarding the hallway.
Avernus brought his guard up, telling the malak, "It looks like we’re not fighting some brainless scrubs here!"
The girl raised her umbrella and opened it, replying to Avernus, "No, they came here intentionally."
Avernus took a look at the umbrella and then at her, "What’s down there?"
She didn't answer and focused her attention on the daemons, shouting, "They've spotted us!"
"Phantom Blades!", two blue glass-looking swords appeared in Avernus' hands.
"Malak, you stay back and support me with whatever your aligned element is."
While the girl was charging her arte, Avernus attacked them head-on with his blades, "Moon Slash!"
He parried the first monster's attack, stabbing it through the neck with one blade and beheading it with the other. The second attacker pounces on him.
"Shooting Stars!"
The werewolf got hit midair with elemental shards that were fired by the malak girl, stopping his attack and giving enough time for Avernus to slice it in half.
The third one beat a retreat to the inner chamber after having watched the slaughter.
Avernus pointed at him and yelled, "He’s getting away! After him!"
Both of them gave chase and entered the chamber. However, Avernus and the malak witnessed the leading group being commanded by a massive, obviously more powerful, daemon that was trying to break the magic seal on a big door on the other side of the room.
"Well, it looks like there are six more plus that big brute that was trying to break that seal.", Avernus observed. Their leader noticed their presence and ordered the rest of the group to attack.
"What is our plan?", the malak girl asked.
"My blades won't do much if they attack together. Burning them all would be the best option.", Avernus suggested as he prepared to cast his fire arte.
"What? No! What about the offerings? And the flowers?", She revolted and pointed at the bowls and several flowers around the room.
Avernus frowned and shook his head, "Fine! I'll think of a way that doesn’t burn your precious offerings."
The daemons got close. Avernus started the fight by throwing his blades into the first nearest attacker, hitting it in the face and the chest, killing it instantly. Then Avernus cut his right wrist, "Blazing Lash!
"The phrase turned the blood coming out of his wrist into a long fiery whip. The malak, however, not having seen this kind of arte before, was flummoxed.
"Bad puppies…", Avernus ridiculed the werewolves and whipped them left and right.
Whip Crack!
Whip Crack!
The attacks caused them to burn as their burnt fur popped up. They cried and yelled as they cremated into a crisp. Now only the leader remained: A Great Warg.
Avernus started to hit the monster, but the Great Warg caught the whip and pulled him off the ground, chucking Avernus across the room. Before hitting the wall, he retracted his whip and barely managed to land on his feet.
"Damn it! This big bastard needs something else. Burning Claws!"
Fiery gauntlets now covered Avernus' arms. He started to assault the daemon, punching his abdomen and jaws to no avail.
Those weren't enough to go through its thick armor.
"Malak! Hit his back with everything you got!"
The girl started to charge up her arte, "Terra Mine!", and then released it at the top of the monster's head.
The Warg looked up just as the ceiling collapsed on top of him.
Avernus immediately jumped back to avoid the debris.
"Wow, easy girl. You could have buried us all alive."
She coldly responded, "At least I saved your life."
Before Avernus could react to her arrogant answer, the daemon, still alive, jumped from beneath the rubble and towards the malak girl. She froze in fear, but Avernus jumped and pushed her aside.
The Warg's fangs found his arm instead. It bit his gauntlet and landed on him.
"Damn it, you ugly piece of filth… Phantom Blade!"
As the monster chewed through his armor with its jaw, Avernus conjured a spirit blade inside the daemon's jaw, piercing its mouth and into its skull, bursting it from the inside.
The girl got up and rushed towards the monster's corpse, which had Avernus pinned under it.
"Are you okay?!"
Avernus pushed aside the monster's lifeless body and slowly stood up. "It seems I have saved your life, little one."
The little girl's eyes widened as she began to cringe, "Eww, look at you, all covered in daemon blood… And I'm not little!"
Avernus looked downwards to his torso and arms and shook his head; brain tissue and blood covered his body.
"Damnation! Velvet’s gonna kill me if I come back like this!"
"Who’s Velvet?", asked the little malak.
"None of your business. Now as we agreed, give me back my stuff."
The girl pointed towards the big door, breaking the seal that was protecting it. The door opened, revealing a big pool filled with water which was surrounded by bright blue flowers and crystals.
"Light… Is there an earthpulse point nearby?", asked Avernus.
She looked at him with curiosity,
"Wow, you know about earthpulses?… Hmm, whatever. Yes, It's a blessing shrine. In the past, humans used to come to this place and pray to the malakhim. But not anymore."
"Can't you help them sometimes? You know they are not the only ones in danger…", Avernus asked, staring at her.
"Humans are the reason malevolence exists! War, crime, and every sinful behavior causing all this malevolence is because of them. They don't deserve help."
"What?", Avernus sneered, "You are the first malak I've ever met that hates to help humans. Listen, I know what you’re saying, but if malevolence takes over the world, we're all going to die." He paused and said, "And you are so young."
She suddenly turned her head back at him,
"Young?! How much do you know about malakhim?!"
Avernus smirked and answered,
"A lot. I grew up with your kind. And I was…" He paused. "Never mind."
As they were arguing, a group of small creatures trotted out of the room.
"Normin? Here?"
Avernus was surprised to see this small race of malakhim here in this temple.
"Yes, I have harbored them from a daemon attack. The situation outside is not safe, especially for malakhim."
She sighed, "Anyway, your belongings are in that room…"
Avernus moved between the small creatures and made his way inside the room. He finally found his staff and his chest in the corner. He picked them up and made his way towards the exit.
"You need to get out of these ruins, find somewhere safe."
"As if you care, human.", she coldly responded.
He turned back and looked at her,
"I don't care that much, but I’d hate to see you end up as a victim of a roaming daemon." He paused for a moment, "I'm planning to go to the capital in a few days. You can tag along if you want."
She didn't say anything more. Avernus sighed and walked towards the exit.
"Hey, stranger.", she called him, "You didn't tell me your name."
"Avernus."
"Edna."
Avernus nodded and left the temple. A loud sound heard coming from the direction of the cave, and when he turned back, the entrance had already disappeared behind a formation of stone and rock.
He noticed that it was already dark.
"Dammit! The sun’s already down. I was gone for too long. I’d better hurry back to the house."
Avernus ran towards the village and stormed through it until he reached Velvet's house.
He knocked on the door and, after a few seconds, the door slowly opened, revealing an angry Velvet.
"You’re late, mister."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I ran into some… complications along the way."
Velvet eyes widened as soon as she saw the blood on his clothes,
"What?!… Is that blood?! Are you injured?!"
"No, no, I'm not injured. It's daemon blood. Chill."
" Daemon blood?! What did you do?! Where've you been?!"
"I had to kill a bunch of them to get my stuff back. You don't need or have to worry about me."
These words were not enough to calm Velvet down.
"And you ruined your clothes again in the process! You're so irresponsible!"
"Don't worry about them. I've got some spares in the chest."
"No! Take them off right now! You can't leave your clothes in this condition!"
Avernus sighed and rolled her eyes, "Alright! Calm down. Sheesh…"
Laphicet heard their dispute and came out of his room, "Is he back, Velvet?"
"Yes, mister mighty Avernus is finally back from his adventure.", Velvet mockingly declared, "And Laphi, go back to bed and rest until I make the dinner."
Laphicet frowned, "Geez! You may be a good cook, but you'll never get married if you're this stubborn!"
Avernus suddenly burst into laughter.
Velvet turned her head, glaring at Laphicet,
"What… You little!... Stop messing with me and get back to bed already!"
"Not so fast." Avernus came out of the room with a book and a crystal in his hand,
"Time for a surprise."
Avernus placed the crystal on the table and mumbled a phrase; the glass slowly broke into tiny pieces, circling in midair until an image of a large castle formed, floating above them.
"This is the Imperial Palace of the Hyland Empire. And this is the place I live in."
Laphicet moved closer, watching the scene as his golden eyes followed the tiny little imitation of people walking around the place.
"This is awesome!"
Velvet, annoyed and irritated, walked towards the table and said, "What are you doing? Laphi needs to rest! He's sick!"
"Well, he can rest and enjoy this at the same time, can't he?"
Avernus moved to one of the chairs and pulled it, inviting Velvet to sit down.
"You can accompany him too. I'm sure you've had a busy day, and you deserve to relax too."
Velvet’s face turned red. She was caught by surprise. Avernus, a young, big city man, being a chevalier and acting like a gentleman.
"I… Well, okay, but just for a few minutes! You, Mr. Avernus, must go to sleep soon! In this house, no one's going to goof around late in the night! This house has rules, and you must follow!"
Avernus smirked at her bossy behavior. He was waiting for her to come to his side, still holding the chair. She exhaled and gathered all the energy she could to move towards him. For reasons unknown to Velvet, her heart began pounding more and more. Finally, she managed to sit still.
Laphicet glanced at her and began to smile wickedly. Seeing her like that was a triumph for the little guy.
Avernus then began to talk about his homeland, the Imperial Palace, and stories about the battles with daemons.
Two hours had passed. Avernus and Laphicet both noticed that Velvet had passed out from exhaustion.
"Velvet must be exhausted from all of the housework she had done.", said Avernus.
"Yeah, she takes everything so seriously."
"You’re lucky to have her, Laphicet. Having someone to look after you and love you is a blessing."
"But she's always concerned about Arthur and me."
"That's what makes her a great supporter. And as her brother, you should protect and support her too. Do you understand, young man?"
Laphicet sighed and lowered his head, "Alright, I will…"
Avernus walked towards her side, checking her from up close.
"I don't want to wake her up, but sleeping on the table is not a good thing."
"You know… you can carry her to her room. You're strong enough to pick her up.", suggested Laphicet.
"Me? No, I don’t think so. Touching her without her consent? Besides, I don't want any trouble, especially with someone as short-tempered as Velvet."
Laphi chuckled, "Don't worry about trouble. If she says anything, I’ll tell her I asked you to do it."
Avernus shook his head, "If she wakes up, it's on you, Laphicet."
He slowly and carefully picked Velvet up from the chair and started carrying her towards her room. Velvet was out cold. Her long hair was almost touching the surface, and he was trying his best not to wake her up. Finally, he reached the bed and gently placed her down onto the mattress.
"Sweet dreams, Princess Worry-a-lot.", he quietly whispered to Velvet as he pulled the bed's coverlet over her.
"Okay, now back to cleaning the dishes"
"I'll help!"
Avernus turned to Laphicet. Now he was in charge.
"No!"
"What?! Oh, come on! Now you're acting just like her!"
"No argument, young man! Now go back to bed and get some sleep! It's already very late!"
"You're even meaner than she is!"
"Laphicet…"
Avernus' gaze forced the little boy to back down and head to his room.
After he cleaned the dishes, he went up to the ladder to the topside and laid on one of two beds near the food and spice closet. The smell didn't bother him, and playing a simpler life was a fresh distraction from all that killing and traveling.
As he closed his eyes, he thought to himself, “ Maybe when this is all over, I could get a house, away from all the cities, stress, and concerns. ”