The trio rode into Lakeside Village on the back of an open wooden carriage. A kind maiden with a large, black stallion, had agreed to bring them to the village. It was a long enough walk that Maria knew she’d never make it before her legs gave out on her.

Lakeside Village was nestled in the valley of two mountain ranges, and built around a lake so massive it nearly took up the entire valley. The sun reflected it’s bright rays off the shimmering blue water, and blinded Maria as they rode over the small hill into the village. They crossed under a small wooden gate, with a welcome sign painted atop it.

Maria’s gaze was led upwards by the exceedingly massive stone pillars surrounding the lake. They were as round and as smooth as carved and polished stone, yet at the same time, looked as natural as any rock on the ground. Homes had been built around the pillars, with wide, spiraling stairways leading up the skyscrapers. It reminded her a little of home, and her life in the concrete jungle, though she preferred Lakeside Village to the streets of Detroit. At least here she could inhale the fresh air, see the fine woodwork of architects and designers, and the stunning sight of seeing so many homes built atop one another, all wrapped around a single support.

In the far distance, and peeking out from behind a mountain ridge, was the top of a stone tower.

When the carriage came to a stop, the trio hopped out, and Chariot paid the maiden.

“Do enjoy your time here,” she said with a friendly smile and rode off. Maria watched her for a moment, before glancing back out at the town. It was certainly like nothing she had seen before— another stunning storybook image she could only dream of.

Tanalia stepped ahead of the two, and inhaled deeply, looking out at the village. “I’ll say, I like it here way more than Berlington.”

“Is it because there are a few thousand fewer buildings?” Maria asked.

“Precisely.”

“Where do you think he lives?” Chariot asked, craning her neck back to gaze at the higher houses, which appeared to be slightly larger than the ones lower on the stone tower.

Maria shrugged. “Anywhere, I guess. It shouldn’t be too hard to find, we just have to ask around.”

The road was paved in gravel that crunched beneath Maria’s boots as she walked towards the lake, where many of the ground-level buildings looked to be. Most of the land between the stone pillars was empty, filled with colorful flower fields of reds, yellows, and purples. Down by the lake, several docks stretched out into the water, with small rowboats either out fishing, or docked. Most of the village shops all seemed to run along the length of the lake, following the same gravity path that wrapped around the entire thing. A few small bridges had been constructed over the several rivers that ran down from the mountain tops, and into the lake.

After stopping for some lunch, the trio asked around, having quick luck upon speaking to an older woman no more than a few feet from the outdoor restaurant they had just eaten at.

“Oh, you must mean Hargrim,” the old woman said, her head wrapped in a tight seal, and her back hunched over. “He hasn’t been down to the village in some time.”

“Down?” Maria asked, glancing back up to the top of the stone spires.

“Yes, yes, he comes down from his cabin once in a while, and I see him wandering the market, but it’s been some time. I do wonder if he’s alright.”

“You know where he lives then?” Chariot asked.

“Certainly, I do.” She turned and pointed away from the village, and towards one of the nearby mountains. “He lives halfway up there, on a ridge overlooking Lakeside Village.”

“He doesn’t live here?”

“I believe he just wishes to be left alone.”

Maria frowned a bit but completely understood him if that was the case. Even if she had never met her father, she had only heard of the monstrous things he had done. To be imprisoned by him for however many years, and forced to work to make his army stronger against his will— She wouldn’t be too keen to spend time around people either. That just posed the question or not if he was going to help them. If he ever found out who she was, the chances would likely go from almost zero, to negative.

Hargrim’s cabin was higher up the mountain, overlooking Lakeside Village from an open ridge partially concealed by towering spruce trees. An old picket fence had been built along the edge of the cliffside. It looked relatively simple, in fact, it reminded Maria of the kind of old cabin she would see in horror movies. A singular door, with two windows, and two posts to hold up a shallow wooden awning over the front porch, which was unfurnished, and no more than a slab of wood. The front yard was barren, with patches of overgrown grass, and moss sticking in clumps to the nearby trees.

“This is where the enchanter lives?” Chariot said, with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“What were you expecting?” Tanalia asked.

“I don’t know… something… grander. Hargrim is well renowned for his craftsmanship. Surely he would live in a larger estate with all the gold he’s paid in.”

“Are you forgetting the tiny detail that he was captured?” Tanalia asked.

“No, I’m just saying that I was expecting something more befitting a man of his status.”

Maria shrugged and pushed through the tall grass before knocking on the door. She waited, and listened, but it was utterly silent. “Hello?” she called out. “Mr. Hargrim?”

Still no response.

Maria knocked again, and the door was blasted open. Maria flew back, rolling through the tall grass as splinters and shards from the shattered doorframe rained onto the trio. She scurried back to her feet and spun around to face the cabin.

An old dwarf stood in the doorframe, with a wide, fat nose, and narrow, wrinkly eyes. His brows were large, and bushy, almost looking like horns. The top of his head was entirely bald, with long gray hair falling down his back, and over his shoulders.

“Get the hell out’a here,” he warned and brandished a one-handed axe. “I’ll tell you only once.”

“We’re just looking for Hargrim,” Maria said, “We don’t mean you any harm!”

“I don’t believe that for a damn minute,” the dwarf said. “He ain’t here, he’s long gone.”

“What are you talking about?” Chariot asked.

“I said get the hell out’a here!” He hurled the axe at Chariot, and she raised her sword to deflect it. The axe struck the sword, and a shockwave burst from it, sending everyone flying away as a resounding gong echoed through the air.

The dwarf marched over, and held out his palm— the axe flew back to it. “I said I’d only give one warning!”

An arrow whizzed by his head, and he spun around. Tanalia had taken a shot at him, intentionally missing.

“Hey!” she barked, “We didn’t do anything to you!”

“You’re on my property,” the dwarf barked. “None of you are welcome here…” His gaze slowly shifted to Maria, and his eyes narrowed. “Especially you.”

“Me?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Filthy demon spawns,” he said. “I was around Moldark long enough to recognize the density of his aura anywhere. You secrete it, it’s like a heavy fog of body odor, seeping from every pore on your body.”

Maria tensed up, her knuckles turning white. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The Enchanter looked over to Chariot and Tanalia. He must have read their faces as easily as Maria had. They knew he was right. “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter dear.”

“So, you are Hargrim then?” Chariot asked.

“Once,” the dwarf said. “Not anymore. Now I just want to be left alone, but that can’t start until you’re as dead as your father!” He hurled his axe at Maria, and she dodged to the side.

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“I’m not here to hurt you!” she yelled.

“Don’t fuckin’ lie to me you daft cunt,” Hargrim bellowed. He was already winded, holding his side and breathing heavily. “I ain’t goin’ down without a fight, you hear! Tell me what power you were born with so I know whether to cut off your arms or your legs first!”

Maria stared quietly at the dwarf, her face growing tight as her body stiffened. It had gone south far faster than she had anticipated, so fast there was hardly any time to begin on the right foot. “I don’t know…” Maria said after a long pause. “I don’t know what my power is… but I’m not here to hurt you, none of us are. We just want to talk.”

“If anything, she wants to talk to you more than we do,” Tanalia said, gesturing to Chariot.

“That’s true,” Maria said. “She’s a huge fan of your work.”

Hargrim glanced awkwardly at Chariot, who was still on the ground, and staring back at him awestruck. “What sorta game are you playin’?” he asked the trio.

“None,” Maria said. “We’re honestly here for your help.”

“I’m retired,” Hargrim held up his old, withered hands. His fingertips looked burnt, and his hands weak, and wrinkly. “Enchanting isn’t as easy as it once was. I have your father to thank for that.” His axe whizzed past Maria’s head, and he caught the weapon.

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened to you,” Maria said nervously.

“Do you know how long he had me under his boot?”

“I— uh—- no, I don’t.”

“Nearly two decades. Two long decades. It started nice at first, he would only send me orders to fulfill, but then he needed me more and more. So he took me from my home and locked me up in his palace. I had free reign to wander about as I pleased, so long as I enchanted his army’s weapons and armor for him. But as the war got worse, so did he, and my cozy room turned into a damp cell.”

“Okay, you don’t have to give your whole backstory,” Maria said. “I know it must have been hard on you, and I’m truly sorry. I wasn’t born here, I was born far, far away from all this. I never knew my father, or what he was. When I learned about it though, I wanted to make things right. I still do. We need your help with something, but when I heard about what had happened to you, I wanted to do something that might help you, even if just a little.”

“What are you getting at, girl?”

“I don’t know,” Maria again chuckled nervously. “I’m just telling you the truth, and asking if you could put that down. None of us want to attack you, we want your help.”

Hargrim snorted. “I’ve heard that before. I couldn’t count the number of times one of your step-siblings came to me needing my help for something that would only get others killed.”

“We’re trying to hunt down one of them,” Maria said. “His name’s The Ringleader.”

“The Ringleader?” Hargrim glanced awkwardly at Maria. “That malevolent prick?”

“You know him?” Tanalia said.

“I knew just about every one of your fathers spawn. Believe me, it was hard to remember them all. The Ringleader was a bastard through and through.”

“Then help us. The Ringleader is after the demon king's treasure.”

Hargrim waved his hand dismissively. “Who isn’t these days.”

“He found the map,” Maria said. “He used the Adventurers Guild to get it for him, then he nearly killed my master.”

Hargrim's expression shifted slowly, his old, narrow eyes grew wide, and his bottom lip dropped slightly. “He found it?”

“He did, and we’re going to get it back, and bring him to justice for what he did to my master.”

Hargrim looked at the trio with his face again. “You’re serious? He has the map?”

“He does.”

Hargrim again fell quiet. After a moment of thinking to himself, he glanced back at the trio. “That’s a problem.”

Tanalia nodded her head, rather sarcastically.

“I’d rather not see another demon king rise to the throne. I already killed one, I can’t kill another.”

Maria’s eyes went wide. “Wait… you’re the one who killed him?”

Tanalia scoffed. “Santiago Saldaña slayed the demon king. He led an army into the forbidden lands.”

“That he did, that he did. But if not for me, he would not have succeeded. I had the displeasure of meeting him when he freed me. I spent some time with him, and I’ve never met a more petty and perverted man in all my life. Your father was a man always between a girl's legs, but even he had dignity. Santiago wouldn’t have stood a chance against Moldark.”

“What are you saying?” Chariot asked.

“I’m saying your grand hero’s a pervert,” Hargrim grumbled. “But I’m also saying that he isn’t the one responsible for the demon king's death. When Moldark first learned of Santiago’s march into his lands, he came to me and asked me to enchant for him a suit of armor so powerful he would be indestructible. So I made it for him. It was a thing of beauty, my finest work. A hulking shell of pure power, blackstone, and strength. It gave Moldark stats so high you’d piss yourself hearing them.”

Maria tilted her head awkwardly. “So… how did then?”

“There was a fault with the armor, something I never told him when I first gave it to him. The armor was as hard as a god’s cock, but only for ten hits. After that… it was no better than any plate mail you could find on the side of a muddy street.”

“You sabotaged him?” Chariot said.

“That I did, and it worked!” Hargrim chuckled. “Bastard never saw it coming. I only wish I were there to see his face as Santiago drove his sword into him… if only it ended there. If I had known his children would survive the ordeal, I would have made suits of armor for the lot of them. But enchanting his armor nearly killed me. I’m old… weak. My hands aren’t quite what they used to be. So… I retired. I’m done enchanting.”

“We need your help,” Maria said.

“The Ringleader is a bastard who deserves to die. He may not be in his prime anymore, but he has to pay for what he’s done in the past, all those people he killed for sick fun— But I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sure it has nothing to do with her being his daughter?” Tanalia asked.

“That's part of the reason, yes.”

“You’re enchantments are the best in the land!” Chariot pipped in. “We came seeking you because you have a gift! You just admitted it yourself, you’re talented enough that you got the demon king killed! We need something like that to take down The Ringleader, before he finds this treasure, and hurts more people.”

Hargrim shook his head. “I can’t. I just can’t. I already helped create one demon king, I will not see a queen rise to take his place.”

“I have no intention of taking my father’s place,” Maria firmly stated. “I may not have been around to see the atrocities he committed, but I’ve been here long enough to hear about his actions, and see what he has done to places like Berlington.”

“That’s not the worst of it, dear.”

“I know that! I’m just saying, that I now know what my father has done, how he’s ruined cities, destroyed land… hurt people. I can’t do anything to fix every one of his mistakes, but I can start somewhere. I’m going after all of his subordinates, and stopping them from spreading more of his havoc.”

“You’re after your blood?”

“They may be my blood, but they aren’t my family. Look, I’m sorry to hear what my father did to you, I am. I can’t imagine what that would have been like, but we need your help. If you can’t enchant anymore then… then teach me.”

Both Chariot and Tanalia looked her way— But Hargrim hardly flinched.

“No.”

“Just teach me how to enchant then.”

“You’re father said those very words to me when I first met him. I made a mistake back then, I will not repeat it.”

“I am not my father!” Maria said. “My mother didn’t raise me to be like him. She taught me to be sweet, and kind to others!”

Hargrim glanced back up at Maria. “Your mother… what was her name?”

“My mom? Alexandría.”

“Alexandría. She’s still alive?”

“You knew her?”

“I did. There were many maidens in Moldark’s castle that he kept, but Alexandría was the kindest. She cared for everyone in there, no matter what they did. I’ve had some pleasant talks with her.”

“I’m… sorry. She passed.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that, she was a good woman. You’re her kid?”

Maria narrowed her eyes a bit. “As far as I know, yeah. I only lived with her my whole life.”

Hargrim chuckled. “You sound a bit like her… I’m sorry I still can’t help you. Enchanting isn’t something you can learn, it’s a power you’re born with. There are very few if any enchanters left.”

“Wait…” Maria said and paused for a moment. “You said you taught my father, right?”

“I did.”

“So he was born with it?”

“He was, yes. That’s why I took him in.”

Maria rolled up her sleeve and pulled down on the bandages around her wrist. She stared at the marking embedded in it. “What if that’s it…”

“What?” Chariot asked.

“There’s been times when I’ve held weapons, and… I don’t know if I’ve thought about them, or magic, or something. My hands began to glow for a moment, but then it just faded away.”

Hargrim gulped and walked over. He took Maria’s wrist and turned it over to see the marking, before hesitantly placing his axe in her hand. “Think of lightning this axe on fire.”

“Like… with {Enchant Weapon: Fire}?”

“No, those are only temporary spells, think of changing this weapon into something else.”

Maria glanced down at the axe and did as instructed. She thought of the axe turning into a sword, a sword with flames, and lightning. Her palm began to glow, if ever briefly before the light faded.

“Fuck,” Hargrim groaned and snatched the axe back.

“That’s my power, isn’t it?” Maria said. “I inherited my father's ability to enchant weapons?”

Hargrim marched back up to his porch and kicked at one of the supports. “Damn it.” He stopped and took a few more deep breaths.

Maria looked at the others awkwardly. Both of them were glancing at her wrist, which she quickly concealed back up with her bandages.

Hargrim let out a long, tired breath, and finally turned back to face them. “Alright… fine. I’ll teach you.”

“You will?” Maria said, perking up a bit.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Enchanting is hard to master, something your father never fully achieved.”

“I’ll learn it. Just teach me, and I’ll learn it.”

Hargrim grumbled to himself. “We’ll see about that.” He then looked to Chariot and Tanalia. “As for you two… stick around, this will take some time.”

“I didn’t plan on going anywhere,” Chariot said. “I’m just honored to be in your presence.”

Tanalia scoffed at her and shook her head.

Maria couldn’t help but let a smile cross her face. This was it. She had finally learned what her power was. The question now was… could she master it?

She had to.