Our pace had slowed somewhat over the next hour, but we knew we were fast approaching Merton. Lights could be seen about a quarter mile away.

Not much was said after, so I finally looked at the quest notification which had been blinking in my vision. I hadn’t felt like looking at it with everything that happened. I knew we had been successful, but the ring on my finger felt like it was made of lead. It still glowed and pulsed like a slowly beating heart, but the light had thankfully lowered to barely above a tiny candlelight. We were about to bring the townsfolk home, so I wanted to get this part out of the way. There was going to be a great deal of grief and emotional pain in our immediate future.

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the unique Quest (Timed Event) “The Fetid Blight from the Bleak Den”

Undisclosed Objective 1: Tsurra the Corrupted slain.

Undisclosed Objective 2: Do not allow 101 sacrifices to be completed in the Quest ‘The Dread Hecatomb Jewel’. Completed!

Undisclosed Objective 3: Successfully end the Quest ‘The Dread Hecatomb Jewel’

Calculating rewards, please stand by…

“Oh, I had forgotten about this quest,” I said after reading the prompt. “With everything going on, it just slipped my mind.” Seeing the objectives completed, a contented feeling washed through me. Here was another example of our small band making a real difference. While it was horrible what had happened to me and to my family, the path we were on made me thankful I had met Stella. “One small step at a time,” I said low enough so no one could hear it. My footfalls continued to propel me onward, but it was my heart that kept my head held high.

Notice! Quest Rewards have been increased for having only a single party member.

You earned 10,000 experience points.

Your reputation with the village, Merton, has substantially increased for eliminating the dire threat the Dread Hecatomb Jewel represented.

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Quest: The {Fractured} Dread Hecatomb Jewel.

Hidden Success Condition 4: Equip the CURSED ring to interrupt the {Fractured} Hecatomb Jewel’s detonation. COMPLETED

Calculating Rewards… Please stand by.

“Damn, I was hoping we’d be able to see what the other success conditions could have been,” I said with a sigh. “Though, thinking about it, maybe I’m glad we can’t see them.”

“Why is that?” Stella asked. She had floated back over to me with the System messages coming up.

“Well, imagine if we learned all I needed to do was put the damn gem into my bag of holding,” I said after pausing a moment to consider my reasoning. “Sure, it would explode the instant I took it out, you know… ever. It would probably be listed as my own personal ‘doomsday scenario’ or some such thing. Though… that would sound pretty cool.”

I was getting off-topic and, based on Stella’s expression, she was encouraging me to finish my train of thought. “Sorry. Anyways, if I could have just hidden the damn thing away in some extra-dimensional space, I wouldn’t be wearing this cursed ring.”

Even then, I could feel the ring held tightly against my flesh. No matter what I did, it was stuck there as if it had been welded on. Stella had spied on me trying to wet my finger with my saliva, her eyes going wide at the sight, before my embarrassment got the better of me and I stopped playing with it. ‘It can’t come off, no matter what you do,’ she had said. Still, a youthful part of me hoped it wasn’t true. The thought of having something forced upon me didn’t settle well in my chest. Nothing for it, at least for now.

Stella nodded with the reasoning, “We were able to stop the calamity that thing would have caused. That’s reward enough for me.”

Quest Rewards - You have earned 10,000 experience points.

“Yup. Still, I’m more than happy to get that too,” I pointed to the experience prompt. “And, like that, another level down.”

“One small step,” Stella said, echoing my previous words. “And, like that, we’re that much closer to being able to take down Duke.”

Nodding my wholehearted agreement, a message flashed in front of us indicating I had reached level seventeen. With Merton a shy hundred yards away, I didn’t think long on where to put my new attribute points. Everything went into Intelligence. The more the merrier, I thought to myself.

Merton was not at all what I had expected. A part of me figured it would simply be less populated but, what we saw before us, was unnerving. What remained of a crumbling outer wall, which in its prime may have come up chest high, was now little more than a small impediment as we stepped over it. Beyond this meager protection, Merton seemed to be on its last leg. The town sprawled ahead looked… decimated. There was a mix of stone and wood buildings, all covered with slate shingles, but it was as if only every third home was still standing. The haphazard array of destroyed and pristine houses was shocking. Those still standing, at least near the town’s entrance, looked entirely abandoned. Doors hung open, curtains blowing out of open windows. No light or sign of life shining within.

“How long had Tsurra been stealing people from your village?” I asked a young man named Erickson. Like the other men, he barely said anything to me, but had stopped to gaze upon the spectacle with me. He was a head taller than I was, able-bodied with defined muscles showing over his meager clothes. Stella had chatted with him more than once, which I why I think he was starting to come around to me.

Eckhart let out a long dreadful sigh as he looked across his village, broken down and in shambles. I turned to him as my question went unanswered. There, I thought I saw a small spark of… something, behind his eyes.

“He had been at it for maybe two weeks,” Eckhart finally replied. “The Hunter had started with taking small groups, seeming to be careful to not be overwhelmed by the town guards. It didn’t last long. He came back nearly every day taking ten people at a time, each one held by the living corpse of someone he had taken earlier. No one wanted to be noticed.”

“Nobody…” he finished, a war of anger and sadness playing across his features. “There wasn’t anything we could do.”

I had heard this before, from Natasha primarily, but I wasn’t about to interrupt the man. He looked to need to get this out. “People were afraid to even leave town,” Eckhart continued. “It was almost as if he was waiting for those who tried to make a break for it. I was finally found, hiding away in my home. Tied and gagged, like I was nothing more than an animal…”

“As we were leaving town, Tsurra looked back and shouted we were the last to be taken. Of course, no one was around to hear him, but his words still carried throughout what and whoever was left of Merton. With a laugh at our weakness, he said, ‘The next time you see me, I’ll be a god to you.’ Through it all, the fear, the shouts of people being taken… only one person was left alone.”

I looked questioningly at Eckhart; this last piece of information was something I hadn’t heard yet.

He caught my gaze, his face emotionless now. “The mayor, Alistair, it was almost as if Tsurra was punishing him there at the end. At first, when Alistair had been passed over, time and time again, we thought it simply his good fortune. But the last time before he hauled us away, a part of me doubted he was so lucky. Then, I saw him. The broken man was in the middle of town, distraught and kneeling in the dirt. He had something in his hands, I couldn’t make it out. Then, one of those dead creatures grabbed me by firmly by the shoulder. That’s the last I thought I would ever see this place.”

Stella sent a private message then, reminding me the mayor had lost both his wife and daughter. Something didn’t add up though, in my mind. Why would Tsurra spare anyone?

“Tsurra may just have been punishing him for being the mayor. No one could stop him, and there was a man he could ridicule simply because he was in charge. The evil Hunter seemed to take pleasure in whatever cruelty he could dish out. It may have been nothing,” I said with a bit of scorn hinting at the edges of my voice.

“Maybe,” Eckhart replied. “Something’s nagging me about it.” With a great sigh, he continued. “But perhaps you are right. Tsurra did seem to enjoy hurting others.”

Eckhart spat on the ground in front of him. Stella tried to mirror the man, catching me entirely off guard, though she failed miserably as spittle hung down her muzzle in a comical fashion. I raised an eyebrow her way, the corner of my mouth creeping upwards, though I was turned away enough that Eckhart couldn’t see.

Though her fur was as black as night, I could have sworn she turned beat red. Maybe it was just her humiliated eyes I spied. It was quite hilarious, nonetheless.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Our small group continued somberly, silence our only companion when we came around a bend in the road. We were surprised to find what might have been the entire town, or what was left of it, all standing in front of a grandiose home. The mayor’s residence, by the look of it. It was hard to miss, being the only two-story building in town.

The mass of people was closely huddled together and I got the distinct impression something akin to a mob was forming based on the unease wafting out. I even spied the occasional weapon, though nothing more than a dagger or short sword. What were they thinking of doing? There was no way they would stand a chance against even a single of Tsurra’s thralls with how chipped and unkempt those ordinary weapons appeared. Though, a dozen or so guards were out, which I hadn’t expected us to find. From the stories we heard on the trip here, those guards not initially taken by Tsurra had removed any semblance of armor or banner from their persons. Wanting nothing more than to fade quietly into the background like everyone else.

The guards were in full armor now, standing abreast with a man who loomed above everyone else. I assumed it was Alistair, the village’s mayor. He was on the top level of steps leading up to his home. His guards fanned around and below him like some shield of flesh and armor.

The man was as unkempt as the weapons I spied on earlier. He looked to have not bathed in days, if not a full week. He was a tall fellow with a dark head of hair. His robe and clothing were dirty, and positively covered in stains. He had the look of a man who had fallen into a mud hole, tried to wash it off with little success, then couldn’t be bothered to change into something else. Alistair’s eyes were rimmed in red, looking as if he had been crying for days. Dark bags rested under those heavy eyes.

And those eyes… something manic flashed in there.

We must have interrupted some speech the man had been giving, as a hush overcame the crowd when our small group came around the corner. Alistair peered out at us, an angry sneer on his face. More than a few sets of eyes opened in wide surprise as a few townsfolk recognized people they had probably given up for dead. Shocked expressions turned to peals of joy as at least a few families had been restored.

It wasn’t long though before shouts of alarm rang out, more than one person pointing at me. To my horror, they weren’t pointing at my face. They were pointing at my new armor. I must have looked much like Tsurra as my samurai-inspired set protected me. I stood out like a mountain in a barren grassland. Eyes seconds ago, filled with joy and relief of returned loved ones, turned to fear, then to outrage.

One voice cut through the angry murmurings, catching everyone’s attention. “Esme! You’re alive,” a gentleman shouted, rushing forward to engulf who I assumed was his wife. They buried their faces into each other’s shoulders. Their jubilant embrace hinted to everyone around it wasn’t a threat returning to their mournful city. It was something far more majestic. Hope was rekindling.

The mood of the crowd was swiftly returned to one of celebration, for those closest to me easily could see I was not Tsurra. I was no orc. However, before more townsfolk could join in the elation and spread the word, another voice shouted out, catching everyone’s attention above all the others. “Guards! You will apprehend that murderer,” Alistair said, a long finger pointing down at me.

The man and his small army of guards descended the stairs, villagers being moved aside gracefully. The guards looked nervous and confused. The mayor did not.

The disheveled man at first appeared inconsolable, but anger and passion were quickly replacing the emotion. When he was within a half dozen paces, he stopped before us, trying to ring the group though they didn’t have the numbers to accomplish it. The mayor’s pointed finger never left me even as he had walked through the crowd of his people.

“Come back to unleash whatever evil magic you’ve cast, have you?” Alistair’s face was flushed with anger, and he appeared on the edge of bursting. It was then I noticed the man was not looking me in the eyes. His gaze was locked on the red jewel hanging on my hand, Tsurra’s ring. The cursed ring appeared to be the mirror image of the Hecatomb Jewel.

Now, with him mere feet away, the man’s gaze only held my subtly glowing ring.

“You will not,” Alistair began to say but cut himself off with a wild scream. A crazed look rested upon his face. “No! I will not allow it. I don’t care if it costs the lives of everyone here. You! Will! Die for what you have done.”

Absolute stillness hang heavy in the air around us. No one dared utter a single word.

Alistair had the look of a rabid bear. He had such a craved expression it appeared there would be no rationalizing against the outrage boiling over the man’s soul.

I tried to calm the situation down, my voice even and unthreatening, “I am not the Hunter you think I am. My party defeated him, and we rescued these…”

I wasn’t able to finish the sentence.

I should have seen it coming, based on how the man was acting, but was too startled to react. With an unintelligible scream, the man lunged, crossing the distance in a flash. Alistair had pulled a wicked-looking dagger from beneath his wool robe, and it was aimed at my exposed throat.

I had only expected to find a cheerful reunion when we returned the remaining survivors to town. Nowhere in my mind had unbridled anger even hinted itself as a possibility of occurring. My stunned mind hadn’t even called my battle axe into my hand, I was so taken aback.

The moment in time was shattered when Eckhart stepped between us, his hands held up high. The dagger slipped right in between, passing easily into the man’s eye. Like a marionette with his strings severed, Eckhart dropped lifelessly to the ground. He hadn’t even time to scream.

Alistair hadn’t any eyes for anyone except me. In his mind, Eckhart was nothing more than an assumed thrall trying to protect his master. After striking viciously against Eckhart, the mayor pulled out the dagger and was once more coming at me.

“Stop!” My mind tried to blurt out, but the words never reached my lips. My mind struggling to keep up. Eckhart had been slain so quickly; the finality of the act etched permanently into the atmosphere around us. My brain imperfectly suggested I heal the man, but nothing I had would restore life to the dead. My hesitation had cost a man his life. I was too slow to stop it from happening. My mind was in shock, just like everyone around us.

Everyone, but Ripley.

Even as Alistair’s dagger flashed forward once more, Eckhart’s body still in freefall to the earth beneath us, Ripley had moved. Alistair was so focused on bringing vengeance, he ignored everything else around him. Only one thing mattered to him, my blood. As the now gore-stained dagger bore towards me, a dark gray figure, nearly black from the powerful magic animating her skeletal body, rushed forward.

As the great sword finished its arc, everything paused as if the entire world had frozen. Time resumed as Alistair’s body tumbled one way, his head going the other. The abrupt battle had irrevocably ended.

Alistair’s body fell, bowing backward over Eckhart’s still form. In his rush forward, Alistair had leaped over the deceased man. Now, as the mayor's body landed heavily, the impact of the two bodies colliding sounded louder in my ears than it actually was. Irrevocably, two lives had just ended.

The normal flow of time flooded back into everyone. Ripley had stepped in front of me, her great sword held at the ready. No one moved, and no guards came forward to defend the mayor. I was glad for Ripley. She looked prepared to snuff out the mortal coil of anyone who threatened me. “Hold,” I bellowed, my voice finally coming back to me. Sadness stained the word. It was slightly above a whisper but, with the silence reigning, it crossed the distance to every gathered person.

My eyes fell on the bodies before me. It was then something caught my eye, something held tightly in Alistair’s other hand. It was a crumpled roll of parchment. Kneeling, I removed the man's weapon, adding it to my inventory with a thought. My other hand reached out, taking the wrinkled paper from the man’s now loose grasp.

As I began to unroll it, a notification appeared in my vision.

Congratulations! You have completed a hidden quest, ‘Betrayed’.

Another System message followed shortly thereafter, my eyes reading the quest information even the silence began to break around me. My expression turned grim further still as I read the note the mayor had been holding so fiercely at his end.

Alistair,

I hope you found this morning’s activities enriching and wholesome for your spirit. I promise I will take excellent care of your wife and daughter. They will serve me well, in this life or the next. Well, perhaps, just the next life.

Thank you for your allowing me to partake freely of the goods from your feeble town. You’re lucky that I’ve decided to uphold at least part of our bargain. For gold will shower around you. Your life will have as much time as your mortal body can contain. No harm will befall you, unlike the people whom you vowed to protect.

May you live forever,

– The Corrupted

There it was. The mayor had been complicit having made a deal with the devil. Based on the letter, Tsurra had offered the mayor money and guaranteed protection for himself and his family, though the Hunter had ultimately betrayed the man with the family part.

As another notification popped into my vision, the note dropped from my hand. A part of me didn’t want to share this bit of information with the shocked faces surrounding us. What happened was already bad enough. This would only increase the suffering.

Quest Rewards - You earned 2,500 experience points.

Seeing fear upon some of the faces nearby, I decided to make sure my voice carried everyone around. “I am not the Hunter your mayor mistook me for. I didn’t want more blood to be spilled. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said, my voice clear and steady. “I wanted nothing more than to save your loved ones.”

I turned away, beckoning Ripley to my side.

I was walking away, out of town. My hesitation had cost the lives of two people. What was worse, is the mayor couldn’t have possibly hurt me, not with my empowered aegis protecting me at all times. These two had died for nothing.

“Wait, please,” a familiar voice called out, though my addled mind couldn’t place it. It was kind and gentle, pleading.

I stopped and looked upwards at the morning sky, taking a moment to admire its beauty. Thousands of stars were hidden there, beyond the umbrella of blue stretching from horizon to horizon. The universe was there, watching. Seeing the results of my failure.

“Please,” it was Natasha. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. It wasn’t forceful or insistent. I got the sense, that if I continued walking it would let me.

Stella glided around me, hovering a foot away. Her eyes held a deep care within. “It’s not your fault, Xaz,” Stella said before repeating herself when I made no indication whether I agreed or not. “It’s not your fault. You’ve helped these people and I know Eckhart, even in the short amount of time I knew him, would be happy to know his sacrifice meant you could carry on to help others just like him. Like those in this town.”

Her words rang true to my ears. She was right. It just didn’t feel like it.

Stella continued, “Bad things happen and sometimes there’s nothing we can do about it. This world is full of people just like you and me. We can help. We can stand up for them. We’ve done that here. You’ve done that.”

Stella’s eyes flicked to the people behind me. She nodded over my shoulder to someone I couldn’t see. “You are welcome here. I can see it in the eyes looking at you.”

I once again gazed up into the endless sky above, a deep breath ushering forth. I was just one person. There was an entire world of people here who needed my help. They needed our help. When I finally turned around, not a single pair of eyes held any malice, hate, or fear. I saw myself in those eyes. Who I represented, and who I wanted to be. Reflected in the countless eyes staring back at me.

I felt Stella land on my shoulder. Her presence is more reassuring and comforting than ever.

With the hundreds of luminous eyes beckoning me, and the immeasurable gazes from the stars above, in this moment, I knew I could. I would make a difference.

Standing there, before the town and the people we had rescued, I realized I already had.