Offilo couldn’t call many things his own. Still, he was surprised how much had come into his possession since the Divine Lord had taken him in. Although considering the spare clothes, books and papers were all given him out of necessity, nothing felt truly like it belonged to him. Even what was, his room did just feel like a room within an inn. Just a temporary accommodation given to him for as long as the Divine Lord saw fit.

With a hollow feeling growing within his stomach, he collected a few warm clothes as well as something to write in and put them in a small leather rucksack. Considering what the Divine Lord wanted and expected of him, he felt utterly underprepared.

The knight and the witch knew after all what Offilo looked like. He didn’t doubt that they would immediately recognise him and realise that he was with the Divine Lord. They had all the reasons to kill him on the spot.

“But maybe I can ask them for help”, Offilo murmured in an attempt to convince himself that this was an option. “Perhaps they can get me away from him.”

Thinking about the Divine Lord once more made him hesitate. The man had killed Offilo’s comrades in cold blood. But he had offered them a chance to retreat. A chance to live on. They hadn’t taken it, but Offilo had.

“I’m just a coward…”, he murmured and closed his eyes. “A damnable coward!”

“This is your chance”, he remembered Captain Rugulf tell him moments before he succumbed to his injuries. “Make the bastard trust you and kill him once he turns his back to you!”

The memory of the mangled bodies made Offilo flinch. He would rather not remember them. He didn’t want to kill. Likewise, he didn’t want to die.

“What can I do?”, he wondered aloud. “Oh, Lord, what can I do?”

He didn’t receive any answer but the one he had already found. Tell the knight and witch what was going on and hope that they listen. It was all Offilo could do and hope for. All that was left.

Without wasting more time, Offilo packed the remainder of what he needed and headed towards the throne room, where he suspected the Divine Lord to be. On his way, he realised that he could defend himself, should the need arise. The Divine Lord had taken his knife after all and hadn’t given him any weapon in return. Offilo understood that it was ludicrous to ask the man for a weapon, who had told him that he didn’t trust him with one, but he felt naked without one. A problem he needed to address. No matter if he wanted or not.

—

Upon arriving in the throne room, he found the Divine Lord in a subdued conversation with Primus and Duodecum. Both knights seemed monstrous in comparison to the Divine Lord. Their armour not just making them much bulkier than their master but also their almost inhuman size contrasting stark with the rather pleasant features of the Divine Lord.

Suddenly, his new master looked at Offilo, causing the boy to tense up involuntarily. Impatient, he waved him closer. Offilo forced himself to obey, despite his legs feeling like they were made from wood. The Knights stepped aside as he came closer, with Primus leaving them a moment later. Offilo didn’t dare to look away from the Divine Lord out of fear to be once more perceived as lacking in focus.

“You took all necessary preparations already?”, the Divine Lord asked with mild irritation. “While I applaud your speed, I do hope you didn’t leave anything important.”

“I did my best, my Lord”, he replied timidly.

“We’ll see how far your best will bring you”, he said, thoughtful. “As you can see, I’ve instructed Duodecum already in what I expect both of you to achieve. He’ll take you to Eldebourg, unless you’ve any further questions.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I… umm… I’ve a question, my Lord”, he replied after a nervous glance at Duodecum, who seemingly watched everything unmoving like a statue.

“Then ask and stop wasting time”, the Divine Lord said impatient.

“Can I have my knife back?”

“No.”

The shortness of the answer startled Offilo more than he expected.

“I told you, I don’t trust you enough to give you any weapon”, the Divine Lord cleared up once more with an angry frown. “You might receive your knife back should you perform your assignment to my satisfaction. Beyond that, you don’t even need a weapon, as I merely want you to find out the whereabouts of my enemies and report back without engaging them. I want you to return alive and not a corpse.”

That surprised Offilo. Starting at the Divine Lord, he opened and closed his mouth. At the same time, the man’s face clearly showed his displeasure with his behaviour.

“Shall I take the boy, my Lord?”, asked Duodecum suddenly, and made Offilo jump.

“Yes, Duodecum”, he replied, done with the conversation and turned towards the throne.

Before Offilo could react, he was picked up by the Knight like a sack of grain. A heartbeat later, they stood in the courtyard of Castle Eldebourg, or rather what was left of it.

The stone looked like it had been liquified and frozen into place around a shallow crater where the large dead treen had once been. The whole structure looked glazed over and smoothed. As if someone had polished the stone after it had cooled down. This added to the alien feeling of the area, which made it appear as if pulled right from another world. Even the air had a strange clean smell, which reminded Offilo of lighting.

“This is the place the angel has been punished”, Duodecum explained and pushed Offilo towards the edge of the structure, which looked like someone had frozen a wave.

“An angel?”, asked Offilo surprised and stared into the shadow of the cowl, only to avert his gaze a moment later.

“Yes, boy”, the Knight replied, monotonous. “It attacked our master out of its own accord and was punished by its master.”

“Then God did…”, he murmured, shocked, and looked with a queasy feeling at the molten stone.

“So it seems, boy”, Duodecum replied. “But that’s not of your concern. Right after the attack, once our master was safe within the walls of Gabáuan, I conducted some research around this place and found out that our enemies managed to leave on their own as they would’ve turned to stone or burned completely if they had been caught within the blast. My creator said that they might escape into the city.”

“Your creator?”

Duodecum didn’t answer, but Offilo suspected that he smiled within the shadow of the cowl. If he could smile. If there was still a face there…

“Should you find something of interest, you return to me and make a report”, the Knight said after a moment. “I’ll let our master know about your progress. Now go and take this.”

Offilo didn’t know from where Duodecum had pulled the small leather purse, but upon taking it, he was surprised how many coins were within it, judging by the weight and clinking sounds.

“Our master was of the opinion that you should have some funds”, explained Duodecum. “I advise you not to waste any of it.”

“Y-yes, Sire”, he replied absentmindedly, and put the purse in one of the bigger pouches on his belt.

“And take this”, continued the Knight, and handed Offilo a small silver ring with the insignia of the Order of the Crimson Hand on it.

“This ring…”, murmured Offilo, confused and looked once more into the darkness of the Knight’s cowl before hastily shifting his gaze to the cowl’s yellow seam.

“My creator advised me to give it to you after returning with our master”, Duodecum explained with an unsettling, warm undertone. “Use it wisely.”

Before Offilo could say anything, the Knight turned around and left him standing where he was. Dumbfounded, he looked after him. This wasn’t at all what he had expected, although he didn’t really knew what exactly should’ve happened instead.

Slow, his gaze wandered almost out of its own accord towards the ring he still held in his palm. Whatever did the Divine Lord’s Demon thought about giving him this ring was a total mystery. Especially since it was apparent, that the Divine Lord didn’t know about it. The longer Offilo gazed at the ring, the more dread he felt inside his chest.

I could use this ring to show to the knight and the witch, he thought, and pulled the leather glove off his left hand to put the ring on. Perhaps I can show them this way I don’t mean them harm but… Why would the Divine Lord’s Demon give me something like this? Does she want me to flee?

He couldn’t picture it. Then again, the demon had told him that he should try to kill her master.

“I’ll never understand her or the Divine Lord”, murmured Offilo and put the glove back on.

No matter their individual intentions, he had to look for the knight and the witch. And the best place to start would be to go into the city of Eldebourg and ask around.

With reluctance, Offilo started to move towards the gate, while giving the molten crater a wide berth. Judging by the light of day, it was around midday, so he decided his first stop to be the Merry Boar. The inn was after all the first place he had seen them and the only one where they could’ve stayed before they attacked Divine Lord. Beyond that, he hoped to get at least a warm meal before he had to head into the unknown.