I had thought it was the light reflecting off its ruby carapace which had made it appear to glow, but now I saw that something deep within the beetle itself also gave off a gentle light.

The beetle hissed at me again and scuttle backwards to the far door, the one the Mushroom-King had sealed with dirt. I guess it remembered me too.

I hurried over to the archway to my right. The stream could be right nearby. Or the dungeon could have shifted. Or a pack of poisonous sea serpents could have moved in to defend it.

But if they hadn’t... No. I couldn’t get my hopes up. I dared not, it would crush me.

I hadn’t paid much attention to this room on my first time through. The hunger pain and thirst had been distracting me. Now, with the darkness closing in around my candle on all sides, I didn’t spare it much more than a glance to make sure it was indeed statues I saw in the dark and not corpses. I couldn’t see most of the room from my candle’s dim illumination anyway, even with my newly improved eyesight.

I hurried through the wooden door which was located (as I now knew) in the south wall, and down the corridor beyond. My feet slowed as I reached the intersection. I’d forgotten about that. Did I go left or right?

Seeing as the right-hand path had never failed to fail me, I took the left. It turned to my left once more almost immediately, which I took as a good sign. I vaguely remembered it doing something like that.

Voices greeted me. Not just one or two, a whole crowd. It sounded like a tavern. I peered around the corner cautiously. Though my candlelight would probably give me away, I could at least prepare to flee in a hurry.

The unnatural darkness was finally gone. Nine people, six men, three women, were splayed about at the end of the corridor outside my cell. They wore the same uniform as the mercenaries who had capture me, though theirs were in far worse repair.

Shattered stone! Despite my resolution my hopes had been high, and now they were plummeting. To make matters worse, they saw me. Mine was the only source of light in the corridor.

“Heaven forfend! A demon!”

I pulled back quickly, but when they gave no signs of chase I paused, listening.

“You saw it too? I thought I was going mad.”

“Did you see its sunken skin, its glowing red eyes? The warlocks said orcs walked these halls.”

Glowing red eyes? That explained my night vision, I supposed. Hopefully it was just the reflection from my candlelight.

“Its hair alone was a horror. Like a storm cloud or great smoking fire about its head.”

Ouch. These people were doing wonders for my confidence.

“And its clawed hand? Did you see that as it gripped the stone like spider? Scrabbling like a rat?”

Okay that was enough. I stepped back around the corner.

“Are you through? Or would like to mock my nakedness as well?”

“Come no closer demon!” called one, raising his sword weakly even as one of the women replied, “It’s too dim to tell. Can you move your candle down a little?”

I blushed and retreated further into the shadows. Thank the heavens the tuttenseck hadn’t been magical. I’d have died of embarrassment so hard even the Mushroom-King wouldn’t be able to bring me back.

“I have no quarrel with you. I merely come seeking water.”

One of the men laughed, “You want to join us in our madness? Feel free.”

Another stirred angrily, also raising a sword. It swayed, “No he’s not. Strict no demon policy here. One step closer and I’ll run you through.”

“Run him through? You don’t run demon’s through. You... you... you run from them. Yeah. You run.”

One of the other woman spoke, “We ain’t running. We can barely stand. We’ll have to fight. Which one of you was the warlock again?”

“Dave’s the warlock.”

A new man, presumably Dave, spoke, “I am not a warlock. I was a warlock yesterday. Today, I am a king.”

“Right. Right... So... we don’t have a warlock anymore?”

Something was off here. Very off. All of them were either slumped over on the floor or leaning against the wall.

“Are you guys alright?”

The second woman spoke again, “Getting hungry demon? Don’t even have the patience to let us live our last days in peace?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“What happened to you? I know something of healing. Perhaps I can help.”

“Nice try. I know the stories. Never accept a demon’s help. The price is always your soul.”

“How can I convince you I’m not a demon. I’m human just like you.”

She began to laugh, “Human? Human? Me? We may both be men, but I am the king of the faeries. I can sense demons.”

I could just kill them.

The thought rose quickly. I didn’t smother it right away. There was nine of them, true, but they were all nearly helpless. They were guarding the only source of water I’d found in this dungeon, and they had a large amount of gear on them. I wouldn’t need to rely on my spells so much if I had a sword.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. There were other avenues I could explore first. They were clearly mad. I could play into their madness.

“I apologize, your majesty. I didn’t recognize you in the dark. In truth my demonic appearance is a curse and am seeking one wise and pure of heart to break it. If you cannot lift my curse, may I at least sip from this water of your before I go on my way?”

“Do you take me for a madman?” asked the king of the faeries. She drew a sword as well. Lot of swords here, I guess spears were a pain to navigate through these halls.

“No, not at all. Madmen would not have your... natural beauty,” I answered truthfully. Madmen were not madwomen, and she was quite beautiful in the dark. What I could see of her, anyway.

“Hmph,” she demurred, “There is some truth in that at least. But we have no use for flatterers here. This is your last warning, begone!”

She brandished her sword limply at me.

That was quite enough. I strode forward several steps and drew myself to my full, entirely unimpressive, height.

“Do not mistake my compassion for weakness!”

She shrank back from me, sword wilting.

“fàg!”

I gestured and cast Push as I spoke. The Language of the Gods was rare enough I doubted they understood me, which was the point.

The sword flew from her limp fingers and pinned itself against the ceiling. She retreated, pressing herself against the far wall. Her companions rose unsteadily.

“thusa cuideachd”

I gestured again along with casting PushII pinning the other king’s weapon to his chest. It cut a furrow across his chin, and he too fell back, sword in pursuit until it had him pressed against the wall, desperately pushing with his glove to keep it from his neck.

“Drop your weapons. Nise!”

The weapons clattered to the floor.

“Good.”

I ended my Push spell and caught the blade as it fell from the ceiling. Blind me, I’m good. I crouched, sword still at the ready, and scooped water into my mouth with my other hand.

I stood. “Now, any of you have a waterskin?”

They all nodded except for the guy pinned to the wall. Guess he’d forgotten his at home, poor man.

“Toss them here.”

I grabbed four of them at random and filled them. They were going to be a pain to carry without a belt but – Far be it from me to wear another man’s dirty pants, but the only clean pair I had access to smelled of fish and was several decidedly important sizes too small.

“You,” I pointed my sword at one of the men who was about my height, “give me your clothes, all of them.”

Apparently, that was a step too far, for he rallied and lifted his own weapon once more, “Get your own clothes.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, though the effect was probably lost in the dark. I tilted my head towards the man still struggling to keep the sword from his neck. “You want his death on your hands? Or do you want to do as I say and I’ll end the spell as soon as I leave here. If you hurry, he even might not be tired before then.”

The man glared at me a moment before stripping down into his underclothes and tossing the rest to me. I’m pretty sure he aimed for the water, the jerk.

I might have demanded the smallclothes too if it wasn’t for my skin’s newfound resilience. I could probably wear the armour by itself if I wanted to. I pulled on the trousers, tunic, belt and gambeson quickly, juggling my sword back and forth as I did so and keeping an eye on my hostages. The belt still had a dagger attached, which was a massive boon. Unbelievably, his boots fit as well. It was truly my lucky day.

I filled another waterskin and strapped all five to my belt. I’d leave them the other three, plus the one still attached to the man struggling against his sword with them. They might need to journey away from the spring at some point as well. Plus the weight of five was already awkward enough to manage. Anymore and I’d waddle.

Not wanting to push my luck, I left them without another word and retreated back to my stash of fish. Thankfully, the path was unchanged, and the ruby beetle still avoided me. It was only when I’d got back to the stash some minutes later that I remembered the PushII spell. Hopefully the others had pulled the sword away from him once I’d left. I ended the spell anyway to keep my side of the bargain.

I set my candle down in the pool of wax I’d made for it previously and pried the lid off my cask.

The smell of fish made my mouth water. I didn’t even like fish. The fish was hard, and I chewed slowly – my jaws were stiff – which was the only thing which paced down. I devoured bite after bite of the salty fish and washed them down with great gulps of water. A feast.

I leaned back against the wall opposite my boulder with a sigh of contentment. My stomach hurt – I felt a little sick, actually – but I was completely satiated for the first time in over a week. Even whatever the Mushroom-King had truly doused my hunger. It wasn’t enough to have all your nutrients supplied to you artificially, you had to eat.

I’d thought I would die here since I first woke in the prison. For the first time, I wasn’t so sure. Cruel guards, the warlock, my injuries, hunger and thirst, I’d somehow overcome them all. Stress I didn’t know I’d been carrying left me. I settled against the wall, allowing a grin to slowly spread across my face. I was safe. Before I knew it, sleep claimed me.