by Phoenix Grey
There was too great of a divide between the price of his dagger and the price of the bow for Azure to feel that it was unreasonable for the merchant to not make the deal. They did not know each other well, and there was no reason for Ruthren to give him any special treatment. Whether he liked it or not, he had to accept the fact that he was just fucked.
Azure sighed, feeling hopelessness beginning to sink in again, wondering what to do next. He could return to Manny's farm and collect the rabbit pelts that Meva promised she'd have ready for him to sell, but he knew he wouldn't get more than a few coppers for them. Definitely not enough to purchase another bow. Maybe if he were lucky, Manny would have a spare bow lying around that he could use. Other than that, his only option was to stay in Cragbell and try to find work. He didn't feel like he had time for that, though.
“Thanks, Ruthren,” Azure said, patting the top of the cart before turning to leave.
“Better luck to you kid,” the merchant replied, his voice filled with genuine sentiment this time. “Don't die again.”
Good advice, Azure thought a bit bitterly as he walked away.
He didn't like the idea of bothering Manny for more handouts, but he imagined that the farmer would be more than willing to oblige when it came to the safety of his sons. Perhaps he'd even join the quest in taking down the demon. Azure wondered if Manny was much of a fighter. He had to be to run a farm in an area that frequently got raided by goblins. In all honesty, Azure didn't like the idea of setting back out after Lonnell alone, but he would if he had to.
He arrived at the farm in the late afternoon as the sun was setting over the horizon. There was a soft breeze, causing the wheat stalks to dance. It was a calm and welcoming sight, and it made Azure wish he had more time to rest. Ever since coming to The Realm, it seemed like his travels had been non-stop. That was all part of being an adventurer, though. It was a life he had thought he would love. He had never imagined it would come with such hardships.
Trying to be polite, Azure stood outside of the farmhouse and knocked. This was about the time that the family sat down for supper. Just the thought of meat was making his stomach rumble. No doubt, Meva would be cooking up some type of stew. He couldn't wait to eat.
The door swung open, and Azure plastered on a soft smile, hoping they'd be happy to see him. He was startled when the face he stared into wasn't Manny's.
Lonnell looked equally shocked to see him standing there. “You're alive,” he said in disbelief.
“And you're...here?” It was more of a question than anything else. What was going on?
Opening the door wider revealed the rest of the family seated at the table, Uden included. Azure's mouth dropped open in disbelief, and he pushed past Lonnell, feeling a juxtaposition of anger and relief. “You're alive!” It felt like a parroted phrase, like someone should be shouting back in disbelief, “You're all alive. Surfuckingprise!”
A flash of discomfort took over the half-imp's face before he pushed his chair away from the table and approached Azure. “Thank goodness. I thought you were done for. How did you manage to escape?”
There was something fake about Uden's enthusiasm. Maybe it was undetectable by everyone else, but Azure could definitely sense it.
“No thanks to you,” he growled. “You left me for dead.”
Tension blanketed the room. Manny stood, perhaps anticipating a brawl. And Meva kept her eyes to the table, obviously feeling uneasy.
Uden's shoulders slumped. “What was I supposed to do? I was no match for all of them. If I had attacked, they would have killed you without hesitation. Once I followed you to the goblin settlement, it felt like a lost cause. I am genuinely happy that you were able to escape, though. You will have to regale us with the tale.” He gestured to the table for Azure to sit.
Azure felt like he was about to snap. “I might be inclined to believe that had you not disbanded from me long before I reached the goblin settlement. You didn't follow. You fled like a coward!”
“Can you prove that?” there was a hint of challenge in the half-imp's voice.
There was no point in arguing it. Uden's family would more than likely take his word over Azure's. This put Azure in a precarious situation. He still needed to retrieve the coins he was owed from Lonnell, and he also required him to complete the next quest. Whether he wanted to or not, it was imperative to be as civil as possible.
Grudgingly, he walked around the table to take a seat. Meva immediately rose to bring him a bowl of stew. Azure needed to pick his battles, and this wasn't one of them. Getting proper nourishment, collecting his portion of the loot, and acquiring a new bow were his top priorities.
“I found the source of the curse,” he began, trying to ignore Uden's presence entirely. “The Dark One isn't a mage. It's a demon,” he informed them.
“A demon?” Manny furrowed his brow. “On Crescent Island?”
“That doesn't make any sense,” Uden contested him stubbornly. “The Dark one is clearly a mage.”
Azure gritted his teeth, wanting to reach across the table and strangle the half-imp to death.
“What makes you think it's a demon?” Lonnell asked, causing a much-needed distraction. Azure wondered if Uden even understood how close he was to being pummeled to death in his own home. While Azure definitely couldn't match him with a blade, he was pretty sure he could take the skinny half-imp in hand-to-hand combat.
“I saw it,” he drew out the words. “After the goblins captured me, they took me to this tent to hold me prisoner until it came to collect me. I followed it to a cave entrance in the side of a ravine and then made my escape by jumping into the river and getting washed downstream. I'm lucky I survived.” At least, he thought he had. Maybe.
“What did it look like?” Uden quizzed him.
Azure described the creature in detail, then continued on to tell them the story of how he had ended up in Baremire. He recited everything he remembered of what Karma had said. When he was done speaking, both Manny and Lonnell looked deep in thought.
“I am saddened to hear this,” Manny said suddenly.
It seemed like a strange thing to say. “Why is that?” Azure asked.
“Demons are not bred, they are born of hatred. If this creature is here, it is because we have created it.” He frowned.
Azure noticed that Uden's expression had changed. He had wrapped his arms around himself, his lips drooped, his eyes to the table in a look of discomfort. The air in the room seemed to sag with remorse and gloominess that Azure didn't understand. Clearly, he was missing something big.
“It appears that I am the cause of this after all,” Uden said softly.
“No.” Lonnell's gaze shot up to land on his brother. “You are not at fault for this, and I will not hear you say it. If anyone is to blame, it is I. I should have never told Bronna.”
Things were coming together now. Azure wanted to feel sorry for Uden, but he just couldn't after being left behind by him. “So what you're saying is that this all started because Bronna's father told the townspeople about Uden being part imp, and their hatred for him is what created the demon.”
“Sadly, that is what appears to be the case,” Manny replied. “Now that I think about it, the timelines do match up. The curse began slightly after that incident.”
“This is horrible.” Lonnell shook his head.
“And now they expect me to save them from the monster they created,” Uden mumbled bitterly. “I will take no part in this.” He pushed away from the table, standing to storm outside.
Lonnell moved to follow him, but Manny held out his arm, telling him to let Uden go. “I am sure this is not what he wanted to hear. Despite the fact that it's not his fault, Uden probably feels responsible.”
“But it wasn't his fault,” Lonnell insisted.
“No. It wasn't. Men can be cruel.” Manny sighed.
“Karma said that it's a lesser demon. All we have to do is remove its horns, and we should be able to kill it,” Azure told
them, trying to add some good news to the solemn conversation.
“Killing it won't be half as difficult as getting to it,” Lonnell said, turning his thoughts away from his brother's misfortune to continue onto the important discussion of defeating the demon. “The odds of luring it out of the cave are slim.”
“I don't see how. It needs human sacrifices to continue to grow.” Azure graciously accepted the bowl of stew placed in front of him, picking up his spoon to eat while they talked.
“From what I have gathered from the information that you have shared, the demon has some kind of arrangement with the goblins to send it sacrifices. I am assuming that it will take the goblins as sacrifices if they do not offer it other options. Now that you have escaped and know where it resides, it will probably expect us to come. A smart move on its part would be to make the goblins deliver sacrifices to it as so not to leave itself exposed out in the open. It was probably willing to travel to the goblin settlement before because it felt no threat.”
“So we go to the cave and defeat it.” Azure saw no issue. Wasn't it better if the demon stayed put anyway? Like it would just be waiting there for them to come kill it.
“It's not that simple,” Manny told him, giving him a look to say that there was still much he didn't know about their world. “Demons don't just live in caves, they live in dungeons. The stronger the demon, the more levels the dungeon will have. As you can probably imagine, every level is filled with monsters. Demons can summon the undead and all kinds of nasty creatures. The deeper into the dungeon you go, the higher the difficulty. There will be no rest. The dungeon is designed to deplete you of your stamina and mana before you reach the bottom so that you're easier for the demon to defeat.”
Azure nodded. Now he understood why they all seemed so worried. This was not going to be as cut and dry as he had thought.
“If we hope to win, we will have to use careful planning. Strategic attacks to maximize our effectiveness while conserving stamina where we need it. We will also need to stock up on health potions. It is unlikely that we will be able to reach the demon uninjured,” Lonnell said
“And weapons,” Azure mentioned. “When the goblins kidnapped me, they took everything I had. I will need a new bow and a sword. The sprites of Baremire are working on armor for me that should give good resistance against the demon's powers.”
“That is good to hear,” Lonnell said with a sound of relief. “They wouldn't happen to be making armor for the rest of us?”
Azure wasn't sure if he should feel guilty for not having asked her. “To be fair, once Uden's stats disappeared from my vision, I thought he was dead. And I wasn't sure if you had already headed back towards the altar or not. I did not ask because I had expected to be returning on my own.”
“That is fair.” Lonnell didn't seem the least bit disappointed.
“Speaking of which, why are you guys still here? I thought you would be returning to the altar as soon as you dropped Bronna off?”
“I did start heading back and ended up meeting Uden in the woods. He told me what had happened with you and the goblins—that there had been no way to save you without you both ending up captured and possibly dead. He told me that you two had searched and searched but had never been able to find The Dark One and that with the goblin settlement so close by, it was too dangerous for him to stay out there on his own. We agreed that we should return here, rest up for a few days, and then come up with a better plan before heading back out again.”
Azure mulled that over for several minutes. More than likely, it had been Uden who had suggested that they rest for a few days before heading back out. He had been nothing but lazy lately. Now Azure was wondering if there was a purpose behind it.
“Demons and imps are related,” he recalled the story that Lonnell had told him a while back.
“Uden is in no way related to this demon.” Lonnell scowled at him. “That demon is long gone. To be the same one, it would be a greater demon by this time. This demon was born from the townspeople's hatred of Uden's heritage, which ironically was enough to create another creature capable of making more of his kind. People are stupid sometimes.” He shook his head, and Azure couldn't help but get the feeling that Lonnell was indirectly calling him stupid as well.
Manny placed a hand on his son's shoulder. “We cannot let more hatred manifest over this. That will only help the demon to grow.”
“You are right,” Lonnell agreed, forcing a soft smile. “They know not what they do. They let their fear drive them to this point. Their fear creating more of a monster than what they feared in the first place. Once we vanquish this demon, they will see that Uden is good and not to be hated.”
“They will.” Manny gave his shoulder a pat. “You just need to prove them all wrong.”
“Well, we need to prepare first,” Azure reminded them again. “I am weary from my travels. After I finish up here, I'll be off to bed. We should go to Cragbell tomorrow, turn in what loot we have left so that I can acquire weapons, and then head back to Baremire to pick up my armor.”
“Agreed.” Lonnell nodded, though it seemed he still harbored ill-feeling towards Azure for having assumed that Uden was somehow related to the demon they were about to face.
He finished his meal in silence, then took his leave to the barn, carrying a lantern with him the same as he always had. Oddly, he felt Uden's presence before he saw him this time. Maybe he was getting used to the half-imp. Or perhaps the fact that he had leveled up several of his skills was starting to make him more aware of his surroundings and the dangers that might be awaiting him in the dark.
“I am hurt that you don't believe I wanted to save you.” Uden pressed his hand against his chest.
“You are a horrible actor.” Azure sneered. His hand itched to grab his dagger, but he knew he would have no time if Uden tried to attack. Bending over to retrieve it from his boot would give the half-imp all the opening he needed to strike Azure down with one quick blow to the neck.
Uden huffed, glancing away. “In all seriousness, what was I supposed to do? They already had you bound. Goblins are stupid, but not too stupid to eliminate the weakest threat when another is upon them.”
“They wouldn't have killed me. They needed me for a sacrifice,” Azure reasoned.
“Did they? Are you so sure? They could have always returned to Cragbell to take another girl. Or if worse came to worse, offered up one of their breeding stock.”
“Breeding stock?” Azure's eyes widened briefly. So that's what those women in the cage had been.
“Have you not noticed the lack of female goblins? They require other species to breed. Only male goblins are born,” Uden informed him.
“We have to save those women,” Azure mumbled, already trying to come up with a plan.
“How? And more importantly, why?” There was a coldness to Uden's tone. “I'm aware that you still don't understand how things work here. While you may believe otherwise, those women are likely bought from slaver ships. Even if we did save them, they would have nowhere to go. Are you going to support and clothe them?”
Anger welled up inside of Azure. “There's no good reason to allow them to remain captive and used. They are human beings. A life fending for themselves is better than a life in a cage.”
“In a cage, they are fed and cared for. In the wild, they would likely starve to death.” Uden tossed his head toward the forest.
“You speak of them as if they're animals,” Azure said with disdain.
“Aren't we all?” Uden grinned wolfishly.
“Let's put you in a cage and rape you repeatedly and see if you like it,” he growled.
The half-imp's amused expression dropped. “I've been in a cage my entire life.”
Azure gave him a warning look. “It's not the same thing, and this isn't about you.”
“Perhaps I should relish that fact. Everything else seems to be about me. What I've done. What I've failed to do. These past few months I've lived under a mic
roscope, judged for every action and mistake. Misfortunes that weren't even my doing have been blamed on me. How is that fair? Life isn't fair.” His words came out in a stumble, tripping over one another.
Azure couldn't help but internally applaud how Uden had managed to manipulate the conversation and make it about him again. Obviously, the half-imp wanted to discuss all of the injustices he had suffered. The captive women were not important to him. Azure would have to recruit Lonnell to help him later. The more human of the brothers would definitely be sympathetic to the plight of the women.
“If you wouldn't do douchey things then maybe people wouldn't be so pissed off at you all the time,” he offered with a tight smile.
“Ah.” Uden shook his finger at Azure. “But that's the thing. I'm not doing anything any differently than many other men in my position would.
“Should I have tried to save you? Maybe. But I'm not lying when I say that the risk would have been too great to the both of us. One wrong move and you would have ended up dead. If I wouldn't have joined you, then I would have inevitably been captured. I'm no better equipped to face a demon alone than you are. If I had died, what would Lonnell have done? Wandered around blindly searching for us until he got captured, too? Quite possibly.
“I made the best decision I could with the information I had to go off of. Attacking the goblins wasn't smart. Trying to mount some daring rescue wasn't smart. Returning to my brother and protecting him from harm while trying to figure out what to do next was the best plan. I'm sorry, Azure, but sometimes in this life you have to fend for yourself. We will not always be around to protect you.”
It was an oddly brotherly lecture with much more logic than Azure would have liked to admit. Still, he couldn't ignore the obvious. “If you had just gone along with my plan, none of this would have happened.”
“I will admit that I made a mistake,” Uden told him reluctantly. “For that, I am truly sorry. I know that this has undoubtedly shaken your trust in me. We still have a lot of work to do together. I hope that one day you can forgive me and I can regain your trust.” He held his arm out to Azure.
