by A P Gore
The deities had dropped a couple of things as a reward for the dead orc. It was another rule of BlackFlame: when anyone killed anyone else in a fierce battle, the deities rewarded the survivor with items. She pressed forward to check them out.
One was a magical club, the other a monster crystal. Iron-2 type. She had seen one of these with Magadha, and she’d said it would sell for 50 gold. That was a huge amount.
“If you don’t mind, can I look at the crystal?” Noah asked. He was now staring at her directly.
Rihala studied the crystal, rolling it in her hand before looking at him with wide eyes. She blinked, contemplating. “This is a costly crystal, an Iron-2 level. It will fetch me at least fifty gold.” Not that she knew anyone who would buy it, but her mom might have some use for it in her herb recipes.
The human’s face darkened.
She wondered if he would try to fight her for it. She turned back and looked at the demon. He was out of action for a while, and if it came to a fight, she could easily run away from both. She didn’t want to fight the duo she’d just teamed up with.
“I need to save the girl I mentioned previously, and that crystal is part of her antidote.” Sadness leaked through the human’s voice.
Rihala’s heart filled with empathy. Noah seemed different from all the greedy demons she had met before. Earlier, he was ready to die for a demon friend, and now he wanted the crystal for a small demon girl. It was really surprising. “If you let me take the orc’s club, I’ll give you the crystal. Deal?” She glanced at the club. It glowed with a faint blue light. She knew it would come in handy.
“Sure, go ahead.”
The demon too nodded at her.
Rihala smiled. The trouble was finally over. She had killed the druid and gained a level up. She was one step closer to her dream. She grabbed the club, put it inside her bag, and then started walking toward Noah. A pace away from him, she tripped over a stone and fell on him. Her bow twisted and pierced a hole in his gut with one of the corners. Before she realized what was happening, her breasts were pressed tightly against his chest, and her lips were inches away from his. She stared into those brown eyes for a brief second before a notification popped up.
You have hit Noah for 30 damage. Noah dies. -1 to Intelligence for killing your party member. Reputation can’t be lowered below neutral due to the human’s title.
Then the human’s body vanished beneath her.
“What?” A cry burst out of her mouth. “How could I?” She pressed her face in her palms, rubbing violently. She couldn’t believe her foolishness had killed someone. She despaired. How could she show her face to her mom? She always said don’t hurt anyone who helps you. Yet she’d just killed a person who was kind enough to help other demons.
A loud laugh pulled her from her thoughts. The foolish demon was rolling on the ground, laughing hard.
“You fool. Why are you laughing? Your friend just died.” She wiped her tears.
“Don’t you worry, female. He will come back. I’m just laughing at his fortune. He survived the battle, and yet he died under the weight of your breasts.”
Rihala went pink for a moment. “Are you sure he will come back?”
“Yes, he has done that plenty of times. He would do it again don’t worry.” He got up. “I’d better head for the town. I got all the herbs I came for.”
His explanation eased her heart a little. “Can you give this crystal to him? He needs it, doesn’t he?” She handed the Iron-2 crystal to the demon.
“Sure do.” The demon grabbed the crystal and started walking in the direction of the town of Sumara.
Rihala glanced back at the spot where the human had died and zipped toward the town of Xynnar. She had to get there before sunset.
9. Collar of Slaves
Rihala stood in the high priest’s chamber, head bowed. When she returned from the jungle, she was carried to the high priest’s chambers by the guards. Upon seeing her, the high priest asked the guards to leave and closed his chamber door.
His forehead was full of creases. It was bad. She even smelled ale from the glasses placed on the table next to him. The room was warm, and the fireplace at the corner of the room, burning with fresh wood, kept it that way. Yet, the temperature of her body was higher than the temperature of the room. Her insides were burning with fear. She had never seen the high priest in such a mood before.
“Rihala, what is the meaning of this?” The high priest pointed a golden finger at her.
Something was wrong. By the high priest’s tone, she knew she had done something foolish. Why would he question her otherwise?
She dropped to her knees and bowed her head deeper than she normally would. “High Priest Jethro, please tell me… Why you are angry?”
“You stole those arrows from the weaponry. Why did you do that?”
Her heart sank. She had killed the druid. How did the high priest know about her thievery?
“Master, please. It was my fault. Please punish me, but don’t do anything to my parents.” She dropped prostrate. Her nose was a mere inch away from the ground. The carpet smelled weird, like it hadn’t been washed for months.
“It was my fault…” He paused. “Wait, why would I punish Mahala and Johan?”
Confused, her thoughts raced. If a slave child was caught stealing something, his or her parents would be punished for it. That was the law in the Empire of Zedusania.
The high priest persisted. “Why would I punish them because of you? Clearly, I forgot to mention what kind of arrows you can take from the weaponry. I didn’t think you would take rare arrows by breaking a glass from there.”
“Rare arrows?” Her eyes darted up. The high priest paced the chamber, smiling from the corners of his lips.
“Yes, didn’t you notice the light yellow aura coming out of the arrows? Tell me what did you do with them? I see you have leveled up. I hope you put them to good use.” His tone changed from serious to mildly serious. “It was funny, when Piranda came to me with your complaint. He was so tense at first.”
The high priest was smiling. He wasn’t angry at her and wrote off the theft as an ambiguous order. Her muscles relaxed. She wasn’t in as much danger as she’d thought.
“Yes, master. I killed an orc.”
“That’s a good one for a level five demon. I’m proud of you, Rihala. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wear this on your neck.” He gave her a black ring. “The head demon didn’t like you entering the weaponry and taking his rare arrows. Anyway, seeing you in the ring of House Jethro will soothe his ego. Just make sure you don’t leave town often. I don’t want any more trouble from you.”
Rihala touched the leather ring. It was a slavery ring of house of Jethro. A collar. She hated it, but she figured she’d better get used to it, because she would be wearing something like this soon. Her 21st birthday was coming up. She squeezed the ring in her hand and then put it around her neck.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for coming along on this ride.
…but the trip isn’t over.
Rihala is in danger, but Noah is not giving up on her. Not yet, not ever.
But he is just the ruler of a small town, while Jethro is High Priest of the whole empire.
And that’s not the only thing Noah has to worry about. The town is in trouble.
There are more quests, items, and town management in the next installment.
The story will keep you turning pages and the twists will keep you guessing.
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Thanks,
A.P. Gore/Patricia Jones
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