After tying up the goblins and taking a quick breather, I looked around at my party, doing my best to emulate Faye and be a good leader by assessing my team's status.

  Na-Ya looked fine. There were a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead, but that was about it. Tristan was the same, but with a bit more sweat. Ro wasn't even breathing hard, though there was a scuff on his breastplate. Meanwhile, Vral...

  "Vral, what happened to your arm?"

  "What do you mean?" She held up her arm, revealing a gash running over her left triceps. "Oh, I guess I got hit."

  "You didn't even notice?!" Ark snapped. "That was the best shot I got on you!"

  Vral softly kicked the red-haired goblin in the thigh. "I guess your best shot was beneath me."

  "Pff," Ark's cheeks puffed out. "You're not so great, bitch."

  "Yeah?" Vral's eyes locked on Ark's. "Maybe not, but you're nothing. Nothing at all."

  As Vral verbally shit all over her red-haired peer, Tristan rushed to her side." Are you okay?!"

  "Yeah, I'm fine." Vral's ears turned red as she tried to push Tristan off. "You don't have to make a big deal about it."

  "Shush, you stubborn, silly woman," Tristan whispered some of the Goddess's words under her breath.

  [Healing Light]

  As soft white light washed over Vral, the wound on her arm closed, then faded until it was nothing more than a thin white line.

  Vral did her best to hold back a little smile. "Thanks, Tris."

  Tristan bopped the top of Vral's head with her finger. "You're too reckless."

  "I am not—"

  "You are." I knelt so that Vral and I were eye level. "You need to think more." I nodded to Ark. "You had no idea what she was planning to do when she jumped up into that tree, but you knew she was up to something, right?" She'd better have. It was obvious.

  "Yeah, of course I did!" She crossed her arms. "So what? I could handle it."

  "No, you couldn't." I pointed at the downed tree. "That tree was almost your face." Lowering my voice, I added, "You're strong, but you're not as strong as me, and certainly less resilient. And I'm not sure I could have taken that. You definitely couldn't have." Not wanting to shit on her, I added, "You fought well. Just remember that we have ranged abilities, especially with both Tristan and Na-Ya here. Don't chase, alright?"

  "Tch." She popped her canine with her thumbnail. "Fine. I'll be more careful next time."

  "Good." Satisfied with her answer, at least for now, I asked the others, "Alright, team, what else could we have done better?" We could always improve. Faye taught me that. Assessing each and every fight was one of the ways to do it.

  "What is this, an intervention?" Ark looked at us with equal parts contempt and curiosity. "Shouldn't you be breaking our fingers right now? I'm sure you want whatever information we have, right? Not that it's worth much."

  I shook my head. "No. We're talking first. This is how we get better, and it's best to talk when the ideas are fresh." It was too easy to rethink and forget things once time went by.

  Her eyes softened, and something that looked a lot like respect crossed behind them. "I can see why you're the boss. Wouldn't mind finding one like you."

  At her words, Grort's eyes bulged.

  Vral nearly choked. "Excuse you?" She marched up to Ark. "Don't worry, girlie. We'll break your fingers later." Leaning forward, she growled, "Until then, keep your eyes the fuck off of my man." When Ark looked at Tristan, Vral added, "And my woman."

  Ark looked as far away from us as she could while being tied up.

  I glared at Vral, but I decided to let it be.

  Ro spoke First, "At first, I wasn't being serious. It was only after that explosion went off that I pulled it together. I need to treat each fight like it could be my last; otherwise, the next fight might be."

  "Why didn't you take them seriously?" Ro was always relaxed and calm, but I couldn't imagine him taking things lightly.

  His jaw set. "There are two reasons." He sighed. "The first is that these goblins didn't look like much, so I didn't think very highly of them."

  "Hey!" Frik scoffed, but a sharp glance from Vral shut him up.

  "We're strong!" Grort shouted.

  "Rude," Ark added.

  Ignoring them, Ro continued. "The second is that I've gotten a lot stronger lately... so I guess I've been feeling a bit invincible." He shook his head. "But, after what happened in the Depths, and now this, I think I understand my failings."

  While we'd gotten much closer over the years, I'd always held him on a pedestal. It was actually good for me to hear that he didn't think he was perfect. We were both basically family now and, increasingly, a team. It felt good knowing he was just a guy like me who was doing his best, just like me.

  "That's insightful. Thanks, Ro." Looking toward Na-Ya, I asked, "What about you, Na-Ya?"

  "I was looking forward to trying out a new spell I learned," She picked at her staff with her thumbnail. "The thing was, it was far more taxing than I'd expected it to be, and it required constant concentration. Had I wavered, that goblin," She pointed at Klart, "would have gone free, and who knows what would have happened then?" She shook her head. "I need to test new spells before using them." Nodding toward Tristan, she continued, "You should do the same, Tris."

  "Yeah." Tristan nodded.

  "Speaking of, what about you, Tristan? Any insights?"

  "I think I did well, but I need to be more discerning." She looked at me. "When that goblin charged at you, I didn't know what to do. I should have cast [Sanctuary] or [Bless] or..." Shaking her head, she added, "I should have done something. Right?" She looked unsure.

  Putting my hand on her shoulder, I said, "I actually think you did better than the rest of us." I ran through the fight in my mind. "You disabled one of the threats right away, wounded a second, protected Vral from getting hurt, and held back from casting too much, so you're still fresh now that the fight's over." I squeezed her shoulder. "You did great."

  "I agree," Ro said.

  "Me, too," Na-Ya added.

  "Me three," Vral grumbled. "I was fully relying on you when I ran at this bitch," She kicked Ark, "And you had my back."

  "T-thanks, everyone." Tristan smiled brightly before nodding to me. "What about you, leader?"

  I thought for a moment. Where had I lacked? "I need to learn new skills. I'm too limited right now."

  "How so?" She stroked her chin with her fingers.

  I looked down at my shield. "While I can throw this thing, it takes a couple of moments before it comes back to me. Other than that, I need to be between you all and our opponents; otherwise, I'm almost useless."

  "So, you need more options?" Ro asked.

  "Yeah, I think so." At least, that was what I had at the moment.

  "That makes sense." Shaking his head, he said, "You know, I always think of you as someone who can do anything. You've overcome so much adversity, and in such a short amount of time, and you've surpassed me so quickly, and now you're a Chosen. It's nice to hear that you still feel like you have room to grow."

  "I respect you, too, Ro. And I have so much more room to grow."

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  He smiled. "I'm glad to hear it, brother." He leaned against the nearest crystal and folded his arms.

  "Now that that order of business is finished," I turned to the goblins. "What are we going to do with these five?"

  Ark cleared her throat. “So,” she said as she flexed and twisted, clearly testing the ropes we'd tied around her. “This is the part where you decide whether you’re going to kill us, sell us, or enslave us, right?” Her red eyes trailed to Vral. "After the torture, of course."

  Vral snorted. “Definitely after the torture." She pointed a dagger at Ark. "Especially you."

  "No torture," I said.

  "Put your murder boner away for one minute, Vral." Tristan nudged the goblin with her hip. "What's going on with you, anyway?"

  "Care to tell her, fire hair?" Vral spat at Ark.

  Ark's face went pale. "Uh... It's complicated."

  "Yeah. Bad blood." Vral turned and walked away. Finding a nearby rock, she sat and huffed. "But fine. No torture."

  "Good," I said. "So why are you all working with the Hands of the Fallen?"

  "Huh?" Ark asked.

  "Who's that?" Frik whispered.

  "You know? The cult that hired you?" I realized they may not know that name. "Or was it the Crimson Kingdom that hired you?" Perhaps the cult had acted through the syndicate?

  Ark's brows knitted. "Those fuckers? Hell no. I don't have a death wish." She laughed. "A lot of people take jobs from the red fucks, but we never do."

  Grort's head moved up and down. "We'd never take one of their jobs!"

  "Yeah!" Lutz shouted.

  "Who'd do such a thing?" Frik muttered.

  "I'll serve you forever!" Klart screamed. "Just let me live!"

  Ignoring Klart, I asked, "Then who hired you?"

  Ark looked at Grort, who looked at the ground. "That's confidential," She whispered.

  "Client privilege," Grort clarified.

  "Hey, Klart!" Vral stepped toward this bunch's weakest link. "Let's talk."

  "He was an old man!" Spit flew from Klart's lips. "A scary, terrifying old man!" He flopped over and slammed his forehead into the dirt. "Please, masters! You have to believe me!"

  "Damn it!" Ark shouted. "Shut up!"

  "Klart!" Grort kicked his pitiful companion.

  "Damn it, man..." Frik groaned.

  An old man? "What did he look like?" I asked.

  Ark glared at Klart before speaking to me. "Promise to keep it confidential?"

  "Sure." Why not?

  She swallowed. "He's old. Old, old. With scary blue eyes. And he knows everything. He's terrifying."

  "And he's a mage, "Lutz said.

  "A powerful one." Frik shivered. "Never felt so much energy pouring off someone in my whole life."

  "He's grumpy, too," Grort added. "Real grumpy. I thought he'd burn us up a dozen times when we talked to him. Scowled the whole time he talked to us, too."

  That sounded a lot like Kasimir. "What did he hire you for?"

  Ark nodded at one of the pickaxes Ro had recovered. "He told us to come out here and mine these crystals with those tools we were using." She searched the trees, her ears twitching. "And he told us to watch out for the beast while we did it."

  "The beast?" I asked.

  "Apparently, those crystals were created by some monster..." She lowered her voice. "A powerful one. And the old man wasn't wrong about it. The thing was insane."

  "You've seen it?" Tristan asked.

  Ark nodded. "Yeah, we saw it. Kind of." Her voice shook. "It took out half of our party a few nights back. I'll never forget the sound of its wings in the trees... The white fur. Terrifying."

  "And its roar!" Lutz made a sound that was eerily similar to the one the T. Rex made in the Jurassic Park movies.

  Grort's chest puffed outward. "I would have fought it off, but since everyone ran—"

  Ark chuckled. "It's cute when you play tough, Grort, but you'd have been eaten up, just like Frillik and Grot."

  "And Hurp!" Lutz added.

  Grort frowned. "Poor Hurp."

  "So an old mage hired you all." I looked at each of them. "What's he paying you?"

  "I've never seen so many crystals." Lutz kicked at the ground with his heel. "And that was only the deposit."

  "And he gave us that sack," Ark thrust her chin at the sack. "Said we could keep it if we did a good job. It and the crystals."

  "What does the sack do?" I pointed at the thing.

  "He said it'll send all the crystals to him if we put them in." Lutz swallowed. "Then, once we collect enough, it's supposed to be a powerful sack that'll hold anything we put in it. Oh, and he gave us all those potions."

  "That kind of magic's rare," Na-Ya whispered beside me.

  "I see." Okay, powerful, rare magic. A grumpy old mage. That sounded a lot like Kasimir.

  But why? Was this some kind of test? Or was he genuinely collecting materials? If so, why the hell wouldn't he have told us? To be fair, he didn't seem to like any of us, so maybe he wouldn't have reached out. But Faye should have!

  So frustrating. I'd have to deal with all of that later.

  "Fucking Kasimir." He was the worst.

  "You know the guy?" Ark considered me for a moment. "He didn't tell us his name."

  "Yeah, at least I think so. I'm friends with his sister. The Hero."

  Her eyes went wide. "T-t-the—"

  All of five goblins' heads whipped around. They all began stammering.

  "You heard him," Vral snapped. "He's a big deal."

  "Enough of that." It was time to move forward. "Where are the prisoners you took?" I asked. "We're saving them. Then, we're taking you to Galden."

  "The prisoners?" Ark cocked her head. "You said that before... but... what do you mean?"

  "Like I said, before: Prisoners. Slaves. People in cages. You were talking about them before we fought, remember."

  She laughed. "Yeah, I know that, but... I wouldn't call them prisoners." She nodded to the north. "We've been catching beasts. Wolves, foxes, badgers. Anything we can sell."

  "Wait." I shook my head. "You stole... animals?"

  "Well, yeah. We're poachers." Her voice turned bitter. "It's what we do."

  "Poachers?!" Vral laughed. "Oh, how the tables have turned, you Flamecaller scum."

  Ark sighed. "Yeah, well... It's been rough since our tribes were killed off a decade ago."

  "Killed off?" Vral asked.

  Ark's face dropped. "Yeah. The Knights of Isteara wiped us all out. Ever since, all we've done is do what we can to survive."

  Vral shuffled. "Are you saying your tribe's gone?"

  "Dead and gone, just like yours, Tu'Vigh."

  Vral's eyes locked on the redhead. For a long moment, she was quiet. Then, she whispered, "I didn't know the other tribes were killed off, too."

  Ark nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was little more than a girl when it all happened, but I was old enough to run." Her eyes flicked to Grort. "We both were."

  Grort spat. "Those were better times."

  The clearing fell silent for a moment.

  "Fealty! Loyalty! I swear it all!" Klart screamed.

  Ark sighed again. "What do you all say, crew? Klart's not wrong. I think we may need to bite the arrowhead here."

  Grort glared at her. "And give up our freedom?!"

  Ark's eyes turned hard. "What? You want to die out here? Because I don't see any other way out. We all know what's coming next."

  Klart kicked and squirmed. "Spare me!!"

  The redheaded goblin shook her head. "Yeah, and the rest of us." Speaking to her crew, she continued, "They beat us fair and square, and he's clearly the boss. Nothing else to do but to fall in line. It's the only way we might survive."

  Grort responded with a growl. "Fine... If you say so."

  I looked between them. "I'm not asking for you all to serve me. I just want to..." This whole quest was getting weird. "Just tell me where the animals are." Even if they weren't people, the least I could do was free them. "After that, you can get lost. Oh, and tell Kasimir to reach out to me if he has jobs for us. I can't even imagine why he'd hire poachers from Velmire when we're right here."

  "Yeah, why indeed?" Ark's lips quirked.

  "What are you saying?"

  "I'll tell you, but only if you take us on."

  I crossed my arms. "Why are you so set on this?"

  Ark frowned. "Because if you don't, we're dead."

  "Dead? Why?"

  "Do you think a powerful guy like the Hero's brother will let us go after we've failed a quest he intentionally kept confidential?" She laughed. "We'll be dead before we even set foot in Brightwater."

  I'd assumed that Kasimir had overlooked us, or maybe that he'd been testing me. It hadn't occurred to me that he might be trying to keep this... whatever he was doing private. "And you think I can keep you safe?"

  "You're stronger than us. And you said you know the Hero." Her face fell. "If you can't do it, who can?"

  That logic was fair enough. "How can we trust you?"

  "We'll make an oath." Ark looked at each of the goblins. "Those carry weight with my people."

  "You can't actually be considering this, can you?" Tristan asked.

  "What would you even do with them?" Na-Ya asked.

  "And where would they even stay?" Ro scratched his chin.

  "I have no idea." What was I doing?

  Vral nudged me. "Do it. Take them on, boss."

  "Are you sure?" I let my fingers brush her wavy hair. "You wanted them dead a minute ago."

  "Yeah, I am." Her voice was firm. "I don't like it. Not one bit. I'd rather see them burn." Her eyes almost looked like they were glowing as she took Ark in. "But a lot happened in the last minute." She put her hands on her hips. "I think we should take them. Plus, if they stick, I can beat up on them whenever I feel like. I miss having extra punching bags around."

  "Alright. I accept." I took a breath. "But if you even think of betraying us..." I didn't actually know what I'd do, so I let the sentence hang.

  Ark lowered her head. "We swear it. All of us. You take us with you, and we won't betray you. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. You're the boss from here on out, and we'll do whatever you want us to do."

  Lutz nodded so vigorously that his neck popped. "I swear myself too!"

  Klart whimpered. "I'll serve!"

  Grort hesitated, then bowed his head. "I swear it," he said hoarsely.

  Frik hesitated before whispering, "Yeah, me too."

  The clearing went quiet again.

  "I, uh..." Before I could say anything, a faint purplish-black smoke appeared all around me. Then, the five goblins yelped, and the smoke appeared around them, too.

  "What the—" Ark started, but before she could say anything else, the purplish smoke billowed and entered her mouth.

  "Help!" Klart shrieked.

  "What are you doing—" Frik's words were cut off.

  The others tried to speak, but their voices were choked off. As I watched, the smoke tightened around them, and the goblins gasped and choked.

  As the smoke got thicker, the world around me dimmed...

  TO CREATE THE WORLD YOU ENVISION, YOU WILL REQUIRE SERVANTS.

  The Dark Lord's voice boomed in my soul.

  I GRANT THEM TO YOU, THESE PITIFUL WRETCHES. THEY ARE THE FIRST OF YOUR VASSALS. USE THEM WELL.

  My vision blurred as the smoke began to glow. The purplish light emanating from the stuff pulsed with rhythm with my heartbeat. The smoke entered my lungs, and my knees buckled.

  Tristan grabbed me before I fell and steadied me. "Alex? Are you okay?"

  Inky black words stained their way into my mind:

  Y?o?u? ?g?a?i?n? ?t?h?e? ?t?a?l?e?n?t? ?[S?o?v?e?r?e?i?g?n?].

  I could feel them now... all five of them... And that glitched text... He did that.

  A wave of nausea washed over me.

  "Alex?" Tristan asked.

  [Healing Light]

  A wave of white light appeared around me, but it didn't do anything to quell the nausea.

  "Don't... bother..." I breathed. "Dark... Lord..."

  "Why?" She asked softly. "Why him, and why now?"

  "I don't know..." I coughed.

  "Ow!" The smoke poured from Ark's mouth. Then, on Ark's left forearm, a black brand etched itself into her flesh in long, thick red lines. She screamed as the marks grew thicker. Deeper. Slowly, it became more distinct.

  It was a shield.

  The same mark appeared on Grort's shoulder, on Frik's neck, on Lutz's hand, on Klart's back. When the brands were visible on their flesh, the smoke dissipated.

  The goblins took in the marks decorating their skin.

  "What..." Ark touched the mark on her arm, wincing. "What did you just do to us?"

  "I..." My forearm burned. "I think you might be bound to me now."