Felicity walked through the streets of the Green Emerald domain and felt confused. Wherever she looked, she saw nothing but destruction. It sickened her to see. All the important buildings, from banks to food stores, had been eaten through by acid attacks from the Baldwins’ representative. Upon first entering the town, Felicity believed the damage to be random, but the more she walked, the more she saw the diabolical strategy behind it.

  They attacked everything a town needed to survive. She shook her head. Not town, people. The attacks were premeditated to the nth degree.

  A drinking well positioned in the middle of the road caused her to stop. She didn’t need to look down it to know what she would find, but she couldn’t help herself. With each step her feet took, her nose protested for her to stop.

  Coming to the lip of the well, the smell emitting from it felt like walking through soup.

  Felicity peered over the lip and saw nothing but decaying bodies staring back at her. Hand going to her mouth to stop her from throwing up, she took a sharp step back. She tried to ease the image from her mind, but melted faces kept staring back at her.

  Backing away, she found the next well, and then the next, and found the same scene at each one.

  Finally, coming to the last well in the town, Felicity didn’t need to inspect it to know what she would find.

  “How could someone do this?” she muttered to herself.

  “Some would say that is how wars are won.”

  Felicity spun to see Aja emerge from the shadows of a collapsed building.

  “I pity those people who think that way.”

  “Pity them all you like, but on this planet, they are the victors.”

  “That will soon change.”

  “Will it now?” said Aja. “I love the confidence Isaac has, but he believes defeating HIM is as simple as going for a walk. He’s blinded by youth. He doesn’t see the wider ramifications his actions will have. If he is even semi-successful at this ridiculous task he’s set himself, there are entire nations, empires, and Houses that will be affected. All of them depend on the status quo staying exactly as it is. Just like Earth—where people profit from armies and famine—there are people here who do the same.

  “It’s not just about defeating HIM. If that were the case, then every deluded idiot would try to fight HIM. It’s the whole infrastructure, Isaac, that all of you will be fighting against.”

  “We have to at least try.” Felicity cringed at her words, but it was the only thing she could think to say.

  Aja pulled out a dark wood pipe and filled it with a plant that looked like marijuana mixed with tobacco and rose petals. Striking a match, she lit the pipe, causing a sticky-sweet aroma to waft in the air. “Here’s to the dreamers. The misfits. The rebels. The dangerous ones who dream with their eyes open and act upon their desires. The ones who fly too close to the sun to simply feel its warmth.” She took a deep pull and blew out a column of white smoke that obstructed her face.

  Felicity looked over the town in the dying dawn light and breathed out slowly. She knew she would have to get used to sights like this if she wanted to survive here. If she wanted to grow. A thought came to her. “Why didn’t the leader of this town stop this?”

  “How?”

  “The normal ways you stop an enemy at your gates. Fight back—negotiate a deal—surrender.”

  “All valid points. But to fight back, the Archduke would need allies stronger than himself to face off against the Baldwin Estate, which he did not have, and those he was friendly with were not about to risk their necks for some Archduke in the middle of nowhere. It’s all well and good, establishing a domain in the middle of nowhere, but that leaves you isolated and friendless. The locals told me when the fighting was at its worst, he tried to negotiate a deal, but he couldn’t give the Baldwins what they wanted.”

  “Which is?”

  “A special kind of Forbidden Tree. One of three.”

  Felicity felt her stomach tighten as her fingers brushed the dimension ring.

  Wherever they went, it seemed the Baldwins’ influence wasn’t far behind—always chasing the same thing: the Ink from the three Forbidden Trees, whose power surpassed all others.

  “I heard they were after something similar in Noobcity.”

  “I heard that a small group stole the one they were after.” Aja took another pull as she fixed Felicity with a stare. For her part, Felicity gave nothing away as she put on her best poker face.

  “Is that sooo? Well, I heard a group of female assassins made up of a bunch of different races stole it.”

  Aja pulled a surprised face around the mouthpiece of her pipe. “Is that sooo? I must tell my informant that their information is wrong and that—” Aja stopped talking as she turned her attention toward the furthest wall.

  Felicity felt Aja’s Aura push out from her soul as it searched for something beyond the wall. Felicity did the same but couldn’t find what Aja was looking for… There! Something or someone was doing their best to hide their Aura while they made their way toward the town.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  If it hadn’t been for Aja, then Felicity would have completely missed the person’s presence.

  They moved with speed toward the town.

  Felicity spread her senses out and saw that multiple people were converging on the town. They were mostly Barons with a few Viscountesses mixed in for good measure. The one thing that bothered her, though, was the two strong Auras she felt coming toward them like a moving train. One was a Viscountess with a stronger Aura than all the others of their rank and the other was an Earl-level Aura that led the team.

  That Aura made her take a step back.

  It spoke of the violence to come. It spoke of destruction.

  Felicity looked at Aja, but she was already moving, shouting orders to everyone within reach. “Incoming! Incoming! We are under attack! Get yourselves hidden! The bastards are back, and they are out for blood!”

  ***

  Francisco wandered through the streets looking for something to eat, drink, or a soft pair of hands to relieve him of the mounting stress that he had been feeling since leaving Noobcity. But after Isaac’s argument with Aja, all food and drink had been withheld.

  When asked why, Aja simply stated that food would only be given to those willing to help in the effort to rebuild and stabilize the town. Francisco smiled at that. It was petty, but it was the sort of thing he would do if he was in her position.

  Now, he wandered the streets looking to buy whatever he could but failed to find anything to satisfy his hunger. The trio all had rations, but the food items were tasteless, bland things that reminded him of oat crackers mixed with food rations that you would get in the army.

  Flic told him that once they reached a certain Aura level they would no longer need food. That their Aura would sustain them. She spoke about reading stories where Kings and Queens would go decades, some even centuries, without eating or drinking a single thing.

  He shuddered at the thought.

  Was life even worth living if he couldn’t enjoy a sip of sangria overlooking a beach sunset? Or have a double cheeseburger where the melted cheese soaked into the bread and meat? Or the sugary explosion you would get by taking that first lick of a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer’s day?

  Fuck!

  If becoming all powerful meant he could no longer experience those pleasures, then he may as well throw himself off a cliff now.

  Nothing in this life or the next was worth that.

  Allowing his footsteps to take him where they wanted him to go, he wandered for another half an hour before the scent of roasting meat over an open flame shoved two fingers up his nose and pulled him along till he found its source.

  He didn’t have to wait long to find it.

  A woman with green eyes, skin the color of a croissant, and dark flowing hair stood in front of a fire pit with an animal that looked like a hog, but with four tusks instead of two sprouting out of its face.

  Francisco came to a stop in front of the woman and just stood staring, while fat dribbled into the flames causing it to pop and crackle.

  “You’re drooling.”

  The voice jerked him out of his daydream, and at the same time his stomach rumbled like thunder before a stormy night.

  “What animal is that?”

  “It’s called a crustahog.” Francisco looked at her blankly. “It is an animal found in the swamps around this part of the world. They taste like a mix of pig and carb. They breed like rabbits and are vicious to boot. One gouged my husband a few years back. Left him with a limp until he could see a healer.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Don’t be. He was an asshole.”

  “Was?”

  “Not dead, unfortunately. He left me to join the bastards who have been attacking us since this town went to shit.”

  “Was he part of the guards?”

  “Yeah. The guards loyal to the Archduke fought with everything they had, but it wasn’t enough. Once all hope was lost, the guard captain fled with his tail between his legs, and every other coward who either protected this town or could fight went with him. Now, the same pricks who should be defending us are stealing what little food we have and are trying to rape any female of age.”

  Francisco frowned. Was the universe filled with nothing but cowards?

  “Before you say anything,” said the woman, “I do not want your sympathy or pity.”

  “What do you want?” asked Francisco, eyes going back to the meat in front of him.

  “A good hard fuck.”

  Francisco choked as his head whipped her way, eyes locking onto hers. A playful grin danced on her lips.

  “Don’t tell me a big boy like you isn’t looking for a bit of fun?”

  Francisco took a step back as she invaded his space and rested her hand on his chest. “Listen, I don’t think right now is a good time to do this. I mean, you are obliviously in a state of shock, and while I do like a lady who is forward—”

  “There are no ladies here.”

  “While I do like a lady who is forward, it is not in my nature to take advantage of someone while they—”

  She stepped forward and grabbed his crotch. “Stop being such a pussy.”

  “Listen, madam, I’m just hungry. All I want to do is eat—”

  “You can eat this—”

  Childish laughter came from the small wooden house to their left as feet thundered their way. Two boys came bounding out of the open door of the house and rushed toward the woman, who separated herself from Francisco like he was a hot stove she had touched.

  “Mrs. Jones! Mrs. Jones! Mrs. Jones, JJ pushed me. JJ pushed me,” said the smaller of the two.

  “No, I didn’t. He got in the way when I was seeing how fast I could run—”

  “No. He’s lying! He pushed me because I went into his room without—” The smaller child stopped talking as his eyes went wide.

  Hand on hips, the woman loomed over the youngest child. “You went into his room without what?” The youngest boy’s eyes darted this way and that while he tried to think of an excuse. “You went into his room without asking? Was that what you were going to say?” No response. “Huh T.K.?”

  T.K. went to open his mouth but clamped it shut when Mrs. Jones gave him a look.

  “He also,” began JJ but stopped when Mrs. Jones turned her gaze on him.

  “Both of you come here.” The boys stood in front of her as she bent down, looking each of them in the eye. “I want you to listen to what I am about to say—and I want you to listen good. You need to take care of each other. Both of you were born a miracle. T.K., your mother was my best friend, and I promised her I’d look after you if anything happened. JJ, you’re my son. And I expect you to look after T.K. The three of us—we’re all we’ve got.”

  “But Mum—” JJ started before getting a clip around the ear.

  “I don’t want to hear it. Do you two understand how special you are? The chances of both of you being born on this planet, normal and healthy, are next to nothing. It’s almost impossible to make little ones on this planet, and those unfortunate parents who did are tasked with raising children who are—” The mother shook her head. “Anyway, what I am saying is, for all the bad that has fallen upon us lately, I have been blessed with two beautiful boys to look after. So don’t make my job any harder.”

  Francisco took in the boys and could see that wasn’t true. They were not completely healthy. There was something off with their facial features. They didn’t look quite right. It was as if someone molded a human face out of clay, who had only been told what a human looked like through writings.

  “Now,” said the mother, “why don’t you two boys go off and play? I’ll be in in a—”

  She never got to finish her sentence as the left side of her head exploded in gore, showering her children with blood and brain matter.