The Demon Lord And His Hero

The group of stone workers and their family members walked for two more days before they arrived at their destination. The quarry was far away from civilisation and there was nothing but forest and sky watching over it.

Artemus inwardly wept in relief at finally getting away from the old man whose life story now took up a chunk of space in his frazzled mind. The anti mage had never been subjected to such tortuous chatter that went on for several hours at a time. It was only during a meal break and sleep time that he found succour from the suffering that was designed by the devil himself.

"Son, why don't you join us?" The familiar voice called to him. "We're taking the largest cabin and we've got room for one more."

"No thank you," Artemus replied. He wasn't even trying to be polite about it anymore.

"Are you sure? My missus is a great cook you know. Did I tell you about how I convinced her to marry me? It happened a long time-"

"I have to go."

The anti mage made a beeline straight for the broken-down cabin that no one wanted. The wood was rotting and the roof had seen better days but anything was better than having to stay one more second by the old man's side.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Artemus jerked open the door and was met with a face full of dust. To make matters worse, the door fell off its hinges with a sad mourning sound.

"Great," he muttered with deep irritation that had been simmering for two days and was ready to blow up. "Now I dont even have a door."

________

"Enkansh, I'm trying to help you," Salem told the siren who had a long cut running down his arm. The blond alchemist wanted to pour some hemostatic on it but the siren had been insisting that it was unnecessary.

"It'll heal by itself."

A guilty-looking Riha stood behind Salem. He was sorry for having hurt the siren but his pride wasn't letting him say it. And he was sure that Enkansh was milking the situation by refusing medicine just to drive the guilt in harder when Riha would look at it.

"Bunch of juveniles you two are," Salem told them. "Just get married and leave the house so I won't have to deal with your petty fights and annoying grudges."

Both sea creatures made identical disgusted faces at Salem's suggestion. They were like oil and water, unable to get along for long periods of time.

"Shit-" they all heard Alka cursing loudly and then the sound of a cup breaking.

Salem let out a sigh and got up to head for the kitchen.

"What happened?" he asked the plant mage who had a frown on his face. Alka was staring at the floor where pieces of his broken cup sat in a spreading pool of juice.

"My brother needs me," Alka told Salem. He looked disturbed as he said the words.

The blond alchemist crouched at Alka's feet and began gathering the broken pieces. "How do you know that?" He asked because the plant mage wasn't saying more about it.

"This," Alka held up a bloodied ring. "Artemus gave it to me before leaving. He told me that if the ring were to hurt me, I should hand it over to the Sanguine and tell them he held its matching pair."

Salem was quiet as he considered what the ring could be telling them.

"I have to find Artemus," Alka told him. The plant mage sounded more pitched than usual.

"Wait, Alka," Salem grabbed the mage's arm. "What are you going to do?"

"Find my brother. Let me go!"

"No, wait. Alka, please," Salem pleaded gently. "I know you're worried and anxious but you need to stop and think things through. Artemus asked you to hand the ring over to the Sanguine for a reason. You don't even know where he is, Al."

The plant mage's chest rose and fell like he was breathing hard. Alka was aware he was having a panic attack right now. If Artemus was in trouble then it had to be something very terrible because his brother was one of the most resourceful people that existed in the world.

"Take the ring to the Sanguine, Alka." Salem's unblinking gaze bored into him. "Let's go right now."

The plant mage nodded. Salem was right. They needed to hand it over immediately.

____

"Shh," Artemus whispered to the child whose mouth was clamped shut by the pale hand pressed over it. They were both hiding under the floorboards where a narrow tunnel had been dug by some animal.

Above them, the wood creaked under the shifting weights of two ghouls who were sniffing the air like dogs. Their emaciated hairless forms were pale and greyish in colour. Bent and hunched over, one of the two walked on his fours across the room looking for the scent that had come out of the house. It's white and mostly blind eyes were closed as it tried to follow the smell of blood that hung around the room. Saliva dripped from its mouth crammed with large sharp teeth that had the strength to bite through bones.

Crack!

Artemus heard the sound of something breaking above them. The petrified girl in his arms jolted like a startled rabbit. She was shaking and shivering from the terror of knowing that the monsters were right above them, just separated by the floorboards and a carpet. Her small hands squeezed and dug into the anti mage's skin.

They were helpless and stuck under the floor till some help arrived or the ghouls just left on their own. Artemus could easily handle the two above them but he alone could not take out the large number of ghouls that had entered the quarry grounds. Escape remained a possibility but only if he left the child behind, an option that Artemus wasn't entertaining. It was the practical decision to make but the thought of leaving the girl behind, terrified and alone, was unacceptable to him.

The arrival of the ghouls had been a surprise attack late at night. The only reason that Artemus was still alive was because of his sharp senses. He was woken up from sleep late at night by the smell of rot that seemed to be getting stronger with every passing second. He'd tried to warn the others but it had been too late. When the monsters began swarming, he could only grab the child and escape under his room while the others were slaughtered and consumed.