《Sleeping Titan》


 Prologue: Forbidden Texts

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    Koro''s greatest regret was that he tried to find a better life.


    The dwarf had spent so many years certain that if he could just find some way to the island nation of Perechain, the last place his people could call home then maybe, justmaybehe might be freed from the shackles of working for some greasy elves in some stony city. But that dream was impossible for any dwarf who had ancestors foolish enough to stay on the continent, and he finally knew why no-one who tried to reach the island came back.


    Because as Koro ran from the slim channel that separated him from a life of freedom, he felt the ground underneath him stammer as the steely weight of a Golem crushed it underfoot.


    Koro shot his small, dark eyes back at the heaving, clanking beast behind him. He had never seen one up close before, and when the beasts were painted eating criminals they were all different, but they all had three things in common: they constantly were shrouded in clouds and clouds of steam, they had great iron limbs that stretched even beyond the barrier of mist, and they were very, very big. And now, looking back at this rolling mist with arms that crushed ancient trees like thin and young twigs, Koro finally understood why the elves worshipped these things in those locked-up cities of theirs.


    When Koro''s legs buckled under the weight of his own fear fell while the Golem kept rolling towards him, he saw a metallic arm reaching out to him from behind the fog. He turned to it, closed his eyes, and began to pray to the metal god for mercy. As the arm approached him, he went from praying silently to praying out loud to screaming terrified pleas to be spared. He hadn''t even believed that they were real before, but the elves seemed fine in their cities as long as they prayed to the Golems, so they must have mercy, right?


    But when a scalding, metal hand grabbed him, and he felt his own flesh burn away as he was dragged deeper and deeper into the fog, he knew that the mercy of the Golem had run dry. Completely desperate, he summoned what little magic he had left, and in his hand manifested a blade that glowed green with overwhelming heat, but as he swung it against the massive hand only a single, silent ember floated lightly from the iron finger. No miracle could change the fact that magic could not affect any machine. The last thing the dwarf saw was the hollow steel of the jaw of a deity, and the void that lay inside it.Stolen story; please report.


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    Haerin''s eyes were locked in shock on the yellowed out page of the book he had found behind five locked doors in his own home. The young elf knew it was trouble from the moment he laid eyes on it (after all, only a halfling book would be boundby handrather than by magic), but the ink-black words in the tome were far more troublesome than he thought it could possibly be. This was the story of a dwarf, travelling from the slums of an elven city to the shores of Khalas, almost tasting the free dwarven land of Perechain, only to be consumed by a Golem. The Golem wasn''t merciful to the young fool, but seemed void of emotion, completely different to the powerful sentinels of justice that destroyed those who committed sins against The Emperor. It wasn''t just a tale of a dwarf committing treason and trying to escape his home, it was a tale of heresy. Just touching this meant he was practically already in the belly of a vindictive god. Even worse, he found himself enjoying, no,needingthese heretic''s ravings. It explained so much, so much of the fate of his siblings, so much about how he constantly was suffocating on the narrow road he was forced upon, so much about... what freedom really was. It didn''t belong to the Empire, or even the dwarves really, but it was rather completely and utterly dead. He''d only known of the book''s existence for perhaps two or three hours, but it felt like it had already become a part of him that he simply couldn''t afford to lose.


    Haerin finally tore his eyes away from the dark manuscript. It was too dangerous to leave it in his house, but he couldn''t bring himself to destroy something that seemed more valuable than his own wretched soul. Trying to ditch it somewhere far away wouldn''t work either, he''d had old friends leaving such dark tales in the furthest wastelands of the Southern Wilds andstillbeing fed to the Golems. There was only a single final solution, and no matter how foolhardy and futile it might be, it was the only microscopic chance at survival he had.


    He resolved to run far, far away from the Empire, not to the mad, elven south, but to the north, to Perechain.

 Act I, Chapter I: Forbidden Knowledge

    A guard stood behind Haerin as he stood behind the single worst man in the world. Aganheian, who called himself Haerin''s father, sat before him cross-legged behind the steel bars of a jail cell. The air hung between the pair like a condemned body swinging limply on a rope. As Haerin locked his eyes with the man, he noticed what years behind stone walls did to a man. His skin was thinly stretched across a skeletal figure covered in dirty rags. His hair had grown long and wispy, his face was sallow and papery, and he could only be described as a shadow of his former self. But he still carried that eternal grin with him him, the one that made you realise he knew what you were thinking and was mocking you for it, that made Haerin want to punch him so badly.


    "It''s about time you showed up," the man rasped. Heiran clenched his jaw. Don''t act as if we''re best friends, old man.


    "I''m not here to chat, Aganheian, I''m here to tell you that you''ve ruined my life and I hope you get fed to a Golem."


    "You''re not meant to call your own father by your first name."


    "I have no father," Haerin shot back. "I''ve only got some pisshead who gambled away his wife, killed a man because he was bitter over losing and ended up in jail."


    Aganheian shrugged. "I''m not dead, though. Do you know what happened to the rest of our family? They were all just as bad as me, but they all got caught doing heinous crimes against the Emperor''s will and were executed immediately, while I still have a few months until that. So in a way, doesn''t that mean I-"


    Haerin, who was sick and tired of hearing excuses from this disgusting waste, suddenly shot his arm through the metal bars and grabbed Aganheian by his ragged shirt, yanking the skeleton of an elf closer. "Listen closely," Haerin whispered into his ears. "I found a dangerous book in our house. I came here because I need to flee to Perechain, or else I''m dead. You''re helping me."


    Aganheian replied with a voice softer than silk, but rougher than coal. "What''s in it for me?"


    Haerin began to smile. He took his hand off of Aganheian''s rags and instead wrapped it around his throat. Aganheian chuckled. "You''re not going to kill me, are you? I''m condemned to judgement by the Golems. Killing me means you''ll be taking its meal, so you''ll have to take my place instead. Can''t have ''em going hungry, you know."


    "That book," Haerin whispered again, "had forbidden knowledge. Dwarven knowledge. Are you feeling it yet?"


    Aganheian''s grin slowly began to vanish. "Haerin," he said shakily, "please don''t do this."


    "I can stop at any time I want, but I''m just waiting for you to..."


    "Haerin, please don''t take away my magic." Tears began welling up in his eyes.


    Haerin tutted. "You know what happens to those who survive a Golem, don''t you? They almost never have their magic anymore. Instead of dying quickly, they slowly succumb to attack by a thousand different diseases. Every heartbeat feels like needles are being pumped through your veins. You go mad from being unable to sleep because of the constant pain, and after a year of torment you finally turn into dust. I''d love to inflict that fate onto you, but there''s something I asked for..."


    "There''s a halfling here who calls himself Temujin. He''s a walking freak, you can''t miss him. He got himself in jail but he''s only got a month sentence for carrying a sword without a permit. He''s a traveller, not especially smart, but if you bust him out no-one will notice. He can help you." He confessed with such fear in his trembling, wailing voice, than Haerin knew for certain that he was too scared to lie.


    Haerin took away his hand. "There it is. I''ll be merciful."


    Aganheian rubbed his neck, sighing in relief as he did so. "Magic absorption, huh? Dwarves really are barbarians."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Haha," Haerin said loudly. "You''re an illiterate piece of shit."


    Aganheian had a look Haerin had never seen on him before. He looked surprised. "What do you mean?"


    "If you had spent any time in school, you would know that magic absorption is physically impossible. Magic only enters your body through food and water."


    "Then how were you taking my-"


    "I wasn''t, idiot. Dwarves invented deception magic. That was what was in the book. I never hurt you, I merely tricked you."


    "I still don''t-"


    "Of course you don''t get it. I got my smarts from mother, not you. Let me make it clear." Haerin grabbed Aganheian''s chin and turned his head towards him. He spoke like he was talking to a child. "I created a sensation in your neck that felt like magic was leaving you, when it never actually was. Do you get it now?"


    Aganheian, who had been in shock and fear up until now, suddenly began to laugh to Haerin''s surprise. "You really didn''t get your smarts from me," he said. "But you know what you did get from me?"


    Haerin raised an eyebrow. "What?"


    "You''re an unbelievable asshole. I''m proud of you, kid."


    Haerin shoved Aganheian away from him, causing him to crash into the wall behind him. "I''m no asshole compared to the man who got his wife in the whorehouse because he can''t hide his tells for shit."


    Aganheian simply rose up from the floor, smiling, and said once again, "I''m proud of you."


    And so, to keep himself from killing his own father, Haerin turned his collar away from him and to the guard, who he saw had been sleeping against the wall the entire encounter between them. Haerin quietly crept past the guard, leaving his father behind him, and went for the one person who could help him. Temujin.


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    Where the hell is he?


    Haerin had been wandering around the prison for at least an hour at this point, ducking behind walls for cover from guards every other turn. He was sick and tired of it, and he still hadn''t caught a glimpse of the halfling Aganheian was talking about, Temujin. To be honest, he hadn''t even told him anything about the halfling apart from that he''s a travelling freak who carries a sword. What kind of barbarian would you have to be to carry a sword around with you? He was about to give up, until-


    Oh. So that''s the freak.


    Haerin had just caught the eye of a man, the size of a tall halfling (shorter than an elf, but taller than a dwarf), wearing strange clothes and a strange face. He wore short boots that only went up to the ankle, trousers with a red stripe that went down each leg, an odd red garment that looked thicker than a shirt and went all the way up to his neck with a white belt as fastening and a sharp, hard face that glared him right in the eye. His hair wasn''t brown like a dwarf''s or blond like an elf''s, but a jet black colour Haerin had never imagined was possible on hair to begin with. His gaze was drilling into Haerin''s resolve like a general drills his troops, and his large body only added to the feeling that Haerin was being judged. Halflings were meant to be half elf, half dwarf, but he didn''t look like either. He looked like something else entirely, from a different place and a different time, but he had to be halfling - what else would he be? This was undoubtedly Temujin. Quite frankly, a freak.


    Haerin carefully walked towards the man, trying not to offend him as he met his steely grey eyes. As he approached, Temujin raised an eyebrow.


    "What do you want?" Temujin asked. He spoke with a rough and coarse voice, alongside an equally rough and coarse accent that Haerin had never heard of before.


    Haerin leaned towards the bars. "I''ve got a proposition for you. I can bust you out of here, but in return I need you to help me out."


    Temujin''s hard face softened a little. "Alright, I''m interested, but what do you need?"


    "I''ve recently gotten possession of a rather dangerous book. I don''t want to destroy it and the only place I can dispose of it is on Perechain. I need you to help me get there, traveller."


    Temujin''s face went blank. "You''re going to have to tell me a little more about Perechain."


    "What do you need to know?" Haerin asked, perplexed.


    "Where exactly is it and how far away is it?"


    Oh. Oh. It seemed to Haerin that this Temujin was no ordinary traveller. He was a wanderer, a traveller without any real clue of where he was going. This might be a problem for navigation, however...


    "Oh, it''s an island that''s not too far away from here." If you define not too far away as on the other side of the continent.


    Temujin shrugged. "I don''t see any reason as to not, I suppose. What''s your name?"


    "Call me Haerin."


    "Well, Haerin," Temujin said, stretching out a palm to him. "It''s a pleasure to meet you."


    Haerin raised an eyebrow. This freak seemed to be insane as well, handing his hand over to Haerin for no apparent reason. "What are you doing?"


    "Um..." Temujin looked hard at his hand. "I don''t actually know. I just did it." He pulled his hand back. "Anyways, what''s the plan for getting me out?"


    "You use a sword, don''t you?"


    "Yeah, I do."


    Haerin grinned. "Then you might as well already be free."

 Act I, Chapter II: Only One Thing

    Getting the sword back was meant to be child''s play. Haerin would simply stalk the oblivious head guard into his chancery, stay hidden behind a corner until he left, dash into the room and begin rummaging around to find the elusive blade. Unfortunately for him, things weren''t as simple as he planned them out to be.


    It started off alright; Haerin managed to follow the head guard without being caught, silently creeping behind the towering armoured elf as he did so. He tailed him all the way to the prison''s chancery, where he hid behind one of the corners of the winding, thin halls of the prison. He even managed to dash into the room after the head guard left. But that was when things began to go awry, because the moment Haerin found Temujin''s sword in a chest of contraband on the floor of the chancery, he heard a voice behind him.


    "You seriously didn''t think I wouldn''t be able to notice you, child?" It was the gruff voice of a battle-hardened soldier. The head guard.


    Haerin slowly turned around to find him standing in the doorway, a cocky grin on his face. Shit.


    "I won''t lie, you were very hard to notice. I never managed to see you, but I did manage to hear you." The guard put a finger to his ear. "I enhanced my hearing with magic, you see. I''m very thorough when it comes to trespassers like you. That''s why I was made head guard."


    Haerin rose from the chest, clutching the scabbard of Temujin''s sword as hard as his heart pounded in his chest. He looked the head guard straight in the eye. "Is that so?"


    "Indeed. No prisoner has escaped the wrath of the Golems here thanks to me."


    "Perhaps," Haerin said shakily, "To thank you for your service to the Golems, I should send you straight to the Engineers'' doorstep?" He gripped the cool metal of the hilt and began to draw out the blade clumsily, the curved, long sword screeching against the metal scabbard as it was roughly dragged against it. The guard laughed and drew nearer to Haerin, taking out a circular piece of metal etched with strange markings from within his breastplate; a magic circle, ready to be charged and release a powerful attack, infinitely stronger than any magic one could perform by hand.


    "Are you trying to pick a fight with me? You don''t look like any soldier at all, and you certainly can''t use that sword let alone a magic circle. Drop the weapon, child. You can''t fight against me."


    Haerin slowly began to walk towards the guard as he tried to hold the heavy halfling weapon up, with its scabbard in his other hand. The guard laughed again, before holding up the circle and approaching his foe. "I''m giving you one more chance. This magic circle is called sunfire. The flames it summons causes burns that will overwhelm you with such torment that your vision will blacken, and it will never ease. It''s can literally blind you through pain. You''re holding a sword you can barely lift, let alone swing. So, are you still going to fight me?"


    Haerin tried to point the curved blade at the guard without it falling. "Of course. In fact, my plan has already succeeded. I''ve already won."


    The guard raised an eyebrow. "What plan? What ingenious idea could you possibly have to defeat someone who''s ten times stronger than you in every way?"


    "There''s really only one thing I could do in this situation," Haerin replied calmly as he walked around the guard in what looked like a feeble attempt to be threatening.


    "And that is?"


    My back''s to the open doorway, idiot. What else would I do?


    Haerin grinned. "Run the hell away."


    And with that, Haerin sprinted straight out of the chancery, clutching the sword and scabbard and leaving a bewildered guard behind him. He knew he didn''t have much time until the other guards would find him, so he would have to get to Temujin as quickly as possible. There was only one thing he could do when he had at least fifty well-trained soldier-guards searching for him when he was now officially a criminal, and that was to grab Temujin and run as far away as he could, to Perechain.


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    Forgetting all notions of stealth, Haerin''s footsteps rang loudly across the floors of the vast prison as he dashed towards Temujin''s cell, sword in hand. His shallow breaths echoed through the winding, thin halls of the prison and tiny beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, and not before long, guards began to respond. Their voices began to boom around sharp, tight corners, demanding Haerin to halt, and at one point he even saw a pillar of shining sunfire erupt from just around the corner, barely licking his skin with bright, white embers. Eventually the painful torture came to a close, as Haerin almost laughed in relief when he saw Temujin lounging around in his jail cell.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Haerin suddenly thrust Temujin''s sword through the bars of the jail cell, much to Temujin''s surprise who hadn''t even noticed Haerin.


    "Cut through them," Haerin said, his voice raspy from the air being roughly dragged against his throat when he was running.


    Temujin had a bewildered look on his face as he took the sword. "What are you-"


    "Cut through the bars. We don''t have time."


    "If we don''t have time, then why are we using the slowest method to get out of here possible? It would take me at least five minutes to cut through these."


    "How else are we going to-" Haerin''s eye''s suddenly widened as an idea struck him like lightning. "Actually, you''re right. It would take far too long to cut through these. And hand magic would be too weak to cut through these, I''d need a magic circle. However..."


    Just at that moment, the head guard dashed by the corner, locking his eyes onto Haerin with hatred boiling in them.


    "THERE HE IS!" The head guard screamed. "I''ve found you, cowardly boy. Your type makes me sick, too scared and weak to fight straight on."


    Perfect timing.


    "Well," Haerin replied calmly and softly, "I don''t really think I''m the coward here, am I?"


    "You ran away! I couldn''t care less if you challenged me, or surrendered, but instead you chose to flee like a little bitch! Do you know how annoying it is to chase a rat down while you''re trying to kill it?"


    "But wouldn''t the trained soldier who challenged a young unarmed civilian to a fight be the coward?"


    "Why, you..."


    The soldier ripped the sunfire magic circle out of his breastplate, his face contorted with rage as he did so. The magic circle began glowing as it was magical energy flowed through it, charging it up as it amplified it into the power of the sun. Its white light grew and grew, until it finally released it all in a powerful white pillar of flames, hurtling right towards Haerin.


    Looks like this guy really is an idiot.


    Haerin quickly dodged out of the way of the deadly attack, causing it to hurtle right past him and instead hit what he was standing in front of: Temujin''s cell bars. After barely an instant passed, the flames had eaten it''s way right through the bars, leaving a smouldering, molten mess of the bars and a free halfling swordsman behind as the head guard watched in horror. Temujin rose from the ground of the cell, holding his sword in his left hand, and stepped right through. He grinned at Haerin.


    "You''re pretty smart, mate. I would''ve never thought of that." He pointed his sword at the head guard, now shaking in fear. "You beat him. Say something to your foe."


    Haerin had no idea what to say, so he simply said what came to his head first. "Uh... fuck you, you''re stupid."


    Temujin gave Haerin a slightly disappointed look. "Really? You just completely outsmarted this enemy and you''re just going to swing childish insults at him? To each his own, I suppose." Temujin drew closer to the head guard, raising his curved, long blade towards him. "Now then, I''m going to leave with my friend, Haerin here, and you won''t stop us. Okay?"


    The head guard shakily rose his sunfire circle again, and a glow began to sputter across it, but before he could release another fiery attack Temujin had already plunged his sword right through his neck, and the glow faded away as the guard went limp. Haerin felt sick as Temujin drew the sword away and the guard''s body slumped over, the life within it long gone as blood spilled from the deep gash. Temujin sighed regretfully. "Your persistence is exemplary, but it ultimately led to your death. My apologies," he mumbled. He turned to Haerin. "Could you give me my scabbard?"


    Haerin tried to forget what had just happened as he handed Temujin the scabbard he had been holding. Temujin muttered his thanks as he attached the scabbard to his hip and put the sword in it, the tip still wet with blood. Temujin turned to Haerin and his face went from solemn to anxious. "Haerin, are you feeling okay? You look a little pale after that."


    "No... I''m just totally fine..." Haerin lied. In reality, he wanted to tear out his boiling, aching stomach, but he had to ignore it until they were safely out of the city. But despite this, Haerin still felt like his skull was made of air and his eyelids heavier than lead, and before he knew it he had...


    Crap. I''m blacking out.


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    Haerin''s head felt like someone was plunging a sword right through it.


    "Haerin, are you awake?"


    The raspy voice sounded like it belonged to Temujin. Haerin rose from what felt like grass to find Temujin sitting next to him.


    "I''m sorry about that. Seeing someone die like that for the first time can be pretty shocking."


    "Hu...Huh? Wait, we were in the prison, right? Where are we-" Realisation dawned on Haerin. "Oh. Oh."


    Temujin grinned. "It was tricky, but I managed to dash us both out of the city."


    Sure enough, the grand tall walls that kept the city safe from the Golems'' holy wrath stood before them. They were right outside of the prison that had held Haerin for so long.


    "I''m actually glad you''ve come around so quickly. They might send someone to search for us."


    Haerin rose to his feet. "Yeah, you''re right. We should get going. Perechain is north of here, it''s past noon and the sun is over there, so..." Haerin pointed towards a large, open rolling field. "That way."


    Temujin looked towards where Haerin was pointing. "I''ve never gone in that direction before. Do you know what there is over there?"


    "No clue. We''re about to find out."

 Act I, Chapter III: The Seer

    The city that lay some twenty miles away from Haerin''s hometown was just a little different. As he walked through its cobbled roads with the halfling Temujin at his side, Haerin noticed the streets were a bit wider, there were a few more people out and the houses seemed shorter. The biggest difference, however, was probably that every grown man was carrying a weaponized magic circle.


    Hanging at every man''s hip were tiny iron circles with magic carvings etched into them, just like the late head guard''s sunfire attack, and since they were all iron they must all be military grade; in other words, they were designed to hurt people. But an entire city of people, any of whom could be desperate, twisted, vengeful, or even just plain bored, meant that every man holding a weapon would very easily go bad very quickly. There had to be something that kept these people in line, and whatever it was it was certainly dangerous. What was especially eerie was that he hadn''t seen a single imperial soldier after walking around town with Temujin all day, meaning that whatever power kept these people scared enough from breaking out into total anarchy was also strong enough to suppress even the Empire itself.


    "Hey, Haerin," Temujin said quietly as they walked down a street. "Don''t you think it''s a little odd that everyone here is carrying those magic circle things?"


    Haerin sighed. "Did you honestly just notice?"


    "N-no, but since you didn''t seem to care I just thought it was something... normal?" Temujin blurted.


    Haerin groaned in annoyance. "Why in the Engineers'' names would carrying around weapons of war be something everyone does?"


    "Sorry, but I haven''t really travelled that far myself, y''know, so I don''t really know what''s normal in these lands."


    "Lies!" Haerin exclaimed. "I only busted you out because you''re a traveller. If you had no experience, I would''ve left you in there."


    Temujin went quiet for a second.


    "You would''ve left me to rot if I wasn''t an experienced traveller, huh?" He turned to Haerin, his face blank and showing no emotion. "Then you ought to ditch me now."


    Haerin''s eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you-"


    "Listen, it''s true that for the past two years I''ve been wandering, but I spent a year before that as a village idiot. And that''s because three years ago I woke up with no memories, not even how to talk."


    Haerin almost tripped in shock. "A-are you serious? But you still know your name!"


    The halfling grinned. "Temujin isn''t my real name." He pointed to the blade at his hip. "It''s this thing''s name, the one thing I could remember."


    Haerin''s face went slack as he stopped walking, to Temujin''s confusion.


    "Uhh... what are you doing?" Temujin asked, bewildered.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Haerin slowly raised a finger to point right at Temujin, before opening his mouth.


    "You''re... a..." Haerin began to snicker. "Bloody whiffle."


    "Y''know, I heard people calling me that a lot, but I still have no clue what it means."


    "It means you''re a bloody dumb freak who does dumb freak things. Seriously, what self-respecting man would name himself after his sword?" Haerin''s snickering grew louder, into the kind of chittering noise that would gnaw into your skull if left unchecked.


    "When you put it that way," Temujin let out a little laugh. "Yeah, you''re right, it does sound stupid, doesn''t it?" He began laughing louder as well, and sure enough, an elf was laughing with an escaped halfling convict carrying a sword in the middle of a populated city road like a pair of dying rabid seals, and suddenly a city of armed folk didn''t seem so bizarre anymore.


    Sure enough, they drew attention from pedestrians nearby who were perplexed as to why there were two grown men howling in the middle of the street, and they eventually piqued a rather dangerous someone''s interest.


    A dwarf, reaching only Temujin''s shoulder, approached the pair who were still laughing uncontrollably. He wore clothes a deep violet that seemed a little too expensive for someone who''s rank in an imperial Elven city was stuck at ''knave'', and he didn''t carry any weapons at his hip unlike everyone else. His face was lean, clean-shaven and handsome, but his eyes seemed tired, almost dead inside. He wasn''t here to laugh. He was here for something else.


    "I''m sorry," he said with a low and rich voice. "But I''m afraid I''m going to have to ask you to stop laughing."


    They didn''t stop. The dwarf raised a bushy, brown eyebrow.


    "I''m also going to have to confiscate that sword of yours."


    Before Haerin could even process what had happened, Temujin had already stopped laughing and had his sword''s blade right up to the dwarf''s throat, who had raised something up to his neck to defend himself, something small, almost paper thin... a card?


    "Hey Temujin," Haerin called out. "Don''t kill the guy, just hurt him a little so he gets knocked out. I don''t want to have to deal with more cities looking for our heads."


    But Temujin didn''t budge. He still had the sword up to the dwarf''s card, and his jaw was clenched with beads of sweat running down his face, but no matter how much he appeared to struggle the sword stayed there, just out of reach from victory.


    "I can''t... budge it... any closer..." He groaned.


    The dwarf looked at Temujin with a perhaps disappointed look, although that might just have been his neutral expression. "Are you really going to charge straight at me with no thought? There''s no fun in that for you or me. It''s a shame that I have to kill you too. I''m certain you both would have been excellent customers."


    Customers?


    "Oh," The dwarf said, looking past Temujin right into Haerin''s eyes with a dead glance. "I know you''re confused. I suppose you can call me a member of an outlaw''s guild. We run the city, not the Empire, and we get money by trading weapons the Empire would never give you, like these magic circle cards. They conduct magic thirty times better than steel, you know."


    "H-How could you tell I was-"


    "It''s written all over your face. I''m a seer, you see. I see patterns others don''t, and I use those patterns to make magic circles. I''m very perceptive."


    Temujin was still trying to force his blade into the seer''s neck, taking heaving, gasping breaths as he did so. "Dammit... I''ve never... seen... magic... so powerful!"


    The dwarf looked annoyed. Or perhaps it was just his neutral face. "You''re quite the dullard, seeing how you haven''t realised that sheer force is never going to work. Oh, well. I guess fighting a halfling would be boring, wouldn''t it? Your kind can''t use magic." He moved to the side, sending Temujin flying as all his weight pushed him forward and almost ending in him hitting the hard, jagged cobble beneath them. The seer drew closer to Haerin.


    "But you... you''re a lot smarter than him, aren''t you? I can tell. I think I should deal with you first." He reached into his pocket to reveal a deck, at least thirty cards large, with magic circles written into them with shimmering dark ink. Thirty different ways the Seer could kill Haerin, but also...


    Thirty fatal flaws, one for every card.

 Act I, Chapter IV: The Engineers Eye

    And thus the noble, ancient Engineers, with their all-seeing eyes, looked into the earth and found ores of iron, which they heated with fire to create steel, the same steel that makes the Golems'' impenetrable skin.


    <hr>


    Temujin was on the floor behind the criminal guild''s seer, and somehow he''d managed to fail tokill him not once, but twice.


    His blade batted uselessly once again against the paper-thin magic circle that was at the powerful dwarf''s neck, and as Haerin watched the events unfolding before him, his mind raced for a solution out of this predicament. His eyes darted around as he looked for something, anything that he might be able to use, but all around him was nothing but a thin street of a sprawling Imperial city, with dirt-sodden houses and confused bystanders walking past-


    Hold on. Bystanders.


    Haerin ran from his place rooted behind Temujin, causing the poor halfling to give away ground in surprise and tossing him down yet again. He groaned in annoyance, and desperately chucked his blade right at the dwarf while he was looking away. The seer sighed as he raised a card to the back of his head, and when the blade hit it, instead of slicing the seer''s skull in half it... disappeared. Almost like it had been eaten up whole by the tiny card it should have sliced through.


    "I''m holding your sword in this card for safekeeping," the dwarf explained to Temujin, who stared at the empty space that his sword once occupied. "I can''t have you swinging this around. That''s unsafe for our people, you know."


    "H-how did you-"


    "How did I notice the sword when you threw it behind me?" The dwarf smiled as he turned to Temujin. A terrifying, hollow shell of a smile, with no joy or goodwill behind it. "I have a power that lets me see pretty much anything I want." He tapped his forehead and a card fell from it, revealing a magic circle carved into his head''s flesh, scarring it to form a perfect, geometric design dug into it. "It''s a magic circle that runs in my family line, called the Engineer''s Eye. It gives me a few benefits, one of them being able to perceive all my nearby surroundings. By the way..." He turned to Haerin, who was watching this as he tried to creep away. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you plotting, over there?"


    Haerin ran behind a young man who had been watching intently the whole time, and he was pretty sure he would be too immersed in the action to notice being knocked out by magic flowing through his skull. Thankfully, he didn''t seem to care much as Haerin poured as much energy as he could right through his brain and he collapsed into a heap. Haerin crouched down to sift through his belt and grabbed what he needed: the iron magic circles that the man had been holding. He only had three circles, ten times less than the cards that the seer had. He pushed his energy through each of them in an attempt to see what each of them did.


    The first circle began glowing and sparking, shaking in Haerin''s hand as it grew hotter and hotter than fire until it eventually -


    Did nothing. Haerin was too weak to use it.


    He tossed it aside, a little annoyed, and reached for the second circle, while Temujin was trying to land a hit on the seer with his bare fists, who simply dodged them like a knife slicing paper, no matter the angle Temujin came from. Haerin surged his power through the second circle as he grabbed it.


    It began to get cold, very cold, colder than ice, so cold that it could''ve frozen fire, and -


    Nothing happened. Haerin was too weak to use it.


    "Shit."


    He threw it aside. It seemed that he was watching Haerin the whole time, and had done nothing. He was mocking him. Haerin yanked the final circle, blasting all his strength and focus into his last chance until his bones began to ache like hell.


    It began to not only glow and shake and spark like the first one, but it also began to spin like a top on Haerin''s palm, spinning faster and faster until it -


    Burst into dust. Haerin overwhelmed it with power.


    He tried to throw the dust at the seer as frustration bubbled in his chest, but the wind carried it away. All of them seemed useless, and either way, the dwarf would see what was coming at him and dodge. No, what he needed was something that would take him by surprise, so much that he couldn''t fight back, like one of those weapons in the dark book he had that the dwarves used all those years ago when they roamed the land free -Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Wait. That''s it.


    Haerin scrambled for the magic circle that had gone hot in his hand and put a fingertip to it, putting everything he had right through it. As he expected, it began to spark and glow again, and this time the metal began to soften with the increased power Haerin was shooting through it. The circle began to deform, and as it did so, Haerin felt that his magic no longer could course through the grooves dug into the metal. It was nothing more than a piece of scrap.


    Haerin grinned.Perfect.


    Carefully, he began applying his magic not through the deformed, red-hot metal, butontoit, waving his hands over it. As he concentrated on his hand magic, the metal began to reform, the bent grooves in it disappearing as it began to elongate, flatten, and eventually have a bend right in the middle. It looked odd, to say the least, something you couldn''t intuitively tell how to use, and definitely didn''t look like what it was meant to be - a weapon. He took the icy magic circle and used it to cool down his creation that he forged from scrap. Carefully, Haerin took aim at the dwarf with it, pulling his arm back before using all his force to throw it at him, and -


    It flew short of the seer. Haerin''s limbs were too scrawny to throw it far enough.


    Temujin, who had been trying to land a single punch on the dwarf the entire time, suddenly stopped as he saw the metal weapon clatter to the ground. A grin spread across his face as he stooped down to collect it.


    "Haerin..." He muttered. "I''ve been fighting all this time, and you were making this?" He chuckled. "You really are something, you know."


    Haerin felt his face become red hot with rage at Temujin''s insolence. "The hell''s that supposed to mean? I''ve been trying to defeat him with my head, not throw meaningless punches like you, asshole!" He yelled.


    "Hey, hey, calm down now. I didn''t mean that as an insult. I''m actually very impressed. How did you know how to make one of these?" He began swinging the weapon around like a child playing with a toy sword at being a halfling bandit.


    "Quit playing around with that," Haerin snapped. "It''s not something you can use, anyways. It''s no blade."


    "Au contraire, mon ami," Temujin said, his wide grin momentarily fading as he tried to process what seemed to be his own words. "Uh... I don''t know exactly what I just said, but what I meant to say was that Idoknow how to use this thing. It''s..."


    He tossed it, far, far away, and completely missed. The seer sighed -


    And then was bludgeoned squarely in the head with a metallic clang as the weapon came right back into Temujin''s hand, falling as blood began to pour from his skull. The poor fool hadn''t considered that the weapon might fight twice in one throw.


    "A boomerang!"


    <hr>


    The fight had managed to last a ridiculous amount of time, and now that the sun had set it was only Temujin and Haerin outside, underneath the blanket of the stars, with the body of the mighty seer at their feet. Temujin bent down to the unconscious body of the dwarf, reaching into his pockets. Haerin raised an eyebrow.


    "You''re mugging him?" He asked.


    "Oh, good Lord, no," Temujin said as he sifted through the fallen seer''s pockets. "We''re notthatdesperate for money, are we?"


    "We''re not right now, but we might be later," Haerin said, deadly serious. "You should take any coins you find, just in case."


    Temujin sighed. "All right, fine. But just so you know, we''re not going to make a habit out of this, so don''t go - " Temujin stopped mid-sentence as he began to smile. "There it is." He took out a card from the dwarf''s pocket, a card with a magic circle on one side and a design identical to Temujin''s sword on the other. Temujin handed Haerin the magic circle. "Haerin, take my blade out of the card for me, would you?"


    Normally, Haerin would just tell someone who''d ask such a favour to do it themselves, but since Temujin was a halfling with no ability to use magic, he decided to be generous. He took the card from the Temujin and began to pour his magic through it. He intended to put everything he had through it for such a powerful circle, but to his surprise, the sword fell out with almost no effort. Haerin yelped pulled his foot back just in time to keep it from being impaled by the sharp blade. Temujin poorly stifled a laugh.


    "Shut up," Haerin muttered. "Let''s get out of this town. I doubt they''d be friendly to us if they found out we''d - "


    "We''ve already found out," a voice boomed at the pair. Temujin dropped the seer''s body and scrambled for his sword, while Haerinfroze still. Chuckles emanated from the voice''s owner at the end of the street, shrouded in the dark blue hue of the night.


    "Don''t worry. I''m here to congratulate you for outsmarting one of ourmen. That''s one of the highest ranking members of our little criminal guild, y''know. So drop the sword, won''t you?"


    Haerin looked at Temujin, who shook his head. "We don''t know anything about this guy," Haerin whispered. Temujin gripped the blade harder, his knuckles white against the hilt.


    "Alright, if you want, you can hold that thing. But at least give us our pal Sokrin you knocked out over there."


    Haerin narrowed his eyes. "And why should we give him to you?"


    "Well, it''ll be an act of goodwill to him, won''t it? You are going to be taking him to Perechain, after all."

 Act I, Chapter V: The Great Tempter of All

    Haerin hated taverns, and this one, which the shadowy figure had led him and Temujin to, was no exception.


    They were all full of noisy sods who hadn''t done a day of honest work in their life, insteadchoosing to drink and gamble themselves to death. Apatronwas just some lazy bastard who decided to toss their family into the gutter while they''d drink glass after glass until they''d pass out, wake up, and start all over again. Temujin seemed to be enjoying himself, happily ordering drinks for all three of them, but Haerin most certainly wasn''t. Only the humble Elven bartender deserved his respect, but this one gave him the creeps; he just seemed a bit too happy for all the men whose lives were being destroyed before his eyes, and his gaze felt strange... intoxicating, addictive, in a way. But Haerin just shrugged it off as paranoia - the bartender was probably just glad that business was booming, and unlike all the middle-aged, pasty, fat, illiterate idiots that loafed at the tables, his face was a little nicer to look at than all these oafs.


    The seer named Sokrin lyingon the floor next to Haerin groaned as he began to stir, and Haerin sighed in relief. "Glad you decided to wake up," he muttered. "Thought that fanaga might''ve put you to sleep for good."


    The dwarf shook his head as he tried to regain his bearings, his eyes slowly gliding around the room as he tried to take it all in. He put a hand to his head but suddenly took it away as though he realised something. He looked left and right to find Haerin and Temujin sitting above him on tall stools, before shooting up from the ground, somehow managing not to stumble.


    He reached into his pockets, but then he raised an accusatory finger at Haerin. "You," he said venomously. "You destroyed my cards."


    Haerin shrugged. "You know I had to do it," he replied. "I can''t have you whipping them out to attack me once you woke up, and it looks like that was your first thought, wasn''t it?"


    Sokrin narrowed his eyes. "You saw right through me. Twice. That''smy job. Who are you? And where''s that... boomerang thing that you made?"


    "Oh yeah," Haerin said, turning to Temujin, whose knuckles were white as they gripped his sword''s hilt and he suspiciously eyed the tiny dwarf. "You called the fanaga that weird word I''ve never heard before,boomerang, and you began speaking some odd words that I didn''t recognise. What''s up with that?"


    But Temujin gave no response.


    Haerin pressed on, a little annoyed. "Hey buddy, I asked you a - "


    "I''ll tell you later. First, we have to make sure this man won''t pull a fast one on us."


    "I burnt his cards on the way here," Haerin explained. "There''s no way he can attack us."


    Temujin raised an eyebrow. "You sure? No concealed grenades, no landmines, no chance of a cleverly hidden cannon?"


    "What the hell are any of those things? I''ve never heard of them!" Haerin protested.


    "Uh... I don''t... know..." Temujin''s eyes clouded over in confusion, much like they did when he began speaking gibberish back when they were fighting Sokrin. "Anyways, you''re entirely sure there''s no chance he''ll lash out at us?"


    "Yes. Now take your hand away from the damn sword."


    Temujin chuckled as he relaxed his grip on his hilt, the gleam returning to his eyes. "I suppose you''ve never been wrong in the short time I''ve known you, so I''ll believe you when you say this Sokrin fellow can''t hurt us. Speaking of which," he turned to the shady man in dark blue who had led them to this grimy post-midnight ruckus of a tavern. "Who areyou? Who''s Sokrin? And why haven''t you said a word to us since we got here?"


    The figure sighed, his face concealed behind a ridiculously large hood.Haerin wondered how the bloody hell he could see anything with that thing in front of his face, but he decided to keep these thoughts to himself.


    "I haven''t said anything ''cos I was waiting for Sokrin to wake up. It''s important for him to hear what I''m about to say, and I don''t like wasting my breath, y''know? Sokrin over here is one of our agents of investigation, he gets all the information we need to keep the city running."


    Haerin raised an eyebrow. "He''s pretty stupid for someone who''s meant to handle intelligence. Didn''t think twice about the fanaga I was making while he was playing around with Temujin."


    Sokrin yawned. "I was simply mocking you because I didn''t think I needed to use more of the Engineer''s Eye. It''s exhausting, you know. But if I wanted to, I could have looked into your head."


    "Really?" Haerin challenged. "What am I thinking right now?" Haerin promptly began to focus on the most revolting thing he could to give the nosy dwarf a jump.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The seer closed his eyes, and the Engineer''s Eye on his forehead began to glow a light blue. "You''refocusing on an old man in a cell, from the same jail that you got Temujin from. But you''re also thinking how you''ll completely destroy me with his image. Just so you know, it didn''t work. You should have more respect for your parents, you know, especially your father."


    Haerin reeled back from Sokrin''s casual revelation. He was too impressed to be pissed off. He''d have to save it for later.


    "Damn. You got me."


    "As I was saying," the hooded figure continued, "I''m a messenger agent. I transport information around the criminal guild."


    "Okay, but why are you making us bring the psychic dwarf over here with us? And how did you know we were going to Perechain?" Haerin questioned.


    "One of our pickpockets got something from you two that told us where you were going," the hooded figure said as took out a card, like the ones that Sokrin had used, and as it glowed with magical energy, a book fell out of it. A leatherbound, handmade, handwritten book...


    Haerin dashed to snatch the book out of the stranger''s hands. "You didn''t tell the Empire of this, did you?" He said darkly. "If you did..."


    The hooded man chuckled. "We might technically be part of the Empire, but no Imperial soldier would dare set foot on this city. We''re a free city, pal, you have nothing to worry about. And I''m asking you two to take Sokrin with you because, well, the journey is tough and dangerous, and Sokrin would have to go anyways, so why not take two more with him?"


    "Excuse me?" Sokrin said, a little bewildered. "This is the first I''ve heard of needing to go to Perechain. What for?"


    The figure lowered his voice, almost whispering in the packed, rowdy tavern. "We''ve recently gotten into a conflict with an old cult - "


    "Acult?" Temujin exclaimed before a considerable number of patrons turned towards the whispering four.


    Haerin whacked him on the head with his fanaga with a metallic ring and a yelp from the poor halfling. "Quiet," he hissed. "Isn''t it obvious this is dangerous information?"


    Temujin rubbed the back of his head. "Right, sorry," he mumbled. "But anyway, why are we getting involved withbloodycults?"


    "It''s because this cult is particularly old, very dangerous, and is based in Perechain. From what we''ve gathered, they call themselves the Mazdakites. Here on the mainland, they mostly keep to themselves, but they recently underwent a change of leadership, and their new leader is taking a lot more action than the old one. He''s recently gotten a hold of very old, very powerful magic, and he intends to use this magic in the capital of Perechain to awaken something dangerous, so we''re contributing to an elite force of fighters from across the world to take ''em out at their source."


    "That''s pretty nebulous information," Haerin said cynically. "What is this magic, what are they trying to awaken?"


    The man shook his head or at least seemed to under that ridiculous hood. "No clue. The boss won''t tell us any more than that. Although I have heard some stories... you know about the guardian of Perechain?"


    The figure was met with blank stares all around. He sighed.


    "There are legends about a being who guards the island of Perechain, said to be the masterwork of the Engineers, greater than any Golem in the world. The Empire is too afraid to invade in case if they wake the guardian up. Although, that''s just a rumour I''ve heard. As for the magic, well..." He pointed at Sokrin, much to his surprise. "There''s an instance of it."


    Sokrin''s eyes widened in shock. "Don''t tell me - "


    "Yes. The Engineer''s Eye is one of these powers. Magic circles that attach themselves to a host rather than being carved into metal, the strongest ones in the world. The Engineer''s Parts."


    Haerin snickered. Temujin turned to him in confusion. "What''s so funny, Haerin?"


    "Engineer''sParts? How much thought went into that name?"


    Temujin''s face was blank. "I don''t get it."


    "They might as well call it the Engineer''s Di - "


    But Haerin never managed to finish his sentence, because his mouth was sealed shut by Temujin''s firm hand pressed against it. "Alright, I get it now, I get it, don''t be vulgar about it!" Temujin whined.


    Haerin pried Temujin''s hand off of his mouth. "So," he summarised. "You want us to travel to Perechain and destroy the Mazdakites with this seer guy, Sokrin?"


    He couldn''t see the grin, but Haerin could almost feel it under the man''s massive hood. "I couldn''t have put it better myself. It''s your choice, of course, but - "


    "Will you give us supplies to last the journey?" Haerin interrupted.


    "We''ll provide you with a steed and money that should last you the entire way to Perechain."


    "How about you also give us a bard, to pass the time?"


    "Sorry, we''re fresh out of bards. I can give you this weird two-stringed instrument one of my mates keeps playing, though. The damn guy keeps me awake at night with the thing. Hopefully, it''ll break somewhere along the journey."


    Haerin shrugged "Good enough, I guess. It''s a deal."


    <hr>


    Haerin took in the fresh air of the dark street outside of the tavern, leaving the noisy hellhole behind to his relief. By his side was an amnesiac halfling in a weird, thick red shirt and black trousers carrying a sword, and a bald dwarf wearing purple clothes with an odd carving of a magic circle on his forehead, as they all prepared to fight a cult on an island on the other side of the continent.


    "Well," Temujin said as he broke the silence. "That was oddly tiring."


    "You''re right," Sokrin agreed. "It might be because I just woke up recently after being knocked out, but I am exhausted right now, you know."


    Haerin yawned. "I haven''t held a conversation that long in the past three months."


    Haerin could practically feel Temujin''s look of disapproval. "You didn''t have many friends, did you?"


    "Nope. I had more important things to worry about. Anyways, where are the lodgings that we''re staying in for tonight?"


    "You can stay at my house," Sokrin offered, to Haerin''s surprise.


    Really? You''re not mad about us burning your cards and knocking you out?" Temujin asked.


    "I don''t keep grudges, there are far better things to do than try to maintain one. And besides, we have nowhere else to stay."


    "I guess we''ll be staying at your place tonight, Sokrin," Haerin said. "Lead the way."


    But as the small silhouette of the dwarf began to walk ahead to his home and Haerin followed, a memory suddenly struck him in the head. "Hey Sokrin, didn''t you say something about selling items for travellers?"


    The dwarf''s reply sounded a little brighter than his usual dark monotone. "Indeed. Once we get money for our supplies, I think the first place we''re spending it at is our little underground trading post. You''re going to love it."

 Act I, Chapter VI: Attack of the Mazdakite

    Temujin had left the shutters open last night and everyone was forced to wake up at sunrise. Haerin was already pissed off and it hadn''t even been an hour yet.


    As he got ready into his day clothes he almost fell asleep while standing up several times, whereas Temujin just shrugged on his redcoat (Haerin had learnt the red shirt was actually called a coat, but he was still confused - why would anyone need two layers of clothes?) over his white shirt he slept in and Sokrin was simply was simply waiting at his front door so that they could all leave to get supplies from the most dangerous marketplace in the world.


    The criminal guild''s underground market apparently relocated every week according to Sokrin, and this time it was literally underground in a cave right on the outskirts of town. An odd place, but a secure one for sure, since no Imperial guard would even dare to go where the sun wouldn''t shine - anything could be lurking in its murky depths.


    The trio of travellers found the strange man they had met yesterday standing right outside the cave, with the same ridiculous hood and all, and together they weaved through the various stalls and booths that sold all sorts of contraband. Haerin carried the group''s gold with them, but one thing he learnt when his father destroyed his family was that money was far more useful when youhad it than when you didn''t, so he kept all of it in a pocket away from prying eyes while clutching it with a tight-fisted hand. He couldn''t be too cautious with his money here, which was obvious from the moment he walked in.


    The entire place was screaming illegal. Wafts of a brain-melting fume washed over Haerin as he walked by one stall and the world went twice as fast, while near another everything seemed to slow down as a sweet scent serenaded him. Ragged pickpockets roamed and stole from the customers of the market - mostly scarred halflings with massive, wide swords attached to their backs; dark dwarves wearing belts with a hundred different steel magic circles attached to them; with the occasional rich elf smoking a foreign herb in his mouth from one of the shops, or walking into a perfume-scented house of pleasure. Despite the early hours, it was absolutely teeming with all sorts of filth, trickery and the dirtiest money you could possibly find. Haerin thought he grew up in a shithole, but he was almost scared to imagine what this place was like at night.


    "Likin'' what you see?" The hooded figure asked.


    Temujin was walking with a hand on his sword and a stone-cold, dark expression. "This somehow reminds me of a very bad place and a very bad time."


    Sokrin raised an eyebrow. "But I thought you were an amnesiac? How can you be reminded of something you can''t remember?"


    "I don''t know," Temujin said, exasperated. "That''s the scariest bit. I have no clue. It''s not exactly triggering a whole memory, more like little... snippets, here and there. Nothing coherent, but it''s definitely something."


    "That''s... interesting, but shouldn''t we be moving along?" Sokrin asked. "We have to go deeper into the market if we want to find what we''re looking for, don''t we?"


    The figure spoke up again. "You''re right. This is the upper market, and the stuff we sell here might not be legal but it''s still open to the public. The lower market isn''t, we only let a select few in there. You''ll see."


    The hooded figure took the group further and further into the cave, the yellow light of flickering torches dimming and the stalls getting more sparse until they got so deep Haerin couldn''t see his own hand in the blackness, with the chittering of the people of the market completely silenced.


    "Wow," Haerin said dully. "I can really see how it would be completely impossible for the public to get into this totally unguarded, empty space. It''s foolproof."


    "Indeed it is," Sokrin agreed. "I''m fairly certain it''s the most secure place in the entire world, from what I know about it. It guarantees that the guild will live on forever."


    Haerin sighed at the dense dwarf. "Sarcasm, dumbass, it''s sarcas - "


    Haerin didn''t know what happened afterwards, but all he knew is that a blinding, white light erupted from where the hooded man''s hands were, and then he was no longer in the same dark, dismal depths of the cave or even the upper market, but rather, something entirely different, something he had never seen before and only had the occasional nightmare about before forgetting about it entirely.


    He had unmistakably been teleported outside the city.


    It was on top of a tall green hill with drops of golden sunlight piercing Haerin in the eyes after spending the past ten minutes in total darkness, collapsing on the ground to find himself before a few sacks and a note attached to one of them by the string. Haerin had no idea teleportation was even possible, let alone someone being magically adept enough to actually be able to use such a powerful circle - the Triggerman fellow must have been ridiculously strong, a hundred times more than Haerin was. Temujin, with trembling, shocked hands, reached out towards the note and opened it. As his eyes scanned the words on the tiny sheet, he suddenly yelped stumbled back in shock and dropped it, cursing as he did so.


    "What? What did it say?" Haerin demanded.


    "I..." Temujin looked at Haerin with fear in his eyes.


    "What was on the note?"


    "I-I..." Temujin stuttered. Haerin was getting annoyed. He grabbed Temujin by the shoulders, shaking him violently.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Temujin! What the hell was on that note?"


    "I... I can''t..."


    "You can''twhat?"


    Temujin grinned. "I can''t actually read."


    And Haerin promptly punched the halfling as hard as he could. It wasn''t that hard, mind you. He had arms about as thick as twigs. But it still hurt. The halfling reeled back, a little surprised by Haerin''s sudden outburst of violence, but still grinning nonetheless. Haerin clenched his fist again.


    "All right, all right, no need to hit me twice, I learnt my lesson," Temujin said as he rose from the ground, rubbing his cheek. "But it''s nice to see that you actually do fight for yourself sometimes instead of relying on tricks and swindling, you know. Even if you fight like a girl."


    Sokrin sighed as he picked up the note before it could be carried away by a breeze. "Looks like I''ll have to read it, then." He peered down at it as if he was trying to probe the paper itself with his eyes. "To Sokrin and Company,


    "We''ve left you supplies for the journey, and while we didn''t leave him with the rest of the stuff in case he might eat it, we also gave you a steed to ride with behind the hill we put this on top of. He''s a tasos named Gaelen from the plains of the Middle Sea. He can be a little prideful, but apart from that, he''s a pretty friendly steed. Doesn''t eat enough, though. I would''ve left instructions on how to ride him, but you''ll figure it out. You might have also noticed that the supplies last only two weeks. That''s because you''ll be resupplying in certain cities across the continent. The next city you need to go to is the capital of the Panien Peninsula district of the Elven Empire, called Hrem, north of here. It''ll take you two weeks. Ask for a guy named Iases the Insane. If you''re wondering how you''ll pay for this, don''t worry. The circle already took enough gold from you. And remember, you''re doing this to help us and destroy the Mazdakites. Don''t forget about it. From The Triggerman."


    Sokrin put down the note, groaning as he did so. "That fool, Shodok," he mumbled. "Keeps using the title ''Triggerman''. I still don''t know what that means."


    Haerin checked his pockets, and sure enough, there were almost no coins in any of them, much to his dismay. "The circle really did take all of our money," he quietly mourned. "It''s pretty much all gone."


    "Oh," Sokrin said, unimpressed as usual, perhaps a little more than usual. "That''s a shame. But I don''t think we''ll need it, as long as we use thetasos to get to Hrem as quickly as we can." He peered down from the hill, pointing somewhere at the bottom. "He''s down there."


    Haerin looked down from the steep hill and sure enough, a grey-skinned, three-toed, tusked beast of a steed was standing below him, whinnying quietly with its head held high and proud despite the cramped saddle on its back and the reins attached to its tusks. He''d read about tasos in the heretical book: they were intelligent, strong beasts who even had the ability to use magic circles, perfect for war or travelling, but you had to treat them with utmost respect if you wanted to get anywhere with them. Otherwise, well... they say the second most common cause of death is being trampled by a tasos for a reason.


    "Well," Temujin said, grinning. "That guy looks positively friendly. I reckon I could ride him in an hour''s time."


    Haerin raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I mean, if you think you could possibly tame one of the proudest animals in the world in a single day, then go ahead, be my gue - "


    "He''s tamed it," Sokrin said blankly.


    And sure enough, as Haerin looked down, he noticed that in the time he was talking Haerin had already managed to win the animal''s favour and was riding him around without a single problem. He rubbed his eyes first in disbelief, but later in frustration.


    "Oh, for fuck''s sake," he muttered. "The bloody halfling''s already gotten a hang of riding the thing too."


    Temujin laughed as he rode the hulking beast around the hill in small circles. "It''s pretty fun, riding this thing. Pretty much like a horse. I guess this hill is too steep for him, though."


    Sokrin frowned. "What''s a horse?"


    "Don''t worry about it," Haerin said. "Temujin says gibberish words like that all the time. I don''t think they have any real meaning."


    "I doubt that," Sokrin shot back, his voice far more lively than usual, much to Haerin''s surprise. "There''s always a reason. For everything."


    "Not for Temujin. He''s a bit of an idiot. He didn''t know how to talk until recently."


    Sokrin''s eyes were flaming with a curious fire. "I know that, but I don''t think there''s anyone who''s forgotten how to talk. I can see into people''s heads and I can tell you for sure that language is like an awful friend - once it moves in, it''ll never leave. I don''t think it''s possible to forget."


    Haerin shook his head. "It must be possible. He definitely forgot how to talk and all those nonsense words are just leftovers from him re-learning it."


    "Don''t you think," Sokrin mused. "It might be that he remembered how to talk, but a completely different set of words?"


    Now Haerin knew he had lost it. "Huh?"


    "To the north of Perechain, there is a barbaric, ancient tribe of elves, halflings, dwarves called the Sotci who no-one understands, but they can definitely understand each other. It''s not that they don''t know how to talk, it''s that they speak in a different way to everyone else. So what if Temujin is someone like that?"


    "Huh," Haerin said. "Interesting. I don''t care much, but I''m pretty sure that was the closest thing to a genuine passion you''ve ever displayed. Congratulations."


    Sokrin blinked. "I''m just curious, that''s all. Nothing else to it."


    "Anyways, shouldn''t we be - "


    But Haerin was interrupted. The loudest sound he had ever heard had just punctured a hole through his eardrums.


    He thought he''d heard some loud things before: Temujin''s snoring, for one, made it nigh impossible to sleep last night, but this noise was beyond anything else. It was like the roaring flames of a sunfireexplosion compressed into a noise that lasted less than three seconds and amplified two hundred thousand times. A weird, metallic ringing noise was drilling in his ears, something he''d never heard before, and all went silent for a moment but the ring. He felt like ripping off his own ears and trampling them, but he somehow managed to resist the temptation. He had no idea where the sound came from either, and Sokrin looked so pale he almost looked like he was about to pass out. The only one who seemed mostly unfazed was Temujin, whose eyes had suddenly sharpened, his knuckles white and tight as they gripped Gaelen''s reins.


    Haerin turned to where Temujin had been staring at, his ears still ringing like hell, and found standing there an elf in a red shirt - no, a redcoat and black trousers with a red stripe going down its side, grinning as he held a... wooden spear? It was hard to tell, but it was about as long as a halfling''s leg and had what looked like a spike on one end, but it was off-centred as a deep hole went right in the middle of the wooden pole. There was also a strange sort of shape on the other end, like a lopsided triangle, but Haerin had no idea what that would be for. Smoke trailed from the hole in the centre of the staff. And while Haerin''s ears were still deafened, he could see what words the man was forming with his mouth.


    "It appears you''re here to stop us. I''m afraid that we, the Mazdakites, must destroy you."