Grimmy slapped his paw down, crushing a red man wielding a wooden weapon. The man disappeared underneath the black scales, and a red puddle oozed out from between Grimmy’s claws. Silent screams rang through the air as a group of red people threw down their weapons and scattered, running through the multiple exits leading out of the room. Grimmy grinned and licked his lips before sweeping his gaze over his surroundings. He was in a circular room with a massive, rectangular, stone altar in the center. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing with a white light. Five archways, each large enough to accommodate Grimmy’s size, led into and out of the room. The floor was made of marble, and red patterns that looked like entwining snakes decorated each tile.

Grimmy chuckled and walked up to the altar, leaving behind bloody pawprints with each step. He pushed aside the stone block with his tail, revealing a deep pit underneath. He peered inside and exhaled out a small flame to light up the interior. Within the pit, there was a crater with a layer of dried bloodstains covering it. “Interesting concept,” Grimmy said and nodded, the flames no longer leaving his mouth. He covered the pit with the altar and patted it a few times, wedging it firmly into place. “Not as good as the Fountain of Youth, but not too shabby.”

An explosion rang out, and Grimmy flinched.

“Stop running!” a voice roared out, shaking the chandelier in the room. Bits of rock and dust fell from the ceiling, sprinkling down like snow. Grimmy turned around, and a familiar face greeted him.

“Grimmy!” Lindyss shouted. Her wings flapped, and she twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding an icicle that was larger than her body. It flew through the air and struck Grimmy’s paw, piercing it. “Help!”

Grimmy blinked and ripped the icicle out of his paw, blood spurting out like a fountain. He brought his paw close to his face and blew fire over the bleeding hole, cauterizing the wound. His eyes narrowed, and he sucked in a deep breath. Lindyss eyes widened, and she forced her wings to their limits, flapping them as fast as a hummingbird’s. She zoomed through the passage and curved to the left. Not even a second later, a jet of black flames surged past her, blistering her skin and setting her clothes on fire from the heat alone. She smacked herself with an ice-covered palm, putting out the flames and crashed to the ground, tumbling a few times as her wings disappeared. Her chest heaved up and down as she panted for breath, sweat running down the sides of her face.

A loud yelp rang out of the archway that Grimmy breathed fire into. “Black flames!? I was being civilized and only used a simple icicle, but if that’s the way you want to play…!”

Lindyss tilted her head to the side, making eye contact with Erin. “Can you turn me into a mushroom?”

“No mana,” Erin said. “You should keep running.”

Sharda emerged from the archway, wiping at the black flames burning on her face. Her eyes widened and her paws froze mid-swipe. “Grimmoldesser!”

Grimmy blinked. “Oh. It’s you.”

Sharda wrinkled her snout. “What are you doing in my territory?”

“Just visiting,” Grimmy said with a grin. “Is that a problem?”

“Have you forgotten our deal?” Sharda asked, baring her teeth.

Grimmy shrugged. “When I came here, you weren’t around, so I figured I could make myself at home and let you know when you came back,” he said. He nodded. “By the way, I’m here to visit your territory.”

Sharda’s eyes narrowed. “Your servant harmed my granddaughter.” She pointed at Lindyss. “I demand her life.”

Grimmy sidled over, plopping himself between Sharda and Lindyss. “Nope. Sorry.”

Sharda grumbled as she took a step back and sat on her haunches. She flicked away a black fireball that fell onto her shoulder. “It was worth a shot,” she said. “But my granddaughter tells me you threw her into a portal filled with shadows. Care to explain before I decide on your punishment?”

“Sure,” Grimmy said. “It’s simple, really. Your granddaughter is a liar. Why would I harm her knowing you’re out there?”

Sharda reared her head back. “Alora would never lie to me. And even if it weren’t Alora, I’d trust anyone else’s word before yours.”

Grimmy clicked his tongue. “What have I done to you to warrant such distrust?”

“You made the southern continent uninhabitable and forced me to relocate my nest,” Sharda said. “Shall I also take out the list of items you’ve plundered while I was in the process of moving? Or should I dig up the corpses of my worshippers and tribute bearers? Oh, that’s right.” Her eyes narrowed into slits. “They didn’t even leave any corpses behind when they died because of you.”

Grimmy cleared his throat. “Now, see, you’re bringing up things that I’ve done, but I’ve always been honest with you. When you asked me if I knew what happened to cause everything to start dying, I told you it was because of me. When you asked me if I saw your treasures, I told you I took them. When you asked me if I knew what happened to your little villages, I told you they disintegrated due to an experiment gone wrong. But have I ever lied to you? If I really threw your granddaughter into one of my experimental shadow realms, then I’d have claimed all the credit for it already.”

Sharda furrowed her brow. “Just because you haven’t lied to me before doesn’t mean you won’t lie to me now.”

“You could say the same for your granddaughter,” Grimmy said and raised an eyebrow.

Sharda snorted. “I raised Alora to be a good, honest, and upright dragon. The chances of her being a liar is infinitesimally small compared to you being a liar. I demand you apologize to my granddaughter and become her servant for three centuries to make it up to her.”

Grimmy scratched his snout. “How about…”—his gaze landed on Lindyss—“I transfer my servant to your granddaughter for three centuries instead?”

Lindyss’ eyes bulged.

Sharda shook her head. “No.”

Lindyss exhaled.

“Four centuries?”

“Five.”

“Okay,” Grimmy said and nodded. He spat on his non-injured paw and extended it towards Sharda. “Five centuries.”

Sharda wrinkled her snout, but she spat in her paw as well and slapped it against Grimmy’s. The two dragons shook their paws up and down before turning to look at Lindyss at the same time. The cursed elf swallowed and asked in a small voice, “Don’t I get a say in this?”

Grimmy grinned. “See you in five centuries.”