Luc’s head ached beyond comprehension. Waking up from a bludgeoning blow was nothing like waking up from a good night’s sleep or even an afternoon nap. The only thing that Luc could compare the sensation to was a hangover. But having leveled up his [Pint Guzzler] skill considerably in the past, this headache was far worse than anything Luc had felt in several years.

As he gradually regained his ability to think, Luc ran through what he knew about his situation. Honestly, he didn’t know much, besides the fact that as soon as he had left the tomb, someone had bashed him over the head. From what he felt as of now, it seemed that he was sitting on a chair, slumped on top of a table. Where this was, Luc did not know. But he did know that given the fact that he had been forcibly detained, he was not in friendly hands With the facts lined up, Luc decided it was in his best interest to pretend that he was still unconscious for as long as possible.

“Get up, boy,” said a voice. “I know you’re awake.”

Jad? Head still lying on the table, Luc frowned. Why did he feel the need to bash me over the head? Befuddled, Luc raised his head to give Jad a piece of his mind.

As Luc looked up, the words died in his throat. He was sitting at the table in his room at the Happy Farmer Inn. Jad sat across from him, picking at his mole. Sor and Sheel stood on opposite sides of Jad, blocking any exit. Each one of them bore an expression on their face that Luc could only summarize as pure and utter rage.

“Half of my slaves are gone,” said Jad. He took a deep breath and looked away for a moment. Then he reached underneath his cloak and pulled out a dagger. Its hilt was worn, and its blade was sharpened to the thinnest of edges. “And Maho is missing.”

Luc swallowed, bead of sweat leaking down his brow.

Jad set the dagger on the table and leaned forward, eyes drilling into Luc. “Please inform me about what happened in the tomb.”

Luc had to wet his lips a few times before he could speak. He wanted to chide Jad’s attitude towards him, the heir of Tosa, but he had feeling that Jad wouldn’t take too well to that at the moment.

“Maho’s dead,” said Luc, casting his eyes down at the table. He didn’t have to feign sorrow and regret. “He died saving my life.”

At this, Sor and Sheel cast a glance at each other. Sor took a step forward, hand on the hilt of his sword, but Jad stopped him with a hand.

“That wasn’t my question, boy,” said Jad, running his fingers down the length of the dagger. “Maybe I should be a little more specific.”

Jad leaned in, brandishing the blade near Luc’s face. “Why did the group of you fall in the pit?”

Luc leaned back as far as he could in the chair. He knew that one wrong move here would cost him his life. If he told the truth, Jad would probably end it right then and right there. Thinking back to the tomb, Jad, Sor, and Sheel had been on the other side of the cavern when it all happened. Even Maho hadn’t seen the root of the issue. The only people who knew what had started it all were Matthias and Dante. Jad hadn’t mentioned them besides the fact that they were missing. Might as well take a chance to get out of here alive.

“It was Matthias,” said Luc. “You know how that bugger kept talking about how he hates my father. Well, turns out that he wasn’t lying.”

Luc leaned in. “After your men so handily defeated those whatchamacallits - ”

“Cave goblins,” said Jad, face not moving a muscle.

“That’s right!” said Luc. “After your capable men got rid of those cave goblins, I went along with the rest of the crew to look for riches. At some point in my search, I found myself standing at the edge of a cliff. At the time, I didn’t know it was there because it was so dark, and I didn’t have a torch. But Matthias…that bloody backstabber definitely knew it.”

Luc lowered his voice. “Before I realized the danger I was in, Matthias shoved me in the back. If Dante hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be in front of you right now. But luckily for me, Dante was close by. He managed to grab me before I fell.”

“So how did you end up falling?” asked Jad.

“Ah,” said Luc. “Matthias was like a crazed dog. No matter what Dante or I said, he kept trying to push me into that pit. All of us got tangled up. No one knew where other people were pushing. Eventually, someone lost their footing and the whole lot of us ended up falling into the pit.”

“Hm,” said Jad, leaning back. He looked over his shoulder at Sor and Sheel. After a moment, both of them walked to the other side of the table, where Luc was sitting. Before Luc could react, Sor grabbed Luc’s right arm and slammed his hand on the table.

“What are you doing?” said Luc, forcing a smile onto his face. “Is this some kind of a joke?”

Jad took the dagger and placed the blade on top of Luc’s hand. Slowly, Jad drew the edge along Luc’s fingers, not hard enough to cut. The cold steel ran over Luc’s knuckles, making him shiver. His breath grew quicker and the pain in his head multiplied. As the heir of Tosa, he had only heard stories about situations like these. But he had never expected to be in one.

“My friend from Tosa,” said Jad, prodding at Luc’s hand with the tip of the dagger. “I have already had this same conversation with Matthias. And for some reason, he told a very different story than you did. Said that you were the one doing the pushing.”

Holy mother of all gods! Luc swallowed and tried to keep himself from wetting his pants. His hand trembled under Sor’s vicelike grip.

“H-h-he’s probably lying,” said Luc, forcing a wide smile onto his face. Normally, he was very confident in his lying ability. But usually he didn’t have a knife nearly sticking into his hand. “Y-you can’t trust a slave, eh??

Jad began pressing down on the back of Luc’s hand with the dagger. “There are ways to…extract the truth, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Hold up,” said Luc. “I think there’s been - ”

The tip of the dagger pierced Luc’s skin, drawing a drop of blood.

“Talk,” said Jad.

Luc was frozen. If he told the truth, he would probably lose his life. If he kept lying, he would likely lose his hand. There’s no way for me to win!

“Nothing?” said Jad, keeping his eyes glued on Luc’s. “Two slaves dead. Two unable to work. Maho gone. How are you going to repay me?”

“Look,” said Luc. “I don’t - ”

“How about we start with a finger?” said Jad, moving the knife to Luc’s pinky. “I’ll be nice and start with the most useless one first. Although it might take all of them for us to be even.”

Luc’s mind raced. He didn’t know how strong the monsters inside of the pendant were. Could they beat Sor and Sheel? Probably not. Besides, as soon as Jad saw that white gate appearing, his finger would be long gone.

What do I do what do I do what do I do?

“Hold him,” said Jad, motioning with a hand. Sheel reached down and clamped his hands onto Luc’s shoulders, keeping him firmly planted in the chair. Looking up at Luc, Jad’s face looked regretful - almost apologetic.

“I don’t like doing this,” said Jad. “But someone has to - ”

Bam!

The door to the room swung open. Val barged in, followed by a group of burly looking men. She cast one glance down at the table. Then she looked up at Luc, meeting his eyes. After a moment, she turned to look at Jad.

“You’re the merchant from Telemare, right?” said Val, placing her hands on her hips. “One o’ the farmers in town said his crop was cut down. Town enforcement wants to talk to ya.”

Jad pulled the dagger away from Luc’s hand and looked up at Val, smiling. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what - ”

“It’s not a request!” said Val, slamming a hand down on the table. The big men behind her walked up to her side. “Enforcement is downstairs. Get goin’.”

Jad looked to Sor and Sheel. For a moment, no one moved. Then Jad sighed and tucked his dagger away. Standing, he motioned at Sor and Sheel. The brothers grabbed Luc by the arms and hauled him out of the chair. Together, they began walking out of the room. As they walked past Val, Val leaned down to adjust her shoe, bumping into Sheel in the process. Giving him a rough shove and a scowl, Val righted herself and stepped back, placing her hands behind her back. Sheel stared daggers at her before continuing towards the door.

“Wait a second,” said Luc, digging his feet into the ground. “Let me grab something real quick.”

Jad turned to face Luc, eyes expressionless. Sor and Sheel did not release him.

“What are ya doin’?” said Val. “Let ‘im grab what he needs. We’re on the second floor. Nowhere for him to run.”

Jad continued to stare at Luc. Then he gave a single nod at Sor and Sheel. Finally, they released Luc and followed Jad out of the room. Val jerked her head at one of the large men who accompanied her. As soon as Jad, Sor, and Sheel were out of the room, the man shut the door behind them, leaving only Val and Luc inside.

When the door shut, Luc collapsed to the ground, wheezing. He clutched his hand to his chest, feeling and cherishing each and every one of his fingers. When his heartbeat finally slowed to a reasonable pace, he looked up at Val, who watched him with cold eyes.

“Y-you saved me,” said Luc. After the events in the pit, it seemed he was a little more comfortable talking to commoners not as a superior but more as an equal.

“I wasn’t trying to,” said Val, kneeling in front of Luc. “I get a well-payin’ new customer and then enforcement arrives. Real unlucky if I may say so myself. Mind tellin’ me what’s goin’ on?”

“Those crazy loons did everything you accuse them of,” said Luc. “But I promise you, I didn’t have anything to do with it. I just went along with them because they said they could get me home. But it turns out they’re an insane lot who drive slaves and loot tombs!”

“Really,” said Val. “And why should I believe you?”

Luc swallowed his pride. If he didn’t get away now, he was going to dismembered or dead. Shifting onto his knees, he leaned down and pressed his forehead to the ground.

“I’m begging you - you have to believe me!” said Luc. “If you let me go, you’ll be rewarded handsomely! I swear it on my honor as the heir of Tosa!”

“Hm,” said Val. “For a self-proclaimed heir o’ Tosa, ya sure beg well.”

Luc’s face burned.

“Fine,” said Val. “I guess I’ll let ya go. A weaklin’ like you can’t do jack anyways.”

Luc rose from the ground, cursing himself for acting so shamefully in front of a mere commoner. But if I can live and keep my body in one piece, it’s worth it.

“I have a condition, though,” said Val.

“A condition?”

Val pulled out a key from behind her, dangling it in front of Luc. “Those slaves you were talkin’ about. Free ‘em.”

Luc’s eyes widened as he remembered Val careening into Sheel earlier. So it was on purpose.

“You knew about the slaves?” said Luc.

“Anyone would be suspicious ‘bout those cloth covered wagons,” said Val. “Just took a peek durin’ the night, that’s all.”

“Why don’t you just arrest them?” said Luc. “That would solve everything, right?”

Val leaned in. “Town enforcers are a couple o’ half-dead old men. Those big guys ya saw earlier – they’re nothin’ but teddy bears. Big on the outside ‘cuz they work day in and day out, but none o’ them knows a lick ‘bout fightin’. I’m just assumin’, but those pals of yers might get a lil’ rough if we try to take their slaves away. If that happens, we’re all dead. But if yer the one who happens to free ‘em…”

Luc opened his mouth to protest, but Val cut him off.

“Those are my terms. Now you can either accept ‘em or join yer pals downstairs.”

Do I really have a choice?

Luc scowled and snatched the key from Val’s hand.