Slow dawn descended upon a quiet rural city in a valley encircled by old forest. The city was rustic with a slow streaming river splitting a third of the city apart from the other with one side far more rundown. Behind the rundown side, beyond the wall, a small but desolate slum covered that side of the town's clearing in the forest while farmland occupied the rest of that side.

With the echoes of roosters in the city and the serene harmonies of the church bells, the citizens of Kutlava were awaking to prepare for the day and the city became alive with voices of life coming from the houses while the town guard was switching watch.

On the worn-out side of the river, upon the waterfront, a watermill was beginning its workday with a bang as the miller was banging on a door.

“Oy, ya runt! The morning bells already rang, get up or go without breakfast!” The miller yelled at the door before heading towards the main room to eat.

On the other side of the door was a small chamber with merely a bed and some storage space.

On the bed, a drowsy head popped up and looked at the door. The head had cropped blond hair and looked to belong to a teen who had managed to pass around 15 winters. His face was pale with dark rings under his eyes, giving him a sickly countenance that was further stressed with the youth’s thin body visible from the linens.

The youth stumbled up from the bad and continued to hobble towards the door before finally stopping a few steps before the door as if remembering something and stumbled back, albeit in greater dexterity than at the beginning of his journey.

He grabbed a bundle of clothing he had tossed near the bed the previous night and quickly dressed before walking to get breakfast.

In the main hall around two large tables, the Miller and the rest of his family seated around one table while a dozen boys sat around the other. They were already seated except for a couple of women who were carrying food from the kitchen as the youth arrived. The hall had been filled with talk amongst the tables, but when the Youth walked in it quieted down as the people cast their gazes upon him.

“Master. Apprentice brothers.” The youth addressed the miller and his fellow apprentices as he walked towards the table.

“Eldest Apprentice Brother.” The rest of the apprentices addressed the youth.

“A fine example you are sleeping in. Eat quickly and prepare for work” The Miller spat back at the Youth. To which, the Youth happily obliged and ate while exchanging a few words with the other apprentices who were teasing the youth for sleeping in.

“But seriously, brother Viktor, this is the third time this week. Saw the master eyeing the club, but the madam stopped him. Feared he’d beat you to death with your lanky build.” One of the boys sitting next to the youth said in hush tone to the youth.

“Can’t help it, was doing something for the Adventurer's Guild. Barely got in as the gates closed.” The Youth who was called Viktor responded while stuffing down food.

“Herbs?”

“Yea, it’s a meager sum but at least it’s something, unlike what we do here. Not that I’m complaining about a roof over my head and staple food for manual labor.” Viktor answered as he wiped his mouth to his sleeve.

“Brother, you know there’s always work to be found for a miller in some village, right? There’s always some frontier village going up or a lord needing a new one after some incident or another. Besides, it’s soon that your apprenticeship ends.”

“Miller, huh.” Viktor murmured.

“It’s a high-end job, what’s there to complain?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Viktor laughed and brushed off the conversation and split off the daily work to his juniors according to his duty as the eldest apprentice.

An honest day’s work began as the mill boys carried out their duties along with Viktor while the master oversaw the process and occasionally spoke with people who came to see him. The youngest ones were sweeping the grounds and doing menial labor while the older ones carried sacks of wheat in and flour out of the mill.

Upon midday, the milling halted, and the boys could rest with a light lunch on the side that was brought to them from the inside of the house by the Millers two girls under the watch of Master of the Mill.

The work continued after that brief respite and continued till late afternoon before the master stopped the milling and let the apprentices to clean up the mill. After which followed a hearty dinner with some preserved meat slices in their stew.

Viktor quickly ate, stuffing his face with plenty of food before requesting permission to leave the mill from the miller.

“Off to play vagrant again? And sleep in tomorrow?” The miller said as he glared at Viktor.

“Master, it just some menial tasks in the forest to get some coin. Besides, I promise to wake up on time tomorrow.” Viktor assented while casting his eyes to the madam, patron saint of the foolish orphans like him.

“Husband, just let him go.” The madam said, seeing the scheming runt appealing to her with his eyes.

“Just beat him up if he breaks his word and sleeps in.” She added.

“Fine. Run off to the woods to act like some degenerate.”

“Thank you, master. I apologize for my behavior.” Viktor thanked the grumpy master who was currently glaring at the rest of the mill’s boys to keep them from following Viktor’s poor example.

Viktor hastily left the mill, but not before showing his thanks to the madam who then stuck a loaf of bread covered in cloth into his stomach with a tad more strength than necessary causing Viktor to stagger backwards from the impact while giving an uncontrollable “ugh” sound from the impact before she gently hurried him along.

Viktor headed for the gates in a hurry to save the slowly dying daylight that was remaining. He didn’t need to go for the Adventure’s Guild that so many had christened “Vagrants Guild” as the task he was fulfilling was a seasonal task. There was always a need for herbs. Hell, even edible plants were being bought by the Adventure Guild to pickle or preserve to sell. Easy coin for the desperate, albeit poorly paid. Non-members of the guild would only receive half the items' value in coins, or they could trade it for full value for credit that were used to trade for goods and services from the guild.

As for membership, one had to pay a full large silver to get admitted in. That’s 100 copper coins. Something mere laborers cannot afford, not to talk about orphaned apprentices under the care of a city’s master.

Albeit it was the easiest guild to join, as its requirement was the ability to pay that lump sum.

As to why pay such a hefty price for membership? Because it was lucrative. The adventure guild had monopoly aside from nobility for the purchase and distribution of monster products by the Crown. Be it skins, talons, venom or anything the country deemed beneficial. Any kingdom or sovereign nation with some sense had restricted such trade. To profit and maintain the stability of the common people.

Of course, it was claimed to have been done in benevolent reasons, to keep the commoners from the temptation of greed and their own protection. And who to question such a statement, driven by priests and feudal lords and the stories of countless fools finding death by trying to strike rich.

Nobody stopped Viktor as he left the gate, only a few groans about “that kid going out again” from the spear-wielding guards at the gate was the only acknowledgment he got as the watch was quite familiar with this restless lout who didn’t know what was good for him.

Viktor headed down the cobbled road from the gate towards the end of the clearing the town was in and switched to a path that had formed from previous walkers who had gone into the forest.

He didn’t have much worry about his safety as the forest surrounding the town was mostly safe and only upon delving deep into the forest may one encounter genuine danger. Wielding only a small iron knife on his belt, more for harvesting than protection, he trotted into the forest.

He observed the passing forest, paying attention to the path and the noises coming from the forest as he hurried forwards.

After walking quickly for around 15 minutes he entered a ruin of an abandoned village that was being slowly claimed by the forest.

Viktor sat down in the center of the ruins upon a mossy rock next to a broken-down wooden well which had its mouth covered with timber and gulped down a piece of the bread the madam had given while looking around the decaying village.

Gulping down the stale bread he left the rest of the bread out on the rock and tied the cloth around his belt to form a pouch to gather herbs. As he was about to leave to forage, he hesitated and glanced at the bread left out in the open.

He sighed and picked it up and looked at the roofed well next to him. While the well had decayed and part of the roof had fallen and the thing looked rather unsteady, the wooden boards made decent material to create a stash for the food to keep it from wildlife.

Viktor quickly gathered some of the parts of the mossy roof that didn’t look too filthy and hid the bread on the enclosed well and made an enclosure for the bread with some of the broken roof on top of it to hide it.

He then headed off into the surroundings to search for herbs and wild plants.

Batches of Worm Weed, a bitter plant to boil to elevate a cold.

Few stalks of Saints Tear, to harvest the stinging liquid to keep a wound from rotting.

Petals of Devils Touch, for… elderly gentlemen. *cough* Whose possessed with a dilemma of the heart is eager, yet the body is not.

A dozen or so leaves of Queen Leaf. Plants with large singular leaf with sour edible stalks.

With this haul, Viktor had to stop due to the darkening sky and head towards the abandoned village while munching on a particularly thick stalk of Queen Leaf when he heard a branch break behind him.

Turning around with a startle Viktor came to face a small greenish hued figure, sharp ears with a vile face. The body was naked mostly, with ferns and other plants weaved into primitive coverage, more for camouflage than to provide protection from the elements or to cover anything.

In its hand, it held a wooden pole, decorated with small animal skulls and brown feathers and tipped with sharpened bone of a larger creature.

The yellow eyes shimmered with cruel intelligence as they looked at the young man in front of it with it’s disgusting mouth slightly open to show a thick double row of sharp misaligned blackened teeth with pieces of gore in between them.

(A goblin. Have I delved too deep?)

Viktor thought as he slowly backed away towards the ruins. Only to hear another crackling branch behind him again, causing him to turn towards another direction in a manner he could see both the goblin he could see and the direction the new sound had come from only for moments later hearing bone chillingly familiar sound once more from behind him again.

Viktor stopped when he heard the third crack and warily munched on the stalk in his mouth.

He was probably surrounded and being played with. He had sighted another goblin appearing from the thick undergrowth where the second crack had come from.

That goblin held a club with a skull with horns attached to its top with sturdy looking vines and what might be shoelaces.

(How many more?)

He thought as he took the dagger from his belt.

Not that it could do much. A thought shared by the first goblin and Viktor as the goblin seemed to smirk with its open mouth while its pointed tongue went over its teeth. Finding some leftovers in the cavities and munching on them happily while its eyes narrowed slightly, yet the gaze stayed fixed upon its current prey.

Watching this sight made Viktor feel his stomach going cold as his grip around his knife tightened as he sensed his palms sweat profusely.

A mere town boy was facing against genuine monsters who infested the lands.

While goblins were a minor threat due to their primitive nature and strength befitting of their stature of around half a man tall, it was not something an inexperienced man barely out of childhood could face in number. Especially one as poorly equipped as him.

His only chance was to get a full grasp of their locations and numbers and run like hell in between them. Or stab or slice at the goblins a couple of times as they toyed with him before they would kill him.

The issue was how to find out the necessary information without endangering himself by getting completely trapped if he had not been already.

Viktor sighed and clenched his jaw.

There wasn’t any good way to test the waters and by every passing moment, his situation became direr as all he knew this pack was doing its most darn best to cut off any viable path of escape as he was here twirling his thumbs.

Hence Viktor turned towards the destroyed village, or at least in its general direction, and just bolted.

With an animal like chittering the trio, no, there were now five of them, followed in pursuit as Viktor looked back.

Upon returning his gaze forward again, he sighted a sixth with a massive club who had suddenly popped up right in front of Viktor and raised its club that had flint studs embedded in the wood.

With nothing to lose, Viktor raised his arms desperately to protect his head and rammed into the goblin without slowing as it swung its club at him sideways.

Upon contact of Viktor’s knee and goblin's left-side of the torso, there was a loud cracking sound right before Viktor got hit on his left side.

The sharp stone gouged his side and dug deep, causing Viktor to gasp for air.

The little goblin was sent flying while still holding the club, causing the wounds to worsen on Viktor’s side as it ripped flesh as the club left his side.

A painful scream echoed in the forest, originating from Viktor’s mouth as blood flew from his wounds. Yet he did not stop, merely stumbling and losing his heading from the impact and slightly tripping in the vegetation as he rushed forward as best as he could with the pain coursing through his body.

Exited howls came from behind as his pursuers saw and smelled the blood scattered from the wounds and still dripping on to foliage, leaving behind a steady trail of crimson.

A spear flew from behind chipping a part of Viktor’s ear causing him to whimper from pain as he kept going, his longer legs the only saving grace at this point.

The five goblins rushed past the downed goblin without sparing him a moment with the last one trampling over it. No, trampling is not accurate. It jumped on its downed comrades head with both of its legs and kicked as it was coming down making its comrades head crack open, spilling its contents with a soft squelch.

Luckily, Viktor was too preoccupied to look behind him to watch the gruesome act by the creature upon its own comrade. He only heard a sudden howl filled with euphoria behind him that caused the hairs on his neck to raise.

Viktor crashed through the foliage into the lesser dense village surrounding and just kept running, picking up speed thanks to the shorter vegetation.

Around this point, he had reached halfway through the ruined village, about in the middle of the ruins.

Suddenly Viktor felt a searing pain pierce his right side of his upper back, right below his shoulder. He had been hit with a spear, with its crude head sticking out from the front.

The impact caused Viktor to shift towards his left as if to avoid the pain as he began his descent towards the ground due to losing his balance from his chaotic mind and the force of impact.

His body hit the wooden well chest first as its rotten edge dug into his flesh before giving out and sending him downwards into the well while breaking through the rest of the rotten wood that covered the well, only barely slowing his fall.

The next thing he felt was his back hitting the side of the well hard with a muffled thud before his head followed the back and he lost consciousness from the second impact with the wall.

At the surface, a group of five goblins gathered to look down in to the well.

Their guttural voices were filled with grumbling dissatisfaction. The largest of the group, the one Viktor had seen first, turned around and searched the ground by sweeping it with its leg.

Attempting to find something it had seen the prey drop. A moment later it yelped both in glee and in pain as it crouched down and picked up the iron knife.

The goblin observed the knife from many angles and smelling it with interest, only to snort a phlegm of snot from its sensitive nose because of the powerful stench of herbs on the blade.

It shook its head to disconnect the snot trail and turned to see the others still looking at the well with dissatisfaction.

The goblin suddenly had an idea as it silently creeped behind the one who had thrown the spear to cause this. He stabbed the iron knife into his back, causing the creature to yelp in pain.

It turned around with a shock filled face, only to get another stab into the front. The large one pried the knife out of the wound, letting murky blood fall from the wound as the large goblin kicked the other goblin in to the well under the watch of his comrades, who grinned with vicious giggles as the goblin fell.

Large Goblin looked back at his new weapon and nodded in satisfaction. Sharp.

It smelled the blade again. Not disgusting. Only smells of stupid.

With somewhat eased emotion, the large leader growled and left, others in tow.

With no prey but two less to worry about in the tribe. The goblin was not sure if this was a good day or a bad day.

Down in the well, Viktor’s ghost was not having a good day. Or rather he wasn’t a ghost just yet as he was washed ashore to a shore in the well the former villagers had gained their water from. Now almost empty, it had formed a cavern.

Another plop was heard as a smaller body fell from above into the water and slowly sunk into the dark waters of the well.

Moments later hundreds of small balls ascended to the surface from the depths and the water began slowly foaming.

Once Viktor regained his consciousness, he was half dead, unable to see anything and with no idea where he was or how long had he been unconscious.

He flipped his body around on to his stomach and dragged his body further on to the cavern shore.

He flipped again to rest on the shore and gasped for air.

He was exhausted. And most likely dying. He could not feel his legs and his body that he could feel was cold. Viktor’s vision was hazy but slowly clearing up as he looked at the cavern’s ceiling.

Tears welled in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling, counting back what had happened before.

He really got himself killed, like master had stated.

Alone. In a place he did not know.

“I say, the half splendid gentleman over there is not dead!” A sudden voice exclaimed in a rather snobbish tone.

“Half splendid, ha-ha! I see what you did there, old chap! Half Splendid indeed!” Another similarly snobbish voice joined in.

“Buhahahahah muhuhu!” A third one joined and laughed maniacally. The duo had become a trio.

“Hahah, right on dear old chap! I knew you would figure it out! I say, you are quite the flippingly sharp gentle-o if you do not mind me saying! Muhaha!” The first one responded cheerfully.

Viktor laid there bewildered as the three voices chattered nearby and occasionally made those weird laughing sounds.

“I-is anyone there! H-help. Please.”

“Oh, jolly! He speaks too! Not HALF as bad as we thought!” The first said gleefully.

“Haha! Quaint! hahaa!”

“But willy jocking aside now, I’m afraid to inform our HALF friend here that while we’re rather flippishly splendid gents, we can’t help!”

“Ha-hah, flippishly splendid indeed!”

“H-half? What? Please, you got to help me...” Viktor pleaded the voices, he felt so drowsy.

“Oh, we can see that~,” The first said

“But we really can’t. You see, We’re a book!” The second voice added.

“Haha, flippishly splendid! you get it?! All we can do is flip our pages!” The first tried to explain his joke.

The third voice started laughing maniacally again. As it muffeled to a point it was barely discernable the first continued.

“And while we are on the subject, in a manner of speaking. I do have to say you don’t look HALF bad for someone who slept in a goblin spawning pool!”

“My! HALF bad Ha-Haah!”

“Wha-what?” Viktor barely raised his head and looked at the foamy goo slightly away from him.

As he did so he noticed why he could not feel his legs. They were not there.

“I do apologize for me and my companion here for having the good ol’ pick at ya. You see, we’re flippin’ mad!”

“Absolutely bonkers, if I may say so myself!”

“My! Of course, you may good sir! Nobody better than oneself to know oneself!”

“Indeed! I must say you nailed that one right in the noggin!”

“Please, anything... I don’t want to die...” Viktor begged the voices, who went quiet for a moment.

“Munuaah, there IS a way I must be honest but...”

“It’s absolutely bonkers!”

“INnnnDEEeeeD! Absolutely bonkers! You see, we’re a… Oh...”

“He passed out!”

“I say! So rude, I was just starting to tell him about us!”

“Quite right, say were you going to tell him the shortened version or the extended version?”

“I felt given his condition, the shortened would have been rather apt in his situation!”

“Ha-hah! Shortened apt indeed!”

“Well, given the half decent fellow here wanted ANYTHING, ”

“It’s a win-win, to be honest.”

“Yes! Win-win indeed!”

The muffeled laughter raised again to deafen the cave

“My! Even goldilocks seem rather exited!”

“Why, no wonder! It’s been so long when that ignoramus tossed us in to the well!”

“Oh, Goldilocks... Poor fellow, first to go mad...”

“That he did… BUT besides that, Percy!”

“Yes, Higgins?!”

“I say that splendid halfling seems rather dead!” Higgins or voice number two exclaimed

“What?! How dare he?!” The first voice now known as Percy responded with an outcry

“Well now! I need to have a word or two with this rather flippant gentry over there! To Die right after asking for help?! Unheard of I say! Unheard of!” Percy added.

The cavern flashed in gloomy, bright, sickly green accompanied by Goldilocks never ending insane laughter.

Viktor stood in a golden mist, looking around bewildered where he was once more. His memories were hazy, almost non-existent, with bare ripples of his personality remaining. He just stood there and looked at the golden haze he was in.

A bit later a presence was coming closer to him. A presence deserving of reverence and awe. It drifted slowly towards Viktor’s location, taking its time.

Suddenly the presence stopped. Noticing something amiss, as moments after Viktor’s body in the haze warped and then shattered into shards that dissipated.

Upon waking up Viktor found himself in a shadowy realm with two old men sitting in midair naked with one leg over the other. They appeared to be acting as if they were drinking tea. A third figure was thinly visible in the shadows, giggling to himself.

“Where am I? What... happened?” Viktor asked as he looked around the area.

“Finally awake! Took your time, I say you were rather rude earlier!” One of the sitting figures exclaimed. It was a thin old man with a bald spot on top of his head.

“Kicking the bucket right after asking for help! How ungraceful and rude!” The thin figure added.

“My! -Kicking- the bucket! What a thing to say!” The other figure sitting laughed. It was a fat old man with messy gray hair.

Viktor’s memory kick started by those words and he gasped. He looked down to see himself just fine, standing on his two legs. Albeit naked like the two who were having a tea party.

“Yes, yes you were legless and now you are no more.” The thin man assured.

“Quite excellently said, was legless. Now no more. Indeed, indeed.” The fat one nodded as he switched his legs positions and properly faced Viktor, showing a tad too much in the process.

Both men snickered together at their words as they observed the poor miller’s apprentice who had absolutely no idea what was going on, switching between looking at his legs and the old men.

Eventually the thin man grew bored. He switched his legs as well and smiled mischievously at Viktor.

“Say, do you like riddles?”

The thin man’s companion, hearing those words, did his best to keep his face calm, but the slowly spreading redness, snorting sounds and the flubbing lubber on his face and neck gave away his jovial mood.

“Erm, my lords. What is this?” Viktor asked, eyeing the duo suspiciously. This experience seemed so weird and unreal. Yet… It also seemed too real to be a dream. And if this is a dream, Viktor should definitely go to the church to get cleansed.

The thin man frowned as he pondered something while seemingly swirling a nonexistent spoon in a nonexistent teacup.

“Sugar, Percy?” The stouter man offered to the thinner one.

“It’s fine, Higgins. I am minding my lines, as should you! This constant tea drinking hasn’t been kind to you over these years!” The thin man named Percy admonished Higgins. “As for you! Never call us lords again! It’s unbecoming of your status!” He added after taking a sip.

“My status? My lords, there must be a mistake, I am a mere orphan under the apprenticeship of a miller.” Viktor quickly tried to correct the one called Percy.

“What you did in life doesn’t really matter.” Percy stated while pointing his “spoon” at Victor

“My lords, you are clearly some kind of mista.. In life?”

“Yes. Welcome to what comes after life.”

“So… This is the eternal damnnation?”

“Percy, I think he called this place the realm of perdition!”

“Indeed, how rude not to even consider that this is the alternative!”

“Do you mean this is the promised paradise?” Viktor asked as he looked around suspiciously. He was feeling like he was being scammed by a snake oil salesman.

“No, you were there, but you got dragged here.” Percy stated flatly.

“So, this -is- the realm of damnnation and eternal torment...” Viktor feebly as he sat down. “Figures they wouldn’t give it straight to you in here.” He whispered as he held his head in his hands.

“Wrong again. This is your special place!” Higgins excitedly said while clapping his hands, causing Percy to frown at something on the ground near Higgins. Surely… Not... the... teacup...?

“Wrong?! How can it be, what kind of soul would not go to ether to the one or the other?!” Viktor stammered loudly. He had gotten enough of these nonsensical answers. They claim he is dead, yet it was neither of the endings he had heard about all his life. They claim he was in the paradise, then dragged here like some cruel joke. What had he done in life for the heavens to throw him out?

“What is this cruel place?!” Viktor demanded to know with tears in his eyes as he stared at the duo. He had always hoped to meet his parents again in paradise, and the fact he had been there was dawning on him.

Higgins who had at some point bended over to clean up the mess ignored Viktor as he calmly hummed while moving around a “rag” on the surface what might be solid shadowy surface or might not be.

“This is your Phylactery.” Percy spat out as he tapped the table impatiently.

“My what?! My special Hell?! Just for me?” Viktor yelled as he stood up and confronted the shaking ass on the floor and Percy.

Percy leaned his elbow on the “table” while supporting his head and rolled his eyes.

“Uncouth.” Was the only thing Percy said as he looked at Viktor.

At this point Higgins got back up and propped himself back in the air and put one leg over the other again.

“Come now Percy, don’t be so hard on the boy.” Higgins said as he nudged Percy with his supported leg. “We can sympathize, can’t we?” Higgins added with a pleading look, before turning to address Viktor.

“we can indeed say it to be “just for you” in a sense.” He said before hesitating a moment before continuing while giving a wary glance at the pouting Percy and the third figure in the shadows.

“As for if this is hell, well. It will be up to you decide.”

“Looks nothing else than a place of darkness and insanity.” Viktor spat back while gesturing at his surroundings. “A forsaken place for the ones rejected by both hell and paradise.”

“Correct again, in a sense.” Higgins nodded while kicking Percy again, who groaned.

Percy who had been kicked relented from his pouting and began his explanation which made Higgins nod in satisfaction.

“It’s not a place. This is a place, yes. Yet not a place at the same time. You are here and not here at the same time.”

Viktor stared at Percy with no idea what he was talking about. His understanding had left him after the second sentence from Percy’s mouth and was now trying to make sense of the nonsense Percy had given. Percy on the other hand continued.

“You went to paradise for a moment. Then came back. Back as into the mortal realm or what you want to call it.”

“This isn’t mortal realm… That much I’m sure.” Viktor gaped. Was he being scammed by a denizen of the purgatory?

“BUT it is! It is IN the mortal realm! But not directly INSIDE the mortal realm…” Percy tried to explain, but stopped in the middle to figure how to explain this. His layman terms were rusty.

“Imagine a boat! Its insides, to be exact! An enormous boat, the seafaring kind!”

“Erm, this is not a ship ether.”

“No way?!” Percy exclaimed with mock horror “Did the fact that our tea set is staying stably on the table give it away?! It’s a metaphor!”

“Meta, what?!”

“To talk about something using something else to tell how it looks or acts!”

“Oh, like the priests using things to tell a story, but it’s actually about something else.” Viktor nodded and then hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask something “Is... what you’re acting of doing a... metha something?”

“What? Tea drinking?” Percy asked while pointing at his “teacup”.

“Yes.”

“Why would it be, want some?” Higgins asked confused while Percy groaned.

“A metaphor. And no, it is something you... never mind. Priest part was okay...” Percy sighed and decided to ignore the ludicrous question. He took a sip of tea once more, but his hand was shaking slightly, which caused to Higgins to glance worriedly at the “table”.

“I’ll clean that up for you. You just continue explaining.” Higgins offered while reaching for something next to the “table” and began to circle his hand in Percy’s vicinity while using the other to lean on the non-existent table.

“Fine.” Percy sighed while leaning slightly back on his “chair”

“Ok, so a ship. THIS place is the ship. Or the ship's interior. The sea is the “mortal realm” and this ship is IN the sea. Ship has an anchor to... Erm. Keep us in place. Ship itself is to... not drown? Keeps us safe. Ahh... Damn it! Basically, your soul is in this vessel called Phylactery, you are the captain of this vessel we are the crew.” Percy tried to explain as best as he could.

“My soul is in this place? In this... Phyl-whatever?”

“Yeah. Pretty much sums it up.”

“How do I go back to paradise?”

“You can’t. You did not want to die, remember. So, we took you in.”

“But I’m dead?”

“You are Immortal. Kind of.”

“But I’m dead.”

“At the moment? Yes.”

“Huh?”

“You’re Immortal.”

“But Immortal means you live forever.”

“Yes.”

“But I’m dead.”

“Absolutely. Till you no longer are.”

“Resurrection? Like in the stories?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“So, I will wake up with my body to get a second chance in life. A gift from gods to amend my ways before taken back to paradise?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“First off, your body is no more. Goblins ate it; besides, it had no legs. Second, it is not a one-off thing. You get as many chances of a “new” life as you want. As long as this Phylactery exists.”

“And if this... thing no longer exists?”

“You soul goes poof. Gets destroyed. No paradise or the other. You are now bound to it. Mutual existence.”

After the long and arduous banter back and forth with Percy, Viktor just stood there blankly.

He now somewhat understood what was going on, but he had never heard of things like this. As for grasping the concept Percy had given… To a miller’s apprentice, it was just way over his head. He was more concerned the fact his soul would never reach paradise.

“What foul sorcery is this phy.. phyl!”

“Necromancy.” Percy kindly answered while sipping calmly.

“The foul corpse magic?!”

“Yup. But calling it mere corpse magic is a bit… insufficient.”

“But legends tell that the corpse defiling magicians were wiped out! Their craft forgotten!”

“Well, this wasn’t made yesterday…”

“Are you saying this from the times of legends?”

“Well, you yourself said this profession has been in a forced decline. Safe to assume we’re before that time.” Percy mused while continuing his tea while Higgins was puffing smoke out from an imaginary pipe and listening to the conversation.

“But that was over 300 years ago! And what do you mean “we”!”

“We as in us three and the phylactery. We were alive once as well.”

“So, you’re in the same situation as I am?”

“Nope. We are trapped here. While you aren’t.”

“Aren’t I as well?”

“Bound, but not trapped. You’ll see soon.” Percy smiled while swirling his teacup. “As to us we’re basically your anchor. 3 powerful necromancers binding the Grimoire Danse Macabre.”

“I know of grimoires. Magic books to teach magic… Didn’t you say this was a Phylactery.”

“My! He finally said it right!” Higgins clapped in excitement while Percy nodded relived.

“As for Phylactery slash Grimoire dilemma. This is both. A vessel to contain a soul of a necromancer to attain Lichdom… Of which congrats. You’ve technically reached the peak of necromantic arts.”

“I’m... a necromancer?”

“A lich, technically. Anyway, the other function is to ensure necromancy will not die out. A heritage of sorts… In a form of 3 necromancers and the compendium of necromantic arts. To teach and guide the inheritor of Danse Macabre in the necromantic arts. Congrats on that part as well.” Percy explained and afterwards joining in with Higgins in clapping.

“Eh. But I do not want to! It’s heretical!”

“Fine by us. We have time.” Higgins assured gently.

“To brainwash you.” Percy added snickering, earning him a kick from Higgins.

“Not in front of the victim...” Higgins hissed at Percy.

“Aaaaah.. Look at the time, we should send you on your way to “resurrect”!” Percy exclaimed after Higgins’es retort. “Any other questions before you get your second chance?”

“Erm, I was expecting you to keep me in here till you got me to practice the vile arts.”

“Nonsense, we might be insane necromancers, but we’re not monsters!” Percy valiantly declared while puffing out his chest. “So, questions?”

“Erm, just one. Why me? I bet you have met other people prior to this.”

“No reason.” Percy smiled and put his hands together as if to pray.

“You wanted to be saved. We saved.” Higgins confirmed as he imitated Percy.

“Now sleep.” A new voice said in a baritone voice.

Those were the last words victor heard before all went dark and he lost consciousness once again.

===

“My, Goldy! How d'you get your sanity back!” Percy gasped after he heard the baritone voice and looked into the shadows.

“And here I was thinking it had gotten way too quiet in here!” Higgins laughed and turned towards the figure as well.

“Bah, you know damn well how, besides we’re still all quite insane after centuries in this place.” The voice spat.

“Oh, come now. Why the sour mood?” Percy whined and pointed at the one called Goldie with his spoon. Besides, we need you.”

“You can handle this. Not like you need me in rational mind.”

“Oh, quit wallowing.” Percy snickered while taking a long sip from the cup.

===

Upon coming to his senses, Viktor was feeling rather odd.

He was burning with anger. He was hungry. And annoyed at how his senses were hazy. He propped himself up and wobbled towards where he normally left his clothes, only to trip.

The next moment creepy choir voices snickered, sending echoes in the room.

Viktor jumped up, seething at the voices in his room as he hissed threateningly, and the voices hissed back.

Taken slightly aback with this, Viktor rubbed his eyes and almost poked his eye out with his... sharp claws, waking him up instantly.

What he saw was two slim green hands with sharp claws, one of which had black liquid on one of its four fingers.

He had scraped a wound on his face and the slight tingling pain was making him mad again. It was as if he had no control over his emotions.

He looked at the still snickering familiar looking figures near him and had another surprise as he came face to face with five goblins pointing at him and laughing.

“Dumb! Poke face!” One of them snickered to Viktor’s surprise.

“Forest Kin. Make sound?” Viktor asked in bewilderment which caused the peanut gallery to quiet down.

“Dumb much. Not live long.” One goblin sighed while trying to hide a smirk.

“Not live long. Becomes Food.” A third one nodded while estimating Viktor’s size. “Not much. Still. Becomes Food.”

“Not want eat kin. Chewy. Tastes dumb.”

“Must. No path. No food.” The last unspoken goblin said while pointing at the cavern they were in. This earned the last one agreeing grumbles from the others.

Viktor looked around and saw the familiar cavern, or rather the well he had fallen in to… While being chased by goblins.

Thinking about that made him angry again. His temper seemed to cool and heat with a moment’s notice.

“” Happy Birthday!”” Two voices suddenly sounded out, distracting Viktor from his confusing situation. He looked around the cave to find the two unknown voices, yet he could only see the goblins who had now lost interest with him and were now harassing each other or catching tiny insects to feast upon.

“Down here!” A friendly voice guided Viktor’s gaze upon the ground and saw a thick book between his legs.

(A book?) Viktor thought.

“Forgotten us already? How rude!” A Snobbish voice echoed out, originating from nowhere. The annoying yet familiar voice had brought forth Viktor’s anger again.

“Shut up!” Viktor yelled and kicked the book which flew out towards the five goblins who once again turned towards Viktor and stared at him.

””Wierd.”” The goblins stated while looking Viktor with deadpan face.

“Weird indddeeed! Here we had brought you back from the dead and this is the thanks we receive?!” The snobbish voice screeched while the friendly voice was groaning in the background while complaining about feeling sick.

The snobbish voice kicked Viktor’s memory to shift gears, causing him to remember what had happened earlier. Viktor gasped as the memories became clear, making the goblins looking at him shift the deadpan faces to pitying looks.

“Retarded...” One of them wallowed.

“Might be contagious.” Another one nodded.

“Not become food.” A third one sighted.

The peanut gallery caused Viktor to glare at them, which they returned in kind.

“Still. Might not live long.”

“You might want to shift to thinking... We can talk so privately,” Higgins gently suggested.

Viktor “humpfed” at the goblins and moved away from them and sat down and hugged his scrawny green knees while closing his eyes.

(What is going on?) Viktor thought.

“You resurrected. Congrats.” Percy frostily said.

(But I’m a goblin?!)

“We saw a dashing knight in sliver armor ride through here but gave you a goblin’s body instead.” Percy chillingly stated in a mocking voice.

“We did the best with what we had; would you have perhaps preferred an insect instead?” The concerned voice of Higgins asked Viktor. “We can still amend it, if you wish” He added.

“A cockroach necromancer would be cool.” Percy mused in a ponderous voice.

(I think I’ll pass…)