“We can’t fight this thing with just us,” Jace shouted out as another wail of anger howled out of it. Thankfully it hadn’t charged them yet. And why is that? he thought frantically. Drawing the string of his bow taut, Jace was jarred almost to his knees, as the ground shook and pounded violently.

An humongous boom! quaked through the forest and field. A Godzilla-like bellow thrummed through the air and the three of them stumbled backwards.

As it ended Jace felt smaller aftershocks reverberate through the ground beneath his feet.

Except these reverberations were getting closer, and closer. Two more ugly siblings of the monster in front of them exploded through the forest. One hit the ground and rolled for several yards, as the other landed on its hind legs.

There were three of the fuckers now.

“Dexica, I could a use little help right now,” Jace mumbled, half wishing for something similar to what he’d used in the Wakeful Plane. The other half of him, was busy trying not to shove his new sword through his chin and up into his brain.

The three monsters roared at one another, as they circled Jace, Deanna, and Sera.

“We’re surrounded,” he whispered to the others. “Any ideas?” he asked after stating the obvious.

“Run like mad?” Sera asked half-jokingly.

“I kind of figured we’d do that after being eaten,” Jace grumbled back.

“Draw through forest,” Deanna said her tone calm and stoic. Jace had to remember that she only had a small hand axe as her weapon. Drawing his sword, he nudged her elbow with it. Without a word, the orc-warrior-woman took it and grunted her thanks.

“That’s not a bad idea, Deanna. Only problem is that I doubt we’ll be fast enough,” Jace sighed, and shivered as the three monsters began to circle like raptors. Referring to something I don’t understand again, brain, he thought and shook his head slightly.

The three monsters bellowed and snapped their many tentacles with a whip-like crack, at the thrill of possible prey. Jace tensed and focused on his side. The monster stepped forward, its mouths peeling open as its tongues darted out, swiping at its teeth.

They stank of decay and rot.

“As soon as they charge run for the village as fast as you can. If these fuckers want a meal, they can have it. As long as it isn’t any of us.”

“Master. The people of village?” Deanna grunted questioningly.

“Fuck them. Yes they’re innocent but I’m not sacrificing my life for their stupidity,” he snapped. The monsters let out a low hissing growl and their tentacles began to move more quickly. Should’ve completed the fucking walls you idiots, he thought.

Just as their low growl cascaded to a halt, Jace released his taut bowstring and let his arrow fly. One of the monster’s wavering tentacles immediately whipped about and split the arrow into two.

“Go!” Jace bellowed and drew another, spinning around he fired to his right, as the monster started to lumber towards Deanna’ jogging form.

This arrow penetrated inside one of the its many mouth’s. It screeched horrifically, and the long-bladed teeth crunch down on the arrow’s shaft. Jace could almost feel whoosh of air behind as they started running, the ground quaking their feet as the monsters chased them across the field.

“Keep moving!” he shouted pointlessly, because the two orc-women were beating feet waay quicker than he was. Drawing another arrow and not stopping, Jace fired behind himself blindly.

The following screech of rage, drew a grim smile across his face. They quickly dashed out of the field, the three-monster churning up the ground as they ran. Jace heard a loud crunch emanate from deeper in the village as they tore onto the street.

Then a louder shrieking scream could be heard and sprinting around the corner of a house, Jace came onto the main street. If they went left right now, he could make it to Joanna’s. The only problem with that, was the three-hulking dinosaur-like mutants chasing after them.

Which brought his focus back ahead of them. Deanna, Sera and he were running towards a crowd of people starting sprint their way. Behind them, the village gate had been breached open. A tall eight-foot hauntingly skeletal figure stood on the other side, it’s massive double sided great-axe splintering the crushed wood of the gate as it withdrew.

Jace could see the thin wavering tentacles of a cephalopod sticking through the hollow eye sockets. “What the fuck is happening,” he growled. His day could only get worse.

Then he was reminded of the monsters behind him, as people shrieked and screamed as they arrived, crashing through a house. One of the monster’s tentacle snatched up an older woman, and flailed her like a ragdoll, then deposited its limp form’s lower half into one of its many mouths.

There was a loud tearing squelch, as the mouth chopped down on the body.

The people who’d been running away from the wretches now spilling into the village. Started to back away and cower from the three monster’s.

Jace, Deanna, and Sera all looked around. They were effectively caught between two flanking forces. Seeing the house to their left, Jace charged just as the wretch horde reached the crowding people now fleeing the monsters.

Throwing himself through the homes door. Jace bashed through and landed roughly on the ground. A woman squeaked and began to throw pots and pans at him.

Then Deanna and Sera were through, rolling onto his hands and knees Jace winced. He’d forgotten about the wound on the side of his torso, and looking down he saw a thin strip of wood, no longer than his pinkie stuck out through his black woollen shirt.

It hadn’t penetrated into his still healing flesh luckily, but it did brush against his bandage making his wince.

Standing to his feet, Jace’ head snapped to the side, as a pan domed off his temple. Swaying on his feet, Jace growled. “Fucking stopped that,” he snapped at the frighten old woman.

The fucking cleaver in her hand fell to the floor with a dull thud. Sighing Jace saw that Deanna and Sera had wedged the door closed, and were now stacking furniture against it and the single window looking out onto the street outside.

They could hear the terrifying screams as men, women, and children ran chaotically about. Trying to escape the mass slaughter.

“Deanna… look for a back door,” Jace panted, sickened by what he was witnessing. “You,” he turned and pointed at the old woman. She seemed to be hyperventilating. “Are you coming with us?”

“Coming with you … where?” she asked, fright obvious in her gaze. Her eyes flicked from the carnage being wrought outside, to the Saracae orc-women, then to him. A deafening booming roar flushed the air, and the monsters tore through the mass of people and wretches.

“YES!” the woman shouted and nodded at him her eyes wide with fear.

“ Master, I’ve found exit,” Deanna called as the roar dulled down. Jace and Sera turned and ran towards the other orc-woman. The older woman rushed to join them, when a tail with pincers crashed through the ceiling of the house and mushed the older woman into a pulp on the ground.

Then a low growl rattled the glass pane of the window, and Jace saw the menacing rictus of one of the monsters. The eyes around one of its mouths watching him through it.

“We need to move. Now,” he shouted and pushed at Sera’s back. They caught up to Deanna. Rushing to the back of the house, he saw muscular orc-woman hopping through a back window. Then he heard the sounds of fighting, the squelching swish of steel parting flesh.

Sera dived through after her sister. As Jace almost fell to his feet, as the ceiling above him started cave inwards. The roar of the monster, crashing through the house alarming him.

Diving through head first Jace winced as he hit the scattered broken glass on the ground, and rolled onto his feet. “Move!” he called out as the two orc-women finished dancing through the last of the wretches in this back alley. A woman and a small boy cowered on the ground behind them.

Hearing Jace and the cascading crash resounding through the house they’d just escaped they followed his orders. Running past the woman and child, Jace felt the compelling draw and urge to squish the head of one of the wretches.

The compulsion so forceful that he couldn’t ignored it and stopping, he jumped up and slammed both of his feet down through head of a wretch lying prone. The skull crumbled inwards and Jace felt the tendrils feebly scrape their suckers against his legs as he squished the brain, and the squid within it.

Dashing past the other prone wretches, he noticed that none of them other the one who he’d pulped. Had any head wounds. The Saracae don’t know how to killed them, he realised and mentally slap himself in the head.

He hadn’t thought to tell them that wretches only died by killing the brain.

“Only go for the head from now on,” Jace ordered them and both women bowed their heads.

They ran down the path, the hedge on there right overgrown occasionally thrashing their heads and neck, with its long twigs.

Boom!

All three of them looked behind to see the monster rocket through the house in a spray of lumber and turn about as its tentacles beat hard against the ground and broken structure.

Then it spotted them and let out a deafening cry, and lumbered after them. “These fucking things never quit,” Jace growled and pushed at both orc-women, getting them moving.

Exploding out of the back alley, Jace crashed into someone. “Get the fuck away from me!” The man frantically slammed his fist into Jace side, impacting his wound and threw him off.

Wheezing and grimacing in pain, Jace climbed to his stumbling feet. Deanna and Sera were a few yards ahead of him, the former swiping her axe through the neck of a wretch stumbling towards her right side.

“Come, Master,” Sera squeaked to him and Jace started after them, only to face-plant into the ground. Something smashed hard into his back. Then a sinuous appendage wrapped around his right leg and flung him off his feet.

“What the- SHIIIITTT!” he exclaimed and coughed as the world whipped upside down, as he was flailed about. Looking down dizzily he saw the grinning maws of the bulbous mutant dinosaur-thing.

Shaking off his stun, Jace thought quickly. Reaching behind his back, he unsheathed his dagger. Bending at the waist he drove the dagger’s tip repeatedly through the monster’s sinuous limb wrapped around his leg.

The small sharp blade dug through the muscly and rubbery flesh, and he winced as the tentacle started to tighten it grasp on his ankle.

His arm was wrenched back by another tentacle, as the monster howled in pain and rage. Then his leg flopped from its strangling grasp, as an axe sailed through the limb, parting it.

The monster thrashed loudly and stomped the ground. Its writhing mass of tentacles beating against whatever was in close proximity to it.

Reversing his grip on the dagger, Jace sliced inwards towards his wrist. He bit back a yell of pain, as the blade dug through skin, then he cut outwards.

He dropped a good twenty feet and crumpled onto the ground hard, his ankle twisting as he landed roughly.

Then hands seized his armpits and began dragging him backwards away from the raging monster. He was then lifted roughly to his feet, then prompted up between Deanna and Sera.

They marched on, ducking out of sight of a large wretch group feeding on dozen of corpses. Jace noticed that the almost constant screams of terror he’d been hearing were almost non-existent now.

He heard the loud monstrous roar, and the booming crash of another house exploding in a shower of wooden splinters, glass, straw and logs.

“The house… get to the…” his words fell off, as they came to a bend and saw several wretches feasting on dead bodies right outside Joanna’s home. Jace’s heart sank in his chest.

One of those bodies was small baby girl.

“JACE!” a voice cried out and whipping his to the right, he saw Joanna waving to him frantically from atop a wagon’s bed. Behind her was Athena, Marcia, and more importantly Gabrielle. The small baby fox-kin waved her chubby fingers at him.

Deanna and Sera grunted as they sprinted the short distance. Half way there they heard the rolling roar of the monster’s thundering out behind them.

“Go, go, go,” he yelled and hobbled over to the wagon’s bed. He wasn’t even fully on before the wagon jarred and lurched forward.

Deanna and Sera sprinting to keep up, the monster’s skidding into view behind them. “Get on!” he commanded them and sliding on his belly, Jace threw out his hands.

He felt Joanna clutch his belt to hold onto him as he started to slid off the bed. Sera was first and Jace easily drew shorter and slender of the two orc-women onto the wagon.

Deanna huffed and grunted, and ignoring his proffered hand, she pumped her thick muscly legs even harder and sprung onto the wagon beside him.

Then he was dragged back from the wagon’s edge. Looking out behind them, he saw the three monsters sprinting after them.

Unslinging his bow and pushing Joanna roughly away from him Jace drew an arrow and frowned. His bow was snapped in half. And the arrow he’d drawn from his quiver was missing the business end of the shaft. Take the fletching off and blow the feather their faces? He hadn’t seen a nose anywhere on the monsters. Maybe they’re allergic?

He began to cackle madly as the monsters almost caught up to them. Then suddenly he heard the long drawn out horn blast. And the three monsters skidded to a halt in their tracks.

Staring at them, he was surprised when they roared in annoyance. One of the monster’s tentacle wrapped around a thin tree’s trunk and crush it in half.

Then they turned about and hurriedly stomped back in the direction of the village.

Jace and the rest blinked after the monsters retreating forms. “They retreated,” he heard Joanna mutter over the whipping crack of the wagon’ reins, and the tumbling roll of the wheels.

“Yeah… they let us go. They got what they wanted after all,” Jace replied and flopped onto his back, his eyes staring up at the passing canopy above. “Damn that was a mess.”

~*~*~*~

“So, who did we lose?” he asked finally after about twenty minutes of rocking on the wagon’s bed. Joanna had stripped his shirt off and was now unwinding his bandage, making Jace grimace.

Ahead on them on the road, were three other wagons. Amadis was on the reins of their wagon. While ahead of them was Maypor with the rest of the Saracae.

“None of ours,” Joanna muttered, and Marcia nodded. Cain sat beside her. Ever quiet and seemingly unaware of the danger all around him. “There’re maybe seven, or eight others from the village left.”

“Still,” Athena muttered and clung to her daughter, “so many lost their lives.”

“Well it’s their own stupid fault isn’t it,” he retorted.

“How can you say that?” she asked him in disbelief. Her eyes brimming with tears and worry, and exhaustion.

“He’s right,” Marcia nodded glumly.

Jace’ eyes twitch as the blood-soaked bandage unstuck from his wound. “They never finished their wall, Athena. Oh I feel sorry for them and-” he grunted as Joanna tugged the bandage completely off. “-and I’m sickened by the gross loss of life. But they didn’t do anything to protect themselves. They knew it was coming eventually.”

“I… I suppose you’re right,” Athena admitted, and her ears wilted atop her head. “It’s just frightening how quickly it all happened. How quickly we lost everything … again.”

“Trust me. I think whatever happened before this time, was them playing nice. Now the kiddie gloves are off. They drove us out, and they did it hard, dirty, and fast.”

“Yes,” Joanna mumbled as she scanned her blue gaze over his bloody wound. “We’ve never seen those things that chased us before. Nor are their any records of such a creature from the last battle.”

“Yeah. Agh, be gentle—they had this skeleton-knight—or whatever the fuck it was—as well. It’s that that broke down the gate.”

“Well, you need rest. And I need to clean this out again and rebandage it. How come hasn’t healed it yet?”

“Huh…?” Jace blinked as Joanna gently pressed him down. It, it hasn’t healed has it… Frowning he looked to Joanna worriedly and shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve- uh, no idea. Maybe whatever that black shit was, can’t be healed?”

“I don’t know, handsome,” Joanna whispered down to him, then turned away. “Marcia? do you anything to clot the blood?”

Closing his eyes, Jace breathed out a long sigh. His day had literally turned one-eighty upside-down, and left him dealing with the raw shit-show aftermath.

Swallowing thickly he summoned the visual image of the pool, and watching it’s still tranquil waters he fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

“Oh good your back,” Dexica’ voice drifted through his mind, and his eyes flashed open in horror. Looking about himself he found he was back in that pocket space of the Wakeful Plane.

“Why the fuck am I here?” Jace groaned annoyedly. Looking down he saw the blue filmy glass, and on the other side, faces peered down at him. “Shit!” he hissed realising what they were.

“We appear have to a problem,” Dexica started.

“Yeah- no shit- we have a problem, Dexi. Why the fuck are there Dwellers here?”

“Relax, Jace. They aren’t here… yet,” the voice in his head muttered quietly. “But they are trying to reach you.”

“Why the fuck-” he began to ask, but shook his head and took a deep breath. “The Fragment sent them.”

“Yes it did. Stupid bitch had her meeting right above us. We can them hear; they just can’t hear us. It is our pocket after all. We set the rules.”

“Alright- okay. Uhmmm… so why am I here?” he asked the voice.

“Preparations, dear one. Your mender is doing a bang-up job of teaching you magic. But it’s all wrong. There’re exception to the rules for you, after all.”

“For me? Really…?”

“Well for all summoned actually. You just got a few extra perks they didn’t. You’re playing on the same field as the Dwellers, Jace. Rules and laws of magic don’t mean anything to those creatures. Nor should they really mean anything to you as well.”

Okay then,” Jace replied. There really wasn’t much he could say in response to that.

“Now, your mender might be a dear. But she’s forgetting something vital.”

“Which is?” Jace grunted.

“You’re a practical man. Asking you to visual a Mana pool is like asking a toddler to say, eeny-meeny-macka-racka-Ooray-rai-dominacka-chicka-pol-rhala-racka-om-pom-push, stupidly fast.”

Jace shrugged his shoulders and then casually threw out, “Eeny-meeny-macka-racka-Ooray-rai-dominacka-chicka-pol-rhala-racka-rom-pom-push.”

“Fine, smarty pants. But still my point stands. You’re a practical man, dear one. Visualising a pool of water is nonsensical, it’s far too mercurial. Tell me, after you healed your ear from the bite, how did you feel?”

“Drained, and hollow… like I was hungry in my stomach, except not for food.”

“Do you think you could find the origin of that sensation once again? Try something for me, please. We’ll do our own visual exercise. I want you without closing your eyes to form the image of a cerulean blue crystal core in your mind.”

Quirking an eyebrow at the voice, Jace easily summoned the image. It shone with an inner light sapphire glow, that cut through the crystal’s prismatic interior, shining out rays of lights with no discernible origin.

If he was to manifest the crystal before himself now, it would the size of both of his fists together.

It was solid and physically present in his mind.

“Done,” Jace said after a moment.

“Good. Now I want you to picture that this core- this crystal is somewhere deep inside your stomach. That every time you have unconsciously healed yourself the crystal core depletes. Every exertion of Mana in your body draws from that core.”

“How do I use it then- connect to the Mana core?”

“You do it here of course,” the voice tittered in his head like he had said something funny. “This plane is Aederon’ connection to the broader astral plane. Every world is linked to astral like leaves on the branches of a tree. Your connection has already been established. You just hadn’t used any Mana because you aren’t using the brushes.”

“Brushes?” Jace asked. He knew Dexica meant the Magi brushes, he just didn’t understand their actual purpose.

“Of course, dear one. The brushes are the tether between a runic diagram and ones Mana. Mana is willed through the brush, and the wielder composes the rune.”

“I think- I think I get it now. What about the practice Joanna had me do? The one with the Fisa rune.”

“The fire rune? yes. Visualising your own interpretation of a rune, was a good idea on her part. That way no one can accuse you of stealing, or not paying for the rights of use.”

“Huh?”

“The Magi of Aederon are petulant creatures, Jace. All is greed to them. Ask yourself why there are no enchanted items? A simple Fisa rune, could ignite a fire. Enchant a hearth and every household in Aederon that isn’t a high nobleman’s estate, would know warmth all year-round.”

“Alright, I get the imagery,” Jace sighed. Such a simple thing could have major implications on the entire world. Enchanted weapons for instance. “So, anything else you need me for?” he asked and yawned.

He was starting to feel tired even in this pocket plane.

“Nope. You simply being here has reinforced the plane for now. Our guests haven’t tried anything drastic as of yet. They’re for now sticking to probing the barrier.”

“Alright, anything I should do topside?”

“Not for me. For now, consider using the brushes, or at least try holding one of them. You’ll know where to go from there, dear one. Oh, if your dear mender suggests a mind vault. Describe this pocket plane to her. She’ll understand, she’s smart girl after all.”

“See you later, Dexi.” Jace waved his hand through the watery air, swishing it. Then with a final glance down at the upside-down Dwellers staring back at him, Jace shivered and closed his eyes.

~*~*~*~

Night had truly fallen when he woke a few hours later. The noticeable lack of rocking and bumping made him sit up. He was still in the wagon’s bed on his back, except it was only him. Pushing the blanket back Jace winced as he spied the new bandage around his torso.

“Forgot to mention this wound to Dexica,” he grumbled, and throwing the blanket off completely he saw that he still had his breeches on but other than that, not much else.

Scooting off the bed he stood with a wobble, and cringed as his stomach gurgled loudly. The clearing they were in, was painted in a cascading warm orange glow. He saw that everyone was sat around a fire, as a woman he didn’t recognise stirred a massive cook pot.

Jace noticed that the Saracae were patrolling the perimeter of the clearing. Each of them armed and scanning the dark tree line around them.

“Hey,” Jace called out as he stepped over to the cooking fire, and swung his blanket around his shoulders.

“You’re awake handsome?” Joanna tilted her head and smiled toothily at him. Her long golden blonde silken hair was gathered over one shoulder, and Marcia was running a brush through it.

“Sure am. And I’m starving,” Jace said and patted his stomach as he draped the blanket over his shoulders. Small chubby arms hugged at his neck, and twisting his head he found the green eyes of Gabrielle staring at him.

The baby prompted up in her mothers arm. Athena smiled widely as Gabrielle began to cling to his neck, bubbling gibberish and complete nonsense.

“I thought you would’ve been asleep by now, stinker,” Jace said and caught her in his arms.

“She missed you,” Athena whispered to him, and stepping close she wedge herself against his side.

“I was only fifteen feet away,” Jace laughed.

“Not now, idiot. I meant when the attack happened. She just kept saying Dah-Dah constantly after you left.”

“Oh? so you didn’t miss me, huh,” Jace grinned at the fox-kin woman.

“Of course I did. We didn’t even get to consummate our marriage because of what happened.” Jace nodded at that, then grunted as Gabrielle’s foot smacked against his wound.

“Careful there, stinker. Daddy, is in quite a bit of pain there,” Jace grimaced and missed Athena’s teary-eyed smile as he said Daddy.

Carefully sitting down on a stool, he hugged Gabrielle to himself and leaned forward slightly as Athena hugged around the back of his neck. “So where are we anyway?”

It was Maypor who answered him this time. The old woman nodded her thanks to the cook as she was passed a bowl of steaming food. “We’re in a clearing not far from the next village. We should reach it tomorrow afternoon. It’s just at the edge of Trager forest. We’ll stop there, resupply, then on to Oedrin. That’s another three days of travel.”

“So four days until we reach the town. That’s not so bad,” Jace mused and juggled Gabrielle on his knees.

“That’s if the first snow doesn’t fall in the next few days,” Marcia interjected. “then our journey will be much harder.”

“Eh, it’s only snow. Can’t be that bad.”

“Our winters last four months, my love,” Athena whisper quietly in his ear. Her voice sent shivers prickling down his spine. “It should stop somewhere around mid Lundo.”

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

“I know, love. We would be remised as wives if we didn’t inform you.”

“Love, huh. That your pet name for me?”

“It is. Joanna has handsome, so I figured I would jump on the wagon, love.”

“As long as you’re fine with my pet names for you, Mrs enormous tits.” He chuckled as his head rocked forward as Athena smacked the back of it.

They sat for a while as bowls of vegetable stew were passed around. The eight villager, who’d survived the attack, were actually two separate families. An older man and woman, whose grandchildren had survived. Both kids who’re in their teens. And a younger couple with two small sons.

Jace ate greedily once again. Finishing his stew in a matter of a few steaming hot breaths. He was still hungry when they finished, but decided it was probably for the best if he didn’t chow through all of their supplies in one night.

Then soon it was time for rest, and Amadis found him before he could go and join his wives in bed. “What’s up, Amadis?” he asked her, before the short orc-woman could even open her mouth.

“Deanna and I have set up rotating patrols for tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to do an inspection, Master.”

Jace blinked and began to shake his head but stopped before doing so. “Actually, yeah- sure, let’s do that now then.”

It was some fifteen minutes later that Jace arrived back at their wagon. He noticed that Marcia was the only one still awake. The older fox-kin of his wives, was reading through her alchemy tome. Athena and Joanna led on the wagon’s bed facing each other, Cain and Gabrielle sleeping between them.

“Hey, figured you’d be asleep,” he whispered and shuffled down with a wince to sit opposite the fox-woman.

“No. I’m looking for something that we can coat your wound in, since it doesn’t seem to be healing,” Marcia replied, and licked her thumb to press and turn the page. Then the fox-kin sighed heavily. “I suppose you want to talk then?”

Jace blinked and focused on her face more fully, and saw some of her original sharpness return. It was tempered, but beneath the surface he could see her distrust of him and everyone not her own still simmering.

“If you want,” he replied with a shrug, pulling his blanket up and around himself.

“I want to make one thing clear between us,” she raised a clawed finger into the air, above her tome. “I will not sleep with you. Nor will I ever be close to you. This, what we have at the moment is a contract of convenience.”

Jace thought on that and then slowly nodded. “Fair enough. I wouldn’t force myself on you anyway. Your pretty, there’s no denying that. And I would be fool to deny I haven’t thought of it,” he grinned at her. “But, roses are pretty on the surface, beneath the petal it’s all torn.”

“Yes. Well. I’ll remain friendly to you, for the sake of Athena. But don’t ever think I want you, or could love you, human.”

“Sure. You’re missing a few vital point though.”

“Oh, what’s that?” she spat back and grimaced as Athena stirred in her sleep.

“I’ll do anything for what is mine. Yes you can remain as a ‘wife’. Yeah, our relationship might not ever wander pass pleasant conversations, Marcia. But if I ever have to choose between, Athena, Joanna, Gabrielle. And you, and your son. Guess on you I’ll pick.”

Jace got onto his knees and then shuffled over to lay down behind Joanna. “So, yeah. You can withhold your affection. We can never sex, and keep things between us can stay purely platonic and cordial. You can go on pretending to smile, and be nice. Just know where my true loyalty will lie, if trouble ever does find us. Goodnight Marcia.” With that Jace led down, and instantly passed out.

~*~*~*~

“I’m so stupid,” Marcia muttered and rubbed at her face. Her gaze flickered up to the night sky. She couldn’t see any the stars, or any moonlight. The skies almost constantly cloudy these days. “A marriage of convenience. You were just frightened he was going ask for sex, you dumbass.”

She missed her husband greatly. His warmth. His polite and welcoming nature. Where hers was brash and distrustful of others. Yet through all it, she’d come to love Douglas.

Now though, that familiarity was gone. Her warmth was gone. Her heart seemed to ache almost constantly every time she looked at her son. They had suspected something was wrong with Cain, even when he was a baby. He was desponded in a way, always quiet and listless.

Like he was in a constant dream. She couldn’t even remember the last time he’d talked.

And that was her problem.

Her memory of what was, versus her current situation. She’d betrayed Douglas by marrying Jace. Yet their marriage was void as long as Douglas was alive, and that she never consummated her new marriage.

She’d admitted to Athena that the human was attractive, and that there was a certain energy about him. Like his presence alone filled the room and demanded your attention.

She regretted her words to him just now. Could admit that she was scarred and frighten of what he would ask of her. And if she could deny him. He didn’t after all owe her or Cain any true loyalty anymore. Not after she’d opened her big-fat-mouth, and told him how it was going to be.

Marcia needed him, Jace didn’t have any need of her past her alchemy knowledge.

“What have I gone and done, Douglas? What’ve I…” tears fell unbidden from her eyes. And the quiet stirring of people sleeping soundlessly, answered her back.

Her husband was dead. Even if he wasn’t, she might have to start believing it so. Her only hope now, was that he was at Oedrin waiting for her.

~*~*~*~

The next morning Jace woke to his nose twitching endlessly. Brushing whatever was tickling him aside, he heard a burbling giggle. Creaking one eye open a crack, he saw the forest green eyes of Gabrielle, on her stomach before his face. Her tiny ears twitching against his face.

“You little scamp,” Jace groaned and began coughing as his side seized painfully. His forehead was coated in a sheen of sweat, and his breathing was rough.

His dreams the entire night had been a distorted blend of Marcia tying him up and feeding him poison as she cackled madly and blamed him for her husband’s death.

On her head, instead of fox ears she had a pair of antlers that forked a good foot above her head. Her naked body covered in orange tribal tattoo’s. Her legs that of a goats.

Sitting up he weakly tickled Gabrielle side, making the baby squeal with laughter. The sound moderately cheering him up a touch. Looking around the camp, he saw that everyone was packing up and getting ready for the day’s travel ahead.

Swiping at his forehead, Jace shuffled off the wagon and picked a still laughing Gabrielle up. “Breakfast should be ready soon, Master,” Amadis bounced over to him. The short orc-woman’s height coming up just past his abdomen.

“Thank you, Ami,” he said and sighed as he struggled to shuffle over to a stool.

“Ami…? H-here Master. Let me take the girl,” Amadis rushed forward as soon as Jace nodded and easily plucked his daughter from his grasp. His. Daughter.

Fuck. I have a kid now, he thought with stunning realisation. How many children did I let die at Trager village?

Too many.

His skin felt as if thousands of ant were crawling all over him. “Jace?”

Blinking, Jace opened his eyes. When had he shut them? Looking up he saw Joanna leaning over him, her cool slender fingers cupping his chin and cheek as she examined him. “You’ve got a fever.”

That made him chuckle weakly. “First hypothermia. Now a fever.”

“Yes. You’ve a bad run of luck lately haven’t you?”

“I’ll get better. I think, I’m… I’m just run down is all. I’m so hungry.”

“Let’s get you fed and back on the wagon. I’ll have Marcia come and have a look at you.” Joanna bent low and tugged his arm over slender shoulder.

“I wouldn’t waste your breath on her. Just as likely to kill me than nurse me, that one.”

“There will always be a duality to your wives, handsome. One of us has to keep you on your toes.”

“Put Amadis with me instead,” he sighed and groaned as they came back to the wagon. “Fucking fever came out of nowhere.”

Joanna ignored his grumblings and turned her blue gaze on Amadis. “Go and inform his other wives what has happened. Tell only Athena what Jace said about Marcia though, then come back and take over for me.”

The short orc-woman whistled shrilly, and a Saracae orc woman passing by jogged over. Amadis handed a drooling Gabrielle off, then spun around and sprinted off.

“Let’s get you up on the bed, handsome.”

“Joanna? no Marcia, okay?”

“I know husband. I’ll not allow her anywhere near you,” he heard her sigh.

~*~*~*~

“Pessel Village. What kind of name is Pessel?” Jace asked in disbelief. They had been delayed by a few good hours in getting there. The old couples wagon had broken the axel of one of their wheels. So their load and goods had been evenly distributed between the other three wagons.

Jace had woken up no more than an hour ago, and felt surprisingly fine. Though his side was a constant ache. It was as noticeably bad as previously. Right now it simply itched like fucking crazy.

“Pessel was the surname of the man who built the first house here. Believe it or not. He was rumoured to be the first person to live near Trager forest,” Joanna answered him.

She was sat beside him on the driver’s bench. And every now and then, she’d flick the reins lightly and the Lurka would groan and either speed up or slow down. The beast was almost none existent to Jace. He’d so often seen them killed so easily that he wouldn’t take any stock in even this one living past the week’s end. Especially knowing their luck.

“It’s only been in the last seventy years that people have left the kingdom and duchy’s to live in the wilds,” the mender continued and Jace took the chance to examine his first wife.

She was in a linen blue dress, that hugged her willowy figure tightly. The deep V at the front, exposed the sun-kissed skin of her chest and the barest hint of her cleavage. The dress was knotted at her waist on the left side. The gathered material, extenuated her long slim legs.

The mender’s hair was in a loose braid over her right shoulder, and her long pointed right ear peak out of her hair.

“What?” she asked him, and Jace saw her cheeks tint a light pink. Her slanted blue gaze slid to his smile.

“Nothing, just a man admiring his wife,” he said with a note of possessiveness in his tone. He felt like if he kept calling her and Athena his wives, it might knock some sense into his brain that they actually were.

That whatever effected-him now, affected also. And vice versa.

So their goals were simple. Stock up in the village, maybe stay a night—it was apparently much bigger than Trager village and actually had a guard force—then it was onto Oedrin town. Somehow Jace didn’t see things going as smoothly as the others suggested it would.

For one Pessel village was no more than a day or two travel from Trager village. A place that was now horrifically over run by wretches, a single skeleton knight—he’d have to ask Dexica about that, and three grotesque abomination’s—which would also have to be brought up with the voice in his head.

So no, Jace wasn’t counting his lucky stars on a chance of peace anytime soon.

“And here we are,” Joanna said dramatically, and a few seconds later the canopy of trees on all sides stopped as they rode out of the forest and into the middle of a wide grassy field.

The road sloping and twisting, and about a half-a-mile away was a village centred at the bottom of the sloping terrain. It had shorter walls than Trager village from what Jace could make out. But they seemed thicker, sturdier even. He also saw the vague hint of people milling about on top of the wall.

Nearer the village walls, people worked the fields and farms. Picking whatever crops they could before winter comes and freezes everything.

There a loud distant clang and clatter from the direction of the village as they rode leisurely towards it’s double gates. Said gates then opened and a force of about twenty men with pikes marched out and stood in front of the village gate. Behind them stood a single man, in a dirty brown gambeson.

“HALT!” A commanding shout roamed across the distance between them. Jace saw the younger couple who had the wagon in the lead, slow down. With Maypor in front of them doing the same.

Joanna pulled back on the reins slowing their wagon to a crawl.

“STATE YOUR BUSINESS.”

Without even considering what he was saying or why, Jace stood and shouted back, “WE COME SEEKING THE HOLY GRAIL!”

Their was a deafening pause, and all eyes fell on Jace, who simply shrugged. “What! I couldn’t help it.”

“The holy grail…?” Joanna asked him, confusion written plain across her beautiful face.

“Don’t ask,” he grumbled at her.

In front of them, Maypor jumped down and marched to the front of the lead wagon. “BOSRIC. IS THAT ANYWAY TO WELCOME YOUR SISTER IN LAW?” Her scratchy shout drifted across the distance and Jace saw the men visibly relax from where they were.

“I SHOULD’VE KNOWN YOU’D STILL BE KICKING, YA OLD BAT!” the voice, Bosric presumably boomed back with a laugh. “COME ON THEN MAY, YOU AND YOURS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED AT PESSEL.”

With that the pike men stood straight and retreated to the sides of the gates, as the man in charge started walking towards them.

“We’re free to enter,” Maypor called out and rubbed at her throat.

Then they were pushing forward towards Pessel village. Maybe our luck isn’t so bad after all, Jace thought. They were always famous last words.

This novel is the work of Rhys Thomas. If you are reading this and it has not been published by Rhys Thomas, then this work has been stolen. Please report this to Amazon and me at email: [email protected]