It is not uncommon that after visiting a funeral parlor, one often needs to go for a drink or two. After all, the place is usually associated with loss, grief, and sadness, all of which can become, for at least a brief moment, much more tolerable with the assistance of alcohol.

"UUUUUGH!" Ruun groaned as another dose of a freshly mixed potion entered his bloodstream via a rather massive syringe. In his remaining hand, he was holding a bottle of a rather low-quality spirit. The moment the pain kicked in, he took a swig. He wasn't counting how many times he turned the bottle around, but more than two-thirds of it were already missing.

"I'm sorry!" the young girl beside the demon apologized as she pulled the syringe out.

"Don't apologize, Millie. I'm sorry for the sounds, but I can't help myself," he said and took another sip.

"We're all out of anesthetics," the dwarven doctor informed the demon. "I'm sorry, but we won't be able to mix more. There's quite a shortage of herbs right now."

"Ah, stupid demonic metabolism," Ruun sighed and hissed out in pain as he tried to move the bandaged stump of his right arm. Even after four doses of the painkiller, it still hurt. Though he had to admit that the potion mixed with alcohol at least dulled the agony a little bit.

"I can try to go look for some herbs. And Kilm can go with me. He has better eyes for the right plants," Millie offered.

"Yeah! We'll find the necessary materials soon, master Ruun," Kilm confirmed.

"Don't bother. I will be fine," Ruun rejected their offer and stood up. His head spun as the blood in his body shifted. He stumbled a little and had to brace himself against the wall to keep himself from falling.

"Master!" the doctor and his assistant called out in unison and rushed over to support him.

"Oooh, wow, the drugs do kick in after a while, heh," Ruun giggled, trying his best to keep himself from making any more sounds fueled by his pain.

"You should take it easy," the girl informed him.

"Thank you, Millie, but I will be fine. Please, just bring me some clean clothes and a cape."

"A cape?"

"Don't question him and go fetch them!" Kilm yelled and pretty much pushed the girl out of the room. Once she was gone, he turned back to the demon. "Are you gonna be okay, master?"

"Yeah... Just need to walk it off."

"We can maybe find you someone to eat. You could then regenerate and regrow the arm."

"No. Absolutely not. We have what we needed - a soulless child. Any more killing would be pointless."

"Would it? Because we don't exactly have her. And getting her won't be easy."

"Indeed." Ruun lifted his head and gazed at the ceiling. "Glavas, the monster hunter. It is not a catastrophe that the girl ended up in his care, but it's not good news either."

"Can we take him?"

"The hunter?"

"Yeah. If we get all together, maybe we could..."

"You wouldn't stand a chance."

The dwarf blinked a few times as if the process would somehow make him hear a different response. "Is he that strong?"

"Yes. In a direct confrontation, we would most certainly lose."

"Blackmail then?"

"I do not see how that would be possible."

"He has a family, no? We could take some of them."

"It is risky. From what I know his closest friends are still formidable. Peldo was our strongest fighter and even he got killed. I do not wish to risk any of your lives. If the kidnapping would fail, then..."

"Okay, okay, I get it. You want to protect us. But we need a plan! Otherwise, we won't get anywhere."

The door opened and Millie came back, carrying with her a fresh set of clothes and a short blue cape.

"Do you need help changing, master?" she asked as she handed over the garments.

"No, thank you, you are very kind, but I can still manage," Ruun replied and began taking off his blood-stained apparel.

"Kilm, I understand your worries, but the truth is that the girl will not go anywhere. We shall observe and come up with a new plan."

In the fresh clothes and without his classic hood, the demon looked even more terrifying. Now he had nothing that would even remotely hide his bug-like face and countless red eyes, each blinking at their own pace. However, where some would see a horrific creature, Millie and Kilm saw nothing but kindness. Eventually, Ruun tied the cape to his shirt and threw it to the side so that it would cover his missing arm.

"Others don't have to know about this. Please, just keep it between us."

"But why? They can help you if they know what happened to you," Kilm argued.

"I'd rather not worry anyone." He walked over to the door, only briefly stopping before stepping out of the room. "Oh, and please, go have some fun tonight. You've earned a proper break as well."

The corridors of the old and abandoned castle were much warmer than one would expect them to be. When Ruun and his followers first settled down here, it was a damp and incredibly windy place, but with their combined efforts, the feeling of comfort was once again returning to the ruined structure. As the demon walked past the windows, he took a moment to look outside. The castle used to belong to an old dwarven king, who asked his architects to make him a palace where he could feel at home. Because of this, most of the building was constructed inside a mountain. Torches and magical lights were providing illumination for the rooms and hallways, which ran around a square-shaped courtyard standing in the middle of the castle. There, high above it on the ceiling of the cave shone a smaller sunstone, used to simulate daylight in most dwarven cities. Ruun smiled. It wasn't easy to get it working again, but the light it provided allowed his followers to go and spend time outside. Thanks to the gemstone, plants could also be grown in the courtyard, making the place feel a bit less like ruins.

As beautiful as the sight was, however, Ruun had to keep going. There were at least two people he wished to visit before calling it a night. If he were to make it before they would go to sleep, he had to be faster.

His first goal was a large wooden door at the very end of the corridor. It was one of the corner rooms, which tended to be the biggest. His insect hand slowly knocked on the door, just with enough strength to be heard, but not too loud to scare the inhabitants.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Of course, master Ruun," a muffled voice replied.

The room was indeed rather spacious, yet the furnishing was lacking. Aside from a chest, a half-empty bookshelf, and an old red rug, there wasn't much else to find. In the far corner of the room stood a soft bed, in which lay an older human man, buried under a fluffy duvet. A cold, wet rag was lying on his forehead.

"Master Ruun. What a pleasure," he mumbled and attempted to get up. When the demon saw that, he dashed to the bed with inhuman speed and gently pushed the man back down.

"No no no, you don't have to get up. Stay down and rest," he told him and placed his hand on the man's forehead. "Hmm... I think the fever is getting better. How are you feeling?"

"Better, just as you said. Though not exactly my best."

"That's understandable. Do you have everything you need? Should I bring you some water or something to eat?"

"No, thank you. I've got everything I need. How did it go with the hunter? Do we have the girl?"

"Unfortunately, he did not agree. Seems like he is strongly attached to her."

"Ah shit. Then we have to do something about him."

"We will. But that is not something you need to occupy your mind with. Just focus on getting better now. Flu shall not be underestimated. Once you're well, we will surely use your services again. After all, an expert locksmith like you is always needed."

"Then I'll make sure to get better as fast as I can."

Ruun smiled. "I know you will. Shall I bring you some more books so you don't get bored?"

"No no, I'm fine. Still got stuff to read. But thank you."

Ruun bid the locksmith a good night before leaving the room once again. Seeing the man already doing better than before pleased him. If he should recover again in a few days, then there would be one less worry weighing down on the demon's chest. As he continued walking around a corner and further down the hallway, his eyes once again landed on the courtyard. From a different angle, he could now see a pair of men leaning against a makeshift wooden fence. They were his next stop. As Ruun continued downstairs, he ran across more than one friendly face. They always greeted him with a smile and their voices flew like honey as they wished him good evening, which he always tried to reciprocate.

"Ah! Master Ruun!" one of the two young men started waving at him the moment the demon stepped out into the courtyard.

"Good evening gentlemen," he returned the greeting. "Exercising, Ilen?"

"Yeah. Or at least I'm trying to," the man replied and took another few steps forward. With his left hand, he was firmly clutching the wooden fence, while his right arm was wrapped around the shoulders of his friend, who was supporting him from the other side. As Ilen walked, his feet wobbled as if he had just taken his first steps.

"Slow down!" Tanim scolded him. "You wanna show off in front of master Ruun, right?"

"Please, be careful! You don't have to push yourself just because I'm here," Ruun took Tanim's side.

"I know, I know," Ilen sighed. "But you need me. I have to recover faster!"

Ruun walked over to him and placed his arm on the man's shoulder. "I need you to stay safe. Don't push your limits, alright? You were lucky we found the healer who managed to put your bones back together." Ruun's eyes slid down, looking at Ilen's legs. Faintly glowing blue cracks ran across his skin, forever to remain as a memento of his injury. "Just take it one day at a time. No rush, okay?"

"Yes, master," the man sighed, which prompted Tanim to give him a pat on the back.

"Okay, there and back again and we'll call it a night, how about that?" he encouraged his friend, who only nodded and slowly kept on shuffling his feet toward the far end of the fence. "You should go to bed too, master. I heard the whole encounter with Glavas didn't go very well. You must be exhausted."

"Don't worry. I just wanted to check on some people before I head to my room. You two were the last on the list."

"Ah, in that case, don't worry about us. Have a pleasant night, master," said Ilen.

It was impossible to tell what time it was unless one would walk outside the castle gate. The sunstone shone bright, but none of Ruun's followers have yet found a way to turn it off, or at the very least dim it. Creating a self-closing dome around it, as was done in most dwarven cities, was a feat of engineering that none of the present people was capable of. Nevertheless, Ruun did not plan to stay awake for much longer. The loss of his arm took a lot of energy out of him, and although the potions and alcohol helped dull the pain, he could still feel it. His only hope now was that it would get at least a bit better overnight. Weary feet then carried the demon all the way to one of the top floor's corner rooms. As the door closed behind him, he leaned against it and a painful groan left his mouth. It wanted to escape sooner, but Ruun did not let it. No longer trying to conceal anything, he wobbled his way to an old bookshelf, from which he grabbed a massive leatherbound book. He then went over to the far end of the room and sat down on his bed, legs crossed and the book placed carefully onto them.

"Hmm... Alright, let's get to it!" he spurted out with forced enthusiasm. The slight annoyance he felt was something he must have kept hidden from everyone, including himself. "Those on top of which lay the foundations of our society, we thank," he read from the book. "I offer you the most precious things I own - my time, my attention, my memory. May you never be forgotten. May you forever live with me." He flipped to the next page and continued reading. "Ruvian of Fildena. Had three children, all adults at the time of his death. Owned a small bakery later inherited by his wife. Already had everything he wished for in life. Umdir the Steadfast. Had a child that was about to hatch. Never got to meet them. That was his biggest wish and greatest regret. Surden of..."

"Master Ruun!" a knocking on his door suddenly interrupted him.

"I'm praying!" he called back. "I'll get to you later."

"But it's an emergency! Somebody's at the gates! And it's not good news!"