Marcus was looking at the rune circle glowing in front of him. Well, not exactly in front of him, but at a distance of about 10 feet away from him, but it was still glowing. And it was glowing red. Marcus did not like that.

Marcus was currently on Urtor, teleported by the Game Master Leyda along with Tasha. Leyda had cast the spell on Marcus so that he would survive on Urtor. Marcus examined the buff that he had received.

[Blessing of Death]

Allows non undead to survive on Urtor without experiencing the negative debuffs of the land mass.

Nice name. Nicer effect. He wondered what debuffs the landmass cast on the adventurers who came without the protection of this spell. He shuddered a bit. He wanted to know yet he did not. Quite the contradictory feeling he was having.

Tasha spoke from beside him, “Come on then. Everyone is waiting for you.”

Marcus looked at Tasha and then at the small cabin where she was gesturing with her head. NAIF had set up a temporary rescue centre about a hundred feet away from the rune circle. Leyda had performed some of her game master magic clearing the trees and set up a temporary structure which had soon been populated by NAIF officials teleported on an emergency basis.

Minus the five team members, the remaining champion and the champion’s team members were given a small cabin to rest till it was decided what to do. The cabin was small from the outside, but from the inside it was magically expanded to fit in all the fifteen adventurers comfortably. The cabin somehow reminded Marcus of something he had read. A fictional story. A tent which expanded inside but from outside it looked just like a tent. Something about magic, a boy who lived and then his memory fell short. Maybe it was not important.

Marcus walked into the cabin with Tasha. The cabin opened to a living room with a kitchen to the left side. There was a passage on the opposite end of the entrance which led to fifteen rooms where each of the adventurers was staying. Right now, none of them were in their rooms. They were either sitting on the sofas in the living room or were pacing around. They all looked at Marcus and Tasha when they entered.

Tanniv said, “Good to see you Tasha. Good to see you Marcus. I do not mean to be rude but can you tell us what the gork is going on?”

Tasha sat on one of the vacant chairs in the living room while Marcus leaned against one of the walls. He felt comfortable there.

Tasha said, “Long story short, the five adventurers who fell through the rune circle have teleported out of Una. They have gone to the prison planet of the demons.”

Marcus had read about the demons. About their names, their classes, their rankings, what they represent and their nature in general. However, Marcus had never read anything about where the demons lived or where they came from. He had read An Interview with a Demon by Lumina Lightweaver and Demonology by Lucine Evemoon as he had a copy of these books. They had been part of his quest from the Librarian faction. These books were good to understand and fight the demons but not understand their world. Hearing that they lived on a prison planet brought out a lot of questions for Marcus.

The others however, beat him to it. Everyone started asking questions at once and Marcus hardly heard the questions that were asked. Tasha raised a hand to settle everyone but it seemed that no one seemed to be keen on doing so.

“SILENCE”, said Tasha. Her voice had not been loud but Marcus could feel the power behind the word. Everyone stopped talking at once. No one spoke for some time as Tasha took a deep breath and collected herself.

Tasha said, “I understand you have questions. However, please refrain from asking till I tell you everything.”

Tasha looked at everyone for assent before continuing.

Tasha said, “As I said before, the rune circle leads to the prison planet of the demons. I will not be able to give you many details of the place as I am forbidden to do so. These are game master secrets, and you all are neither game masters nor in training to be game masters.”

“This means the information that I can share with you is that my parents are going to this prison planet to negotiate with the King of the Demons for release of the five adventurers who were sucked through the rune circle. However, my mother is not confident that they would be successful in their negotiations. So, she has asked me to lead a very small team to this prison planet and get the adventurers out.”

“How small?” asked Tanniv.

“A team of three. Me and two others”, said Tasha.

“Will three be enough?”

“No, but they will have to do.”

There was a moment of silence which was broken by Marcus, “Alright then, tell us all that you can about this prison planet of the demons.”

Tasha had to turn around as Marcus was leaning on the wall which was to the back of Tasha. She had a bemused expression on her face.

“The demon prison planet”, said Tasha, “Is outside of my parents’ control. This means that the powers that you have here would not work there. There you would have to rely on your skill alone and if you had natural magic before coming to Una, you could use it there.”

Marcus somehow felt that statement uncomfortable. Did he have skills outside Una? Will he be able to fight without using his active and passive spells?

Before Marcus could say anything Tanniv said, “It is a suicide quest, this plan of yours.”

Tasha said, “Not exactly. I am sure that before becoming an adventurer, some of you might have come from your home planet and would have been a warrior of some sort.”

There were uncomfortable glances between the present adventurers. Marcus was not sure what those glances meant; whether the present adventurers were all from Una or they were not warriors before coming to Una.

Tasha continued, “Anyways, I will be taking only one of you with me. The other member of my team has already been decided.”

She looked at Marcus who said, “Yes, I am the sacrificial goat.”

Tasha glared at him, and Marcus ignored her. He was now thinking that he should not have accepted this major quest and should have gone with Kyrie to help Furorin claim her throne. That would have been a lovely quest compared to what Tasha was asking him to do. There was a flicker of something in his head. Memory. And some sort of comfort passed through him. Weird. It seemed to Marcus that Memory was comforting him. Highly weird.

Tasha said, “Marcus and I will wait outside. Discuss what I have told you amongst yourself. Select one person to accompany me amongst you. If no one wishes to go, I will understand. Take your time. There is no hurry.”

Tasha stood up and started walking towards the door. Marcus needed no prompting. He followed her outside the small cabin. They put some distance between the cabin and themselves. Marcus observed that Tasha did not go inside the temporary NAIF facility set up but walked to a tree nearby and stood leaning at it.

“So, what do you think?” asked Tasha.

“About what?” Marcus asked back.

“You know what I mean?”

“Do I?”

“Please do not play games with me, Marcus. You would not like the result.”

“And you intend to take me somewhere where I would not have access to any of my skills. How do you propose I survive there? I am an amnesiac, remember? I am not sure I have had skills surviving a demonic prison planet.”

Tasha tilted her head and looked at Marcus with pursed lips for some time. It looked to Marcus as if she was debating what to say to him or merely contemplating that he was an idiot for not realizing what was obvious to her.

Marcus said after some time, “You do not have an answer.”

“Perhaps”, said Tasha with a shrug, “But I have a feeling that you do.”

Marcus felt a bit of a chill at that statement. Did she know about Memory? Or did she suspect something? Marcus was not sure. Then he realized as to why did he feel a chill? It was Memory’s problem if it was discovered, not Marcus’. However, the feeling that he was getting from Memory was that it would be both their problems if it was discovered by the game masters or anyone related to them.

Marcus did not say anything to Tasha and both of them relapsed into silence after that. They had to wait for quite some time. No one was coming out of the small cabin. Marcus was starting to feel hungry and his stomach grumbled a bit.

Tasha and Marcus had lunch in the cafeteria of the temporary set up NAIF facility. It was well equipped and the food was delicious. After lunch, Tasha disappeared into the facility letting Marcus to his own devices.

Marcus wondered what to do. Maybe he could have a chat with Kyrie but decided against it. He thought about having a chat with Orin, telling him about his decision for the major quest and why he had not come to Karzasham, but then Marcus decided against that too. Instead, Marcus simply sat beneath a tree with his eyes closed and decided to take a nap.

Marcus was sure that he needed to ask Tasha more about their mission and about the demonic world but he did not feel like it. He could research on the globalnet. He was sure that he would get some information but he did not do that. He simply lazed around. This was not like him. He knew that but for some reason, he did not care.

Marcus suddenly felt a shift in the magic. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction from where he felt the shift and stopped short. He could see the rune circle glowing even from where he was sitting. It was glowing a bright red, throwing off light in every direction.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Marcus wondered what to do when the door to the small cabin opened and all the adventurers inside rushed out, their weapons drawn. Tasha came out too, with few NAIF officials and proceeded cautiously towards the light.

Marcus also drew his twinblade but he did not move. He was not foolish enough to rush into whatever was happening with the demonic portal.

The red light flashed for a few more seconds and then it completely disappeared. Marcus saw that everyone had stopped as if expecting something, waiting for something. When nothing happened for a few moments, Tasha and the group from NAIF walked forwards towards the rune circle. Marcus could not see or hear from where he was standing, but there were shouts of surprises amongst the NAIF personnel.

Tasha soon gestured to Tanniv to come forward. Marcus had not observed but the adventurers had stopped walking towards the circle too once the light had stopped. They now walked towards Tasha. Marcus did too.

As Marcus reached the circle, he understood the reason behind everyone’s surprise. The rune circle had disappeared.

***

Tasha looked at everyone gathered. The rune circle had disappeared as was expected. However, it had happened earlier than her parents had anticipated. What did that mean? Did she have less time than her mother calculated?

Tasha made a decision then and there. She believed that she did not have time to waste. She walked up to Tanniv.

Tasha said, “Tanniv, have you all made a decision yet?”

“No”, said Tanniv, “But I have a feeling that no one among us wants to go with you Tasha. There are so many unknown factors in your plan and we are happy with our life here. No one wants to risk that.”

“I understand”, nodded Tasha, “But I do not have much time. I am leaving. You should go back to Elementium. Turn in your quest and continue on your major quest forward.”

“Understood”, said Tanniv and he turned to others. They fell into a quick huddle to discuss their path forwards.

Tasha did not see or hear what they were discussing. She was focused on her task. She walked up to Marcus who put away his twinblade as she approached.

“We are leaving”, said Marcus as Tasha approached him.

It was not a question. Somehow Marcus had figured out that it was time to go. Tasha nodded and Marcus summoned his mount, his mana wyrm. Tasha admired the beast. It was beautiful.

Marcus got up on his mount and Tasha summoned a bubble of protection around her.

Marcus asked, “Okay then. Where do we go?”

“There is a way to the prison planet of the demons from the palace at Melancholia”, said Tasha thoughtfully, “We shall fly to Elementium. It is the capital city of Urtor. There we shall take the portal to Melancholia. Once reaching the palace, we shall equip ourselves to survive the prison planet and then take the portal.”

Marcus looked at the sky and said, “Will we be going immediately to the prison planet or will we wait for tomorrow. Considering the sun and”, Marcus looked at the system clock, “the time, it seems I have a feeling that we would reach Melancholia by night. I don’t know about you but I do like to sleep and be fresh before such an important mission.”

Tasha frowned at him. She was in a hurry but Marcus was right. It would be better to teleport to the prison planet in the morning.

Tasha said, “Alright then. Let’s get to my parents’ palace first.”

Marcus nodded and then asked, “Where is your mount? Do you have a flying machine or MQ or something like me?”

Tasha gave him a sly grin, “I fly on my own.”

She shot up in the air. She heard Marcus swear behind her and then felt him take off too. They both shot towards Elementium. They would reach the city in an hour.

Tasha hoped as she flew that they would not be late to save the missing adventurers.

***

Marcus waited for Tasha to come back. She had gone in search of weapons they could use for the prison planet. Marcus was ready for the planet. He felt refreshed and quite relaxed after a good night’s sleep. He even had the [Well Rested] spell activated but he was not sure how effective it would be on the prison planet.

Tasha had woken him up one hour after the zero hour and told him to get ready fast. She had already asked some servants to lay out the clothes and the armor he would be wearing. Marcus was wearing a black tunic with black pants which was held tightly by a black slash. Over the tunic he wore a large full sleeve black trenchcoat. Tasha assured him that it was protective and it was an armor. Marcus had tried moving around in it and had found out that it was quite mobile.

Marcus was also wearing black socks and boots and he muttered to himself that today he was quite the man in black. Tasha had asked him to put all of his current inventory, equipped or unequipped inside the utility belt.

“We cannot remove the utility belt without causing you great discomfort”, Tasha had said, “However, be aware that your utility belt won’t work on the prison planet. Hence, I have prepared a backpack of supplies for you.”

The backpack was predictably black in colour and it had a spare change of clothes, food which would last some time and water.

Marcus had asked, “Should I not remove my utility belt if it is useless on the prison planet?”

“You can but then you would feel highly discomforted while you are on Una. When you first came here and did not have a utility belt, it was okay. However now, it would be extremely painful to remove and an irritating pain would linger as long as you are on Una. Then you would have to go through the entire process of bonding with it again.”

Tasha had wanted to continue listing the disadvantages of removing the utility belt and Marcus had interrupted her, “I get it. Removing the utility belt is bad. What about weapons then? I cannot use the twinblade in my inventory?”

“I will bring you something suitable”, Tasha had said and then disappeared.

That was about an hour ago. Marcus wondered how long it took to select a weapon. Just as the thought passed his head, Tasha came back. Tasha was dressed similarly as Marcus; all black with black armor trench coat and a black backpack slung across her shoulder. However, as she came back, she had a broadsword resting on her hips and a round metal shield slung on her back. She was also carrying a big bag of something heavy.

“Pick one”, said Tasha and dropped the heavy bag. She opened it and Marcus saw a lot of weapons.

Marcus wanted a twinblade but he saw no twinblade amongst the weapons in the bag. Marcus looked at Tasha.

Tasha said, “A twinblade would not be feasible. You need to select weapons that you can carry with you for quite some time. A light weapon would do.”

Marcus looked at the assortment of weapons in front of him. He had fought with twinblades on Una till now. How could Tasha suddenly expect him to change his fighting style. Then he felt it. Something stirred within him and Memory whispered to him.

Choose the longsword, said Memory.

Marcus bent down to pick the longsword when Memory hissed again, Not this one. The other longsword, beside this longsword. This is not the right length.

Marcus was surprised but did not show it. He picked the longer longsword. He wondered why they were both called longswords when one was shorter than the other.

It depends upon the person who has produced the sword, said Memory in Marcus’ mind, Different smiths have different crafting styles. Weight, balance, sharpness change from smith to smith and also based on the materials used. There are other details but it would be too much of a hassle to explain them to you.

I knew about blacksmithing at some point, thought Marcus to Memory, Wouldn’t it be easier to just unlock that memory for me?

There was no response from Memory as Marcus expected. This had been Memory’s behaviour after all as long as Marcus knew. Always with the instructions and vague explanations. Never answer Marcus’ questions.

Marcus sighed as he sheathed the longsword at his hip. Tasha raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask if he was sure? Marcus simply nodded.

Tasha said, “Put the sword diagonally across your back. The longsword will be very uncomfortable at the hip.”

“But I won’t be able to draw it fast if it is on my back.”

“The longsword is not meant for fast draw. Are you sure you do not want any other weapon?”

Marcus shook his head and said, “Well, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

Tasha told Marcus to follow her and started leading him underground. They passed through many passageways to a large hall. The hall had a small platform in the centre with a door on the platform. Marcus blinked. He was not hallucinating. A lone door stood on the platform. Marcus examined it from all angles and it was indeed simply standing on the platform.

“What are you doing?” asked Tasha. She stepped up on the platform and simply opened the door, “Follow me for now. Questions later.”

Marcus gasped as the door opened into an empty space. Tasha stepped through and told Marcus to hurry. Marcus stepped through the door and Tasha closed it. The door disappeared.

“Where are we?” asked Marcus.

Marcus had stepped through the door on a rock flying in the air. The rock was paved and Marcus could see faint traces of something which resembled a road. All around him, Marcus could see many floating rocks. The sky was orangish in colour and Marcus looked down. There he did not see a ground but a purplish nothingness. The orange sky and the purplish nothingness seemed to meet at the horizon and the space was filled with large and small floating rocks.

Marcus asked again, “Where the fuck are we?”

Tasha said, “As I said before. Questions later. Follow me for now. We don’t have much time. Just a warning. Do not attack anything. Even if it attacks you.”

Saying that Tasha started walking towards one of the edges of the rock. Marcus had so many questions but he refrained himself from asking. Tasha had told him that she would answer his questions later.

Tasha jumped from the rock and landed on another floating rock. Marcus gaped at her. He rather doubted he would be able to jump like her.

Tasha said, “Don’t think. Just jump. You will make it.”

Marcus took a deep breath and jumped. He landed safely beside Tasha. He let out the breath he had been holding. Tasha slapped on his back with a grin and told him to follow her. Marcus complied, shaking his head and muttering about mental people.

Marcus and Tasha walked and jumped from one rock to another for quite some time. All the time Marcus wanted to talk, ask questions but Tasha simply shushed him. They even passed a few creatures who liked a mix of imps and flying carrions to Marcus. Marcus wanted to ask about them but a glare from Tasha quieted him before he could even ask.

They walked and jumped like this for a few hours. Then finally they seemed to be nearing their destination. It was a huge rock on which stood many swirling portals. The portals were a different shade of blue and they seemed to be located at certain distances from each other. There was a large dark blue central portal.

Tasha said, “We are going there. Not the central portal. You see the portal second to the left and third from the bottom. We will be going through that to reach our destination.”

“Okay.”

“Follow me. Keep down and keep quiet. If we are discovered, we are screwed.”

Marcus noticed the imp carrion mix creatures near the portal. There were around 10 of them and they seemed to be guarding the central portal. They did not seem to be interested in other portals.

Marcus and Tasha sneaked near the portal they wanted to go through. However, their luck did not hold out as halfway to the portal from their position they were discovered.

“Run”, hissed Tasha and they ran.

The imps did not attack initially because they were surprised to suddenly find Marcus and Tasha skulking through their realm. However, shouts of alarms started off in a language Marcus could not identify.

Marcus ran, jumping and dodging the arrows and some spells thrown at him. Some of the firebolts hit him and he felt a bit singed. He swore as he made the final jump. He was hit with a force type spell and he fell hard on the large rock which contained the portals.

Marcus had his wind knocked out of him. He needed to move. Staying stationary would mean death. However, he did not have the power to move.

The next moment Marcus felt someone lift him. It was Tasha. She picked him up, dodged a few missiles and tossed him through the portal they were supposed to go.

The portal was at least about 30 feet above the ground and Marcus screamed as he was thrown.

Marcus was almost at the portal when another force spell hit him. He went through the portal and blacked out.