 
ENZI'S IRREGULARS ACT I

The Calm Before the Storm

by Steve Mossman

Published by Steve Mossman at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Steve Mossman

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

Update #0001

Update #0002

Update #0003

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Enzi's Irregulars #0001

A light breeze blew across the grass as the man in the watchtower surveyed the area. He did not see the slight movement below him and he heard the slight whistle in the air too late. The arrowhead pierced through the bottom of his chin and shot up into his skull. The sentry collapsed to the floor of the watchtower in a heap. The figure in the grass below moved upright and waved the rest of her team forward. She slithered ahead to the wall of the brigand encampment as the rest of the team advanced. The archer noted that the newest member was as loud as the largest member. She only hoped he was anywhere near as skilled.

***

"Excuse my poor grasp of your language," the stout creature said.

The creature was roughly humanoid in shape, though it was barely six inches over four feet in height. It was very nearly as broad across the shoulders as it was tall and its thick arms reached well past its knees. It had a thick torso and short but powerful legs. Its skin had a rough texture with a reddish gray tone and its features were very craggy. He had hair and a beard, though it almost looked like crystalline strands in the sunlight. Like all of his kind, his eyes were completely black. His race called themselves the Halz, though most human legends just called them dwarves.

"Your grasp is better than many who were born to it friend," the human replied.

The human was a native of Feergrus. Like all of those land his skin tone was chocolate brown with a dusky gray tone. His hair was white, betraying his age, and his pale hazel eyes showed wisdom and a great fiery resolve. Some would call those eyes yellow in color and all would be drawn to look towards one of them thanks to a scar on the man's face that crawled from under his right jawbone across his cheek, under the right eye and over the top of the bridge of the nose. It was by no means the man's only scar, but it was the most obvious one.

"You have come to seek our aid? Or to become a mercenary?"

"Both in a way," the dwarf replied, "My people are fading. Most want to stay hidden in our hidden homes as each of the clans die out. A few, like myself, have decided to venture into the world. Perhaps we will find a way to grow our people again, to thrive once more. We have broken from our old clans, set in their ways. We call ourselves the Earthbreakers."

"So how would one address you?"

"Well, most would just call me Ritter. If you need more you can call me Ritter Earthbreaker. I highly doubt you are going to run into many of the Halz, especially ones that might share my given name. The chances seem quite slim."

"Do you know much of chance?"

"It is something all our people have to learn at least a small bit about. Engineering is in our blood, and that requires a solid understanding of mathematics and probability."

"That education places you above most humans in those matters then, though I would warn you not to always assume so."

"So I've told me my name, what should I call you?"

"I am called Enzi. We will leave it at that for now," the man said with a grin, "But you should be happy that you ran into me. A lot of humans would seek to take advantage of an outsider. Especially one who is not human. I specialize in mercenaries of an unusual nature."

"Yes, so I had heard. After some fool sought to imprison me for his profit. He was quite talkative when I had my axe out and him at his disadvantage."

"Usually I am the one who seeks out the people I want to join my mercenary company. However we could certainly use someone with a bit more formal education."

The Halz nodded, "Luckily I learned the language of the Nuvroci at home, and some of my people's allies among the Nuvroci taught me some of the other tongues of you humans. One would think you would have just one, it would be more efficient."

"Humans are rarely efficient."

"Then I can understand why you might want me among your mercenaries. It will give me a chance to learn more of your human conflicts. Perhaps with a more neutral look than joining one side or another."

"Then let me introduce you to the rest of the team," Enzi said, "Follow me."

Enzi walked with a slight limp, something that few would notice. Ritter was one for seeing small details. Having seen the scar on the man's face, a slight limp did not surprise him. This human was one that had seen a large number of battle and had survived. That was an accomplishment for any warrior. Enzi still walked tall, standing a little over six feet tall. His age had not yet caused him to hunch over. When the pair arrived, Ritter was slightly surprised at the final location. He saw a large covered wagon hitched to four powerful oxen. There was writing on the side of it, and luckily the Halz could read one of the languages.

"Enzi's Irregulars," Ritter said under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Enzi asked.

Ritter raised his eyebrow at the sharp senses of the old man, "Ah, nothing."

The old man smirked and came to the back of the wagon as Ritter came up beside him. Inside the darkness Ritter could make out several shapes. He heard a growling sound and saw a large wolf perched near one of the shapes, obscuring most of that shape's bottom half.

"Quiet Mayitso," a feminine voice said, "It seems we may have a new teammate."

The voice came from the shape behind the immense wolf, but then another feminine voice was heard. While the first voice had been soft and soothing, the second almost seemed to croak.

"A dwarf? What is next? Go find one of the scrawny elves if there are any left?"

Ritter's face immediately turned more sour. He had heard plenty of stories about the elves throughout his life. He had never seen one and hoped for their sake that he never would. Before their betrayal, the dwarves had been a thriving race. After that, most of his race had been slain, and then separated into a few small and dying clans. The insinuation that they too had failed as a race seemed to be like karmic justice to his ears. Still, the thought of them brought no happy thoughts.

"They are called the Halz, Kava," Enzi said, "I would think you would be more sensitive to racial nicknames."

"What would it matter to me?" Kava replied in her croaking voice, "Your people called us Bullywugs, the damned lizards called us Kappa, and we call ourselves the Vodyanoi. Different languages, different words. Though I do enjoy your peoples' word for the lizards. Troglodyte has such a perfect sound to it. Much better than them calling themselves the Naxaeless."

Enzi merely sighed, "That is Kava Roukami, a vodyanoi warrior."

The dwarf's eyes had quickly adjusted to the dark inside the wagon. The eyes of a Halz were used to such dark conditions. The one called Kava was a short amphibian creature, not much taller than Ritter himself although she was certainly not as broadly built. Her greenish skin was roughly textured and her back almost looked like a shell. Her head was squat with large orange eyes and a wide mouth. She resembled a cross between a turtle and a frog, except in a humanoid form.

Enzi motioned to a huge hulking cloaked creature, "And this is Aldebaran Celeno."

The massive form snorted and turned its head enough that Ritter could see beneath the cloak's hood. The face of the creature reminded him of the oxen that pulled the wagon. Even the Halz had heard the myths and legends of the minotaur. Now he could see one for himself. Ritter had imagined that such tales were not quite true, but he guessed that nearly anything was possible.

Enzi then motioned to the enormous dark gray wolf that had growled earlier, "This is, as you may have guessed from earlier, Mayitso Hastine. His people rarely mix with humans."

"People?" Ritter asked.

Enzi chuckled, "This is no mere wolf. We call them lycanthropes although most do not realize what they really are. Their ability to disguise themselves in human form can be useful, although their human forms usually look more like the Vashimi."

"Not a disguise for civilized lands," came the soft female voice from the cloaked figure seated behind the protective lycanthrope.

"And finally the one who leads the forces in the field, the esteemed Eurysa Thulea Medenos."

Ritter wondered at the cloaked woman and he soft spoken manner. If she commanded this crew in the field it spoke a lot about her skill. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he saw that the lycanthrope had helped to hide the fact that Eurysa was sitting strangely. She did not appear to have normal legs. As she reached out her hand in greetings, the Halz saw the hand was covered in brownish scales. He also noticed that her lower body was that of a serpent.

"I hate to cut this short," Enzi said, "But I have a mission for us. One against just the sort of trouble we need to stop. A mercenary group has turned to banditry. They have a small encampment with three towers and a wall. Any attack on them by regular forces would cost far too many resources and lives."

"Do we have to take any of them alive this time?" Kava asked resignedly.

"They are just bandits, nothing special needed," Enzi replied.

Blood lust sparkled in the eyes of the vodyanoi, "Oh finally. I love being able to let loose."

***

After killing the sentry with her bow and slithering up to the wall of the bandit encampment, Eurysa peeked through the entrance in the wall nearest that tower. A single guard sat inside, paying little attention to the entrance. He obviously expected the men in the towers to catch any problems. Eurysa noted the arrival of most of the rest of her team. Mayitso was missing, but she knew he had to be close. She had never known anyone to be better at stealth than him. Eurysa knew she would have to move soon. She could almost feel Kava's need to kill something radiating from the vodyanoi. The guard was not in a good position for Eurysa to stop him stealthily but she really did not want the bandits to be alarmed quite yet.

Mayitso solved her problem in a flash of gray. A slight gurgle was the only noise the man made as the lycanthrope tore his throat out. Eurysa was not even sure where Mayitso had sprung from. She merely motioned the team to move into the encampment. Weapons were drawn and they moved inside only to have a bandit exit his tent at exactly the wrong moment. Eurysa met his gaze as he stood mouth agape. Her cloak's hood was off and the man was merely staring at the snakes that writhed atop her head with a fearful gaze. Then he saw Eurysa's green eyes on her scaled face. The eyes were like that of a serpent and enthralled the man.

Eurysa's eyes flashed with power as she hissed, "Don't move. Don't make a sound."

The bandit suddenly found his muscles locked. He had no choice but to be a living statue.

Eurysa smiled, "Sometimes being the world's last Gorgon has its benefits."

Enzi's Irregulars #0002

Ritter charged across the open plains towards the walled bandit encampment. His steel armor clattered as his short legs worked to propel him. The rest of Enzi's Irregulars quickly outpaced Ritter. It allowed the Halz to get a good look at his companions in the open sun, and the dwarf disapproved of them taking the lead. He was the only one that wore armor, but none of the others seemed to have enough natural armor to make up for the lack of it. He had thought of many questions just from the ride to the bandit camp, but seeing the others in motion really let him see what he thought were their flaws.

The vodyanoi had appeared to have the thickest natural armor as they were seated, but in motion Ritter saw that the shell was softer and more flexible than it had originally appeared. Her weapons also seemed like a joke to the Halz. She had a few simple hatchets slung on her belt, and one in each hand. They were not of any particularly noteworthy design or quality. It was the kind of tool for chopping firewood, not for the slaying of foes. They somehow fit the primitive ferocity the amphibious humanoid exuded however.

The leader of the group, the gorgon Eurysa, had scales like a snake. Ritter doubted that they would do much to slow a weapon however. However, armor would not go well with her stealth or mobility. Ritter doubted most armorers would find an easy way to protect her tail either. She used a bow of Agonish design, much to the dwarf's disdain. The Halz had invented crossbows for their ranged weaponry, and Ritter knew such weapons were popular in Nuvroc. As far as Ritter was concerned, the bow was an inferior weapon based on elven designs. He chalked up the preponderance of bows among the humans and their ilk as mere ignorance that time would rectify.

The minotaur had an enormously bulky build covered in reddish brown fur. He moved like one would in heavy armor despite wearing nothing more than a cloak and a loincloth. A full eight inches over eight feet tall and with shoulders even more broad than the dwarf, Aldebaran towered over the rest of the group. Ritter imagined it might be difficult to armor a creature of that size. The weight would be troublesome, although the minotaur appeared quite strong.

Yet all that paled in comparison to the creature's weapon. It was a sword of obviously elven design. Unlike a straight edged human blade, the two handed sword Aldebaran used had curves along the edges. The Halz could see no point to such wavy edges on a blade. Curves were difficult to fashion, and straight edges served well enough in the dwarf's eyes. It was easy enough to see in dwarven construction with square pillars and straight lines. Anything that could be supported by a curve could be equally and elegantly supported by straight lines. They did not have to connect at pure ninety degree angles after all.

The lycanthrope Mayitso was an unusual case. He had no weapons and no armor. He was just an enormous wolf in his natural form. A wild animal with the intelligence of a sentient race was certainly dangerous. The Halz could respect that. Armor on such a form would be impossible. That was a serious problem in the dwarf's eyes. Hunters had learned for years upon years the best spot to place weapons to kill such prey. Ritter did not expect Mayitso to last long on a field of battle against a prepared foe. The Halz expected that Enzi's Irregulars would have a short existence in the Disputed Lands. He just hoped they would not get him killed before he could evaluate the human world.

***

Aldebaran, Kava, and Ritter moved into the bandit encampment. They rushed past Mayitso and Eurysa who had opened the way. Mayitso joined the rush in and the four melee combatants spread out. As their alarms had not yet been raised, the first few bandits were easy targets. The sound of battle quickly alerted the camp. Ritter quickly worried about the other warriors as all would soon be outnumbered. The Halz knew he could handle the soft bandits in number, but suspected the others might not fare as well.

Ritter kept his shield up and swung his warhammer at his foes. Like most of his armor, the hammer had been lovingly forged with Halz craftsmanship. His helm and his shield were of human manufacture. He had picked them up in Nuvroc. The dwarves usually put the symbol of their clan on their shield and helms. As one of the Earthbreakers, Ritter had no clan symbol. The use of human gear seemed an appropriate symbol to the Halz.

He glanced over his shoulder to see how his team was doing, expecting to have to run to the rescue. The minotaur was drawing the most attention, but the huge sweeps of his blade were cutting foes down handily. Several times he cleaved right through one foe to hit a second. The bandits quickly learned to fear the giant creature. Kava fought in an entirely different style. She kept low to the ground and used her powerful legs to propel her in random directions. Her acrobatic skills were impressive as she tumbled around her foes confusing them with her unpredictable movements.

Her hatchets were deadly. Hamstrings were hewn left and right. Blood flew as the hatchets seemed to find the weakest spots in the bandit's defenses. Their offense seemed useless against her as their blades always seemed to swing through the area Kava was no longer in. Mayitso's tactics, however, gave the dwarf great concern. He seemed utterly fearless. He charged foes and pounced upon them to tear out their throats. The dwarf saw an archer take aim and fire a perfect shot at the great wolf. Ritter was rather shocked to see the arrow glance off the lycanthrope's hide.

The Halz was certain it had been a perfect shot, but assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him in the heat of battle. The archer that fired at Mayitso never got a second shot. In the rear, watching over the assault was Eurysa. Her bow supported the group. She picked off targets that were difficult for the melee combatants to reach or at other times evened the odds if it looked like any of the group was outnumbered too greatly. The dwarf merely shook his head and returned to his work. The humans were soft in Ritter's opinion. Most of the bandits wore little more than leather armor.

Ritter put his full concentration into the battle in front of him. He felt the satisfying crunch of bone as his warhammer fell time and time again upon his foes. His shield kept most blows from connecting to him and the rest found his armor impenetrable. Quickly the bandits turned to flee. Ritter did not give chase. His short legs were a disadvantage in such races. Eurysa stopped those that fled easily enough. Her arrows were deadly and accurate. Though the Halz had found many reasons to be wary of the team, they had proven competent enough for this venture at least.

As the battle quieted down, most of the group began to gather near Eurysa. Kava stood over the fallen mercenaries she had slain, her slick skin coated in the blood of her foes. The blood lust still ran in her eyes as well as disappointment.

"This was all?" the vodyanoi asked, "We need a bigger battle. I need to be standing on top of a pile of corpses I made so high that I can see the far end of the marsh from here."

Aldebaran grunted in his gravelly voice, "You could return to the Marsh of Vashim if you miss it so much."

"Miss the sulfur vents and their wondrous smell?" Kava replied, "Well maybe a little. Human stench is not much better. I just don't get a good opportunity to kill things there. Everything likes to hide. Where is the fun in that?"

The minotaur merely snorted in disgust. The Halz thought he could understand the beast's feelings. Such blood lust should be saved for a foe worthy of disdain. Goblinoids seemed the obvious choice there, or perhaps elves. Ritter wondered if the elves were somehow related to the nose-less vermin that infested the world. One could always tell the presence of a goblinoid by their heavy breaths trough their gaping maws full of misshapen teeth. The dwarf imagined that their lack of noses meant a reduced sense of smell. This certainly made a lot of sense to him. The smell of a den of goblinoids was enough to make Ritter want to smite off his own nose.

"Enzi and the wagon should be here shortly," Eurysa said with her soft yet forceful voice, "Let us see if there are any spoils of war to claim."

Soon enough, the five non-humans had searched the camp for loose coins or salable materials. The wagon pulled up to the partially fortified encampment and the five mercenaries began loading armor, weapons, and other gear into it. Enzi made his path around the wagon to greet the mercenaries. He nodded to Eurysa and smiled at the rest.

"Good job," the human from Feergrus stated as his yellow eyes twinkled, "Three towers, some walls, but no gates yet. Not that hard a job then. Still, this will keep a lot of innocent people from being harmed."

"Find us a harder job next time," Kava grumbled, "I barely whetted the thirst of my axes."

Ignoring the vodyanoi, Enzi looked to Eurysa, "So how did our newest recruit fit in?"

"Well he certainly had time to pay attention to the others as he fought," Eurysa said, "His skills will do if he keeps his mind on the job at hand."

Ritter raised an eyebrow. The gorgon had certainly had the perfect view to keep an eye on the team and coordinate. However he bristled at the thought that he might have been distracted. It was fair to think that certainly, though he had his reasons. He imagined that the gorgon would never know them if he didn't speak them aloud, despite her obvious power over the mind.

"Aye," the dwarf said, "It would be easier to keep my worry on only my own foes if I had trust that the others would survive and not need a rescue. You are lucky these bandits are weak. One good blow looks like it would slice any of you. Especially the poor wolf, I was certain they had him dead to rights once until luck intervened."

Eurysa let out an odd hissing sound and her serpent-like eyes sparkled. It took a moment, but the Halz figured out it had to be mirth and the hissing was her form of laughter. The great wolf beside her perked up its ears at the sound.

"You need not worry," Eurysa said, "Though I suppose you have not had time to learn our abilities. Mayitso may very well be the toughest of all of us. A lycanthrope is a fey creature, tied to the magic of the world. Most weapons will have a hard time harming him. I am glad you had concerns for us, but you will quickly learn that they are not warranted."

The lycanthrope preened a bit at the praise.

Enzi chuckled, "Well, you certainly have had your chance to begin learning of the world, friend Halz. Now, let us head back to Center Point and see if we can offload these goods."

***

The Enzi's Irregulars wagon sat behind one of the rows of tents that made up the merchant's area of Center Point. The shop that Enzi was visiting was built into one of the stones that scattered Center Point. It sat in the center of Merchant's Row and was a highly prized shop. Enzi had done business with the man that owned it for many years and knew exactly how far to trust him.

"Enzi!"

"Ah, Gharaf Targata," Enzi said, "Still here I see."

"You don't think any of the other merchants could get the upper hand on me do you?" the man said, his oily voice oddly soothing the Feergrus man.

"Not likely," the dark skinned mercenary captain replied.

Gharaf was dressed as flamboyantly as he always did. Like most Ravaleians, he loved fine clothing, jewelry, and body art. While he played the part of the ostentatious Ravaleian well, Enzi knew that Gharaf would gladly use every bit of the reputation of his people to his advantage. They were known to be free with their coin and the merchant knew how to make his customers feel like they had made a great deal with him. He pretended a servile manner when it suited his purpose, but did little of such with Enzi.

The Ravaleian man quickly looked over the goods that Enzi had brought him and the two haggled out a price. Money changed hands and the Feergrus man left the shop out the back door, the same entrance he had used to come inside originally. After he left a tall gaunt man in pure white robes stepped out of his hiding place.

"That was him?" the Kurrot asked.

Gharaf nodded, "Enzi. Leader of Enzi's Irregulars."

"And you are sure he harbors unusual creatures there?"

"Certainly. While it might not be entirely common knowledge, it is well enough known. As long as he is useful and his monsters don't cause any problems then those that know of them turn a blind eye."

"You seemed familiar enough with him," the Kurrot said warily, "Why would you betray him for coin?"

The Ravaleian laughed, "Betray? I give out information if people pay me enough. There are others who know of him and his business. I would rather the coin come to me than anyone else. I am a businessman, pure and simple. If someone wants me to forget something, it merely takes coin. My memory can be refreshed with larger amounts of coin. What is done with the information is none of my concern."

The Kurrot nodded, then turned and left the shop. He looked out in the distance as the wagon carrying the monstrous mercenaries rolled away. He smiled, then continued on his journey. He would cross path with Enzi's Irregulars soon enough. He had some research to finish first.

Enzi's Irregulars #0003

The hammer crashed downwards and the target shattered. Dust and stone chips flew as the soft stone that had been used as target practice was nearly disintegrated. Ritter put his hammer away and nodded to the others. The minotaur merely grunted but the vodyanoi's orange eyes glittered with some obscene thought.

"Oh the thought of how that would crush bone," Kava said, "I think I'll have happy dreams about that."

"It is to crush armor," the Halz said, "The crushing blow can affect bone as well, but any good weapon is made to cause damage to your foe."

Eurysa was curled around a stump, effectively sitting there. Mayitso was laying on the ground nearby. Finally Enzi made his way over to the group.

"Well, let us finally debrief on all that happened at the bandit camp."

Eurysa described the tactics they used. Ritter heard of all that happened that he had missed. The Gorgon's first shots had been to eliminate the other tower guards. He learned the tactic to rush in had been decided based on the light armor and small number of rogue mercenaries. The surprise had easily taken out nearly half of the bandits before they could retaliate. Even then, the enemy had been unprepared for such a brutal attack.

Enzi nodded, "A little dangerous to take a new hire into a fast paced situation like that, but with that kind of armor I can understand the decision. Our next job is going to require less of a full frontal assault."

"Too bad," Kava said.

"Don't worry, I am sure there will be plenty of combat for you," the dark skinned human said, "I have recently learned that a mage of some power has gathered some unusual forces of his own for an assault on undefended towns."

"Ugh," Kava replied, "Why do they always go after the defenseless? Where is the challenge in that?"

Enzi continued, ignoring the vodyanoi's comments. The minotaur seemed not to be listening or even caring at all. The same could be said for the lycanthrope. The gorgon, however, was listening intently, as was Ritter. The dwarf had never dealt with a mage before, he was more than willing to listen to the experiences of others on this matter.

"It appears the mage is a summoner, able to weave spells that call creatures to fight for him out of thin air. Yet he has also gathered a few unusual allies as well," Enzi said as he began to list them off, "One of the lizardfolk of the marsh."

Kava spit at the ground, "That one is mine."

"A lycanthrope."

Mayitso's ears perked up at that and swiveled to listen more carefully to the Feergrus man.

"And an earth giant."

Ritter's eyes narrowed. He knew of the giants all too well, especially the earth giants. The Nuvroci called them trolls. The Agonish called them ogres. The Halz called them many names, none of which the dwarf would prefer to repeat in polite company. If one of his people was going to run into trouble upon leaving their tunnels in the mountains, it was very likely to be earth giants. Their size and power could overwhelm an unprepared Halz. Enzi gave directions of where to find the group based on what little intelligence he had gathered. The five inhuman mercenaries then began their trek across the plains of the Disputed Lands.

***

Ritter's boot found something that crunched and snapped. He was half afraid to look down and see what it was. Luckily it was just an old blade. Exposure to the elements had left it rusty and brittle. It was not uncommon to find such things scattered around the Disputed Lands. Many had died on the fields, many that had no stories of their fall. Ahead the Halz saw the rotted remains of what might have been a wagon. There was little left of the wood and it was mostly overgrown. The bones of the fallen were nearby, dried in the sun. The vegetation that had been killed by the decomposition had mostly recovered and would soon envelope the bones. Then another traveler might find do much as the dwarf had, only this time with brittle bone.

Ritter nearly jumped when Kava spoke to him in her normal blunt fashion, "So what are you anyway?"

The dwarf raised an eyebrow, "A Halz of course."

The vodyanoi laughed, "No, I meant as a type of creature. Like fish, lizard, mammal, or amphibian. Your skin looks like stone, so that is a bit different."

"I'm not sure I understand your classifications," Ritter replied.

"Well fish are scaly, lay eggs, and live in water. Lizards are the same except they live on land. Mammals give live birth and use parts of their own bodies to feed their young," Kava replied with a slight look of disgust, "Amphibians are a mix of all the best parts of the creature types."

"So what are birds then?" the dwarf asked.

"Birds are lizards. They don't breathe underwater, they lay eggs, and those feathers just look like a different type of scales to me."

"I guess the Halz are mammals then. While we often wonder if we had once been hewn from stone due to our appearance, our skin is similar to other humanoids. I wonder why you want to know."

Kava nodded, "Well, unlike some, you fit well into the way of things in the world. I study the nature of things."

"Unlike some?"

"Yeah," the amphibian replied, "Like Eurysa. I can't get answers out of her. She has scales. She has snakes for hair. That all screams out lizard. But then she has those lumps of flesh on her chest like a mammal. Is she some sort of unnatural half breed of a snake and a human or what?"

If it was not for the fact that his eye was a solid black color, Kava might have noticed the dwarf rolling his eyes, "I don't tend to speculate on others and their origins."

"You should. You might assume the wrong things are important otherwise. Before I started studying nature, I thought those flesh lumps on some humans might have been important. Of course, all hitting them with an axe did was let loose some blood. No vitals organs or anything else. A Ravaleian scientist told me about mammals. I didn't understand most of what he said at the time, but I got the gist of it. I'd go back and ask him for more information now that I know more, except I had to disembowel him when it turned out he was going to try to capture us all and use us as his own private science experiment animals."

Ritter grimaced slightly at that. The vodyanoi had let it go nonchalantly. The Halz wasn't sure how such things couldn't bother her, and was afraid to ask. It was far easier to understand Eurysa's reluctance to speak with the vodyanoi about her nature. Knowing the small amphibian used her knowledge to unleash a more effective death for her foes was unsettling. Her blunt nature certainly didn't help smooth over relations either. At least she was social, however. The minotaur barely ever spoke. Ritter decided to try to be blunt as well, as he had his own curiosity to sate.

That evening as the mercenaries began to set up camp, Ritter watched Aldebaran pull out a whetstone and begin to sharpen his elven wave blade. Mayitso padded off, taking first watch. Eurysa curled up near the fire, soaking up its warmth as Kava dampened her skin with some water from one of her extra containers. Ritter summoned his bravery, knowing he had to learn one thing about the minotaur before it drove him mad.

"So why exactly do you use some elven weapon anyway?" the Halz finally asked.

The minotaur merely grunted and continued his work. Ritter sighed and returned to his resting place. Eurysa slithered over towards him.

"It takes a while for Aldebaran to warm up to people," Eurysa hissed softly, "But all of his equipment is gained in the same fashion. He takes things from those he has slain. He claims the only way to earn something is to make it yourself and protect it, or to take it from others in combat. I don't understand it myself."

Ritter nodded and found some new respect for Aldebaran. He hoped that it had been an elf that the minotaur had slain to gain the blade. He expected that it was far more likely to have been taken from a human. The Tarvo Forest was littered with elven ruins. Only the best craftsmanship would survive those conditions, so at least it was likely that the blade was the finest that elves could produce. The dwarf figured it still was not even half as good as what a Halz could craft, but he would prefer that the minotaur did not slay any of his people to gain such a weapon.

***

Enzi was putting supplies into his relatively empty wagon. He knew his mercenaries would need them in the days to come. While his senses were sharp, he did not notice the man that approached. This man was almost indescribably average, if quite young looking. His skin tone could have placed him as any of the northern races, Agonish, Kurrot, or Ravaleian. His decided lack of ostentatious clothing, gaudy jewelry, or extensive body art made it less likely he was Ravaleian. He did not seem quite lean enough to be Kurrot. Yet his skin did not seem quite dark enough to be Agonish.

Most people would pass him off as the son of two nations. It was not unusual. This man was of course not what he seemed. If Enzi had spotted him, he certainly would have sensed it. His movements were too sure for his age, his manner too calm for a place as dangerous as the Disputed Lands, even if they were near the relatively civilized bastion of Center Point. He strode purposely up to the wagon without purposely moving stealthily, yet his footsteps missed every twig, rock, or other bit of debris that might have warned the aging mercenary leader.

"Good day," the man said finally.

Enzi nearly jumped out of his shirt, but quickly collected himself, "Ah, yes. Can I help you?"

"Actually you already are," the man replied, "Your interesting little group will soon take care of a threat for me."

"The summoner?"

"Yes," the man said, "The agent I sent to hire you confirmed many things I had wondered."

Enzi looked at the man suspiciously, "You are purposely talking around something, avoiding some topic you seem desperate to bring up."

The unusual man grinned widely at the Feergrus man, "Indeed. But a realization on your own will have a better effect on what I am telling you now. You continue to live because I allow it. You are useful to us still. If you ever cease to be useful, your punishment for the betrayal of Feergrus will be swift and brutal."

The dark skinned man's eyes opened wide, "Devis Lane!"

The strange man smiled almost impossibly wide as his for shifted. He was now a Feergrus man of a height that might be slightly below average. His build was sleek and powerful, and his eyes shone a brilliant green and his hair had reddish orange hairs hidden among the black. Neither the hair or eyes were a normal color for their people, but this was the form that Enzi knew best. It was hard to say what the true form of such a shapeshifter might be.

"Yes, I am Devis Lane, Executor of the Theocracy of Feergrus. General Commander Karrum Tamb quite misses your skill as one of his high generals. The church of Chasar misses your exquisite talent for combat leadership."

"I don't lead in combat anymore. Now I teach some things to other and make money serving the good of the weak and helpless. I won't be a pawn in your games to keep your master in power at the expense of those who inconvenience him."

"That is where you are wrong," Devis said, "As I mentioned you are already doing a job for me. Soon you will see our goals are not so different, even if mine are to help my country first and foremost."

"And only," Enzi added.

"True enough," Devis replied, "My loyalty to my country often means a disloyalty to any other. That is the way of things until all come under one rule."

"You expect it to be under the rule of Feergrus," Enzi said.

"Of course. Someday," Devis said, "We are nothing if not patient."

"Then why tip your hand to me now?" Enzi asked, "I could easily have never known about your involvement in any of the jobs we take. Now I'll be looking over my shoulders and rechecking all my jobs for their legitimacy."

"That is actually my point," Devis said, "These are dangerous times. You may count me as an enemy, and it may even be true. You are yet useful. The world works to array itself against you and your little band of mercenaries. There are other players out there now that want to eliminate things that are different. People like me. People like your mercenaries. Things are about to get very interesting. Whether you like it or not, we are allies in this battle. Until you finally lose."

"I am sure there is more you are getting out of all of this than just that, but I know your penchant for hiding the greater truths behind lesser ones. I'll take you at your word of the dangers to come, such things do not surprise me. I will still only take the jobs I think are right and do the most good."

"Then we are agreed," Devis stated simply as he turned and left Enzi to ponder all that he had said.

Enzi's Irregulars #0004

The gray skies doused the battle scarred plains below. Ritter heard the raindrops as they hit his armor. He knew he was going to have to spend some serious time cleaning his armor after this. Eurysa and Aldebaran used their cloaks to help shield themselves from the cold, piercing rain. The giant wolf Mayitso looked miserable, reminding the Halz of a drowned rat.

"This weather thing you have above grounds is miserable," the dwarf said.

Kava snorted as she bounced merrily through the falling water, "Miserable? No, this is glorious. It should be for all of you too. You all need water to live and here it is falling out of the sky itself! Perhaps if you were amphibians you might appreciate just how precious water is."

Ritter's heavy boots stomped through the mud and water shaking his head. One never had to deal with this underground. Water was easy to hear from a distance, dripping off protrusions on some ceilings or flowing as an underground river to various waterfalls or lakes. The dwarf wondered how people could maintain their armor if this happened much. It made him re-evaluate why he saw so few people wearing heavy metal armors.

The vodyanoi might have been slightly annoying to Ritter as she enjoyed the downpour, but he was not sure that it wasn't better than her normal bloodthirsty manner. At least this was cheerful and peaceful, even if it was at an odd time. The Halz was not sure how she could be so carefree in life and in battle if she was the last of her kind. The minotaur and the gorgon were both the end of their lines and neither one of them acted like Kava. The minotaur certainly had issues with anger and Ritter could understand that. The gorgon was careful and efficient. Those were the traits of a survivor.

The dwarf could not understand how Kava expected to survive if she remained so reckless. Aldebaran and Eurysa had learned control. Ritter wondered if perhaps more time spent with them would influence her. His own influence might help as well. If nothing else, he expected that getting her under control would help the rest of the team survive. It was always the weakest link in a chain that breaks. Ritter knew that he needed more practice in communicating with outsiders if ever the Halz were to integrate with the rest of the world.

"Have you ever thought of a different approach to Battle, Kava?" Ritter asked.

"Different? Not really. I have always been one of the ground fighters of my people. Being one of the leapers would be fun though. I just don't have the legs for it though," the vodyanoi replied.

"That is not quite what I meant," the Halz said, "You are the last of your people. If you engage your enemies recklessly you will end up as part of an extinct people."

Kava shrugged, "It was bound to happen anyway. We fought the troglodytes, we fought the Hirkans, we fought the Vashimi, we always found foes to struggle against. I imagine if we had ever won, we would have then turned on ourselves. That would have been a glorious last war."

"You aren't worried that you will be slain and no one will ever know of your people?"

"Not many knew of us before, and certainly not many now," Kava said, "We don't care about recognition."

"So you were nothing but violent savages then?"

"You got it," Kava said, "I'd probably be out doing it alone, but even I know I can kill a lot more people with back up. Ending up as someones caged beast is my main worry. That won't happen with the rest of these bums around. They will give me plenty of time to slaughter people until someone finally gets lucky and cuts me down. I am hoping that it will be on a great battlefield after leaving a pile of dead that can be seen for miles."

"That seems unlikely," Ritter said.

"A girl can dream!" Kava replied with a feral gleam in her orange eyes.

***

The rain had been unrelenting for nearly a week. Ritter noticed, however, that the ground he was walking on seemed to remain parched and brittle.

"This is definitely the edge of Feergrus," Kava said, "My people never came this far north. The badlands just seem to devour moisture and remain dry and hard."

Eurysa nodded her scaled head as the snakes upon it flitted about, "Only the hardiest of plants survive in Feergrus, at least this part of it. Up in the far north near the Agon River are the more fertile grounds. They are heavily cultivated and less populated."

"Makes sense to me," Ritter said, "If fertile land is at a premium, you don't waste space on homes. The Halz certainly don't build in the caverns capable of supporting mushroom fields."

Mayitso's nose was to the ground. The lycanthrope was working to find their targets before they reached the civilian population. The great wolf's nose lifted into the air and he trotted off southwards. From what he had been able to tell, the lycanthrope was trying to track his kin that was with the Tarvoni summoner. Ritter was still worried about how they were going to deal with the mage. The fur on Mayitso's neck suddenly raised and he growled with a low rumble. Instantly the group was on edge, but what they saw instead was a lone man walking along.

His darker skin placed him as likely Agonish. However, they was something white on his face, some kind of paint marking him. If Ritter had known Agonish letters he would have recognized it as a letter M. Surely the man could see them clearly by this point, but he showed no fear. Ritter noticed his allies were certainly on guard however.

"This is unexpected," Eurysa hissed.

The man then spoke out in a language that the dwarf did not understand. Eurysa spoke back and Ritter could sense there was tension. The rest of the group looked as clueless as the Halz on the language. He hoped that the gorgon's ability to give cues would work if the discussion failed. However, the man switched from speaking Agonori to speaking in Nuvro.

"Greetings to all of Enzi's Irregulars," the painted Agonish man said, "It appears we are after the same prey this day. I am Laerdik Verdiss, one of the Agonish Magehunters."

"Agonish Magehunters?" Ritter asked.

Eurysa nodded, "They hunt down and slay mages."

"Wait, all mages?" the Halz asked.

"That depends on the Magehunter," Laerdik answered, "Hunting every mage would be difficult, though some are dedicated to eradicating all arcane influence. I stick with getting rid of threats to Agon and other civilized people first. That is more than enough work. Trying to deal with the often more helpful magic use in Ravalei, for example, seems like something that is a waste of time when there are immediate threats. Many of us are less picky, however, and seek to end all magic before it corrupts more people."

The Halz wondered about that. His people had long sine lost their libraries which had held wisdom, including magic. Some of the ancient creations of the Halz still remained. He had a few magical runestones of his own hidden away back home. The greatest loss had been of their magical forge at the lost capital. To feed that forge the dwarves had redirected magma. It had been an error in their engineering that had unleashed a great torrent of lava that had ended the massive city of Tralenheim.

The error at first had been minor. A message had been sent to the elves to ask for their aid before things got worse. The reply they had received had been insulting. The Halz had not yet begun evacuation as they had expected their long alliance with the elves to make the problem go away with ease. Ritter's people did not have the proper resources to fix the problem. The elves had the natural resources they needed. As the dwarves had begun to flee, the problem became worse. A flaw in one of the elven components of their great system gave way under the stress.

It had been a dark day for the Halz when the magma devoured their capital. Nearly half of their population had been killed in the span of a few minutes. Their long time allies had abandoned them in their time of need with a message that they no longer needed the Halz and thus saw no reason to aid them, especially for a problem they had brought upon themselves. It was a bitter memory for Ritter's people. Their trust in outsiders had been shattered, their people were dying, and their main home was lost. The seven remaining clans had retreated to their distant homes. Contact between the clans had died and the shattered people had been dying a slow death ever since.

Ritter shook off his feelings. He had come to the surface to create ties to the outsiders once again. The Magehunters as a group might see only corruption in magic and deny its use as a tool but this one person showed understanding. The humans still had much to learn. They were a race with short lives and therefore had little time to think over their experiences. It was what others taught them that would help shape them, Ritter believed.

"Well, I certainly don't see any reason not to have someone that can deal with the mage," Ritter said.

Aldebaran nodded while Kava shrugged.

"Agreed," Eurysa said, "Now let us find this threat and end it."

Mayitso resumed his tracking. The Magehunter seemed to be peering through the distance as well.

"He certainly has not comes this way yet," Laerdik said, "No one has used magic around here recently."

"You can track magic?" Ritter asked.

Laerdik nodded, "All Magehunters can. Each does so in their own way. Some can hear it, some can feel it, some can see it. Those who learn the ability each say they experience it in a different way. Mine is vision, I can see it as a red glow."

"So you can tell if someone is a mage?" Ritter questioned.

"Only if they have cast a spell somewhat recently, depending on the power of the spell. The trail they leave is dependent on them using their magic. If someone never uses magic, they have nothing to fear from us."

The group trudged onwards along the dry lands. Even the clouds that had earlier brought rains had retreated. The sun gazed down at the six figures and tried to set them ablaze with its penetrating heat. Dust soon flew from each of the company's footsteps and the last of the moisture in the air evaporated. Mayitso began to pant as his heavily furred body was built for the cold. It was then that Laerdik paused and pointed in the distance.

"There, a flash of red in the distance. Though it may simply be the haze of this growing heat."

Ritter grunted, "With as far south as we are, you would think it would be cooler."

Kava grunted, "I think it is the air here. The sun blazes through without anything holding it back."

Eurysa hissed, "You should see the nights here. They are colder here than most places further south. Temperature in the badlands swings to both extremes but neither stay for long."

Ritter nodded and the group moved to intercept their foe, hoping that the Magehunter's eyes had seen true. As they neared the area, Mayitso growled a warning. There was little need, however. The earth giant that traveled with the summoner was easy enough to spot in the distance. While it had a humanoid shape in many ways, its build was slightly different than a human. Its sheer bulk was one difference, as its limbs were more large pillars without muscle definition. The giant had no separate neck. Its head, if it could be called that, was just flesh along the top of its shoulders in a dome shape. Sunken eyes stared out from its rocky hide.

It had fashioned a massive club for itself and had draped several large hides over its body. Several rocky nodules seemed sit upon its stony flesh giving the creature a slightly misshapen look to the group. It towered over the rest of its group, which soon could be seen. A massive black wolf trotted out in front and quickly locked eyes with Mayitso. The mercenaries could also see the humanoid lizard with them. While Ritter had heard tales of them, he was not expecting to see one so large.

"Oh my," Kava said with her orange eyes glistening with glee, "That is a female troglodyte. This will be fun."

"How can you tell from here?" Ritter asked.

"Well, even if the enormous size didn't give her away, that frill of hers isn't some garish color. All the boys have brightly colored frills. It is like painting a big target on their head saying 'Hit me here'. Not sure why a female would be here, but they are a lot more dangerous."

The dwarf looked at the lizardfolk warrior and could not disagree. She moved like a trained warrior and was powerfully built. He could certainly see the frill that the vodyanoi had mentioned as well. It was erect, standing up along the center of the creature's neck to the top of her head. However, the dwarf did not immediately see the summoner. The Magehunter was scanning the area, searching for his prey.

"There," Laerdik said, "He is weaving powerful spells. I expect they have seen us and decided we are enemies. Likely we will be dealing with his allies and any summoned creatures soon enough."

"Then let us take him down," Eurysa said as the battle lines were drawn.

Enzi's Irregulars #0005

"Skreeee!"

"What is that?" Kava asked.

The creature erupted into the empty sky, summoned by the Tarvoni mage. It did not look like it should have been able to fly. It was too powerfully built. Muscles rippled under its tawny hide. Giant feathery wings held it aloft. A terrifyingly sharp beak sat upon its nose. The creature seemed to be built like a feline but with the features of a predatory bird.

"Skreeee!" It screeched again as it swooped towards the group.

Eurysa took careful aim with her bow and fired a single arrow. The arrow struck true on the creature's wing and it plummeted to the ground. It stood up however and shook off its fall. The creature was obviously extremely tough to survive that, though Ritter judged that it was wounded. However, that only seemed to make it mad.

Reaching for another arrow Eurysa merely hissed out, "Griffin."

The Rock Giant bounded across the plain, a fierce determination was found in its sunken eyes. The female lizardfolk came at a more cautious pace. She held a massive spear that had an odd head on it. The tip of the spear seemed to be black and looked as smooth as glass. On her side she wore a knife of Hirkan make. Most would call the saw toothed blade a sword, but the Hirkans considered it merely a knife. The immense size of the lizardfolk warrior made it seem much more like a knife. Of course, on the giant it would have barely been a dagger.

"Hmm, obsidian spearhead," Kava said, "The troglodytes love that stuff. Nasty sharp, though it is a bit brittle. This should be exciting. I've always wanted to fight one of their females."

The enemy lycanthrope bounded forward. It was every bit as large as Mayitso, but its fur was pitch black. Much like Mayitso it had icy blue eyes. Its gaze met Mayitso's own. The two enormous wolves began to circle each other. Ritter wondered where to start his fight and thought about aiding the lycanthrope but he heard Eurysa hiss.

"Leave him," she said, "He may learn something. Their culture is different about combat and challenges."

The Tarvoni slowly walked forward, though he seemed to falter as Laerdik strode forward confidently. The Agonish Magehunter seemed to show no fear at all. The summoner quickly began to weave another powerful spell. Eurysa quickly took aim and fired off a shot. Her arrow arced beautifully through the air, directly on target. Then as it neared the mage it suddenly began to lose momentum, stopping dead in the air in front of the mage, then dropping straight to the ground. The Tarvoni merely grinned as he continued to summon another creature to aid his cause.

Aldebaran charged forward towards the Griffin. The Minotaur knew that Eurysa would be choosing targets of opportunity as needed. If he could end the creature while it was on the ground, that was one less foe she had to worry about. As he neared the beast, it snapped at him with its deadly beak. Ritter hustled forward, setting his eyes on the giant. He had fought them before, though usually only when he had a serious strategic advantage. As he closed in on his chosen foe, he noticed the ground in front of the Magehunter suddenly move.

A creature erupted from the ground out of nothingness as the mage finished his spell. Watching something physical erupt out of nothingness made the dwarf's brain scream about impossibilities. The thing that formed out of shapelessness was unusual to say the least. The dwarf saw fire mixing with ice and lightning as the creature thrummed with a terrible indescribable sound. The Tarvoni seemed quite proud of whatever it was he had summoned.

The mage yelled out something in Agonori as he laughed. Laerdik seemed grim about whatever news had been delivered. Now all the mercenaries were engaged with foes. Something needed to give in order for this battle to be won. Ritter adjusted his grip on his warhammer and charged his foe with a mighty yell. The giant seemed more amused than anything and slammed his club down in the path of the Halz. Ritter knew it was coming and spun to his right out of the way of the crashing weapon. The mighty club shook the ground as it struck and the dwarf dashed past it. His hammer whistled through the air and slammed deep into the side of the Rock Giant. It felt like he had hit solid stone.

The giant chuckled as he spoke in the Halz's native tongue, "Nice move little one, but you will have to do better than that. I'll enjoy adding you to those I have slain. At least you were almost a challenge."

The giant lifted his club from the small crater it had created with uncanny ease. The bulky humanoid swept his club just over the ground at Ritter. The dwarf brought his shield up to help but it did little to aid him. The hit slammed into him hard and nearly knocked the wind from his lungs. The mighty clang that the club made against his armor resounded across the plains and the badlands. The world spun around the dwarf. He was not even sure how he was still on his feet. His mind was freed from its daze as the air filled with the crackle of lightning.

Laerdik rolled as the amorphous creature in front of him unleashed pseudopods of pure electricity, flailing wildly. The Magehunter avoided them though the electricity in the air caused hair to stand up on end for the few mercenaries that had it. Ritter saw that Aldebaran was standing on top of his slain foe while Mayitso was wrestling for dominance with his. Kava's foe had lost her spear in the first round of the battle with the vodyanoi, but now had the brutal Hirkan knife readied. The giant made another sweep of his club at the Halz, but Ritter was far enough back from the last swipe to avoid the blow.

Seeing an opportunity from the long arc of the blow, Ritter dashed in and slammed his hammer into the giant's knee with bone shattering force. He felt the impact through the hammer's handle and heard the terrible cracking sound followed by the giant's roar of pain. The immense creature faltered and could not use the one maimed leg to stand. The stumble brought the giant to his knees and more in line with the dwarf's range. Another swing of the hammer shattered a wrist and the mighty club hit the ground. The other hand flew through the air and grabbed Ritter.

"You were a worthy foe," the giant said, "But no more. Now I end this. I am almost sorry."

The Halz was surprised by this gambit. He was lifted off the ground with ease but then the dwarf heard an odd sound from the giant. He looked down as saw the feathering of an arrow protruding from his eye. The Rock Giant was slain and Ritter quickly assessed the situation. The griffin was down, as was the lizardfolk warrior. Aldebaran seemed to be keeping the chaotic elemental creature busy while the Magehunter was standing over the defeated mage. Another creature of some sort lay slain near Eurysa, likely something else the mage had summoned. However, Ritter did not immediately see Kava.

The summoned creatures wavered in the Halz's sight then vanished, including the elemental spirit. Ritter began to look around for the missing vodyanoi as Eurysa and Aldebaran regrouped with him. Mayitso seemed to have won his battle, thought the other lycanthrope seemed unharmed. The two wolves sat off to the side of the battlefield and Ritter imagined they were having a discussion.

***

The griffin reared up and clawed at Aldebaran. The minotaur kept his sword at the ready and avoided the deadly looking talons. As the griffin landed his blade slashed at the beast's neck. It was a quick and clean kill. He heard Eurysa hiss and looked her direction. She had just fired an arrow and slain an unusual creature. It looked like some sort of amorphous blob of flesh. He could hear the Agonori mage taunting the group, though he did not know the language. He certainly could understand the tone.

"Go distract that elemental!" Eurysa hissed at him, "The magehunter needs to get to the mage. I'll see if I can stop him from casting any more spells."

Eurysa looked towards the Tarvoni and yelled out in Agonori, "Mage!"

"Ah," he said, "You excel at killing the flesh and blood. But I see my elemental confounds you as much as the magehunter. I should have guessed he would travel with mundanes. So I shall summon another and watch you suffer and die. You cannot harm me now!"

"No, perhaps not," the gorgon replied, "But I wager your protections have a limit. And it will be much easier to test that if you don't move."

Her gaze pierced the battlefield and the Tarvoni felt his muscles lock up. His mind struggled against her magic, he was trained to resist such things. However, he felt his will bend then finally break. His training had not been enough to resist her. As the minotaur gave the elemental a new target, Laerdik rolled away and made a mad dash for the mage. His blade slammed against the protective field around the mage. He took a deep breath and stabbed at the porcelain skinned Tarvoni with all his might.

The blade pierced the magical protection and the life faded from the man's eyes. As he died, the Gorgon's magic had no more sway over his mind and the mage collapsed. His magics quickly started to unravel as his life force disappeared. Aldebaran swung again and again at the elemental. His blade passed through the creature harmlessly. He could certainly feel some resistance as his blade passed through, but it was like slicing water. One could not harm it, but it could certainly strike with physical force.

Without the power of the mage, the elemental no longer attacked and began to fade. Eurysa sighed with relief and turned her attention to the other side of the field. She saw the lizardfolk warrior was down and saw Ritter had brought the giant down to size. She was as surprised as the dwarf when the giant grabbed him. One quick arrow took care of that problem.

***

"What did I miss?" Ritter asked.

"I had to paralyze the mage," Eurysa said, "He just kept summoning monsters faster than we could kill them. Worse, he realized we had little to defend ourselves against magical creatures like his elemental if we were traveling with a Magehunter. He was bragging that his next summon was going to be another elemental. Being that busy, I had little time to assist you until the end, but you seem to be doing well."

Ritter nodded, "Yes, your timing was excellent. Now where did Kava get off to?"

"Good question," Aldebaran grumbled in his gravelly voice, "I expected her to be bouncing around after slaying one of her troglodyte women."

The group trudged over to the slain lizardfolk warrior. She was laying at the edge of one of the patches of tall plains grass that survived in the transition area between the Disputed Lands and Feergrus. The warrior had one of her hands clutching at her belly. It was obvious that Kava had landed a vicious blow. The warrior had been disemboweled. As Ritter circled past the warrior, he saw something sticking out of the grass.

Moving closer, he saw fingers sticking out of the grass. It was definitely the hand of a vodyanoi. She was hidden in the tall grass it seemed. He reached down and grabbed Kava's cold, clammy hand and went to pull her out of the grass. However, all that happened was that he pulled out her hand and part of the forearm. A jagged wound had severed the arm.

"This is not a good sign," Ritter said.

Enzi's Irregulars #0006

Aldebaran dove into the thicket of grass with alarming speed. The rest of the mercenaries quickly dug and found the unconscious Kava. Eurysa immediately did all that she could. The kit bag she wore at her side was slung so that it crossed its leather band with the strap of her quiver. Ritter was surprised that she had any training in healing, but knew that someone in the group had to. Otherwise any wound might be the group's last. Infection was a terrible affliction and caused at least as many death as the weapons of war did themselves.

"Will she make it?" Aldebaran grunted.

"I'm not sure. I've bound the arm as well as I can, but she has lost a lot of blood. We need a real healer."

The minotaur lifted her limp body, "Then we move. Now."

Laerdik's voice interjected, "Eurysa, correct?"

"Yes?" the gorgon replied.

"That was an interesting show of arcane power," the Magehunter said, "Magic is dangerous enough in human hands."

"We really don't have time for this," Eurysa said, "So just stay put for a while will you?"

Her gaze settled on the Magehunter but he merely shook his head, "And using you power so casually. I am sorry for your friend, but it is my sworn duty to end all magical threats. It is too bad, you seemed honorable enough."

With the sound of a loud crack, Laerdik's eyes rolled back in their sockets and he hit the ground. Behind him Ritter was shaking his mailed fist. The other mercenaries looked almost quizzically at the dwarf.

"What?" Ritter asked, "Let's get a move on then! He will wake up eventually. He seems smart enough to chase after some real dangers instead of us."

Eurysa smiled, nodded, and turned towards the northeast. Aldebaran carried their fallen comrade as Mayitso plodded along beside them quietly. The dark furred lycanthrope had already slunk off towards the south and the Tarvo Forest that lay in the far distance. The small group hustled off in the hopes of saving their friend.

***

For many, waking to the moans of the wounded and the smell of blood would be uncomfortable. To the vodyanoi it was the sound of life continuing on despite the odds. Her right arm gave her a dull, throbbing pain that told her she was still alive. Kava's memory flashed sharply, seeing the unprotected belly of the female troglodyte. She had cut at the easy target, but it had been a feint. Her hatchet had struck true, she had seen the blood. She had seen the vital organs start to spill outwards. She had also felt terrible pain.

Her world had gone dark. She had thought she had felt motion. She imagined that must be true. She was laying in a cot of some sort. It was not something one found in the middle of nowhere. She finally opened her orange eyes to gaze upon the world once more. She immediately regretted that. The light was harsh. Still she struggled to figure out where she was. As the world around her came into focus, she saw she was in a small tent and light was streaming inside and over top of her. The flaps lay open and a cool breeze blew over her almost painfully dry skin.

She could hear the groans of other wounded, perhaps in another nearby tent. The pain in her right arm was not dulling, so Kava glanced down, shakily lifting her weakened limb. She saw the bandaged stump. That would not do at all. That meant half as much killing. She tried to pull herself out of the cot but her head spun. The blood loss had left her weak and her dehydration was not helping. She wasn't going anywhere quite yet.

"You know," she croaked softly, "Maybe I'll just rest here a while longer."

***

Ritter was not certain what to make of Mayitso's human form. His pale skin was similar to that of the Tarvoni, perhaps slightly more pale. Perhaps pale was not the right word as the skin seemed almost translucent, but that was not the correct word either. He was much larger than the Tarvoni mage had been, but smaller than the Hirkan mercenaries that Ritter had seen. As the pale races dominated the southern forest where the lycanthropes lived, he could understand why their form matched more closely to them if it was meant to be a way to blend in.

The Halz had never seen a Vashimi but wondered how close this form was to one of them. The lycanthrope spoke in the language of the Feergrus. Eurysa and Enzi understood him, but Aldebaran did not. The minotaur seemed more worried about Kava than what Mayitso had learned from the other lycanthrope. Ritter's grasp of the language of the Feergrus, a tongue they called the Infernus, was getting better but the Halz still sometimes struggled with it.

"The mage had a plan to eliminate the leadership of Feergrus, to slay the one called Glanar Dale."

"He would not have made it far," Enzi replied, "Though I commend his goal. His attack would have only slain the Feergrus that got in his way until he was defeated. Likely a force awaited them at the border in case you failed."

"That may be more right than you know," Eurysa said, "We were met by a healer from Feergrus on our way to return here. Her power brought Kava back from the brink of death. Though I do not understand why they did not move to aid us earlier."

"That is simple enough," Enzi said, "The government of Feergrus will not allow any of the warriors under their command to get involved in any battles outside of their lands. Their strictness in this allows for several things. For one, their healers are welcome everywhere as all know they will not fight. The government can also disavow any violence that takes place by one of their people as the actions of an individual. I suspect their hand in a great many events in the world, always behind the scenes."

"Then why not let foes blaze their way through to end the government?" Mayitso asked.

"I may disagree with the government, but I still love the people. They are my people, my family. The government may manipulate many things, yet they are smart enough to allow the people to do good for the world. It serves their purpose. That does not stop the actions from being good. The people that do them do it for the right reasons."

"It is indeed foul to use the good deeds of another to bolster ones own plans," Ritter said, "To borrow their reputation."

"Do you think the Magehunter will come after me?" Eurysa asked.

"Hard to say," Enzi replied, "We will keep our guard up just in case. You say the healer mentioned him?"

Eurysa nodded, "They came not only to aid us, but to the fallen Agonish man."

Enzi nodded, "He is in good hands with the healers of Feergrus. The priests and priestesses of Rakar have no equal in the medical field. For our sake they will likely hold him as long as they can tending to his wounds. They can be quite persuasive. Certainly if he was set on you as his primary target, he would have found a way to get here by now. Perhaps some time has cooled his head to allow him to see true dangers to the people of Agon."

"You don't seem surprised by the news of the mage's plan," Ritter said

"No. I came into more information on what was going on after you left. It does not change what had to be done. No matter how much I might like the government to fall, it should not be at the expense of so many innocent lives. That is why I never joined the Ahk separatists. Their methods are too violent and poorly targeted. Even if I had taken over command, I would be leading a group known for murder and terror. I'm not sure the government can even be overthrown by simple violence."

"Only when the corruption is revealed for all to see," Ritter said, "A true revolution."

"Perhaps someday," Enzi replied, "But for now shall we go see our wounded friend? I have a gift for her to make her feel better."

The group made their way to the healer's tents on the edge of Center Point. Kava had her own small tent away from the others. The healers had thought that her inhuman appearance would affect the other patients. Ritter had a hard time disagreeing. The humans often gave the Halz odd looks and they were far more human looking than a vodyanoi. Soon the small group arrived and found the vodyanoi resting in her cot. She looked tiny in the cot, her stature was smaller than the average human for whom the cot had been crafted.

"Now to wake her up," Enzi said.

"Oh that is my job," Aldebaran said.

The minotaur had brought a bucket and he spilled its contents upon Kava. The water poured across her and Kava's bright orange eyes snapped open.

"Oh I needed that," she said.

Aldebaran grunted.

"Yeah, I'm no fun am I?" Kava said, "Though it looks like I only get to have half the fun now."

"Not entirely true," Enzi said, "I brought a gift. I had this made especially for you."

The dark skinned man unwrapped a prosthetic and worked to strap it to the vodyanoi's arm. The end of the prosthetic gleamed in the light streaming in through the tent's entrance. Her right arm was now a weapon in its own right. An axe that was effectively part of her own body. The vodyanoi grinned as her eyes gleamed.

"I didn't know people could do this sort of thing," Kava said, "So can someone lop off my other hand so I can get another of these things?"

Enzi chuckled as Ritter asked, "Then how would you feed yourself?"

"Well, I'd just have Aldebaran here feed me."

"Not going to happen," the minotaur grumbled in his gravelly voice.

"Guess I am going to have to get some practice with this thing," Kava said as she tried to leave to cot again.

She grunted and laid back down as her head swam, "Well, maybe tomorrow."

"Maybe tomorrow indeed," Enzi said, "For now, all of you get some rest. Things won't stay quiet for long."

The Feergrus native strode away as the mercenaries chatted among themselves and mumbled under his breath, "They never do."

Enzi's Irregulars #0007

Ritter's nose was assaulted by an odd scent as he started to head away from the medical tents. A mercenary sat looking towards the tents. Smoke came from his lips. He was burning something, inhaling it, then exhaling the smoke. This puzzled the dwarf as he assumed it could not be healthy. He knew of many a tale of the old forges where his people would die from smoke inhalation. Black lung had been a common way to die until they had manufactured better ways to ventilate their industry.

The man was a Nuvroci mercenary. His skin looked tough as leather with a yellow tint to it. His build was every bit as bulky as the Hirkan barbarians Ritter had seen about. The Nuvroci had some of the most varied of builds, from the short to the very tall. Most were broad across the shoulders. Their eyes sat slightly different than the other human groups, almost as if they had been slightly tilted. They were perhaps the palest of what was considered the civilized races. Ritter had dealt with a great many of them in his time.

The Nuvroci man did not appear to notice the dwarf. His eyes were watching the medical area with an almost frightening intensity. As Ritter approached, the man did not seem to notice him. Despite his intense stare, his body seemed relaxed. As the Halz came within a meter of the man, he finally began to take notice. Ritter noticed that the man's reactions were muddled and it took a while for the man's eyes to focus on his new target.

"Are you alright?" Ritter asked the man.

"Huh?" the man asked, then as comprehension dawned on him, "Oh yes. Just waiting for one of the priests."

"You need healing then?" Ritter asked, "Admittedly you do seem a little off."

"Oh no," the man said, "I'm battle ready. Their stuff makes you not feel the pain, it is perfect for a warrior."

"Stuff?" the dwarf asked.

The man showed off his pipe he was smoking from, "Feergrus Smoke Weed. It is everything a good soldier needs. Calms the nerves, soothes the pain. Though I ran out again. My pay just can't quite cover the quantities needed."

Ritter was skeptical, "Wouldn't you just need it in battle then?"

"Well, there are other pains. Wounds and such never seem to entirely go away, you know?" the man replied, "And of course you never know when an attack may come, you always want to keep your edge."

It sounded like the man was desperately trying to justify the use of the drug, but it seemed to be having less than optimal effects on the man. His slow reactions certainly would not help him in any battle. Deadening pain might have some advantages, but it also brought a great many disadvantages.

"I can't see how dulling your senses helps in combat," Ritter said, "You are more likely to take wounds, even if you don't feel them. They still add up. Plus if you spend all your coin on it, you won't ever leave this life."

The man looked up blankly at the dwarf, seeking desperately for a reason to keep using the drug. Yet there was also the smallest glimmer in his eyes. The man could almost see the truth of his desperation, the addiction that he had. The dwarf was a chance to escape before it was too late. Fate, however, was often not kind. One of the healers had glided across the field from the medical tents with a silence that had left the dwarf surprised by his appearance.

He was a priest of Rakar. He wore a circlet on his head that denoted his deity and rank within the church. Ritter had little idea what the gems meant but knew enough of the Feergrus to guess what he was correctly. The man had an aura about him that made Ritter feel even smaller than he was. This was a powerful man, his presence was intimidating. His dark skin was matched with sharp gray eyes that seemed to pierce to the very soul.

He ignored the Halz and looked to the Nuvroci man, "You have need of me?"

The mercenary seemed to relax immediately, "Yes. I have a need of more of the Smoke Weed, but I have run low on coin."

"Yes, that is not a problem," the priest replied, "We help all those in need. Come with me, I know how to aid you."

The priest then turned his gaze on Ritter, "He shall be taken care of. Worry not for his safety."

The dwarf merely nodded. The power of the words were quite persuasive. The healer certainly had to know how to deal with a drug addiction. As he stumbled off from the encounter however, he started to wonder. The words almost had the tone of a threat about them. Ritter decided he would discuss the issue with Enzi. He was from Feergrus and likely would know far more about it than anyone else he could ask.

***

"You seem troubled," Eurysa said.

Enzi nodded, "From the description you gave me of the Tarvoni mage and his robes, he must be from the Void cult. I find it odd that one from that cult would go after the leaders and want to avoid harming the rest of Feergrus. They have nothing against the undead but despise magical healing. They believe a life lasts as long as it is supposed to last and that death should be final. Yet they use the undead as they believe that the dead body is merely an object to be put to use as part of the cycle of life. It will still rot and feed the plants, but they see no reason not to make use of it while it rots."

"That mage seemed to have nothing necromantic about him," the gorgon added.

Enzi nodded, "Exactly. Though he did summon a flesh beast. Those creatures can use dead bodies to aid them. Yet still his actions strike me as odd. He had to know that he had no chance to get to his goal."

"In defense of your sanity, his seemed slightly off," Eurysa said, "Those whose minds are twisted may not do what is in their best interests."

Enzi smiled at her attempt to soothe his worries, "I have some... Other reasons to suspect all is not as it seems. It may be that the mage was manipulated into his rash course of action. I worry what could have done that. The Void Cult is generally peaceful as long as they are left alone. While this could just be the action of a single warped individual, I have plenty of reasons to worry that more is going on that I don't know about."

"If you did, could you do anything about it?" Eurysa asked.

"I could perhaps be better prepared, but it depends what the problem is. For now I guess we continue on."

The two heard the distinctive clanking thuds that were the footfalls of someone in heavy armor. Someone was coming to the wagon of Enzi's Irregulars. They were sheltered behind a large rock not far from the medical tents and few knew where they were camped. Fewer would even want to visit. The pair quickly saw that it was just Ritter returning. The Halz seemed almost as troubled as Enzi. The dwarf then explained his encounter with the drug addict and the priest.

Enzi sighed, "It is too bad for that young man. That priest is obviously a recruiter."

Ritter looked puzzled, "He is being recruited as a priest?"

Enzi looked surprised and had to suppress a laugh as the topic at hand was a serious one, "No. They only allow other Feergrus to become priests. His fate is a more dire one. He will soon be shipped back to Feergrus to serve as a slave."

"Slavery?" Ritter asked with disgust.

"Effectively," Enzi said, "Though they have many other terms for it. He will be working for them to pay off his debt, a debt that can never be paid off as he will continue to need their drugs. A lot of soldiers use their drugs to take the edge off their pain. Some become addicted. It results in a steady recruitment."

"Aren't they spreading the religion to other lands?" Ritter said, "Certainly they won't stand for such things?"

"As long as it does not affect anyone important, no one cares. It is a sad truth. Of the northern nations, only Nuvroc has refused to allow the Feergrus to build churches. Their laws allow only Nuvroci to own land and build."

Eurysa hissed, "And this mercenary was Nuvroci?"

Ritter nodded.

"A valuable commodity then," Enzi said, "You are lucky you did not attempt to stop things. The priest would have done a lot to secure such a prize and you would have been caught unprepared. I imagine they are gathering enough Nuvroci to find those they can completely control. With enough coin, no one will question a purchase of land from a mercenary. I doubt it will be soon. The leaders of Feergrus take their time in doing things so that they can do it right the first time. Sometimes waiting generations. Their patience can wear down other nations."

Ritter nodded, "I noticed most of you humans are rather poor at patience. From what I have learned, it seems your short lifespan is to blame. I suppose if I only had a hundred years to live at best, I'd want to get a lot more done with what little time I had. Still, I had not thought of it as a weakness that some might exploit. Though it does make some things difficult. It is amazing how easily you forget about my people. Until they see one of us, most humans seem to consider us a myth. It was only a couple thousand years ago that we all fought the goblinoids side by side and drove them off."

"The tales of King Ago being aided by legions of dwarves and elves is often seen as a heroic myth around a larger than life figure," Enzi said, "Some of the exaggerated stories make it hard to discern fact from fiction."

Ritter snorted, "One should set a proper record in stone. Any engineer will tell you that measurements should be exact and facts are facts. Trying to exaggerate or do anything fancy will likely leave you with an unstable structure."

Eurysa spoke, "You will find humans are creatures of superstition. The Halz value logic and facts. Such things banish superstition."

Enzi nodded, "Magic does not help the situation. To those who do not understand it, it seems it can make anything possible. Superstitions can easily build around that."

"Or creatures of myth and legend," Eurysa said, "Until one day we no longer exist."

"That will be a sad day indeed," Ritter said.

Enzi nodded, "Yet that day is still far off. We shall do our best that if such a world comes to pass that it will remember the past. That it will remember the bravery of a few. The sacrifices that were made, the heroes that made the world a better place. It would be nice to make Doulairen a world of peace, a world free of schemes and evil."

"So, a complete fantasy?" Eurysa asked.

"Everyone wants to live in their own fantasy world," Enzi said, "If we are lucky, we will have a chance to make one. Or at least as close as we can with what we have to work with."

Enzi's Irregulars #0008

"Is there anything we can do to stop this slavery?" Ritter asked.

"The priests are remarkably adept at making service to the noble caste seem like a good thing. They often call these slaves their servants, using that word to make it sound less vile," Enzi said, "But they convince most of the slaves to choose the life for themselves. At least at first. Compared to the uncertain and terrible lives led by many of those they choose, a life of service sounds much better. A certainty of food and shelter sways many to choose that life."

"But you can't unchoose it I suspect," the Halz replied.

"That is indeed the catch," Enzi agreed, "But by then they are deep in Feergrus territory. Outside of their territory, they take no one without the consent of the person. The other countries then have little say over it, though several have thought about laws to prevent such choices being made. However, such discussions never get far. An alliance with Feergrus is too profitable to ask too many questions."

"So there is little we can do to help the poor man?"

Enzi shook his head, "It would have to be by force. A priest is a formidable foe. Beyond raw combat ability there is also their ties to the government of Feergrus. Even if you did rescue the man, by now he believes the choice to join them as his own. He would go to them of his own free will. To him, the idea of service to the nobles is less dangerous than being a mercenary. He will have access to food, shelter, and the drugs he craves. A tempting offer to be certain. Most people have little concept of how long eternal service may be. Especially in a land full of necromancers. In Feergrus, the most menial of tanks are performed by the undead."

"I worry more of the undead turned into an army," Eurysa said.

"The body of one who falls inside of Feergrus or within the power of one of my people never rests," Enzi said, "At least until it completely falls apart. Unlike other countries we have no graveyards, tombs, or crypts. A dead body is considered an object and is promptly taken to a necromancer to be used as raw materials for a new servant. The number of undead within Feergrus is a staggering number. Even I would not want to make a guess. But it certainly makes the country an opponent few would want to face in battle. Even if the mindless undead are not that difficult opponent, their sheer numbers make them dangerous."

"You would think the people would rise up against his," Ritter said.

"The caste system gives the people of Feergrus order and a place in their society," Enzi said, "And those at the top work hard to keep things as they are. Those at the bottom are given hope of rising, though very few succeed. Even the success stories are of the people that those at the top wanted to succeed. People with exceptional skills they wanted to add to their families to make them stronger. It is amazing how even a small glimmer of hope is enough to keep most people in line."

The Halz nodded. With the short lifespan of the humans, he imagined it was easier to miss the long term. It seemed there was little he could do at the moment. The human world had many problems it seemed and he wondered if the aid of his people could solve them. However, the thought struck him that his people had their own problems to solve as well. That was why he had come to the human lands. To see if the races could work together to make a better world for them both. Ritter began to ponder his options. He knew there was a lot of work to do and a long way to go.

***

The Kurrot man in white robes looked at the walled city of Rheamoor. It was one of the city-states of Kurrot and widely thought of as the capital of the country. The mighty walls stood as a stark contrast to the sweeping grasslands of the country. It was by far the largest city in the land, and definitely the most well built. Tales said that it had been the first settlement of the land, back when the people of Kurrot were only exiled criminals and deserters from the armies of Agon and Casea.

That culture of the time, however, had meant a lot for some of the more unusual things about the city. It was a place built on top of a great many secrets and there were hidden passages, secret tunnels, and massive rooms hiding within the city. The great walls had been built much later, when order had came to the area. That had mostly come at the hand of the Kurrot military, led by the Bladestorms. But this Kurrot had no tie to that group. He was Naphar Bura and he was a Cleanser. He wandered the lands hunting monsters and eliminating them for the safety of the people.

He made his way through the city after passing the enormous stone gates. His white robes afforded him some respect. The Bladestorms might not have always liked the Cleansers as they had no control over them, but they did see a use in those specifically trained to deal with inhuman threats. Finally he passed into a rarely used alleyway. He pressed in on one of the stones on the wall of a building, then shoved hard to open the secret door he had unlocked. He traveled down a flight of stairs and lit a torch on the wall.

The flickering light revealed some of the room before him. It was a library. He lit a few more torches to give himself plenty of light then began searching through the array of tomes looking for the specific books he was after. Soon enough had had a varied array of literature in front of him. It was time to begin his studies in earnest.

"Oh which first?" he mumbled to himself, "Gorgons, minotaurs, or vodyanoi?"

He looked down at the silvered blade he had on his belt, "At least I already know how to kill a lycanthrope."

***

Mayitso rested in the shade beside Eurysa as Ritter cleaned his armor. Aldebaran was nowhere to be seen, but the Halz suspected he was visiting Kava. The Vodyanoi had been trying to leave her bed and begin practice but she had not entirely recovered. The minotaur seemed more concerned than the others about the team's smallest member. It made the dwarf think for a moment. He could not remember a time that the minotaur had spoken that wasn't somehow a response to the vodyanoi. He was sure that Aldebaran probably had spoken outside of that context, but it seemed to be responding to her in some way was prevalent.

Ritter looked to Eurysa, "So what is with Aldebaran and Kava? She seems to be about the only one he really talks to."

Eurysa's hissing laughter came next, then she spoke, "Well, he used to never speak unless he had to. Kava likes to antagonize people, as you might have noticed. So she began volunteering him for things. Or asking if she could do things and taking a lack of response as a yes. Aldebaran very quickly learned to answer her. It helped to open him up. No matter how much she aggravated him he put up with it. It was his attempt to be noble. Of course, his instincts are rage. Eventually he snapped. The fight was amazing. Yet it also made them friends. In both of their cultures, combat was a way of life. You sparred with your friends. You respected your enemies with a fair fight. Admittedly the vodyanoi had far less of a sense what we consider to be honor in their code of combat, but that didn't stop the two from bonding a little."

"I guess in many ways they would be well matched in combat. The small and fast versus the large brute," the Halz replied.

Eurysa nodded, "Kava has always been the most social of us. Even if her attitude would not normally be considered socially acceptable. She is not about to care about such things."

"I imagine if she was given a lot of restrictions, she would rebel just because it was something to rebel against."

"One might call her a free spirit."

"Indeed."

***

"You need to stay down and get more rest," the gravelly voice commanded.

Kava snorted, "It will take a lot more than you to keep me still. I'm plenty recovered enough. I'm not gonna get any stronger sitting in bed doing nothing. My training will start wasting away. Vodyanoi don't exactly live for a long time, so I don't want to waste what little time I've got. Now get out of my way before I have to kick your butt. Again."

"Again?" Aldebaran said, "You haven't even done it a first time!"

"I must have really hit your head too hard if you don't remember me winning all our spars."

"If I swing fast enough to be effective against you, I'd actually hurt you," the minotaur said.

"You would have to actually hit me first."

"The faster blade would catch you."

"Not a chance," Kava cackled, "You move like Eurysa used her gaze on you at the best of times. Maybe now that I'm not at the top of my game you might actually come close. But I doubt it."

"With an attitude like that you might be recovered after all. Or at least deserving of a smack across the head."

"Besides, I need to see how sharp my new choppy arm is. You could use a good shave I think."

Kava pulled herself to her feet and attached her prosthetic to the stump of her right arm. It had always been her best arm, and now she had to get used to it all over again. Something about having an actual weapon as an arm excited her. The ground felt odd against her feet, her balance felt slightly off. She needed to move. Even more, she needed to fight. She grabbed the bucket of water that the minotaur had brought with her one good hand and dumped it over her head.

The moisture felt wonderful and made her feel a lot better. The ground seemed more stable to her and she shook off the excess moisture. She grinned with her wide monstrous mouth.

"Are you ready to bleed?"

"I seem to have left my blade back at camp," he said, "Maybe by the time you walk there you will be too tired to fight. I know how weak you are."

Kava snorted, "You are definitely going to pay for that comment."

***

Enzi watched Kava strut back to the group. His trained eye saw every weakness in her movement. She still needed more rest, but had recovered remarkably well. The spar with Aldebaran went well, though Enzi could tell that the minotaur was taking it easy on her. He paid for that a couple of times when she got in close enough to slice through some of his shaggy fur. She had taken to the new prosthetic incredibly fast.

That was good news as the Feergrus man had already found them a new job. He expected the five inhuman mercenaries would be tasked to their limits on this one. Enzi looked out at the horizon and wondered what Devis Lane was up to. The shapeshifter did not seem to have any tie to this latest job but that did not stop Enzi from pondering how he might be involved. Devis was one of the most dangerous creatures on Doulairen, and certainly one of the most cunning. If he was involved, then any job became a thousand times more dangerous.

Enzi's Irregulars #0009

"Oh a good fight then?" Kava asked with a gleam in her orange eyes, "Terrible odds?"

"Oh, something far more difficult for you than that," Enzi replied, "This is a job that requires diplomacy and tact."

"Oh ugh," Kava replied, "I don't see this going well."

"That is a possibility, but only you five are going to have a chance to get close," Enzi said, "As this is a recruitment offer to a rather dangerous individual. Especially to humans. I am hoping that you five will have a better chance. I have a decent idea where to find it, but it is certainly being hunted as well. We need to eliminate the threat, one way or another."

"What exactly are we dealing with?" Eurysa asked.

"It is hard to say exactly," Enzi replied, "Myth, legend, and rumor surround this tale. Knowing exactly what is true is difficult. It could end up this is just a mindless abomination that needs to be destroyed. I suspect there is more. We need to gather into the wagon. We have a long trip ahead of us. I've already gathered provisions. We can discuss the matter more on the trip."

"Where are we off to?" Ritter asked.

"A place you are more familiar with," Enzi said, "And we may need the reputation of your race to keep the rest of us safe from suspicion."

"Nuvroc then," the Halz said, his logical mind drawing the most obvious answer.

Enzi merely nodded. The mercenaries quickly gathered up their belongings and jumped into the wagon. The dwarf wondered how the group would fare at diplomacy without Enzi. He would be going with them for most of the way, but not to talk directly to the foe it seemed. Ritter tried to imagine what kind of creature would be violent towards humans. Too many options came to mind as the humans had been ruthless in their expansion. Certainly the dwarf thought many of the foes deserved their fall, like the goblinoids and the giants, but his imagination quickly thought that there could be many others that had been wronged.

He would have to wait until the evening to hear the briefing. Enzi wanted to get moving as quickly as possible and the dwarf could not blame him. If this mysterious creature was that dangerous it should be dealt with as soon as possible. His curiosity drove his thoughts as the wagon rolled eastwards across the Disputed Lands. Nuvroc would be a long trip and there were a great many potential dangers on the way.

The campfire that night attempted to fight the chill in the air. Eurysa had found a rock to wrap around as a seat while Mayitso laid contentedly beside her in his wolf form. Kava was busy sharpening her axes while Aldebaran prepared a place to rest for the night. Enzi seemed almost unwilling to talk, but finally the dark skinned man began to tell the mercenaries what little he knew.

"I can not claim any or all of what I am about to tell you is true. This is built from rumors and hearsay. We will investigate the rumors and deal with the threat. The story starts with a Ravaleian man..."

"Oh wonderful," Kava interjected, "Some abomination of nature then?"

"Perhaps, though I am not sure how much nature has to do with it. The man's name was Sisera Dane."

Eurysa drew a sharp intake of breath. The sound it made was unusual. A lot of her sounds were odd to the Halz due to her serpentine features. He imagined they were equally odd to the rest of Enzi's Irregulars. Obviously the gorgon had heard of the Ravaleian. Such infamy did not bode well.

"All his life he had worked to create the perfect golem. He made a giant leap forward with his prototype of a Halzium golem."

"Halzium?" Ritter asked, recognizing his racial name in the word.

"Yes, sometimes called dwarf steel, it is a metal alloy exported by Nuvroc that is a green so dark as to look black."

"Ah yes, we Halz call it adamantine. The only metal even an adamant can not scratch. We had to find new ways to engrave such armor when our diamond tipped tools did not work."

Enzi nodded, "He was able to made the golem much smaller while still being more powerful than any other. It was nearly human sized. But it was just the next step in his mad quest. He did not just want a stronger and tougher golem. He wanted a smarter golem. This adamantine golem had the ability to understand and fulfill extremely complex commands. It could even be mistaken for a very large human in massive armor, especially if given the right commands."

"That was not enough for Sisera. He wanted a golem which had a mind like a human. He wanted it to be truly sentient. So he began a quest to make his greatest creation. He nearly disappeared from the world after that, only being seen when he was selling off his personal golems for the coin he needed to purchase the raw materials he needed. He had always been a private man, so it was not unusual for him to disappear for extended periods."

"The last of the absolute facts I knew is that someone finally checked up on him after he had not been heard from for over a year," Enzi said, "What they found was terrifying. People had been disappearing off and on for well over a year, but no one thought to tie it to Sisera and his experimentation. However, they found a huge number of dead bodies at his laboratory. Several had decomposed to naught but bone, but all were in terrible shape. One of the more recent bodies was Sisera Dane himself."

"This is where rumor and guesses begin to take place," the Feergrus man said, "The slaughter was placed entirely upon the golem that had long since left. I expect that there is more to it than that. I believe that Sisera Dane was using people in his experiment to create sentience in a golem. Almost certainly though, the creator had been slain by his creation, though even that I cannot be sure of. Suicide after such a set of terrible crimes is not out of the question."

"I believe that the golem did indeed slay its creator based on what I've been able to learn of it and its creation. With the methods used to create it, I would not blame it for stopping such a madman. Although I suspect it is more a glitch in its programming. From the studies done by Ravaleian scientists, I suspect the golem's self preservation programming is too sensitive."

"Self preservation?" Kava asked, "I thought golems were made to just wade into battle since they are nearly invulnerable."

"Yes, but this golem was made to act human," Enzi replied, "To want to live. Tales of this golem have spread across the land as myth and rumor. Some believe that Sisera never finished it. Some talk of it stalking prey across the continent. There are enough tales of a metal man being encountered and the destruction left in its wake for me to believe that it is definitely real."

"The thing that both worries me and interests me is the question on whether Sisera actually succeeded or not."

"Don't be silly," Eurysa said, "You can't just infuse a soul into an inanimate object."

Ritter cleared his throat, "That is not entirely true. The power of a soul can certainly be infused into an item. Sentience, however, that I am unsure about."

While the other mercenaries looked at the dwarf with curiosity, Enzi nodded and continued, "So our mission is to find this golem and learn more about him. Recruit it if possible or destroy it if the danger to humans is too great. Based on the reports of its appearances, I believe it has fled from humans into the uninhabited areas of eastern Nuvroc. This behavior makes me wonder if it is sentient."

"Seems doubtful," Eurysa interjected, "Fleeing from the humans is a good way to fulfill a need for self preservation."

The small mercenary band then drifted off into their own conversations or readying for sleep. Kava approached Ritter, her orange eyes twinkling with curiosity. Ritter kept himself busy with his preparations but the vodyanoi would not be avoided.

"So, what does a dwarf know of soul infused items?"

"The Halz have seen a great many things over the years and we keep excellent records," Ritter said.

"I suspect you are dodging the question," Kava said, "What effects would a soul have on an item?"

"Great power," Ritter replied, "Life is the very basis of magic. Rumors of the Halz having little magical power comes from our home being deep beneath the mountains where there is less life."

"Oh, and the rumors of powerful elven magic is from their dwellings deep in the forests that are overwhelmed with life?" the vodyanoi asked.

"That would make sense, yes," Ritter said, "Though no race has a monopoly on powerful magic, it would be much easier to learn when surrounded by growing, living things. In the end, it makes no major difference."

"Well, the Tarvoni are known for their magic and they live within the Tarvo forest."

"They got their name as Tarvoni because it was the name of the forest first," the dwarf said, "But yes, it makes logical sense that humans would learn best within such a place."

"I would mention that the Ravaleians and their multitude of wizards go against that, but as I think about it, they incorporate vegetation in all their town and maintain a few wooded preserves in their lands. I mainly remember their vast number of golems and their laboratories. It is a place I never want to be again," Kava said with a shudder.

Things soon quieted down and the mercenaries had a calm, restful night. The next two weeks of travel took them towards the northeast. At the end of that, they were on the edge of the Tarvo Forest. They were near the border zone between Agon and Tarvon. The Tarvoni made no direct claim on the land adjacent to Agon and the Agonish people did not dare to build there. The mercenaries were planning to travel through the buffer zone on their way to Nuvroc.

Ritter was surprised they had not run into any trouble in their trip through the Disputed Lands. A dingle wagon would seem like a prime target for attack by Hirkan raiders, Tarvoni provocateurs, or bandits. Of course with an area as large as the Disputed Lands, it was possible to never see another group. Two armies could pass by each other without ever knowing. It was a reason why scouts and trackers were so important. Mayitso served that purpose for Enzi's Irregulars. His nose and ears served them well. The path the group followed now, however, had much less land area and was often patrolled.

The wagon made its way into the lightly forested area the next day, making their way towards the foothills of the Nuvro Range. All of the group was on edge. They could encounter nearly anything and the foliage meant that the wagon was not going anywhere fast. However, as the days passed the group began to relax more and more. A full week passed without incident, bringing the wagon within a day or two worth of travel from the border to Nuvroc.

A deep, powerful voice called out in the Nuvroci tongue from the forest, "Halt!"

There was no sign of who said it and even Mayitso seemed surprised. Whoever it was had the skill not to be easily noticed by one with the senses of a wild animal.

"Come out from the wagon where I can see you and leave your weapons behind," the voice said, "I wouldn't try anything if I were you."

Enzi's Irregulars #0010

Gharaf was happy to hear the sound of coin hitting his counter as a voice spoke to him, "Your information was quite helpful. I have found exactly what I have been looking for."

"Then I have a business proposition so you can earn those coins back."

Greed tinged the voice that replied, "And more?"

"Potentially much more," Gharaf said, "Coin flows freely if you have the right allies. You should take the offer, it is like getting in early on a business before it grows much, much larger."

The customer across the table from the Ravaleian fence glared suspiciously at him. Gharaf could certainly be quite convincing but not all of his contacts were entirely trustworthy. Those who dealt with him knew that Gharaf Targata's information could only be trusted as far as the source he got it from. However something about his manner this time was far more confident.

"It sounds tempting, but you could have been fooled by someone whose idea is not workable."

Gharaf chuckled, "Oh this information did not come from some unwise words from a random source. No, this is something I know personally. My business succeeds here with thanks to this group. We have an advantage in our unity. We could use your skills as an agent. You could even work on your own goals as well. There will be ample opportunity in what we have in mind."

"Then I might just agree. My target seems to have left off somewhere though."

"Yes," Gharaf said, "Enzi took his mercenaries on some mission of his own. As long as nothing distracts them, perhaps when they return we can put our plan into motion."

"Good. I have a score to settle. And a profit to make from it."

"Then it is settled. Come back here tomorrow after closing, I will have an agent of Unity here to speak with you."

"Wait, they call themselves Unity?"

"Among other names, depending where they are and what they are doing," Gharaf said, "Our organization sprawls across the continent and is involved in many things. All of them could mean great profit for someone who has proven their loyalty. Even if the loyalty is only to wealth."

"If the coin is good, I'd do about anything."

"That sounds perfect," Gharaf said, "I think this will work quite beautifully."

***

Mayitso's hackles raised as he growled at the unknown voice.

Enzi made a hushing noise before he spoke, "Do as he says. This is not unexpected."

Ritter left his hammer in the wagon trusting to the Feergrus man. Enzi was surprisingly calm. The Halz assumed he had to know what he was doing. Eurysa left her bow and Aldebaran left his massive two handed elven wave blade. Kava left her one hatchet but did not remove the prosthetic right arm.

Whoever it was had sharp eyes, "Take off the hatchet arm."

The vodyanoi yelled out, "Aw man, this thing is part of my arm."

"Kava."

The simple word from Enzi did not dissuade her, "Do you know how hard it is to get this thing on or off?"

There was a loud twang and a crossbow bolt planted itself in the ground right between Kava's legs.

"Okay, okay," the orange eyed amphibian said, "But be warned that this is putting you on my list of people I really don't like."

"Isn't that about everyone?" Aldebaran asked.

"Yes," Kava said as she struggled with the straps on her prosthetic weapon, "But they all deserve it."

Finally the prosthetic hit the ground and a single Nuvroci man strode out of the bushes. He wore a leather jerkin and held a crossbow. He was broadly built, like most Nuvroci, but was more lithe than most. He moved like an experienced woodsman. His eyes glared with suspicion at the Irregulars.

"A Nuvroci Ranger," Enzi said, "Good. We are on our way to Nuvroc and hope the way is safe."
"A bunch of monsters and a Feergrus don't make me want to be very helpful," the man said, "You are lucky the Halz is with you, though I wonder why he is with such odd company."

"The first group that hasn't judged me for what I am," Ritter said, "Or tried to sell me off to some circus or such. Plus they have been quite honorable thus far."

"I can certainly believe the first, and I might have heard rumor of the second. Though my suspicions are still aroused," the ranger replied, "What reason do you have for coming to Nuvroc?"

"A monster hunt," Enzi said, "We want to deal with a threat so that it does not bother any innocents again."

"Is that the goal of your little mercenary band?" the Nuvroci asked, "Deal with monsters? Make them part of your team?"

"If it makes sense," Enzi said, "Your first reaction is to view them as a threat and attack. If someone attacked you, you would want to fight back and protect yourself. Some races just need a chance not to be slaughtered without questions. And some things are just monsters."

"Why exactly would I trust you?"

"You do realize we could have just slaughtered you, right?" Kava asked.

"Not before I shot one of you at the least," the ranger said.

"Depending on who you shot, you might have found your weapon ineffective," Eurysa said, adding her tactical knowledge to the conversation.

"I have a couple of silvered bolts for dealing with things like your lycanthrope friend," the ranger said, "But you make a point. If you were determined I would not have lasted long."

"Especially not even now as your current bolt is normal and a lycanthrope is always armed," Eurysa said, "You have some considerable knowledge of the woods to recognize a lycanthrope this far from their normal lands. You likely realize that all of us have our own skills and talents that would make any combat encounter with you go very badly for you."

"But we won't," Enzi said, "We are here to help you. We hunt a danger that is already within your borders before it might hurt your people."

The ranger lowered his crossbow, "You can pass. Bet you will be watched."

"I never doubted that," Enzi said, "Your partner watches us still."

The ranger seemed a bit shocked at those words but merely smiled, "Perhaps you are skilled enough for your endeavor. If you speak the truth, then I wish you luck."

***

The woods had been purposely timbered near the mountain river. It gave a clear view across the river which was the southern border of Nuvroc. The rangers patrolled beyond the river to keep the area safe. The wagon which rolled alongside the river had been watched by rangers as it had neared the border. Now as it approached the bridge to the town of Water's Gate the town guards took notice. Especially as it crossed the Border River into Nuvroc.

Ritter now sat in the front of the wagon, acting as an ambassador. Seeing a Halz returning from his adventures made the Nuvroci more trusting. The people also had the assumption that the rangers had vetted the strangers. The mercenaries entered Nuvroc without hassle but not without suspicion. It mattered little to Enzi. He stocked up on provisions in town and readied the group to head off the road. They were headed away from the rocky hills snuggled against the mountains where the Nuvroci civilization was built and out into the dry desert badlands where none dared to live.

Near the mountains the Nuvroci had access to water. While Water's Edge had the Border River flowing down from the mountains, most other Nuvroci towns had built massive aqueducts that brought water down from the mountains. Ritter knew of them quite well. The records of his people told of the engineers that had originally designed them and the many Halz who had helped build several of them. As the mercenaries were headed away from the forest's edge the ground was going to become rougher as well. The Nuvro Range shielded Nuvroc from rain and blunted the winds. Without as much erosion, the area was full of sharp edges.

Traveling without roads across such terrain was extraordinarily difficult with the wagon. It had been built to handle rough terrains, but the two oxen that powered it were having trouble. They were not used to such harsh terrain. The days that passed were rough but eventually Eurysa's sharp eyes spotted something in the distance.

"What is that?" she asked, "It looks like the ruin of a building!"

"An elven ruin," Ritter said, "From ancient times when they pretended to be the allies of the Halz until they got all they wanted from us. They had talked of a plan to bring the forest northwards and cover Nuvroc with life, but it was a lie to let the humans accept them. As soon as they gained what they wanted, they abandoned their outposts and retreated deep into the Tarvo Forest."

Enzi spoke, "Usually only bandits inhabit the ruins, and usually only the ones closer to the cities."

The sound of ocean waves crashing upon rocks could barely be heard by the group, though they could not see the water except a possible hint of it across the horizon. They were approaching the Scorpion Cliffs, a great wall of rock that stretched from the great ocean to nearly a full mile above the sea at its highest point. It was almost completely vertical along much of its length. The darkness on the rock wall spoke of a high content of Halzium, like the reason that erosion had not carved further into it.

There were certainly small caves and other such things on the cliff wall, but they usually held the reason that the cliffs got their name. The Nuvroci scorpions were immense, some as large as a small dog. Their poison could be quite deadly, especially to the weakened or in high quantities. The scorpions were another reason that few dared venture into the dry wastelands of Nuvroc.

"From my information, I believe our target has fled here," Enzi said.

"I imagine you are right," Eurysa hissed, "As we do not appear to be the only ones who have come to such an out of way place."

Her finger pointed towards the ruin, but only her eyes had picked out the details. As the group closed in, however, the rest saw that a large group of people had traveled across the wasteland. It was possible they were bandits so the team armed themselves for whatever might come next.

Enzi's Irregulars #0011

Approaching the crowd, it seemed that there were quite a few city guards but it was mostly normal citizens. Ritter was surprised that so many people had come this far out into the wasteland. He did notice that some merchants were taking advantage of the situation, having brought water and food to support the crowd. The crowd paid little attention to the wagon of mercenaries. Ritter imagined the crowd though that it was just more supplies being delivered.

"Ritter and I will see what we can learn," Enzi said, "If this is what I think it is, the rest of you want to stay out of sight for the moment."

Ritter wondered what Enzi meant by that but had to agree that the Nuvroci would be much more comfortable speaking with a human and a Halz. Although he imagined they would be speaking to him rather than a Feergrus. A minotaur, gorgon, and lycanthrope might be attacked on sight as monsters, but that was a danger anywhere the Irregulars worked.

"A dwarf!" one Nuvroci said, "And you look like a warrior! Excellent, just what we need. You should talk to the constable."

"Oh?" Ritter said, "Why don't you take me to him, I could stand a bit more information on this."

The Nuvroci citizen nodded enthusiastically and led Ritter to a grizzled veteran. The Nuvroci man had more than his share of scars. He wore a shirt of mail and had a large axe strapped on his back. He looked at Ritter with an appraising eye, then moved with the help of a cane. His voice was raspy and the Halz was not sure if it was from age, damage, or a mixture of both.

"Ah, one of our stout brethren from the mountains. We need more good strong soldiers for this endeavor."

"Perhaps you could tell me more of this... Endeavor as you call it," Ritter said.

The old warrior raised an eyebrow at the question, "You know of the monster?"

"Yes," Ritter said, "I was not expecting to see so many people here."

"Ah," the Nuvroci replied, "That makes more sense. I was beginning to wonder how you were here if you didn't know what was going on. Yes, I was able to put together a militia of brave folks to face this monster before it slaughters more innocents."

"That is why I and my friends are here," Ritter replied, "And we seem a lot better equipped to deal with danger than these citizens."

"This monstrosity has been quite unstoppable by simple soldiers," the old man said, "They only thing I can see to stop it is by sheer numbers."

"A lot of people will die," the Halz said.

"Yes, but we are prepared for that. The death of a few to save the many."

"By that logic, you should let my group try first," Ritter said, "If we fail, then you still have your group."

"Or we could add your strength to ours," the grizzled veteran said.

"I doubt your people would want to fight beside all of our group," another voice said.

Enzi had made his way around to the leader without either Ritter or the old man noticing. The veteran looked over Enzi, noting the scars on the Feergrus man. The Nuvroci had a discerning eye and quickly determined that Enzi was at least as much of a veteran of combat as he had been in his own life. That lead to as much suspicion as it did respect.

"So who are you exactly?"

"We are called Enzi's Irregulars," Enzi replied, "We deal with unusual and extraordinary threats. Or anything else threatening the human race if we have time."

"Irregulars. You have some army training to know such an appropriate name for such a squad," the Nuvroci said, "Go then and destroy the monster, or be destroyed yourself."

"Thank you," Enzi said, "I would hate to have seen so many people harmed."

The veteran grunted and then watched as the irregulars entered the ruin. He saw the gorgon, the minotaur, and the enormous wolf.

"Irregulars indeed," the man said to himself, "Simply more monsters. I should have known a Feergrus would have a hidden agenda."

The light streamed into the ruin and Ritter saw the glint of metal. The group slowly made their way through the decaying rubble and the Halz gasped as the metal moved. It looked like a metal human, perfectly formed. The metal had an odd blue tint to it and Ritter recognized it immediately. It was the metal of the elves, what they had called mithril. However, the body had another color to it. The crimson color of blood. Gore covered its hands and had splattered across its metallic body.

It cocked its head towards the mercenaries. Enzi had remained behind, not wanting to spook the creature if humans set it off. Ritter worried slightly that perhaps he was too human in appearance and remained at the rear, watching what happened. Something about the golem unnerved Ritter. He wondered what the attempt to infuse it with a human soul had done to it. Then it spoke in a voice that was all the more bone-chilling for the tone of innocence.

"Daddy?" the voice of a child spoke, "Where is my daddy?"

The horror washed over the Halz in a palpable wave. The mind of an innocent child chained to the body of an unstoppable killing machine. It was nearly inconceivable. The dwarf knew that a soul could infuse an item with great power, but ever had he seen actual intelligence of any kind. If the Ravaleian had somehow succeeded than he had crafted a horror unlike any other. It would mean that Sisera Dane would have broken every law of nature. Ritter could not imagine what would drive a person to do something so insane.

"Where did my daddy go?" the mithral golem whined, "I want my daddy back!"

Eurysa slid forward slightly and hissed, "It is okay. You will be okay. We will find your daddy and no one is going to hurt you."

***

The Nuvroci man looked out at the gathered crowd. The Feergrus man was out of sight, and the soldier assumed he was helping his team capture the golem. The old man knew that the golem was far too dangerous for that. He felt it with all his soul. Even if Enzi's Irregulars could contain the creature, he did not want such a monstrosity in anyone's hands, especially not the hands of a Feergrus. He smiled, however, as he knew the mercenaries would distract his target. It just made his job easier.

"Listen good folk of Nuvroc. We have come here today to face a grave threat to our nation, to the very well being of the human race. We must destroy this metallic monstrosity once and for all! Gather your weapons, we charge now!"

The crowd roared. At the entrance to the ruin Enzi heard the roar. He glanced and saw the whole crowd headed his way.

"Wonderful," he muttered to himself.

He yelled inside towards Ritter, the nearest mercenary to the entrance, "You guys need to move now, the crowd is coming!"

The mithral golem cocked its head towards the noise, "Daddy?"

"Come now, let us get you out of here," Eurysa said softly, "We want to help you."

Kava moved forward, then the eyes of the golem lit up as she closed in. Suddenly there was a blur of motion. The vodyanoi took to the air in an acrobatic flip as the metal fists of the golems flew through the air in a frenzy. Enzi had been right. It had a self defense protocol. As a frightened child, it was certain to strike out at any perceived threat. To a child, almost anything could be a threat. The crowd erupted into the room and the golem squealed out in childish fear.

The crowd, however, had not heard the mithral golem calling out earlier. All they heard was a high pitched squealing. They reacted as if under attack and charged at the golem while yelling and roaring themselves. The golem turned and fled, crashing through the rubble effortlessly. Its immense strength was obvious. It had blown through rock as easily as Ritter could have ran through a wall of paper.

The five mercenaries gave chase as did the crowd. Soon they had cornered the golem at the edge of the Scorpion Cliffs. The crowd pressed in as the veteran chanted.

"Kill the monster! End its threat!"

"Stay back!" the golem said in its childish voice, though it was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

"I don't want to hurt more," it said, "Not like daddy. Now daddy is gone."

As some of the crowd charged in, the golem swung its mighty arms. Aldebaran leapt forward and swung his heavy blade. He connected with the arm but did not more than deflect the blow. It did not even leave a scratch on the surface of the golem. The thing was nearly invulnerable. It was obvious that if the golem wanted to that it could just slaughter its way through the crowd. It was far too strong to be stopped. Even if it was no more than the size of a man, it was many times heavier.

Simple weapons poked forward at the creature as the unsure crowd tried to edge forward. The weapons were quickly knocked back or even broken. The golem had nowhere to go, it had to fight now. Enzi attempted to take advantage of the lull in the crowd. He stepped out and raised his voice.

"This creature does not wish to harm anyone as you can see and hear, but one does not move towards a cornered animal. Stay back for your own safety!"

"Do not listen to the Feergrus!" the veteran Nuvroci soldier yelled out, "Like all his kind he wishes to enslave this monster to his cause. Look at what he has already enslaved. We can not allow such power in the hands of anyone, but especially not a foreigner like this."

The crowd roared and surged forward. Ritter expected blood. He expected the golem to defend itself. Yet somehow the golem finally overcame its programming to protect itself from harm. It leapt backwards off the cliff. The Halz swore he could see a look of fear in the golem's eyes. The golem vanished into the mists below as the ocean crashed into the cliffs and was gone.

Its haunting last words echoed across the crowd, "I'm sorry..."

Enzi's Irregulars #0012

Enzi stood silenced by the loss of the golem. The Nuvroci soldier took advantage of that quiet pause.

"Now it is time for you to leave," the Nuvroci man said, "Though I wonder if we should let such monsters remain free."

"It would be a mistake to slay those who have shown honor in combat and saved the lives of many. Ones that have shown no threat to you or your people," Ritter said.

The grizzled old man snorted, "In deference to the dwarf's words, I'll let you leave untouched. But never return to my country. We don't need your kind here."

Kava's orange eyes almost seemed to be on fire, appearing nearly red as she seethed with anger.

"Come Kava," Enzi said softly but firmly, "We have other business to take care of."

Within a few hours the wagon was well away from the trouble. Enzi seemed sad and worried.

"There was nothing you could do," Eurysa said with her calm soothing voice, "Any action would easily have led to slaughter."

"I know," Enzi replied, "That is not what strikes me the hardest. Knowing the stories of Sisera Dane and with the evidence I gathered, I can only come to one terrifying conclusion. He ultimately succeeded in his life's goal."

"A truly sentient mind and soul in a golem's body?" Ritter asked.

Enzi nodded, "And not just any sentient mind, not just any soul. He was driven because he had a goal he felt that he could not fail to meet. A disease had killed his wife. That disease had been passed to his son. He was dying, and Sisera sought a way to save his life. I fear that he succeeded. The mind of a small child, unable to understand all that had happened to him. Forced to watch as he killed his own father. Forced to see the deaths of many others as the programming of the golem body killed any that approached him."

"In the end, he had sought only to get away from everyone," Enzi said, "So that no one was ever hurt again. It was obvious that he was struggling to control that body. The step off the cliff was his final action against his programming. A defiance of self preservation."

"Is it possible to have survived such a fall?" Kava asked.

"The rocks at the bottom of the cliff are sharp and deadly," Enzi said, "The ocean wears away at the rock except for the Halzium deposits. Unlike other rock that might be worn to smoothness or to being rounded, Halzium is almost impossibly sharp."

Ritter nodded, "A good Halzium weapon can pierce armor with ease."

"Golems had always been weak against such weapons," Enzi said, "I fear the rocks have ended the life of an innocent trapped in the body of a monster. If by some chance it has not, we shall still never see him again. The ocean floor can bring no other harm to the golem. There are no humans there for him to harm. He would remain there. The world is safe from danger."

"Then what is next?" Kava asked.

"Another day," Enzi replied, "Another job."

"Another several weeks of travel with you lot," the vodyanoi said, "Maybe we should have stayed and killed the crowd. It would have made us all feel better."

Aldebaran snorted at that.

"See? The minotaur agrees!"

Aldebaran merely raised an eyebrow at that.

***

The snowflakes drifted slowly through the air. The Enzi's Irregulars wagon sat outside Center Point.

"Ugh, the first snow of the year," Kava said, "I hate the cold. Mayitso, mind if I carve off your fur?"

The wolf merely growled at her and curled up near Eurysa. The gorgon also seemed affected by the chill air, though perhaps less than the vodyanoi.

"I'm surprised Mayitso doesn't tell Kava off like Aldebaran," Ritter said to the gorgon.

"Well, he can't speak human languages in wolf form, and it is a bit cool now to shed his fur to take human form."

Mayitso began to snore as Ritter continued, "And Kava doesn't follow through on her threats against him?"

Eurysa hissed with laughter as she replied, "No. Mayitso is not like Aldebaran. Being a wolf is his natural form. A wild animal. Being able to take human form is something he does only when it is required. Kava is smart enough not to annoy a wild animal. They can bite."

"He seems quite attached to you," Ritter said bluntly.

Eurysa nodded, "Lycanthropes deal with others based on assumed rank. When he fought that other lycanthrope, it was to see who was dominant. As I lead the team on missions, Mayitso sees me as the alpha of the group. That means he will follow me anywhere and follow my orders without hesitation. At least until he decides he would make a better alpha."

"I somehow don't see that happening," the Halz said, "Are you sure there isn't more to it?"

Eurysa made an odd hissing snort sound, "That would not make any sense. We are not even the same species. Or as Kava would say, we are not even the same type of species. Not that I am a type that exists anymore. A mix of lizard and what she calls mammal. It was only possible with magic, and even then I do not know how it was possible."

The snow had begun to accumulate. It was not much, but it was enough to discolor the ground and give footsteps a slight crunch. It was that noise that alerted the mercenaries to a visitor. Ritter was rather surprised when he looked up. It was another Halz. The crystalline hair of this Halz was a silvery white in coloration. Like all Halz, his eyes were entirely black with no discernible iris. Like Ritter, his features seemed like carved stone.

The Halz looked at Ritter and spoke gruffly in Nuvro, "About time I saw someone around these parts who looks trustworthy."

Ritter absentmindedly stroked his nearly platinum blonde beard, "Well I do admit it has been a while since I've seen another of my kind. What do they call you stranger?"

"Gierig Earthbreaker," the silver-haired dwarf replied.

"Oh, same clan and you two don't know each other?" Kava asked.

Ritter chuckled, "Let us just say the Earthbreakers are unusual in that way."

"That is one way to put it," Gierig said, "But it is truly good to find another Halz. I've been searching for a good group to help me with a small problem."

"We help for any good cause," Enzi said as he joined the conversation.

"Ah, the famous Enzi, I assume," Gierig said, "I had to come see if the rumors were true about your crew. I have an item that needs to be recovered. I would not trust most of the mercenaries about this place. They would want to take an heirloom and keep it for its material value."

"An item?" Enzi asked.

"A box," the dwarf replied, "Made of the finest adamantine and with ancient designs of the Halz carved on it. It is a legacy of our people. It was made to seal away something of even greater value."

"Oh?" Ritter asked, "What would one seal in a box like that?"

"I am not entirely sure," Gierig said, "But I know the thieves that took it care only for the value of it. They would ruin the box, a work of art, to get at whatever is within. The box itself will certainly become scrap sold to metalsmiths for a handsome sum. I know that metal is somewhat rare in the human world."

Enzi nodded, "Halzium sells for about ten times as much as regular steel. Iron is expensive enough. I imagine that quite a few look at Ritter's heavy armor with some jealousy."

"Yes," Gierig said, "Metal is not so rare in the mountain homes of our people. Yet even we value adamantine and the green hue hidden in its dark depths. A full suit of plated armor matched with a weapon of similar quality makes for a nearly unstoppable warrior."

***

The wagon set off towards the north. Enzi and Gierig had negotiated out a price of the services of the Irregulars. Now Ritter sat wondering which clan Gierig had originally came from. His silvery hair suggested the Diamondheart, Platinum, or Silveraxe clans. Ritter was certain it was not the Platinum clan, but dared not ask his fellow Halz of his heritage. Taking the clan name of Earthbreaker meant that one had broken with the clans. The stone-kin did not speak of such things openly. It was considered an invasion of privacy.

The two Halz sat near each other, and Gierig spoke in the ancient tongue of the dwarves, "It is good to be able to speak my native tongue again."

"True," Ritter said, "Though it might seem rude to leave the others out of the conversation."

"There are some things only another stone-kin can know. I trust you more than the others on this. Your honor is needed. I ask only one thing of you. I want you to carry the box yourself. I do not want any but an honorable Halz to handle this."

"I'll see what I can do."

Soon the mercenaries and their dwarven passenger paused to camp for the night. It would be several more days before they reached their final goal.

"The south branch of the Devil's Fork?" Enzi asked.

Gierig nodded, "It seems they chose a neutral place near Agon and Feergrus to bid on the box. Some powerful Agonish man with substantial money convinced them to hold it that far north."

"Kyran Diafand," Enzi said, "That is my guess. He is a noble from the city of Lucantul. It is only a few days travel to the Devil's Fork from there, especially if they just go down the river. At least if he got his hands on the box, you would be assured that no one would ever open it. He collects rare and unique items for his own personal museum display. A lot of people just call him the Collector."

"I'd rather see the art back where it belongs," Gierig said, "Back in the hands of the Halz. It was bad enough that it had been stolen by goblinoids. To think that some humans had dealings with those foul creatures and gained the box seems somehow worse to me. I can't imagine anyone on good terms with those monstrosities."

Ritter nodded, "Obviously humans of the lowest sort if they are dealing with goblinoids. I imagine you have met some of the less honorable humans in your time above ground."

Gierig nodded, "Yes. I have learned quite a lot about their deception and trickery. It makes me question the goals of the Earthbreakers."

"I can understand that," Ritter said.

Several of the other mercenaries obviously did not understand what that meant. Enzi certainly did, and Ritter wondered if Eurysa had learned much of Ritter's goals from Enzi. Aldebaran, Kava, and Mayitso certainly seemed clueless. Eurysa's gaze, however, was on Gierig. She seemed to be studying him. Ritter guessed it was a good opportunity to examine two Halz beside one another. Enzi's brow was furrowed with worry. Ritter hoped that the Collector would not be a problem.

Enzi's Irregulars #0013

The meeting place at the southern branch of the Devil's Fork river had a larger number of people gathered than Ritter had expected. A small stage had been set up and the Halz wondered what that meant. The wagon stopped within sight of the area, but Enzi kept the group far from the gathering crowd.

"An auction," Enzi said, "This may work for us or complicate things."

There were perhaps two dozen people gathered near the stage. A large tent had been set up behind the stage. Enzi headed there, taking Ritter and Gierig with him. Several armed and armored men could be seen near the tent. Two of them guarded the entrance and the rest seemed to be patrolling around it. Obviously the tent could protect people from seeing all the goods that might be available to steal, but one could slice through the fabric easy enough.

The mercenaries gave Enzi and the two Halz suspicious glares. Still the Feergrus man approached them without hesitation or fear. As Enzi neared the two soldiers guarding the tent entrance, the two men shifted their stance. They were in position to draw their weapons and strike with ease.

One of the mercenaries spoke in Infernus, "Halt. This area is not for the bidders."

Enzi was not shocked that they spoke in his native tongue and smoothly replied, "We are here to speak with the boss. We suspect someone may be trying to cheat him with goods stolen from the dwarves."

One of the mercenaries yelled something inside the tent. Ritter was not sure what the soldier said. From the sound of it, the Halz suspected he had spoken in Agonori. After his time in Center Point, Ritter thought he might be able to recognize nearly any language, even if he couldn't understand it. Soon enough a well dressed Agonish man strode out of the tent. His appearance was greatly at odds with nearly anyone else Ritter had seen in the human lands thus far. His clothing was clean and straight with vibrant color. The blue seemed particularly striking to the Halz, though he suspected the deep reds were more difficult to achieve.

"Ah, a Feergrus and two dwarves," the Agonish man said in the Feergrus tongue, "I suspect I know why you are here. You should come with me, I could actually use your help in this matter."

"Our help?" Enzi asked.

"It is not something for the public to hear," the finely dressed man replied, "We have several items for auction, but this one was not what we had been told. Please come with me."

The man patted one of the guards on his shoulder as he walked past, saying something quick in Agonori. Enzi and the two dwarves passed by the soldiers and inside the tent. Ritter had originally believed that the auction was just for the halzium box. Now he saw a wide array of odd items. He saw the distinctive blue sheen of mithril as well as several items in gold or silver. He passed by one item crafted of a metal he did not recognize. The red metal seemed to have a golden hue to it as well.

However, he soon found his attention stolen away by the box they had come for. It was large enough to fit a full Halz inside, depending on how thing the panels were. The runes on the side were immediately recognizable to Ritter.

"That isn't just any box," he muttered in Nuvro, "That is a puzzle box."

The Agonish man nodded and spoke in fluent Nuvro, "You are correct. Most humans would not know, but I have had extensive dealings with your kind before."

"Then you know if a Halz put something in a box like that, it wasn't meant to be opened except in the most dire of situations. Anything in there can't be valuable in the normal sense of the word."

"Yes," the man said, "It could also be potentially dangerous. However, whoever put the item in the auction made sure everyone knew about it. This makes the situation slightly more unique."

"I think we can handle making it vanish so that no one knows it was here," Enzi said, "And get it somewhere safe and in the proper hands."

"Let us discuss plans then. You two stone-kin should guard the item. It is yours after all."

Enzi and the Agonish auctioneer began discussing their plan while Gierig and Ritter stood near the puzzle box.

"This is interesting," Gierig said in the dwarven tongue, "The runes say this was locked by the Platinum clan. Locked by the edict of isolation."

Ritter looked over the runes, "Then this isn't dangerous except to those in power."

"Oh?"

"Yes, that particular edict is about keeping the dwarves as they are. Something in here would be valuable to the Earthbreakers."

"Like us. Then perhaps we should open it."

"Eventually. We should get it out of here first," Ritter said.

The tearing of fabric suddenly filled the air. The soldiers that had surrounded the tent had just all cut their way inside.

"It appears someone bought off your guards," Enzi said.

"Yes," the Agonish man replied, "Greed is a terrible thing. Perhaps someday we will all live in unity, but this chaos is most unbecoming."

"Just step out of the way short stuff," one of the soldiers said towards the dwarves.

"We will never get the box out of here like this. Whatever is inside has to be easier to carry," Gierig said, "If you know how to open the thing, now would be a good time. I can hold these scrawny humans off."

Gierig readied his axe and smiled.

***

Mayitso's growls were the first warning that something was wrong. Several warriors were headed for the wagon. Glancing towards the tent, Eurysa saw that a score of the soldiers had just cut their way inside.

"You get your wish Kava, we get a fight after all," the gorgon hissed.

Kava's croaking voice was full of bliss, "About damn time."

Enzi's Irregulars poured out of the wagon as the enemy warriors approached. Kava and Aldebaran dashed into combat to keep the warriors off of their ranged support. Then from behind them a familiar voice spoke out.

"My sources were correct, you are here after all."

Eurysa turned to see the magehunter Laerdik Verdiss. A dozen possibilities flew through her mind. However, the fight ensued before she could do anything. The soldiers moved in with quiet competence as the magehunter closed on his primary target. Eurysa's bow would be of little use if the magehunter kept her in melee range. Mayitso snapped at the Agonish warrior and he kept his distance.

As the great wolf charged at Laerdik and the human moved with an almost uncanny speed and grace. His extensive training had paid off. There was a flash of metal in his off hand. He had pulled a dagger as he dodged the lycanthrope. There was a terrible yelp from Mayitso as Laerdik drove the dagger home. The great wolf hit the ground bleeding from his side. Eurysa rapidly analyzed the bloody dagger in the man's hands. It was coated with pure silver.

"I learned quite a bit about your little group," the magehunter said, "There were quite a few tales about you and your allies and the terrible things you have done. The number of innocents each of you has slain. It is the end of your time on Doulairen."

"Several of us had a rough time dealing with humans that would destroy us because we are different," Eurysa hissed, "They are not so innocent. Enzi has helped us avoid the trouble."

"You may think you are doing good, but I've seen some of the reports. Especially of your minotaur friend. There is no excuse for many of those slayings. I learned how magic corrupts those who use it. The teachers in the fortress at Hadrarius drilled many things into the heads of young magehunters. I wondered how true it could be. Ravalei has mages but did not seem corrupt. But I've seen the effects again and again. You may have done some good, but it is time to end your menace before the magic completely corrupts you. Nothing personal."

Laerdik charged in with blinding speed, leaping over the prone Mayitso. The great wolf was breathing heavily, obviously in great pain. The arming sword in the magehunter's hand flashed through the air as Eurysa slithered back from the attack. She was not skilled at dealing with melee combat and she felt a flash of pain as she tumbled backwards over her tail and hit the ground. Blood oozed from the severed snake that had once been part of her hair.

Kava and Aldebaran were embroiled in a fight with far too many soldiers to come to Eurysa's aid. Laerdik was likely too skilled for any one of the team to defeat easily, certainly not with several soldiers aiding his cause. He stood over the gorgon and raised his blade.

"I am truly sorry," he said.

"Then don't do it," Eurysa hissed, "You've felt doubt about magic before. My people were born with this natural ability. You have seen for yourself the good that the Ravaleians can do. There are always those who will misuse a tool."

Laerdik hesitated and Eurysa continued, "Someone told you that we would be here. They used you as a tool."

"Yes," he said, "Perhaps it is true. But I can not simply allow a monster to live. I may not be one of the Cleansers, but a threat is still a threat."

He raised his blade again and before Eurysa could speak again there was a blur of motion. She saw grew fur stained with red blood. The lycanthrope tackled Laerdik. The blade flew from the Agonish man's hands. Pure fury filled the eyes of the great wolf.

"Mayitso, no!" Eurysa yelled in a raspy voice.

It was no use. The fury of raw nature had been let loose. Instinct and rage drove the lycanthrope. The wound had driven his higher order thinking away. His fangs sank deep into the magehunter's neck. The rending motion that came after was quick and brutal. The blood spray was horrific to any who viewed it. Yet that would not slake the thirst of the beast. Mayitso leapt from the corpse and launched himself at other soldiers, gnashing his teeth.

The battle was soon won. The killing field looked like a slaughterhouse. Mayitso had calmed as the slayings soothed his feral nature. He whimpered in pain and collapsed from exhaustion and blood loss near the wagon. Eurysa glanced around, trying to ignore her own wound despite the dead snake flopping over one eye.

"If he was told ahead of time so that he could be here, then this whole thing was planned. This was a set up, a trap."

"Oh that little dwarf is gonna get it," Kava croaked, "Wonder how much shorter he will be without his legs?"

"Oh Enzi," Eurysa hissed, "Please be okay."

Enzi's Irregulars #0014

Ritter looked at the dwarven puzzle box. The runes did not always seem to make sense. His entire concentration focused on the riddle before him. The sound of battle around him seemed to fade away as he studied the halzium artifact. Finally frustration set in. The runes just did not match up in a way that made any sense to him. He kicked the box as his rage built. The mighty artifact moved from that blow, toppling over. Ritter panicked for a moment as it hit the ground.

It broke his concentration for the moment. He glanced up to see the battle in the tent. Gierig seemed to be in a stand-off with several soldiers who seemed to be afraid to approach him. Enzi was surrounded by nearly a dozen soldiers. Ritter saw that the auction leader that had been speaking to them earlier had slipped away from the combat and was hunkered down behind some crates not far from the two Halz. Ritter turned to join the battle and aid Enzi but paused at the last moment.

The runes suddenly made sense to him. Some of the words had been written in different directions. Halz runes meant entirely different things based on the direction they faced. With the new insight, Ritter's focus snapped back to the puzzle box. He quickly deciphered the runes that he could see. One side was on the ground, but it did not matter. He had read enough of that side to understand. It was a tale of the noble Platinum clan of the Halz. All you had to know to open the box was the part that was wrong. That passage happened to be on the side that was facing up.

Ritter pressed the runes in the correct order, feeling them lock into place. He slid the panel back to reveal a slightly glowing handle. Ritter recognized it as ancient runic magic. Reading the runes, however, left Ritter confident. He twisted and yanked the handle and the lid of the puzzle box snapped open. His eyes opened wide as he glimpsed what was contained within. However, his attention was yanked away as he felt a boot hit his side. He stumbled back from the box and turned to see Gierig wielding his axe menacingly.

The dwarf was grinning maliciously, his ill intent towards his fellow Halz unmistakable, "Its all yours. Now for my reward."

Gierig hefted his axe as Ritter asked with surprise, "Why?"

"I know exactly who you are," Gierig said with almost mischievous glee, "Your clan has caused mine great harm. Ritter of the Platinum Clan. It is why I knew that you could open the box. Only someone of your blood could pull the final magical switch. The fact that I got paid for getting the box open and having all these nice soldiers keep your allies away from me is merely a sweet bonus."

"What grudge could you hold so viciously against me? What ill could I have done to deserve such a fate?"

"You were born a Platinum. That is enough. The best part is knowing that I slay not just any one of you clan, but the heir himself."

"I am an Earthbreaker now," Ritter declared as he tried to think of a way out of the situation.

Ritter was on his back and his shield was trapped beneath him as he had left it slung while he worked on the box. His warhammer was at his side, but any move to grab it would certainly cause Gierig to drop his axe. Enzi was engaged with all the soldiers in the room. The auction master had slid up to the puzzle box and was extracting its prize. There would be no aid for Ritter's dire situation.

"If you walked back into your clan hall, do you expect me to believe that they would not welcome you back immediately?" Gierig asked despite already knowing the answer, "Your death will be felt deeply. A small measure of satisfaction for the wounds your clan has inflicted on mine. A great many of my ancestors died at the hands of yours. When we sought to redress these crimes, those who came to the court were banished for daring to speak out against your leadership."

Knowledge glimmered in Ritter's eyes, "Then I know who you are from this twisted tale. I have been told a very different story of what happened. I will not claim that either are entirely true or right. The time for petty revenge is over."

"It will never be over until all of your clan is slain."

"Anger cannot guide you forever. Most of your clan has put the anger behind them. I know they have outcast those who still hold on to the old grudge. This certainly explains a great deal. Yet even today revenge will not serve you, Gierig of clan Silveraxe. The puzzle box held a prize that you seek dearly, I am afraid. You should have taken the time to look."

"I can think of no prize that will forestall my revenge!"

"You know who sealed that box, and you know the stories of the clans and their history," Ritter said, "The very symbol of your clan rested there."

Gierig could not help himself but to turn and look. He saw the auction master rushing out back with his prize. He could see enough to know that Ritter was telling the truth.

"This only gives you a temporary reprieve," Gierig snarled, "Fate was with you this time. You will not be so lucky when next we meet."

The treacherous Halz rushed off after the Agonish auction master. Ritter clambered to his feet. He knew that Gierig could not allow an ancient artifact of the clan to escape him. Ritter's armor had saved him. The time it would have taken to slay Ritter instead of slowly wounding him might have given the Agonish man time to get away from Gierig. With warhammer and shield in hand, he waded into battle to aid Enzi.

***

Eurysa entered the tent to see a great many soldiers on the ground. Aldebaran and Kava had their guard up, yet everything seemed calm. Enzi looked exhausted but otherwise unharmed. She saw no sign of Gierig.

"You need rest," she hissed at Enzi.

"Perhaps," Enzi said, "I'm not as young as I used to be."

"I was actually quite impressed at your martial skill," Ritter said appreciatively, "I have seen few people fight that well without weapons, let alone if age has affected your skills."

"So the traitor escaped?" Eurysa asked.

Enzi nodded, "And the auction master. I thought he seemed too excited to see our two Halz."

"This was organized well in advance," Eurysa said as she motioned to the lifeless snake she had draped behind her head, "They brought in the magehunter that we encountered before to give us a difficult foe."

"What of those that came for the auction?" Enzi asked.

"They fled, but saw our fight. I can not imagine that it will look good for us," the gorgon reported, "We should leave immediately."

Concurring, Enzi led the others to their wagon. There he saw the wounded and exhausted Mayitso laying in the back. Enzi turned and surveyed the slaughter grimly. The mercenaries climbed into their wagon and rolled off back towards Center Point. Enzi wondered how much the witnesses had seen and how they would interpret it. Yet, it was no time to try to explain it to authorities. They would see the group as monsters and nothing more. Several of the members of the Irregulars had been through tough times such as this before. Their reputations would never be pristine.

Ritter, however, now truly intrigued Enzi. A prince among the Halz, heir to the leadership of the Platinum clan. His education in engineering as well as his well-honed combat abilities spoke of someone who had access to excellent teachers. He was too young to have gained all that knowledge without coming from a family of at least some wealth. Enzi had originally suspected that Ritter had merely come to the surface to prove himself, but now Enzi began to suspect Ritter's motives were indeed honest.

Long groomed for leadership, if Ritter gained experience of the world it would indeed be possible for him to sway the politics of the Halz. A great sadness then swept over Enzi. Ritter had seen little of the human race to inspire him. The Irregulars fought the most troublesome of foes, the most corrupt of what humans had to offer. Those were understandable. However, it was the respectable foes that were the true travesty of humanity. The ones that still did terrible deeds despite their many redeeming qualities. Some did them in the name of their country. Some for noble ideas. Many were misguided, blind to the truth of the world around them.

The Feergrus man decided that it was long past time that he talk with the Halz. His own past had led him down the wrong path. He felt that perhaps he could give Ritter an insight into the troubles of the human race and how the two races could work together. If nothing else, Enzi felt it was time for the two to get to know each other. Even though Gierig had proven that not all Halz had honor, this dwarf was trustworthy.

***

The Kurrot man trodded through the grass. It was stained with blood. That reminded him of the Blood Plains in his homeland. The grass there often seemed to have a red tint. So much blood had been spilled there that the ground was renowned for it. It was the most fertile area of Kurrot and it was commonly said that it was the blood that made the grass grow. The patches of Razor Grass merely helped the reputation of the area. The blades of that deadly plant were like sharpened steel and had bled out a great many fools who ran without looking where they were going.

Naphar Bura paused as he saw the fallen man before him. Like so many of the bodies, he had his throat torn out by a great beast. Yet this man was different. He wore white face-paint in the shape of the Agonori letter M. It was a magehunter. Such a foe would be difficult to defeat. The white-robed Kurrot found the silver dagger the Agonish man had used and noted the blood on the blade.

Within a few minutes the Kurrot had constructed a vision of the battle that had happened. Eyewitness accounts had given him some clues, and the scene told him the rest of the story that he wanted to see. This was the tale of uncontrolled monsters. The slaughter of innocents was plain in the eyes of the man. He was a Cleanser, a monster hunter. He had come to find a slain magehunter, three dozen soldiers, and an auctioneer.

The auctioneer had been the worst. He was an unarmed innocent. His clothes marked him as a member of the Rava Coast Trading Company. They would not be pleased to learn of the Ravaleian man's death. Naphar found it odd that the group had taken the time to hide that body, unlike the many others. The details of their plan did not matter to the Kurrot. He had his own mission.

Then his eyes came alight with joy. He had seen something actually useful. He knelt down and grasped the odd thing he had found, lifting it to look closely. It appeared to be the head of a snake, but it was unlike any serpent the Cleanser had encountered or read about. He knew immediately that it must have come from the head of the gorgon. He decided to try to confirm that fact when he next spoke with his information source in Center Point.

He noted that the snake head did not have its own eyes. That meant that the gorgon did not have any extra range of vision. Opening the mouth, he examining the fangs and noted that there were venom pouches for them, similar to what you would find in a venomous snake. He would have to see whether he could get the venom analyzed. His knowledge of his foes would grow. The slaughter what he had found proved to him that these were not foes to take on until he was ready and had the advantage.

"Keep making mistakes," the Cleanser muttered, "Soon enough your time will end. Each crime you commit grants me allies and resources. Each mistake gives me an advantage to use against you. Someday I will be in the position to end your threat. Permanently."

Enzi's Irregulars #0015

Eurysa was busy with target practice. She was experimenting with different ways of keeping her one dead snake from compromising her aim. Kava and Aldebaran were busy sparring. Mayitso had found a quiet area to rest and recover. Enzi made his way over to Ritter. The Halz was busy cleaning his armor, but the Feergrus knew he would likely not find a better time.

"Lets talk," Enzi said with a serious tone.

The dark skinned human motioned for the dwarf to follow. The Disputed Lands provided plenty of cover, and Enzi had found a nice grown over clump for the two to sit behind and discuss their pasts. It was hard to tell what the small mass had once been. It could have been a forgotten wagon, a pile of corpses, or many other things. Whatever it had been, now it was enough shelter to hide from prying eyes for a short time. It also helped to shelter them from the cold winds when they sat on the lee side of the mound.

"You have been a part of the Irregulars for many months," Enzi stated, "Soon winter will truly let loose and coat these plains with snow. We often get our most dangerous missions in the winter. Few groups wish to dare the freezing temperatures. Mercenary jobs are dangerous enough without such complications. We may not have time to discuss things once we get back to Center Point."

"I assume you would like to know what the heir of the Platinum Clan is doing topside?" Ritter asked with the angular smirk his stony face allowed.

"Actually I thought we would both share our pasts," Enzi replied, "You know as little of me as I do of you. Plus it would be good to know if we have any more surprises in store for us."

Ritter chuckled, "I certainly didn't expect to see another Halz, and certainly not one with a grudge. I suppose I should start my tale at the beginning, the event that made my people they way they are today. I can only tell this tale as I have heard it. I have seen hints that all the clans have their own views on these events. Gierig certainly showed that some views are more extreme than others."

"As well as showing that not everyone can forgive and forget," Enzi said with a knowingly sad look in his yellow eyes.

"The tale of the Halz begins and ends with a city," Ritter stated with a wistful look of his own, "The great capital of all our people, the metropolis of Tralenheim. It was built over four thousand years ago. It was a place that all the clans were welcome, though we still each had our own great hidden cities as well. It was the seat of the king as well. In the capital, the clans could easily trade with each other, as well as arrange marriages and other deals to make the Halz one united and strong people."

"The great cave that held the city had everything a Halz could want. A great underground lake had formed there. It glittered green in the light. We called it Lake Emerald. It was fed by what we called the Waterfall of Jewels. Near the lake were the great mushroom fields that fed our clans. In the center of the cave was a great pit. It was from there that we mined adamantine. Yet it was none of these things that truly made Tralenheim great. There was one reason that the Halz gathered and made a city and one alone."

"It was the Forge of Souls," Ritter said with a sense of awe, "For as long as my people had existed, it was an artifact of legend. The Soulforge Clan was named for the myth and had long been our greatest artisans. When the artifact was discovered, all the clans sought to claim it. It was one of the Soulforge Clan that made the treaty that made Tralenheim possible, a Halz we now call Strongarm Clanfather. All clans were to be equal with an elected king to administrate. He was the first king of the Halz. Most of the successors were of the Platinum Clan, though we had many blood ties to the first king."

Ritter's words were tinged with sadness again, "We did not have the city for even twelve hundred years. The forge was powered by magma and something went wrong. Lava devastated the city. The clan hall of the Soulforge was the worst hit, as they lived closest to the source. The Silveraxe Clan was also hit hard. Emerald Lake helped halt the advance of the lava towards the hall of the Goldbeard clan. The Platinum Clan hall sat across the mining pit from the source and like the Goldbeard we escaped relatively unscathed from the disaster. The Diamondheart Clan was hit nearly as hard as the Silveraxe Clan, except that they could escape up the Sapphire Staircase to the source of Lake Emerald."

"The Stonehammer and Orcdoom halls were far enough that any living in them could have escaped easily. Unfortunately, they made up a lot of those that worked in the mining pit. The magma flowed over the easiest escape from there, leaving thousands of Halz trapped until the heat and fumes of the lava killed them. This tragedy changed our people. Blame was thrown around for the catastrophe. Many blamed the Soulforge for trying to run the Forge of Souls too hard. All of us have hard feelings towards the elves who did not fulfill the duties of our treaty with them."

"The Silveraxe had a different target. They blamed the Platinum Clan for their pain and suffering. We ran the administration of Tralenheim and held the seat of the king when the tragedy came. We denied funding to a great many projects that were seen as a waste. Those hit the hardest by this were the Silveraxe Clan. Their projects were always designed to give them superiority over other clans in whatever area they were trying to horn into that day. Yet they also had several odd requests that made little sense to us at the time. They wanted to build great bridges across the pit and over inhabited areas. They wanted to make great streets that were easy to traverse."

"We saw no benefit to this. The system we had set up within the metropolis worked quite well. The materials from the pit had a direct thoroughfare to the forges. We saw nothing else that needed to be so expedited. However the Silveraxe Clan would constantly speak of the rulings being an impediment to progress and safety. When the magma came, they saw themselves vindicated. Their great roads and bridges could have saved a great many Halz. The Silveraxe Clan stated that the Platinum Clan had denied the funding despite the potential disaster that the magma presented."

They wanted restitution for their dead, as well as restitution for the dead of all the other clans," Ritter said as his tone showed some aggravation, "It was this that lost them the support of the other clans. The Silveraxe Clan wanted it all for themselves. Their greed had swept their moral high ground from beneath their feet. The other clans might have been willing to listen if the Silveraxe Clan had been willing to share and help others. Instead they merely reminded everyone why their many extravagant requests had always been turned down."

"That did not stop them. In fact it brought us to the situation that created a Halz like Gierig. Only a few of the Silveraxe Clan held their extreme views. No one dared speak against them because they held the great symbol of the clan. It was a magical axe that had given the clan its name. Its power was extreme, perhaps more than the artifacts held by the other clans. It was like the whole clan was under a spell when that axe was presented before them. The wielder of the axe attacked the home city of the Platinum Clan."

"The assault on the city of Carmarthan was seen as the ultimate insult. The small force seemed unstoppable until the leader was disarmed. Without the magical silver axe it seemed all their will to fight faded. The axe was taken and sealed away. Those that led the assault were banished from the lands of the Halz. The rest of the Silveraxe Clan was embarrassed by their actions and upheld the banishment. Those few Halz that were banished took their families and were never seen again."

"Until now," Enzi said breathlessly.

Ritter nodded, "As well as the great axe. I was stunned to see it. It had been lost for generations, much like the ancestral relic of the Platinum Clan. I knew that no one of the Silveraxe Clan could dare let it get away, especially not in the hands of a human. It has the power of being not only a symbol, but true power as well."

"That is something that worries me greatly," Enzi replied, "I have some experience with magical items. The more powerful they are, the more dangerous they can become. Age also has a tendency to increase their potency. This comes with an increasing price. To my ears, your tale speaks of an item that has become extraordinarily dangerous. It already affected the mind of those that wielded it. Excessive greed, a need for domination, ideas that were taken to an extreme. I have seen magical items take a minor quirk of a person and turn it into the driving force of their lives. Worse, when it comes into the hands of another, those same drives appear in that person."

"Even if they have never had such drives before?" Ritter asked.

Enzi nodded solemnly, "Even the most innocent can be corrupted."

"Then are the Magehunters right? Is magic corrupt?"

"I can not claim to know for sure. However, magic often falls into the hands of the powerful and corrupt. It is hard to say if it is their corruptions that twists the magic or if magic itself has some of the blame. In the end, it matters little. The items become corrupt and can then corrupt those that use them. As time passes, their corruption grows stronger."

"That is something to worry about," Ritter replied thoughtfully, "Though I am not sure what we can do about it at this point."

"True enough," Enzi said, "I expect that your tale is not yet done, however."

Ritter chuckled, "Yes, you are right. My tale is of the Halz, and not yet of me. I have not yet even reached eighty years of age and the tale I told is of things that happened over three thousand years ago. Yet that was an important part of the tale, as you can see. After all the excitement, things calmed down for many generations. Trade between the clans slowed down until it was rare to see a Halz that was not of your own clan. Our numbers slowly dwindled as blood ties became closer. Without outside blood, marriages were something we had to be very careful of. Being too closely related could cause severe problems with fertility."

"Expeditions were sometimes sent to explore the potential of reclaiming Tralenheim. None were ever successful. This was the world I was born into. My father had been Clanfather of the Platinum Clan for nearly three decades when I was born. His father had been the Clanfather before him, and it was expected that one day I would take my place as leader. I spent much of my young life learning. I was coached in the intricacies of mathematics and engineering. I was trained by the greatest warriors of our clan. In my studies, I also saw the hard work of the wedding planners."

"They sought out the few rare females and tracked their blood lines. It was their job to find the best matches to keep our race alive. Looking at their problem was daunting, but I applied my skill at mathematics. The answer I came to frightened me more than anything. At best, we Halz have two more generations left as things are. I knew then that I had to find an answer. The Halz need something to unite them once again. I suspected that I would not find the answer below the mountains where we hide. My people need a place where we can gather and meet together. Yet we have long hidden away, even from each other."

"Your people, however, mix freely. Even if you do not all get along," Ritter said, "I have already learned some about you, both good and bad."

"I worry about that as well," Enzi replied starkly, "As a mercenary group, we often deal with the worst of my kind. Not all humans are pleasant."

"While the Halz are less likely to fight with cold steel than I have seen for you humans," Ritter replied, "That never stopped us from constant fighting and bickering. I heard a great many tales of the arguments between the clans in Tralenheim. Drawing blood was always taboo, however. The attack by the Silveraxe Clan was an aberration beyond anyone's belief."

Enzi showed his understanding, "Thus why the banishment was accepted so easily, even by the clan they came from."

Ritter merely nodded.

"This certainly explains a lot of you," Enzi said, "I believe it is time I return the favor. In some ways, my life is not so different from yours. My own family was... Is one of the most powerful families in Feergrus. It means that any of us will rise in rank quickly in our fields of employment. It also comes with great expectations. A failure can mean more than just your own dishonor. Sometimes it is better to be thought of as dead then to be known as who you truly are. It is why I do not talk of who I once was. That man is dead. Yet today, for you, I will discuss this man."

"I was once known as the greatest military leader of the military of Feergrus, the high general of the forces of the Temple of Chasar. I was thought to be the greatest tactician and soldier ever to come from the powerful Cala family. My fall could have only brought them down. So now I work in the Disputed Lands. Enzi is a common enough name in Feergrus that it draws no attention. However, the name General Enzi Cala will draw attention. It is sometimes amazing how a mere four letters can change the meaning of everything."

"Then this is not a story with a happy ending."

"Not yet," Enzi replied with a weary smirk, "But for now I will tell what I know of it and hope that the future brings a satisfactory conclusion."

Enzi's Irregulars #0016

"Much like your story, I need to give you the tale of who my people are," Enzi stated, "The Feergrus have a long history, but our current civilization started because of our religion. The majority embraced the three deities. Rakar is the deity of all that is good in life. Yet this did not make for a perfect deity. One could be consumed by the good and forget all the terrible things of the world. The second deity was Chasar. He presided over pain, suffering, and war. Among our people he is thought of as the deity representing the harsh realities of life and death. Each of those two deities had their place. The third is Nazzer. He brings balance to our beliefs."

"He is considered to be the structure by which the Feergrus live. It is the will of his priests that designed how our society lived. A society that was to understand the world's pain through Chasar and bring it healing through Rakar. The priests decided then that society would be divided by its purpose. Thus began the creation of the castes. The soldiers of our nation belong to one such caste, and it falls under the power of the commander of the army. This man is Karrum Tamb, a man who leads all the generals of Feergrus and reports directly to the leader of all of Feergrus. This all falls under the purview of the deity Chasar."

"Another caste are the merchants. Their purpose is to spread the power of Feergrus. They fall under the purview of Rakar. This group is controlled by the Executor of Feergrus, a man called Devis Lane. The most powerful caste is, as would be expected in our theocracy, the priesthood. They are controlled by the followers of Nazzer. Above them sits the very leader of Feergrus himself, Lord Glanar Dale. This a simplification, as even in each caste there are varying levels of power. Beyond those higher castes are also the lower castes, servants, slaves, or worse."

"This system was seen as a fair way for people to fit into their place. To give each a purpose and a place where they could rise to the limit of their ability. It may have even worked at first, but like all things time can corrupt any idea. When one person gains power, they often seek to keep it at any cost. Thus came the powerful families of Feergrus. Several families grew in power as they found positions of great power and made sure that others of their family were given preferential treatment. Soon our caste system became a way to keep the weak in their low caste while those of the higher castes reaped the benefits."

"This was the culture I was born into," Enzi sighed, "My family was one of the more powerful ones. You will find a Cala in nearly every high office. Most of us actually did the hard work and effort to be worthy of those positions. This high level of competence made us targets. Our decisions were often second guessed by those who hoped we would make a mistake. Such pressure merely made my tactical decisions sharper. It made me look for plots against me. This ever sharpening focus is what brought me to my ultimate revelation."

"I could finally see the big picture. It did not make sense at first because I could not comprehend the scale of it all. The plan was beyond enormous. It was subtle and slow, meant to slip by the notice of those with short lives. This plan had been going on for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years. Such patience is nearly beyond the comprehension of most humans. It pointed me to a horrible conclusion about my country. While I love my family and my people, I saw that the direction of our country was being subtly directed. Our leaders had manipulated us for their own greater goal."

"The ultimate goal is for all of Doulairen to fall under the control of the theocracy. At first I wondered if that was so terrible. Yet I saw something else hidden deep within the plan. It was a complete disregard for life of any kind. Our people had been chosen because of convenience. We had been nearly ready to destroy ourselves in a civil war between a powerful group called the Ahk and those of our people without power. The church had come and given power to fight the Ahk necromancers. Much of this history we had been taught, but there was much that did not make sense to me."

"I began to dig deeper. I found our history teaching had been manipulated. I learned a shocking truth. The man who had brought the teachings of the church to my ancient ancestors was Lord Glanar Dale himself, along with his aides Devis Lane and Karrum Tamb. These three were not human at all. Their skill at hiding their immortality was impressive. The indoctrination of our children in their schools helped some, while they used the caste system to separate children from their families as much as they could. They made it something a parent wanted. A chance for their children to join the priesthood. It was open to all castes that could prove themselves worthy."

"The most powerful and well educated families made sure it was their children who were taken. At least as much as possible. It was why our leaders had let the caste system turn into the shambles it is now. It was the perfect way to keep information from being shared and their secret from growing well known. Yet now I had discovered their secret. I was not sure what to do with the information. That decision was quickly made for me. The spread of our people across the lands by Devis Lane was not only for us to spread the word of our religion, but also to gather information."

"My research had not gone unnoticed. I am not sure when I was first discovered or how long I had been under surveillance. However in the end, Devis Lane himself had watched as I pieced together their history piece by piece. He had watched on purpose. He had wanted to see how I did it. He wanted to make sure it would be harder for anyone else to learn. He also wanted to see just how good I was. Most of all, however, he wanted to see my reaction when I discovered the truth. He congratulated me on my endeavor."

"He told me that he had never expected a mind such as mine to exist among the humans. We had a discussion about the direction of the country and of the human condition. The more he spoke, the more I understood that my people were just a means to an end for Lord Glanar Dale. Devis Lane's skills were greater than mine. He read my reaction perfectly. He saw my growing disgust. He knew that he had lost me. Yet he also had great power over me."

"He had the power to make my family suffer," Enzi said with a deep sadness, "Yet he offered me a chance to escape unharmed. He said all I had to do was beat him in a fight. If I lost, I would be dead and no longer a threat to Feergrus. If I won then Devis Lane would be slain and my family would be safe. I was perhaps the greatest warriors that had even been in the Feergrus military and I was still in my prime, if perhaps on the edge of being too old."

"I had no choice. I accepted."

"How did you beat him?" Ritter asked.

Enzi laughed, though it was bitter and dark, "Beat him? I was not even a challenge for him. I watched as my attacks did nothing. The warriors of Feergrus often learn a way to call upon the power of our panthers. Some can take the form of a panther for combat or surveillance. With training, one can even take a form that is a hybrid of human form and panther. It was this power I used against Devis Lane. My claws could not penetrate his skin."

"He transformed as well. His form was similar to the hybrid form I had taken, except his form seemed inhuman to me. I am not sure what it was. Our fight continued, but it quickly became obvious that he was toying with me. He slashed the hamstring in my leg. I could not hold my hybrid form any longer and I collapsed. We were near the top of one of the many towers that spiral throughout Feergrus. He threw me through the stained glass window and I plummeted to the ground far below. For me, everything went dark."

"That I awoke at all was a miracle. My leg had been healed, as well as my other wounds. It had been magical healing that had saved my life. My body had been taken to the local Temple of Nazzer. It was to have been used as a corpse for the ranks of the undead used for menial labor. Yet one of the acolytes had been a Cala. He recognized me and saw that I was not yet dead. I had been stolen away and healed by the greatest of our healers. They had already heard tales that I had been slain."

"Yet there were a great many hints that my death had been dishonorable. Things had suddenly become very hard for the Cala family. They saved my life, but wanted nothing more to do with me. My very presence could bring them more pain. I could not levy that cost upon them. I fled Feergrus, using all of my skill to disappear. I knew I could not do anything about the three that led Feergrus from inside. They had too much control. So I eventually decided the only thing I could do was to help the world to become a stronger place. A world that could stand up to the machinations of the leaders of Feergrus. A world that could one day free my people."

"That explains a lot," Ritter stated with a look of understanding, "My own people need an outside force to help them see the destruction we have ahead of us. Sometimes it is hard to see the problem if you are too close to it."

Enzi nodded, "Then we are but two who hope to change the world by our actions."

Ritter chuckled, "By action, by word, or by both."

The dark skinned human merely nodded.

"So how do you tell people of the creatures that usurped your government?" the Halz asked.

"I don't," Enzi replied, "If my family knew, they would be targeted. Devis would find out. He is far more resourceful than I could have ever imagined. For many years I disappeared. I had been disheartened by my defeat and originally saw no way I could do anything to stop the evil that I saw. I mentioned I had eventually came to my decision of how to help. Eventually in this case had taken nearly two decades. This means less to you than to a human."

"By this time I had largely been forgotten by most in Feergrus. My family had slowly worked to regain the trust of the leaders of Feergrus. I began work to build the small mercenary work I have here today."

"Humans have such short memories then," Ritter replied, "Do you think any will recognize you or report of your existence?"

"That is not something I have to worry about," Enzi replied with a slight touch of anxiety, "Devis Lane discovered me some time ago. He decided to let me live and continue my work. He certainly has his own purpose for that. He knows the story of what he actually is has been kept safe. I tell it to you now as I expect that Devis will not always decide that I am so harmless. He will not regard you as any threat as he expects no human would believe anything you say."

"True enough sometimes," the Halz replied with a touch of merriment, "Your kind often has little trust in those who are different. Devis might underestimate the relationship between the Halz and the Nuvroc."

"Even that relationship is strained as the years pass," Enzi's yellow eyes spoke of determination, "Yet it is stronger than any bond the Feergrus have made with the Nuvroc. They have little use for superstition there and religion does not fit them well."

"Logic and science often makes one disregard superstition as merely a fool's fancy. However, your people wield real power."

"Even that power is no different than the magic found in other lands," Enzi replied, "Their training in how to use magic allows them to access their power in a way that can not be seen by Magehunters or other mages. The religion had been specifically designed to control the populace. That is the greatest secret of thee three deities. I suspect a few of the most powerful hierophants of the religion may even know the truth. I doubt I am the only one who knows the secret. My reaction to their evil sealed my doom. There are many who would accept such lies as necessary to reach the very heights of power."

"Greed can be a powerful motivator," the Halz agreed, "My own story spoke of that."

Enzi nodded, "It is too bad that we have such evils to share."

"I'll keep your secrets," Ritter said, "Hopefully what we have learned today will make us both ready for whatever may come."

Enzi raised up his waterskin for a drink and nodded, "To whatever may come!"

Enzi's Irregulars #0017

The snow was piling up fast. The chill in the air had begun to cause serious issues for the Irregulars. The amphibious Kava was having trouble staying awake. Eurysa was not doing much better. Aldebaran's tawny fur had grown thicker, and in her more animated moments the vodyanoi had called him a big fluff ball. Mayitso had the least problems. He already had a naturally thick coat and was used to being out and about in the worst of conditions.

Ritter was completely unprepared for the severity of the winter. Deep in the mountains, the Halz had little worry from the snow. While they would often send some of their people up to shovel out some snow to bring back as a source of fresh water, they never needed to deal with prolonged exposure. The heat of their hearths kept the chill out of their mighty halls, as well as the fires of their mighty forges. However, even Enzi found the furs they group used for warmth seeming too thin and threadbare.

The Feergrus sighed. It was to be a brutal winter. He decided it was time to upgrade their winter provisions. That meant he would have to go into town. That was not a problem in itself. Enzi knew he would have to deal with the shady Ravaleian Gharaf Targata. Enzi knew the merchant had the greatest access to hides in Center Point. His access to goods of all kinds was unparalleled in all the Disputed Lands. He was also useful as a broker of information. His buying power meant everyone had to deal with him at some point.

Many had tried to upset the balance of power and take Gharaf's seat at the top of the mountain. The fact that no one had unseated him meant that the Ravaleian was cunning and had the resources to hold onto his power. In a town like Center Point it also meant the Gharaf had to have powerful friends. Enzi always worried that some alliances that the merchant made would be with some rather distasteful folks. Dealing with such people had many dangers, not just for Gharaf but for all of Center Point. However, such villains would find a way to do business one way or another. Enzi had to admit that the wily Ravaleian was likely the best choice to deal with such dangerous people and survive.

Enzi trudged through the steadily gathering snow. Gharaf's shop radiated heat. It was built into the very stones of the ancient ruins. Gharaf had spared no expense to make sure that he would be comfortable during any weather. That also made sure that any customers would find a haven from inclement conditions as well. Enzi was quite surprised that more people were not at the shop. It was empty of customers. The Feergrus would have expected at least one person to have slipped in to escape the chill, if not to pick up an item or two. Perhaps everyone else had stocked up early.

Gharaf was relaxing behind his counter, enjoying the warmth of his hearth, "Ah, Enzi! How nice to see you. Whatever can I sell you today?"

The greedy green eyes of the Ravaleian showed no hint of malice. Enzi did not know of Gharaf's actions against the Irregulars. The Feergrus did not know that his information had been sold to the Cleanser known as Naphar Bura. He certainly did not know of Gharaf's involvement in the incident with Gierig. He also did not know of the organization known as Unity, nor of the Ravaleian's association with them. Gharaf also gave no hint that he had done anything wrong, not that he actually believed anything he did was wrong.

"Looking to stock up on some things for the winter," Enzi replied, "Some food and some blankets."

"Food is easy enough," Gharaf said, "But you are not going to find any blankets. Not even at exorbitant prices. I already sold the few I had for some nice profit."

"What is going on with the blankets?" the Feergrus man asked with curiosity.

Gharaf shrugged, "I didn't get my shipment this year. Usually I get a large batch of hides, but my source has not come in yet this year."

A sly look crossed the Ravaleian's face, "Perhaps you want to earn your blankets, and a bit of coin as well?"

"A job? From you?" Enzi asked with suspicion.

"My source for hides is a recluse. A hermit if you will. He is a Kurrot and he takes the stereotype of their distaste of others to an extreme. However, his attitude and ability to survive alone have earned him the respect of the Hirkans. Each year when they travel north for the winter, he meets them at their trading post of Kanea. Outsiders normally don't get to visit, so he gains a large number of goods for the cost of trade in goods. Of course, he gets those goods from me. The hides are provided to me."

"I worry that he has found a way to annoy the Hirkans," Gharaf said, "That seems most likely. Either that or he finally found something worthwhile for his other hobby."

"Other hobby?" Enzi asked with a touch of worry.

"He looks for strange and unique things to sell to the Collector. He keeps hoping to make a big score and be able to retire. I really don't see that as a possibility," Gharaf said with a twinkle in his jade eyes.

Those eyes always made Enzi feel slightly uncomfortable. While green eyes were not unheard of for a Ravaleian, they were quite uncommon. The same held for blue eyes. While history said that Ravaleians were descendants of the Agonish people, their tendency to skin tones that were less dark and a sprinkling of eyes that were not brown suggested some other heritage also hid in their bloodline. The obvious answer was the Tarvoni, thanks to the strong friendship the Ravaleians showed to the mages that came to their lands.

"Perhaps you could go check on my friend," Gharaf said, "If you can, bring me my hides. I will make sure you are well compensated. Plus you will have your much needed blankets. I suspect the winter will be quite harsh this year."

Enzi grimaced. He could not see a reason not to take the job. With a shortage of hides, many people would suffer. While it was distasteful dealing with Gharaf, the Ravaleian had his uses. Finally Enzi relented.

"Okay Gharaf," Enzi sighed, "Where can we find this Kurrot friend of yours?"

***

Aldebaran led most of Enzi's Irregulars through the snow, blazing a path with his massive body. A shivering Kava stayed behind him, sheltering herself from the chill wind. Eurysa followed her and Ritter was in the rear guard. Mayitso was busy bounding through the snow and outrunning the group. He was enjoying himself. He obviously was more comfortable in this weather. It made Ritter wonder where the lycanthropes normally lived. He seemed to have fully recovered from the incident at the auction ground. However, the brutality of the scene where the lycanthrope had slain so many had rattled the Halz.

He was working with monsters. They were sentient, but each was certainly not entirely civilized. More than ever Ritter respected Enzi for directing their violence in useful ways. However it also made him wonder about the possibilities of the humans and the Halz working together. He wondered if it was possible that the two races were just too different to ever entirely get along. Ritter decided he was not going to give up yet. The fate of his entire race depended on him finding a way to bring peace to the seven remaining clans.

It was interesting to be part of the group on their own again. Having Enzi with them on the last few missions had been interesting. The Halz had seen him fight. He had also learned that Enzi had not even brought his full power to bear in that fight. The Feergrus had been impressive enough, fighting without armor or weapon. The Halz hated to think how powerful Enzi might be if he used his talents as one of the shifters of his land. Ritter imagined that would have exposed Enzi far too much. The Feergrus did not need to draw too much attention to himself.

A snort from the minotaur brought the dwarf's focus back to the present. The group had arrived at their destination. It looked like a broken down shack near the edge of the Tarvo Forest. However, the Halz quickly saw that the looks were deceptive. As an engineer he saw that while the shack looked small and ramshackle, it had been built to cover up another structure. The Halz bet that it was another outpost once built by the giants in ages past, like the ruins at Center Point.

If that was true, it was very possible that the building had some extensive and very large rooms beneath the ground. The seven clan halls of the Halz were all built for giants. Ritter's people had been enslaved, much as the elves and humans had been. The giants had used the skill of the Halz to create the great halls. It was one reason that Tralenheim had been so beloved by Ritter's people. It was a place for the Halz only, built by the Halz. The Halz had suffered under the rule of giants for far longer than the other races, such an act of independence had given the Halz a sense of unity.

The fact that the giants had came back and defeated the Halz and all the other races to end the Second Goblinoid War was a terrible memory. It had been the humans, under the leadership of Ago, that had freed the land once again. That act had given the humans a great deal of respect within the hearts of the Halz. It was the source of the Earthbreakers and one reason that Ritter hoped that human example would aid his shattered people.

Aldebaran blazed a trail to the door of the large shack. It was locked, but the minotaur was polite enough to knock first. There was no answer, so Aldebaran knocked louder.

"Just knock the stupid door down already," Kava blurted, "Its freezing out here. At least we will be out of this damn wind in there."

The minotaur sighed, then kicked the door with one of his mighty hooves. The door shuddered and gave way before the fearsome assault. The wooden part of the building was certainly every bit as ramshackle as it had looked. The stone foundation upon which it was built, however, would certainly not have given way to such an attack. The minotaur did not immediately enter, so Kava rolled between his legs to get inside.

"Ooh, this feels nice in here," she purred with her croaking voice.

"It smells... Sour," Aldebaran said with a confused look, "That is unusual."

The best nose in the group, however, was still bouncing and playing in the snow. The rest of the mercenaries poured into the shack. The warmth was comforting, but the Halz did notice the odd smell as well. It was not the smell of death, but the Halz certainly could not place it. It was slightly acrid. The odd scent did not daunt the mercenaries. They searched the shack and quickly found it empty of any life or immediate clues. Ritter knew that it was built on ruins, however, and surveyed the shack for a route to a basement. He was not disappointed.

"Here," the Halz said, his completely black eyes spotting the hidden trap door, "A passage to the cellar."

The group cracked open the trapdoor. It had been excellently hidden as just some more poorly laid floorboards. Mayitso still had not joined the group, but Ritter knew the lycanthrope would not let Eurysa go far without him. The four mercenaries slipped down the shaft and immediately Ritter felt an oppressive muggy air assault him. He felt an odd sense of revulsion as he stepped on the ground.

There was a sick crunching sound as he stepped on the floor. His eyes could easily peer through darkness and he did not see anything odd. However, there was also a crunching noise as he put his gauntlet on a nearby wall to steady himself. He took his hand off the wall and part of it stuck to his gauntlet. A goo or slime of some sort stretched from the broken off pieces of wall and the wall itself.

"Ugh, what is this stuff?" Ritter asked.

Eurysa found the ladder down a bit difficult to traverse. The floor felt horrific to her skin as pieces broke off and the slime trailed after her. While Aldebaran and Ritter could see perfectly fine in the darkness, Kava was nearly blind in it. Eurysa had decent night vision, as long as there was at least some ambient light. The same would hold true for Mayitso if he was there. Ritter lit one of the slime covered torches on the wall so all could see.

Bringing light to the scene did not help at all. While the dwarf could see shapes perfectly well in the darkness, without light there was no color. That was why the cities of the Halz were always well lit. They wanted to show off the gems and crystals they had mined. The sparkle and color was of great beauty to the eye of his people. What he saw in the basement of the shack was incredibly foul. The stone was covered with a shell that looked like stone except for its foul coloration. It was some mix of brown and green that almost exactly failed to please the eye.

As they continued down the oddly coated hall, they heard the skittering of a great wolf's feet on the floor above. The Ritter heard an odd sound. It was the pattering of human feet behind them. The group turned as Mayitso caught up to them in his human form. His icy blue eyes were wide with panic.

He spoke in the tongue of the Feergrus, "We need to leave now."

There was a large crash behind them where the ladder was.

Mayitso merely sighed, "It is too late."

Enzi's Irregulars #0018

"What is it Mayitso?" Eurysa asked in Infernus.

"I think you call them Trenchers," the lycanthrope said, still uncomfortable in his pale humanoid form.

"Trencher worms?" Eurysa hissed, almost in derision, "Those things are pests that bother farmers. Even the largest ones are less than two feet long and not that dangerous."

"Those are the larvae," Mayitso replied, "If fertilized, they get much different."

"Different?"

It was obvious that Mayitso was struggling for the right words to describe them when a large shape zipped past the group from the direction of the ladder. For a brief moment Ritter saw four diaphanous wings carrying a worm body with six legs. It was about the same size as the Halz. The legs looked like scoops, though each had a sharp point. The dwarf thought he had seen a gaping circular maw full of needle-like teeth as well. However the creature's attack was not against the mercenaries. The lit torch was ripped from the wall as the creature flew by. The light disappeared quickly.

"How did it come from behind us?" Eurysa hissed.

"They can hide on these walls," Mayitso replied, "And now the real fight begins."

Ritter saw the lycanthrope shift forms. The magical fey power that allowed such a transformation was shocking to see. The darkness hid it from most eyes, however. The Halz wondered about the magic that some Feergrus used to shift their own forms. He wondered if it was at all similar. Of course, the lycanthrope's ability was innate.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shape in the darkness. The scoop-like legs of a flying trencher worm wrapped around the currently blind Eurysa. She hissed loudly as she was yanked off into the darkness. Mayitso spun in that direction, though he could not see without light. His nose, however, was working perfectly. The large wolf immediately trotted down the hallway following the scent. Kava was flailing her arms until she found a wall.

"You know, Maybe I will just guard the exit here," the vodyanoi croaked in Infernus.

Ritter and Aldebaran looked to each other, nodded, then headed off after the kidnapper. The enormous hallways gave the creatures plenty of room to fly. Having been built to allow a giant to walk through, the ceiling was well beyond the reach of Aldebaran, even with his two handed sword adding to his reach. Mayitso bounded far out of the sight of the Halz and the Minotaur. The buzzing of a creature flying past was brief but terrifying. The two warriors moved onwards, keeping their eyes open in the dark hall.

The Trenchers had begun to build on the walls. Ritter could see horrifying shapes made out of the insect's resins. Suddenly he was glad for the darkness. Color would have made those shapes only more horrifying. The crunching of the resin under their feet was only worsened by the feeling of good that stuck to their feet as they walked.

A yell from behind the two made them spin. Far above them Ritter spotted a Trenched flying off with a struggling shape in its legs. It was too small to be Eurysa and had come from the wrong direction. It had to be Kava. Aldebaran and Ritter continued on, coming what had likely once been a huge room. Now it was choked off, with small tunnels leading in all directions.

"Wonderful, just when we need our tracker," Aldebaran said in Nuvro, worry obvious in his gruff voice.

At that moment a pair of winged monstrosities erupted from boils on the walls. Viscous goo splattered all over the place. Ritter swung his warhammer as one flew past him. Another was pestering the minotaur. The creatures kept flitting about. Whenever it got close, the Halz could feel a strong vibration. He wondered what it was until the creature got its maw close to him. Ritter could feel the sonic emanations coming from the creature's maw. It seemed to use the noise like a sonic drill of sorts.

He could feel it trying to penetrate his armor. His metal armor had no defense against such an attack and the dwarf crashed backwards. He stumbled and rolled down one of the tunnels. The Halz could feel the thrumming vibrations coming closer as the creature chased after him. A thought struck Ritter. From what he had seen of the creature, it did not seem to have any area for eyes. It had to be feeling its way through the dark with the help of its noise.

He yelled as loud as he could as he charged into battle, hoping to disrupt its ability to see. He couldn't tell if had any effect, but his warhammer struck true. As the winged creature lay twitching on the ground, he smashed it again. Certain it was dead, Ritter looked around. He had bounced around a lot when he had tumbled into the tunnels. The area seemed honeycombed with the tunnels, so it was hard to tell where anything was. He had been separated from the others. Everyone was on their own now.

Ritter stumbled onwards, searching for some sign of life, whether it was an ally to rescue or an enemy to smash. The dwarf moved on for what seemed like hours. Then he heard something. The sound was terrifying without context. It sounded like something enormous sliding along ooze and resin, pausing for a moment, then moving again. Deciding it was better to deal with it rather than avoid it, the Halz moved towards the creepy sound. Everything he had prepared himself for had not been enough. He spied upon an enormous room centered around a large pulsating gelatinous cocoon.

Then he saw Eurysa and Kava. They were wrapped up in resin. They were to be food for whatever monstrosity would come out of that cocoon. The cocoon itself was gigantic, easily over two dozen feet long. Ritter heard the dragging sound again. It was Aldebaran. The minotaur was being dragged towards the cocoon. Ritter leapt into action. His hammer smashed down on one of the Trencher gatherers. The other made a low reverberating sound. Suddenly Ritter found himself facing off against three of the four winged worms.

His hammer flew through the air, left and right. His shield blocked sharp legs that stabbed at him. Ritter felt a solid hit as he crushed one of his foes. The other two circled him, diving in and swooping around. They finally swooped from opposite directions. Knowing his options, the warrior decided to charge into the path one one of them. His shield created an opening and his hammer crushed the creature with ease. However the other hit him in the back. The Trencher unleashed the full fury of its sonic power towards his head.

Ritter hit the ground face first. His world was spinning. It seemed he had failed his friends and would soon join them as dinner. He saw one of the sharp scoop-like legs raise up and Ritter thought it was the end. Then the insect was tackled off of the Halz. The lycanthrope Mayitso had finally arrived. He tore the winged worm in half with his mighty jaws. After a few sniffs he transformed into his pale human form.

"I found the eggs. Six of them," Mayitso growled, showing his feral nature even in humanoid form.

"Well, I killed three here and one earlier. With the one you killed, I guess that means one is still left."

"No," Mayitso said, "It is here. Cocooned. Growing. It becomes."

"Becomes?"

"King of the Trenchers," the lycanthrope said, "Enormous, nearly unstoppable. They can make the larvae change into gatherers. Sometimes a gatherer can turn into a king. Once the process starts, the colony continues to grow and expand. My people fight a great many of these in our lands, trying to kill the kings to keep them from spreading."

"Then we need to destroy this abomination," Ritter said, "And free our friends."

Mayitso spoke, "I agree. I can smell them, but the scents are difficult to pick out with the Trencher scent all over. I can not see, I need your eyes to save them."

"If you can not see, how did you get the trencher off of me?"

"I guessed."

Ritter shuddered to think what might have happened if the lycanthrope had missed in his guess. He imagined that even with his heavy armor, those teeth would hurt. Even if they did not penetrate, the twisting motion of the wolf's max would likely dislocate or break limbs. Ritter pulled himself up off the floor. He could feel the goo underneath the floor's resin sticking to his armor and face.

He badly wanted to take a bath, though he was unsure how to do that easily as they were isolated from civilization and sitting in the middle of winter. A great many scenarios filled his head for a moment before he brushed them away. He had more important things to attend to. He broke the webbed resin that covered Aldebaran, Kava, and Eurysa. He gathered those the could not see together for support. He then set about trying to smash the cocoon. Its gelatinous form made it nearly immune to his hammer. He looked around the room and spotted something that gave him an idea.

"Mayitso, do you think you can help lead the group to the entrance?"

"Yes," the lycanthrope replied.

Ritter turned to Aldebaran and spoke in Nuvro, the only language the two shared, "Try to make some marks with the blade of yours in the resin so I know the path. I have a plan, but I'd like to hurry once it is in place."

The minotaur merely nodded, still in shock from his capture. The group wandered off, following Mayitso using Aldebaran's eyes. Ritter turned and began wrenching barrels out of the resin. The man who had lived here had been a hermit. He kept supplies. This included several barrels of lamp oil. The Halz began pouring the oil over the cocoon. The cocoon was oozing it places where he had hit it. He had damaged it, but the warhammer was not the tool to truly finish it.

After rolling the other barrels of oil over to the cocoon, the Halz pulled out the flint and steel he kept in his kit bag. He struck the spark and the oil lit up. The flames started slowly, licking across the oil. Ritter turned and ran off down the hallway. The light of the flames began to create shadows that flickered across the oozing resin walls, floor, and ceiling. The place looked like it was covered in grotesque pustules. The colors that the Halz saw only made the scene more horrifying.

Behind him, the flames roared to life. Ritter hurried as fast as his short legs could carry him. He followed the path that Aldebaran had cut until he finally came to familiar territory. The group was there, standing at the edge of a mess. The insects had blocked the passage out of the cellar. In the heat of battle and his idea, Ritter had completely forgotten about that. Aldebaran was busy digging at the Resin and the collapsed floor boards.

Ritter began to help, hauling the torn out bits down the hallway. The roar of the flames soon could be heard. Eventually enough light crept in that Eurysa and Mayitso were capable of seeing the situation. Able to work in such low light conditions, they hurried to help haul the rubble. As a side effect it also made a barrier for the approaching flames.

"Didn't quite think this through?" Kava asked in Nuvro.

Ritter chuckled, "It was a good idea. Except for the whole collapsed entrance problem."

"Damn," the vodyanoi croaked, "No way I'm dying like this. A pyre is fine and all, but only when I'm laid atop the massive pile of enemies I was able to slay before they finally took me down."

Aldebaran grunted and heaved a massive block of stone that had somehow been part of the collapse, "I promise to make that happen. These damn things not going to get me either."

"Aw, how sweet," Kava replied, "Only a true friend would want to set you on fire."

The flames began to lick at the barrier of rubble the group had created. Aldebaran's eyes grew a deeper red as he focused his rage. He nearly exploded upwards as he jumped. He crashed through resin and wood as he roared and tore at the blockage. Spent, he fell to the ground. Things seemed hopeless, but Ritter spotted light that was not from the flame. He climbed up the ladder as far as he could while the others tended to the Minotaur. He pulled out his warhammer and battered at the debris. Aldebaran had obviously loosened it in his rage as two hard swipes cause the debris to shift. A passage had opened.

"Okay folks," Ritter said, "Lets get the hell out of here."

Enzi's Irregulars #0019

Enzi's Irregulars stood in the snow beside the hermit's shack. The wooden structure soon erupted into a pillar of flame. Mayitso was still in his human form from having to climb the ladder to get out of the tunnels hidden beneath the building. There had been no sign of the man who had once lived in the building. Ritter expected his fate had been quite grim.

"At least the fire is warm," a shivering Kava said, "I guess we won't have any hides to take back then."

"No," Eurysa said, "But at least the Disputed Lands are safe from this threat. We don't need more problems."

The five mercenaries began to trudge through the snow back towards Center Point. Behind them the flames burned for over two hours before they finally began to die down. Eventually all that was left of the flame was smoke. The cocoon had been thoroughly cooked, the creature inside was dead. As the giant worm corpse deflated, a single large object could be seen.

The scorched skin broke around the object. It was an egg. It twitched slightly, then the shell broke. A single scoop-like leg busted out. It was alive.

***

The man that approached Enzi wore a black robe. There was a symbol on it, a swirling vortex shaded in a deep purple that nearly matched the blackness of the robe. It was the insignia worn by the Abyss Cult, the largest and most powerful of the Tarvoni cults. Like most Tarvoni, the man was not tall and his pale porcelain skin stood out in a crowd. Like all Tarvoni, his ears had a flat top and back, giving them a boxy shape and a point where the two straight edges met. Like most of the Abyss Cult, this Tarvoni had dark red eyes.

The color of the Tarvoni's eyes almost seemed to glow with power as he focused them on the Feergrus man, "I find I have need of your talents."

"Then let us talk."

The five mercenaries were gathered around a campfire. The winter had been brutal and jobs had been scarce at best. However, hints of spring could be seen in the air and on the ground. None of the mercenaries was happier for the coming of spring than the amphibious vodyanoi. Used to the heated marshes that had once been her home, Kava had little love for snow or the cold. Her need for moisture was not helpful when the available water was freezing.

"Someone with a job for us," Kava croaked, "Good. At least if we are moving I might be able to forget this damnable ice."

Finally Enzi approached the group with their next mission. It would require travel deep inside the Tarvo Forest, but the Tarvoni would escort the mercenaries so that they would not be hassled. It was a long trip and the mercenaries learned little of the Tarvoni man. He spoke little to the mercenaries, keeping his relationship cold and professional. Ritter worried about that, it reminded him of the attitude of the elves. The odd ears of the Tarvoni made him wonder if they were somehow related.

Certainly it was not possible. If elves could mate with humans, it would have been seen long ago. Breeding across species just was not possible. As the weeks of travel passed and the group delved deep into the territory of the Abyss Cult, the Halz felt sure that eyes watched them. He never saw any other Tarvoni and no one hindered their passage. Ritter wondered if the escort had really aided them or if they had merely missed any patrol. His instincts told him that without an escort they would have been attacked a great many times.

Then the dwarf saw something amazing in the deep forest. A great tower could be seen ahead. It looked as if it had erupted out of the ground and through the woods. It had a slight lean to it but Ritter recognized the material. It was build out of solid halzium, or adamantine as his people called it. Such a structure was impossible. That much halzium just could not exist. Even if it did exist, shaping it into such a tower would have taken a hundred generations of dwarves, or perhaps thousands upon thousands of human generations.

"This tower did not exist a few months ago," the Tarvoni said in Nuvro, the first he had spoken in weeks, "Our investigations have been fruitless. We thought bringing in some people with different expertise might give us a new start."

Ritter felt the pale human's red eyes on him. He wondered if the mercenaries had really been hired just because of him. Still, this mystery was intriguing to the Halz. His knowledge of engineering was screaming to go investigate the odd tower. Ritter began to walk towards the structure, his black eyes soaking up the architecture. Then he saw the doors. There were runes on the door, etched with mithral. The blue metal stood out brightly against the dark hue of the halzium.

"Or magics have been unable to affect the tower at all," the Tarvoni said, "Even our divinations have been absorbed. I suspect that beyond the halzium and mithril that can be seen, this place also has a significant amount of orichalcum used in its construction."

"Orichalcum?" the Halz asked, unfamiliar with that metal.

"It is a reddish material with a slight golden hue. It has an odd affect on magic," the pale man replied.

Ritter remembered having seen a metal like that several months ago. He dismissed the thought and turned his attention to the door. The runes were in his language. The writing of the Halz on an impossible tower deep in what he would consider to be elven territory made a thousand questions flutter through his mind. The dwarven runes were complex and Ritter noticed the language they used was ancient. It was difficult to understand, but his education as a noble had given him a lot of insight into such older texts.

The runes mentioned several features of the doors. Examining those, Ritter quickly deciphered how to make the mighty gateways open. The gates rumbled as Ritter worked the mechanism behind them. However, this also disturbed something else. No one had paid much attention to the hideous gargoyles that sat upon the tower. However, they were creatures known as rock falcons. A large and hideous bird that looked like stone, they often perched on buildings to blend in while surveying the land for prey.

The massive falcons swooped down on the six beings below. Kava rolled instinctively out of the way while Ritter felt sharp talons scrape at his armor. Mayitso, Aldebaran, and Eurysa each avoided the attacks and prepared for battle. The Tarvoni yelped as blood was drawn on his shoulder. The falcons flew up out of reach and circled around to come for their next attack.

This time, however, everyone was ready. The gorgon loosed an arrow as the rest of the mercenaries readied their attacks for when the creatures came in melee range. The Tarvoni narrowed his eyes at the creatures and Ritter saw the red coloration of those human eyes flare up. As the falcons neared he could feel the sheer power of the Tarvoni beside him. A flame leapt from the mage's hands and erupted across the birds. While their appearance was stony, their feathers were as flammable as any avian creature.

The creatures that survived turned and fled, though several looked like flight would not be possible for long. The Halz turned and looked at the Tarvoni. The small wound and the massive display of magical power had exhausted him.

"Go," he said, "Investigate and return. I will rest here. The other Tarvoni will be here soon after that display. Those things likely won't come back, so I'll be safe."

Ritter nodded and the group entered the massive doors. Their job was to find a way inside the tower and make the entrance safe for further exploration. Ritter nearly swooned as he looked at the internal dimensions of the tower. It was not built to the scale of the giants. That meant only one thing to him. This tower was from before the time when they had ruled the Halz and made them build the seven great halls that now served as the clan halls of the seven surviving Halz clans.

The orichalcum that had blocked the Tarvoni's magic coated the entire inside of the tower. Light gleamed across it with a golden gleam. Its luster was beautiful on the eyes. Mithril was used as trim and decoration as well as sparkling gems. The tower was beyond anything that Ritter could have imagined. Just the smallest bit of light that came in through the mighty double doors lit up the whole place. The way everything reflected light was amazing.

Statues lined the entry hall. Faces of people of many races, all with names that the Halz did not recognize. He had studied the history of his race, but this place likely held tales of times long lost to his people. Much of the records of the Halz had been lost in the destruction of Tralenheim. Ritter saw statues of fellow Halz, of humans, and even of elves. The further he moved inside the tower, the more his guard dropped.

Kava, however, was less comfortable, "This place gives me the creeps. It seems safe enough. Lets get out of here and report."

"Agreed," Eurysa hissed.

The voices of the two seemed to carry through the tower unnaturally. Aldebaran shivered noticeably as the voices echoed back hauntingly. Mayitso growled. His growl returned with a quality to it that raised the hackles of the mighty wolf. However none of the sounds broke the growing reverie of Ritter. The Halz continued onward, drawn in by the beauty and mystery before him.

"Hey Ritter, you coming?" Kava croaked.

The Halz did not answer and merely continued onwards.

"Bah, keep looking. This is your kind of place anyway I guess," the vodyanoi said, quickly making her way towards the entrance.

As the group exited they found a small collection of Tarvoni outside. Their contact was there and looked much better. His wound had been magically healed. All of the Tarvoni wore the robes of the Abyss Cult and all but one shared the vivid red eyes of their contact. That one different Tarvoni had violet eyes that were every bit as vivid and bright as the red eyes of his colleagues. Two of the Tarvoni were female, but all of the seven gathered humans had blonde hair, though the shade ranged from nearly platinum blonde to a dark golden blonde.

The contact handed a bag to Eurysa, "Your final payment for your aid. Your dwarf friend was quite useful."

Eurysa nodded, "He is still inside looking around."

"Good, perhaps he will answer a question or two if we have it," the Tarvoni replied.

The seven Tarvoni headed inside while the mercenaries made a quick camp. Night was approaching and they had to wait for Ritter before leaving. Plus the gorgon wondered if their trip home would be safe without an escort. These were all worries that could wait for the moment.

***

Ritter stood before a great throne of gold and gems. It was made for a Halz. There was no doubt in his mind. The mithril text told of great kings that Ritter's history books had no mention of. As he looked at the dates, they made little sense to him. He wondered just how old the tower was. There were legends that the history of Doulairen was far older than anyone imagined. This room lent credence to that tale. Then he saw something that drew his attention fully.

It appeared at first to be an altar of solid diamond. Such a thing astounded his imagination. The mighty altar was enormous. However that made him worry. He wondered why an altar would sit in a temple of the Halz. His people worshiped no deities. Suddenly the glamor that had held his attention was broken. He began to notice all the oddities that surrounded him. Something was terribly wrong with the tower.

Ritter noticed now that the altar before him was similar to a box. The lid could be removed. Then he noticed the seven Tarvoni. Their eyes were full of wonder much like his had been. They all came to the altar, just as he had. They ran their hands across the mighty box of diamond. Ritter saw runes had been carved on the lid. He was not sure how he had missed that before, but his reverie had dimmed many of his perceptions. The text touched something is his memory.

A Tarvoni asked, "What does it say?"

Ritter answered, "Avoid me now, but not forever for I am always near. It is useless to run for I come to all. The final answer to all things lies within. Learn of me, just as did those immortalized in my hall."

"Answers," the Tarvoni said, almost in a daze, "That is what we truly seek."

The seven Tarvoni shoved at the lid of the alter and it shifted slightly. The riddle on the lid flew through the mind of the Halz, As clarity had come to him once again he realized what the answer must be.

He spoke as fear leapt to grasp at his heart, "Death..."

Enzi's Irregulars #0020

The lid on the odd diamond box shifted and Ritter took an instinctive step back. There was a noise that reminded the Halz of a sigh of relief. Then one of the Tarvoni beside the box almost seemed to explode. It was as if something had reached inside the mage and tore his insides out from the inside, nearly turning the Tarvoni inside out. The dwarf turned and ran for the doors, his stubby legs moving his heavily armored form as quickly as they could.

The seven statues in the hall then creaked to life. Some foul spirit had possessed the inanimate objects and now they chased after Ritter. The whole tower shifted slightly and the Halz felt the floor shift beneath his feet. He could not keep his balance with his extreme forward momentum. He hit the floor and skidded across it for a few feet. The friction of his metal armor against the metal floor brought sparks. Then the Halz heard a voice in his head. It did not speak any language he knew, but he seemed to understand it anyway.

"You can not escape me. Run all you want, but I will come for you. Perhaps in your sleep. Perhaps in combat. It is best to just accept it. Lie there and await your fate."

Ritter felt like that might be the best idea as his will slowly sapped away. He saw another Tarvoni torn apart. The possessed statues closed in on the Halz. They were ponderous and slow. Whatever had animated them was having trouble moving them. As this flitted through Ritter's mind he came to a realization. Death was certain for all eventually, it was a certainty so powerful that avoiding it was a monumental task. That meant death was extremely powerful.

Yet if it was so powerful, why did it have trouble maneuvering the statues? Why did it only slay one of the Tarvoni at a time? As these questions flew through Ritter's mind, he realized that whatever entity had been trapped in this tower, it was not death itself. It was not all powerful. Certainly it had astounding power, but someone had trapped it in the tower. These realization brought renewed energy to the dwarf.

Ritter pulled himself to his feet. The sluggish statues were nearly upon him as a third Tarvoni was torn inside out. The Halz scrambled towards the great double doors. It was odd. They seemed very far away, but Ritter was sure he could not have walked that far into the tower. Beyond that, he knew the tower was not anywhere near large enough to hold such a great hall.

His knowledge of architecture and engineering flooded his mind with logic. He concentrated and the world around him became more clear. His willpower began to banish the illusions that his body was experiencing. The hallucinations vanished and Ritter saw the simple truth. The statues had never moved. The Halz had not moved beyond tripping himself up. The room was small. It was nowhere near as majestic as it had seemed. The entity that lived in the tower had been warping his senses.

He saw the fourth Tarvoni die, but noticed something else. There was no box of diamond. The four Tarvoni were staring at nothing. It had all been a trick. A lure to keep the prey from escaping. It was not the box that had trapped the entity, but the tower itself. Ritter remembered what that mages had said about the orichalcum keeping their magic from penetrating inside. He wondered if the properties of that metal kept the spirit inside as well.

It was a struggle to move at all. The Halz put one foot forward. It took all of his willpower. The more he struggled, the more the spirit's voice called for him to surrender. Told him that it was hopeless. The open doors looked so tantalizing, yet each step towards them was excruciating. Ritter heard the splatter of the fifth Tarvoni's death. Ritter tried to call out to the rest of the mercenaries but found he had no voice.

"Your friends can not help you. I will attend to them soon enough. I will come for all in the world. Just relax and let it happen."

Ritter thought of the danger to his allies and a new determination settled in. He took another step.

"You can not resist me. I am stronger than you. If you try, I will make sure all of your race suffers."

The thought of his race being tortured and slaughtered by that entity was unbearable. Ritter had come to save his race. He certainly was not about to let some strange spirit destroy the Halz. The dwarf's willpower shattered the hold on his mind and he found his footing solid and true. With a few bounds he reached the outside of the tower. His mind cleared nearly completely as he reached the outside world. However he could still feel that the creature within the tower had a tenuous link to him.

"Do not leave me," it whispered, "Come back to me."

Ritter saw that the other mercenaries had set up camp. Night had begun as the last light of dusk disappeared behind the mighty trees of the Tarvo Forest. Ritter wondered just how much time had passed within the tower. He turned to look and saw the sixth Tarvoni torn to shreds, leaving only one left alive. The Halz grabbed one of the mighty double doors and pulled it shut. The mechanism that had opened them had acted as a lock and seal upon the gates.

"No! You can not seal me in here again!" the voice yelled.

Ritter grabbed the second door and pulled it until it closed. He quickly worked the mechanism until the lock and seal snapped back into place. The voice squeaked out of the dwarf's mind as the seals completed.

"I... was... so close..."

Ritter felt as if a great weight had left him. He stumbled over towards the campsite, feeling an extreme exhaustion. He collapsed to the ground and his world went dark.

***

Ritter awoke to find his whole body sore. He had fallen asleep in his armor. It meant the Halz still felt fatigued as well. Suddenly panic filled his heart as he thought of the specter in the tower. He turned to glance in that direction and saw nothing but jungle. If ever a tower had once stood there, no trace was left of it. As the other mercenaries began to awoke, many questions filled the camp. Ritter told them of his harrowing experience.

"Weird," Kava croaked, "If it wanted out, why didn't it just leave once the doors were opened?"

"I am not sure," Ritter replied, "I do not know enough of whatever it was to make a guess."

"Sounds like a fanciful tale at best," Kava snorted, "If I had not seen the tower sitting right over there yesterday I would have thought you had made it all up."

"Even so," Eurysa hissed, "Not all of it may be true. Such powerful mental manipulation and hallucinations may have changed perceptions. The only truth we know for sure is that the tower was here, and now it is gone. Along with the Tarvoni that had come to investigate it. We have a long journey back home through potentially hostile territory."

"Hey, at least we got paid," Kava said, "As far as any dangers on the trip ahead, I say to bring it on. I could use a good fight."

"Lets head home," Ritter said tiredly, "If we have to deal with any foes, hopefully it is something my hammer can hurt. Something more simple."

"Now that sound reasonable!" Kava exclaimed, "I knew there was something I liked about you."

***

Seven dead Tarvoni laid splattered across the floor inside the unlit tower. The force that resided within the tower sighed.

"Seven souls for the seven clans," the ghostly spirit said to itself, its terrifying voice echoing in the lifeless chamber.

"My payment received and taken," the voice continued, "I am free of the bond that holds me, yet my cage remains. When next the cage opens I shall be free. I shall have my revenge on the dwarves. They trapped me again. They shall suffer greatly. But now I must wait for the time to come again. Another five thousand years to wait. They shall pay for each day spent waiting. I am death. Avoid me now, but not forever for I am always near. It is useless to run for I come to all. The final answer to all things lies within. Learn of me, just as did those immortalized in my hall."

***

Escaping the Tarvo Forest had been surprisingly easy. The group had come close to a hunting party of Hirkans, but the barbarians had been busy pursuing Snow Elk as the herds made the migration south for the spring. The vodyanoi, of course, had been rather disappointed by the lack of action. Ritter had felt much better after getting a good night's rest. Even he had begun to have doubts as to what had happened in the tower. The specter had gotten into his mind. It was impossible to know what was real.

It was a new experience for the Halz. It made him question all he had done in his life. It made him think back on all the people he had met. He thought of his allies and his foes. He thought long and hard on his mission to the surface. He realized that he missed the companionship of his fellow stone-kin. As the group lumbered up to Enzi's wagon, Ritter wondered if it was time to leave and visit the Platinum Hall. His fellow Halz would welcome him back and he had learned much.

Ritter saw Enzi in a confrontation with a heavily armed man. The man glared towards the inhuman mercenaries and stormed towards them. A perturbed looking Enzi quickly followed.

"There you are you damnable dwarf!" the heavily armed man shouted in Nuvro, "Knew I would catch you eventually. Your threats are at an end!"

"Threats?" Ritter asked, "What are you going on about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You've been threatening Gharaf Targata for the past several days!"

"Wow, you are good!" Kava said with a sly sounding croak, "How did you get here ahead of us, threaten a shopkeeper, and get back to us so fast? I want that ability!"

"As Kava just pointed out in her sarcastic way, it is as I was telling you," Enzi said, "Ritter has been away from Center Point and could not be the person you are looking for."

"Whatever. Just how many dwarves come by this place?" the heavily armed guard asked.

"They are rare, I agree," Enzi said, "But not so rare that you do not know what they are. We will go and investigate this with you. Ritter, myself, and you can go talk to Gharaf and he can confirm that Ritter was not the one threatening him."

Ritter left his warhammer at the wagon to appease the guard. With Enzi and Ritter unarmed, the three walked into the markets of Center Point. Soon enough the three arrived at the shop owned by the seedy Ravaleian. Enzi saw the door was broken down. The three glanced at each other briefly then rushed inside. Ritter's earlier thoughts about missing interaction with other Halz melted away as he viewed the scene before him. Gharaf was against the wall with the blade of an axe hovering menacingly near his throat. The dwarf that held that axe had his stony face contorted with rage. Ritter knew that face immediately.

Ritter growled out a single name in Nuvro, "Gierig Silveraxe."

###

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