The first thing I noticed was his voice, a slow, grinding tone burrowing into my skull. Then came the pounding in my chest, my heartbeat thudding like war drums.

  I shot up, eyes darting around the chamber. I took in the opulence on display and the people gathered here to worship Linuux. Their blank stares and empty laughs as they fanned the beast were haunting, because beneath the surface, you could tell it wouldn’t hold, like a band-aid over a gunshot wound.

  Everything was just as it had been before: the same suffocating humidity, the stark cold floor beneath me, and the same relentless drumbeat echoing overhead.

  I wiggled my toes against the white marble, wondering how it stayed so cool with the heat from the room pressing down on us like a heavy blanket.

  Then I saw him. His pale body gleamed with scales, and his eyes glowed like red embers. Atop his forehead, a sinister cluster of smaller eyes sat.

  I shuddered as his words burned through my mind, stripping away my defenses and daring me to kneel once more at his feet.

  “Lamont,” he slithered. “You choose to fight, wasting your precious energy when you could simply succumb and worship me.”

  An ear-piercing shrill filled my head, forcing my eyes shut.

  When I did, a kaleidoscope of intense colors swirled before me, beckoning, promising the pain would stop if all I had to do was kneel.

  Digging my fingernails into my skin, I forced my eyes open, and the ringing came to a halt.

  Linuux opened his mouth, a cavern of fangs. “Give up this mad quest to defeat the Nameless One.” His tail lashed out and pierced a small animal, blood dripping as he continued. “No one can vanquish a being so powerful. Your guide knows this. And deep down… You know this as well. But,” he paused. “If you became my sycophant, you would live in endless pleasure. Every need satisfied. Every whim fulfilled.”

  I shook my head, but doubt clawed at me.

  His jaws opened wider, row after glistening row of teeth, before he swallowed the animal whole. “All you need to do is repeat a simple phrase, and it will be over. No more worries about your mother. No more thoughts of your sister. No grief for your dead father. No burdens at all.”

  Linuux’s words slithered into my ears like poison, more tempting than ever. Yet I resisted, though it burned my resolve to do so.

  The beautiful woman at his feet looked up from her fan and smiled. “Come on, Lamont,” she purred. “You could spend every night wrapped in me, unleashing every desire without limit.” She let the fan fall and stepped toward me, her bare feet striking against the stone. “Doesn’t that sound enticing? Or am I just imagining it?”

  I took her in, my eyes tracing her curves, lost in the lust that radiated from her.

  Her breasts shifted beneath the white robe as she leaned forward. “Please… repeat the phrase for Linuux, and I will do whatever you want. Be all that you need… and then some.”

  She stroked my chest with a finger.

  Linuux laughed, his voice echoing through the chamber. “I surrender my name to you,” he hissed inside my mind. “Repeat it, and strife will never touch you again.”

  His jaw unhinged, chest rising as he moved with sinister delight.

  My lips parted, my will weaker than ever. “I surrender—” I choked, forcing myself to stop. Breath ragged, I spat the rest out. “—nothing, you cheap-ass con artist.”

  The chamber distorted, the floor fell away, and I was yanked from my dream quicker than a lightning strike. When my eyes opened, sweat beaded across my forehead, a lone tear sliding down my cheek.

  The room was pitch dark, the covers thrown off me.

  From the room next door, I heard Cashius struggling in his sleep.

  I rushed to him, desperate to shake him free from whatever terror had its grip.

  When I pushed the door open, he was hovering above the bed, stretched flat, fists clenched at his sides. His eyes were half-open, lips moving with the same cursed phrase Linuux had tried to force on me.

  “Surrender my—”

  I grabbed him and shook hard, breaking the words before he could finish.

  His body dropped without warning.

  Sparks shot toward me, glowing brighter than I had ever seen. Fear, surprise, and disappointment all shuddered through our bond.

  Cashius opened his eyes, calm on the surface, though I could see his heart pounding through his shirt.

  “That was close,” he said. “I—I couldn’t resist him, Lamont. Every fiber of my being said no, but my mouth,” he paused, “my mouth betrayed me.”

  Sparks wrapped around his neck as he sat, still shaking.

  “Cashius, I think we should hit the trail early and find that herb as soon as possible. If not, we may not survive another night.”

  “I agree, but first I need a moment alone to gather my thoughts,” he said. “I’ll meet you out front when I’m ready.”

  I left him, Sparks trailing behind.

  Whatever Linuux had offered must have been tempting. The whole ordeal left me wondering what it was, but I wouldn’t press him. For now, I’d get dressed and meet him out front, just as he said.

  * * *

  We were now well on our way, moving through a new hostile zone.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Once we crossed this one, we’d enter the Harshlands, a vast region filled with vicious creatures. All of them would be new to me, though Cashius had faced them before.

  He had beaten Linuux on his own playthrough, but like the previous missions we’d shared, he didn’t know how this one would unfold. He knew the tricks the enemies might use, but the storyline itself would be different.

  Right now, we were in Stasis, a zone with one enemy. They were low-level and easy to kill… except for the elites. Those were the kind of tasks I’d rather face when I had proper weapons.

  Using the map, I avoided as many battles as possible, still recovering from the last one. The Hecklers were dark-skinned men covered in sores, slow-moving and easy to take down.

  When I struck one, it collapsed to the ground and writhed, releasing gas from its wounds before dying.

  Easy enough, until one of them transformed. Its body bloated, its arms stretched like elastic, and ten eyes opened across its putrid-colored skin. It looked like something straight out of a nightmare.

  To defeat it, I had to tire the creature out, running in circles and hurling my enchanted boomerang. The weapon didn’t stun it, but it made the creature chase after it. That gave me chances to run in and trip it.

  After doing that for what felt like forever, my MP dropped into the single digits, and I was down to a lone potion.

  The fight was brutal, but the reward was worth it: some bio-fuel I could sell for gold. Still, Cashius warned me that unless I had proper tools, I should avoid fights and focus on finding the Zaheer herb to brew the tea immediately.

  So on we went, traveling the rough, mountainous terrain in search of the herb that would keep that tormenting dragon out of our heads and psyche.

  The sun hung high in the sky, and our mounts kept stopping to feed. Cashius complained, but I loved it, since the last fight had been a doozy, and I was tired as hell.

  When we reached a place the Atarax wouldn’t climb, we dismounted and continued on foot. All three of us were worn out, sweating like crazy in the hot, humid weather. I wrung out my shirt and tied my cloak around my waist. Cashius carried his jacket draped over one arm, while Sparks had taken off her vest and was down to her tank top, showing off her tiny physique.

  Hours had passed before we found the flower. When we approached it, we all grew quiet.

  It grew just outside a cave, nestled among rocks and sand a few feet up the mountain, overlooking a gorge. I wiped the sweat from my brow and bent to retrieve it. Sparks hovered close, her wings stirring up dust while Cashius’s face lit with relief.

  He scanned the area, spotted a few more of the strange flowers, and tucked them into his jacket pockets.

  “Gather all you can find,” he said. “Then we’ll set up camp somewhere we don’t have to worry about Hecklers pounding on the door all night.”

  The flower resembled a daffodil, though its petals were larger and its stem shorter. It reminded me of the ones I’d given Stacey for her graduation, which felt like a lifetime ago.

  I plucked the flower from the dirt, scanned the area, and gathered a few more. In the background, Sparks carried some too, dragging them along the ground as she flew. When I tried to help, she grunted and continued with her feisty little self. So be it, I thought. Some people liked to carry their own burdens, even fairies.

  We stored the flowers, searched for a decent spot out in the open, and erected our cabin.

  In no time, Cashius was inside preparing the herbs.

  “Tonight, we’ll smoke a few petals while the rest dry out,” he said, glancing up from the kitchen table. “By morning, they’ll be ready to store in a canister. Then we’ll be protected from Linuux.”

  “Is it enough?” I asked beside him. “Looks like we should’ve gathered more.”

  He pressed the knife into the cutting board. “A little goes a long way. Trust me. Now grab some papers and roll one up.”

  “Ha,” I laughed. “Now you’re talking.”

  I found an old, useless book tucked by the couch, tore out a page, and rolled the damp petals inside. Meanwhile, Cashius scooped the chopped leaves into a see-through bag and set it near the pit.

  “Does this stuff have an effect?” I asked, holding the joint.

  “It’s mild and non-habit forming. Kinda like marijuana, but not as harsh on the throat.”

  My eyes widened. “Are you fucking serious, Cashius? This stuff blocks out dragons and gets us high? You have got to be kidding me.”

  “Go easy with it. We don’t have much. For now, smoke a bit, and in two days I’ll brew us a tea. The effects are almost the same.”

  “Gimme a light, old man,” I said. “It’s time to decompress.”

  He fished in his pocket and passed me his lighter, smirking.

  I put the joint to my lips, the words from the page running down it like a crossword puzzle. One spark, and I drew in a deep inhale. Fatigue and worry slipped from my mind, replaced with a calm heaviness. Not the kind that made my eyelids sag, but the kind that weighed down my arms like fifty-pound plates.

  I took another hit and exhaled over Sparks’ tiny body before passing the joint to Cashius.

  She sat on the table, swinging her legs and humming a soft, melancholic tune. Her arms drooped at her sides. She turned her head toward me and grinned, her teeth glinting in the light.

  Cashius took a drag, tapped the ash onto a used plate, and leaned back in his chair, swaying to the fairy’s tune.

  Inside my mind, I felt a click, almost like a lock turning. Closing my eyes, a barrier wrapped around me. Safe. Secure. Protected.

  I opened them and saw my friends noticing the same thing.

  “About time,” I sighed. “Some well-deserved peace.”

  “Just because we locked him out of our minds doesn’t mean we are safe, boy,” Cashius said. “Tomorrow we enter his territory, and trust me, we will be anything but safe in the Harshlands.”

  I nodded, taking it in.

  “Our best bet is to find the Flish’ar and complete the trials, or as they call them, The Covenant of Blades. Once that is done, the real battle begins.”

  “You never mentioned any trial before, old man. What is it?”

  He scratched his chin. “It is probably different now. But when I went through, I had to fight a sandworm while completely naked. The only weapon was the one they handed me.”

  I burst out laughing. “Way too much information… but hearing that has me praying my version involves clothes.”

  “Shut up, bonehead.” He grinned and pushed away from the table. “I’m grabbing a nap on the couch. As for dinner, you two handle it. Just make sure you wake me when it’s done.”

  I pulled out the meat I had bought at the general store in Penders and threw it into a pot of water with the shoots of vegetables we had gathered on our travels. Seasoning went like this: from the cabinet, I added whatever I could find, then set a lid over it.

  My mentor had been adding things to our collection over the last week, and so far, we had a decent array to choose from. My favorite was the peppery bark of a tree common in this world. Scraping it with the tip of Fang gave us shavings that added a sharp kick to the food. That, along with a mushroom-like fungus we used as salt, was all we needed to flavor our meal. The other stuff I added was mostly for color.

  Sparks had been eating with us since she ran out of the special meat for her grill. At first, she was frustrated, but now she looked forward to our homemade cooking, dragging over the bread box and sitting on it to eat her dinner.

  Thirty minutes passed, and a gorgeous aroma drifted through the cabin. The best part? I had cooked it myself.

  I sat and whistled over at Cashius. “Come and eat, you old buzzard.”

  He stretched and yawned. “Who are you calling buzzard, you two-cent leech?”

  “Oh, you got me with that,” I laughed.

  We all sat and ate my somewhat salty meal, with a million complaints and emotions flying around. But I was still learning, and besides the excess fungus, it was good.

  After dinner, I went into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about what the Harshlands would bring. I went over the contents of my inventory and checked my stats.

  Level 29

  HP: 9,500

  MP: 1,700

  Strength: 73 (+21)

  Vitality: 54

  Magic: 53

  Defense: 73 (+21)

  Perception: 54

  Speed: 55

  Wisdom: 54

  Knowledge: 54

  Level 29 saw me adding more points to Magic, Defense, and Knowledge. Let’s just say I felt smarter, more understanding, and quicker on my feet.

  In the other room, I heard Cashius complaining to Sparks, his voice carrying more laughter than annoyance.

  Shortly after, I went to sleep, free of dreams about demonic lizards or freaky temptresses trying to suck the sense from my head. In the morning, a whole new world awaited us, and I was ready to set it ablaze with Havoc Maker by my side.