Hot Springs Brigade!

Itsuki picked up his sword with trembling hands. His eyes fell to the motionless Butch, and then to the cockatrice lifting Maya into its serrated beak. He wanted to stop it. He wanted to save his friends, get them to safety, and share a laugh over a warm meal. But seeing the enormous creature terrified every fiber of muscle in his body.

"HELP! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" She screamed, trying in vain to pry herself from the cockatrice's clawed grip.

He couldn't move. He heard her, but he couldn't bring himself to attack. 

"I..."

"Get down! Now!" A woman's voice cried out from behind him.

Itsuki didn't hesitate. His senses came back to him and dove to the ground as scorching heat flew past him. The whole camp was illuminated by a bright flash of light followed by an explosion. A fireball slammed into the cockatrice, the force knocking Maya from its grasp and searing its brilliant red feathers to a charcoal black.

He turned to see a bespectacled woman dressed in purple robes. She brandished a gnarled wooden staff embedded with a red gem on one end and blue on the other. Their savior twirled the staff around to the blue gem and took aim at the cockatrice again.

"I'll keep it busy! Get the elf. Hurry!"

Now that he was being ordered, his body kicked into gear. Blood came rushing from his head down to the legs. He ran to pick Maya up from the ground as shards of ice slammed into the cockatrice.

It wasn't enough. The spellcaster's onslaught of attacks did nothing more than blemish the creature's plumes. It saw that Itsuki had taken away its prey and let loose another deafening shriek.

"Are you Eve?" He caught up to her with an unconscious Maya in his arms.

"Maybe introductions later?" She pointed to the cockatrice. It looked twice as big now that its puffed up its feathers.

"How do we kill it?"

"I don't think we can. It's a lot stronger than I thought."

"What do we do? Run?"

"Not unless we leave your friends as bait!" She scanned the camp for something to use until she laid her eyes on his sword. "Your sword is enchanted! Give it to me!"

Itsuki rested Maya on the ground and unsheathed his sword. It shuddered in response when Eve took ahold of it. Blue energy coalesced around the blade and weaved its way onto her staff.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The cockatrice spared them no time. It kicked off the ground and flew into the air, diving straight for them. 

"Whatever you're doing, HURRY!"

The blue gem flooded their feet with light. When the last of the airy energy flowed into the staff, she shot it at the cockatrice. 

Nothing happened. Then a massive spike of ice split open the ground beneath them and impaled the cockatrice. Blood rained down on them as it flailed around in its final death throes before it finally hung lifeless on the icicle above.

Itsuki fell to the bloody puddle on the ground. Almost as quickly as he dropped, he jumped to his feet and raced across the camp to check on his half-orc companion. 

The campfire Butch landed on had been put out. Itsuki turned him over and felt a strong urge to retch. The entire body had been burnt to a crisp. The wound on the half-orc's arm was no longer bleeding.

… And he was no longer breathing.

Itsuki swallowed hard. A lump had caught in his throat, and his eyes were starting to sting. Only a few hours ago they were at the Swallowtail. Tomorrow they would have been traveling to the Royal Cassun. He wanted to introduce his new companions to Deena, but now one of them is dead.

All because he wanted to play the hero.

"Are… are you okay?" Eve asked timidly, still clutching the sword and staff to her chest.

"You're a mage, right? You can heal him, can't you?"

"I can't bring back the dead…but I've stabilized your elf friend. We should get her back."

"I don't want to leave Butch like this."

Eve pulled him to his feet and handed back the sword. It felt uncomfortably heavier. For how powerful the sword was, it was just a hunk of steel in his hands.

"Step back." She said, turning the staff over to the red gem.

Fire snaked from the gem and wrapped around the half-orc's body until it consumed him. In a matter of seconds, his green friend was reduced to ash and scattered to the winds. Butch was no more.

The return to Greenwick was made in silence. No one welcomed their return, and no one would congratulate them on slaying the cockatrice. The city was still bustling, even the Swallowtail was as packed as when they first left with travelers and adventurers alike idling the night away. 

Itsuki carried Maya to her room before he retired to his own. Eve hung by his doorway and peeked in.

"Don't you have a room?"

"Just want to make sure you're okay. Can I come in?"

Itsuki pulled out a chair for her. Any other occasion, having a girl in his room would be cause for celebration. However, he was neither tired nor interested in flirting. 

He undid the scabbard and left it by the table, then took a seat on his bed. Eve wasn't hiding her interest for the blade. She had been eyeing it since she first saw it in the goblin camp.

"You want it?" He asked wearily. "You'd probably make better use of it than I ever could…"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly take it! It belongs to you."

"That was some crazy magic you did out there. Thank you for saving us."

"I was lucky. If I hadn't found you, I never would've been able to defeat it."

"What were you doing out there?"

"The goblins attacked an apple seller, so—"

"No, I know that part. Why did you chase them?"

"Well… because…"

"If we hadn't gone looking for you, maybe Butch would still be here…" Itsuki grabbed a handful of hair and shook his head. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that. It's thanks to you that Maya and I are alive. I wish I could repay you, but I lost my money in the river."

At some point Eve had taken a seat next to Itsuki. They were so close he could feel the warmth from her body. He hadn't notice until now, but she was incredibly attractive. She had shoulder-length purple hair that matched her robes. Her outfit, though appearing encumbersome below the waist, covered little around her shoulders and upper torso which left little to the imagination. Her eyes were almost as crystalline as the gems on her staff.

"M-Maya said you were the only one from your group to pass the prelim exams. Seeing you take on that cockatrice, I can see why!"

Eve giggled at his poor attempt to make conversation. "Now is a good time for introductions. My name is Evelyn del Kas. As you already know, I'm a sorceress from Darcie."

"I, uh, am Itsuki Minato. Convenience store worker… from Akihabara."

"I've never heard of that profession nor the place."

"Aha. It's a very admirable profession. Yep. But I've come to lend my strength to Cassun." Itsuki recalled the Republic's history of enslavement. "If you're from Darcie, are you…"

"A slaver? No. I've been called that, but I never shared my countrymen's taste for thralldom."

He felt a weight lift from his shoulders. "I remember Maya describing you as ditzy, but you don't seem that way at all."

"Do you take everything people say at face value?" She stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"No… but, I… sorry."

"People often mistake my— whoawhoawhoa!" Eve took a step forward and stepped on her own robes. 

"Careful!" Itsuki put his arms out as she tumbled forward only to grab the bust of her dress and fall backwards.

The two of them fell onto the bed with Eve's dress around her waist, and Itsuki's head between her breasts.

"E— eeeeek!" 

She tried to pull away, but since Itsuki was still holding onto her dress, she pulled him with her and they fell to the floor. He lifted himself up and felt two mounds of flesh under his hands.

He quickly retracted his hands and backed off. If he knew anything from anime and manga, he was about to get a beating. "I know how this looks. All I ask is… hit the face, not anywhere lower."

Eve was red up to her ears. "We only just met, and, and, and, there's an order to things so… maybe we start slow?"

"I'm sorry! I'm— wait… what?"

"I'm saying, we humans need to stick together, right?" She let her arms drop limp to her sides, and with it her robes.

With the sensation in his hand still fresh in his mind, Itsuki had to fight the urge not to act on his primal instincts. He screwed his eyes shut and haphazardly pulled Eve's robes back up.

"I'm f-f-flattered! But now isn't the best time and… I kind of have someone I'm interested in…" He opened his eyes to see a pair of breasts staring back at him.

"What's with all the commotion?" Maya opened the door and froze. "So this is why you wanted to rescue her so badly, huh?"

"This isn't what it looks like!!"

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

After clearing up the misunderstanding, they caught Maya up to speed on what happened at the goblin camp.

"I can't believe that big lug's gone." Her long ears sank a little.

"It was my fault. I made us go out there."

"No use blaming yourself. He knew what he was getting himself into jumping in front of that cockatrice. More importantly," She turned her gaze on Eve. "How is it that chasing the goblins didn't lead you straight to their camp before us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Itsuki. She probably had an hour head start. She clearly had the goblins on the run. Those green bastards clearly would have gone back to camp where they had help waiting. Naturally, Eve would have ended up in the camp way before we did. Thing is, I didn't see her tracks at all."

"Hold on, she saved our lives and you're suspecting her of foul play?"

"In case you still got tits on your mind, this catastrophe got Butch killed. So yeah, I'm a little ticked off and suspicious."

Eve held her staff close as she spoke. "It's true I was chasing the goblins, but they never led me to their camp."

"You're saying they just had you on a wild goose chase?"

"I was… they were—"

"That's enough, Maya. Can't you see that she's just as distressed as we are?"

"You aren't from around here, so I'll let you in on a secret. There are no cockatrices in Cassun. Those large birds are native to forests around the Republic."

"So, what? You're trying to say she brought one here?"

"You're damn right I think she brought one here!"

"How??"

"The only way she can— magic!"

"Please, stop fighting!" Eve shot up from her seat. "I understand I look suspicious. I know my country hasn't exactly done the world any favors, but I would never do such a thing. I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to save your friend. If my presence is worrisome for you two, I think it's best I take my leave."

"Eve, wait—" Itsuki tried to stop her from leaving, but Maya was faster on the uptake.

"Stop. I'm sorry. My bad, okay? I'm tired, just lost a friend, and was almost bird food." She crossed her arms, thought for a moment, and then extended a hand. "You did save my life, so… thanks."

Eve's demeanor took a turn and happily shook Maya's hand. Though, from where Itsuki was standing it still looked like the elf was holding her hostage.

"Would it be alright if I traveled together with you two, tomorrow?"

"Of course! You're fine with it, right? Maya?"

"We're down one, so I don't see why not."

Eve jumped with joy and threw her arms over Itsuki. "Yay!"

"No, stop— ah…!" But then he thought, this might not be so bad.

After Eve bid them good night, Maya stayed behind to speak to Itsuki. It was getting real late. Even the rowdy Swallowtail patrons have simmered down.

"I'm glad you opened up." Itsuki began, his mood was finally lifting. "We may have lost Butch, but now that we have a mage—"

"You can't be that dense. There's no way I trust her yet."

"But earlier, you…"

"It took the three of us a whole month of working together before we started trusting each other. She shows you her rack and suddenly you're on her side?"

"No matter how you spin this, Eve saved our lives. We should be grateful."

"How about you stop thinking with your dick? If Butch was here—" Maya bit down on her lip. "Whatever. I'm going back to bed."

Maya slammed the door behind her. Itsuki slumped down on his bed and closed his eyes. A lot happened in a single night.

He thought about home. Around this time he would still be playing games on his computer until the sun came out. He didn't need to think about food or being killed by dangerous monsters. His greatest fear used to be oversleeping for work. Now, he was worrying about his life and the lives of his companions. 

Things were easier when it was boring.

 

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

 

"Ahhhh! How many more dignitaries do I have to meet today?!"

Victor Luciferon was at his wit's end. He had been granting audience to people across all of Orcus since this morning. The sun had gone down now, and he hasn't even eaten lunch. LUNCH.

Come to think of it, all he had for breakfast was toast. What kind of emperor eats toast for breakfast?

"That was the last one." Theradis returned to the throne room after seeing the last person out.

"I'm tired of this. I don't want to be king. I want to see my Victoria again."

"You can't. There is still much work to be done. Tomorrow we are to meet with Viscount del Kas, and there is also the matter of the Loyalist defectors."

"What about the day after?"

"Meeting with the lesser lords of Orcus to discuss the feasibility of sending two thousand bushels of grain week to Felucia."

"When is my next free day?"

His steward pulled out a notebook from his person and flipped page after page until it reached the end.

"Uh."

Theradis patted his body until he found another notebook in his back pants pocket and again, flipped it to the end.

"Hold on…"

Three notebooks and a crumpled note later he adjusted his monocle and said, "Your next free day shall be… next winter."

Victor put a hand to his face and wept into it. "I never wanted this."

"Heavy is the crown, Master Victor."

He pried himself from the throne and walked over to an open window. Down below, tens of thousands of Raisvayel citizens were going about their night without a care.

"I need some good news, my friend. Any good news?"

"I'm told the Adventurer's Guild in Greenwick has officially been established."

"That's good news!"

"With Princess Aurora inaugurated as its first Guildmaster."

"That's… weird. Though, I suppose there is no one better suited considering her gift."

"She will prove a formidable force in her prime, I'm sure."

"Have we heard back from the Pale Wings?"

"I'm afraid not. Their foray into the Gilded Peaks may have been met with delay."

Victor sighed. "Every passing day it feels like we are losing."

The throne room doors suddenly burst open. Two half-demon guards stumbled in panicked and anxious.

"A farmer from the north begged that he speak with you."

"Master Victor is no longer seeing anyone today."

"He said he rode all the way to speak to you. Says it is of dire concern."

"Well, don't keep us waiting." Victor said. "Is the man here?"

One of the guards led an elderly dark elven man in.

"Milord, I saw it. I swear I did see it."

"What is it that you saw?"

"Scales, as pitch black as the starless night. Wings that blotted out the sun and shrouded the mountains in darkness. I remember it. Just like the day your father sounded the drums of war. The Harbinger of Calamities is flying south."