“What were those Scythes you were using?” Mateo asks.

  “Gardening tools, those aren’t my actual weapons, those I was saving for the second assault with which you and your companion felled,” Za’Rexkla states.

  Za’Rexkla raises his claws and two large gut hook blades fall to his sides dangling from chains connected to metal cuffs around his wrists. The chains glow and the blades hover in the air before him ready to rend flesh from bones.

  “These are my twin Onigoroshi blades, not only can I spin them by their chains, but the chains act like an additional appendage allowing me control over them during battle using but a small amount of mana.”

  “I’m curious about the obsidian shield, as I wield an obsidian weapon myself,” Mateo says.

  Za’Rexkla’s blades disappear and a massive, spiked shield appears before him. The spikes seem like jagged glass and runes run up and down the surface of the shield. Za lowers his shield arm planting the ten-foot shield into the dirt.

  “This is my, hold on, what are you doing you barbarian?” Za protests as Terror pulls his shield away from him with ease.

  The shield shrinks to only a foot taller than Terror’s height of six feet seven inches.

  “Terror want know, where does man lizard get shield?” He asks.

  “Give me back my damn shield you oaf,” Za says looking down on Terror as he tries to wrestle the large shield away from him.

  Terror lets go and the nine foot lizard man falls backward his shield landing on top of him and pressing him into the muck of the marsh.

  “Afterlife take you early, have you no manners!” Za says pushing his shield aside and climbing out of the muck.

  “Terror knows mark on shield, is orcen craft, Terror will only ask you name of the shield maiden that crafted this once, if you do not know her name then Terror will crush your lizard skull.”

  Za waves his claw as to swipe the orcen brute away before covering his face in disdain.

  “My shield is called the ‘Obsidian Maiden’ it was crafted by a master orcen armoress named Widower Darkveil,” Za explains.

  “Terror know Widower, though he call her friend name for a while, the pleasure Terror did have with lady Darkveil for a time, but we were not meant to be and I see that she has accomplished the goal she left Terror to complete, this makes Terror smile,” Terror turns toward Za, “did you share the pleasure with Widower?”

  Za hesitates unsure of what the fuck is going on. A few moments ago he was fighting claw and fang to murder his enemy and now an unfortold ally is asking if he fucked the beautiful orcen maiden that made his shield. Ofcourse, he did, but how is that anyone else’s business? This group is stronger than most of the other Eldritch Knights though. They seem fairly unhinged, and he’s only met two of them informally, how strange are the rest of them?

  “I did enjoy a few nights in the company of the maiden, but I can assure you I paid her a fair recompense,” Za states with a strange choice of vocabulary. Perhaps Natalia is messing with him through her translation.

  “You are Terror’s man now,” Terror says holding up his fist.

  Jade runs up to Terror and waves eagerly at the nine-foot ruksha.

  “What he means is, ‘my man’, in a sense that you two are in a friendly relationship due to sharing similar interests,” Jade quickly explains.

  Za forms his claw into a fist and gently taps his knuckles against Terror’s. Terror pulls his hand back opening it and extending his fingers dramatically as if to signal an explosion.

  “Boom,” Terror says before lowering his hand.

  “Boom? What just happened?” Za exclaims.

  “Terror just blew it up,” Jade replies.

  “Yeah; Terror blew it up,” Terror says himself not quite understanding the situation other than what Jade had instructed him to do after countless hours of reading about human interactions in Mateo’s realm.

  “Cool greeting Terror, and good work on those social interactions Jade, maybe I’ll write you a few more journals when I have time,” Mateo says waving them away.

  Jade pulls Terror away to reward his performance with some sweet pastries. Mateo isn’t sure, but he thinks he sees the faint shadow of Natalia following them.

  “Alright, there are more people in the wagons to interrupt us, but seeing as we have a moment alone I wanted to ask you, you’re an Eldritch Knight, what is that? And why do I want to recruit you other than you’re so fucking cool?” Mateo asks.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Eldritch Knight is my class, it is also my duty, Eldritch Knights of the marsh have a duty given by Drako to protect the peoples of the Marsh, other regions may have other deities that employ Eldritch Knights with their powers, but I am of Drako, my focus is on using arcane magic to empower my combat abilities, might and magic if you will, I am also attuned to the horrors of the Realm of Darkness by the extension of Eldritch,” Za explains.

  “I’m a Battlemage, I use magic and weapons too, what’s the difference?” Mateo asks.

  “Show me your class description and I will tell you.”

  Mateo opens his hud and requests to display his description to Za’Rexkla.

  Battlemage, Battlemages excel using magic and close-range combat. An emphasis on defensive and destructive spells is recommended.

  Za seems to see more than the information he is provided and gives Mateo a toothy lizard grin.

  “While my Eldritch Knight class improves my proficiency with spells in combat, they are mostly spells that improve my combat ability with an emphasis on my physical arsenal, your Battlemage class allows you to, theoretically, change from a melee combatant to a mage and back mid combat, say I cast Edge Bringer to increase the range of my weapon strike, you could cast a ward with just a thought, cast a spell with your offhand while moving in with a strike from your main hand, the versatility is incredible,” Za states.

  “I think you just answered why I want you on my team, I’m sending you a team invite, don’t take it lightly, we aren’t desperate, but helping you helps us, and we could always use more allies,” Mateo states.

  Za’Rexkla receives the invite and promptly joins Mateo’s team. A shit load of chat options immediately flood Mateo’s HUD.

  “Natalia, what the hell is going on?” Mateo pauses for a minute waiting for his pixie to appear. “Natalia?”

  Natalia appears above his shoulder holding a large pastry resembling a cookie. Crumbs pour from her soft lips as she struggles to speak chewing on a mouth full of sweets.

  “Hold on I’ll filter them out, when you added Za’Rexkla his expedition was also added, so all the surrounding ruksha soldiers in the area,” Natalia says swiftly acting as if she is undertaking some great task.

  The messages options disappear uncluttering Mateo’s HUD.

  “Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?” Za questions.

  “Actually, I wanted to fight you, since you’re in my party we won’t be able to kill each other, I just gained my first tiger claw, and I see you have two, what do you say, if I can’t beat you, then why should I lead you?”

  “Your challenge is accepted, Battlemage.”

  Za raises his hands in a war cry, and his gut hook blades fall to his waist. Mateo leans in just as Za lowers his head hitting him right in the snout with his right fist. Za stumbles back clawing at his snout.

  “What the hell?”

  Mateo steps forward thrusting his foot into Za’s groin. Za folds forward holding his gut before falling without grace to the ground.

  “What trickery is this?” Za complains.

  Mateo hovers over Za and extends his hand.

  “We’re in a party, why would I use weapons, we can’t kill each other, doesn’t mean I’m not going to bust your balls though,” Mateo says with a laugh.

  “I’ve had more pleasant encounters with trolls,” Za says still cradling his lizard balls.

  Za’Rexkla and his ronin join Mateo’s party. His ronin account for over seventy soldiers. All of them are ready to ascend to tiger rank. Mateo ventures to his void domain to rest.

  “Oh Mateo, I got you a present,” Natalia says playfully.

  Mateo steps into a small stall that vaguely resembles an early two thousand Blockbuster. A dark hair crimson skinned young woman with furry legs and horns meets him at a small counter in what must be an equipment store. She’s another fawn like Ladarius, but, very attractive, except maybe the furry legs, unless you’re into that.

  “Voidwalker, and an attractive one at that, I am Lustiana, Merchant of the Void, I am here to fulfill your desires my Lord,” she says with a bow.

  “See Mateo! You can buy and sell stuff, and she’s super sexy, meow,” Natalia says pawing at him.

  “Please don’t ever do that again,” Mateo scoffs.

  “But Stitches does that,” Natalia complains.

  “Yeah, and it’s cute when she does it because she’s, nevermind, thanks for not buying another snack vendor Natalia, you’re a decent friend and an above average pixie,” Mateo states.

  “Decent, above average! I’ll have you know that the competition was rigged in my favor so I would be the best… Mateo where are you going!” Natalia yells.

  “I’m going to lay down for a bit, do what you want,” Mateo replies.

  “Hold on, I’ll come rest with you,” Natalia says pursuing him.

  The door closes infront of Natalia before she can enter and Mateo lays on a soft bed of feathers. Natalia phases through the door and changes her size to the form of an average humanoid before laying beside Mateo in bed. As she holds him in her arms, he trembles, his night terrors taking over him once again.

  As the light of the moons radiates through the realm of Gottes Natalia runs her fingers through Mateo’s short brown hair.

  “Mateo, what’s wrong?”

  Mateo turns toward her, his eyes wide, “I see a vision, something that haunts me.”

  “You can tell me Mateo, I… love you,” Natalia replies.

  A field of flowers glows with a radiance in the moonlight. Two children dance about under the stars twirling in the twilight. Suddenly, one stops and points into the cosmos.

  “Look, a shooting star, quick, make a wish,” the young boy says.

  “No, you should make a wish, you’re the one that saw it first,” a young girl replies.

  “What is there to wish for, I have everything I could ever wish for right here,” the young boy states.

  The scene changes the flowers aging and even small trees growing. The two return to the meadow under the moonlight after ten years have passed. The boy kneels down taking the young woman’s hand as another star shoots across the night sky.

  Wedding bells ring and two star crossed lovers are joined in matrimony to live happily ever after.

  The scene returns, the trees in the meadow are wilted and the flowers do not bloom. A heavy downpour turns the earth to slick mud as the woman stands over a small cross holding the hand of a young boy. The moon peers through the clouds as they break long enough to reveal the stars. The woman looks up as another young man places a comforting hand on her shoulder. A single star shoots across the sky as the woman peers into the heavens.

  “I wish you were here.”

  The man who passed was my best friend, Dexter Desantos. He died soaked in blood in a gun emplacement during a night raid on Jade hill. A name we gave the place for being the only hill covered in moss in the area. I felt his last breath as the life escaped his body. The woman and little boy are his wife Connie and their child Peter. If life was fair it would have been Dexter standing there with his wife and child looking down at my grave. Life isn’t fair though, so things didn’t turn out that way.