The old man goes to one of the bookcases by the far wall, and takes one of those large tomes in his hand. He opens it, and takes a folded piece of paper out of it. He brings it to me.

  `Here you are!' he says. I take the paper and unfold it. It shows a very well detailed map of Draconia. I must say, it's almost as detailed as what my own cartographers have made of our home...

  `This is impressive...'

  `Why, thank you! I am glad you like my work.'

  `You... You made this yourself?' I ask, surprised.

  `Why, yes! I have seen maps of many travelers who explored small regions of Draconia, even maps that are hundreds of years old! I used those maps to draw this one. A map which combines all knowledge we have of the land of the dragons. It is truly my greatest masterpiece!'

  I hand the map to the assassin.

  `Will this do?' I ask.

  `Is the location where we are headed detailed on the map?'

  I glance at the map once more. Yes, Ighttur-wor is marked.

  `Yes.'

  `Then it will do.'

  `Alright then.'

  The old man addresses us once more.

  `So, I take it the deal is done. It has been a pleasure doing business!'

  `Trust me, the pleasure was all yours!' I tell him, and swiftly grab his throat with both hands. I unleash my magic, and a moment later my entire body is engulfed in flames. I pull him close to me and lock him in my lethal embrace. A few moments later, the flames of my body go out, but he has already caught on fire. I release him and let him fall to the ground. The old man screams in pain. In moments, he will be dead.

  Behind me, Angelface cries out in anger.

  `You... You... What have you done...?!' he screams.

  `He should have taken the gems I offered him. The greedy little bastard!'

  `You wretched wyrm!' he yells at me, and he steps closer to the old man, possibly to try and put out the fire with some magic. I grab him and push him away. He falls against the wall, but he promptly turns back to me. His eyes are full of raging anger. He slowly raises his cane.

  `Angelface!' exclaims the assassin. `Remember what I told you. Two worlds are merging. Do you want it to stop, or not?'

  `Why do you defend her, when you don't even care?' asks Angelface, not taking his eyes off me for a second.

  `I need her. I need her to take me to someone in Draconia, and I don't care how we get there. Lower that cane, and walk away.'

  Angelface stares at the old man. He is no longer screaming, or moving, although his body is still burning. He's dead.

  I walk to the table as Angelface looks to me, and take Zack's stone back.

  `He can keep the rest!' I exclaim. `I am no thief, after all...'

  The ugly wizard looks at me with such anger that I am sure he would like nothing better than to kill me. But slowly, he lowers his cane. He turns to the assassin.

  `Mark my words, Jason, she will be your demise.' he says. `Remember that when she makes you fall...'

  He slowly walks to the door, and leaves. While Jason follows him with his stare until the door is shut behind him.

  `Ah, finally, he's gone!' I exclaim. `He's such a boring figure, don't you agree?'

  The assassin turns away from the door and faces me.

  `Why did you kill him? This was not necessary.'

  `Of course it was! The greedy little bastard wouldn't accept the gems I offered, he wanted Zack's stone. I couldn't let him have that...'

  `You could have taken it back from him without killing him. This was not needed.'

  `Why didn't you protect him then, assassin?'

  `It's not my business to protect him. It was his life. And yours is yours. I will not involve myself in such things again.'

  `What about your horse? You defended him from the wolves, didn't you?'

  He turns silent for a while, and stares at the corpse of the old man.

  `We should go.' he says finally. `Try to avoid killing needlessly from here on out. If only to avoid attracting attention.'

  `Ha! Will you look at that, the most feared assassin of Arghard, slayer of thousands, telling me not to kill. How quaint...'

  `I am no assassin. Not any more. I'm through with killing. I'm through with touching people's lives. I will kill no-one, and I will defend no-one.'

  `Truly?'

  `Yes. While I lived, I killed because I had to. I had no choice. Now that I am dead, now that I am no longer a half-demon, I do have a choice. I no longer have to kill. When I returned, I swore never to kill again.'

  `Hahaha! That's a funny one, assassin! But truly, we have no time for jokes.' I tell him, laughing. Surely, he must be jesting...

  `I am not joking.' he says. Well, that's interesting...

  `You're not? Well you didn't look like you quit killing when we fought those demons.'

  `Demons don't die if we destroy their manifestations in this world, you surely know that!' he says, and I seem to notice a bit of anger in his voice. No, not just a bit... A lot of it!

  `Why do you hate them so much, assassin?' I ask, curiously.

  He looks at me silently for a while, and then he turns back to the door.

  `We should go.' he says, and he walks to the door and leaves the house. I frown, and place Zack's stone back in my gem pouch.

  `Very well, assassin...' I mutter to myself, as I walk after him. `Sooner or later, you'll tell me anyway...'

  In the cage

  Ighttur-wor, present day (23 hours after Twilightfall)

  Hours have passed since those two idiots locked me in this cursed magical cage. Hours have passed since the Dragon Queen locked them in two other such cages as well. Who left these magical traps here, and why? Was it Drabangar? That's the most likely explanation. But why would he bother? It's like he was expecting someone to come through that Teleport Gate and he laid the traps to capture them. I do not know.

  What does it matter anyway? If that asshole black magician is right, we'll soon be dead along with the rest of Arghard. The Afterlife will consume us all. Judging by the way Zack has been trying to escape his cage it seems that he's not lying. For once.

  Even now he sits in his prison, pressing the palm of his skeletal left hand against the translucent magical wall, murmuring to himself. His crazy friend, Daniel, sits in another cage, leaning his back against the magical barrier with his eyes closed. It's like he's sleeping. Or at least resting. Can't say I blame him. He had a rough day. I was with him, I should know. We fought demons together, then he and Zack fought the Dragon Queen, and finally, the two stupid clowns almost killed each other. Yes, they almost killed each other. Almost.

  Almost...

  I should be so lucky that they do more than almost...

  They took the stone from me. The stone of my amulet. The amulet that Jason gave me. My only memento of him. Those two cursed good-for-nothing bastards! One day I'll get them for this...

  Well, maybe I won't. If we don't get out in time, we may all just die in these cages.

  As I think about whether witnessing their demise in such a manner would be satisfying or not, Zack suddenly jumps to his feet and starts shouting.

  `Ha! I've got it! I've fucking got it! I know how to shatter these fucking cages!' he screams.

  Daniel opens his eyes and yawns.

  `Keep it down, Zack, I'm trying to get some sleep here.'

  `Fuck sleep, Danny Boy! Do you wanna sleep forever? We have to get out of these fucking cages!'

  The blond haired half-insane warrior rubs his eyes and slowly stands up. He stretches his neck, rubs his face, and looks at the black magician.

  `Fine. Tell me. How do we get loose?'

  `I've examined the magical structure of the cage wall. It's quite fragile. All we need to do, is kick it, and it will shatter.' replies Zack with his typical smile. Daniel sighs.

  `I think I kicked it pretty hard, Zack. It didn't work.'

  `It needs a different kind of kick, Danny Boy!'

  `Like what? A kick from a mule?'

  Ha. Ha. Funny.

  Idiot...

  `No. A magical kick. We need to fire a magical projectile at it. If the projectile is powerful enough, it will shatter the cage.'

  `Alright. So do it.'

  `I can't. The only magic that functions inside the cage is telekinesis. I can't conjure anything. The SMG 12000 is gone, and I have no wands with me.'

  `Great. So we can't get out.'

  `Sure we can! Open that magic pouch of yours and get one of your wands.'

  `Errr... Zack, I don't think I have any in there.'

  Zack blinks.

  `What?!'

  `I don't need them any more. I haven't used a wand in decades. Why should I carry them with me? They just take up space needlessly.'

  `Take up space?! It's a fucking magic pouch you fucking cretin!'

  `Oh yeah, well so what? You have any idea how hard it is to find anything in there when it's full of stuff? Besides, why don't you carry any wands with you?'

  `Because I have the SMG 12000. That's a million times better than a fucking wand.'

  `Then maybe you shouldn't have been so fucking reckless and shouldn't have blown it up...'

  `Oh will you shut the fuck up!'

  `You shut up!'

  I sigh.

  `Both of you shut up!' I yell at them. `Stop arguing! Can you break open the cages, or not?'

  `Beautiful is right, Zack.' says Daniel. `Let's not argue. Just tell us, can you get us free?'

  `No.' says Zack. `I can't. Not until somebody comes by and conjures a magical projectile for me. Now, if we had a wand...'

  `Don't start that again, Zack...'

  `I didn't start anything!'

  `You didn't start anything?! You started this whole damn bullshit! Who blew my castle up with that stone, huh? Was it your cat? No! It was you and your recklessness...'

  `Compliments will get your nowhere, Danny Boy!'

  `Compliments?! That's it, I'm going to kill you!'

  Daniel unsheathes his massive sword and strikes the cage wall repeatedly. As before, it has no effect. He strikes it a couple more times and finally he sighs and sheathes the sword. Then he punches the magical barrier and grunts in anger. He crouches and leans against the wall.

  `See? You can't break out with brute force, Danny Boy. We need a magic projectile.'

  Daniel doesn't reply. He just knocks the back of his head against the cage wall. Repeatedly.

  Zack sighs. He turns to me.

  `I don't suppose you have a wand with you, do you, Flora?'

  `No. I don't.' I tell him, spelling out the obvious.

  `That sucks.' he says, and he sits back down and starts writing magical symbols into the dirt with his finger.

  So, it seems we have no choice but to wait. Wait until the Dragon Queen returns. Wait for her, and hope that she makes it back before it gets too late for us all...

  The Purple Star

  In front of The Purple Star Inn, present day (1 day and 1 hour after Twilightfall)

  The assassin slows his horse to a halt and slowly dismounts. He takes a long look at the building before us. A large three-story wooden building with a small empty stable next to it. A sign is hanging above the door, with a purple star painted on it. This must be the Purple Star Inn that the ugly mage in Ashkel spoke of.

  `Is this it?' I ask. The assassin nods.

  `Yes.'

  `Then let's go.'

  `Wait.'

  `Why?'

  He takes a look around. He observes the empty stables and leads his horse there. He whispers some magic words and casts a spell on the horse, some kind of protection spell. Then he walks back to me and looks at the door of the inn.

  `I thought you'd bring the horse along.' I tell him.

  `I will. But first...'

  `First what?'

  `Something is not right here.' he says. `I feel... something. I don't know what. Something unnatural. Alien. Something not of this world.'

  `A demon?'

  `No. Something else. Something that was once human.'

  `What does it matter? If it attacks us, we'll just kill it.'

  `I think it's already dead.'

  I sigh.

  `If it's dead than it poses no threat. Let's go!'

  `Stay alert, Dragon Queen.' he says, and he draws his sword and opens the door.

  *

  The door of the inn closes behind us and we look around. The interior is that of a typical inn with nothing that would seem out of the ordinary. There are some chairs, a large desk by the far wall with keys hanging from the wall behind the desk, a stairway leading up, and a few doors leading to other sections of the ground level. One of these doors should lead to the cellar.

  `See, assassin? Nothing to worry about.'

  The assassin takes a long look around and finally he rests his gaze upon the painting of a man, hanging on the wall just by the stairs. He approaches it and examines it.

  I sigh.

  `Leave the damn painting alone. We have better things to do!' I tell him, and step to one of the doors. I grab the doorknob and turn it. I open the door and...

  `What the... Assassin! Come here!'

  The assassin abandons the painting and joins me. He looks at the area behind the door. Or rather, the lack of it. For there is nothing behind the door but a brick wall...

  `Is that the cellar? Do we have to break the wall down?' I ask.

  He touches the wall and closes his eyes. A short moment later he shakes his head.

  `There's nothing behind this wall.' he says, then he looks towards the door through which we entered. He steps to it and opens it. I look there and...

  I don't believe this...

  `This is impossible!' I exclaim, as I behold the brick wall behind the door. `This is where we came in!'

  `Yes.'

  `It's a trap! Your ugly wizard friend lead us into a trap!'

  `No. Something has happened here. I've been to this inn before. I remember it. Everything is as it was, except for these walled-in doors. And that painting.'

  `Let's check the other doors. There must be a way out.'

  He nods, and we open every door in the room. Nothing. Every door leads to a brick wall...

  `Great... We have to break the wall down!' I exclaim with a sigh.

  `I don't think we can.' says the assassin.

  `Why not? Do you think we lack the strength? Bah! I will assume my dragon form and break all the walls down in a minute!'

  `The walls are magical in nature, Dragon Queen. We can't break them down.'

  I sigh.

  `Can you dispel them?'

  `No.'

  `Great... Then we're stuck! Or... are we?'

  I look towards the window by the entrance. Through the window I can see a clear sky. The sun is shining outside and there are only a few clouds to be seen.

  `There's our way out.' I tell the assassin. But as I approach the window and reach for the handle, I suddenly realize that something is wrong with this picture.

  `Wait a minute... Sunshine? Blue sky? What happened to the twilight? Where are the crimson stars?'

  `It's an illusion.' says the assassin. `Open the window. I suspect you will only see a brick wall beyond it.'

  I grab the handle and pull the window open. Sure enough, the assassin was right. Nothing but a brick wall. Meanwhile, the same image can be seen through the glass of the window as before. As if it was painted on it. Except that it's far too realistic to be a painting. I sigh and close the window.

  `Illusion, you say? If that's correct, there must be a way to dispel it.'

  `Yes, but I don't have the power to do so. We must find the source of this illusion. As I said, there is something here. I suspect that whatever presence I am sensing is responsible for this.'

  `How are we supposed to find it when we can't even leave this blasted room? Every door...'

  I turn towards the stairs mid sentence as I realize that we haven't tried the upper floors yet.

  `... is walled in.'

  `Yes.' says the assassin, as I stare at the stairs. `We should look upstairs.'

  *

  We ascend the stairs and find a corridor with several doors leading to what should be guest rooms. We approach one of the doors. As I reach for the doorknob, the door unexpectedly begins to open inwards, very slowly, making a creaking sound.

  I glance towards the assassin. He doesn't seem to find this suspicious. Or perhaps he doesn't care. No matter. This is a trap, but we have no choice. We have to move forward.

  I step through the door with the assassin following closely behind me. I look around and observe the room. It's a typical bedroom with a single bed, a nightstand and a chair by the bed, and a painting on the wall. There's also a window on the far wall. I approach it to take a closer look, while the assassin observes the painting. The door slowly closes shut as I look out the window.

  Just like the window downstairs, this one shows an illusionary landscape with a clear, blue sky above. I don't even bother opening the window. Instead I look around.

  The assassin is by the nightstand. He pulls out the drawer and looks inside, but finds nothing. As he turns his attention to the bed, I look at the painting.

  It's the exact same painting as the one downstairs. The face of a short haired middle-aged human man with no facial hair. The face is looking directly at me.

  Frowning, I walk towards the nightstand. As I do, the gaze of the face in the painting seems to follow me.

  `Pfeh. If I had my way, assassin, I'd cut off the hand of every painter that has the nerve to paint something like that.'

  `Like what?'

  `A face with eyes that seem to look at you no matter where you are in the room.'

  The assassin turns back to the painting and walks towards it. He reaches for it, but then he notices something else and looks up. I follow his gaze and...

  No way...

  At the top of the wall, a red fluid has appeared where the wall touches the ceiling. It's slowly flowing down the wall. I glance around and see that the same red fluid is flowing down from the ceiling on every wall.

 

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