"WATCH OUT!"
A sword stabbed deep into the last of the attacking goblins. The man with jutted blonde hair pulled his sword free from the little monster, letting it fall flat to the ground.
Worried, he turned to his companions. "Are you alright, Kayla?"
His robed companion bumbled to him, nearly slipping on the tall grass. "Y-Yeah… Thanks, Torin." She fixed her bangs and long brown hair.
A large, burly, bare-chested man approached the two, carrying a large axe on his shoulder. He stroked his stubbled beard, looking over the goblin corpse. "You two alright?"
"There you are! We were looking for you!"
The large man laughed. "Sorry," he chuckled. "Nature was calling, so I dove behind the bushes. But imagine my surprise when three of those green imps jumped me."
Kayla sighed. "Oh, Garrick… at least warn us next time." She manifested a swirl of water, then swished it over herself and her two companions, cleaning them of blood.
"Heh! Thanks." Garrick turned toward a distant mountain city, eyeing the farmland ahead. "At least we finally arrived at Nostros."
The three companions traced their gaze upward, toward a large damaged wall with a distant white castle towering above everything. Behind it, floating islands sailed past the castle and city.
"Man, that view is something else…" Torin said.
Kayla and Garrick nodded silently in agreement.
Kayla locked eyes with an island topped with forest. "I can't believe it's been six years since that calamity."
"The Great Reckoning? Yeah. When I first heard about it, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash," Garrick said. "What do you think is on those islands?"
"Treasure, I hope," Torin joked.
"Ah!" Kayla stopped. "Shouldn't we gather the crystals from those monsters?"
"Bah! Don't worry about it. Let's leave it for the next poor sap down on their luck." Garrick winked. "Besides, the sooner we meet this General Lam, the better."
"R-right."
In the distance, a cart rode towards them with a strange large bird pulling it. It wasn't long before the cart drove past them, giving them a good look at a demon driver manning the cart. The three stopped and watched as the cart disappeared down the hill.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to that," Kayla said.
"Yeah…" Torin turned. "Alright, that's enough sightseeing. Not when there's gold to make and adventures to be had!"
Kayla laughed and followed along with Garrick as they traveled into and through the farmland. Despite the strange sight of blue and red demons cultivating the land with human farmers, the group pressed on along the wide dirt path and past the gates, entering the bustling town under repair.
Karnals flew, pulling ropes and fixing roofs.
Ogres carried lumber and large slabs of stone.
Lupeus worked with the human carpenter to repair the walls and homes.
"Wow…" Kayla watched in amazement as everyone around them worked in tandem.
They followed the path to the town market where a newly repaired wall fountain with a woman at its center flowed brilliantly. The three gazed up, noting the large courtyard wall at the top of the fountain.
Torin squinted. "Hey… isn't that a church?" He glanced to the sides, noticing large sets of paths leading up. Excited, he quickly ran up the leftmost pathway, curving into the round capital where construction was busy in the commoners' district.
To his right, he noticed the large Serulian church that stood as if untouched by time itself. "So this is where the Saintess died…" he muttered.
Torin's eyes sparkled as he placed a hand on his chin. "I wonder if there are secret treasures in there."
"TORIN!" Kayla and Garrick caught up with him. "Give us a warning next time before you bolt off on us!"
"O-oh! My bad," he chuckled.
"Hey, what the hell are you humans doing up here?" a Karnal croaked.
The three glanced up, noticing a red Karnal flying over them.
"We're looking for a general Lam. Is he around?" Garrick asked.
"General Lam? Wait here. I'll go fetch him." The Karnal flew off, leaving the three.
"Man, it's a little weird seeing demons trying to repair a church of all things," Torin mused.
Kayla silently agreed as she watched a pair of Karnal pull a damaged balcony back into place.
Garrick chuckled, watching with crossed arms as repairs continued.
Sometime later, a man in decorative armor approached the group. "You three must be the, eh… Thunderpond Mercenaries?"
Torin, Kayla, and Garrick turned, greeted by the sight of a middle-aged man with a scarred left eyebrow and chiseled jaw. His hair looked shorter and rougher than expected, with some curls at its tips.
"W-wait," Torin stammered. "You're one of the Demon King's generals? But you're human."
"It's a long story," Lam said.
"Daddy, can we go to the castle now?"
The group peered down, finally noticing a boy clinging tightly to Lam's hand.
Lam chuckled. "Yes, Orlo. We're going right now."
The boy beamed with excitement, practically jumping for joy.
"He's your son?" Kayla asked, bending to the little boy.
"He is. But that's not important. The king has an important job for your group, and depending on its outcome, we might continue your services." Lam stepped ahead. "Here, follow me."
Without hesitation, the group followed Lam up the long, winding path. They journeyed through the castle's gate and into the castle itself.
Entering, they were greeted by the sight of a tall, white-haired red demon with a missing arm. He stood in front of a closed set of doors and glared at the group.
"Ah, Jala. Is the King available?"
Jala huffed. "He's still in negotiations with the Kynreth merchants. Bring them to the garden; he'll meet the mercenaries there."
Lam nodded. "Understood." He turned to the group and gestured towards a hall. "This way."
The three followed the general, who soon led them through a hall of intricate and exotic decor. They took note of the succubus maids that passed them, continuing their chores. Torin gulped, then forced his gaze away.
They turned down the final set of halls and entered a lush garden filled with purple and pink flora. Kayla stopped, admiring the garden, as the men seated themselves at a nearby table at the edge of the garden's walls overlooking the sea of floating islands. From within the bed of flowers, Kayla noticed a small, thin red tail peeking out.
"Huh?"
Unexpectedly, a slew of maids and servants entered the garden, darting about.
"
Garrick raised a brow, watching as the demons panicked. "What's going on?"
Lam chuckled lightly. "Uh-oh." He glanced back to his son, Orlo, and pulled him away from the wall.
Kayla returned to her companions, watching as chaos unfolded around them. With hesitation, she glanced from the servants to the tiny tail that barely poked from the flowers. She leaned toward Torin and pointed towards the garden.
"
A maid stood, scanning the bed of flowers, worried. Through the flora, her eyes caught a whisper of movement. She strode towards the anomaly, quickening her steps. "
In an instant, the tail ducked into the garden. Flowers swayed with a slow, subtle disturbance, as if something was prowling just under the purple flowers.
"
All eyes locked on the garden's swaying flowers.
The army of servants lunged at once, and through the chaos, the toddler demon girl darted into view as she dodged their grasps.
Lam covered his son's eyes and looked away. "That girl. Of all days…"
"U-ummm… Should we do something to help?" Garrick asked, scratching his chin.
The mercenaries watched in stunned silence as the girl acted like a wild animal, ducking and weaving through the servants like it was another day of play.
"
A maid lunged, scrambling into the garden and leaping to catch the giggling girl.
A second maid stood straight and widened her pink eyes. "
The girl stepped on the maid's face and jumped off her, pushing her flat on her back.
Reluctant, Garrick and Torin stood. Before they could move, a tall, elegantly presented demon woman dressed in red and black walked past the three. She marched with purpose along the gardens' curved stone paths and past flailing servants and maids.
Amid the chaos, the girl emerged from the bed of purple flowers. She turned to the pink flowers across, ready to jump.
But before she could move, the woman caught the girl by her tail. The girl sprang toward the pink flowers, but her tail pulled taut, sending her falling back onto the stone path.
Captured, the girl was raised and handed to the servants.
"
"
Lam glanced. "Your Highness. I wasn't expecting you to come."
Lillian looked at Lam for a moment, then sighed. "I didn't plan on it, but Amaryllis wanted to visit the garden."
"And then she decided to go without preparing, right?"
"Ugh… I don't know where she gets it."
Lam laughed. "Orlo and my daughter Janessa did the same when they were her age, so I understand. Try pinning her undergarments together, and make it hard to reach until she grows out of it."
"I hope she does… I'll pass the advice to the maids…" Lillian turned to the mercenaries. "You three must be the mercenary group we've heard so much about."
The three companions turned to Lillian, who stood smiling.
Torin, acting fast, knelt before her. The other two followed. "It's an honor to meet the queen of this demon nation."
"Please, raise your head." Lillian turned to the Garden entrance and gestured for a nearby maid. "
The maid bowed and took her leave. Soon after, the little demon girl returned, pulling at her fancy clothes in discomfort as she was led back into the garden.
"Aww, she looks adorable," Kayla said.
"Amaryllis, these are our guests," Lillian introduced.
Amaryllis's eyes swept over the guests, then settled on the boy trying to climb the garden's wall.
"Is that your son you've been talking about?" Lillian chuckled.
Lam noticed her gaze and pulled Orlo back to his seat. "Stop it," he warned. He turned back to Lillian. "Yes. He's a little bit of a troublemaker himself." Noticing that Amaryllis's gaze lingered on his son, he stood and pulled Orlo along. "Here. Why don't you play with Amaryllis?"
Confused, Orlo stared at Amaryllis. She stared back.
Excitedly, Amaryllis darted off ahead. The boy stood and watched as she took off.
Curious, Amaryllis stopped briefly and glanced back expectantly. Understanding her intentions, Orlo gave chase, darting after Amaryllis as they jumped through flowers and played without a care in the world.
Lillian smiled, watching the two children play.
"So, uh… should we talk about the job now?" Torin asked.
Lillian turned back to the group. "We'll do that once Lucius is ready." Lillian approached and sat with the group. "Until then, we'll enjoy the weather."
"Hey, since we're waiting, why don't you three talk about your journey?" Lam suggested.
Torin chuckled, crossing his arms. "Are you sure? Almost half of our journeys might just blow your mind."
Garrick glanced. "Torin, you know we're speaking to the queen of demons, right?"
Lillian peeked, amused. "Well, you never know. I can still be surprised."
With valiant excitement, Torin took the reins, recounting his adventures with his companions. His excitement drew even Orlo and Amaryllis, who darted under the table and listened in secret.
The two fiddled with the small plants, tossing leaves and sticks as they giggled at each other.
Mid-story, the maid returned with trays of cookies and cakes. Kayla partook first, grabbing a cookie along with Garrick.
Tempted, Orlo and Amaryllis coordinated and stole cookies and cakes just under the adults' noses.
Time passed with childish mischief, more tales of adventure and laughter.
Lillian wiped her eye, recovering from Torin's latest story. "I didn't know a valtrop did that." She laughed.
"Me and Garrick both," Torin chuckled.
Garrick scratched his chin. "Y-yeah, I don't think I'll ever see one of those things the same again after that."
"Honestly, I'm surprised you three managed a Valtrop by yourselves. Those things are hard to take down," Lam added.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting." From the garden entrance, Lucius approached the group. His face was cleaner than before.
Lillian smiled back at Lucius. "My, my. I don't think I've seen that face in a while."
Lucius smirked back. "You like it? I figured a softer face might help with negotiations." He turned to the mercenaries. "You three must be the Thunderpond Mercenaries I've heard so much about."
Torin stiffened, but before anyone could bow, Lucius raised his hand. "Let's skip the formalities."
"O-okay." Torin sat as his companions stiffened, watching Lucius sit with them. Behind him, Amaryllis chased Orlo with a stick, giggling happily.
Lucius peeked at the two before returning to business. "So these last few months we've been dealing with an issue with some of the roaming goblins. We believe they may have nested somewhere close to the city in a cave. Normally they wouldn't be much of a problem, but they've been actively raiding carts along our trade routes."
Torin placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "I think we encountered a few of those goblins on our way here." He gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about a thing; adventuring into the depths is part of our middle name."
Kayla narrowed her eyes at Torin. "Maybe it's yours, but definitely not ours, Torin."
Garrick nodded.
"Gah! Come on, guys! You know what I mean!"
"I believe six hundred gold would more than suffice for this request?" Lucius said.
The group froze and turned to Lucius in stunned silence.
Kayla slammed her hand on the table. "You got yourself a deal!!"
"Looks like my intuition was right again," Garrick mused.
"So noisy…"
The clack of footsteps echoed in the distance. The group turned, watching as a pale white woman, dressed in a plain purple dress, approached along the garden path. Her blonde hair swished beneath a large white cap as she hid her eyes.
By her side, a man with ginger hair and white eyes followed silently in formal servant attire, with a face more gentle than the woman's.
The pale woman raised her yellow eyes to the group, then to Lam, Lillian, and Lucius. Then she and her servant stopped as the two children tumbled before them, tripping over the stone tile.
Indignant, the pale woman glared down at the two, then at Amaryllis, who gazed up, mesmerized by her.
Amaryllis reached out her tiny hands, only for the woman to turn her head. She cringed with disgust, then turned her back. "It's too crowded here. I'll come back later."
Amaryllis stumbled to her feet. She stepped towards the departing woman, then—
"AMARYLLIS!!" Lillian yelled.
The girl flinched and froze in place. Her hand shook, still outstretched as she watched the pale woman and her servant leave.
Lillian closed the distance and took Amaryllis's other hand, then helped Orlo to his feet. "I think that's enough fun for today."
"Awww…"
Lillian smiled. "Don't worry. You're welcome to come back and play anytime." She gestured for the boy to return to Lam as she turned back to Amaryllis.
"Alright, let's-" Lillian flinched as she looked at Amaryllis. She grimaced, watching as the orange faded from the girl's yellow eyes.
Lillian embraced the girl in a hug. "Not yet Amaryllis," she whispered. "Not yet."