In the dark, ruined throne room of the Necro-king, a small figure rushed into the room wearing a long brown hooded robe.
They came as close as they dared and knelt before him touching their head to the floor.
"My King, I come with news from the shadows"
"Speak." the King's voice was already dripping with annoyance.
"Sire, the kingdoms have joined forces against you. They have sent a champion to go meet with the Golden Dragon."
"A champion?"
"Yes, my Lord, it is whispered he has been summoned from another world."
The Necro-king remained silent for a moment. He remembered the prophecy of the summoned hero. He shook his head.
"He must not be allowed to meet the Dragon, send some of our living forces to stop him, and send some wraiths to Britannia to stir up some trouble."
"As you command."
The robed figure scurried out of the throne room, leaving the King alone with his thoughts.
The Necro-King stood and began pacing the floor nervously.
Everyone knew about the prophecy of the hero summoned from another world.
Not everyone knew that the hero would be from a bloodline from this world.
A bloodline that descended from the Golden Dragon himself.
There was another prophecy that states that only a descendant of the Golden Dragon could stop the Black Dragon when he rises again.
The Black Dragon had promised him power, revenge and a throne if he could manage to resurrect the Dragon.
Vladimir was nothing more than a disgraced mage, discredited and exiled, when he met the Black Dragon.
He was wandering the wastelands, looking for shelter, when he stumbled on the ruined temple.
The Dragon had felt his rage, pain and despair, and offered him power, purpose, and direction.
He had used that power to decimate a quarter of the continent, reaping souls for the resurrection.
The defeat of his forces at Britannia had been a major setback, although the remaining kingdoms joining forces was not unexpected.
The summoned hero had been treated as a myth, a children's story, his entire life. He hadn't expected anyone to actually attempt a summoning, much less succeed.
That would actually explain how his forces were defeated. Maybe that useless cow wasn't just making excuses after all.
If Vladimir could't get a hold of this situation, the Dragon had made it clear that the consequences would be dire.
He conjured a messenger bird. A decrepit thing with no eyes, made of bones.
"Find my acolyte. Tell him to send the Demons instead."
Una woke in the morning feeling like crap.
The last two days could not have been any worse for her.
The fighting, the defeat, the loss, the emotional turmoil, it had all been draining in every way possible.
Between her crying and the noises her travel companions made the night before, she had gotten very little sleep.
Next was a trek through the last place she wanted to return to, to find something she did believe was there.
Fantastic.
She got up and went through her morning routine. She expected to find Raymond and the girls already up and ready to go.
They said yesterday, they were leaving at first light. It was nearly mid morning.
She went down the row and checked each tent, of course hers was the furthest away from Raymond, they were all empty.
There's no way they would leave the whole camp behind, even if they were abandoning her.
Finally she got to Raymond's tent and opened the flap. The smell hit her first.
It reminded her of Duce's room on the mornings when her and Trey had to go in and kick whores out.
She almost gagged.
Then she saw them. All four of them, naked, in a pile on the floor. That explained the noises from last night.
She cleared her throat. "Hey! Excuse me! I thought we had places to be today!"
Slowly, they all came to life, groaning and stretching. The movement made the smell worse.
Niki squinted up at Una, a sly smirk cracking her face. "What's the matter, love? Jealous you weren't invited to the party?"
Una scoffed. "You all reek. You need to bathe before the heat gets to you."
Ray chuckled and shook his finger at Una. "That is a good idea. Ladies? Wanna join me for a dip?"
He stood up and handed Una a magic bag labeled "meat". "Una, do you mind starting breakfast while we're gone."
Una took the bag while she tried her hardest not to look at Ray's body.
"I thought you said you wanted to get an early start. Do we have time for breakfast at this point?"
"Do you really want to start this journey on an empty stomach?"
Una shook her head. "Fine, but let's make it quick, we're burning daylight."
Ray gave her a smile and a mock salute as he filed out of the tent with the girls.
Una grumbled to herself while she roasted meat on skewers for breakfast. Nikki's words had hit deeper than they should have.
Truth be told, she was jealous that she wasn't invited to the "party". At the same time, after seeing Raymond this morning, she was sure if she would have survived such an encounter.
It irritated Una that she had to keep such thoughts to herself. She wasn't usually one to bite her tongue, but Nikki was one scary bitch.
While she was musing, a light breeze blew by and Una caught the slighted hint of a terrifyingly familiar scent.
It smelled like charcoal and sulfur.
Una stood sharply, scanning the skyline to the west.
She sniffed the air and strained her ears, pushing her senses for more information.
Meanwhile, Raymond and the girls were taking their time, enjoying their bath together.
Their hands were all over each other washing off the remnants of the night before while teasing each other relentlessly.
Suddenly all three girls froze at the same time.
Ray looked between them questioningly. The only response he got initially was Nikki holding a finger to her lips.
There was a growl and a sinister laugh. This time even Ray heard it.
Alecia's eyes widened, catching Raymond's gaze.
"Demons. We need to get back to camp, now!"