The Demon Lord and his Hero

The duo left the pub after their meal. Their stalker resumed his tailing when they exited the door and began walking aimlessly.

"Bad omen," Syryn whispered. "You think it could be Artemus?"

"Could be Robin. She's been working undercover for a year now. Artemus' arrival is too recent for Bella to have been searching for him."

"What do we do then?"

"We attend the execution. If the victim is Robin then I'm certain that Artemus must already be looking for a way to free her."

Syryn and Rowan bought a room at an inn that charged an arm and a leg for a single night's stay. After receiving the key to the room, the duo went out to further explore the island on the side of Bella's territory.

Dusk had arrived on the island when they headed out. The streets were getting darker as there were no torches to provide illumination.

"I hope you know where you're taking us," Syryn commented. Rowan had led him past three turns and the scenery still looked the same. They were in an area that smelled like urine and something very foul. The mage pinched his nostrils and made a face at the anti mage who was unfazed by the eye-watering stench that assaulted their noses. Syryn was grateful for the rapidly diminishing light because the place was a hovel. Human excrement could be found lying on the streets like it was a part of the scenery. Occasionally, they passed by a person but even the people looked dirty, unwashed and smelled ripe.

"We're taking a shortcut, Ryn. Sometimes you have to pay a small price to get to your destination faster."

"Are we in a hurry for something?"

"The market closes soon."

Syryn had stepped on something that made a squelching sound but he feared looking down at what he had placed his foot upon. A quick glance and he regretted it. It was a rotting eyeball. He was disgusted beyond measure.

"Couldn't we have just visited another market or postponed it for tomorrow?" He grumbled. He was going to buy a new pair of shoes.

"I apologise, Ryn. It's my first time here as well. The map I bought from the barkeeper said nothing about this place being a health hazard. We'll take the longer route on our way back. As for postponing the shopping, we might have to run interference at the execution if it's one of ours being hanged. I cannot predict what course of action we might have to take post rescue."

"Our ship is at the harbour, surrounded by Bella's people. We are not getting out safely- never mind" Syryn interrupted himself because he remembered that they had a Rowan on their side. A lot of blood would be shed on the pirate's end but they were getting out alive and unhurt. Syryn felt his shoulders lighten. Their chance for escape was a hundred per cent. And if they had Levia with them, it would have been a two hundred per cent. He followed Rowan while wondering about the mer king. Had he killed himself? Or had the sirens taken him?

With Levia guarding him, there was absolutely no escape for the mer king. If that happened, Syryn would eat the shoe that had stepped on the rotting eyeball.

"Ryn, up ahead," he heard Rowan tell him. His wandering mind came back to the present. They were at a beach where shops were set up on the ground. Sellers had laid out plain carpets and cloths upon which their wares were set up.

The duo walked on but then a shadow stepped across their path.

"Newcomers," the man before them declared. It was too dark to see his face clearly but he wore a scarf around his forehead.

Syryn stepped closer to Rowan and put himself behind the blond's back. He wasn't tall enough to look past Rowan's shoulders so he had to peek from the side.

"Everyone pays the toll for getting inside there," the man stuck his thumb out behind him to the market. "Five hundred thousand-"

"We're not paying so step aside or bring your men out," Rowan informed him. "We're in a hurry." The barkeep had told him about the tolls he could expect to come across on the island. They weren't mandatory if Rowan and Syryn were willing to muscle it out against the pirates.

The thug looked unsure about what to do next. The cool confidence that the blond man exuded could not be faked. So either he was a damn good actor or he wasn't afraid of them. If it was the latter, it meant that the person they were attempting to extort had the means to fight them off.

Rowan waited patiently for the man to make a decision. Light from the torches cast their illumination on Rowan and Syryn, letting the thug see how different they were from the others that frequented the place.

The thug felt a deep sense of inferiority when he saw how good looking the blond man was. Another man peeked out from behind the blond and it was the most beautiful man that the thug had ever seen.

"I- you can't," he started to stammer.

"Let them through, Fink," another voice was heard. Syryn saw that it was spoken by a grizzled old man sitting on a tree stump.

"What are you two doing in a place like a Coop?" The old man asked them. "You look out of place, like a pair of penguins climbing a coconut tree."

"We're merchants, just here to browse the selection of goods that Coop might have to offer," Rowan replied.

The old man struck a match and brought the flame down on a pipe that was filled with some white powder. "Never seen merchants like you two. If there's something special you're looking for then come here and find my men. Fink, over there will always be around and you'll know him by the red scarf he wears."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The grizzled man inhaled from the lit pipe and jerked his head towards the market letting Rowan know that they were free to go. The blond held Syryn's hand and they walked past the group of toll keepers whose eyes never left them as they passed through.