The Demon Lord and his Hero

Two gleaming golden rings were set before Syryn. He glanced at Rowan who was waiting for him to inspect the rings.

The mage picked up a ring. The cold metal band had an engraving on its inner surface. It read Rowan & Syryn Windwalker.

"Syryn Windwalker?" He asked while turning the ring over his palm.

"There wasn't enough space for two surnames," came the clever reply. "Do you not like it?"

The mage slipped the ring around his finger and tucked his hands behind his back. "I like it. Now wear yours."

The jeweller snickered at the embarrassed mage who was pretending to be stoic about the situation. For two ingots of gold, he would wait all day for the shy customers to get over their little ceremony.

Rowan picked up his ring and slipped it on. Looking at the gold ring on his partner's finger, Syryn felt the gravity of what they'd done. They were wearing promissory rings with their names engraved on them. He was halfway through to becoming Rowan Nigh'hart Windwalker.

"No regrets," Syryn told the blond. He was assuring himself more than telling Rowan.

"I will regret a lot of things but never this," Rowan held his hand up and smiled. "Let's go, Ryn. It's too late for sleep so we might as well get to the venue early."

"Thank you, sirs. Come again!" The jeweller happily accepted the gold ingots that were left behind on the table as his customers left the shop. "It's alright boys. Get back inside your hiding places." Soft slithering sounds were heard from the ceiling and near the door. There had been no need for snakes tonight.

______

A blond man and his companion were seen taking a walk around the time that most people would be asleep. Eyes followed them as they made their way through the heart of Bella's territory and reached the northeastern corner of the island where the hanging was scheduled to take place.

An elaborate stage was constructed above the coastal waters where it was deep enough to drown a man. Bella wanted a spectacle to be made out of the Sanguine spy, and the stage was the final product of her aspirations. The wooden construct was high above the water and it had a trapdoor through which the body could fall and be devoured by two hungry sharks that were trapped under the stage. Feeding the spy alive to the sharks was an idea that had been pitched but an underwater struggle couldn't be viewed by all the people who were going to arrive for the show. Her final decision was for the spy to hang high and dangle in the wind while the lowest of criminals and the vilest of pirates watched the Sanguine's struggle.

Now Rowan and Syryn were already at the beach, viewing the stage with mixed feelings. The blond suspected that Robin was the spy they had caught but he couldn't be sure. Artemus was far too clever to be caught so it had to be Robin.

"What's the plan?" Syryn asked Rowan. This early in the morning, the wind was cold as it rushed towards the ocean. The mage stepped closer to Rowan and bundled himself up under the blond's cape where it was warm.

"The plan is simple," Rowan replied. "I'll attack the guards the moment I see Robin. Then we rescue her, find Artemus, and leave the island."

"Thats the plan?"

Rowan nodded.

"Fill in the blanks, Rowan. That's not a plan, that's called an objective!"

"Help me fill in the blanks then, Ryn."

A gust of cold wind hit them both but only Syryn felt it. He needed warmer clothing, clearly. The anti mage removed his cape and gave it to the mage who gratefully accepted the warm covering.

"Ok, so what if they use Robin as a shield when you attack them?"

"It won't happen. They'll all be dead before they realise I've hit them."

"Oh, yes. Nevermind." Rowan was the plan. The end.

"If something unexpected happens, I want you to head straight for the ship, Ryn. And leave."

"Okay."

He wasn't going to but it was easier to agree now and renege on it later. Abandoning Rowan after exchanging rings was a shitty step forward as a couple. Syryn was a better man than that.

Sunrise was over the horizon and a few people could be seen arriving at the beach. Two drunkards stumbled past Syryn smelling of sour sweat, alcohol and unwashed armpits. The mage wrinkled his nose and gave them a dirty look.

"Body odour should be declared a crime," he commented. "I feel sorry for the prostitutes who get to service alcoholic slobs like those two. I bet they've never heard of baths."

Rowan silently listened to Syryn go on a tirade about how the several stinky places on Coop island had ruined his lungs.

"The executioner is here," Rowan told Syryn.

A tall man garbed in black took a boat to the stage. He climbed the stairs that led to the scaffold. A rope was tossed over the beam where the criminal would hang. After taking care of the arrangements, he descended back into the boat and returned to the beach.

"Here to watch the Sanguine dog hang?" A man called out to Rowan and Syryn. It was the grizzled old man that they'd met at the entrance of the night market.

"Nothing better to do," Rowan replied sedately.

The old man couldn't look away from Syryn when he glanced at the mage. Seeing his beauty in broad daylight came as a shock to the old man.

"With all due respect, you are a very beautiful man," Syryn was told. "Don't let the one at Red Sun catch sight of you."

"Why?" Rowan asked.

The old man shook his head. "I've heard stories about he kidnaps good looking men for enslavement. Sometimes we get ships filled with young and beautiful boys, all tied up and sold to the brute for god knows what. Poor sons of bitches. Stolen from their families to be raped by a-"

"It won't happen," Rowan interrupted. "But your warning is appreciated."