Usurper of Fire

Thermia and Hunter walked into the pub and hesitated when they saw Cadivus chatting with a cloaked person and Ekio sitting at the table with her arms folded, glaring through them. They rejoined the group, which hushed the laughter ringing through as Cadivus explained his adventures to the woman.

“Can we be excused?” Hunter asked the cloaked woman. Cadivus threw up a hand, shrugging off his concern.

“Nonsense! This is an old friend of mine.” His speech was slurred. “She works here, so we have an in to the workings of this place.” He chugged the last of his ale and motioned for another.

Thermia caught the same waiter’s eyes and waved her hand, suggesting to cut him off.

“Who is this then?” Hunter asked Cadivus.

“This is the wondrous El,” he said. “El, I’m gonna introduce you to my mate Sparklebutt. You're gonna love him.” He turned toward Hunter and Thermia. “Where is the good man now?”

The two shared a look.

She hung her head low. “Sparklebutt was killed in jail, Cadivus.”

Cadivus’s face went blank for a moment, then he sang.

From Motob comes, a shining light, destined for a greatness

Till the dusk falls and the battles are won

We must pray for salvation

Oh Sparklebutt, he was carried off, by a beast that sought his rear

Oh Sparklebutt, he struggled through, and ask it for completion

Then, Thermia sang.

He was as cunning as a fox, he gave her golden locks

And blended them to match her grace

He was a man adorned with class

He had the most perfect ass

Any man would love to be him

Sparklebutt, the world would fear him

Then, Cadivus sang again.

Oh, how the world cries out for him today

In our hearts he will surely stay

We lost a man who was mighty with a flail

The children gather all around, just to hear his tale

Oh Sparklebutt, the world will mourn you this day

Also he was gay…

They all bowed their heads. “Well,” Cadivus said. “I guess we can nix the meeting then.” El laughed and touched his arm. “Careful! I’ve already lost a button. I’d rather the rest remain intact if possible.”

Ekio rolled her eyes.

“We need to leave,” Hunter said. “The plan is done for.”

“Nonsense,” Cadivus said. “We have El here. We’ll be fine.”

El perked up.

“What’s that now? What are you up to, you little devil?”

Hunter tried to hold a hand out to prevent him from talking–but to no avail.

“We’re after the armory, legs,” he said. “Supposed to have some weapons we need for a quest.” He poured the last suds from his pint into his mouth. “Sparks was supposed to get the code from the wizard.”

Everyone but he and El sighed.

She looked at the group and smiled.

“I can do that. Easy! I’ve been scoping this place out for a while now. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

He looked toward the others for approval. They all had their reservations but nodded.

“Great! When do we get started?”

“Quicker than a–” He slightly swayed and resisted the urge to throw up, heaving in his throat.

“We need to do this quick and be on our way,” Hunter said. “Are you sure you can handle a wizard?”

She looked at him, smiled, and pulled her cloak back, revealing her curvy body wrapped in tight dark leather. She removed a dagger from her waist, held it up to her face, and licked the blade.

“I think I can handle it, darling.” She winked.

“I don’t trust this one,” Ekio said, giving her the evil eyes. She caught eyes with Thermia, and Thermia gave her a subtle shake.

El leaned toward Ekio, placing her cleavage in Cadivus’s face.

“Oh, you need not worry, my dear. A little ole thing like me. I wouldn’t dare make enemies of a group as formidable as this one here.” She sat back, put her arm around him and kissed his cheek. “Plus, I owe this man right here. Things didn’t turn out so well the last time we met up, and it’s been tearing me to pieces ever since.” Her eyes teared up as she grabbed his face with hands and stared into his eyes. “I’ve been longing for the chance to make it right.”

He raised his eyebrows, and looked toward the group for approval.

“Fine!” Ekio said.

“Wait a minute,” Thermia said. “How are you able to exist here? I thought they hated women.” Somehow, the idea had slipped everyone’s mind.

“Well, let’s just say I have a special arrangement,” El said. “Although to be honest, I’ve grown so bored of this place. This is a fine way to leave.”

The answer wasn’t satisfying. Still they knew they needed her to complete the mission.

They left the tavern, El gave them directions, and each group headed off in a different direction with uneasiness settling in them.

**********

Hunter walked with Cadivus toward Sigma’s chambers. He huffed and puffed at each of Cadivus’s stumbles and distracted detours. They caught a lot of side-eyes and full-on glares in the busy streets, standing out like a sore thumb.

“Are we there yet?” Cadivus said. “My feet are all wobbly.”

“Your brain is wobbly,” he snapped. “Why in the hell did you drink so much?”

Cadivus ignored the question, humming a song instead.

They came upon the building they were looking for. It was much larger than the surrounding homes. Several guards had been posted outside. Lots of grunts and slams came from inside.

“We’ll need to sneak in through one of the windows,” Hunter said. “I’d imagine his chambers are on the third floor.” He looked back and saw Cadivus pissing on the building, waving to people passing by. He shook his head, reached into one of his pouches, and removed a black liquid vial. He handed it to Cadivus, who took it and squinted.

“What the fuck is this?” he asked.

“Drink it. It’s gonna sober you up.”

Cadivus tossed the vial over his shoulder, and it smashed against the ground.

“I’m not even buzzed! Let’s go already!”

Hunter slapped him and grabbed his jacket, causing him to struggle in his grip.

“I’m not fucking around anymore!” he whispered angrily. He changed his grip, grabbed another black vial, and forced him to drink it.

Cadivus choked on the liquid, falling onto his hands and knees. Less than a minute later he stood, completely sober.

“Now, stay that way!”

“What the shit was that stuff?” he asked.

“Old recipe. Granted, you broke the one without side effects.”

“Side effects? What side effects?”

“Don’t worry about it for now. We have fifteen minutes before it becomes a problem. That should be more than enough time.”

He sighed.

“Now, throw me up to that window there,” Hunter said, pointing to the second story window. “I’ll help you up once I’m inside.”

He nodded, and put his hands out for Hunter to stand on. He flung him toward the window but with too much force. Hunter crashed into the top of the windowsill, catching a blow to the back of his head. Hunter rubbed at it and cursed him, who had himself a giggle. As Hunter looked around for a rope or linen to pull him up, he climbed through the window.

Hunter’s mouth dropped. “How did…”

“I got good leapies,” Cadivus said. “Whoa! Check out this room!”

They looked around the luxurious bathroom. The bath was four times larger than normal and was already full of hot water.

“Shit.”

“Let’s leave quickly.” Hunter quietly opened the door and peeked out into the empty hallway.

He motioned for Cadivus to follow him, and they walked toward the stairs. As they approached, heavy footsteps headed down the stairs. He frantically waved his hands and pointed to a nearby room. They ran inside and found another man there wearing only a towel. The man opened his mouth to scream, but Cadivus grabbed his mouth and held onto his body. The loud footsteps passed by the door. Moments later, the sound of water splashing echoed.

“Make a noise, and I’ll snap your neck. Got it?” Cadivus whispered to the towel man, who nodded. “Where are Sigma's chambers?” He released his grip, but the towel man simply stood still. “Oh, you literal prick. Just talk.”

“It’s up the stairs and at the end of the hall,” The towel man said.

Cadivus held him down once more, stood there for a moment, and then looked at Hunter, raising his eyebrows and motioning his head toward the man.

“What?” Hunter asked.

“Do I just kill him now?”

The towel man squirmed and screamed through the hand covering his mouth.

“Stop it!”

“What? No!” Hunter said. “Just choke him out, and we’ll head upstairs.”

Cadivus wrapped his arm around the man’s face and squeezed. The towel man squirmed even more fiercely, feeling his nose break under the force.

“Lower! Around the neck you moron.”

He nodded and gripped the man’s neck, who passed out after a few seconds. He gently placed him on the ground.

“No wonder that’s never worked for me before.”

Hunter shook his head.

Using towels from the room, they tied the towel man up and gagged his mouth. They then left the room, sneaked upstairs, and peeked around the corner. Empty.

“There!” Cadivus whispered, pointing at the far door.

They walked over to it , and Hunter tried to open it, but found it was locked.

“Use the key Sparks gave ya,” he said.

Cadivus nodded and searched through his pockets. He then searched through them again. And again.

“Don’t tell me…”

He grimaced, pulling his pockets inside out to reveal they were empty.

“I think we’ve been bamboozled.”

“You mean we’re fucked!”

“Bah. It’s fine. I’ll just kick it down.”

Hunter placed his hand on Cadivus’s chest.

“No you won’t. That there is red elm wood. It’s what they make castle gates out of.”

Cadivus looked at him with a blank expression.

“It’s built to withstand a siege. You’re not gonna break it by kicking it.”

Cadivus just smiled and shook his head.

“Oh, my dear boy. Watch and learn.” He took a step back and performed a sidekick. The force of the blow sent him to the ground, and the door remained perfectly intact.

“Told ya. And now…you just alerted everyone to our presence here.”

“Oh, there are lots of banging noises here,” he said. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“There are gonna be a few more banging noises in a moment,” a deep voice from behind them said.

They spun around and saw a large man in a towel. He was three times their size, and his muscles had muscles.

“Sigma?” Cadivus asked.

The bald man just smiled and laughed as he charged toward them.