Claire’s expression went blank. Maybe she had been put off by his response, or maybe she just didn’t know how to react. “So, uh...not to try and make a business deal out of it, but in exchange, why don’t you tell me a bit more about yourself? What’s the City Guard like? How is work?”
“Well, actually...” With another mug of Warlito Bimi in front of him, Tafman promptly answered all of her questions. “Right now, we have our hands full doing work outside the walls. Like trying to restore the fields and orchards that were destroyed in the war.”
“Oh, really?”
“But it looks like security is going to be pretty rough. Oh, of course I mean protecting the people of Evaloti. ’Cause, y’know, humans in the demonic kingdom...”
“Yeah, I get the picture. Things are complicated.”
“And like our governor said, the other demon princes and princesses might try to mess with us.”
Delicious food, an even more delicious drink, and the company of a young woman pressing him for conversation. Tafman was in higher spirits than he had been in a long time, and so the words poured out of him. He talked about the City Guard, about instability in the autonomous zone, and about rumors that Sebastian had uncovered. While he talked, Claire continued to order food and drinks, sharing them with him as he went.
“So anyway, we’re making progress on rebuilding the villages. But there’s no telling what those demon princes and princesses are gonna do. We still might have to deal with fiends showing up, so we gotta keep at it,” Tafman said, starting to feel the effects of the alcohol as he watched the drink swirling in the bottom of his mug. “But you can leave all that outside the walls business to us. You’re perfectly safe here in the city.”
“Why, thank you. But no worries, I barely get to go out during the day anyway. I’m basically always doing work for the denizens of the dark.”
“Huh?” Tafman gave her a puzzled look. “They have you working all day, even while they’re asleep?” In fact, right about now was the middle of the day for the denizens of the dark. How did she have the free time to hang around with the city’s drunks?
Claire hesitated for a long moment. “That’s exactly why. They want all their work cleaned up and ready by the time they wake up.”
“Ah, so it’s the opposite. I get it.” Tafman nodded.
“But even so, I guess I should get going soon. It was fun talking to a normal person for a change. First time I’ve done that in a while. Thanks.”
“No, thank you! For all of this!” Looking down at the table, Tafman was struck silent by the huge collection of dishes and cups in front of them. “Er... Okay, at least let me pay half...”
“It’s all right, I already paid for it.” Claire shrugged as Tafman reached for his coin purse. “Don’t worry about it. I probably make a lot more than you do. But it’s not like I have much to spend it on when I’m on my own. Really, I don’t. So please take it as a gift, okay?” she finished with a wink. Though he felt embarrassed to be treated by a girl young enough to be his daughter, he knew it would be in poor taste to protest further.
“Then next time, it’s on me,” he insisted.
Claire laughed. “I told you, don’t worry about it. I...don’t really eat that much.” She waved off his offer as she stood. “But you told me so much about yourself this time, so if we meet again, I’ll do a bit more talking. I should be able to share some juicy tidbits I’ve picked up around the castle.”
With that, Claire departed, leaving a faint scent of citrus in her wake. For a moment, Tafman considered walking her home, but they were already on the main street. The castle was quite close, and the city was remarkably safe these days. Anyone vile enough to attack one of their own had died long ago in the fighting.
And so from that day forward, Tafman and Claire regularly met up in the hobgoblin’s bar to exchange information.
†††
Near the border in the western reaches of what was once the Kingdom of Deftelos, Emergias Izanis stood among the rolling hills in full hunting garb. For their role in conquering Deftelos, the Izanis family had been rewarded with this, a strip of land stretching north and south directly adjacent to the Evaloti Autonomous Zone.
“There. That way.” As the night breeze ruffled his hunting garb, Emergias motioned to the forest below him, eyes still closed. The Izanis soldiers arrayed around him moved into the trees.
They were in the middle of a hunt. Emergias and his warriors were unflinching as they navigated through the long untouched wilderness, using a spear or spell to mow down any beast they encountered along the way. Finally, they reached a clearing in the forest where trees had been broken and shattered—signaling the current resident’s dominion over this territory.
An enormous fiend lay within. The creature rose with a roar as the blue-skinned intruders roused it from its slumber. It had huge, bat-like wings, an impressive mane, a large maw resembling a lion’s capable of swallowing a man whole, and a long, snakelike tail tipped with a venomous barb.
This ferocious creature was known as a manticore. Using his Bloodline Magic of Transmission in concert with his authority of Envy, Emergias had located the beast’s lair in the forest. Not even the collective might of a hundred humans could slay this terrifying beast. They were often referred to as “dragons without the breath.”
Even the Izanis soldiers of baron rank and lower grew nervous at confronting it, but Emergias and the other high-level demons were unfazed. After all, even with its massive size, it was still just an animal. It couldn’t hold a candle to the immense magic they wielded.
The manticore bellowed once again as it took notice that Emergias was undeterred by its previous threat. It immediately lunged forward with its claws, perhaps a sign of its now-wounded pride. The manticore moved with unprecedented mobility thanks to its enormous wings, allowing it to cover a hundred paces in the blink of an eye at lightning-fast speed.
But against the warriors of the Izanis family, specialists in wind magic, taking to the sky was a fatal mistake.
“Kresh.”
Fall.
At Emergias’s intonation, a vicious burst of wind struck the beast from above, slamming it into the ground.
The manticore immediately rose back to its feet—
“Spasimo.”
Rip apart.
—only for blades of wind to tear into its face as it moved to make another strike, causing the beast to flinch back.
“My name is Emergias Izanis.” Emergias’s presence tangibly swelled. “The man who shall slay you.”
The manticore cringed back, mane standing on end as it watched him with wide eyes. This was the powerful creature’s first encounter with someone superior to itself.
“Begone!”
With as much menace as he could muster, Emergias unleashed another wave of wind blades at the creature. The blades bit shallowly into the creature’s mane and chest, prompting it to bolt in the opposite direction, its tremendous wings carrying it away at unbelievable speed. In no time, the manticore had vanished into the forest.
“Perfect.”