Chapter 11

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

My hair was still damp when Fuegin’s dot marched down the final hallway to my throne room. Like last time, he had sworn on his Void Crystal not to be my enemy, and I had done the same thing. I had met him when I’d first arrived. He had been a dungeon builder who had just wanted to stop in and say hi. He had some interesting questions, wondering where we came from.

He didn’t seem to be as maniacal as the two other dungeon builders I had dealt with. Fuegin also felt powerful. I wondered how far he had come to reach me. Did he have a magical means of travel or did he just travel?

Like last time, he had a guest with him, the two green dots almost on the doors with an escort of Baaghi, Paanee, and Usiku around them. They reached the doors to the throne room. I sat up straight on my chair, my gray robes about me. My women were sitting on their thrones, even Halia had one.

The double doors at the end of my throne room, carved and ornate, creaked open, pushed outward by Usiku. My fomorian stepped to the side to let my two guests sweep in. I couldn’t help but grin. If Fuegin truly wished for friendship, he might just be the ally I needed.

He was a tall and bronze-skinned man, his eyes coal bright. He had on a cloak of fire that burned down his back. He held the Fire Glyph and, I imagined, others. He had clearly modified his body with his Void Crystal. He had a muscular and handsome appearance.

Halia’s jaw dropped.

Beside him was his companion, Amante. She was a busty monster girl made of cooling magma, her skin that black but there were cracks of glowing red that ran over her curvaceous form, making her appear even more striking. A mane of fire, much like his cloak, spilled down from her head.

“Ah, Leo,” Fuegin said, “I have been most impressed with your methods. Wanting to make peace with the people of this world. It’s an admirable path.” He spoke with sincerity as he approached. “It takes a brave man to make peace with those who want to kill him.”

“Change can only come when we get to know our enemies and learn that they are not much different than we are,” I said. “Besides, if we spend all our time fighting them and each other, we’ll never learn why we were brought here. And that—”

“MONSTER!”

Halia burst from her throne and whipped out her blessed sword. Her golden armor flashed in the light as she charged at Fuegin. Her black hair streamed behind her. I gaped in shock as she raised her sword to attack him.

“Halia!” I gasped in shock.

Fuegin held out his hand, “Howl and rage, let the winds of Lord Anu gust!”

His spell sent a blast of air from him that slammed into Halia and threw her back on the ground. She hit with a clattering impact. She coughed for a moment, her limbs spasming. She began to stand, rage screaming from her lips.

“Halia!” I bellowed, gaining my feet, shocked by my paladin’s actions.

“Your vassal seems to be angry,” Fuegin said with a flippant attitude. “Out of respect, I chose not to incinerate her, but ... She came perilously close to violating your word.”

“Bastard!” Halia spat as she gained her feet, her hand gripping her sword. She raised it, her legs tensing.

“Halia, what the fuck are you doing?” I roared, marching off my throne and seizing her arm as she lunged forward again. I almost lost my grip on her.

She whirled about to face me, a strand of her black hair spilling down her fiery cheeks. Her blue eyes smoldered with rage. This close, the hum from her blessed blade vibrated the bone in my ear and made my cheek twitch.

“He’s a monster! That’s Fuegin the Inferno! The Black Flame of Nyias. The Razer of Kelias. He’s a foul and loathsome dungeon builder. One of the worst!”

I flicked my eyes to Fuegin. He stood there impassively. He had power. That spell felt strong like it was a level of magic over mine. I glanced around the room. I had him outnumbered with all my monster girls and he didn’t seem perturbed. And if he was as powerful as Halia feared...

“That’s not it,” I said, gripping her arm. “There’s fury in you. Real rage. What is it?”

“He murdered my father!” She threw a look over her shoulder and leveled her blade. “Do you remember this sword! Huh? Villain! You slew the last owner of it. You roasted him in his armor, orphaned his daughter, and widowed his wife!”

Fuegin’s eyes glanced down then up at her. “Ah, Anguin.” Fuegin nodded. “A worthy opponent. He nearly gutted me. Killed Amante. His party pillaged my domain. Only one escaped. The rogue. Too much bother to kill since I was fighting to stay alive. Pity that the sword is blessed. I would have loved to have that blade on my wall.”

Halia roared and pulled at my grip. It took all my strength to hold her back.

I jerked her around. “Halia. He’s a guest. I promised him safe passage. That my monster girls and you wouldn’t attack him.”

“He deserves to die for his crimes! The western lands suffer under his rule.”

“Suffer.” Fuegin arched an eyebrow. “They prosper. No more wars. Nor more bandits or roving bands of monsters. I have brought my lands peace!”

“You have enslaved its people and made them your chattel!” spat Halia.

“I did what I had to do to survive,” Fuegin said. “The moment I came to this world, lost, confused, I was attacked. Adventurers sought to kill me and loot my domain. I had to protect myself. My darling Amante. I fought and fought. I showed the world what I would do if they kept attacking me. It took them two object lessons, but now they do not harm me. They do not put those I swore to protect in danger. I’m not different than Leo.”

“He would never burn cities to the ground!” Halia snarled, her arm shaking. “He would never condemn thousands to death.”

“I made ... mistakes.” Fuegin looked down. “But they have wrought more peace. No different than what the Americans did to Japan. I slaughtered to stop worse bloodshed. I shoved peace down this world’s throat. I’m sorry you choked on it.”

Halia shrieked and nearly jerked out of my grip.

“And my father?” demanded Halia. “His sword demands your blood!”

“I have killed a lot of adventurers,” Fuegin said, weariness falling over his bronze face. “What choice did I have? They came to kill me. Your father slaughtered the monster girls I loved, hacked through my home, and sought to murder me. I defended myself. I will not apologize for wanting to live. For my only crime being my existence.”

I swallowed. I knew what he meant. I only wanted peace, too, but despite what I did for Astovin, they feared me. Thought me a tyrant. Adventurers were still hunting me down. Lord Shorvin had put out a bounty on me.

“Halia,” I whispered. I turned her face to mine with a free hand. “He’s a version of me that didn’t have your support. That was thrown into this world and was forced into darkness. But he has come offering friendship. I can’t reject that. Not when we’re so precariously positioned.”

“You can’t possibly want to be friends with him,” she snarled. “He admitted it. He burned those cities.”

I glanced at Fuegin. He could have burned Halia to cinder for what she had done. Instead, he used a spell to knock her back. He could raze my entire dungeon. I could feel the power bleeding off of him. I needed allies.

“How long ago did he burn those cities?”

“Fifty years,” she said. “People don’t attack him much. My father was the last.”

“I am sorry,” I said. “I truly am, but where will it stop? This violence. You want to kill him for defending himself against your father. Fine, you kill him. But what if there’s someone who loves him. What if he has a son or daughter that hunts you down to avenge him. And on and on and on. This has to stop. Dungeon builders and the people of this world need to find a way to coexist or this suffering is never-ending. That’s what I want more than anything. I thought that’s what you wanted.

“But if it’s vengeance...” I shook my head. “What good will that do the world?”

“It will rid it of one monster,” she hissed.

“And? Another one will just rise in his place. One who doesn’t care about making alliances and figuring out why we’re brought here. What force is yanking us from our world? How long have dungeon builders been a problem?”

She squirmed. “It’s hard to say. Thousands of years since Meskalamdug the Flaming Devil first arose. So much has been lost.” She trembled. “Our world is constantly being assaulted.”

“I know.” I stared into her blue eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“For now, Fuegin is more valuable as my friend. If he is repentant of his crimes, if he truly has made it peaceful in his lands, then I need his help. I’m sorry. I understand if that is too much for you to swallow. If you would rather seek out vengeance than make this world better. I’ll release you from my service.”

“Lord Leo,” she whimpered, tears springing in her eyes.

“But you have to choose.”

“You can’t ask me to work with my father’s murderer!” Her liquid depths pleaded with me.

“You don’t have to work with him. You don’t have to be around him. You just have to let me deal with him. Okay? You have to give up on vengeance to make this world better. Are you strong enough to do that?”

“I’m strong,” she hissed.

“Then what do you truly want?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her arm lowered. She shuddered and then opened her eyes. “I want peace. You showed me that, Lord Leo. I’m your paladin. That has not changed. It’s just ... He...”

“I know.”

Then I noticed that my mother was by us. She watched, pain on her woody face. I gently pressed Halia towards her. “Take care of her, Mom.”

“I will,” she said gently, her arm going around Halia’s shoulder. My mother led the trembling paladin away, the tip of her humming sword nearly dragging across the ground. I watched them pass by the thrones and then through the doors that led to our quarters. They boomed shut.

I turned to Fuegin. “I—”

He held up a forestalling hand. “No apologies needed. I had heard you had recruited a paladin to your side, but I had no idea it was Anguin’s daughter. I would have taken more care. I truly had no choice. Her father nearly killed me. He was a legend. He had taken down some of the vilest dungeon builders.”

“And how many of them had burned two cities to the ground?” I asked, my voice cold.

Fuegin closed his eyes. “I was younger. Angry at the situation. How everyone hated me. I gave an ultimatum, and then thought I had no choice but to carry it out when they ignored me. When you make a threat and don’t act on it, your enemies are only emboldened. Remember that, Leo. Never threaten to do something that will leave you haunted by nightmares. It took two cities, after that, they surrendered. I took an area of petty kingdoms always warring with each other when not dealing with builders, and unified it. I crammed peace down their throats. They all hate me for what I did, deservedly so, but at least their lives are as comfortable as such a primitive world will allow.”

I considered his words. Fifty years ... That would make him older than my mother though he didn’t look it. He looked to be in his twenties instead of his sixties or seventies. A lot of time to reflect. To change.

“Why are you here?” I asked, sinking on the throne. I needed allies. I couldn’t be picky. If he wasn’t actively hurting people now, I would just have to overlook his past acts.

Two cities burned, though...

“Have you had any insights into why we’re here?” Fuegin asked.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” I said, my thoughts still spinning from the revelations. It was hard not to see the man standing before me as a monster. But he was just a human, like me, torn from our world and thrust into this insanity. “Souleen, the Soul of my Void Crystal, asked if I could protect her before I was summoned. Only ... she seemed a little different from my Souleen. Almost more majestic. I don’t know. Did you have that dream?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Before the fire came and burned me. I dreamed of her and then she asked me again. We made love and then I appeared here. A contract formed.”

“There’s something there,” I said, leaning back in my throne. “Something important that I feel like we’re missing. Why was she different?”