Return of the Runebound Professor

Aylin’s eyes flicked from the stranger to the pile of food on the ground. His stomach twisted and clenched like it was being sewn into knots. Yog hadn’t even lasted half a second against the demon. The idea of trying to run was so laughable that it wasn’t even worth considering.

“I — can the others eat? Without incurring debt of their own? I will take you to Golon.”

Violet was right. I’m already fucked, but if they can get something out of this, then maybe it’ll give us enough energy to do… something. I don’t know what, but something.

“Huh? Go ahead,” the stranger said with a dismissive wave. “There’s too much for one person anyway.”

Too much? I could eat everything here and a thousand times more if I had the opportunity. Was something done to this food? Shit. I really should have listened to Violet. But now if they don’t eat, won’t we offend him?

Aylin hesitated for a second, then clenched his jaw. He was already dead. There wasn’t any point being cautious about it. One death was no different from another. “Is it safe? I want them to live.”

“It’s food,” the stranger said. “As long as you don’t choke on it, I can’t imagine it’ll be very dangerous. Just get eating already. I wasn’t lying about being impatient.”

Violet exchanged a look with Aylin. She carefully picked up a strip of dried meat and lifted it, hesitating for a second before biting down. With her unspoken assent, Edda and Torick both dug into the food as well.

Aylin finished the piece of bread he’d already started, but he didn’t bother taking any more food despite how badly he wanted to. There was no point wasting it if he wasn’t going to live through the day.

Aylin’s remaining time depleted together with the food. They soon finished every last scrap, polishing the floor clean. Their efficiency was a mixture of hunger and fear, both of which made deeply effective motivators.

As soon as they were done, the stranger looked to him and nudged Yog’s body out of the way with the tip of his shoe. “Come on, then.”

Jaw clenched, Aylin nodded. He started toward the end of the room — and Violet followed after him. He paused and sent her a baffled look, waving her away.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“What? No!” Aylin’s voice raised and he flinched, glancing back at the stranger before returning his gaze to Violet. “You said it yourself. This is my fault. Just take the energy from the food and do something with it. I fucked up.”

“Sure did,” Violet agreed with a nod. “But I’m not letting you out there alone. You’ll just get yourself killed.”

“Do you not realize I’m already dead?” Aylin hissed under his breath. “I died the moment the stranger showed back up. The others need you.”

“He didn’t say he was going to kill you. That means you need someone to watch your ass so you don’t do something stupid again,” Violet said. She glared at Aylin, daring him to challenge her words. “They’ll stay here until we come back.”

“Are you an idiot? What are you talking—”

“She’s welcome to tag along. It won’t change anything. Actually, it might make things easier,” the stranger said, his words driving the final nail into the coffin forming around Aylin. He nearly ripped the hair out of his own head as a wave of dread washed over him.

Damn it. Not like this.

Violet gave Aylin a small shove. “Come on. There’s no point making him wait. Price for everything, remember? We’ll be fine.”

She sounded a lot more confident than she looked. It didn’t matter. There was absolutely nothing that Aylin could do but give Violet a stiff nod. He looked over her shoulder to the others and sent them a sharp look.

“Don’t you dare move an inch from this house. We’ll be back soon. I promise.”

Liar.

Torick and Edda both nodded. He saw the doubt in Torick’s eyes, but Edda was too young to even question him. Aylin still hadn’t actually figured out how she’d managed to get into Treadon in the first place. She’d never told them, and now he probably wouldn’t get a chance to find out.

He turned back to the stranger, who waited at the exit of the house. Then, together with Violet, he headed outside. The red light of the Damned Plains sky bore down on them as they all emerged onto the streets.

“Tell me about Golon,” the stranger said as they started walking. “He’s… what? The boss of this area? What Rank is he?”

“He’s the streetlord, but we don’t live in his territory,” Violet said, her lips twisting in derision. “He just pretends that we do.”

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“You don’t care for him.” The stranger’s words weren’t a question.

“He just steals from everyone weaker than him,” Aylin said, surprised to find that the words flowed easily to his lips. There was something oddly liberating about knowing what he said didn’t matter. If the stranger planned to kill him either way, he could speak without worrying about pissing the demon off — at least until they reached Golon’s territory, that was. “He’s a Wastelicker, but he’s Rank 3. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Wastelicker?” A note of amusement tinged the stranger’s words. That was probably a good sign. Violet sent Aylin a sidelong look and he coughed into a fist.

“Uh… someone who licks the salt crystals that form in the caves beneath the Wastes because they’re not strong or competent enough to get food for themselves. I know. Ironic. Violet says I should use it less,” Aylin said, then cut himself off as he realized that he’d started to ramble nervously. He hadn’t expected to have to explain childish insults to someone that had just turned Yog into a burnt steak without so much as a thought.

The stranger chuckled. “I see. And that’s interesting. You have a name? What is it?”

A flicker of hope wound in Aylin’s chest before he could crush it down.

Why would he be surprised that I have a name? But the only reason to ask the name of someone you plan to kill is if they’re worth remembering. I’m not anywhere near strong enough for that. Is there a chance he plans to let us live?

“I’m Violet. He’s Aylin,” Violet said, answering to fill the momentary silent void as Aylin got lost in his own thoughts. He sent her an appreciative look and she just shook her head.

“Both of you. Hm. Interesting,” the stranger mused.

They turned down an alleyway. There was a distant scuff. Aylin’s ears twitched and he glanced up. A flicker of movement on a rooftop above them marked one of Golon’s spotters. Aylin hadn’t gotten a chance to figure out who it was, but they’d doubtlessly be sprinting back to warn the streetlord of their approach.

“They know we’re coming,” Aylin said nervously.

“Oh, great. That makes things a lot easier,” the stranger said. “Are they coming to escort us?”

“We’re arriving unannounced and with someone Golon doesn’t know. They’ll be coming to take us into captivity so we can speak with him. If he doesn’t like what you’ve got to say, we’re all dead,” Violet said.

“Hm.” The stranger shook his head. “I don’t much like the sound of that. I get you aren’t a large fan of Golon, but what about the rest of his people?”

Aylin shrugged one shoulder. He didn’t see why it mattered. “They’re… demons, I guess. They do what they have to in order to survive, even if it’s stealing from everyone. I can’t say I like them, but I understand them.”

“I hope they rot,” Violet said.

“I see. And how many people does Golon have working for him?”

“Maybe twenty or thirty?” Aylin guessed. “More than enough to make him completely unstoppable. He treats his own men well. They like him.”

“Why didn’t you join up?”

“Because we don’t want to be Wastelickers. I’ll starve before I work for that ass,” Violet said. “At least I know that I’m not living by standing on the backs of the starving. Also, he’s vile. His top people like him, but the rest let him do what he wants to them so they can survive. I’m not that desperate.”

Aylin was pretty sure that just about everyone that had joined Golon had probably said something along the same lines in private at some point. The difference between Voilet’s words and theirs was that she hadn’t gotten to the point where she’d tagged on the not yet, at least to the end of the sentence.

Everyone seemed to, eventually.

They slowed as they drew to the end of the street and approached a large, open square. At one point, it had been a marketplace. Now, it was Golon’s ruling grounds. Dozens of leather tents were strewn about surrounding a large, circular one at the back of the square.

A line of demons stood at the front of the tents, and Aylin’s ears picked up on twice as many of them standing on the rooftops all around them. They were completely surrounded. His throat clenched.

“Who are you?” A large demon asked, stepping out from the tents and pushing past the line of demons. Aylin’s stomach clenched even tighter. It was Robon, Golon’s second in command.

Robon stood nearly five heads taller than the stranger and held a huge axe in his hands like it was a dagger. There were a lot of stories about Robon, and none of them were good. The demon was Golon’s personal executioner and had more kills under his belt than anyone in the camp other than Golon himself.

“You can call me Spider,” the stranger replied. “Would you happen to be Golon?”

“Me? No. I am Robon.” Robon snorted in laughter and nodded to another demon, who stepped out with a large pile of heavy chain links in his hands. “Don’t move. If you do, you’ll die. Once you’re bound and restrained, you can speak with Golon.”

“Oh. No, I don’t think that’ll work,” Spider said. “Just go get Golon and send him out here, would you?”

The demons around them burst into uproarious laughter. Spider watched silently until they all gathered themselves.

“There’s a serious misunderstanding here,” Robon said. “A random demon doesn’t just come in here and start making demands of a streetlord. You’re on our territory. You play by our rules if you want to live.”

“You know, given what I know of this place, I really should have guessed you’d say that,” Spider said. “But you don’t have the power here. I do.”

What is Spider doing? There are like thirty demons here! Is he trying to kill all of us? It doesn’t matter if he can kill one demon if he pisses off Golon’s entire group.

The gathered demons all stared at Spider in a mixture of derision and disbelief.

“He’s just asking to get killed,” one muttered, his voice reaching Aylin’s sensitive ears from a rooftop to their side.

“Just give him what he wants,” another said back.

“You?” Robon asked. “And tell me, how is that true? Have you not looked around? The only reason you still live is because we haven’t killed you and the scrawny rats that led you here.”

Spider glanced back at Aylin and Violet and lowered his voice. “Don’t move an inch. Stay exactly where you are.”

Aylin gave him a stiff nod, completely lost as to what the demon’s goals were. Once Violet did the same, Spider turned to Robon.

“That works.”

“What?” Robon’s brow furrowed.

“You’re so powerless you don’t even realize how weak you are,” Spider said with a chuckle. “Allow me to expand your horizons. Every single one of you that dares — come try your luck. Come try to kill me or the weak children behind me. You won’t even step within five feet of them.”

And, just like that, all the hope that had been building up in Aylin’s chest vanished like a snuffed candle. He exchanged a terrified look with Violet, but they were trapped. If they stayed after a challenge like that, Golon’s men would kill them. But, if they tried to run, Spider would assuredly kill them instead.

A murmur of anger passed through the demons. Robon smirked and hoisted his weapon. “Don’t mind if I do. Golon doesn’t need to waste his time on someone like this. Kill them.”

The decision was simple in the end. Spider was closer to them than Golon’s people were, and so Aylin and Violet remained frozen in place as thirty odd demons charged toward them, death in their eyes.

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