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Chapter One
The beach ran black with blood.
The Paladin danced among the countless Aku, armor teeming with spell-light as he absorbed blows from razor claws, blade a blur as it severed midnight skin. Driven by an oath to rid the Kingdom of the malevolent invaders, the Paladin lost himself in the fury of battle, forcing the sleek-bodied creatures to retreat to their nests against the mountainside.
Suddenly, only one Aku remained.
A lone female stood guard over a large egg. She attacked as a wolf would, thrusting forward both teeth and claws in a series of powerful yet intelligent strikes aimed at the weak points of the Paladin’s enhanced armor. However, the cornered Aku refused to abandon its offspring, confining its movements and placing it at a disadvantage.
The Paladin spun around a desperate strike and drove his shoulder into the creature’s elongated neck. The Aku crashed into the mountainside with a pained cry. As the Paladin sought to capitalize, the creature recovered and lunged forward, leaping over its egg in a last-ditch effort to slay its human foe.
The Paladin stepped to one side and thrust his sword into its neck.
To his horror, the head of the Aku turned back to face him, pain evident in its furnace-like eyes. The creature’s voice thundered within his mind.
I beg you, human warrior. Spare the child. He is innocent…
*
“Marcus? The egg?”
The Paladin looked to the elderly Mage, then back to the egg. The corpse of the female Aku rested between the adventurers, her red eyes a slowly dying fire. It seemed that no one else had heard her last request, that none knew his predicament. He could simply walk away and none would be the wiser that he had broken an oath.
No. That wasn’t true.
I would know.
Marcus wasn’t like the Mage who could alter his mind through spells, the Rogue who could drink her troubles away, or the Priest who could beg forgiveness of the Great One. He was bound solely to honor. An oath was an oath. Paladins always kept their word.
But … his oaths now conflicted. He needed time to think.
“Go on ahead,” the Paladin stalled. “I’ll take care of it.”
The Mage hummed in thought, his gray beard swaying in the ocean breeze. “According to Alyssa, a monastery is a few hours away at the eastern end of the beach. How long will you be?”
“I…”
“What’s gotten into him?” the Rogue snapped, sauntering up to the Mage’s side. She took the crossbow from her shoulder and aimed it at the egg.
Instinctively, Marcus positioned himself in her line of sight. “I said I’ll take care of it.”
The woman snickered. “Are you protecting it? How cute.”
“What of your oath, Paladin?” the Mage asked. “You swore to rid the Kingdom of the evil Aku.”
Marcus avoided the question. His mind raced. “I … just need time.”
The Rogue shrugged. “You paladins are so full of yourselves.” She took the Mage by the wrist and pulled him away. “Let’s go, Arval. We’ll fetch Yan from his prayer circle and be on our way. If Marcus can’t destroy an egg to uphold an oath, he’s worthless to us anyway.”
The Paladin watched the pair of adventures traverse the soiled sand, navigate to the shoreline, and yank the Priest out his meditative pose by the dark water. Sighing in defeat, he slid down beside the egg and let his sword fall to the ground.
“Alyssa’s right,” Marcus said to the dead beast. “I’ve rendered myself useless. How am I supposed to rid the Kingdom of evil and protect your egg at the same time?”
It was the worst fate a paladin could suffer – a contradiction.
In silence, Marcus examined the gruesome scene before him. Dozens of corpses littered the blackened beach, most slain by his own hand. Every day, countless adventurers drew nearer to their shared destination, to the portal the demonic creatures used to enter the Kingdom. The Paladin had promised to help seal the breach, to drive the Aku back from where they came.
“What am I supposed to do…”
*
The Paladin awoke sometime later, muscles aching from the lengthy battle. Night had arrived. He wondered if the others were waiting for him, if they would actually leave him behind.
The egg cracked.
Marcus swiftly regained his feet and reclaimed his sword, only to realize he could not attack without breaking his oath.
Frozen, the Paladin watched a tiny creature climb from the broken egg and emit a high-pitched whine. The young Aku approached him uncertainly, eventually wrapping his sleek body around the Paladin’s leg. Still in shock, Marcus warily met the creature’s emerald eyes.
The Aku certainly didn’t appear to be evil. Wait … that’s it!
Two
The baby Aku followed the Paladin across the beach like a small dog, attempting to communicate through a series of high-pitched whines. Periodically, the creature prodded one of the corpses spread across the beach with his snout in apparent curiosity.
“Come on,” Marcus called as the Aku stalled by the bloody water. “We need to get out of here in case anyone else comes this way.”
The Aku regarded him with obvious skepticism, then chirped and splashed once more in the water before clumsily striding to the Paladin’s side.
In the few hours since hatching, the alien creature had nearly learned to run. The Aku’s abrupt evolution wasn’t a surprise. The creatures multiplied like ants and quickly reached maturity. Hundreds of adventurers had perished attempting to purge their many nesting grounds.
They’re not inherently evil. They’re just … trying to survive, Marcus reasoned as the small creature curled against his leg and closed his green eyes.
The Paladin had sworn an oath to rid the Kingdom of the supposedly-evil creatures that had overtaken the Northern Mountains, but what if there was another way? What if he could somehow return them home and fulfill both of his oaths simultaneously?
Marcus looked back across the beach, staring in the direction his party had gone. He knew they wouldn’t understand, not as long as Alyssa was in charge. The Rogue had recruited them months before in one of the taverns swarming with adventurers, claiming to know a secret path through the mountains that led directly into the valley containing the portal.
Bending down, Marcus pried the Aku from his blood-soaked boot and cradled the creature in his arms. The Aku opened his eyes, yawning to reveal a cavernous mouth that would soon house rows of razor-sharp teeth.
“You need a name,” the Paladin proclaimed. “How about Emerald?”
The creature whined in approval.
“I am called Marcus. I am a paladin, an adventurer sworn to uphold my oaths.”
Again, the creature gave what seemed to be an affirming cry.
“Our goal is to reach the Sacred Valley and convince your kin to return home, but we will never make it alone. We’re going to need help.”
*
Alyssa dismissed her cloaking charm and rejoined the others at their small fire just above the tideline. There, she discarded her weapon belt and tossed it at the feet of the two oblivious men. “Your fears are for naught, Arval. The monastery is in ruins. I’d guess it’s been abandoned for centuries.”
The graying Mage seated across from her twisted the ends of his overlong beard in thought, then drew deeply from his smoking pipe. As ever, the old man struggled to find words. If his magic hadn’t proven above average, she would have discarded him long ago.
“I can tell by your relaxed demeanor that your wards have yet to detect any of those damned creatures or adventurers,” Alyssa snapped. “As expected, we are the only ones this far from the Sacred Road. No one else would dare to try the beach.”
“We must not underestimate the Aku so deep in their territory,” Arval finally said. “When they discover what we have done to the nesting ground, they will seek revenge.”
The Rogue smirked. “Good thing we won’t be staying here for long then. The shrine within the monastery marks the entrance to the hidden path that will take us to the Sacred Valley.”
“A shrine to the Great One?” the oblivious Priest interjected, suddenly alert.
“I told you that the passageway requires divine magic to open,” Alyssa replied bluntly. “The shrine is covered in runes. Deciphering them will certainly reveal the way forward.”
Arval shook his head. For a Mage driven solely by greed, he was surprisingly cautious. “Despite the monastery being clear of Aku, it would be foolish to proceed without a Warrior. What if the creatures have sentries at the portal? How will we defeat them?”
“No need. The hardest part of our journey is over. We will distract any creatures in our way using magic and sneak past. The Aku are nothing more than mindless beasts.”
The Mage considered her words for a long moment. “We should wait for the Paladin. We would never have conquered the beach without him. If things go poorly, he will cover our escape. You saw how he fought the creatures. He has no fear of death.”
“Forget that idiot!”
“Then we should recruit another foolish warrior from those on the Sacred Road. Perhaps two. I have stored more than enough magic to–”
“The reward is ours, old man!” Alyssa seethed. We don’t need any help!”
*
The Paladin left the gory beach behind before the sun rose. By midday, he had located one of the trader’s paths winding through the creature-infested mountains. Emerald whined from his place within the Paladin’s open pack, challenging the birds perched throughout the surrounding trees.
“You need to be quiet,” Marcus warned. “If anyone sees you, they will try to kill you. I made an oath to protect you, remember?”
And another to rid the Kingdom of your evil kin! What will I do if there’s a battle? Great One above!
In response, Emerald cocked his head to one side, eyes impossibly bright. Then, without warning, the creature lunged from the pack, landed on the ground, and scurried down the path.
“Emerald!” the Paladin hissed, sprinting after the Aku.
When it became clear he had lost the trail, Marcus skidded to a stop, gasping for air. Did the creature even understand him? How was he ever going to find him again? More importantly, what would happen if someone else stumbled upon Emerald first?
His heart skipped a beat at a distant scream. The Paladin put a hand to the hilt of his blade … only to emit a helpless sigh and start running once again. Damned oaths!
Moments later, Marcus discovered a body stretched across the road. A leather pack and a gnarled staff lay to either side of the woman’s outstretched arms. The small creature was perched atop her corpse, prodding her ghostly face with his elongated snout.
“Emerald! No!”
The creature turned back and gave a lengthy whine in response.
Marcus feared the worst. If Emerald had already killed someone that almost certainly meant the creature was inherently evil. Such a revelation would put him right back where he had been on the beach – in the dreaded depths of contradiction.
Heart pounding, the Paladin pulled Emerald from atop the woman’s body and exhaled in relief. She was still breathing.
“Thank the Great One,” he whispered.
The woman opened her eyes at the sound of his voice, then slowly regained her feet. “Thank you for saving me, Paladin. I’ll have to find some way to repay you for slaying that vicious…” Her violet eyes went wide upon seeing Emerald in Marcus’ arms. “Are you mad? Kill it before it destroys us both!”
“Wait. It’s not how it–” Marcus broke off as smoke began to fill the air.
“Stand back! I’ll return this demon to the underworld!”
As the Mage extended her staff to cast the spell, the smoke abruptly vanished. She shielded her suddenly red face beneath her gray, pointy hat and grumbled under her breath. The Paladin spoke before the woman could attempt another spell. “My name is Marcus. This is Emerald. We need your help…”
Chapter three
“So, you actually … swore an oath to one of the Aku?” The Mage, whose name was Willow, asked as the two adventurers trekked through the mountainous forest. The pale woman kept her distance from the Paladin and her gaze firmly on the creature in his bag. “I didn’t even know they could talk.”
“Neither did I,” Marcus admitted. “In her last moment, the creature spoke into my mind. There was something about her tone, the love she had for the child inside the egg. I felt that it would have been dishonorable to refuse her dying request.”
“Are you insane? The Aku are evil!” Willow exclaimed. “Look what they’ve done to this place. Hundreds of adventurers have died trying to close the portal! You were there that day outside the king’s castle. You swore the same oath as all those other rigid paladins – to rid the Kingdom of this evil.”
“But what if the Aku are not actually evil? What if they’re only trying to defend themselves and their young from our attacks? What if they’re being forced to fight us against their will?” Marcus posed. “Emerald didn’t kill you after all. He was only … curious.”
“It doesn’t even have teeth yet. If that thing was older, I would have been forced to destroy it.”
The Paladin and the creature shared a skeptical glance.
“It took me by surprise earlier,” Willow growled. “I’ve killed dozens of these things! I’ll prove it to you.” She twirled her staff and slammed it against the ground, a gust of wind throwing back her lengthy black hair and disrupting the silent forest.
“We’re trying to avoid detection, remember?” Marcus questioned once the spell had run its course.
The Mage blushed. “It’s not like there’s any adventurers so far from the Sacred Road at this point. I assume you are headed toward the portal, but you have yet to tell me exactly how we’re beating the other adventurers there and claiming the reward.”
The Paladin lifted Emerald from his bag, placed him on the ground, and retrieved his crude map. “As you pointed out, we are well behind the pace of the other parties. Hopefully, the towns ahead won’t be too populated, meaning we can avoid prying eyes. I’m planning to head to a settlement just off the Sacred Road first in hopes of procuring–”
He peered over the edge of the map at a whimper from the Mage. The woman was frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at her feet where Emerald wove like a cat between her boots. The Aku whined and clawed at the hem of her robes, draining what remained of the color from her face.
The Paladin suppressed a laugh as Willow managed a slow retreat. “Dozens of them, huh?”
*
At midday, Marcus led through a battered gate and into a small town. Like countless others in the Northern Mountains, it had been abandoned during the initial Aku invasion, then enjoyed a brief resurgence as groups of adventurers liberated the area and others passed through on their heels. Now, it had begun the slow process of returning to its normal, quaint state.
A group of villagers worked diligently to repair a damaged structure near the center of the town, all but ignoring the two adventurers as they passed. The Paladin was thankful that Emerald had fallen asleep inside his bag. There was no telling how the creature would react to a town filled with humans.
“I feel like we can find this secret path on our own,” Willow mused from his side. The Mage walked with her head down and one eye on his pack. “Less people to split the reward with.”
“It’s not about the reward,” Marcus replied. “It’s about doing what is right, about fulfilling one’s oaths and upholding one’s honor.”
“Give me a break, Paladin. You don’t fool me. You’re just concerned with escaping your contradiction. Why not just ignore the oath you made to the creature? No one will care.”
“I will not become an Oathbreaker!”
“And just because Emerald is not evil yet is good enough for you.”
Marcus nodded. For now anyway.
Admittedly, it was a temporary solution. There had to be some way to avoid breaking one of his oaths. He just had to find it before the worst occurred.
“It seems like flimsy logic to me, but whatever helps us claim the reward. You do realize that we have no chance to reach the portal without conflict at some point. Can you even fight the Aku anymore?”
The Paladin cleared his throat. A dangerous question. Words spewed from his lips as he attempted to reason through it. “I only swore an oath to protect Emerald. That does not prevent me from slaying other Aku as long as they are evil. After all, I’m obligated to rid the Kingdom of them…”
The Mage sighed.
“… but we have to consider the chance that some or none of the Aku are actually evil, that they are only attacking us out of fear. We have to figure out how to communicate with them to determine their true nature. We know it’s possible to speak to them–”
Marcus trailed off as Willow yawned. “Just don’t break yourself before pointing me in the right direction. Also, what happens when Emerald chews through your bag and kills you from behind?”
“I will die with satisfaction, knowing that I upheld my oaths.”
Willow rolled her violet eyes. “Paladins!”
The town’s inn loomed at the end of a street lined to either side by ruined buildings. Smoke rose from its recently-repaired chimney, and the sound of a lonely lute drifted from its open windows, attempting to lure passing adventurers. In the distance, enchanted lanterns marking the Sacred Road were just visible.
The Mage stopped Marcus a step before the door. “Before we go any further, you must tell me more about this secret path. When you die, I’ll need to be able to find it.”
“Alyssa told me that it was carved through the heart of the mountains by the ancient priests in order to reach the Sacred Valley, and that we will need the magic of a priest to unlock it,” he explained. “Unfortunately, she never revealed her map or mentioned a definitive location.”
“So, we’re looking for a priest who is willing to travel with that … thing.”
Marcus nodded, not noticing that the music had stopped. “There has to be some sort of legend or scroll that will show us the way. We will need to recruit a priest who decided to stay behind for one reason or another. There’s no point in joining any of those battling the horde on the Sacred Road.”
“You mean there’s no point for you,” Willow snapped. “I would be a welcome addition to any team.”
“Then why did Emerald find you all alone?”
The Mage managed a nervous laugh. “Well…”
The pair of adventurers turned as the door to the inn swung open.
“Welcome!” a burly man with a thick brown beard bellowed. He cradled a lute in a massive hand, and a patchwork cloak fell from his broad shoulders. “Did someone say they were searching for a legend? You’re in luck! Gurney knows every story ever told!”
*
Alyssa perched atop the failing roof of the abandoned monastery, listening to the waves crash upon the distant rocky shore. With growing impatience, she watched the sanctimonious Priest circle the once-towering stone monument like a braindead hound. Needless to say, she would enjoy driving her knife into his heart once his value had expired.
Finally, she leapt to the ground and approached the bald man. “Priest! Can’t you work any faster?”
Yan continued to trace his finger along the runes etched in the monument, lost within his mind. Presently, the man removed his hand and faced her. “These runes contain no mention of a secret path leading to the Sacred Valley. Are you certain this is the shrine to the Great One we seek?”
Baring her teeth, the Rogue turned back to the ruined building carved into the mountainside. “Arval!” The Mage had wandered into the church and likely fallen asleep. “Get out here!”
The old man appeared a moment later, his crooked nose buried in a dusty tome.
“Where did you get that?” Alyssa hissed.
“There is a room hidden below the altar. I may have been the first to open it in a thousand years…”
Cursing, the Rogue stepped past the two fools and entered the abandoned church. Her eyes instantly located the trap door beside the broken altar. She wondered how she had missed it on her initial pass.
An hour later, the three adventurers stood before a magically sealed entryway. Alyssa lingered a few paces behind the conversing men, providing them with torchlight.
“That’s certainly the translation, my friend,” Arval said, patting the Priest on the back. “Excellent work.”
The Priest spoke a string of archaic words, and the glimmering stone wall dissipated.
Radiant eyes brightened the path beyond.