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‘THIS CAN’T BE POSSIBLE,’ Barcius repeated over and over, like a broken record. ‘But my grandfather, he-’ but he stopped himself mid sentence, staring off into the distance.
I looked him over, his entire demeanour appeared off, like he was coming a shell of the tiefling I’d grown to know. His usual confident stance was haggard. This city, his homeland as he called it, was overrun with shadow beasts slinking through the streets. Homes boarded up with not a single candle light shining through the windows. It was eerie and quiet. Too quiet. I glanced up at the burning skies, wondering what had caused the shift in his realm. An uneasy feeling washed over me, I reached out to connect with the earth but my mind was rejected. Something was keeping me from learning this realm's secrets.
Tarasque grabbed the tiefling by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face her, ‘Your grandfather, what?’ she shouted, her tone stern and her brow furrowed. ‘You’ve always got something to say, yet now when it’s important you’re silent. We can’t help you if you don’t give us details.’
She was right, as always. Barcius was well-known for sharing his theories throughout our journey, and I was curious to learn why he was so quiet now. Unless he was merely in shock from seeing his homeland in such a disarray, I knew I would feel the same if the circumstances were reversed. If I was standing in my own broken realm.
Barcius took a moment to collect himself, drawing himself away from the object in the distance. ‘I hope you all have the stomach for a sinister tale, for my history should not be taken lightly,’ he said, yet his tone was more like a whisper. He gestured for us to move, and hid ourselves down a dark alley away from the prying eyes of the shadow beasts.
Mitztail climbed up onto a stack of crates, dangling his paws off the edge. I sat beside him, resting my crook to my left, ready to grab at a moment's notice.
Tarasque folded her arms across her chest, standing her ground between us and the tiefling. ‘Start talking,’ she said sternly.
Barcius exhaled, giving into her peer pressure, ‘I’ll tell you everything. But first, although I wish it was under better circumstances, allow me to welcome you to my homeland,’ he replied. ‘The City of Starstrand. Known for its perfect view of the night’s sky. At least, it was.’
He gestured to the burning skies above, the mix of orange and red hues made it difficult to find the stars clearly. ‘My grandfather, Ser Osim Amrai. A proud scholar and the Grand Warlock of this realm, appointed by the King himself, and was a nobleman in his own right. By association our bloodline was painted with the same brush, and due to his influence on the city, my parents lived a comfortable life, and as a young boy, I never went without.’
‘Your life was purrfect?’ Mitztail scoffed and I shot him a glance. ‘Lucky for some.’
Barcius fidgeted in his spot, ‘So it might seem to outsiders, but I assure you, it was far from it.’ He said and began rolling up his shirt sleeve. ‘Ever since I was young, I have been plagued with nightmares. Similar to those Saria had with the Darkling. However, mine is not a fiend that could be vanquished. I was kept away from children my own age, talk spread amongst the city and soon my family was no longer respected but instead feared.’
I looked up at my tiefling comrade, my head tilting to one side as I asked, ‘But why? Surely with your grandfather’s influence people would feel some comfort.’
Barcius shook his head to disagree, and stopped rolling his sleeve as he reached his elbow. ‘You would think, but no, it didn’t work like that. My family were labelled demons, even my grandfather outcasted my mother, father and I, until that one night when my nightmares were no longer nightmares.’ He took a deep breath, and showed us his arm. His blue skin was scarred with inky sigils, the same ones I saw during the first trial.
I furrowed my brow.
So they hadn’t been a residue from the Raven Queen, like I originally thought.
The tiefling ran his fingertips over the raised scars, ‘My parents and I were hunted by a small group, trying to run us out of the city. They almost succeeded too, driving us to a cliff's edge, until the demon that plagued my nightmares came to our aid. Instilling fear into anyone who came close. Those who hunted us fled, but it didn’t end there,’ he explained. ‘I realised the beast didn’t exist in just my dreams, but it lived within me. I was the demon. I’d threatened those innocent children and drove my family into hiding. Yet, I cannot recall how or why.’
Moments passed and yet he didn’t utter another word, only his grey eyes gazed up at the sky.
I stepped off the crate from where I was sitting, holding my crook close to my chest and edged closer to him, ‘What happened to your parents?’ I asked, sensing something was amiss with his tale, yet I was cautious to not pry much further.
Barcius avoided meeting my gaze, coiling backwards. ‘One moment I saw the three of us surrounded, my father in front and my mother with her arms around me. In the next, the citizens were gone and my parents-’ he stopped abruptly, his voice croaking. He cleared his throat, ‘My parents were lying on the ground, their bodies mauled to death, and my hands stained in their blood.’
I froze on the spot, my mouth opened to speak but my words were too afraid to come out.
Tarasque reacted, drawing her greatsword and holding in front of me to prevent me going further, ‘You killed your parents,’ she bellowed. Her words sounded nothing like a question but more of an accusation. ‘All these years I’ve known you and you didn’t think to mention this sooner.’
‘I didn’t-’ Barcius went to reply but she quickly cut him off.
‘You didn't think we’d find out?’ the fire genasi countered, her tresses ignited. ‘We trusted you, Barcius. You more than anyone in that guild hall and this is how you repay us?’
‘I would never hurt any of you,’ Barcius said, ‘Please allow me a moment to explain.’
‘And why should any of us trust you?’
‘Because the demon isn’t part of me anymore,’ he added.
Tarasque softened but her blade was still poised to react, ‘Explain, quickly.’
Barcius held up his hands, ‘That night, my grandfather found the three of us. I was coiled up on the ground, balling my eyes out, completely consumed by fear. I begged him to end my life that night but he refused, instead he took me into care.’
Something in his story didn’t add up, so I decided to speak my concerns for the sake of the group, ‘If your Grandfather was a Grand Warlock as you say, surely his duty would be to protect the citizens. Why would he take you into care and not eradicate the demon that petrified his people?’
‘Are mew suggesting our friend should have died for something he unwillingly did?’ Mitztail hissed, jumping off his crate.
I shook my head and replied, ‘Not at all, I’m just curious to how it played out. Surely the citizens that witnessed what happened that fateful night were out for blood?’
Barcius was silent for a moment, before clearing his throat. ‘If you would allow me a moment to explain?’ he said, but it felt more like he was posing a question to us all. An attempt to keep us on his side, no doubt. ‘My grandfather boarded up my family home after we quietly buried my parents. They hadn’t deserved that fate, but they didn’t deserve to lie there and rot. No formal service was held, and afterwards my grandfather whisked me away to his coven, hidden deep beneath the King’s chateau. I was instructed to leave if not accompanied by him at all times.’
‘And what of that demon?’ Tarasque asked, her tone firm and her resolve not wavering.
Barcius clicked his tongue, ‘My grandfather lived up to his name of being the most powerful warlock in the realm. For years he spent trying to exorcise the demon from me. Each of these sigils is a permanent mark, a reminder of every failure. I was still a child when he began experimenting on me,’ he explained. ‘For years I spent tormented with ill thoughts driving my brain, with each experiment the demon came back stronger and more violent. My grandfather even sought to teach me his magic, in the hopes one day it might prove useful.’
In his hand he produced a crackling ball of electric energy, and held it there. ‘As you can see that part of the plan worked. I inherited his abilities, I am a trained warlock, but I never reached his title, especially due to the big shoes he left to fill.’
A moment passed, and I considered my words before speaking, ‘Your grandfather passed?’
Barcius gave a slow nod to confirm and said, ‘He ripped the demon soul from within me. It took years but finally he cracked the spell. By then my arms were inked with sigils and my tolerance to the torment spent. As I said, the demon isn’t part of me anymore.’
I stared at him, a gut instinct telling me there was more still. ‘Then where is it?’ I asked.
The tiefling brushed off my question and continued his explanation, ‘My grandfather kept it under the chateau, encased in layers of protective spells. I continued to study the magical arts under him, so that one day I could take up his mantle. At the head of his self-made group.’ He said, ‘The Luminary Nine. He gathered the finest group of warlocks he could find, and tasked them to guard the imprisoned demon, while he trained me. But one day those protective enchantments broke, the demon was set free. He escaped into the city and terrorised the citizens. Many lives were taken that night and my grandfather. He wanted me to be the one to imprison the demon once more, but I wasn’t-’ Barcius stopped himself mid sentence, gritting his teeth as he averted his gaze.
‘I wasn’t strong enough, not as well versed in the magical arts as he was. So, he, the Grand Warlock, Ser Osim Amrai, stood up against the demon alone. All because his sorry excuse for an heir couldn’t handle the task,’ he spat, tears began streaming down his cheeks. ‘He used his own lifeforce to seal away the demon. His blood and bones forming the chains the demon is encased in. I lead the Luminary Nine, just like my grandfather asked of me, and sealed the beast in his study. When our work was done, my grandfather was hailed a hero. In the centre of our city stands an obsidian statue of him. I stood at the helm for several years before stepping down, I couldn’t continue his legacy. I needed time to work on myself, the half being I’d become once a part of me was torn away. That is when I found the guild hall, and joined the Ashen Order.’
There was a pause, a stillness in the air, while the tiefling waited for one of us to respond to his story. But who were we to judge? We’d all suffered our own hardships, and dragged the others through it. Why should this time be any different?
I watched Tarasque sheathe her greatsword and fold her arms across her chest. ‘Now that there are no secrets between us. You say this realm is not as you remember, then what do you propose happened here?’ she asked. Her tone stayed firm. But when Barcius didn’t reply straight away, she filled the beat, ‘What, nothing to say? How unlike you.’
Mitztail tugged on the hem of the fire genasi’s shirt and said, ‘At least give him a chance to figure out his own thoughts first.’
‘I need a moment, if you’ll permit me?’ Barcius replied, posing the question to our leader.
Tarasque nodded and in a flash the tiefling disappeared into the night. ‘I do hope he returns soon.’ Her fingers curled around the hilt of her blade. ‘Hang tight, but be prepared for his return.’
We heeded her words and hung about in the alleyway, waiting for our tiefling comrade to return. I sat back on the crates with Mitztail; I mended his favourite plum jacket with magic while he strummed a little melody. Tarasque stood at the top of the alleyway, keeping watch until Barcius returned. The night seemed peaceful, despite how brightly the sky burnt.
Moments later, our tiefling comrade returned. His demeanour had changed. He’d set off looking nervous and twitchy but now he looked almost angry. We formed a weird shaped circle to discuss his findings.
Barcius produced his notebook and handed it to Tarasque, ‘Burning skies and the arrival of shadow beasts. I couldn’t find a single citizen on my travels, I can only assume they’ve gone into hiding.’ He noticed our leader hadn’t opened the book and took it back off her, flipping to a certain page and handing it back while he explained his theory. ‘I believe the demon we imprisoned might have broken his chains.’
Tarasque took her eyes off the book, and grabbed the tiefling by the scruff and rammed him against the brick wall. ‘What do you mean the demon might be back?’ she growled, her tresses igniting once more.
Both Mitztail and I jumped off our crate to help intervene with the situation but as soon as the fire genasi saw us she snarled, ‘Don’t you dare.’ She slammed against the wall again, knocking the wind completely out of him. ‘Start talking. If that demon is back, then how are we to stop it?’
The tiefling smirked, ‘We go see the only ones who can help us.’
We all stopped, frozen in motion and watched the sky illuminate his face.
‘Why, the Luminary Nine, of course.’
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