In Regmendax, the major religion was that of the Prime Divine and his Heroes. The Prime Divine is the creator of all, and the Heroes are the great heroes that performed great deeds in life and now watch over their people in death. While there are many Heroes, each sapient species typically has one or two that stand above the rest. The giants have the mighty Golung and the humans have the wise Maria. But the Nequese, I never even heard of any heroes of our people from our elder, much less one recognized by the church. So, I replied as such to Gus, “No, I don’t think so.” Gus took a bite of stew and asked, “So, do you pray at all?” “Sometimes, but not a lot, I pray to the Prime Divine, but it would be nice to have a Hero to look after me.” Gus’ face contorted into an excited smile that unsettled me. “That’s it Mak!” he shouted, flinging his massive arms up, almost knocking the table on top of me. Fearing for my life I shielded my face with my arms, “What is “it”? And why is it so exciting that you need to put my life in peril to express it!” I shouted. “You said that you didn’t have a goal! Well then, there it is!” Gus replied with the excitement of a child receiving a new pet. I suddenly realized what he was going on about.
“No way, that’s never going to happen,” I stated flatly to Gus. “But think about it, you are the first Nequese in the guild! As far as I know anyway. You are a shoo-in! And I’ll chronicle your rise to heroism!” Gus continued taking out his notebook. “Gus. Stop.” I said firmly, “There is nothing heroic about me, you have no idea.” Gus shook his head, “The past doesn’t matter, plenty of heroes had rough beginnings, just… At least sleep on it, okay?” he pleaded. There was no way that this would happen, but I knew that he would continue his childish protests until I relented. “Fine, I’ll think about it.” Gus nearly jumped from his seat but stopped himself as he saw me brace myself in expectation of the table flipping. “Oh uh, sorry.” Gus let out an awkward chuckle as he sat back down. “What about your goal?” I asked Gus, “What is this mysterious heirloom you mentioned?” He immediately shifted his posture and expression, “Ah yes, the legend of the Bonecrusher Hammer.” Gus spoke in a lower, more refined tone than usual, clearly trying to make his story seem grander and more epic.
“An enchanted weapon passed down from generation to generation, this war hammer could crush the skulls of dragons in a single strike. It was the prized possession of my family. Sadly, one fateful day, my grandmother, the giantess Marygold, was doing battle against an army of trolls. These trolls were commanded by the half-dragon Nihlthrax, an old enemy of the family. My granny fought bravely, but sadly, after slaying no less than a hundred trolls, she fell and the weapon was stolen from her. They left her for dead, refusing to give her a warrior's death. But somehow she survived, and our family has been trying to recover this weapon ever since.” Gus took a bow as he finished his tale, to which I applauded politely. “Truth be told, as much as I am dedicated to finding the hammer, I wish that the darn thing never existed, to begin with.” Gus lamented in his usual voice. “Why is that? It sounds like it brought your family a lot of victories and was a source of pride.” I asked, utterly confused by the contrast of what he is telling me now compared to the epic tale he just told. “My family grew to depend on it, ever since then we have been much weaker, both in terms of influence and as a family.” His expression turned ever sour as he continued. “Many in my family have died trying to get it back, and those who don’t try are branded as cowards. I have two sisters dead and a brother disowned, all because of that hunk of metal.” I was shocked to see Gus get so worked up, tears were beginning to stream down his face and mucus dripped from his nostrils. “I’m… I’m sorry to hear that Gus.” I said. I didn’t really know what to say, Katherine was much better at this sort of thing. So, I just kept silent, and let him talk for a while.
I had a lot on my mind as I headed back to the barracks that night. The slaughter in the cave, the harrowing vision on the mountain, and Gus’ story, they kept me awake for hours despite my fatigue. And when sleep finally came, I wish that it hadn’t. The peaceful village of Trodthrew crept its way into my dreams, children playing and people talking around the square. Then a dark cloud passes over and the villagers turn to Nequese, the clamoring sound of a thousand knights on horseback rings through the air. Among the knights is our team, including myself, we begin slaughtering the Nequese. As they killed, they slowly changed, Gus became the Mountain, Reggie the Swift One, Krimsun the Storm, and even Katherine became like one of the faceless knights that passed us by. I looked down and watched helplessly as my blades ripped through two Nequese that looked identical… no, they were Dralp and Crob. Their heads screamed as they left their bodies, “Why Mak!? Why!?” Then all was lit aflame, and I saw my reflection in a pool of blood. I was the Inferno. And my reflection began to mock me. The other members of my team joined in, as did the corpses of thousands of Nequese, drenched in blood and set on fire. “Murder! Traitor! Rat! Filth! Coward!” Then I woke up, and I wept.
The next morning, I went to the guild smithy to see if I could borrow some tools. I entered the workshop to find the most meticulously organized room that I had ever seen. It almost felt wrong to enter into the room as I might leave a mark on the floor. “COME IN COME IN!” said a gruff but friendly voice. Out from around the corner came a large Owlfolk who sported a pair of large spectacles. He initially wore a smile, but it turned to an expression of disgust, confusion, and… hunger? When he saw me. “Oh? I’ve never seen a mouse on a wheelchair before?” he said as-a-matter-of-factly. “Well, that is the issue,” I said, trying to get this over with. “The chair is too large for me, and I am stuck in it for a few days. I wanted to know…” I began to ask but was interrupted, “No, no, no, I’m far too busy to deal with such trivial modifications! Next time put in a work order before you injure yourself!” he said in a huff. “Well, no I could do the modifications, I just need some tools and materials,” I explained. “What! An Ignavus Rodentia that can build something other than traps?” he suddenly became curious. “I, Thorton Wisebeak, have never heard of such a thing? Tell me, what have you built?” He was suddenly very close to me and his sharp, predator-like beak instilled a primal desire to flee as he got closer. “Well… I… Uh…” I began rolling back a bit to create some space. Wisebeak, true to his name, did not pick up on the social cue and continue to press. “Speak up lad!” he shouted. “I made a mechanical glider!” I replied throwing my hands in front of myself. “HOH!” the massive owl laughed, “A flying rodent! Marvelous! Take anything you need boy!” Satisfied, he went back to his work without another word.
I began by drawing out my plans and making modifications to the chair. A smaller seat, a mechanical ramp to use to get on more easily. The wheels were the tricky part, it was hard for me to move the wheelchair on my own due to their size. I found some metal chains, gears, and a pole. Hooking up the gears and chains to the wheels and then connecting those to the pole which I forged into two Z shaped pieces. I was able to create a more appropriate wheelchair for someone of my size. Thorton walked over and inspected my work. “Hoo Hoommm quite interesting, a bit simple, but it should work quite well for you.” He said thoughtfully, contorting his head to get a look at it from all angles. “Thanks for letting me use the workshop,” I said. “Anytime! It was quite fascinating to watch your tiny hands work! Hohoho!” he said jovially. All that work built up quite an appetite, so I decided to head to the dining hall.483Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyipWQYuKz
As I rolled into the dining hall, I realized something. I had never eaten here during busy hours, and never during regular hours without Katherine. Somehow, it made my fellow guildmembers look far more intimidating, like predators waiting for me to make a wrong move so they can devour me. When Katherine was with me, they just seemed like regular people. But with that safety net gone, it was me versus the dining hall. I rolled into line, trying to avoid eye-contact with anyone. Other people casually walked in front of me whenever there was a space. Just as I was about to grab my tray a large pigman cut in and almost knocked me out of my chair. He looked at me for a moment then moved on, it somehow hurt more that he didn’t mock me, I simply wasn’t worth the effort. Eventually, I got my food and made my way to an empty table. I mixed in the medicine and forced it down. The moment I finished my meal, a loud crashing sound came from the other end of the hall. “What now?” I thought to myself as I looked up from my food, preparing to be terrified out of my mind.
And so, I nearly was, an enormous ivory dragon had burst through the wall, killing about a dozen people. Everyone who wasn’t frozen in fear began to panic and run towards the exit. “Come on out Vincent!” roared the massive beast. “I have a message for you from those you betrayed!” Walking out into the hall in his calm, yet threatening, way the Guildmaster greeted the massive beast. “Why hello there Nivanguis, you certainly have grown quite a bit since we last met.” He spoke with a smile on his face as if he were greeting a childhood friend. “Do not speak to me with such familiarity you snake! I am here to deliver a message from Sir Rodney the Quick!” the dragon spoke with such ferocity that it made me shiver. “Oh, young Rodney, well let’s hear it!” the Guildmaster looked completely unphased. The dragon put forward one of his claws and an image all too familiar appeared. “The Swift One!” I nearly shouted aloud. “Vincent, you had us stripped of our titles and banished, but it will not stop us. I am sending this letter to give you one last chance as a courtesy. Surrender yourself to us and hand over the relics!” the figure disappeared as the spell ended. “What is your response!” the dragon leaned in menacingly. “Well, that is quite the ultimatum. He certainly still has issues with manners.” Vincent said, calmly as ever.. “My answer, young Nivanguis, is…” The dragon reared back, preparing to launch a breath attack on the Guildmaster depending on how he finished his sentence.
“No.” the dragon launched his attack and the Guildmaster pulled a massive flaming glaive out of a portal and dodged the attack. The dragon only had time to utter a pathetic, “Wha-!” before he was decapitated. The head of the massive wyrm shook the earth as it hit the ground and blood and steam filled the hall. “Well, that was a bit messy. I should have turned up the heat more to cauterize the wound. I forgot the account of the freezing blood of an ice wyrm.” The Guildmaster said as he casually walked to the middle of the dining hall. In the same motion, he put away his weapon and took out a cup of piping hot tea, and had a small sip. Letting out a satisfied sigh he addressed those of us that were still in the hall. “I’m glad to see that everyone is alright…” he then took notice of the bodies near the broken wall, “Well, most of you are alright.” He corrected himself. “That was the pet of an old student of mine, he, as well of four of my other students. Tried to destroy some powerful relics that were keeping a great evil at bay. I didn’t have the heart to kill them, so I had them banished. But it seems they are back again. Looks like Gretchen is going to have to make some changes to this month's quest board. Enjoy the rest of your lunch, and remember For the Glory of Regemendax!”
“Katherine!” I yelled as I rolled into the infirmary. “What did I miss? It sounded fun!” she asked me with wonder in her eyes. “Giant dragon. Swift One. Inferno killed it. Blood everywhere!” I gasped for breath as I tried to get the words out. “What did I say about physical activity!” Glenda shouted as she walked into the room. “But I-” I tried to explain, “No buts! You need to rest and recover, not bolt around on that chair like it is a toy!” she scolded. “Really now, it’s almost like they don’t even want to get better…” she grumbled as she walked back into the other room. Having now caught my breath, I relayed the information to Katherine. “No way! I can’t believe I missed it, we have to take those new missions!” she said excitedly. I gave her a concerned look and gestured to the bed she was laying on. “Pfft, I’ll be good as new in no time!” she said. “We are also… “Nequese Rank” guild members, they are not going to send us up against people that strong,” I replied. Katherine frowned, “Yeah, you are probably right. But that would be exciting for sure.”
“By the way,” I said, “You didn’t happen to sneak out last night, did you?” I asked Katherine. “What? How did you know?” she asked sarcastically while gesturing to her bedridden self. “I know, just checking, I saw something out the window last night,” I explained. “Well, I’ve been stuck here, that tyrant of a nurse has made sure of that!” she huffed. “Do you think it could be connected to the dragon thing?” “That’s what I was thinking too, we’ll have to see if whoever it was, comes back.” I nodded in agreement, “If they get their hands on those relics it… Well, I actually don’t know, but the way the guild master phrased it was “great evil” and I am not really a big fan of that.” I said flatly. “Well if the stakes weren’t ominously vague then it wouldn’t be as exciting!” Katherine bantered back. “Too true, but in all seriousness, that dragon took out like six people when it barreled through the wall. I don’t want to think about how strong the Swift One is…” I shuddered at the thought. “Not to mention the others working with him,” Katherine added. “Thanks, Kat, very helpful.” She let out a small chuckle as I glared at her.
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