"You will not interfere with the game any further!"
Though the time had been short for the gods, they had seen the rise of this world of chaos, and now the adventurers were on the cusp of rewriting events again or possibly failing, the outcome was far from clear. The gods once again found themselves centered around the board watching the events unfold before them, this time it was Illusion and Chaos who sat on either side of the table.
"What do you mean?"
"You've already warned the worshippers to destroy the altar some time ago and now you directly voice your concerns to the Demon Lord." Truth was stern in his response as he looked toward the god.
"What of her? She had direct contact with that armored adventurer!" Chaos growled as pointed an accusatory finger toward Earth Mother.
Earth Mother was calm as looked toward Chaos, no anger in her gaze, then calmly went back to looking toward the board game.
"Her caution did not directly interfere with the battle at hand, the adventurers still had to deal with the army themselves. Hers was not to further her own agenda, unlike yours." Truth turned his attention back to the board. "We will let the dice roll and that shall determine how the fate of these adventurers shall play out."
Illusion gave a nod of her head and threw the dice down upon the board.
xxxx
The goblin champion swung its massive club left and right easily crushing the undead around it, although its body was covered in various wounds it continued to fight that is until several wolves infected by the undead pounced. The undead animals ripped at its flesh as the monstrous beast fell screaming as the wolves continued to rend its flesh. The adventures and goblin army had crashed into the horde but even their large numbers were no match for the horde that began to encircle the survivors.
Goblin Paladin raised its stolen sword high as he and small group of goblins charged forward once again to slaughter through the undead. Beast Master continued to battle with Armored Skeleton while Fallen Magician and Scar were battling nearby. Fallen Magician had to use her Disintegrate spell sparingly as it taxed her body, so instead she relied on Firebolts to keep most undead at bay, but the sheer number her spells were not as effective as she had hoped for.
"Damn, there is no end to these bastards." Beast Master struggled to battle Armored Skeleton's ax with his sword and whip.
"I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish here, but you're only delaying the inevitable." Armored Skeleton grunted as Beast Master's whip entangled itself around his ax and was now caught in a tug of war. "Even now, your forces are slowly being overwhelmed by the horde."
Beast Master suddenly heard a horrid cry from the battlefield and as he looked to the side saw the horde descend upon the Goblin Paladin. In a gruesome display of gore, the horde pulled and tore at its body the red cape torn apart as the undead struggled to get to the flesh. Beast Master growled in anger then quickly gave his whip a quick jerk, Beast Master stumbled forward and in that moment Beast Master swung his sword across the skeleton's face. The blow had so much force behind it Armored Skeleton's helmet was knocked off and there was a massive crack atop his skull.
"Scar!"
Armored Skelton stumbled backwards from the blow, but the moment of distraction was more than enough for Scar to tackle the skeleton to the ground savagely biting and tearing at the skeleton's arm. Beast Master took that moment to catch his breath before he would continue his assault, he then looked up toward the castle hoping to see the Lich Queen angry at the battle but found she was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell…where is she?" Beast Master nervously looked around the battlefield expecting to find her there but could not find the massive figure.
Suddenly a new scream could be heard, one that caused the color to drain from his face. He quickly turned around to see one of the undead tearing a chuck of flesh away from Fallen Magician's shoulder. Fallen Magician screamed as she dropped her magic rod, clutching her still bleeding wound. She pulled away from the undead and dropped to her knees as the undead loudly chewed on her flesh within its mouth. Beast Master in fit of rage dropped his whip and drew out a silver dagger from behind his back, then launched it forward, watching as the blade embedded itself in the undead's face. With the undead slain, he rushed to the side of his love, distressed as he watched the blood flow down her shoulders staining her gown. Fallen Magician looked up toward his with an expression of sorrow, both at the situation that had befallen her and causing him to worry.
"No…that bite from the undead…I won't be able to save h…" Beast Master's thoughts were interrupted as now his body was racked with pain.
"My love!"
Beast Master now collapsed to one knee, dropping his sword as he struggled to keep from toppling over onto his injured wife. Blood ran down his back from a deep gash, the cause of which was the blood stained ax Armored Skeleton held in his hand. Both Beast Master and Fallen Magician looked at one another with concern on their face then noticed something fall beside them. The looked toward their side and saw the severed head of Scar laying beside them, his blood staining the snow.
"Sc…Scar…" Beast Master struggled to speak through the pain.
He turned his head to see Armored Skelton, much of his armor cracked or torn off from his battle with the warg angrily glaring at them. Beast Master knew there was no way to try and fight back against this undead given his injuries, he suddenly felt something touching his front side, he turned around to see Fallen Magician looking through his pouch for something. A light smile crossed her face as she found the item and held it up for him to see.
"I told you…I'd follow you…wherever you go my love…even if it is to hell itself." Fallen Magician smiled as she stared into his eyes.
Beast Master at first surprised by this smiled warmly as he leaned in to kiss his wife one last time and took the item into his hand.
"You damn mortals…this battle was lost from the very start. No matter what you do, there is no possible outcome in which you survive!" Armored Skeleton hissed as he raised his ax to finish them off.
Beast Master started to chuckle, this caught Armored Skeleton off guard as he then saw him take his left arm to embrace Fallen Magician, the two now laughing heartily.
"Stupid undead, not a brain within that skull of yours! Surviving this battle was never the goal…it was just a luxury!" Beast Master raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
Armored Skeleton saw a small clay sphere within the human's hand and a short wick connected to it. The snap of his fingers ignited the spark, but before Armored Skeleton could fully comprehend what was happening, there was a thunderous explosion that destroyed the bodies of the three. Those nearby were thrown to the ground while others turned toward the sound of the blast to see the smoke traveling from the charred remains that lay in the snow.
The surviving adventurers and goblins took notice that the horde had nearly enveloped them, completely surrounded and with nowhere to run, the only thing they could do was charge forward to meet their end and gamble on the success of the group inside the castle.
xxxx
"What do you mean a sacrifice is needed?" Half-Demon Thief face contorted with rage as she looked toward the Light Wizard.
"I was trying to find some way to bypass this, thinking maybe it didn't require as much blood but the ritual set by the dark gods commands a high price." Light Wizard sighed as he looked toward the two young girls with a saddened expression. "I need to cast the spell…so unless one of you is willing to give their lives, we won't be able to go any further than this. I'm truly sorry."
Half-Demon Thief found herself angry and confused, she was so distraught that she had failed to notice the expression on Priestess face.
"Damn you dark gods, haven't you taken enough from us already? What can I do, I've…I've slain far too many innocent people to be considered pure and Priestess…no, I won't let this happen! There must be something we can do. Think! Think!"
"I'll do it."
Half-Demon Thief felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She turned to find Priestess looking toward the ground, her body trembling as evident by the jingling of her sounding staff.
"I…I have no desire to die, but if my life must be offered to fix everything I am prepared to…though be it reluctantly."
"Priestess no! There has to be some other way…let…let me be the one to…"
"Thief…my friend." Priestess looked toward her friend with a light smile on her face despite the tears in her eyes. "He's sacrificed so much for us…now I can help him. I can help them all."
"I…I don't want to lose you." Half-Demon Thief cried as she rushed toward her friend and embraced her. "What am I going to tell the others when I get back? We're supposed to go back together! I…I don't want to lose any more friends!"
Priestess too was crying as she held her friend but also knew that the longer they waited, the smaller the window of success was. She and the others soon heard the muffled sound of an explosion from outside the chamber as well as the sound of their friends battling to make sure they were successful.
"We, we don't have time. I'm sorry to put this all on you, but I need you to go and stop all of this." Priestess broke the embrace but continued to hold her friend's hands in her own. "Tell them…I'm sorry for my selfishness, but it is to ensure they have some form of happiness in their lives. Tell them, I enjoyed every moment I spent with them. Can you do that for me?"
Half-Demon Thief looked toward her friend, tears still running down her face, at this moment she was unable to say anything and simply nodded her head. Priestess then took out the small parcel Elder Sister had given to her and presented it to Half-Demon Thief, the young demon looked at the small package before accepting it and tucking it into her own pouch. Priestess looked back toward the altar, terrified beyond belief at this large stone piece, terrified of what was to come.
"Will…will you hold my hand until the end? I'm so scared right now." Priestess could not stop herself from trembling.
"O…of course."
The two girls slowly made their way toward the altar where Light Wizard was waiting for them. Priestess reluctantly climbed onto the altar and positioned herself so the blood from her wrists and neck would flow into the openings. Light Wizard struggled to connect the binds to the young girl as he had desire to hurt her. Priestess breathing quickened as she lay there unable to move, only able to look left or right, to her left was Half-Demon Thief still holding her hand tightly, but to her right there was no one.
"Earth Mother…I am so scared right now…please give me the courage to face this task ahead of me."
"You don't have to ask little one."
Priestess looked toward her right to see the visage of Earth Mother smiling warmly at her as she held her right hand.
"Earth Mother."
"No need to speak, I can hear your thoughts clear as day. Don't worry little one, no one will see or hear me."
"Earth Mother…I am so sorry for all that I…"
"You have nothing to apologize for, you were freely speaking your mind. Right now…you are showing more courage than any god let alone human, what kind of deity would I be to ignore you in this your time of need?" Earth Mother gently held her right hand and smiled weakly at Priestess.
"Earth Mother…thank you." Priestess closed her eyes happy that she would not be alone at this time.
Half-Demon Thief was curious as to why her friend was smiling but then saw Light Wizard move around to her right ride with knife in hand. She tightly held Priestess involuntarily flinching as he deeply cut her right wrist. Priestess cried out in pain, but soon he moved toward Half-Demon's side and repeated the same process. Half-Demon Thief continued to hold onto her friends' hand, tears streaming down her face as she watched the blood flow then looked up to see him cut her throat. Priestess eyes were wide from this last cut as she gurgled on her blood; Half-Demon Thief could feel her heart breaking as she watched all of this and wished to turn away but knew she had to hold onto her friends' hand. Priestess twitched violently as her blood spilled from her body, and although it seemed like an eternity of suffering for Half-Demon Thief to endure, Priestess soon stopped moving.
"It's done." Light Wizard looked toward the knife in his hand and threw it away in disgust. "To think I do something like this willingly in their time…well no more!"
Half-Demon Thief looked at the still body of her friend then noticed multiple water drops on Priestess right side near her hand.
"Water…no tears, but from who? Wait…she mentioned Earth Mother a few moments ago, was that her…did she shed tears for her follower?"
Before Half-Demon Thief could ponder this any further, she felt a hand on her shoulder, she reluctantly released Priestess hand and turned to face Light Wizard.
"I know you hurting, but you need to listen to me. You can still save her."
"What? How?"
"Thought is what is needed now, your thought will transport you, the more specific your thought the more precise the travel is. You and your friend had the vague thought to help your friend, that is why it sent you to a random time to help him. You need to focus on a time before you set out, where she is still alive, stop yourselves from entering the time gate and you'll avoid changing the past a second time."
"I just have to think about a time before and I can save her?"
"Yes, but you also need to be careful of interactions with your past self. Even I don't know wat may happen if that were to happen." Light Wizard then had a thought go through his mind and knew what else was required of him. "When you find me, the other me, do whatever you have to do in order to stop him and be sure to destroy this book."
"Why the book?"
"This must be the last time such a spell is ever used. We can't let the dark gods and the forces of chaos have their way. Now, no matter what happens between now and the spell is cast, you focus on the time and place you will travel to."
"I understand…thank you."
xxxx
The Lich Queen and the skeletal warriors moved through the castle toward the second level, once in the hallway that branched off toward the various horcruxes she dispersed her minions with about fifty of the warriors moving toward her fourth horcrux.
"Which horcrux did they destroy? There were only two who knew of their locations, one has already been turned into a minion of my horde and the other is up in the tallest tower to keep him from killing himself. None of those who entered my castle should even know about them, so how?"
Lich Queen's eyes flashed with a red light before she turned her body into a cloud of black mist and quickly traveled down the hallway toward the right. She was determined to find these foolish adventurers and slaughter every one of them for this transgression.
Meanwhile the adventurers outside the altar room stood ready with weapons drawn. They heard the sound of footsteps traveling up the stairs, Lizard Priest summon forth two Dragon-Tooth Warriors to add to their numbers just as some of the skeletal warriors came charging forward. The warriors themselves charged forward and met the attack, doing their best to parry the skeletal warriors and destroy as many as they could, all was going well until the eyes of the Dragon-Tooth Warriors flashed red. The first Dragon-Tooth Warrior turned its hollow gaze toward Female Knight who stood before him while the second warrior looked toward Lizard Priest.
"Remember, we keep them from entering this room, no matter what!" Spearman grunted as he continued to knock the skeletal warriors back but grew concerned when he noticed archers forming in the back row. "Careful, they have archers!"
"Not to worry, those archers will be no problem." Female Knight smiled as she brushed aside her sweat matted hair and readied to attack.
The two Dragon-Tooth Warriors picked up the weapons of the fallen skeletal warriors and prepared to attack. It was only when it was too late that Demon Slayer noticed the warrior walking toward Female Knight.
"Behind you!"
Female Knight turned only to be knocked down by the Dragon-Tooth Warrior, once she was on the ground the warrior pounced on her slashing at her body with weapon and claws, tearing away her armor and exposing her vulnerable flesh. Female Knight screamed as her body was hacked by the Dragon-Tooth Warrior as the others could only look on with wide eyes.
"No…"
Lizard Priest grunted as the second Dragon-Tooth warrior turned and stabbed its summoner in the stomach. As Lizard Priest looked down to see this with confused eyes several other skeletal warriors rushed in and followed suit and repeatedly stab Lizard Priest over and over until the mighty adventurer fell. High Elf Archer looked on with wide eyes as she watched the skeletal warriors tear her friend apart before her but before she could rush to her friends' side, she felt a pain in her left shoulder. She looked to her side and saw an arrow stuck in her body, she looked ahead not certain what exactly was going on several more arrows flew forward each striking a different part of her body. High Elf Archer took a couple steps backwards, seven arrows deeply imbedded in her body, then collapsed to her left side her eyes open but no longer able to see anything.
"Damn." Spearman gritted his teeth as he saw three of his comrades fall in just a short time. "The Lich's spell is influencing the Dragon warriors, we have to kill them!"
Heavy Warrior hardly needed an excuse to charge forward to avenge his lover as he took his massive broadsword and easily crushed the skeletons around his fallen comrades. Once the bloodlust had subsided, he looked down at the remains of his lover, for the first, and last time, tears ran down his face. He suddenly felt a cold sensation in the room, he looked away from his lover's remains to see a massive figure in black, save a gold crown atop their head, looking down at him.
"By the gods…the Lich Queen…" Heavy Warrior couldn't move, her overwhelming hatred kept him frozen in place.
"Get out of there!"
With a wave of her hand, a burst of cold air surrounded Heavy Warrior and an instant later, he stood there completely frozen. Lich Queen then struck the frozen body with the back of her left fist and chuckled the body shattered into several pieces that flew around the room.
"Now…what to do with the rest of you?" Lich Queen looked toward the last three adventurers that stood before her.
The three surviving warriors backed up toward the door, once again readying themselves to fight even though they knew this was a losing fight. Within the room there was a red light glowing around the stone altar just as it had before, Half-Demon Thief stood ready as she kept mentally repeating to herself what she needed to correctly travel. The door to the room exploded and a burst of cold air flooded the room. Half-Demon Thief started to turn, but Light Wizard stood before her, his back toward her, with staff aimed toward the doorway.
"Don't look this way, remember you have a far more important task ahead of us! Leave this to me!"
Half-Demon Thief nodded her head and quickly turned back toward the altar and proceeded to repeat where she would be traveling to. Light Wizard nervously stood before the doorway, waiting for the some to clear but soon saw a massive figure in black slowly enter the room. Beneath her foot was the bloody body of Spearman, a vacant gaze in his lifeless eyes. In each of her hands she held the bodies of the other two adventurers. In the left hand was the lifeless body of Goblin Slayer which she effortlessly threw aside chuckling as the body hit the wall then slumped to the floor. In her right hand was the still alive Demon Slayer, though covered in blood, the armored adventurer used his sword to stab the Lich Queen in the hand.
"D…Damn you…"
"You annoy me." Lich Queen turned her gaze from the Human Wizard to the adventurer in her hand.
Just like Heavy Warrior, she used her magic to freeze his body solid then effortlessly crushed his body within her hands. Just as she looked back toward Light Wizard, her body was struck by multiple bolts of lighting. Light Wizard knew he himself could not defeat this opponent, but the goal was not to win but to buy enough time for the young demon to travel through the time gate.
"Just a few moments more…"
The Lich Queen pointed her hand at the spell caster and several shards of ice flew forward. Light Wizard could only look on with wide eyes as the shards of ice tore through his body, tearing off his arms and legs, reducing him to a blood pile of meat on the floor. Lich Queen calmly looked at the stain that was the spell caster before she noticed the red glow within the room, she looked toward the altar and saw another figure there, one she clearly recognized.
"You…but how?" Lich Queen was at a loss for how Half-Demon Thief could be alive. "Prepare to die again you damn traitor."
Lich Queen once again raised her hand and launched a wave of ice shards toward the demon, but then there was a great flash of light. When the light subsided, the ice shards struck the stone altar and the body that lay upon it, but the young demon was gone.
"What? Where…where did she go?"
xxxx
"No." Chaos looked at the board with disbelief, once again the board began to change the current log of events was moved aside as the old one was moved back toward the table.
"It would seem that your little scheme has not gone the way you had hoped." Truth had a smirk upon his face.
"The game has not been decided yet." Chaos growled in frustration. "The roll meant she was successful in the casting of the spell, we have yet to see if the adventurers do not make the same mistake once again."
As before the gods murmured among themselves, though they did not agree with the world Chaos had created for the game, they could not deny the possibility that things could still revert to the events they had just left was still a possibility. As Illusion looked back toward the board game, she took notice of Earth Mother, tears still present in her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"It…it was difficult to watch her in those final moments. I've grown quite attached to that one, perhaps more than I should, but if things can be changed for the better, I shall be sure to do better by her."
"Let us have faith that the dice shall fall in our favor." Illusion too had grown fond of her adventurers and wished them well.
Once again, the dice were thrown, and the fate of the game was…
xxxx
Half-Demon Thief found herself near the stables by the guild hall, she carefully crept forward toward the front in time to see Goblin Slayer, the one she had come to know and admire, depart with Dwarf Shaman, Lizard Priest and High Elf Archer.
"Before we go and take care of these goblins, we're going to stop by the farm. If I know Orcbolg, you haven't been by there and we are not the only ones worried about you."
"I didn't wish to bother her."
"Really Beardcutter, you've been gone this long and the only thing you think of is dealing with more goblins? That girl must have the patience of the Supreme God to put up with you."
"I…I did it, he's here…they're all here." She wanted to rush out and tell them all that had transpired but knew better. "I need to set things right first before…before I tell them about Priestess. No, I will save her and the others."
Half-Demon Thief knew it would still be some time before she and Priestess would be returning from their errand, which meant she still had time to come up with a way to fix this, but how? Should she warn them not to accept the quest, but that would only mean the corrupted version of Light Wizard would be successful. Should she go now and slay the group, but what effect would that have in this timeline if she directly intervened?
"I've already seen what happens when we directly get ourselves involved…what should I do to save them?"
She finally decided that the adventurers in this timeline would be the ones to set things right. She went around back and took one of the white sheets drying in the laundry and created a makeshift cloak to hide herself as she walked into the guild. Guild Girl still concerned by Goblin Slayer's recent actions and behavior quickly recomposed herself as the figure in white approached the desk.
"Good morning, welcome."
"H, hello. I…wish to speak with the young Demon Thief when she returns from her errands."
"Are you a friend of hers?"
"You could say that. I shall wait for her in one of the meeting rooms upstairs." Just as she was about to leave a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Would you please tell her I need to only see her, not Priestess."
"You know of her party member as well?" Guild Girl paused as she looked at the figure and noticed her bright yellow eyes. "Wait…are you…"
"Please. It's very important that I speak with her."
Guild Girl was silent for a moment, she was sure that this girl was Half-Demon Thief, but that just couldn't be since she was still out on an errand.
"Very well. Once she has returned I shall have her speak with you."
Half-Demon Thief quickly went up the stairs and waited patiently in the first room. There she thought about what she would say and how she would introduce herself or for that matter should she introduce herself. It was some time before she heard the familiar voices of Priestess and herself down below, she found herself growing nervous as the time where she would meet herself.
"Calm yourself, it's like looking at your reflection…only if this reflection does the same thing I did nothing will be resolved."
xxxx
"He's gone again?" Priestess sighed as she closed her eyes and hung her head.
"What the hell? He finally gets back and then takes off again?" Half-Demon Thief pounded the bottom of her fist on the table. "And now the others have gone with him? They couldn't even wait for us?"
"They left a little more than four hours ago. You both were out on that earlier errand and you know how Goblin Slayer can be." Guild Girl smiled as she happily conversed with the two young girls.
"I'm sorry that I had you go with me on that errand." Priestess bowed her head toward Half-Demon Thief.
"It's not your fault, no need to apologize. Things just turned out this way, can't be helped."
"They should be back in few short days, since he's no longer going at it alone this time." Guild Girl smiled then a thought popped into her head. "You know, while the rest are on a goblin slaying quest, perhaps you two should go on your own quest."
"On our own?" Priestess was unsure of just the two of them going on a quest by themselves.
"It's a possibility, however the quest that comes to mind will need a couple other able-bodied individuals, and I'm sure you can think of two individuals that would be willing to accompany you."
Priestess and Half-Demon Thief thought about it, this quest might be what they needed to move up in the ranks, and with that thought in mind, looked around to find Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric and see if they would be willing to accompany them. It was then that Guild Girl remembered that there was the visitor who wished to speak with Half-Demon Thief.
"Alright, we're in." Apprentice Cleric smiled as she bowed her head toward Priestess and Half-Demon Thief.
"Thank you for the invite to join you." Rookie Warrior too smiled at the thought of not having to go on another sewer quest.
"Just a moment, before you all depart I forgot to mention there is a visitor here requesting to speak with you…and only you specifically." Guild Girl made pointed toward Half-Demon Thief.
"Me?"
"She claimed that she was a friend of sorts."
"I…I don't have any friends other than my party and my guildmates. I don't like this." Half-Demon Thief was suspicious of this supposed friend and debated just ignoring this person, but eventually decided to meet this mystery person and turned toward the rest of his party. "Give me a moment to speak with this person."
Priestess and the others nodded their heads and watched as Half-Demon Thief slowly walked up the stairs and entered the first meeting room. There in the first room Half-Demon Thief found the individual in the white cloak facing towards the wall. She was cautious as she looked over the figure then calmly took a seat on the couch and waited for the other person to do the same.
"I'm told you wished to speak with me?"
"Yes, thank you for meeting me."
"She…she sounds just like me" Half-Demon Thief suspiciously eyed this cloaked individual. "Aren't you going to sit?"
"No, I think it best I not face you directly."
"You told them we were friends, but we clearly have not met before today."
"In a way we have…we see each other every day."
"I am not in the mood for any riddles. You don't seem to be a threat so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and hear you out before I just depart."
"It has to do with the quest you and the others are going to embark upon."
"How do you know about that? We just accepted it a few moments ago, are you the quest giver?"
"No."
Half-Demon Thief growled in frustration, this cloaked individual was being very cryptic in her responses.
"I grow tired of these games, if you don't have anything further…"
The cloaked figure drew out a dagger from her back and tossed it upon the table, Half-Demon Thief drew out her own daggers and stood ready to fight but then noticed the dagger on the table matched to her own.
"That's…but how? Who the hell are you?" Half-Demon Thief calmly put her weapons away and stared at this cloaked figure with wide eyes.
"Someone who has made many mistakes and lost many friends in the process. On this quest you are about to undertake, there will be a wizard looking to perform a sinister ritual, you must stop him at all costs and then destroy his spell book."
"Why the spell book?"
"Such a spell must never be used again. If the spell if cast, you and the others must stay away from the light."
"Why? If you are who I think you are, what happened?"
The cloaked figure was silent for a moment as she thought about all that had happened and what was lost.
"An act of kindness in a different time…cost so many grief, I'm hopeful that you and the others can correct that mistake."
"If we are successful, what will happen to you?"
"I don't know, maybe I'll still be here when you get back or perhaps…I'll simply disappear. I would be satisfied either way." The cloaked figure turned to retrieve her dagger and then calmly took out a parcel from her pouch and extended it toward Half-Demon Thief. "I have one final request, make sure this is delivered to him when you see him again."
Half-Demon Thief reached out for the parcel and let her eyes meet the eyes of this figure, the sight of the bright yellow eyes slightly started her, then nodded and she took the parcel and placed it in her own pouch.
"I…I have so many questions."
"I know, but for your sake it is best we leave it like this. I shall pray for your success."
The two stared at each other for a few moments more before half-demon Thief bowed her head and headed back to join her party. The cloaked figure secretly exited out the window and rushed to the top of the guild to watched the party depart towards the village.
"Gods above…please let this work."
xxxx
"Bind her to the table! Keep an eye on the rest!" Dark Wizard looked up at the sky and smiled even wider as the red moon was visible. "All is set…time to right the wrongs of history and be the Hero this world needs!"
Priestess and her comrades watched from the nearby trees, as the bandits took hold of one of the women and dragged her screaming toward the stone altar.
"What do you think?" Half-Demon Thief looked back to see the other bandits surrounding the remaining captives.
"We need to get to the other capture women, secure their safety then get the last one on the altar." Priestess could see them binding her to the alter, not sure what they intended to do, but knew it was not good. "I'll cast Holy Light from here, then you and warrior can attack the bandits, that will allow me and cleric to get to the captives…then we can focus our attention on the wizard."
All three looked toward Priestess with wide eyes, making her look at them with a look of concern about her face.
"Did…is that bad?"
"Bad, that's brilliant!" Half-Demon Thief smiled brightly.
"I'm just surprised at how fast you came up with that plan." Apprentice Cleric smiled as well.
"All that time being with a silver rank adventurer really has paid off." Rookie Warrior tightened his grip around his new sword reassured by its weight.
They suddenly heard a scream and watched as the Dark Wizard used a knife to start cutting the woman bound on the altar.
"No time to waste, let's put your plan into motion." Half-Demon Thief drew out both daggers and readied herself to attack the moment they were blinded. "This is it…she warned me of this moment. I don't know what exactly happened to her, but I swear I'll do everything I can to help you."
xxxx
Dark Wizard smiled as he raked the blade across the girls throat, cutting so deep he nearly decapitated the girl. The blood was flowing and already pooling into the stone indentions in the ground, in a few moment, he pass through the time gate and appear in the Hero's village and the moment she was slain he'd step forward and the new Hero the world rightfully deserved.
"Holy Light!"
A burst of white light flooded the area forcing everyone to shield their eyes as they cried out in pain. Dark Wizard partially blinded by the light turned toward the men and the captives and could vaguely make out four figures charging forward. Two of which quickly went to work attacking the men he paid while the others two went for the captives. He growled as he held the knife in his hands, ready to attack or use his spells the moment he could clearly see again, but something caught his attention before that, the stone indentions where he was standing began to glow with a red light.
"It's almost here! Just focus your thoughts on that Hero! Very soon I'll…"
Before he could finish that thought, something struck him knocking him out of the stone indentions. Half-Demon Thief rushed forward, tackling the wizard and watched as he rolled away from the altar, she stood ready with daggers to attack should he try anything, completely oblivious of the red glow around her. Priestess and the other two immediately went about freeing the captives while Half-Demon Thief went after the wizard.
"Thank you." The woman with long brown hair sniffed as tears ran down her face.
"We'll get you back to your sister." Priestess smiled as she nodded her head toward this young woman.
Priestess then rushed toward the altar in spite of seeing the glowing red light to tend to the final captive, she was distraught to find the poor girl dead, but before she could ponder any further she was pulled away. She turned with wide eyes to see Half-Demon Thief dragging her away toward the grass in a frantic manner.
"Wait…the girl!"
"It's too late, you know that and look there!"
Priestess turned and finally notices the red glowing light that surrounded the altar glowing brighter and brighter. Dark Wizard slowly pushed himself up to see the bright red light, there was still time for him to enter the time gate. Half-Demon Thief saw this and instantly recalled what she was told, with daggers in hand she threw both of them with all her might, the first stabbing through the wizard's throat and the second hitting him in the chest. Dark Wizard stumbled backwards a bit, the pain in his body overwhelming as he could feel the blood running down his body. He tore both blades out of his body holding his throat, lurched forward toward the light, the others could only look on with wide eyes.
"No…my…my plan." Dark Wizard coughed up some blood before he fell forward with his arm stretched out mere inches from the stone altar.
The bright red light flashed and in an instant the forest was calm once again. The adventurers and the captives looked on with wide eyes, not sure just what happened, but for now the threat had passed. Priestess and Apprentice Cleric went to retrieve the body of the one girl they had not been able save while Rookie Warrior reassured the others they would be going back to the village shortly. Half-Demon Thief went about retrieving her weapons, wiping the blood from them before she sheathed them. She looked down at the corpse of the wizard, hopeful that everything they had done that night was the correct choice then she looked further back and found the black tome and remembered the final instruction given to her. She calmly picked up the book and then walked toward the fire the bandits had been using and tossed it into the flames.
"Wait, why are you destroying the book?" Rookie Warrior was confused by this sudden action.
"Spells that require the loss of innocent life are atrocious, they should not be recreated." Half-Demon Thief smiled as she looked toward Priestess. "Let's get them back home."
"Yes." Priestess smiled and as she nodded toward her friend.
The party and the captives calmly walked away from the forest to head back toward the village. The black tome continued to burn until the final ashes blew away in the wind.
Back at the Guild, Half-Demon Thief found herself looking up at the red moon, wondering if she should have gone on this quest with them to ensure its success. Even now she was nervously looking around to see if there would some other kind of light just as what had happened after she and Priestess had saved his village.
"His family…he still has his friend and Wolf, but that precious daughter…if all goes as it should I'm sure he'll have the opportunity to have a child of his own…and perhaps I will be the one to help him achieve that goal, or rather this world's version." Half-Demon Thief smiled as she closed her eyes. "I…I am curious to know what his sister sent him, but that is something meant for him."
She suddenly felt very strange, she looked down at her body and noticed it was beginning to disappear. At first, she was scared then a wave of calmness washed over her as she realized that her other self had been successful.
"It would make sense…there is no world for me to return to if that time doesn't exist. Thank you…please treasure the friendship you have my sister." Half-Demon Thief smiled as a single tear rolled down her face.
She smiled as she looked up toward the night sky one last time before her body vanished, the only remaining trace of her was the tear drop that landed on the roof but soon that too would fade away.
xxxx
The Gods looked toward the board, some in shock, some at peace, but for Chaos a scowl crossed his face as he saw the log that spoke of this world burn as the world could no longer exist.
"This…this can't be."
"We have let the dice roll, we do not influence their outcome only react to them." Illusion had a small smile on her face as she looked toward Chaos.
Chaos growled in frustration then sighed as he calmed himself and smirked before walking away.
"My world of chaos might not have succeeded this time, but I can wait…my time will come again."
The Gods all watched this and they too dispersed as they had other matters to attend to. Earth Mother smiled as she looked back at the familiar board then looked over toward Truth to see his examining the log of events. She walked toward him to speak in private so that the others would not hear their conversation.
"I must admit, I was quite surprised to see you whisper to Beast Master, coercing him to aid my little one. Is this why you didn't stop me from seeing my little one?"
"I merely put the suggestion into his mind…the choice was completely up to him."
"Why though? I thought you had a certain disdain for the one piece who controls his own outcomes? In the Chaos timeline, he would have eventually fallen."
Truth was silent for a moment as he turned to look toward the board then back toward Earth Mother.
"I will not allow some small chance of fate be the one to defeat him. It will be peril of my own design that finally stops him."
"I see, so this is a contest of egos between you and Chaos."
"I have no idea what you are speaking of…now I have a game to observe."
While the other gods were talking Chaos still found himself fuming over what had transpired, then found the God of Wisdom nervously looking toward the board then looking away as if lost in deep thought.
"What's troubling you? Are you not happy like the others that my world has crumbled?"
"Quite the opposite in fact, in your world an individual I imparted wisdom too did not exist. In this world…he is still alive."
"What should that matter?"
"You know I give out wisdom to those who seek it?"
"True, and often times you do this to individuals who are far from deserving and you watch as they destroy themselves. What makes this time any different?"
"This one I gave wisdom to sometime ago…he may very well be on his way to becoming a dark god himself."
"What's that?"
"Very soon…the world of chaos you yearn for may come to this world. Something worse than the resurrection of the Dark Lord or the insatiable horde of the Lich Queen. I fear that a simple act of amusement may have doomed this world so much so that even the Hero may not be able to stop it."
xxxx
The next day as Priestess and the rest of her party had returned, many of the adventurers and those around the countryside felt a strange presence wash over them.
"Are you okay?" Spearman placed both hands of Witch's shoulders.
"I am…why so concerned?" Witch was slightly started by his sudden burst of emotion that a light blush crossed her face.
"I…I had this terrible dream that I had lost you. I woke this morning worried that you would not be here, I'm relieved that you are okay. I…I don't know what I would do if you weren't by my side." Spearman found himself gazing into her yellow eyes and gasped as he now turned away now blushing himself.
Witch was stunned by this but soon smiled as she took his hand in her and gently squeezed as she rested her head against his shoulder. Guild Girl was indeed surprised by this but too felt relieved to see everyone was okay, for some odd reason she was so worried that Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric would not be returning from this quest.
"Tell me, did…did that person I spoke with yesterday come back." Half-Demon Thief nervously looked around the guild hall.
"I'm afraid not, she slipped out of the room without me noticing and I haven't seen her since. Who was she if you don't mind my asking?"
"She…she was my sister. She had come to say hello and I was hoping to spend more time with her, but I'm thinking that won't be the case."
"I'm so sorry to hear that, hopefully you'll be able to see her again soon."
"I'm not sure of that, but if nothing else I need only look in a mirror and I'll see her there." Half-Demon Thief smiled as she looked out the window towards the bright sky.
The bell above the door jingled and all eyes found a girl in a martial arts uniform enter, her hair tied up in a bundle. Priestess gasped when she saw this person, the last time she had seen her was two years ago, back then she had a confident look about her face, now she nervously looked around then toward the front desk.
"Good morning. Oh, I do believe I've seen you before." Guild Girl studied the girl and soon realized it was the Fighter who had been a part of Priestess group.
"Yes. I've…I've wallowed in self-pity long enough; I felt this urge to come back and right the wrongs and help others." The young girl, Fighter, still nervous as she looked around the guild hall then locked eyes with Priestess. "It's you…you continued being an adventurer?"
"Yes." Priestess rushed to embrace her former party member. "I'm partnered with the one who came and saved us that day."
"I see, I'm glad you are doing well." Fighter soon took notice of the steel tag around her neck. "She's moved up so much from then. She's moved past what the goblins did to us."
"I…I want to reregister as an adventurer. My last experience has humbled me and I'm ready to learn from that to better myself." Fighter smiled weakly.
"My party…the one led by Goblin Slayer, does regularly go on goblin slaying quests." Priestess smiled, though she was worried about what that might do to Fighter.
"Goblins…" Fighter involuntarily shook as she heard that word. "I'm…I'm not quite ready to deal with them so soon."
"Then you can partner with us." Rookie Warrior extended his hand toward her. "For the longest time we went on nothing but rat slaying quests but were ready to slowly move past that."
"It'd be nice to have another girl to speak with for sure." Apprentice Cleric smiled as well.
"I'd like that very much, thank you." Fighter smiled as she shook hands with Rookie Warrior.
"Very soon, these four will be moving up a level so they'll be bringing quite the experience to the table." Guild Girl added with a bright smile.
"Wait…does that mean?" Rookie Warrior's eyes were wide with excitement.
"We'll be having promotion exams very soon, and I'm confident that each of you, Wolf included will be moving up."
"Alright!" Rookie Warrior jumped as high as he was able.
"Woohoo!" Apprentice Cleric joined him as well.
The others around them smiled at this. Fighter's face slowly lit up as she realized that she would be partner with people around her age and capable ones at that. Her friend would be here as well and it seemed that they would be able to partner again, even if it was temporary. She would not make the same mistakes as before, she would not go in overconfident, and she planned on getting better equipment this time.
"Perhaps I should see if the blacksmith has any spiked gauntlets for me. That way I can still use my current skills but have a better form of offense and defense."
Priestess smiled as she found an old friend returning and was surrounded by her current friends and comrades. Still in the back of her mind there was concern for Goblin Slayer, she too looked toward the window and the bright sky and smiled praying for his safe and speedy return.
Author's Note: Finally! I…am…finished! This has to be the longest chapter yet, but I felt this all needed to be put into one grand finale to the story. Though it was a bit dark at time (more like extremely dark) we have finally gotten back to our original timeline!
The mistakes of the past have been corrected and I'm free to move forward with the Dragon Daughter/Werewolf(Name pending)/Wraith Arcs. I still have a plan to thrown in another separate arc for our group of young adventurers, Fighter included, where they'll have to deal with a vampire lord (though I have to carefully plan that out). There will be no further time travel arcs, they are a major pain in the ass to work with, lesson learned.
And as for what Chaos and Wisdom were talking about…you'll just have to wait and see, but know that I plan to sprinkle hints of this into every arc that comes out. Alright guys, give me about a week to start planning out the next chapter…assuming I'm suddenly hit with an arrow of inspiration, the next chapter will be out within a week or two. Thanks again to everyone following the story.