Jamil eagerly listened to the way Kalim described the mysterious "Gryffin". He wasn't the only one...his father listened as well. After all, Gryffin had disrupted several of their operations now. It wouldn't do to have such a wild card outside their control...or alive.

When they were alone, Kalim discreetly cast a few spells to give him and Jamil some privacy. After his return, Jamil had been given his own room next to Kalim to insure it wouldn't happen again.

"So what is he really like?" asked Jamil.

"Really intense. I get the feeling he doesn't really like his family much, but he doesn't hate them enough to cut ties with them completely. From what I heard, he's been going around trying to get public opinion on his side to create his own territory so that when he does leave his family, he won't be left out in the cold," said Kalim promptly. "He values people more than gold."

"What about his magic?" asked Jamil.

"He's a cursebreaker. Apparently part of the reason he's unhappy with his family is because he found some things that he didn't like involving curses."

Jamil blinked.

"Wait...how do you know that?" asked Jamil.

"I overheard some of the maids talking about that explosion, because I've never heard of anyone actually getting hurt like that during one of his exploits. They said that some sort of curse interacted badly with an artifact, causing it," said Kalim. Which was partially true. "So when I asked him about it directly, he said that he was a curse breaker by trade and was having fun with it."

"How does being a curse breaker lead to him using a curse on others?" asked Jamil, fascinated.

"You have to know how to cast certain curses to know how to break them," said Kalim, as if quoting something.

"Makes sense," said Jamil. "So how did you escape, really?"

"Eh...Gryffin knocked out the guard bringing me food, and helped slip me out of the base before the sandstorm hit. He had me hide in an alcove until it was over, where the Red Sands found me," said Kalim. "I still don't know how he disappeared so fast...one minute he was there, and when I turned the corner to follow him, he was gone."

Which fit in perfectly with Gryffin's notoriety. No one could figure out how he got around so fast, and several were very interested.

"What about physical appearance?"

"He's about our age," said Kalim, which made Jamil perk up a bit. "He's also skinny. We actually got into a brief discussion on dancing, and apparently he knows a few that are from other lands entirely."

Jamil wished he could have spoken to Gryffin. He was highly curious as to why he kept targeting the Al Asim operations. After all, the strange boy had the sort of freedom he only wished he could have had.

A slim figure entered the room. The sound of hissing could be heard, all giving warning not to come any closer. The room was filled with multiple snakes, most of them vipers and they did not suffer fools.

Moonlight filled the room...revealing a figure wearing a mask.

Before any of the snakes could strike, a strange hissing sound was heard from the figure, causing all sound to stop.

~A Speaker!~

One of the snakes, the largest of the bunch, slithered up to the figure. It raised itself to it's full length to look at him, but the mask obscured their face.

~What does an honored Speaker wish of us?~

No one would come into this room so late, and only a select few were even aware of it's existence.

~Tell me about the Sacrifice. Everything you know about it,~ said the figure.

Silence.

~...What do you know about the Sacrifice?~ asked the spokesnake.

~I know that a deal was struck. I know that a curse of servitude and obedience was placed upon the Viper family. I know that it had something to do with an inherited condition that is similar to the Maledictus, aside from the fact that both genders can inherit it.~

The snakes all looked at each other, silently conversing. The figure was quiet.

The spokesnake looked to him again.

~The Al Asim are cruel. They said that they would help our clan with our curse, but instead bound us with an even worse one. In exchange for their...protection...we would serve as their assassins and servants. What they neglected to tell us is the other part of the magical bindings that they placed upon us.~

~The Sacrifice,~ the figure guessed.

~We are not the first clan to be tricked by their ancestors. All curses carry a blood price. The Al Asim found a way to divert their price to others. Our clan was chosen as the scapegoat because of our condition...after all, no one would care about a snake screaming in agony as they bore the brunt of a thousand years of cursed magic.~

~How can I divert it?~

The snakes did a collective blink at that.

~You wish...to divert the Sacrifice?~

The figure's stance grew hard, and cold. You could sense that they would not budge on this issue.

~...Diverting the Sacrifice is not a task for the faint of heart. First you would have to find who is the next one chosen, and then you would need the blood of the Al Asim. Either the head...or his heir. The family would never allow you near either, no matter how skilled. Especially if they knew they were being targeted.~

~And if it could be accomplished? What would happen then?~ he asked.

~Even if you could obtain both the Sacrifice and the heir of the Al Asim, they would hunt you down. They need the Sacrifice.~

~What if the Viper clan were taken out of the equation? What would happen if the only one left under that curse was the Sacrifice?~ asked the figure.

Silence as shock filled the features of every snake there.

The idea of the curse that bound them to the Al Asim broken, the Sacrifice taken out of the equation. None of them had ever considered it possible.

~We...would need to speak with those not afflicted. We cannot speak for the clan as a whole without their input.~

The figure looked rather calm about that.

~Fair enough. Such a big opportunity should never be decide spur of the moment, especially in regards to something like this. I'll return on the next full moon,~ said the figure.

He quietly unlocked the door...and vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

A month later he returned, this time armed with a magical contract. Closer inspection revealed it was one that would break a pre-existing contract already in place.

After they conferred, one of the oldest Vipers tentatively used their tail to cut themselves and drip a few droplets of blood.

Great black snakes began to form from the droplets that had fallen onto the contract. The figure was not silent, as he whispered words from the ancient tongue before he firmly beheaded each snake that had formed.

The last one beheaded, the snakes stared at the one who had volunteered...and to their shock and amazement, it began to writhe for a moment. However he was not in any real pain. Pain was familiar to them by this point.

No, his core began to surge and out of instinct, he shifted. Where a venomous black snake had been was now a tired, ragged man bearing many scars. Scars earned in servitude to the Al Asim as their assassin and servant.

"This..." he said in shock, staring at the hands he had long since forgotten. He touched his face in shock.

"The Maledictus curse is indeed, terrible...however, there are ways to counteract it," said the figure calmly, speaking in human tongue. "The problem is that the curse the Al Asim placed upon the family as a whole prevented it from being used...if they knew how to counteract it at all."

"You...to whom have I bound myself to?" he asked.

"I am called the Gryffin...however, you all likely know me by another name."

Just because he had been unaware of their existence before coming back did not mean they were ignorant of him.

Had things turned out differently, his father would have made him aware of this room in due time, and the burden it came with.

The figure was calm and methodical. With the proof before them, several came forward to break their own curse.

"I cannot free all of you. Not all at once. However I doubt the family would notice if a few snakes disappeared at a time between the tasks given to you."

That and it took time to create the contracts. The Al Asim had deceived them. They had promised protection and the chance to be human. Instead they had tricked them into servitude and to act as their personal assassins.

The snakes conferred, and a few slithered up to have their burden removed.

Once he had used up the last of the contracts he had with him, the figure turned.

"Master Gryffin...where shall we meet you?" asked their leader.

Gryffin smiled from behind his mask. He tossed each of them a portkey.

The village that he had saved from the false drought had chosen him to be their new lord, after the last one was assassinated. Their leader had learned it was a plot by the Al Asim and none of the previous lord's family wished to go against them.

However dumping that headache on an outsider in exchange for his protection was another story.

Gryffin wondered how they would react once they found out why he had gone to such trouble. To be fair, all it needed was a few tweaks and it would become the perfect starter territory and base of operations for his own work.

The next time Gryffin ran into the Red Sands, both of them were doing separate operations to clear out the same bandit group that had been causing trouble for the now thriving city.

For a long moment, the mercenaries watched as the lad fought against several bandits without hesitation. The fact he didn't hold back from lethal blows increased their estimation of him as a fellow fighter.

One bandit was about to get the drop on the kid. The leader nodded, and their sniper took the bastard out...but as a side effect, alerted Gryffin to the fact he had extra company.

Without a second thought, the kid made his way to their direction.

"Yo!" he said cheerfully, not even paying attention to the fact his limited armor was pretty much shot at this point.

"You here for the bandits too?"

"The steward of my territory said they were causing trouble, but that the group they normally ask to deal with it was out of town and they didn't know when they would be back. I wasn't about to let them disrupt the business of the merchants when I need the city to thrive," said Gryffin cheerfully.

The leader blinked.

"Wait...are you the one who took over the territory of Lord Kopesh?" he asked slowly.

Gryffin looked a tad sheepish.

"The mayor found out I had noble blood in me, and asked if I would take over as their new Lord because none of the nobles that could inherit from the previous one wanted it since they were worried about the Al Asim."

More like the nobles refused to do any real business unless it was with another noble. The higher their rank, the more favorable the terms. In the desert, nobles were the ones that insured the trade routes were kept in good order.

The only way a city could be run with a commoner in charge is if they either became nobles, or it was influenced heavily by outside trade.

So the fact that the mayor/steward of the city would hand over the titles and lands to a foreign noble of unknown origin willing to possibly stand against the Al Asim was far more sensible than foolish. Especially since said noble had such a useful spell that would insure the city would thrive.

What Gryffin didn't know was that the city in question was the home town of many of their group...including the leader.

The bandits dealt with, Gryffin found himself in a serious discussion with the Red Sands group.

"So the city is your hometown?" said Gryffin.

"Yeah. We knew they had a new lord, didn't know it was you," said the leader. His name was Seti. "I had planned on earning enough favor to be promoted so that we didn't need a new lord...but I'm getting old and tired."

From what they knew of the Gryffin, he was a good kid. They could live with him being their new Lord.

As they rested from getting rid of the nuisances, Seti decided to level with the kid.

"Be honest...why is a noble brat going to such lengths?" asked Seti.

Gryffin's entire demeanor became somewhat sheepish and embarrassed.

"Would you believe me if I said it was to make sure I wasn't homeless and broke when my family finds out who my crush is?" he asked.

"What?" said Kopesh (named for the fact it was his favorite weapon).

"My parents are really homophobic and the person I like is another guy. If they found out who it is, they won't hesitate to disown me and elevate one of my many, many siblings. Since I have most of my allowance tied up in long term investments, I need a source of income that I can use short term for living expenses."

There was a brief moment of disbelief, before Seti let out a booming laugh.

He gave Gryffin a friendly slap on the back, causing him to stumble slightly.

"We'll not hold your preferences against you kid. You've done right by our families, and to be honest some of us cut contact with our own folks for the same reason," said Seti.

Kopesh and a few others nodded in agreement. They weren't going to comment when they had the same preferences.

The kid had a beaming smile behind his mask, mostly of relief.