One could never be too careful when close to a dungeon. The power of its core would attract other monsters to these lands, and once its domain was fully established, they would begin to spawn. Even the weak ones would be a danger to Hump and Bud alone, so as they rode, he made a point of getting to know their travelling companions.

The soldiers—or not soldiers as it turned out—were easy company.

“Former soldiers,” Gerard had said. “We all served along the east border not too long ago, but when our contracts were up, we left to join the Company of Brothers. There’s no business in public service. All the good soldiers end up going mercenary.”

And from the look of them, they were good soldiers. They rode with disciplined casualness, ever watchful of the terrain around them, monitoring the land for threats. They could be counted on, at least until they found the dungeon core. Past experiences had proved to Hump that diplomacy mostly broke down at that point—a dungeon core alone held great value but combined with the king’s bounty it was a small fortune.

The Northmen had proved more of a challenge. They were distrusting to say the least, but Hump had managed to find out their names. Koll and Osaap were the two men, and it was Sanya that had caught him staring earlier. Not that any man would judge him poorly for it. She was beautiful. Not in the same way as Celaine. No, Sanya was more like fire, like rage and passion. It seemed easier to imagine her tearing his head off than anything else. Celaine though, she seemed graceful and kind. She rode a chestnut mare, and moved through the hills and mountains as if it were her home, and beneath the warm sun and gentle wind, Hump almost felt as if they welcomed her.

Not that Hump had worked up the courage to speak with her or Vamir yet. The two of them rode at the front of the group, just behind Norwin. But they were a party of two, and only the insane would enter a dungeon with so few. There was still a chance to win them over, and if Vamir’s presence was anything to go by, Hump thought they could make for valuable allies.

“This is the life, huh,” Bud said. They were riding at the back of the group. Mountains loomed up around them, speckled with trees and long grass. “Roaming about the lands, protecting the weak from evil, facing down monsters.”

Hump glanced at him, amused. “Did something happen while I was taking a leak?”

Bud rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Hump laughed. “You make it sound so romantic.”

Bud frowned. “You’ve done this a lot, have you?”

“Enough to know it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. This is dangerous, dirty work. Bards tend to leave that part out of their tales. They’ll spout whatever crap they can to earn a few free beers at the tavern.”

“Do heroic deeds not deserve as much?”

“It doesn’t seem so heroic once the killing starts,” Hump said. “There’s nothing romantic about what we’re doing. It’s blood, and gore, and pain. Even monsters scream. You need to understand that this won’t be like the stories; otherwise, when the action starts, someone’s going to get hurt. There’s a good chance it will be me.”

“You don’t need to worry,” Bud said seriously. “I understand that. But I also understand the necessity of what we are doing.”

“Fair enough,” Hump said. “I just didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. About the job, or about me.”

Bud arched an eyebrow. “What about you?”

Hump shrugged. “I’m no knight. I go where the coin takes me as my master did before me. Sometimes it’s a dungeon, sometimes a bounty, or sometimes it’s a pointless war between lords.”

“You’d fight for a cause you didn’t believe in?”

“Belief doesn’t pay,” Hump said. “Have you ever been starving?”

Bud looked at him, Asoltef plodded along beneath him. “Of course.”

Hump shot him an impatient look and shook his head. “Not waiting for your fancy dinner starving. I mean really starving. So hungry it’s like your stomach's gnawing on itself. Days without food.”

“Oh. Then no, I haven’t.”

“I have,” Hump said quietly. “Not starving is a cause I can get behind, no matter who’s paying.”

“Even if the cause is evil?”

Hump shrugged, but he didn’t answer. As an apprentice it had been his role to maintain his master’s gear, to support him with spells and potions, and at times to follow him into battle. They’d fought over petty land disputes. He’d killed bandits. He’d seen robbers executed when they refused to surrender; desperate people just trying to survive. Where was the line drawn?

“Well I wouldn’t,” Bud said, with all the conviction of a noble that had never experienced hardship. “I have vowed to protect those that can’t protect themselves, to help the needy, defend the innocent. There’s nothing that will make me break that vow.”

Hump believed him. There was a reason Kelisia had selected Bud to be her knight. He was different from the rest of them, he was something more. Righteous. “That’s commendable of you.” Hump grinned. “But I bet I’ve saved more maidens than you.”

Bud looked at him inquisitively. “How many?”

“Well… One, I suppose. But I still bet that’s more than you!”

Bud laughed. “You have me there. I’ve yet to find a maiden in need of my services.” He scratched his chin. “I did once stop a drunk man’s advances upon one of my sister knights, though that was more for his sake than hers.”

Hump snorted.

“How about you?” Bud asked. “Who was this damsel in distress?”

“She was a merchant girl from Lorsta,” Hump said, a small smile on his lips as he thought back. “And my-my was she fine. We were part of a caravan escort through the Wester Forest. Her father led the convoy. This must have been three years ago now; I was thirteen at the time.”

“What happened?”

“We were ambushed. It was the typical sort; bandits had chopped down a tree across the road. We knew what was coming the moment it happened, but they had numbers on their side. The girl was carried off into the wood during the battle. The old man… my master had told me to wait in the wagon, but when I saw her being taken, I couldn’t sit still. Everyone else was fighting, there was nobody but me left to help her. Long story short, I chased them through the wood and caught the man before he could hurt her.” Hump pulled up the bottom of his shirt to show a long, jagged scar that stretched from his side to a little past his belly button. “Got this in the process.”

Bud winced. “Looks painful.”

Hump nodded. “It was a hair’s breadth from opening me up completely. Worth it though. Rescuing a girl is one thing, but there’s nothing they like more than a man injured in the line of duty.” Hump grinned. “It was a mission to be remembered.”

Bud laughed. “If that’s not romantic, I don’t know what is. You’re a better man than you think, Hump.”

“I did what anyone would do.”

“Give yourself some credit, even fully grown men waver in the face of death. You risked your life for her.”

“Well when you put it like that it’s hard to argue.”

“You’ll need some of that bravery if you’re to make it past Vamir.” Bud grinned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come now. I may be new at this whole dungeon thing, but I’m not an idiot. You know what I mean.”

Hump looked at him sharply. “What makes you think I’m even interested?”

Bud laughed. “We’re in the most amazing place I’ve ever seen, yet you’ve spent most of the day staring after her.”

Hump felt himself beginning to blush and spurred Prancer forward. “It might look nice now, but there’s a dungeon nearby. Every magical creature for a hundred miles will be drawn to its presence, so keep your eyes peeled.”

“You’re changing the subject,” Bud said.

“I wasn’t staring,” Hump grumbled. “Just wondering why she’s here. That’s all.”

Bud snorted. “That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard.”

“Like it matters anyway.” Hump sighed. “I’m a hedge wizard. Vamir paid in gold. I haven’t got a shot in hell. You’re a knight. A Chosen. You’d have a better chance than me.”

Bud shook his head slowly.

Hump scowled. “Oh don’t tell me you’re not interested.”

Bud shrugged, chainmail clinking. “I have a fiancée.”

Hump raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Lucky you.”

“Not so lucky. I’ve never met her. My father arranged it.”

“Then why are you here?” Hump asked. He turned around when Bud didn’t answer, to find his friend staring at the ground. “That’s why you’re here.”

Bud nodded. “The announcement was the day I left. I don’t even know her name yet. How was I supposed to marry her? And I’m too young! I’ve trained all my life to be a knight, and the moment I’m strong enough to actually uphold my vows, they want to marry me off and hide me away, never to leave the castle walls.”

Hump tried to hold it in, but the laugh slipped out.

“What?” Bud growled. “I’m serious.”

“Nothing,” Hump said. “You just really are a lordling. I can understand though. The rich have their shackles just like the rest of us. It’s hard to put a price on freedom.”

“Exactly. It’s not a big ask to know the woman I’m to marry.”

Hump nodded. “Still,” he said absently, “I’d like a castle.”

“They’re not as glamorous as they seem. They’re stone cold—literally—and the halls are so long there’s always a draft. It takes twenty minutes to get anywhere, and they’re so full of dust you wouldn’t believe it.”

“I wouldn’t live in it,” Hump said. “I’d just like to point at it and tell people it was mine.”

Bud stared at him for a long moment. “But of course. How didn’t I think of that? All this time and I’d yet to realise the purpose of a castle. I’ve been living in it like an idiot!”

“I’m a beacon of enlightenment,” Hump said. “Stick around a while longer and you’ll be up to your ears in genius.”

For once, it seemed the gods had favoured Hump. There was no rain during the long day’s ride, and according to Norwin they were on course to reach the dungeon by tomorrow afternoon. With any luck, those that had arrived early would have already made good progress clearing out the outer defences.

At least that was what he thought.

They found the bodies late afternoon, in the shadows of the setting sun. Four of them, as far as Hump could see.

“God's, what happened to them?” Bud asked quietly.

Hump dismounted from Prancer and walked closer.

“What are you doing?” Sanya asked.

“I’m a wizard,” Hump said. “I’m investigating.”

There was something to the air around the corpses that sent shivers down Hump’s spine, and it wasn’t just the smell. He knelt beside the closest body—a man, from the size of him, but there wasn’t enough left of his face to tell for sure. Whatever had killed him had torn him open, and bones pierced out through blood, flesh and leather. Hump held back the urge to vomit. He felt light in the head. He’d seen death, he’d seen corpses that should have been buried days earlier, but this was something else.

There was nothing Hump took for a bite wound—that put wolves and the usual sorts out of the question. The flesh almost seemed blackened at points, burnt or rotted off, but it was hard to say. Could people have done this? They’d have had to be sick to their souls.

From what was left of their equipment, Hump took them to be fighters of some sort, though the thick gambesons and leather gear could mean they were anything from bandits to mercenaries. Their weapons lay on the ground nearby—they’d died fighting at least.

That doesn’t bode well for us, Hump thought. Again, he felt the shiver down his spine. He glanced around at their surroundings. Trees spotted the hillside, but the area was fairly open. It likely wasn’t an ambush.

“Did you find something?” It was Celaine. She’d dismounted and approached to stand nearby without him noticing.

Hump frowned and shook his head. “Nothing useful. Just that they died painfully.”

“I could have told you that from over here, boy,” Sanya said. She had a slight accent, rolling her tongue as she spoke.

“Better to check and make sure,” Gerard said in his defence. “Any information we get here might keep us from sharing a fate like theirs.”

“Give me a minute,” Hump said. He pulled out his spellbook and flicked through the pages until he found the spell he was looking for. Or rather, it was as if the page found him. A useful feature at a time like this, but it made for difficult reading when he simply wanted to browse through the pages at night.

Spellbook

Magic Eye

Description: Enhance one’s perception to see representations of magic in the physical world.

Classification: Ritual

School: Enhancement

Spell Tier: 1

Ability Rank: 1

Notes by Starris: Magic detection is expensive. It cost me an arm and a leg to get this spell. Not mine, fortunately, but I think the point stands! Best not to use with alcohol or other, erm, compounds, it can lead to a nasty trip.

There was a list of instructions below. Hump opened his pouch and pulled out a few different herbs to form a bundle in his hands. He muttered the incantation, and the end of the bundle burst into flame. They burnt nauseatingly strong, and Hump breathed in the smoke, feeling himself grow dizzy as he did. As his mind became clouded, he reached out a hand to touch one of the more intact parts of the corpse.

Ice shot through his hand. He pulled it back, sobering immediately. “Death magic.”

The corpse’s eyes opened, blood red and hungry.

It lunged at him, a frenzied blur, screeching like a demon straight out of hell.