The outsiders were standing next to Grundolf, watching as the townsfolk went about reclaiming their lives. Last night’s raid had left their once prosperous town in shambles. In a single night they had lost 3/4ths of their population. The survivors who remained were left only with the charred remains of their town.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Well, I’ll tell you what we won’t be doing. Giving up this town, that’s for damn sure. But...”

Grundolf stared out at the ruins of his town. He watched as a woman and her child stood over the corpse of a man. The woman crouched down and give the man a kiss on the cheek, before lifting him up and disappearing into the streets. Small splotches of dampness appeared on the ground, trailing behind her. The child tugged at his mother’s waist with an innocence that didn’t quite fit the scene.

“...First we must send off the dead.”

“Is there anyways we can help?”

“No, this is a burden for us, and us alone. For you outsiders, the only thing we ask of you is to watch.”

With no other explanation the dwarf started walking down the empty streets. He too was carrying a corpse, one that was once an old friend. The outsiders followed after the dwarf, not saying another word.

The streets were empty, save for a few souls. All who remained were carrying the dead, like the woman from before. Most of the people seemed to be fine with the task, but there was one lady that had caught the attention of the outsiders.

She was small, even for the tiny people of the town. Her wrinkled green face and messy white hair showed her age. In her hands was the body of someone larger than herself. Her arms were shaking under the weight of the body.

Yakov walked over, with the intention of helping. He stood in front of her smiling, arms stretched outward, beckoning the old lady to share the burden. The woman looked up at the tall human with a face that was not filled with sorrow, but one that was twisted in anger. She spat in his face and trudged on, legs shaking.

Yakov’s face instead was the one filled with sorrow. The cheerfulness drained from his face as his eyes sloped down. Grundolf looked over, shaking his head slowly.

“Boy, I told you. These are our burdens, ones that we must bear, and we alone.”

Yakov nodded his head solemnly, before falling back in with the others. They continued down the streets. The closer they grew to the heart of the city, the more numerous the splotches of dampness on the streets became. It was as though it had rained, yet there was nary a cloud in sight.

They soon came into the plaza, where trails of damp ground all led to one place. The church. The outsiders looked out and saw a line of people, all waiting to head inside. A soft humming could be heard as a breeze blew gently through the leaves of the tree that protruded from the roof. The tune was one of sadness, yet there was something more to it. Something they couldn’t quite put into words.

Amidst the crowd, faces that expressed both approval and resentment could be seen. Both types were looking in their direction.

Eventually the line shrank, and the outsiders were drawn into the church. With their height, they were able to easily see what was going on inside. They watched a familiar woman put the corpse of a man down in front of the tree.

She knelt down next to the lifeless body, drawing her child closer, and began humming a soft tune. It was the same one they had heard outside.

As she hummed, something spectacular started happening to the lifeless body. Light seemed to dance around it, flowing along to the rhythm of the tune. Then, starting from the feet, the body dissipated into glowing particles of pure lights. These little particles of light continued dancing to the rhythm of the hum, as they vanished into the crystal embedded into the trunk of the tree. The body was gone by the time she finished her song.

When the woman rose up from the ground and turned to leave the building, her face could finally be seen. Tears were still flowing from her reddened eyes, but she seemed calmed by the event.

The outsiders stood and watched as Grundolf repeated the steps, but with the corpse of the gremlin this time. The gremlin disappeared into the crystal like many before. When the dwarf rose up and returned to the outsiders, even his face showed reddened eyes. He beckoned them to follow and went back out into the plaza. They did manage to catch a glimpse of something new in the dwarf’s hands, a journal of sorts.

They waited out in the plaza, alongside the other survivors, until the last one passed on. Then they stood still, all eyes focused on the tree atop the church. It’s gentle tune growing yet louder still. A flash of light was emitted from the tree, temporarily blinding everyone who was looking.

And then there was silence.

After the spectacle the crowd dispersed, leaving only Grundolf and the outsiders in the plaza. Hans was the first one to speak up about the event.

“Zat, vas beautiful..”

Grundolf simply nodded and headed off, back towards the church. The others trailed behind him. When they returned to the church, the first thing the outsiders noticed was the fading light of the crystal embedded in the trunk. Grundolf plucked it out of the tree and watched as it turned from a greenish-yellow to a silver grey. He raised it up, and gently blew on it. The crystal disintegrated, blowing away like dust in the wind.

Grundolf’s eyes went downcast for a moment, as he said his final farewells. He turned back to the tree and placed a new crystal into the trunk. Then he turned back to the outsiders.

“I must thank ye, for all your help.”

“Not like we had much choice…”

“Aye aye. I’m sorry about that, but you stuck with me until the end. And for that, I’m grateful.”

Most of the outsiders were bashful about being thanked, nervously scratching their heads and looking away from the dwarf.

“Well, how about we go check on that friend of yours. What was his name again?”

“Igor.”

Igor had survived the attack amazingly, though his condition was dire when they had found him. In addition to numerous cuts and bruises, he’d sustained a broken arm. The brute wasn’t one to lie down and die though. In fact, he was the first one standing after the mysterious woman’s mental attack. Though by the time the others had all been roused, he was lying once again on the ground. Grundolf took him to the local apothecary and found someone with medical knowledge, though he never informed any of the outsiders who it was.

The outsiders followed behind the dwarf, they were heading to the apothecary. A sign with a mortar and pestle denoted that they were at the right place. Though, as they were about to enter, the sound of someone screaming inside stopped them in their tracks.

Grundolf shook his head, watching as Zhukov brandished his submachine gun. He was about to open the door himself, but it was thrown open before he could. The door caught him in the face, sending him straight to the ground.

From the building, Igor emerged wearing only his trousers. He had a cast slung around his right arm, and a maddening look in his eyes.

“Oh, thank god you are here! This crazy woman she-”

“Oi, where ya think yer going? I ain’t don wit chu.”

Igor’s body shivered after hearing a voice come from the building he had just left. He quickly picked Zhukov, who was still stunned, off the ground and hid behind him.

“Wut? Ye afraid dis old maid is gonna comment on yer pecker?

“Go away you crazy bitch!”

“Grundolf told me tah fix you up, and dat’s wut I’ma do.”

A small lady emerged from the building this time. She was the same frail old lady that had spat in Yakov’s face earlier.

“Oh, wut’s dis Grundolf? Ye bringing me more playthings?”

“Not quite, that human’s companions were worried about him. So I brought em over to take a looksie.”

Igor looked down at the dwarf with the eyes of an abandoned puppy.

“Please...help me.”

But Grundolf wasn’t the one who made the decision, surprisingly it was Zhukov. He swapped places with Igor and pushed the latter back into the building with the old lady. He looked back with disbelief at his comrade’s act of betrayal.

“But...why?”

“That’s what you get for spending the night all cozy in a bed, while I was stuck in the back of a cart with these oafs.”

“Noooooo!”

Igor’s screams slowly faded as the door shut behind him. The others had chills go down their spines at the thought of what horrific treatment he was receiving. The horrified look on the faces of the outsiders caused Grundolf to burst out in laughter.

“Haha, don’t fret too much. Isiry was...is the best healer we’ve got now.”

Grundolf shook his head solomny as his laughter died down.

“By the way Grundolf, I think we need to talk.”

“Aye, bet’cha wonderin about those red robes, right?”

“Yeah, you know of them?”

Grundolf stroked his beard.

“...Barely, such flamboyant garments are a rarity in the Hub. Only the council and their magicians are worthy of wearing such expensive silk.”

“I see…”

Zhukov pondered for a moment. It seemed as the answers to all their questions lied in the Hub.

“Also...that woman, she spoke to me before.”

“What?”

“Right at the city gates, she told us to turn back. Saying something about not having any grudges with our ilk.”

Grunolf’s jaw dropped after hearing Zhukov’s words. For such a bloodthirsty woman to be willing to spare a few lives, even after slaughtering more than half the town.

“Wait, your ilk? That’s it!”

Zhukov tilted his head at the dwarf’s words.

“Humans are an incredibly rare sight in the Hub, as they normally stick to the deserts of Urlagh. Even rarer yet, were the humans who settled in this desolate wasteland alongside us. They showed a surprising amount of resilience against the cold, for people of a race that knew only the hot desert clim. Anyways, forgive my rambles. Back to the main point, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a human among the council, much less among their sorcerers.”

“I see. It’s strange though. Why spare us now when they had no qualms with killing us in that labyrinth?”

“They were looking for something down there.”

Zhukov turned around, surprised by the newcomer to their conversation. Behind him, stood a man dressed in a hooded black robe, his face couldn’t be seen underneath.

“Who are you?”

“You wouldn’t know.”

Zhukov scratched his head.

“Well, you you said they were looking for something. Do you know what that something is?”

“That.”

The hooded man pointed to the dwarf.

“Me?”

The hooded man smacked his head and pointed again.

“No, not you. In your rucksack.”

Grundolf raised an eyebrow, then pulled out his rucksack. He started sifting through it, but he had no idea what he was looking for. The hooded man was becoming impatient.

“It’s a hunk of metal, probably a slab. It glows blue.”

The hooded man’s words caused Grundolf’s eyes to go wide, he knew exactly what the man was talking about now. He reached back into the rucksack and pulled out a slab that glowed with a soft blue light.

“Where the hell did you get that at?”

“That thing in the labyrinth dropped it when it died.”

“Now, why don’t you hand it here. In exchange, I’ll...lend you my assistance on a few things...”

“Why the hell would we do that? You just told us that they were searching for it. It could be something dangerous, or more importantly, valuable”

“Indeed, and it’s much safer in my hands than yours. Also, you’ll find that I’m the only person willing to take such a dangerous item off your hands, and give you something of value in exchange to boot. ”

“I’m still not convinced.”

“How about I give a small sample of the knowledge I’m willing to share then. For example, there’s a city a few days travel to the north west. It is not of this world, in fact, I believe it is from yours. outsider.”

“A city from our world?”

“Indeed, and there are more of your kind there, though they didn’t seem to getting along well.”

Zhukov was definitely intrigued by the hooded man’s proposition. And the trade did seem to be in their favor, after all the slab was nothing more than a slab to him.

“Grundolf, why don’t you give him the slab. I’d like to hear what he has to say.”

“I dunno, I’m still not convinced.”

Before the hooded man could speak up, more screams could be heard from inside the apothecary. The hooded man swayed his head back and forth as if contemplating something, before turning back to the dwarf.

“How about I fix that friend of yours in there up too, I know a bit healing magic myself.”

“Okay, okay.”

Grundolf handed the hooded man the slab, then went into the apothecary to fetch Igor. He returned with a very nervous looking Russian.

The hooded man mumbled a few words and then put his bony hand onto the arm of Igor. The crystal around the man’s neck floated up and began humming. Then a soft green light was emitted from his hand, gently wrapping around the cast.

A cracking noise came from the cast, causing Igor to wince. He didn’t try to run away from this treatment though, as he feared he would be sent right back to the demonic old lady if he did. After the humming died down, the crystal stopped floating and the man pulled his hand back.

“There, you should be fine moving it now.”

Igor smiled and tore the cast off, tossing it back into the apothecary.

“Ha, take that you old bitch!”

Igor insults didn’t go unheard, the old lady inside shouted something unintelligible as she tossed a chair out in retaliation. Igor failed to dodge and was struck in the torso, causing some of the other wounds to reopen. The hooded man sighed and stuck his hand out again.

“Stand still, I’ll fix you up.”

“Vait, aren’t you von of zose skeletons?”

Hans looked around confused, he couldn’t have been the only one to notice. The others didn’t seem to care about this dead man that was healing the living.

“I suppose you could say that…”

“Zhen vhy are you helping us? Ze skeletons ve found earlier veren’t very friendly.”

“Well, let’s just say I still have my wits about me.”

The skeleton’s response didn’t really answer Hans’ question, leaving him confused.

“Vell, vhat is zis about a city then?”

“Well, I believe your kind called it London.”

Jack’s eyes went wide after hearing the name of the city.

“Oh, zat is ze city of ze French, yes?”

“I don’t know of any race called the French, the city was definitely inhabited by humans though.”

“Was there a large clock tower there?”

Jack was nearly raving mad when he asked the question.

“A clock tower? I believe so.”

“Good god lads, we have to go! The Queen could be in danger!”

“A human queen was there? How did I miss her?”

The skeleton mumbled to himself as Jack continued trying to convince the others to go. Zhukov stroked his beard and began to think. This wasn’t their world, and they didn’t really have any priorities right now, so why the hell not?

“Alright, alright. Calm down Jack, we’ll head to London.”

“Vhat? I don’t vant to see any more of zose Frenchmen again!”

“Thanks Zhukov.”

“Don’t mention it, now wipe your face off, you’re dripping snot everywhere. And the rest of you, let’s get ready to move out.”

“I do have to warn you though, your kind seems to be in the middle of a war over there. Both sides wielding those strange weapons of yours too.”

The skeleton pointed to the guns that Zhukov and the others had slung over their backs.

“Haha, don’t worry. We’re no strangers to that kind of fighting. In fact, it will be a welcome change after fighting those svalski sons of bitches.”

Zhukov turned and put a hand on Sergei’s shoulder.

“Make sure that Alyona is ready for combat.”

“Hmm, I’m gonna need someone who knows how to work metal then. The driver’s hatch still has a hole, which could prove fatal to the driver if we start getting shot at.”

“Check out the smithy here, tell em Grundolf sent ya and they’ll lend you a hand.”

Sergei nodded his head and grabbed Vasily, dragging him along.

“Wait, why me?”

“Well, you are the driver. Can’t move Alyona without you.”

“Just push her then!”

“Aww, don’t be that way. We’re gonna have some fun!”

Sergei drug Vasily into the plaza, where they had left the tank. A few small children of various races were using it as a play set. They swung from the cannon and danced around on the chassis.

“Hey you blasted brats, don’t go fucking with Alyona! She’ll tear you a new one if you anger her!”

The children scattered after hearing Sergei shout. They didn’t seem to have been dissuaded by his words though, as their innocent laughing could be heard from the shadows. Sergei shrugged it off and entered the tank with Vasily.

They needn’t move the tank far, as the smithy was one of the buildings surrounding the plaza. They shut the tank off and exited the vehicle to find a few small bearded men looking at them, they all looked similar to Grundolf.

“Well, that’s quite the toy you got yerself there human.”

“Yeah, though I’m not here to show it off. I was sent here by Grundolf, he said you could help with some metalworking.”

“Oh that old bastard Grundolf sent ya did he? Well, suppose I can’t be shooing you off then. Whad’ya need?”

“Glad to hear, Alyona here has a hole in her plating that needs mending.”

“Alyona eh? She’s quite the beauty. Why don’t you show me ‘n the lads here where this hole is and we’ll see what we can do.”

“Alright just follow me. Oh, and by the way I’m Sergei and this here is Vasily.”

“Huh, Vasily who the hell is that?”

“He’s this guy right over-”

Sergei stopped talking and looked around in confusion. Vasily had disappeared.

…..

“That bastard Sergei, trying to drag me off to go fix his precious. Ha, I’d sooner drown myself in a bucket of piss. Now, where was that tavern again.”

Vasily looked around, he was sure that he was in the right place, but the only building in sight was burned half to the ground. He crept a little closer and saw the charred remains of the tavern’s sign. Vasily sighed with disappointment, but he wasn’t about to give up on his expedition yet.

When Vasily opened the tavern’s ruined doors, he was able to make out the sound of a piano playing. His hopes were raised after he remembered the pianist who was playing the last time he was here.

Though, after entering the building, Vasily wasn’t able to find anyone other than the pianist. It was no wonder why either, debris littered the inside of the tavern, and light shone down from where there was once a roof. It was a surprise the place was still standing. Vasily made his way through the debris and sat at the tavern’s counter, which was amazingly still in one piece. He looked over at the pianist who was playing a tune all too familiar.

“Where’re the tavern keeper and that little waitress?”

The pianist stopped playing music, and shook his head slowly without looking up from the keyboard. Vasily looked at him for a moment, then got up from his seat. He jumped over the counter and took a bottle of alcohol along with two glasses.

The pianist looked up after hearing Vasily’s movements, and saw the latter heading towards him with alcohol and a chair in tow. When Vasily sat down nearby the piano and poured him a drink, he couldn’t help but let a soft smile appear on his face.

The pianist went back to playing the piano, continuing the song from where he had left off. This time Vasily remembered what it was, a beautiful sadness.