"So… what were you fishing for?" Mathew asked as the group trudged through the forest.
It was probably impossibly dark for the rest of the group to see, so Argus had pulled out some sort of oil lamp to light the way. Mathew, however, had near-perfect vision due to his Truesight, and it seemed that their guide wasn't too bothered by the darkness either.
"Fish. What else would I be fishing for?" Pandarus said.
"But… It was just a hole in the ground…"
"Think again. That there is my lucky well. Blessed by the god of luck himself, I tell you."
"There's a god of luck?" Mathew inquired. Pandarus raised his single eyebrow.
"You speak of Avarice, the greedy?" Argus said, being the only one who knew about Mathew's ignorance. "He is no god of luck. The only people who call him by that title are Incorthians, and those who waste their lives in gambling dens."
Pandarus chuckled.
"Perhaps, but he is the god of my country. There we call him Avarice the generous, lord of luck. I even offer prayers in his name when I really desire something."
"I am certain you do," Argus replied, "but that does not mean a small well will magically produce fish."
"I'm not so sure. Maybe an underground river passes beneath it, running all the way from Phlegethon to the Rainless Sea."
Argus snorted in response.
"So… you're from a place called Incorthia, right?" Mathew asked.
"That's right."
"Does everyone from your country… look like you?"
"What do you mean, the red skin or the bandaged face?" Mathew cleared his throat.
"I just haven't seen someone like you before, that's all."
"Does everyone from where you are from have a metal face?" Pandarus replied. Mathew shook his head.
"As far as I know, I'm one of a kind."
"Huh. Well, the short answer is no, not everyone looks like me… but I think that out of all the gods of the land, the one with the most living children is probably the god of luck. Dovkin we are called, though others may call us devils."
"And Dovkin are enhanced beings of the 3rd Tier?"
"Mhmm. Sounds more impressive than it is though. I don't have much ability besides thick skin and some resistance to fire."
"And a silver tongue," Argus muttered.
"What was that?" Mathew asked, looking back over his shoulder.
"We Dovkin have a reputation for being… Sneaky."
"And that means…" Mathew said.
"Incorthian devils are known for forging predatory contracts," Argus explained, "and setting up loopholes for them to exploit later. That's the reason why they are hated and mistrusted by all countries, not just Elysium."
Pandarus shrugged: "What can I say? It's true after all. But you shouldn't think of me as the same as the rest of them. Why do you think I live all alone and so far away from my homeland?"
"It was not voluntary exile?" Argus pressed.
"Well, partially. Let's just say I don't get along with those currently in power."
"I hear the current grand minister of Incorthia is a devil as well. He claims to be some sort of prophet sent by Avarice, getting his policies directly from divinity."
"Yeah. Hard to voice opinions when you are clashing with god himself." Pandarus lifted a branch above his head, and released it as he passed. Argus had to duck in order to avoid it, and grunted. Mathew wondered if Pandarus had done it on purpose, but decided not to stoke the flames.
"So this minister… Is he a demigod then?"
"Nope. What made you think that?" Pandarus said with a chuckle.
"I mean, if he's a Dovkin like you, and he's ruling a whole country… I figured it made sense?"
Argus put his hand on Mathew's shoulder:
"Dread, demigods are extremely rare. Most of them died during the divine war centuries ago, before the Covenant was formed, and the rest died in the subsequent wars that followed. Because the Gods secluded themselves in the divine realm, they no longer give birth to Enhanced children, instead relying on creating Blessings and granting Boons to their followers."
"Really? That's springing. I really assumed there would be powerful people everywhere… I mean you are walking around with some… uh… impressive gear yourself, Argus." He caught himself from spilling the fact that Argus was wielding a 5th Tier blessing.
"There might be only four or five beings of the fourth tier alive right now. Enough to be able to count them all on one hand." Pandarus said.
"And the Queen of Crimson is one of them."
"Yeah." Pandarus pointed his hand to the left. "We move this way now. There is some trouble ahead." He started walking that direction, and the rest of the group followed.
Siyah and Biyah were walking behind Argus, each on one side of the horse. Ophelia was standing at the very back, which had surprised Mathew at first, as he had expected her to want to be in the lead.
Perhaps she wanted to keep her crew in her line of sight at all times. How much did she really trust them, after all? Mathew suspected it was very little.
"How do you know which way to go?" Mathew said. "I can see in the dark, but even I can't tell. Is it just memory?"
"Somewhat," Pandarus replied. Then a glint appeared in his eye. "Actually, I have a special secret that allows me to know which path is the safest."
"A secret?"
"Yes, a little scout up ahead of us."
"What?" Mathew said. Was there another person working with Pandarus that he hadn't told them about?
"Want to see?" He asked.
"Um… Sure?"
Pandarus stretched out his hand, holding it high into the air, palm facing the ground. The fluttering of wings sounded in Mathew's ears, and a strange creature emerged from the darkness, as if on cue.
It was larger than an owl, had 6 wings, and the head of a toad. Three massive claws jutted from its underside, looking long enough to almost impale someone.
It looked as though it was made completely from inky darkness.
As the creature perched on Pandarus's outstretched hand, the rest of the group panicked. The axe appeared in Argus's hands, Siyah rushed to shield her sister, who had wrapped her arms around the braying horse's neck, and even Ophelia had summoned her sword.
Mathew had forgotten he now had a weapon he could summon too, and had instead jumped back a full meter in fright.
"What's everyone so freaked out by? He's not THAT ugly, is he?" Pandoras said.
"That is a Nightspawn," Ophelia said, her muscles tensing.
"Sure, but he's no danger to any of you. He's bound to me by a contract after all, so he cannot take any violent action without my order."
"You… contracted a Nightspawn?" Argus said, as if he couldn't fathom the concept.
"Yes, many years ago I formed a contract with him in order to help me navigate the forest. I wouldn't be nearly as successful in this business without him."
"And you can… communicate with it?"
"Well sort of…? The contract was one-sided, but I told him to offer his blood if it agreed. Now he is bound to scout for me. I can see through his eyes, and we can send primitive ideas to each other. In exchange, I offer him a piece of my flesh every month."
"Ah," Mathew said as he realized something. "That's why you are all bandaged up."
"Yeah. It hurts a lot, and it's damn inconvenient for the parts that don't grow back, but it makes me an unrivaled guide. With his sight, we can see the path we need to go, and he can sense others of his kind. It is because of him we have avoided running into any other Nightspawn this whole time."
"So that is the situation," Argus said. He looked back at Ophelia. She narrowed her eyes, but nodded slowly. Both of them lowered their weapons, but kept them in their hands. Siyah still looked tense, bouncing from one foot to the other, and Biyah kept one of her hands on the head of the horse.
"Excellent. Glad you understand. You all should be thanking Dokkebi." Pandarus said.
"I must decline," Argus said. Mathew, on the other hand, looked at the creature and gave it a double thumbs up.
"What does that mean?" Pandarus asked him.
"It means 'good job'," Mathew said. Pandarus smiled, revealing his shark-like teeth.
"If that's the case, let us be on our way." He clicked his tongue a few times at the Nightspawn on his arm, and it flew back into the night. The group started moving once more.
Not five minutes passed before Pandarus stopped abruptly once more.
"What's wrong?" Mathew asked him. Pandarus's eye twitched.
"That's not good…" He said.
"Tell me what you mean," Argus commanded.
"Well, there's a large pack of beasties out there."
"Nightspawn?" Pandarus nodded.
"It seems they are walking directly away from a village a few kilometers ahead. They're moving east though, so I don't think we will run into them, but we should be careful anyway."
"A village? In Deimos Forest?" Argus questioned.
"Yes, there are a couple of them, in fact. Full of crazies who think the eternal darkness of these woods is a dream come true."
"But what of the Nightspawn? Are these people not in danger of being slaughtered?"
"What do you think probably happened to that village up ahead? Probably got eaten." Pandarus gripped his own mouth. "Wait… No, a village like that should have had proper protection. I wonder if there are any survivors left."
"I am guessing the village should be relatively safe now that the Nightspawn have left it?" Ophelia said, making her way up to the front of the group.
"Probably… but it's a bit off course from where we want to be headed."
"We have need of a place to camp for the night. Would that not be a good location?"
"Sure, if that is what you really want."
"It is," Ophelia said. Pandarus shrugged.
"As you wish." He looked towards the rest of the group and said:
"Follow me, everyone. Let's go see if everyone is dead."