Morcster Chef Book 3 - Chapter 36 (Patreon)

Timberly put a hand on Arek’s shoulder and hummed. The two of them faded away and vanished, and the old bard kept his hand on Arek’s shoulder.

“We need to hold hands so we don’t lose each other,” Timberly said. “Otherwise, the spell could wear off and I might not be close enough to recast it in time.”

“No problem. I’ll just carry you on my back,” Arek said, kneeling and moving the other man’s hand so he could climb on. “You barely weigh anything, so this will just speed things up.”

“Lovely. I’ve always dreamed of being carried around by a big, hulking monster twice my size,” Timberly said with a sigh. “I was just hoping it would be a woman.”

“My apologies,” Arek said dryly. “I’m certain you’ll find what you’re looking for one day.”

Timberly cackled. Arek turned, ducking down to make sure he didn’t bump the bard’s head against the doorframe as he cracked the door into the alley open and slipped outside, shutting it behind him.

Arek strode out of the alley and into the city, taking it in during the daylight for the first time. Faint mounds of snow had built up on the rooftops and parts of the street, but much of it had melted away, so he wasn’t at much risk of giving himself away with his footsteps.

The streets were almost completely empty as Arek strode down, peering at empty shopfronts and shuttered houses. The only people Arek did see were guards. All of them wore matching silver armor and carried basic weapons. None looked particularly powerful or even concerned with their environment.

Several times, Arek watched them stop and exchange a few words with each other. They weren’t talking particularly loud, though, and he didn’t dare try to get close enough to eavesdrop. Whenever the a guard made their way toward Arek, he moved to stand on the other side of the street.

“Almost up,” Timberly whispered as Arek made his way toward the center of town. “Get to an alley.”

Arek nodded and slipped into a thin nook behind a two story building. He ducked down as he and Timberly came back into view.

“How long until you can recast it?”

“Just give me a minute,” Timberly replied. “This place is a ghost town.”

“Tell me about it,” Arek replied, trying to shift around and get comfortable. The alley was far too small for someone of his size. “There are guards, though. That implies there’s something to guard.”

“I’m more curios to know where all the people are,” Timberly said. “This was a city at one point. Judging by how the farmland and surrounding area looks, things have been going downhill for a few months. Do you think something happened to the citizens?”

“I seriously hope not,” Arek said grimly. “The Howlers haven’t showed themselves to be particularly considerate of people’s lives, though.”

Timberly gritted his teeth. He patted Arek’s shoulder and the two of them went invisible once more.

Arek rose and slipped back out of the alley. They reached the town square after a few more stops. A fountain sat in the middle, the water pouring out of it frozen mid-stream. More shops made up the walls of the square, but not a single one of them looked like it was open.

Loud, heavy footfalls echoed through the square. Arek turned as a tall man strode into the square, bedecked in a heavy suit of shimmering armor. A massive battleaxe hung from his back and bands of green light encircled his throat like a collar.

Arek’s stomach flipflopped and he started to salivate. He grimaced, forcing himself to focus. Neither he nor Timberly spoke, but he felt the man on his back tense. The armored person was cursed.

Unaware of their presence, the armored man strode off toward the back of the city, where the colosseum blocked out the horizon. After a moment, Arek followed after him. He trailed the man until Timberly tapped his shoulder and he was forced to slip into an alley. As soon as they entered, the invisibility dropped and the bard slid from his shoulders, breathing heavily.

“Are you okay?” Arek asked in a low voice.

“Fine. I’m fine,” Timberly replied, waving the question away and swiping sweat from his brow. “I’m not used to holding a spell that long. What do you think the chances are that our blessed friend was heading for the colosseum?

“It’s almost certain. That must be where they’re drawing all the cursed people,” Arek said. His lips pressed together. “I suppose it makes sense. Where better to have a bloodbath than a colosseum?”

“Should we head back, then? We know where they are,” Timberly said.

“Not yet. Unless you need to. Really, we haven’t learned much. I want to find out what’s going on here, and that means talking to someone who’s in the colosseum. We’re invisible, so it shouldn’t be too hard for me to cut someone and get my blood on them before they notice.”

Timberly swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. What if it’s magically trapped?”

“If we hurry, we might be able to watch how people enter it. I doubt they’d trap it when they’re trying to collect everyone in one spot.”

“Only one way to find out, eh?” Timberly asked, climbing back onto Arek’s back. He tapped the orc on the shoulder and they vanished. Arek set back off, increasing his pace since there weren’t any guards in the area.

It took them one more stop in the alleys before they reached the front of the colosseum. Now that Arek stood directly before it, he had to take a moment to stare up in awe. The building was enormous. It rose far above the city, dwarfed only by the towering mountains surrounding them.

A large bridge sloped up from the city, leading to the entrance of the circular building. A large iron gate hung above it, raised but far from welcoming. Arek’s skin prickled as they approached it. The building felt… off.

“This colosseum is messing with my curse,” Timberly whispered. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave if I go in there.”

Arek spun on his heel, retreating to an alley so he could put Timberly down. Once they were properly concealed, the bard let the spell drop.

“Are you okay?” Arek asked.

Timberly nodded, but the man looked pale. “The urge to go into the colosseum got a lot stronger as soon as we got close. It’s been growing normally anyway – I don’t think I’ll be able to resist entering for much longer.”

“Can you get back to the rest of the group?”

“I should be able to, but I doubt I’ll last more than another day,” Timberly replied, looking up at the sky and slowing his breathing in an attempt to forcibly maintain control of his body. “Shit. This isn’t good.”

“I’ve got an idea.” Arek rubbed his chin. “It’s not particularly smart, but I’m done sitting around and waiting for things to happen. My curse didn’t seem like it was strong enough to keep me in there, so I’m still going in.”

“What? How will you get out?”

“I’ll be fast,” Arek replied. “Your cloak will last longer if it’s just on one person, right?”

“Well, yes. But not that much longer. It might go for ten minutes at the most. You’re still moving around, so it’s harder to keep you hidden,” Timberly said. “Are you sure about this?”

“I am,” Arek replied. “We need information, and you’re out of time. It won’t be long for me either. Disguise me and then hide here until I get back. If I’m not back in ten minutes, go back to the others and tell them what happened.”

Timberly bit his lower lip and lowered his brow. “They’re not going to be happy about this.”

“I wouldn’t be either,” Arek said, clenching his fists. “But I need to do this. They might have forgiven me, but my past sins weren’t against them. This is a way I can really right my previous mistakes.”

“Sounds like a story in there.”

“Maybe one I’ll tell you if we survive all of this,” Arek said, baring his teeth in a grin. “Turn me invisible.”

Timberly cast the spell on Arek, and he faded away. “Good luck, Arek.”

“Stay here. Don’t get spotted.” Arek turned and slipped out of the alley, moving at a steady pace as he made his way up the bridge. His stomach flopped and turned when he stepped under the portcullis, but his mind didn’t feel like it was being influenced.

Arek nodded to himself, then continued into the colosseum. Thousands of seats encircled a huge, stone arena at the bottom. A large stairwell descended deeper into the building, presumably leading toward the fighter’s quarters. Faint yells and shouts echoed out of it.

Arek started down it, taking extra care to remain quiet. He was thankful that the stairwell was rather wide. Even if someone tried to pass him, he’d have room to slide up to the side and let them pass.

His nose twitched as he got deeper. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. People had died here. A lot of them.

Arek’s claws bit into his palms as he continued down the stairs and the shouts grew louder. He reached the bottom, where a pair of double doors led into an enormous hallway. Dozens of cells lined the walls, stretching on for blocks before taking a turn. Blood stained the floors around them, and several bodies laid on the ground. Some of them were fresh.

What must have been hundreds of people sat within the cells. Most had some form of cloth or bandage over their faces, covering their eyes. The yells seemed to be coming from deeper into the prison.

Arek approached the nearest cage, where a large man sat, his back to him. To Arek’s surprise, he realized the door wasn’t even locked. He glanced around. Most of the people in the area were doing their best to ignore each other.

Indecision warred in Arek’s stomach. There were so many things that could go wrong, but he couldn’t think of a better idea. He needed information.

Carefully, Arek tried to shift the barred door open a crack. It squeaked slightly and he froze, checking to see if anyone had noticed. Nobody seemed particularly bothered. The breath caught in his chest, Arek worked the gate open a little more, then squeezed himself through it and closed the gap behind him.

Arek deactivated the red badge, returning to his true form. He pressed a claw to his inner forearm, breaking the skin and drawing blood. Arek approached the man as quietly as he could. For a moment, he considered just stabbing the man to change his curse, but if he was strong, there was a chance it would start a fight.

Instead, Arek cleared his throat and leaned forward, talking in a hoarse whisper. “I’m here to help. Don’t move.”

The man stiffened. “Get out of my cell. I’ve already killed a man that I didn’t need to.”

“Be quieter,” Arek hissed, glancing over his shoulder. A woman in the cell across from them had turned toward them, but her eyes were covered, so he couldn’t tell if she had actually noticed anything. “I’ve got a way to weaken the curse, and I need information.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because you don’t have a damn choice. Now stay still, unless you want to die here.”

The man’s shoulders tensed. Then he grunted and shrugged. Arek reached out, digging his bloodied, invisible claw into the man’s arm before reactivating his badge. It was a little disorienting to change shape without being able to see it, but he didn’t have a better option.

“What did you do?” the man asked, adopting Arek’s low whisper.

“You won’t be forced to attack cursed people now,” Arek said. “I don’t have time to tell you more. Try to get your blood on others. It’ll do the same for them. Now, it’s your turn to help me. What can you tell me about the Howlers and this city?”

“Are you sure it worked?” the man asked.

“Yes. Now answer the question. I have very limited time. Lives depend on this information.”

“Hm. The curse brought me – and everyone else here – to this colosseum. Most of us had the presence of mind to blindfold ourselves so we wouldn’t be able to see anything and kill someone on mistake. From what I can hear, the Howlers pick someone out every few hours to kill. A man I spoke with told me that you can only absorb powers from a few people every day, which is why the rest of us are still alive.”

“Hey, you talkin to someone, Benson?” the woman in the other cell called.

“No,” Benson replied. “Just sitting here, woman. Same as always. Let me mutter to myself in peace, or I’ll tell the Howlers to take you next and hope they listen.”

Several of the adventurers in the other cells laughed.

“I assume the curse keeps you from leaving here?” Arek whispered.

“It does. We can wander around the bottom floor of the colosseum, but that’s it,” Benson said. “We’re also being pulled deeper. The feeling gets stronger with every passing day. Eventually, people get overwhelmed and lose their minds. You can hear them yelling all day and night. It’s awful.”

“I see. Do you know what happened to all the people in the town? The entire area is abandoned.”

“I heard they were some of the first to get cursed,” Benson said. “I can’t say if it’s true, but I heard the Howlers forced them to enter a low level dungeon to infect them with the Blessed One curse.”

“That’s despicable. They weren’t even adventurers,” Arek growled.

“What guild are you with? Do you have a way to defeat the Howlers?”

“Do you know who the person the Howlers are feeding kills into is?” Arek asked, ignoring the man’s questions. From his estimation, he only had a few minutes left in his invisibility.

“Haven’t seen him for obvious reasons, but his name is short,” Benson said. “Newl or something. I heard him kill someone the other day – it only took an instant. He’s strong.”

“Null?” Arek asked, a pit forming in his stomach.

“Yeah, that was it. You know a lot about the Howlers,” Benson said suspiciously. He glanced over his shoulder. It was a somewhat pointless act, as he still had his blindfold on. “You sure I can look at the others safely?”

“Yes,” Arek said flatly. “I don’t have any time left. Try to spread this to the others, but don’t let the Howlers know what’s going on. We’ll be back, and we’re going to need help if we want to stop them.”

Benson poked a finger under his blindfold. Moving with the speed of a striking snake, he raised and lowered the bandage. The large man paused, then slowly lifted it again.

“Shit. It worked. I half thought you were lying to me. Where are you?”

“Just do what I said,” Arek said. “Be careful. I don’t know how much of the curse is still active. Everyone is going to have to work together if we’re going to survive this.”

“Together? You’re cursed as well?” Benson asked.

Arek didn’t reply. He pushed the cell door open and darted up the stairs, moving as quickly as he dared. There didn’t seem to be any guards in the colosseum itself, so he was able to rush back up the stairs and out the main entrance in record speed.

He practically jogged down the bridge back into the city, slowing as he passed by several guards. Arek felt a tingle run across his skin and a flicker of gray swam to life. He darted into an alley as his invisibility vanished. Arek froze, his heart thundering as he waited to hear if anyone had spotted him.

Footfalls started toward the mouth of the alley. Arek gritted his teeth and leapt, grabbing edge of a rooftop and swinging himself onto it. He pressed himself flat and froze as he heard guards walk into the alley behind him.

“Nothing,” a man said with a chuckle. “You’ve been seeing ghosts ever since you ran into those upper level members.”

“I swear I saw something,” another guard muttered. “It was a big gray dude. How did you miss it?”

“We haven’t seen shit ever since we got stationed here,” the first guard sighed. “It’s a boring post, but it’ll be worth it soon enough. Better here than elsewhere.”

“True enough,” the second man said. “Guess I should take a break or something. I did only see it for an instant. Maybe it was one of those poor cursed saps trying to resist. If it was, they won’t be wandering around much longer. They’re already here, after all.”

The guards chuckled as they walked back out of the alley. Arek relaxed, waiting a few more moments before crawling across the roof and dropping into the next alley over. He poked his head out, checking to make sure the way was clear before darting over to the next one.

Chapter 22

It took him a while to work his way back over to the alley that he’d left Timberly in, as he had to take a much more roundabout path to reach it without being spotted. Arek finally found his way into it.

Timberly was sitting against the wall, chewing on his nails nervously. When he spotted Arek, he let out an explosive sigh.

“Gods. I thought I’d killed you. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t hold–”

“It’s fine,” Arek said, shaking his head. “I got out, although it was close. We need to get back to the others and plan our next move.”

“What did you find?” Timberly asked as Arek knelt and he climbed onto the other man’s back.

“They’re keeping everyone below the colosseum. The people that lived here are likely either dead or cursed,” Arek said. “I’ll explain the rest when we get back. No time to waste.”

Timberly nodded and the two of them turned invisible. Arek darted out of the alley and made for their hideout. The way back was considerably faster than the way over. Now that Arek had a better understanding of the city, he was able to get them back to their home alley with only a few stops for Timberly to recharge.

Arek reached the door and set his passenger down, holding a hand out to keep him from going for the handle. The orc rapped the door several times in the pattern that Belmont had taught him.

A moment later, the door swung open. Belmont stepped back, giving Arek and Timberly room to enter the room. They both faded into view as Timberly released the spell, and Belmont closed the door behind him.

Relief shone on all three of the Happy Sunflower’s faces.

“That was awful,” Malissa said. “I was worried you had both gotten caught. Sitting around doing nothing is terrible.”

“No more,” Ming added with a firm nod. “We’re helping next time.”

“Agreed,” Belmont said, crossing his arms. “We’re in this together. Now, what did you find?”

Arek repeated everything that Benson had told him. He paused for a moment before revealing Null’s role in the Howler’s plans. Ming’s face crumpled and she stared at the ground at the news.

“Why would he do something like that? I don’t understand,” Ming said, clenching her fists so hard that they shook. “He wasn’t a bad person.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Belmont said, putting a hand on Ming’s shoulder. “And he isn’t your family. We are. You aren’t responsible for his actions.”

Ming sniffled and threw her hands around Belmont’s waist in a hug, banging her head against his armor in the process. Malissa put a hand on Ming’s back and Arek did the same as anger built in his stomach.

How many people had lost their brothers and sisters to the Howlers – or to him?

“I’m sorry,” Timberly said. “It sounds like you know this person. It’s… painful when someone you love stands on the other side of a fight as you. Just… take an old man’s word for this. You’ve made your decisions, and he’s made his. Don’t sacrifice yourself to try and save him. It doesn’t work.”

Ming pulled back, wiping her eyes and looking up at Timberly. She sniffled again, then nodded. “I know. I won’t. We need to save people. I won’t let him hurt anyone else.”

“And to do that, we need at least a semblance of a plan,” Belmont said, tapping his foot on the ground. “Arek, did you see any actual Howler members aside from the guards?”

“No. They must have either been elsewhere or deeper in the colosseum,” Arek said.

“It’s also possible they’re out fighting the guilds,” Malissa said. “I’m sure a lot of them are, at least. Even if the Adventurer’s Guild won’t act against them directly, others won’t be so kind. There have bound to be some conflicts going on.”

“We can’t bet on that, though,” Belmont said. He started to pace around the room. “We can’t assume the person Arek gave the cure to is going to actually do anything either. The only people we can rely on are ourselves.”

“I don’t know if we can go around and cure literally everyone,” Timberly said. “Arek and Ming are just two people. Didn’t you say there were hundreds of people cursed?”

“What if we start a riot?” Malissa asked. “If we can get down there and cure a few people, then have them cure others as well, we could be like a wave. Most people aren’t going to object to a chance at being saved, so we might be able to build quite the fighting force that can help us spread the cure around.”

“That’s what came to my mind as well,” Belmont said, coming to a stop and crossing his arms. “But I don’t think it’s a very good one. We’d be in the middle of the fight, and a lot of those people are going to be very powerful. Some have absorbed other Blessed One’s powers. They could be A rank or even stronger. That kind of fight might end up killing us indirectly.”

“The longer we wait, the stronger Null gets,” Arek said. “I don’t think we can do this without any risk.”

“I know,” Belmont said, sighing. “And I hate that.”

“If we do things this way, we should also expect the Howlers to show up as soon as things start going down,” Arek said. “We might end up fighting against the people that have lost their minds from the curse as well as them.”

“There’s another thing we should take note of,” Timberly said through a grimace. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Your change to the curse makes it so that we get hungry instead of try to kill other cursed people, right?”

“Correct,” Arek said.

“Well, I think it still scales with the curse. Whenever I look at you, I feel like I’m starving. If we cure the people that are farther along than I, they might still be completely unreliable.”

“And those will be the strongest ones as well,” Malissa said grimly. “They’ve killed people, so they’ve likely got the powers of multiple mages each.”

“We still have to try,” Ming said, copying Belmont’s stance and crossing her own arms. “Even if it’s dangerous, we have to try.”

“We will,” Arek said. “If we can convert enough of the newer people, they should be able to help us restrain the others. We can win through numbers and by hitting the Howlers fast, before they can properly respond.”

They fell silent for a few moments, each trying to think of anything else they could to do improve their chances.

“I don’t like this,” Belmont said, gritting his teeth. “It doesn’t feel right. I think we’re missing something. I don’t see why the Howlers would leave this place so undefended. It’s their home base. There’s only so far that hubris should go. This is pure stupidity.”

“I’m not disagreeing,” Arek said. “But I don’t know what else to do. Every minute we waste, people are dying.”

“I know,” Belmont growled. “Shit. Timberly, do you have any thoughts? You’ve been in this area for longer than us.”

Timberly shook his head helplessly. “I’m sorry. Yesterday was the first time I’ve been in Dortusk in years. I don’t even know much about the Howlers.”

“If we can pull this off, all the people we save will be able to testify against the Howlers,” Malissa said. “We’ve got proof that the Howlers are behind things now. The Guild will act.”

“Useless bastards,” Belmont muttered. “Only coming in when everything is well and done and it’s too late half the people.”

“Nothing we can do about them now,” Arek said. “We need to focus on ourselves. Can anyone think of a better way to go about this?”

Nobody said anything. Tension hung heavy in the room as they all stared at each other.

“Then I think it’s settled,” Arek said. “Let’s take care of this.”

“Yeah!” Ming exclaimed, her eyes lighting with determination. “I’m going to beat the sense back into Null. We’ll save everybody and get free food for life!”

Her words sounded a little forced, but Arek just nodded and grinned, matching her energy as best as he could. Ming was trying her best to stay optimistic for all of them. He would do the same.

“When do we strike?” Timberly asked. “We won’t be able to rely much on my stealth. There are too many of us, and this will be too chaotic.”

“Try to get us as close as possible with your magic,” Arek said. “We’ll rely on speed once we’re in the colosseum. When we’re there, maybe you could make Ming invisible so she can run around and cure as many people as possible without them noticing. I’ll take care of the more… violent ones.”

“That works,” Timberly said. He flexed his fingers, gathering his confidence, and nodded. “Right. Okay. One last mission. We can do this. We have to do this.”

It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than the others. The old bard drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, shaking his head before nodding and giving them a tight grin.

The Happy Sunflowers wasted no more time. They left their temporary safe house and headed into the city, beginning the slow and tedious process of hopping from one alley to the next in small groups that Timberly could conceal.

They had several close run-ins with patrolling guards, but managed to avoid detection as far as they were aware. After over an hour, they were all huddled in the closest alley to the bridge that led up to the colosseum.

Timberly took a few minutes to gather himself. His face looked pale and his hands were clammy with cold sweat.

“Are you okay?” Belmont whispered. “You’ve been using a lot of magic.”

“I’m fine,” Timberly replied with a curt nod. “I need to be. It’s just getting very difficult to resist the pull of the curse. If you lot don’t stop the Howlers here, I’m dead. You’re the best chance I – and everyone else in that colosseum – has.”

He looked down at his trembling hands, then gritted his teeth and reached out, plucking his violin and bow from the air. As soon as his hands were wrapped around the wooden instrument, the shaking stopped.

“I’m recovered. Remember, the invisibility is just on me and Ming this time. Speed is of the essence now. We’ll go deep and try to save some of the stronger victims. You guys take care of the ones on the way.”

“We know,” Belmont said with a nod. “On your mark, Timberly.”

The old bard plastered a confident grin across his face and nodded. “Let’s begin the final act, then.”

He exhaled and magic washed out, turning him and Ming invisible. Arek and the remaining visible Happy Sunflowers charged out of the alley, sprinting as fast as they could toward the gate.

Malissa was the fastest, but Arek was right on her heels. His powerful legs pumped and glowing armor formed around him mid-step. Just because there hadn’t been much in the way of defenses the last time he’d been there didn’t mean something had changed.

The three of them burst through the gate and Arek took the lead, directing them down the stairs and taking them three at a time. He couldn’t even hear Malissa’s footfalls behind him, but the clank of metal on stone announced Belmont’s presence. Presumably, Ming and Timberly were fairly close behind as well.

Shouts and the sounds of distant combat grew louder as they got deeper. Arek deactivated his patch, returning to his orcish form as he skidded out into the prison hall. He pulled his claws across his forearm as soon as they were formed, coating them with blood.

Arek checked the closest cell, where Benson still sat, his back facing the hall.

“It’s time,” Arek said firmly, pulling the door open with a bang. “How many did you get?”

Benson leapt to his feet, ripping the bandage off his head and raising his arms defensively when he saw Arek.

“Shit, you’re an orc? I recognize your voice,” Benson said. “I’ve got about half a dozen. You didn’t give me much time. I was trying to be discrete.”

“No time,” Arek replied. “Go all out now. Cure everyone we can and move deeper.”

“Right,” Benson said with a curt nod, dashing out of his cell. “Move it, lads! It’s time to fight back!”

Several cells slammed open as people darted out, discarding their facial wrappings. Arek charged into one of the cells that hadn’t opened, cutting a blindfolded man while he was still glancing around in confusion.

“Don’t move!” Arek yelled. “You’ll be cured when you feel a cut. The cure is spread through blood, so attempt to get your blood on anyone else who is still cursed.”

Confused yells rose all around them as the makeshift rebellion spread through the cells. The clash of metal and magic rose as some tried to fight back, but they weren’t encountering significant interference.

Arek lost count of the number of people he cured as he ran from cell to cell. His heart hammered in his chest as the chaos grew with every passing second and they started to push deeper into the prison, toward the sounds of the fighting.

He ran ahead of the others, trusting them to get the people he missed as he went to try and cure some of the stronger combatants that were deeper within the prison. Some of the cells he passed were already open, their occupants missing.

That either meant that Ming and Timberly had already passed through the area, or they’d headed deeper into the prison because of the Blessed One curse. Arek gritted his teeth and ran faster.

He turned a corner, stopping in a cell to cure a man and darting off after yelling the same instructions he’d said a dozen times already. There was not time to wait to see if the adventurer had even heard him.

Arek’s ears twitched, and he skidded to a stop. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He glanced around at the nearby cells. They were all empty. Barred doors hung askew, and the only sound that reached his ears was the distant yells behind him.

“Shit,” Arek cursed as he realized what was missing. “What happened to the fighting ahead?”

Ming and Timberly were somewhere up there. Arek took off at a run. Blood pounded in his ears as he pushed his body as hard as he could. The prison seemed to have no end, the corridor constantly stretching and twisting like a maze with only a single path.

Finally, Arek spotted a pair of closed double doors at the far end of the hall he was in. His brain dimly registered people talking behind them, but his adrenaline was pounding too heavy to let him stop and listen. If Ming and Timberly were up ahead, they might have run into one of the stronger Blessed Ones or the Howlers mages.

He braced his shoulder and barreled into he door, slamming through it with a loud crash. Wooden splinters rained around him as he staggered inside the room, his guandao forming in his hands.

The scent of blood slammed into him like a dragon. It overpowered every other sense, temporarily blinding him. Arek’s battle rage surged, but he forced it down and narrowed his eyes, bringing the room back into focus.

It was fairly spacious, with a tall, arching ceiling. Bodies were strewn across the room and tossed into the corners like discarded scraps of food. Ming stood in the center, her bundle of staves scattered across the ground behind her and one clutched in her hands.

Floating in the air above them, was Null. Dark wisps of energy danced around his body, rising up into him from the corpses. Flickers of green magic arced and popped off his body before getting sinking back into his skin. Null turned, looking down at Arek with malice in his gaze.