Three days after the incident with the toad, several riders pulled into town, causing a commotion.

  Andric had kept a low profile, and many weren’t even aware he had visited until after he had left when the government published its demon-hunting report. These guys, on the other hand, were the polar opposite.

  A gaudy mage led the demon hunter group. He was said to be the scion of a powerful noble family. The mage dressed in gray silk robes and wore white gloves patterned by magical glyphs that oozed with color, shifting between green and purple.

  The hunters dismounting beside the mage wore a combination of fine leathers, scalemail that folded naturally with their movement, and heavy plate. Such fine armor could have only come from top smiths in the capital. In total, there were twelve of them—a fairly standard size for a party of demon hunters.

  Demon hunting groups didn’t just consist of mages and warriors but usually included support personnel such as herbalists, trappers, scouts, and many more. But the mage or mages were always the heart of the operation.

  Stretching their legs after dismounting, the mage pulled up his cloak to ensure it didn’t drag on Ebenshire’s muddy, cobbled street and walked up to a woman in light armor. “Zazie, find us a passable room,” he said, passing a coin pouch.

  “Is this our advance, Egarn?”

  “My advance. You lot will get paid your salary as usual.”

  The woman's brow rose, and her lip curled.

  “What?”

  “This job is a fool's errand. Mages have been coming here for decades, trying to find whatever it is that haunts the woods. With the same result every time—they find nothing.”

  “I’m not one for failure, Zazie.”

  “And what about that Winged Ibexion back in Rittensburg that got away?”

  “Things happen,” the thin-lipped, noble mage gritted his teeth and fiddled with his gloves. “This will be different.”

  “Will it? Taxion’s Wyvern Guard didn’t seem to have any problem catching that winged fiend, and even they weren’t stupid enough to take this job.”

  “Don’t remind me of Taxion, Zazie. Now hop to and go find us a room, or I’ll deduce your insubordination from your salary.”

  “My salary? How much debt do you have with Lorranian bankers now, Egarn? Can you even pay my salary if we don’t complete this contract? Not to mention you’re already spending the advance on frivolous things like accommodation when we’ve backed tents with us.”

  “Zazie, don’t make me ask again. I’m well within my legal right to break your contract with me here and now if you refuse an order. Then you won’t get a single silver ilian from me.”

  “Fine, damn it,” Zazie hissed through gritted teeth and swung around, stomping through the muddy street toward the inn. “Don’t say I never warned you, Egarn!”

  “Just how hard is it to get good, obedient help these days,” Egarn sighed.

  “Egarn, sir,” a broad, bald man in heavy platemail said.

  “Yes Hyrax, what is it?”

  “Our scouts have combed the area. No obvious signs of demons or monsters.”

  “Oh, right. Carry on,” Egarn waved dismissively.

  “You orders?”

  “Orders? Well, I don’t know. Ask the locals or something. Gather information, you dimwit. You are a registered adventurer and demon hunter, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am, sir.”

  “Well, then?” Egarn flailed his hand.

  “Right. Investigating the locals,” Hyrax nodded and hurried off.

  “Hopeless, the lot of them,” Egarn groaned beneath his breath.

  ***

  Arix waved as Kal and Ellie approached their usual meeting place on the way to school.

  “We still need to talk, Kal.”

  “About what?”

  “You know–”

  “Did you hear the news?” Arix interrupted as they neared.

  “How could we not,” Ellie groaned. “It's all anybody has been talking about. And stop changing the topic; I still need to talk to both of you.”

  “It’s a demon hunting party; how cool is that?” Arix said, ignoring Ellie’s protest. “Not something you usually see in Ebenshire.”

  No, just every time the Dimvale Woods causes a stir.

  “I know. I’m just sick of hearing about it,” Ellie said. “Now, as I was say–”

  “Do you know how many of them there are?” Kal asked.

  “Dunno for sure, but word is there’s about twelve of them. And apparently, the mage leading them is from a pretty important noble family.”

  Sounds like someone who could be trouble. The last thing I need is to be stuck in school while they go poking their noses about. A situation like this requires monitoring.

  “Hey, it’s the Jakari boy,” a couple of townfolk said, pointing at the group. “Show us some magic.”

  “Come on, prodigy boy. Just a little.”

  “Aaand that’s my cue to get out of here,” Kal said, waving as he ran off to avoid the growing crowd.

  Kal’s fame as the youngest mage the town had ever produced was growing rapidly, and he liked to avoid crowds.

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  “Hey, wait, Kal! You’re not getting away from me that easily.”

  “We’ll catch up at school,” Arix called out.”

  “Not today, sorry,” Kal waved back as he disappeared down an alley.

  “So, Principal Dore approved it already,” Arix mused.

  “Approved what?” Ellie swung around to glare at Arix.

  “Kal petitioned the faculty to allow him to leave school whenever he wants to go train his magic. I think he had to prove he could cast first-circle magic or something like that. Didn’t know he had already gone and done it, though.”

  “Wait, so Kal doesn’t have to attend school anymore and can just train magic? How is that even fair? He’s already ahead of us, and this will only let him push further ahead.”

  “Dunno,” Arix shrugged. “I think the school and the town were just too scared of standing in his way. At least, that’s what my dad said. Something about not wanting to be the ones responsible for sidelining Ebenshire’s greatest talent.”

  “Aww,” Ellie moaned. “It’s always about Kal. Still,” she added, turning to Arix with a wicked glare.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I just realized I don’t need the both of you here to interrogate you,” she grinned.

  “Wait, Ellie. I swear, there’s nothing more to be said,” Arix backstepped.

  “You say that, but here’s the thing. I don’t believe you!”

  ***

  Kal turned toward his home but skidded to a halt at the end of the street, glanced over his shoulder, and cut off down one of the alleys.

  He ran through the streets toward the western end of town, where the inns and taverns were.

  He wanted to learn more about these demon hunters. If the mage leading them really was from a famous and powerful noble family, it would at least be relatively easy to glean some information about them. He might even be able to find something about them in Daedrik’s library; he just needed a name.

  That must be them. Kal spotted the hitched horses, marked by red and black caparisons—something only a noble house would do.

  “Come to gawk at the demon hunters like the rest of these busy bees, kid?”

  “Hey, some respect, old man. That’s Kal, The Prodigy of Ebenshire.”

  Kal looked over at the two men. One was an old, gummy-jawed man chewing on his toothless mouth, while the other was middle-aged with a barrel gut.

  “Eh,” the old man huffed. “Kid’s a kid.”

  “I’ll show you a kid, ye disrespectful old man,” the man said, grabbing the old guy’s shirt.

  “Seen dozens of them over the years. It’s the same result every time. They come to play their games and leave empty-handed,” another man said, eyeing the horses as he chewed on a wheat strand.

  “Do you recognize those colors?” Kal asked the man, ignoring the escalating fight.

  “The colors? Ye mean on them horses? Bah, good one, kid. Like I give a damn about fancy noble stuff like that.”

  “Right. Well, I better go,” Kal bowed his head and ran off.

  “Kids these days,” the man shook his head.

  I doubt the townsfolk are going to be particularly useful with this one.

  Making his way through a cobbled courtyard that was an open square connecting all of the inns and taverns of Ebenshire, Kal peered through the windows of each establishment for signs of the party.

  The Barking Hen was an old establishment that had been around as long as the town had been. It had a stone facade and three thick chimneys constantly pluming smoke from the hearths, keeping its patrons warm on a damp, gloomy Ebenshire day.

  Through the timber shutters, Kal eyed several armored figures. Ebenshire wasn’t known for getting many visitors, and they didn’t look like guardsmen.

  Bingo. It’s odd that they’re not wearing the colors of the horses, isn’t it? I wonder why that is.

  “Bah!” A figure dropped into one of the table’s seats, and Kal fell below the window. Shuffling up against the wall, he pressed against it to listen.

  “Can you believe these peasants don’t sell wine? Ale and beer, that’s it. Haven’t they a tastebud among the lot of them?”

  “The dark ales not half bad. Give it a try, Egarn. You might be surprised.”

  “Looks dreadful. I’ll stick to this,” the man replied, sipping from a mug. “Not by first choice, but at least the sweetness of the honey ale drowns out the taste of poverty—a little.”

  “Good. Wouldn’t want to sour your tongue with poverty,” a woman across the table said.

  “Really, Zazie, what’s climbed up your asshole this morning?”

  “You, Egarn. You did. You have no idea how pissed I’m going to be if I don’t get paid for this job.”

  “Wait, we’re not getting paid?”

  “Shut it, Zazie. And everyone else, don’t worry. You’re all going to be getting paid. It’s just that time of the month, and Zazie doesn’t seem to be able to keep her mouth shut.”

  “That time of the month?” Zazie growled, lip twitching.

  “Calm down,” Hyrax said, placing a hand on Zazie’s shoulder. “Don’t forget he’s still our leader and a noble.”

  “You’re lucky, Egarn,” Zazie relaxed back into her chair. “Also, he’s broke,” she added, crossing her arms.

  “You’re broke?”

  “I’m not broke. You’ve gone too far, Zazie. You’d better watch that mouth of yours. Another word out of your lips about my finances, and you’ll be looking for a job. ”

  “Maybe I should.”

  “Maybe you should—what?”

  “Leave. Find a new job. You haven’t caught a demon in months now. And now you take a job like this? Are you even planning on finishing this job, Egarn? Or was it just an easy advance you saw and took the opportunity? It's not like it matters. Even if you go broke, you can always run home to Daddy and ask for help. While we’re screwed.”

  “What utter disrespect you pay the scion of House Warwick with your words. If you keep going, you’ll be lucky to get any jobs in Lyssia.”

  Okay, I have a name now, at least. Egarn of House Warwick

  Zazie glared at Egarn briefly, then huffed and gulped from her mug.

  “Good. I hope you don’t forget your place again. I hear one more word like those from your lips, and you can rest assured that I will ruin your chances of ever being hired by a noble house again.”

  “Sorry, sir, but are you really broke?” A large, bald man in heavy armor said. “I send a stipend to–”

  “I’m not broke. Now, enough of this. Enough of this mindless chatter. What we ought to be doing is coming up with a plan to find and catch or exorcize this damnable fiend.”

  “Isn’t that your job?”

  “My what?”

  “You’re the mage, aren’t you…you know. We’re just the auxiliaries here to help you, but don’t the mages usually do the demon-finding part?”

  “Are you an idiot?” Egarn growled. “What about you? You’re our scout, aren’t you? Aren’t you meant to be useful? Why am I even paying you if you expect me to do all the work?”

  “I am—but—”

  “But, but, but. I’m sick of excuses. Why aren’t you scouting? Why are you sitting here enjoying the fruits of my coin while failing at your job?”

  “Why aren’t I scouting? I thought we were—” The man looked around. “Where do you want me to scout?”

  “Where do you think, idiot? The forest. You do realize why we’re here, don’t you? Remember those Dimvale Woods in the brief?” Egarn nodded as if he were talking to someone who wasn’t all there. “Yes, are you catching up now? The same woods we came all the way here for. I dunno, maybe you should start there.”

  “What, like now?”

  “Yes, now. You were all complaining about getting paid, weren’t you?”

  “I—ah,” the man stammered and looked around at the evasive gazes of his companions. “Fine, I’ll go scouting,” he added, rising from his chair.

  “See,” Egarn looked around smugly. “We’re already one step closer to finding the demon. I just have to whip you lazy buggers into action. Whatever would you lot do without me?”

  This Egarn guy doesn’t inspire much confidence, does he?

  “If there’s a demon,” Zazie corrected.

  “If? What do you mean, if?”

  “I mean, if there’s a demon. We’re not the first to come looking for whatever is hiding in those woods. If there’s actually a fiend in there, why does everyone keep failing to find it?”

  “Maybe they’re just not as competent as me.”

  “Right,” Zazie scoffed.

  As entertaining as listening in on this back-and-forth is, I think I’ve got enough information to work with now. It's time to do a little research on this Warwick family.

  Even if the noble mage was incompetent, Kal saw an opportunity in this man’s arrival. He could be useful if his family were as powerful and influential as people suggested. Kal just had to figure out how.