Sal watched as Lord Elos cackled and placed one boot on the head of King Orgainne. All around them, skeletons moved chests of gold and crates of artifacts into the town square. More skeletons guarded soldiers and civilians alike. Though the living outnumbered the dead, no one seemed willing to fight. A contingent of bandits made doubly sure of that.

“The treasures of the kingdom are mine!” Elos held up a gleaming shard of dark material. “Behold! The Stone of Nheskir! With it, I will become the ruler of the undead!”

Orgainne let out a grunt as Elos stepped harder.

“Father!” A young woman tried to rush to Orgainne’s aid, but a man in armor held her back.

“No, Nadira! It’s too dangerous!”

“But – ”

“We must believe!” An old man in a wrinkled robe placed his hand over Nadira’s. “The prophecy will come true! The hero will come to save us!”

Hearing this, Elos only laughed harder. “Hero? There hasn’t been a hero in this land for centuries! The Great Sage’s fabled Site of Arrival? Empty! I had a few of my men watch that place during the week this ‘hero’ was supposed to emerge. Just in case. Sorry to disappoint you, Elder Wavel.”

Elder Wavel slumped. “No…”

Disheartened murmurs ran through the captive crowd. Nadira let out a strangled sob. Their misery only seemed to strengthen Lord Elos. Not a single person tried to fight against their fate. With a sigh, Sal got up from his seat amongst a group of captive adventurers.

A nearby bandit raised his sword. “Hey! Sit back down!”

Sal ignored him. The bandit swung with a cry, only for his blade to pass through an illusory figure of Sal. The clang of the bandit’s sword hitting stone drew Elos’s attention.

“What’s this?” An amused grin formed on Elos’s face. “Do we actually have a hero?”

Sal waved his hand. “No, no. I’m just here for the hero’s sword. You carry on.”

That smile faded. “Excuse me?”

“I figured this was the easiest way to get to the thing without all the politics.” He walked past Lord Elos toward one of the piles of artifacts.

The silence was deafening. All eyes were on him, some in disbelief, others in hope.

It’s always like this.

Without waiting, he began rummaging through a pile of gold and jewelry.

“Stop right there!” A blast of necrotic energy collided with his back, but his armor absorbed the brunt of the damage.

“Can you not? I’d rather not do this right now.” Sal dug a bit deeper into the pile and pulled out a gleaming blade. “Ah, there you are. You wouldn’t believe how much this thing sells for.”

Elder Wavel let out a gasp. “It’s him! No one else can – ”

“Touch this blade?” Sal waved the sword around. “Nah. It’s just a simple ward. Easy enough to remove. Makes selling it way more convenient.”

The old man’s face reddened. “Sell – That is a priceless artifact! You’re supposed to save us from his evil! It’s your destiny!”

Sal rolled his eyes and put the blade into a pocket dimension. “Let me ask you something – old wizard man – since you’re so enamored with this destiny thing. What is your part in this ‘destiny’, hm? What prophecy is it this time?”

Wavel’s jaw trembled before he said, “I… I am to be a guide and mentor. To guide you into defeating this world’s evils.”

Sal nodded. “Right, right. A wise mentor that does little more than train me and then dies when his mission is fulfilled.”

“What – ?”

“Do you think it’s your destiny to die just so a ‘hero’ can have a growth spurt?”

Elder Wavel blinked. “Er… what? No, that’s not how it works!”

“That’s exactly how it works!” Sal turned on the cowering masses. “And you lot! Did you even try to fight against Elos? Sure didn’t see any blood on my way into town. Just a lot of knights being surrounded by the undead. Seems like Elos was here to take hostages and you all just let him.”

Silence followed his observation. Then, Lord Elos let out a soft chuckle.

“Such an astute hero. You’d do well by my side. Together we can – ”

“No thanks. I’m gonna pawn this sword and enjoy my vacation.” Sal jabbed a finger at the crowd. “If they want saving, they can save themselves.”

Lord Elos’s eyes narrowed. “They wouldn’t dare. They’re too reliant on their prophecies and heroes to save them.”

“Yeah? Well, this hero is here and he’s saying, ‘good luck’. I’ve had it with these stupid prophecies and whatnot.” Sal waved his hand. “You want your kingdom back? He’s one necromancer with the power to control about a hundred skeletons. That stupid gem maybe doubles it. Behind him is a bandit clan of about fifty. You’re a city of adventurers and a standing army of almost triple that. You do the math.”

Through the stunned silence, a few resentful faces grew thoughtful. Sal gathered mana in the air and wrapped it around himself as he had done in past lives. Teleportation – a high-level spell most spellcasters could only dream of accomplishing. And as his surroundings began to shift, he gave the stunned crowd one last wave.

“Toodles.”

...

Might be a fun idea to expand on. I'll put it in the list with all the other ideas that could use expanding upon :P

If you're interested in my works, the archive of my various writing responses can be found in my writing portfolio, link through my profile. There's also an original story, The Crossroads.

Thanks for reading.