The otherworldly monstrosity held onto Alan, dragging him closer to the abyssal portal. It knew it was close to death, but it had gotten in one final strike. Its claws had torn through Alan’s armor, crippling him. And even as he collapsed to the dirt, it wrapped one of its remaining tentacles around his uninjured leg.

“Alan!” Tisara’s arrows rained down on the creature, but it held fast.

Far behind her, Rufus kneeled next to Boronas, trying to shake the armored dwarf awake. There was a look of horror on the younger man’s face as he realized what was happening. Boronas was unconscious, having drawn the monster’s ire to create an opening. And Rufus was a fierce fighter, but his magic reserves were weak. The crossbow by his side would be just as useful as Tisara’s bow.

There’s nothing any of them can do.

A sense of acceptance washed over him. His friends would bring news of the demon’s demise back to King Porventus. Their homeland, and their entire plane of existence, would be safe. It was a small price to pay.

“Looks like this is it.” He felt his fingers losing strength as the creature yanked again.

Then Rufus was running – the poor kid looked so desperate to help. Alan felt a sense of pride at that. Once upon a time, Rufus had been a weakling, freshly kicked out of the magic academy. And over the years, they had trained and fought until he could stand at their side as an equal.

“Be seeing ya, kiddo.” The monstrosity’s roar nearly drowned out his words.

But as the creature tugged him again toward the churning portal, the air changed. Rufus raised one hand as if to cast a spell.

“Let him go!” Four dark green beams erupted from Rufus’s palm.

They collided with the creature with frightening force. Each blast sent a shockwave rippling through the air. The first one caused the creature’s grip on Alan’s leg to loosen. Then, the next three sent it hurtling backward and through the portal. There was a sharp crack, as the dimensional tear closed. All that was left was Rufus’s ragged panting.

When the shock wore off, Alan said, “Rufus?”

His voice seemed far too loud in the now-empty chamber. Rufus’s pale face looked sickly in the glow of the arcane torches. His eyes darted from Alan to the location of the portal, and back.

Then, Rufus’s outstretched arm lowered. “I… I’m sorry. I should’ve said something.”

Rufus turned toward Tisara, who had a look of confusion on her face.

“I… I’ll go.”

Before Rufus could take more than a few steps, Alan said, “Rufus.”

The kid froze before turning a nervous face back toward him.

“Could you help me up here? I’m kinda down both legs.” He motioned at his injuries. “We can talk when we get out of this place.”

Rufus still looked ready to run. But a moment later, his shoulders slumped as he came over to help Alan to his feet. Tisara used the last bit of her natural abilities to rouse Boronas.

“Did we get ‘im?” was all he could muster.

About half an hour of careful backtracking later, they arrived at their campsite. Tisara tended to Alan’s legs as he regarded Rufus from across the campfire.

Finally, he said, “You’re a warlock?”

“Sorry,” was all Rufus said.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? We’ve been traveling for so long.” He winced as Tisara tightened the bandage.

“I… I didn’t want you to kick me out.” Rufus’s voice was barely a whisper.

Boronas shook his head. “Now why would we do such a thing?”

Tisara let out a soft sigh. “Warlocks in Iverden are heavily persecuted. Don’t you remember where we met him?”

Rufus flinched at the reminder.

“Er… was that where we met him?” Boronas let out a nervous chuckle. “I’d forgotten.”

An awkward silence fell on the camp. Tisara busied herself with looking after Boronas’s injuries. When she finally got to Rufus, he shied away from her.

“You don’t have to. I’ll be on my way.” Rufus did not meet her gaze.

Tisara’s eyes narrowed, a sign that promised much retribution when this ordeal was over.

Alan quickly cleared his throat to diffuse the situation. “Well, I’d rather you didn’t leave. We’ve certainly earned a break from this adventuring stuff. Maybe we can travel a bit. We’ve worked well as a team. I don’t see why that should change.”

“Yeah. Do you know how hard it is to find someone who will put up with the princess’s temper?”

A knife whizzed by Boronas’s face, clipping a bit of his beard. That only seemed to make Rufus more anxious. With a sigh, Alan struggled to his feet. Tisara was at his side in a flash, helping him over to Rufus.

“How about we start over?” He held out a hand. “Alan Har, Paladin of Luristae.”

Rufus did not respond.

Alan tried again. “Please. You’ve been a good friend to me – to all of us.”

Finally, Rufus took the proffered hand.

“Rufus Hensbracht. Warlock of Axla, Goddess of the Green.”

...

Quick one cuz I'm busy and have something else to get to.

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.