Haven's Addiction

“What did I just do?” I asked myself. I looked at the orb in my hand. The perfectly round red sphere pulsated with an undeniably powerful energy. I felt drawn to it much like when I was in the presence of Nasgoth Djeduous, the power of it drawing me in like a long lost soul mate.

Edic and Boregard came closer as I continued to step back in awe of the growing pool of molten rock that had once been a cave floor.

“What kind of illusion is this?” I asked, not looking away from it.

“The real kind,” Edic replied, just as fascinated.

“We need to leave,” Boregard tugged on both of us, drawing us away. As the lava pool grew, its rate of encroachment increased. The structure of the cavern wall weakened as the ground around it turned to liquid rock. It hadn’t given way yet, but was only a matter of time. I sure as hell didn’t want to be anywhere near when it did.

We returned to Drognaus, who sat slumped over his brothers body in mourning. Gerald and Vincent were already there with a stuffed satchel that supposedly contained the Grimoire.

“We need to leave, sir,” Gerald prodded the sullen dragon. “This place will collapse soon.”

“I know,” the downtrodden dragon replied. “Go ahead. I will meet you at the castle. I have my brother to attend to first.”

Gerald nodded and led us away. We headed towards the far door that the man exited earlier. Looking back, I couldn’t believe what we were leaving behind. Placidious had a full manufacturing facility right on hand that he used to create enough enchanted weapons to completely stock a small army.

Placidious’s treasure was the greatest loss. I read that dragons hoarded wealth over their lifespans, but had no idea the extent to which that was true. A kings ransom in riches still sat there in the treasure mound. Apparently his empire was vastly more wealthy than anyone anticipated. Sure, I didn’t need the money. I already had more than I was ever going to use in a lifetime, but it was a damn shame knowing that all of it would soon be destroyed. It was like watching a beautiful work of art going up in flames in a house fire. I may have even shed a tear.

As we neared the door, the far cavern wall could be heard collapsing. It sounded like a series of sickening crunches, like bone grinding on bone that made the whole world around us shake.

Drognaus called out to me above the noise, directly into my head, a voice that only I could hear.

“I am truly sorry for dragging you into this,” was all he said.

I looked back, thinking it was all my imagination, to see Drognaus looking right at me, a sad look in his reptilian eyes. He nodded gently before turning back to the body of his fallen brother.

We exited the cavern into a small room covered in markings similar to that of the teleportation room in the Mages guild. Now I understood how he was able to conduct his business while keeping the town closed off from the rest of the world. Placidious really was a sneaky bastard. ‘Was’ being the operative word now.

Gerald closed his eyes and chanted a few words, putting his palm against one wall. The runes began to glow, and before I knew it we stood in a small clearing of trees. The trees trunks were all glowing with the same markings as the walls in the room we were in, and then faded away into nothing. Once the light was gone they looked like normal trees. Yep, a sneaky bastard.

The patch of trees was outside of the forest that surrounded Placid, the mountain in the center of the forest could be seen in the distance. It was already late afternoon. Judging by the position of the mountain, we were somewhere on the opposite side of Placid.

Nearby we found a large barn used as a way station for transporting goods and materials. We searched it over and found it to be modestly stocked, but for the most part abandoned. Being out in the middle of nowhere and so close to the forest where the wolves patrolled, there was no need keep a regular guard there. The building was nothing more than a way station near a hidden teleport pad. The only security they needed was when they were in the process of transporting goods.

We set up camp there for the night. Because of the collars, Gerald wasn’t able to place wards over the doors and around the building to protect us, so we needed to stand watch. It was warm enough inside that we didn’t need to set up a campfire. We certainly didn’t need to have one for light, either. By nightfall the mountain towering over Placid was aglow with fire. Ash filled the sky, blocking out the sun for a premature sunset. The stench of smoke and sulfur was overpoweringly nauseating. The burning of Placid lit up the sky with a red and orange glow. Unfortunately we could see it all clearly from the windows of the barn. It would have been beautiful if it wasn’t so horrible.

No one said a word to each other all evening before we turned in for the night. We were able to eat real food from the larder stored in the barn. Even that didn’t put anyone in higher spirits. My appetite was gone, and I only ate the food out of necessity.

Somehow they were all able to fall asleep, aside from Vincent who took the first watch. Being mostly comprised of veteran warriors, they learned long ago that the importance of survival on the field was to fall asleep and wake up in an instant. Even Edic was out cold, likely thoroughly exhausted. I relieved Vincent of duty when it became clearly evident that I wouldn’t be able to get a wink of sleep.

All I could think about was the people of Placid. They were all dead now. The gilded cage they became accustomed to became their tomb. They wouldn’t have been able to escape no matter how hard they tried. They either died of smoke inhalation, were burned alive by lava, were killed by the mushrooms as they tried to escape, or were devoured by wolves.

Granted there were spies and minions of Placidious who you could only have moderate sympathy for. They were employees of an evil, insane dragon, and sealed their own fate when they took the job. That’s the risk you take when you agree to that sort of occupation. It was thinking about the rest of the town that make my stomach churn.

They were all innocent people, farmers and miners who were just trying to make a living. None of them probably ever met Placidious in their lives, let alone knew he was a dragon. For all they knew he had a dragon under his employ like John suggested. The dragon didn’t bother them, so they had no worries about it.

How many of them were there? Hundreds? Considering the size of the town, probably about seven hundred innocent men, women, and children who were all now dead. All because of the orb. All because of me.

I took the orb out of my bag, holding it up in my hand examining it.

“All this over a book and ball,” I muttered to myself, not even aware that I said it out loud. “Whatever happened to the good old day days when wars were started over women, or because god said so?”

‘That still occurs,’ a voice said in my mind. If I was still at home and had never even heard of Haven, psionic abilities, or real magic powers, I would have heard that voice and thought of it as the little devil standing on my shoulder whispering things into my ear that would get me into a world of trouble; or that I had gone insane. As it turns out, I wasn’t that far off with either.

‘Who are you?’ I asked in my head to whoever was trying to communicate with me. It could be from any number of spells or abilities. Whoever they were could be right next to me or anywhere in the world, depending on their abilities.

‘Barthandolous Dracognio,’ the voice replied.

I thought about it for a moment. The name rung a bell, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

‘What do you want, Barthandolous?’ I inquired, still not sure of where I heard the name before.

‘To talk, of course,’ the voice was strong and powerful, even though it couldn’t be physically heard. It carried a weight of authority, of command. ‘I would like to meet my new owner.’

Owner? What the hell was he talking about? Was this a ploy from one of Placidious’s minions, still lurking in the area trying to ensnare me? I stood up to look out the window and see if anyone lurked outside in the dark.

‘This is the part of the conversation where you introduce yourself,’ the voice said.

‘Oh, sure,’ I replied, still skeptical. ‘Bailey.’ I was hesitant to give my full name, because having a persons real name when they give it to you freely is a powerful force that can be used against you when dealing with magic. Dragons had notoriously long names, so even if he was a real dragon he was holding back, and I felt it wise to do the same.

‘Well, Master Bailey, I must apologize for my outburst earlier. That bastage Placidious betrayed me, and I lost my temper.’

Now I was thoroughly confused. What did he apologize for? Apparently I had met him somewhere before without realizing it. Was it the spy John, or one of Placidious’ other minions who I shot, but didn’t quite kill? And was he really a ‘He’? With no actual voice being heard, I didn’t have a way to discern gender or race.

‘I must say,’ he continued, ‘that your display back there was quite impressive. A bit foolish and comical to watch, but impressive none the less.’

‘Where are you Barthandolous?’ I asked, still trying to place the name.

‘Why, in your hand of course.’ I looked down at the orb in my clenched palm, and within the swirling red smoke an eye appeared, reptilian and yellow just like Placidious, looking straight at me before it blinked.

That was when it hit me. I remembered reading the name Barthandolous while in the library. That was the name of the venerable red dragon who assisted in the saving of Haven, one of The Twelve.

‘Are you The Barthandolous, one of the saviors of Haven?’

‘Ah, I haven’t been called that in a very long time. Few of your generation have even heard of us. The sages have done an outstanding job of covering up our history.’ He sounded surprisingly polite.

I couldn’t believe it. This was it. This was one of The Twelve. He would be able to tell me what they did to defeat the Graxis. This is exactly what I spent weeks looking for. This was my chance to get home. Or was it? Was this for real, or another ploy? I should have been cautious, cynical, and paranoid with the prospect of getting home, but I got too excited. The first real prospect since arriving in Haven was now, literally, in the palm of my hand.

‘What can you tell me about the Graxis?’ I demanded more than asked.

‘Ahahahaha,’ his laughter rang through my head like a resonating gong. ‘Right to the point. I like you already. We will do well together.’

I didn’t know whether to be insulted or flattered. ‘You still haven’t answered my question.’ He laughed again, just as boisterous as ever, which was strange considering it was all in my head and not out loud.

‘The Graxis are frightening abominations, or at least they were.’

‘Are,’ I interrupted bitterly. ‘They attacked my world just over a month ago.’

‘Interesting,’ he mused. ‘They died away thousands of years ago. They are extinct. I saw to that personally. You have no idea the number of people who were sacrificed in order to make that happen.’ It was difficult to decipher his tone. This either brought him sadness or glee, or maybe a bit of both. I couldn’t tell for sure. I was reminded of the flash of insanity I saw in Placidious’s eyes not long before.

‘How did you defeat them? Show me how you did it.’ I grew impatient and wanted, needed, answers.

‘Hm, you can’t handle that.’

‘Try me.’

‘Are you sure? It will be very painful.’ He spoke to me slowly, as if to a small child.

‘Yes,’ I responded adamantly. I was no child, and ready for anything.

‘As you wish, Master Bailey.’

Then it came. A flood of images like a hundred television screens playing footage in fast forward all at once, pumped directly into my brain. When he said it would be painful, he wasn’t kidding. Not physically painful, but emotionally crippling. The pain was beyond measure. I would have favored continuous shocking from the collar for a week straight. Hell, I would have preferred anything over this. My mind was bombarded with imagery that assaulted my brain like a castle wall being attacked by a meteor shower. Everything he knew about the Graxis through experience went directly into my head.

The Graxis were parasites that clung to a host and dominated them. Unfortunately, this greatly reduced the lifespans of the host. They traveled from one world to another because they ran out of hosts. That was also how they became so powerful. They took over the achievements of those they crossed, making them the most efficient killing machines. They were unstoppable because they assimilated the most advanced weapons and strategies of every race they encountered. They scouted out worlds ahead of time discreetly to examine their defenses. They did everything they could to take as many people alive as possible since they were a food source. They took down defenses while simultaneously targeting the strongest offensive capabilities on the planet, then systematically rounding up people as hosts.

Barthandolous lived in a world that had not yet been ravaged by the Graxis. He was visited by a golden dragon who enlightened him on the Graxis threat and enlisted his aid in eliminating them. He answered the call, came to pre-Haven, and they obliterated the Graxis.

The gold dragon and a man somehow knew exactly how and where to hit the Graxis. The Graxis scouts found no magical threats whatsoever, nor any dragons to contend with. As the Graxis prepared to destroy the planets offensive, the thirteen dragons struck first. The only real weapon they used was surprise. The Graxis thought it was over before it started like it had been on a thousand other worlds. They became arrogant, and it was their downfall.

I finally had the answer I sought for, and it wasn’t at all helpful. The time to strike would be shortly after the firebomb attack, which would be the moment I would be returning home. Unlike The Twelve, I wouldn’t have the luxury of surprise. It already happened to them once. They wouldn’t likely make that mistake again. The Graxis were cold, calculated, and very experienced at dominating planets. They wouldn’t attack until they had the numbers to confidently do so. Even with the most powerful weapons of Haven at my disposal, I was still only one person. I could learn to rain down fire upon my enemies, but it wouldn’t be enough. I would eventually be overrun by the Graxis. It was hopeless.

I awoke from the pain, literally laying on the floor in a puddle of my own drool. I thought for sure that I would have screamed out loud enough to wake the dead, or at least my companions, from the pain, but their still forms remained in slumber. The intensity of it must have put me into a seizure. The telltale drowsiness were a sure indicator of that. It took me a few moments to get my bearings. I still held the red orb tightly in my right hand. My fingers were cramped from clutching it so tightly, my knuckles turning white. I switched it to my left hand, not wanting to lose contact with it.

I couldn’t think of what to say to Barthandolous. There didn’t seem to be anything to say. He was able to save Haven, but there was no way to save Earth.

‘You are quiet,’ he finally said. ‘Was it too much for you?’

‘No, I got it.’ I was still in a daze. ‘It’s just that it’s not what I was expecting.’

‘It never is. Such is life.’

‘I don’t know what to do now. All my plans are shot to hell,’ I shook my head in despair.

‘What were your plans?’

I told him about how I came to Haven, how my world had been attacked by the Graxis, what I learned about The Twelve, and even about how I would be returning from the point I left. Perhaps I shouldn’t have revealed that last part, but something told me that I could trust him. Or at the very least I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from him since he was already in my head, and I might as well be completely honest.

‘If you believe that all is lost,’ he responded without hesitation as soon as my tale was over, ‘then I regret to inform you that it is not.’

I looked at the Orb, confused, which seemed pretty ridiculous considering that he probably couldn’t see out.

‘You can always do what The Man did.’

‘What man?’ My interest peaked.

‘The man who brought forth the gold dragon who recruited us.’

‘Who was he?’ A glimmer of hope got me excited again. ‘What did he do?’

‘I do not know who he was, I never met him. I only spoke with The Dragon. The Dragon coordinated our kind while The Man coordinated yours. Rumor has it that he was a normal man until the day of the attack. It is possible that he went through the same thing you are. He went elsewhere, learned how to summon the dragon, learned our locations, and brought together the allies from multiple realms needed to vanquish the Graxis.’

’What You need to do,′ his tone changing to that of a mentor giving serious advice, ‘is become a Champion, and not a Hero.’

‘What’s the difference?’

‘Heroes are legendary, but often get themselves killed because they have to take it all on themselves. Champions are less famous, but with a much higher success and survival rate. Champions inspire others to a call to arms in the face of adversity, Heroes merely save them or die trying. You will only be able to save your world if you can learn to become the Champion who will lead the world into saving themselves.’

I had to think about that one for a while. He was absolutely right. I looked at my role in all this as being the hero in charge of saving the world. I had the typical American comic book hero complex. There’s no way conceivable, no matter how much time I had to prepare, to save the world by killing one Graxis at a time, even with an everlasting can of Anti-Graxis spray that kills on contact.

But as a champion I could do exactly what was done to save this world. I could find out how to summon my own army from other worlds like Haven to defeat the Graxis. Hell, I could follow exactly in their footsteps and summon the same twelve dragons with all their Graxis slaying experience.

“Barthandolous,′ I made a point of saying his name because it seemed to hold power over him. ‘Where are the other 11 dragons?’

‘They are yet here on Haven,’ he sounded so positive that it was hard to believe.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course. Part of our imprisonment is that the Orbs can never be taken from Haven.’

‘How did you become imprisoned?’ That last word really struck a cord, and warning bells went off in my head. Was it a good idea for me to be talking with a prisoner?

‘A group of powerful insurgents imprisoned us when we were gathered together in a conference to establish order in the realm.’ Every time he said the word, imprisoned, or anything alluding to it, my spidey sense tingled.

‘Why did they do that?’

‘Because we were merely the Heroes of Haven. The dragon and the man were the Champions. They were the wise ones to fade into the shadows after the conflict was over. We chose to stay and continue ruling to maintain order in all the chaos. Sentient beings only care for heroes when they need saving. When there is no apparent need to be saved, they eventually turn on those they once revered. Such is the way of the universe.’

He seemed to have a valid point, but how much of their imprisonment had to do with their own policies and practices, and how much of it was jealousy over the power they held? ‘I’ve read that you became corrupt and malicious rulers.’

‘Hah,’ he scoffed. ‘No more so than before we became heroes. The ungrateful whelps thought they could do a better job of running the realm.’ The bitterness to his tone was unmistakable. ‘In truth, they just wanted the power of ruling for themselves. Look what it got them. Hundreds of years of chaos that they still have not fully recovered from.’

‘Why didn’t they just kill you? It seems like they had the opportunity.’

‘Because they can’t. We are eternal dragons. We can not die. So they imprisoned us instead.’

Immortal dragons? That was certainly never mentioned in the text I found. ‘How do I find the others? How do I set you free?’

‘There are but two ways to free us from the Orbs. Either to take over one of our kind and trade places with them, or assemble us all together and reverse the same ritual that imprisoned us.’

‘Trade places with your kind? Oh...’ I finally got it. That’s why he got so upset with Placidious for taking the cowards way out.

I read about rituals where people could body swap while researching how my body here in Haven could have been duplicated. It took time to form a strong enough connection to make the swap complete without bringing harm to either person. The synapses in the brain are very precise and specific to each individual. Trading one for another without losing your mind involves stretching out the new persons synapses over top of what exists, like replacing a program on the computer. These are living beings, so you cant just wipe the hard drive and install a new operating system without killing them. You can, however, install a new OS over top of the existing one since the brain is more powerful than any supercomputer. Once the new OS is completely installed, you simply delete the old one, one program at a time.

Placidious and Barthandolous were in the process of doing exactly that. Barthandolous had been recreated, body and mind, within Placidious. Barthandolous would then be free and Placidious would be trapped in the Orb. Either Placidious decided to back out of the deal, or didn’t know about it until later and killed himself before being trapped in the Orb. I considered asking which it was, but decided to keep that tidbit to myself.

‘We had a deal, Placidious and I,’ he said. ‘I would give him knowledge and power while slowly transforming him into a dragon. He took the deal willingly, but in the end chose death.’

That was useful information, but his response caught me off guard. It was almost like he read my thoughts.

‘I am reading your thoughts,’ he responded right on cue, ‘at least in a rudimentary way. Only your direct thoughts. I can do so with all of my owners.’

No wonder Placidious’s betrayal to back out of the deal pissed him off enough to obliterate an entire town, he hadn’t seen it coming. He could read Placidious’s thoughts, yet Placidious still found a way to circumvent it. Not to mentioned that Placidious was a full fledged dragon. The cycle was probably near completion, and Barthandolous was just about to be free.

‘So you are saying that I own you?’ I felt myself heading towards dangerous waters, but plunged in anyway. I never was one to take the half-assed approach. ‘Are you going to make the same deal with me as you did with Placidious?’

‘Not quite. Everyone is different. There is a different price that you are willing to pay. You are determined to return home, so offering you power in exchange for eventual imprisonment and immortality will not suit you.’

‘So what is the deal with the devil?’ I wasn’t kidding myself. He was an evil bastard, as red dragons go, whose only goal was to become free at all cost, even at the expense of others. The destruction of Placid, which still smoldered in the distance outside the window, was proof positive of that.

‘My goal is to get home and save my people. Your goal is to get out of this Orb. What will get us both what we want?’

‘There is another way.’

‘I’m listening.’ Well, actually I wasn’t literally, but I didn’t know what else to call it. I’m thinking? I’m receptive to your thought transmissions?

‘The alternative would be to gather all the Orbs together and reverse the ritual used to ensnare us.’

‘Freeing all of you?’

‘Precisely.’

I had to think about that one. Freeing one extremely powerful immortal dragon was one thing, but freeing twelve of them would be another matter entirely. Not only was it an issue of how I would be able to pull it off, but Should I do it? They were imprisoned for a reason, and someone went to great lengths in making sure they were permanently trapped. I didn’t know if the punishment was just or not. All I had to go on was the word of the prisoner, and the prisoners always claim innocence. Even OJ swore he didn’t do it.

‘It’s a deal,’ I said without putting any more thought into it. Once they were released from their prison it wouldn’t be my problem anymore. Besides, I would be doing Haven a favor. They may have to deal with the tyranny of their former rulers yet again, but it was better than being wiped out at the hands of the Graxis, which would most definitely happen if I didn’t return home to take care of them. If I failed at saving earth, then Haven would need The Twelve anyway. I may have been insanely determined to get back home, but I wasn’t completely delusional to think that I would succeed on my own.

And so came the decision of choosing between the lesser of two evils. Maybe it was selfish of me to choose the path of saving my home, and the ones I love. I had no way to tell at the time if it was the right choice. To this day I’m still not sure of it. Barthandolous agreed to teach me everything I would need to defeat the Graxis along the way to retrieving the other Orbs and releasing them. Maybe that’s why I was sent here, freeing The Twelve would be the act that sends me back home. At least that’s what I told myself to justify the choice.

The first thing he did was remove the discipline collar. It was very unceremonious. As soon as I agreed, I could hear a fizzling pop, like the cork of a champagne bottle opening, followed by the sound of metal creaking. I reached for the back of my neck and the clasp to the collar came undone. As soon as it was off I no longer felt disconnected from the world, like a fog around me that had finally been lifted. That was when I felt it. The most powerful feeling I have ever experienced before or since, the sensation that I was on the right path. Somehow I knew that freeing The Twelve was what I had to do. It wasn’t anything Barthandolous could have done to impress on me through any spell. I just knew. There was no denying it.

It’s that little voice that tells you when you are on the right path whenever you have a Yahoo moment to a puzzle you have been struggling to figure out for years. Once that moment comes, the rest of the pieces fall into place with unnatural speed. That moment shone down on me like a blinding ray of sunshine directly from the heavens with a hallelujah choir singing in the background. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, like it had been handed down to me directly from god, that I was to free The Twelve, and that I would return home immediately after.

Barthandolous spent the rest of the night teaching me about magic and about the other Dragon Orbs. The magic lessons were simple, basic spells. They weren’t like using any magic I saw anyone else use before. The lessons he taught were how spells worked. The spells I would be casting would be done through him. Any spells in his repertoire were at my disposal. All I had to do was understand the spells capabilities and limitations so I could request the correct spell from him.

I learned the location of the other eleven Orbs and a bit about their owners. The dragons trapped within could communicate with each other at will, but weren’t always anxious to share information. I, of course, possessed the Orb of the Red Dragon. I got the sneaking suspicion that all of the other Orb holders now knew my identity, which was a little unsettling.

The owner of the Orb of the Silver Dragon was a man by the name of Besil Siegemoore, who was apparently quite anxious to be rid of it. This seemed like an excellent place for me to start in my search of collecting them.

The Orb of the Bronze Dragon and Shadow dragon were both owned by Orin Stragg, a powerful mage who yearned to acquire more of the Orbs. These would likely pose a challenge.

The Orb of the Cloud Dragon was owned by a man named Droclin Lar, a name that seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite place. I knew I would figure it out at some point.

The Orb of the Green Dragon was owned by someone known as the King of Thieves. That would definitely be difficult if the abilities lived up to the name.

The orb of the Blue Dragon was owned by a group of necromancers who seemed to worship it as a totem to their cult.

The Orbs of the White Dragon and Brass Dragon currently didn’t have owners and were buried somewhere awaiting discovery. Those seemed like tempting endeavors to pursue.

The Orb of the Black Dragon was owned by the Carnivex. Yes, the Carnivex. So it seemed that Ferdinand wasn’t completely paranoid after all. His mortal enemies were real. If they were as sneaky as he claimed them to be, they would be difficult enough to track, let alone take the Orb from them.

There was no doubt that I would need to take the majority of the Orbs from their owners by force. I was ready to face that. This was for the greater good. If the Graxis weren’t wiped out, they would all end up dead anyway.

Last but not least, the Orb of the Gold Dragon and Copper Dragon were owned by Drognaus. It was a sure bet that he wouldn’t be willing to part with them easily, but who knows. Since he took me under his tutelage he might be willing to work with me on a method to defeat the Graxis. If he couldn’t be persuaded, well, I already knew the defenses he held at his castle. That would be a tough fight.

‘The Gold clan come from a long line of conspirators who have devoted their lives to the containment of the Orbs,’ Barthandolous told me. ‘They do not seek them for power as others do, but their intentions are just as insidious. All of the Orbs contain the magic of the dragons within, some of the most powerful eternal creatures ever to exist. The Gold clan still seeks power, but instead of gaining more of it they seek to keep their enemies from gaining any. This makes them bullies who want nothing more than to suppress the abilities of others.’

‘They may be your allies now, but only until you have gained enough skill and mastery that you might become a rival to them. Make no mistake, they will NOT let you keep the Orb, or any of the Orbs for that matter, and they will take it away from you by any source necessary.’

The sun began to rise in the horizon as a contrast to the still burning visage of what had once been Placid. I didn’t realized how long I talked to Barthandolous until he informed me that the others would be waking soon. I could sense the first stirrings of the group as they edged toward wakefulness. I gathered up my things so that I would be ready to leave. I had made up my mind. I would be departing without them, but there was one thing I had to take care of before I left. Barthandolous used a spell to show me something that I found particularly interesting, and infuriating.

I used the bracers to dismiss the shotgun and bring out one of the pistols. God it felt good to use them again without the risk of electric shock. I walked over to my colleagues as they lay in their bedrolls, sound asleep. The poor things, this was their first real sleep in days. So precious to watch. So vulnerable.

Unfortunately for them, they woke to the sound of Edic screaming in pain as I shot him in the leg.