Chapter 53: Do Work, Get Paid

Like a shiver of ravenous sharks, the eight hellhounds swam through the ocean of tall grass. Sensing an abundance of prey in front of them, they branched out in several different directions. The lead hound let out an excited howl as it sped forward in a straight line, its claws digging into the soft soil providing it with traction.

Bursting from the tall grass, it bounded up the small embankment just before the dirt road. Its simple mind never stopping to wonder why the prey it had been chasing for so long was currently planted in the ground, it only knew that soon it would be able to fill its belly. It opened its maw wide, teeth wet with saliva glistening in the afternoon sun.

An explosion of dirt and small rocks peppered the hellhounds body, sending it slightly off course. Loosing its footing, it fell hard on its side, skidding over the road and down the other side. Enraged, the hound jumped to its feet, ready to attack whatever it was that had harmed it.

Snarling, the hellhound's black eyes darted back and forth, searching for the threat. With its sharp hearing it could pick up the faintest of sounds, even with the constant din of screaming coming from the two heads poking out of the ground, it could still make out the faint sound of the birds off in the distance. A strange scent pricked its nose, an unfamiliar sensation ran through its body causing its hackles to stand up and down its spine. A low growl bubbled in its throat as it took a cautious step back towards the road.

One step turned into two, two to three, timidly, the hellhound slowly made its way back onto the dirt road. It looked the same as it had been before it was attacked, only now there was a large hole directly in front of the two heads. A pained yelp sounded out from somewhere further away, clearly one of its pack had been injured in some way. It jerked its head in the direction of the sound, its muscles tensing as it prepared to rush to its brother's aid.

Instead of jumping forward, it attempted to jump to the right as the ground beneath it started to rumble and liquify. Caught off guard once again, the hellhound was sluggish to react, its hind leg sprouting a jagged laceration, exposing chorded muscle and bone. Before it could reorient itself, vast amounts of pressure, accompanied by equal amounts of pain, erupted from its flank. Contorting its huge body, the hellhound snapped its teeth at the obsidian snake like creature that had latched onto it.

"You're no fun!" Professor Kal cried, throwing up his arms as he watched the devil worm twine its long body around the still gnashing hellhound.

Ryan had summoned the devil worm through the power of the Summoner's Amulet, saving the lives of the two women that the Professor had trapped inside the ground for some unknown reason. It was a snap decision, seeing that Professor Kal had entangled the other seven hellhounds inside brambles of blood vines, but did nothing to stop this particular one.

"You were just going to let that thing eat them!?" Ryan screamed at Professor Kal. He had been finding it harder and harder to even begin to understand what was happening inside the man's head.

"Yeah, so? They led those mutts right to us! Just like those scum inside the dungeon, remember?" Professor Kal kindly reminded Ryan of the remarkably similar situation that had happened not too long ago.

"We didn't kill them for doing that, did we?" Ryan rebutted, not understanding why he would punish these two while they let the others go.

Professor Kal avoided the young man's eyes, looking towards the dusty ground, kicking at some small rocks with his black boot. Meanwhile, the hellhound was still struggling as the devil worm continued to squeeze tighter and tighter. The crunch of bones shattering could be heard clearly; once furious growls morphed into anguished whines as the life was being constricted out of the hellhound.

With a fluid motion, the devil worm applied the last bits of force onto the hellhound, abruptly cutting off its ever-quieting pleas. Feeling no life remaining in its prey, the devil worm retreated back into the ground, dragging the hellhound with it. Completely ignoring what was transpiring in front of him, Ryan edged closer to Professor Kal, interrogating him further.

"You didn't kill them, did you?" He asked in a deep voice, which was still somewhat high due to his age.

A shocked look spread across Professor Kal's plain face. "Of course, I didn't kill them. I was with you the entire time, right?"

The emphasis the Professor put on the word 'I' did not escape his notice; but before he could press him further, Professor Treffle interrupted the two's back and forth. "Excuse me, but what the FUCK was that!"

Ryan and Professor Kal both turned to look at their four companions. Laura, Ben, and Richard were all staring on silently, Laura had seen the devil worm before on that horrible night she wished she could forget forever, Ben had been told by Ryan about its existence, and Richard, as quiet as always, stared on with wide eyes. Professor Treffle on the other hand, was very vocal in her astonishment.

"And what the Hells is up with these two!" She was standing wide eyed, glancing between the two women, now passed out still planted in the ground like they were potatoes, and the horse sized hole in the ground where the worm had retreated inside.

With those words, everyone directed their gazes towards Professor Kal, waiting for an answer. Shrugging his shoulders, Professor Kal stamped his staff into the ground causing the two women to pop out like corks underwater. Their limp bodies thudded onto the now solid ground, clouds of dust spreading out in all directions.

"What? I just thought it was rude what they did, so they needed to be taught a lesson." He admitted, melting under the intense scowls. Then pointed his finger at Ryan. "And that worm thing is his."

…..

A fat bumble bee was buzzing through a well-kept garden, searching for the most succulent flowers. A gentle summer breeze rustled the leaves and brought much needed relief to those standing with full plate armor on in the harsh sunlight. A small girl was crouched down amongst the multicolored flowers watching the bee intently, her bright innocent eyes following its every movement.

It landed on a large purple flower, its petals were long, slender, and close together, forming a cup just big enough for the bee to crawl inside and disappear completely. Having lost her object of study, the small girl crawled closer to the flower, dirtying her pale blue dress as she did so. Being careful not to frighten the bumble bee inside the flower, she slowly approached on her hands and knees. Her face was so close to the (unknown to her) flower, that she could smell the pleasant aroma wafting from it.

The furry butt of the bumble bee was wiggling back and forth, black fuzz coated in yellow pollen was all she could see, making her giggle in delight. Soft footsteps came up from behind her, but she failed to hear them, she was much too engrossed in the marvel of nature that was the fat and fuzzy bumble bee. A pair of loving eyes gazed down on the blonde little girl; her hair braided into simple pigtails draping down either side of her head.

She watched the little girl as she focused so hard on what was in the flower. She laughed as the bumble bee backed out of the flower, now laden with nectar and pollen, clumsily take off into the air and nearly collide with the little girl, causing her to fall back and onto her butt. Kneeling down herself, she tried to get her daughter's attention.

"Alli…"

Hearing her name, the little girl turned towards her mother's voice. A void of white was all she could see, a blurry image of a beautiful woman stood close by. It was as if each time she tried to focus on the person before her, the image would only become more obtuse.

"Alli…" The out of focus woman said, sounding exactly like she remembered her mother to sound like.

"Alli…" It said again, this time reaching out for a little girl no longer, but a full-grown woman.

"Alli…"

Warm tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to crest her eyelashes and cascade down her face. "Momma!"

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Alessandria reached out as well, reaching for her dead mother that she could almost see, almost feel. Her fingers brushed against the other's hand, her touch causing it to turn into whisps of odorless smoke. In a flash, her mother had dissipated, being replaced by the pure white void and a hard tremor that shook her body.

"Alessandria! Princess Alessandria!" Lilly shouted, shaking the still unconscious body of her charge.

Alessandria half opened her groggy eyes, only to be greeted with another dose of blinding light. Squeezing her eyes shut and turning her head away from the source of her discomfort, she took a moment to piece together what had happened. The memory of her late mother that had recently resurfaced was already being pushed back down into the recesses of her mind, quickly being replaced by the horrific trauma she had just experienced.

In a panic, her eyes shot open, ignoring the bright light and the physical pain she experienced from her irises constricting much too quickly. She flailed her limbs attempting to stand, feeling her fists striking something hard, then feeling something grabbing on to her, only fueling her alarm.

She started to scream; her throat already raw from doing so earlier. A stinging pain shot across her face, her head snapping to one side. She took a sharp breath in, stopping her mid scream. "Princess Alessandria!" she heard her name being barked out, bringing her back from the edge of madness and into lucidity.

She found herself sitting in the middle of the dirt road, this time on the surface, surrounded by many people she did not recognize. Three young men stood off to the side, looking to be just on the verge of manhood, trying desperately to not look at her but failing miserably. Two women, one the same age as the boys, another maybe just a few years older than herself, were glaring angrily at the three boys, chiding them with words she couldn't hear.

A bored looking man wearing all black and leaning on an equally black staff, whistled an out of tune song she couldn't recognize. He caught her attention not because there was anything special about him, no, it was the opposite. He was so ordinary looking that it was uncanny. She continued to stare at the outstandingly normal looking man until she heard her name being called once again.

"Princess Alessandria, are you alright?" Lilly questioned her; her face contorted in a concerned look.

Lilly was crouched down directly in front of her, balancing precariously on the balls of her feet. Alessandria looked at her, nodding her head. She noticed the stump of her arm had been expertly wrapped in a clean bandage. She let out a sigh of relief, they must have been able to find some help. How, she didn't know.

"I'm fine." Alessandria replied, her hand moving to her still stinging face. "Thank you for that, I was almost manic. What happened? Are you all right? Who are these people?"

Relieved, Lilly started to cover her with a thin blanket that she had gotten from the older of the two women. "I'm ok, here, let's get you covered."

Alessandria looked down, only to finally realize that her undergarments were clearly visible through her tattered dress. Her smooth ivory skin, slightly pink from the heat of the sun, matched will with the laced light-pink bra and panties. She snatched the blanket from Lilly, quickly hiding her exposed body, her face and ears burning in embarrassment.

Trying to play off her humiliation, Alessandria asked Lilly the same question once more. "Lilly, what is going on?"

A look of hesitation came across Lilly's filth caked face, she leaned in closer to her, speaking in a whisper. "We must tread carefully. I'm sorry, but when I led us towards this group of people, I was hoping that those monsters would attack them and leave us to escape."

Alessandria nodded in understanding, she didn't care much for the callous tactic, but when your life was on the line you could do things that you otherwise wouldn't. Seeing that they were surrounded by said group though meant that something unexpected must have happened.

Lilly continued, dropping her voice even lower. "What I didn't know was that I was leading us right to a very ill-tempered Mage."

The look on Lilly's face was like she feared the mage more than she did the monsters chasing them. If she had been conscience sooner, she would know why that was. Having been robbed of his fun by his killjoy protégé, Professor Kal directed his scorn towards the only ones he could.

As soon as Lilly had come to, Professor Kal had laid into her. He screamed at the top of his lungs, even releasing a sliver of his aura, turning her face a shade of ashen white. Even his companions behind him took several steps back. Trying to defend herself, even just a little, she explained their situation and that the woman beside her was First Princess Alessandria of the Kingdom of Morgania. It turned out to be a huge mistake.

Having just learned he was in the presence of royalty did nothing to calm his rage, in fact, it only fueled it further. He went on to demand reparations for a litany of things; emotional distress for him and everyone else involved, use of his limited mana, which according to him, left him extremely exhausted, the fact that his horses had run away, although she didn't remember seeing any as they ran towards them. He also demanded her yearly salary for services rendered, saying that if he had to do her job because she couldn't, he needed to be paid for it.

It was all very clearly extortion, but she held her tongue; not only because she now feared him, but as she stood there being lectured, the very much alive hellhounds were behind the man being drained of their blood by huge brambles of thorns. Professor Kal had called forth several blood vines, entrapping the hellhounds as they spread out trying to ambush the retreating survivors.

With vines as thick as his arm and thorns that were hollow and as big around as two fingers put together, the blood vines engulfed the hellhounds. Plunging deep into their flesh, the plant disregarded the scorching heat of the hounds' blood, engorging themselves with it, growing larger. Turning from a sickly green color, into one more reminiscent of blood, the blood vine pulsated like an exposed heart.

Lilly couldn't believe her eyes as she watched on in silent horror as the hellhounds withered away at an evident pace. In only a few minutes, nothing but the mummified corpses remained, still locked away within the crimson vines. The blood vines themselves rustled slightly once their nourishment was satiated, small buds emerged from the vines, blooming into small yellow flowers that released the stench of death.

Having borne witness to such a sight, she didn't dare refuse his demands, no matter how audacious they may be. She readily agreed to his demands, and, like a switch had been flipped, the mage's personality metamorphosed from one of incessant rage into one of content. This sudden shift in demeanor alarmed her greatly, telling her that not only was this man extremely irritable but was also very volatile.

Deciding to talk to Lilly more in-depth once they were in private, she switched subjects to her arm. "Did the mage treat your arm? I see the bleeding has stopped."

"Mage Kalcifer? No, he didn't treat me. It was the young Lady Cromwell over there; she is very adept at healing magic as well as first aid." Lilly said, gesturing to the young woman some distance behind her.

Seeing the Princess's eyes fall on her, Laura gave a perfect curtsey, indicating to the Princess of her noble birth, even though her clothes did not. Once Lilly had agreed to Professor Kal's terms, he found her no longer to be interesting, allowing Laura to treat her. Laura cast the highest-level healing spell she knew, Superior Mend, which allowed her to not only close the wound completely but to also restore her lost blood. Unfortunately, no healing magic was powerful enough to replace the limb that she lost.

Giving the young noble an appreciative smile, Princess Alessandria got to her feet with the help of Lilly's good arm. Looking around, she took note of the many people milling around, disheveled looking and appearing lost. The five adventurers had returned with a dismal hunt, only six rabbits, and were currently cooking them over an open fire. Her vision lingered on the several grotesque shrubs blooming with pale yellow flowers, swarming with flies and each housing the shriveled remains of her pursuers.

Tamping down the bile that encroached up her throat, she moved on to the man that saved them, the man dressed in black. "I, First Princess of the Kingdom of Morgania, Alessandria Morgania thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my life and the life of my protector." She gave him a deep bow, one that if seen by any of the nobles of her court, would cause them to become wide eyed with shock.

"Good." Professor Kal flatly said. "And your retainer here has already agreed to repay me for all of my trouble, so don't go backing out on it."

Straightening her posture, Alessandria nodded without hesitation.. "I wouldn't dream of it."

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