CLANG! CLANG!

  Peregrine opened his eyes. The screen in his vision glitched. Static came off and on. Words frizzled. His health bar was the lowest it had been, yet, a sliver of deep maroon hanging on by a thread. He pushed himself up to his knees. His world spun, teetering on the edge of puking. It took a moment for things to come together. “Alissa? Wendell?” He panicked, remembering they were in the middle of a fight.

  Wendell and Alissa were lying on the ground nearby. Peregrine crawled over and shook Wendell. He stirred. Still alive. Alissa groaned, starting to move on her own.

  “What happened?” Wendell asked.

  “He threw us off the top of the castle,” Alissa answered.

  It was true. Peregrine looked up and saw the turret where they’d been fighting The Fool. Now, they were far below it, sprawled out in the middle of the castle courtyard.

  Why hadn’t The Fool finished them off then?

  The question was answered on the other side of the courtyard, beyond the human bodies scattered throughout. Power Dream was in the middle of engaging with the boss. But things were not going well for them. Truly was already down, seemingly dead. As the battle raged on, Lorn and Dorn took a blow from The Fool’s stick that bent Lorn’s body the wrong direction, and smashed Dorn through the castle wall.

  Slarif hit The Fool with his wrenches, the purple energy exploding. The boss didn’t seem to register it as painful. He slapped Slarif with a heavy backhand that knocked him out.

  For the last remaining member, Pat, The Fool flung a dagger that buried deep in her shoulder. Then he turned his attention back to the heroes.

  “Fuck. He’s coming back.” Alissa got to her feet. Her sword dragged across the ground as she shambled forward.

  “Here’s an elixir,” Wendell said, throwing a bottle to Alissa. She downed it and immediately perked up. “Me and Peregrine can share the salve.” He pulled the can out and looked inside. “There’s only enough for one of us.”

  “Quick. You take it,” Peregrine said. “Cover for me.”

  As Wendell smeared the salve on himself, The Fool got within striking distance.

  Alissa jumped high in the air, switched swords on her way down, and caught The Fool on his shoulder, causing another BLEED. His health bar was now in the red with only a quarter left.

  The boss used a new move. He twirled his stick over his head then swung it down toward his target which in this case was Alissa. A blast of wind flew from the bindle and hit her, launching her through the air. He did the same to Wendell, but the timid hero had his shield ready. Unfortunately, the shield was too high and the blast of air hit Wendell’s exposed ankles, smashing him face first into a stone.

  Nothing stood between Peregrine's one-hit-left health bar, and The Fool.

  Peregrine conjured the Holy wall, but didn’t have the durability to keep it steady. The Fool easily blew it over.

  Still on his knees, Peregrine flung a Holy saw blade. The Fool wasn’t looking, which meant he saw it coming. He threw his stick up to block it and the blade sliced through, cutting the stick in half. He fired again … nothing. He wasn’t ready to die. He refilled fast and got two more blades cast, dropping his opponents health a bit more. But his eyes grew heavy and his vision filled with waves of black. The Fool was directly upon him with his fists held high, ready to smash. Maybe dying would be a blessing. He closed his eyes.

  “Get off me!”

  Peregrine’s eyes opened to see Sandra on The Fool’s back, blade in each hand, hacking away.

  The Fool was nearly dead. He reached back and grabbed Sandra, flinging her over his shoulder. She thudded across the ground.

  Why is she helping? Peregrine wondered, struggling to stay on his knees.

  Her helping came to an end as The Fool picked her up in both of his hands and squeezed the life out of her. Her bones cracked, but she never made a sound. He tossed her to the side like a piece of garbage.

  Without being told, Wendell came into his own, ramming his shield into The Fool’s gut repeatedly. “Just die already, you piece of shit.”

  Peregrine seized the opportunity to cast a UFO and a saw. His quill ran dry, but he was too exhausted to refill. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed. All he could do was watch the rest of the fight unfold through his weary eyes.

  While Wendell was busy bashing, Alissa took her sword and jammed it under The Fool’s chin.

  The giant wobbled before crumpling to the ground. Alissa placed a boot against The Fool’s head, yanked her sword out, and unceremoniously wiped the blood off on her jeans.

  Sprawled on the ground, The Fool’s eyes met Peregrine’s. When he spoke, it made Alissa and Wendell jump back. His voice was low, full of pain. “I was normal once, too. I had a life in a different world before she made me into this. Defeat the twenty-one other bosses. It’s the only way this realm will know peace again.” The life faded from his eyes.

  There wasn’t a moment to consider what The Fool had said, because a round of applause followed, which felt distasteful. However each hero had gained two levels, which was reason to celebrate. Though Peregrine had no desire—or ability—to.

  You’ve done what no others before you could by defeating The Fool. As he told you, he was just the first in a line of many. Your party is learning to work together. With this accomplishment, will you choose to finish what you started? Will you save the Irenic Realm? The choice is still yours.

  Don’t forget to rummage.

  Wendell and Alissa helped Peregrine to his feet, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. They slogged to the bindle that was still tied to the broken stick.

  “Do you think it’s safe to loot?” Wendell asked.

  “Just do it,” Alissa said, out of breath. “Better have some health in that stupid bag.”

  [Elixir of Life X6 Acquired]

  Share the wealth.

  [Take Flight Acquired]

  This powder can be ingested for a permanent +1 to all three of your base stats

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  [Poison’s Embrace X3]

  Been poisoned? This drink is the cure for what ails you.

  [Irenic Realm Map]

  This is an absolutely necessary item. How else would you know where to go? This map only has the immediate areas penciled in. Visit a Cartographer to see if they can expand your horizons.

  All in all, Peregrine felt it was a good haul. The map was arguably the most valuable item, but the elixirs were the most needed.

  Wendell gave two elixirs to Alissa and two to Peregrine, keeping two for himself.

  Peregrine chugged one bottle to replenish his health. His vision returned to normal. The pain took a few seconds, but it faded away.

  They were going to look at the other items, and check the map, but coughing startled them.

  It was Sandra. She had managed to get herself propped against the castle wall. Her arms and legs were mangled and twisted. Blood seeped from the corners of her mouth. Peregrine and Wendell knelt beside her, while Alissa stood nearby, keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

  Ack! Ack!

  Sandra’s breath was raspy in between coughing fits. “You did it. You held true to your promise.”

  Ack!

  “Why didn’t you tell us the truth?” Peregrine asked. “About you? About Fiddler’s Green?”

  Alissa shoved herself between Wendell and Peregrine. “Did you know that we weren’t the first group of people The Morrigan forced to fight for her?”

  Sandra nodded.

  “Why the fuck didn’t you fill us in?” Alissa asked, smacking herself on the side of the head. “Didn’t seem important to you?”

  Peregrine shushed his teammate. He looked into Sandra’s eyes. Her regretful eyes. Not necessarily agreeing with, but understanding her reasoning. “She was scared,” he said. “The whole village was. They only wanted someone to do what they couldn’t. To—”

  “Tell the truth?” Alissa interrupted.

  “To save them,” Peregrine finished. “If they told us the truth, we might have run. I’m guessing that's what happened when they told the previous heroes.”

  Sandra nodded. “We’ve been afraid for so long.” She touched Peregrine’s hand. “I knew you were different, though. I couldn’t risk you leaving.”

  Peregrine took her hand and patted it. “They don’t need to be afraid any longer.”

  “Why did you control people to stay?” Wendell asked. “Why didn’t you let them leave?”

  Sandra struggled for a deep breath. “When you have a child … you will do anything in the world to protect them. The cost doesn’t matter. It’s what I did for my Katie. I used them to keep her safe—Ack—I don’t know what The Morrigan does with our souls. But I wonder if dying in this place is a gift.”

  “Your soul will be my gift. But you will not enjoy the experience.”

  Wendell and Alissa gasped. Peregrine had the wherewithal to grab his ink from his inventory and refill his quill, before joining them.

  Appearing from nowhere was The Morrigan. It wasn’t The Morrigan from the graveyard, though. Her face was slightly different. Plus this one had white hair and a long, white dress. Most distinguishing were the large angel-like wings protruding from her back.

  [The Morrigan]

  [Level 100]

  The war one that you don’t want to meet right now.

  “So there are more than one of you,” Sandra choked. “Take me, and I will find a way to haunt you for the rest of your days.”

  “So be it.” The Morrigan lifted her arm and a white beam erupted from her hand. It flew by the party, striking Sandra in the chest.

  Sandra’s body went limp. A blue orb appeared in front of her, caught in the white beam of energy. It floated inside the beam, reaching The Morrigan who grabbed the orb in her hand and squeezed it out of existence.

  The Morrigan’s face changed to a skull, then to a terrifying banshee with whites for eyes. At the same time, her information flashed a change.

  [Macha]

  [War]

  [Level 100]

  All this took place in a matter of seconds, looking like something out of a horror movie, before everything frizzled and returned to its previous state.

  The Morrigan … or Macha … or whatever the hell her name was, walked around the group, studying them. They circled with her, not giving their backs up.

  “You are my sisters’ newest champions. Yes?”

  Alissa muttered under her breath.

  “Don’t piss her off,” Wendell whispered. “Please stay calm.”

  “We are,” Peregrine answered.

  “Curious combination they chose this time.” Macha’s wings fluttered and her eyes washed out to pure white. “Shall we see what interesting strategy it produces?”

  Alissa brought her sword up. Wendell planted behind his shield. Peregrine was prepared to use his magic, but doubted it would do any real damage. Almost getting torched by The Fool guaranteed they’d be instantly eviscerated against her. Was she really going to kill them?

  “Not today, sister.” The voice came from behind the heroes.

  When Peregrine turned to see who it was, he saw not one, but two identical Morrigans. The black hair, black dress, and blue eyes were the look of the one from the graveyard, and the one from Earth. His head hurt thinking about which one was which.

  “Do you wish to challenge me today then?” Macha asked her sisters.

  Reality went fuzzy again.

  One of The Morrigans transformed. Her hair and dress turned from black to red.

  [Nemain]

  [Fate]

  [Level 100]

  Best known for her graveyard role and assigning you a class.

  The other sister kept her black hair and dress. Peregrine didn’t know what her true name would be, but he didn’t need to guess which version she was.

  [Badb]

  [Death]

  [Level 100]

  You’re correct. Earth. Stream. Cleaning blood. Crazy eyes.

  Nemain motioned for the humans to get behind her. Every cell in Peregrine’s body screamed at him not to trust her. But what choice did he have? The war one was ready to kill them. At least the other two hadn’t attempted to murder them … technically. They did as suggested and skittered behind the two sisters, while the other watched on with great interest.

  “There will be no more bloodshed on this day,” Badb said. “Go back to your despair.”

  “This is the first of your creations to vanquish one of my bosses.” Macha held her arms out majestically. “Surely, you must be eager to see what heights they may climb to.”

  “They are not ready,” Nemain spat. “Take leave. Crawl back in your hole.”

  “Very well.” Macha sighed. “Perhaps we’ll meet again at boss one.” She spun until she was a white blur, then vanished into the air.

  Badb did the same, only as a black blur.

  “You three have exceeded my expectations,” Nemain said, proudly. “You have made the right choice in choosing to save the Irenic Realm. Go forward. Seek out The Magician. Continue your journey.” She turned into a red blur before leaving them.

  “Fuck that,” Alissa shouted. “I’m not gonna be someone’s little bitch.” She kicked a rock, sailing it over the castle walls.

  Wendell put his shield in his inventory. His head hung. “It’s true. We’re pawns in a game. What are we even doing?”

  Peregrine also felt like shit concerning their reality. But what could they do about it now? It wasn’t like they could click their heels together three times and transport back to Earth. If that were true, he’d have done so in his grave. This also wasn’t the place to debate. “Suck it up for a minute. Are there any survivors from Power Dream?” This pulled them out of their wallowing.

  They stepped carefully around the bodies of the werewolves that had been in human form. It appeared they’d all been killed. Truly was found underneath one of those bodies. She was gone. Lorn was broken in half. There was no sign of Dorn, but given the shape of the wall he’d been blasted through, he was likely dead as well. Even Slarif was no longer breathing. But one still was.

  Movement. Peregrine rushed over to Pat’s outstretched arm. He grabbed it and rubbed her arm to get her attention. “Pat. We’re here.”

  Her eyes were half open. “Peregrine. Y-you all survived?”

  “We sure did. Thanks to you.”

  “Good. I need to rest.”

  “Let’s get you home, Pat.” Peregrine smiled. He wanted to get out of the castle in case any of the werewolves were still alive. Or if Macha decided to come back for them.

  Peregrine motioned for Alissa to help. With her strength, she easily scooped and cradled the minotaur in her arms.

  They made their way back to Fiddler’s Green.