Rise of the Living Forge

“Is half of your guild made up of monsters?” Art asked, his eyes darting around the room. He held a hand over his deck of cards, his fingers twitching as if they couldn’t decide whether he even wanted to try drawing a card or not.

“No,” Arwin said.

It’s probably a little closer to a quarter.

“Is this some sort of joke, then?” Vix asked. She swallowed heavily. Her eyes flicked to Lillia and her features paled as realization gripped her. “That isn’t make-up, is it? It’s your real skin tone. Your imps… the whole damn tavern — the Devil’s Den. Are you making fun of people?”

“Making fun?” Lillia’s lips creased into a frown. “That’s just rude. I do my absolute best to make the best food I can make for everybody that dines at my establishment. The Devil’s Den is far from perfect, but the only thing I’ve ever sought to do since setting it up is make people’s lives just a little bit better.”

“You’re all monsters!” Vix exclaimed. “You made it seem like the tavern was a monster themed building, but—”

“It is monster themed,” Monica said, a slight smile pulling across her wide features. “Rub those brains of yours together, lass. You aren’t stupid. I see it in your eyes. When did we ever say that the members of the Devil’s Den weren’t real monsters? Lillia has never addressed it. Sure, she’s said she wears makeup every once and a while—”

“Which I do,” Lillia added. “On occasion.”

“Well, of course. Nothing wrong with that, is there?” Monica arched an eyebrow at Vix. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, lass. It’s a surprisingly effective way to go about things. I was even more surprised than you when I first got offered the job. But as it turns out, people just think what they want to. If we don’t talk about who we actually are, then they just assume we’re in costume… and they love it.”

“The Devil’s Den has become the most popular tavern in Milten,” Madiv provided. He made no effort to hide the smug satisfaction in his features. “I have been observing. This city loves us. Nobody who has not been deserving of it has ever come to harm. So what care do you have if we are not of the same make as you are?”

Vix stared at them. “But… you’re monsters.”

“I’m not going to hold that one against you because you are small and your brain is still growing,” Monica said. The orc yawned, showing off her jagged teeth, then wiped her nose with the back of a hand. “We are what we are. That is all. You had no issue with anything until you found out that we weren’t human. Why? Our actions have not changed.”

Art raised a hand before Vix could respond. She glanced at him and held her words, confusion and unease warring in her features.

“I did not realize that monsters were this intelligent,” Art said. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am… lost. Deeply so. How is this possible? I may not be an avid adventurer, but I have seen battles. I have been in dungeons. The monsters there possessed nowhere near the mental capabilities to—”

“Not all of us are the same,” Lillia said with a small shake of her head. “You’ve classed everything that isn’t a human as a monster. There is as much difference between a mindless monster and Monica there is between that same monster and you.”

Art’s brow furrowed as his confusion deepened. Strangely enough, he seemed much more confused about the semantics of the differences between types of monsters than he was about being surrounded by what should have been enemies.

Kien seemed to be taking the news the best of them all. While Art looked baffled and Vix was somewhere between stunned and scared, he just sat in silent observation. Arwin couldn’t have said he was completely surprised — though he was certainly impressed.

A betrayal on the scale of what the Adventurer’s Guild had done was enough to shake anyone’s worldview. Kien had probably already been wondering about everything he’d spent his life doing.

Monsters not being what he thought they were was probably a surprise, but compared to what he’d already gone through, Arwin knew exactly how the man was feeling. This was a small revelation in the face of the full truth.

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Though I have to say… I didn’t take to it nearly this easily. Perhaps I had a little more personal stake in the game since the first monster that told me I had the wrong idea was also the one that was meant to be my greatest enemy.

“This does not make sense,” Art said, breaking the silence that had bubbled up. He waved at the dark cellar around them. “Are you trying to claim that monsters are completely equivalent to humans in even desire? That they have goals such as… this? Making a tavern and serving food? You have no ulterior motives?”

“Everyone has ulterior motives,” Lillia said with a shrug. “But many of the ones you call monster have no greater desires than those of a normal human.”

“Then why are you of all people okay with this?” Vix asked as she stared at Arwin. “I mean…”

“It still doesn’t make sense,” Art finished, his features knitted together in concentration. “I just don’t understand. If monsters as equal to humans as you claim, then we should have seen proof of this. Are monsters like Lillia meant to be… evolved? A new form of normal monster?”

“No. We are separate,” Lillia said. “It is possible for the monsters you’re calling normal to evolve sentience, but they’re separate.”

“Then the Horde? If they’re as you claim and are equivalent to humans, then why would we be in this war? Why are there no reports of monsters like you? And why would the Hero…” Art trailed off. His gaze moved to Arwin, then to Lillia. Then his eyes went wide and the blood drained from his face. “Oh, shit.”

“So that’s it,” Kien breathed, his eyes going wide. He rose from his seat. “The Mesh has guided me to this spot. It heard my prayers. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I have made the right choice throwing in with you. Who better to bring down the guild than you?”

And there goes our cover. Suppose that was probably an inevitability when working with someone that even Rodrick felt was a threat, but it seems Kien has figured it out as well. At least its all happening in a controlled environment.

“What is it?” Vix asked urgently. “Is something wrong?”

“Something? More like everything,” Art said. He grabbed his walking stick and jabbed it under his arm as he heaved himself to his feet. His pulled his gaze away from Lillia and stared at Arwin. “I can’t believe it. Right under our noses. That’s why you vanished?”

He thinks I abandoned the fight because I fell in love with the demon queen while we were fighting? That would have been cute… but not quite.

“No,” Arwin said. “That came later.”

“What came later?” Vix’s features scrunched in irritation. “You said you’d stop doing this to me, Art. Do you know how much of a pain in the ass it is when everyone around you is talking about something as if it’s obvious when you have no idea what’s going on? I feel like an idiot!”

“You’re not an idiot,” Art said. “Your talents just lie in combat. I am unsure as to how much of this I can reveal in public company. It is… sensitive. Beyond sensitive. The Guild would kill every single one of us if they knew what was going on.”

“Then it sounds like we stand for a good cause,” Kien said grimly. “Anything that angers the Guild is probably just and true.”

Art sent Kien a surprised look. “I take it you’re no longer on good terms with them?”

“Had I the power to tear every Guild building in the Kingdom of Lian down with my bare hands, it would have already been done. They took my brother from me. If not for them, then perhaps he could have been saved. I will not rest until the guild smolders.”

“Probably not on the best terms,” Vix concluded.

“Good,” Rodrick said. “The Guild is not what you believe them to be. You’ll learn that soon enough, especially once you know the extent of what they’ve done. It’s not something we’re typically eager to share much of, but circumstances are changing. We are no longer as weak as we once were.”

“What exactly are you referring to?” Monica asked with a small frown. “I’m no fan of the Guild, but I can’t help but feel like I’m missing information.”

Huh. I guess it makes sense Monica wouldn’t know the Guild is orchestrating the entire war between us and the Monster Horde. She probably just thinks they hate monsters like every other adventurer. No reason to keep it secret from her, though. Her and everyone else in this room… at this point, we’re in this together.

“Does it have something to do with this realization that nobody will tell me?” Vix asked, more than a little annoyance in her tone. She prodded Art in the side. “The one which I’m certain I will be enlightened of soon?”

Art sent a look to Lillia. She and Arwin exchanged a small nod.

“Go ahead,” Lillia said. “Just know there’s no going back from this. You probably aren’t going to like what you hear.”

“Information is a tool. The only comfort that ignorance brings is that of an ignorant fool. I would rather know the truth and be able to make my own conclusions from there — and I am not the most patient woman.”

“It’s Lillia,” Art said.

“What, she’s a demon? I already gathered that much. All the monsters in the Devil’s Den are actual monsters,” Vix said. Her brow furrowed. “Why is that a big deal? I mean, I’m not dense. I got that they’re just people. That doesn’t seem worth getting caught up over.”

“She’s not just a demon,” Kien said with a dry laugh. His eyes glistened in the dim light. “Before you, clad like a barmaid, stands humanity’s greatest enemy. Behold, the Queen of Demonkind.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn