Chapter 1
Past the prosperous area surrounding the castle, past the sketchy slums of the poor people, right by a forested lake by the name of Death's Water, lies a small cottage home.
Yeah, THIS is where our tale begins. Cheesy, isn’t it?
Inside this cottage, a witch and a large, fluffy dog are playing a repetitive game of fetch. Right as the witch is about to toss the slightly damp ball for the umpteenth time, a knock on the door causes her to pause. The dog stops and the witch looks at the door, motioning the hound to stop.
She walks to the door, and tries to tell who could be on the other side. Looking through a small piece of glass on the door, she sees nothing but a portion of a clean black suit. The witch heaves a sigh before looking at the mutt.
“It’s Gregg,” she mutters.
The fluffy beast growls a little, and the witch looks back at the tux. ‘Gregg’ bends his torso, a bit of his face finally coming into view. The seven-foot-tall being is smiling. It is a smug smile.
“Pat,” The witch turns back around, eyeing the expectant dog. “Am I answering the door, or are you?”
The four-legged creature then starts to transform. He slowly stands up, his fur changing into skin as he becomes somewhat human. Patrick Kanien was a weredog, a much friendlier, domesticated, and mixed version of a werewolf.
“Let’s both answer it,” he responds.
The witch, Brunis, gave him a look. She really didn't want to talk to their landlord today, especially when she knew they were falling behind on rent.
But who could say no to her husband's puppy dog eyes?
They stand side by side and open the door. Without uttering a greeting, the tall, red man with horns ducks into the house. As he straightens his back, Gregg smiles as he looks down at his neighbors.
“Ah, my favorite mortals, the Kanien family. I’ll skip any small talk and get straight to the point. I have an object that will pay your rent for two months. Certainly you guys can get it”
Gregg is a demon landlord. No, I mean it. A literal demon landlord. He always had challenges for the two. He simply enjoyed the chemistry they shared, and liked watching them go on quests for objects that were below trivial for him. And he knew that they had to pay their rent. Finding these prized objects, and selling them, was how they put a roof over their heads.
“Now I’m not going to stand here and discuss the details with you. I’ll just leave this here and be on my way.”
Gregg spoke in a fast manner, yet his voice still had plenty of bass to it. He set down a rolled up piece of paper on a coffee table before heading outside.
“Someone wants to make a deal for a few Shells, and I do not intend to miss out on money, of course.“
Looking back at the confused couple, he smiled and waved goodbye, closing the door with his tail.
The witch grabbed the paper, twirling the brown twine in her slightly calloused hands.
“What is it, B?” Patrick's canine ears perked up.
“A map, I think. Feels lightweight.”
She unrolled it, revealing a map of Vuscad. Gregg had drawn a trail for Brunis and Patrick to follow. Every checkpoint was clearly marked, and the starting point was a pub in the Citadel. Noticing a short, faded, backwards sentence in the middle of the paper, BJ turned the map around, reading aloud.
“Ask about the King’s Fang.”
Rolling her dark brown eyes, the witch let her arms fall to her sides. She muttered a few things in Castellano, a language she had grown up around. A language that confused her Yrysh husband. Differences between cultures or not, the way Brunis clenched the map with one hand while covering her eyes with the other conveyed her annoyance.
"Um... babe?"
The black-haired witch looked at her husband between two fingers, her eyebrows furrowed.
"What is it, Pat."
"What's with the, uh... Well, you're current attitude?"
Brunis sighed, holding up the map again.
"Gregg and his stupid quests, with his stupid clues and stupid elaborate lettering."
Looking at the map, Patrick agreed with that last statement, uttering a sound of approval. Brunis turned the map around, looking at the long red line her demon landlord had so comically drawn to function as their trail. An irritated sigh escaped her lips.
"I don't want to go on another dangerous adventure just to pay the damned rent."
“I don't think we have much of a choice, babe,” Patrick muttered, staring at the little doodles Gregg had drawn of money.
The couple stared at each other, really taking in their differences and similarities.
It was apparent that they were from different cultures, different parts of the world. Patrick was a werebeast, his limbs and face naturally covered in brown hair. His light brown eyes made his pale, pinkish skin seem a little less reflective. He had strange, sharp, and uneven teeth, something his wife hadn't seen before. Patrick was also slightly shorter than his wife in his human-like state; his slouched posture and desire to be submissive caused this.
Brunis, on the other hand, was still gripping the map. She was biting her lip, a habit formed when she was thinking. She was thinking about how she contrasted her husband, with her black mid-length hair, dark eyes, and slightly dark toffee-colored skin. Standing at 170 centimeters, she had an elegant posture, a trait found among the witches of her tribe.
They both sighed before gathering what they needed and putting it in a small pile near the door. BJ tossed her satchel on top of the mound of materials, looking at the sun set in the sky. Its fading light caused purples and oranges and pinks to paint the horizon.
“We should leave tomorrow morning. It's getting late,” she stated.
“I agree. Besides, now we have time to make extra plans in case the main one goes horribly wrong,” Patrick joked.
She punched him in the shoulder.
The couple went to bed a few minutes later, both unable to get the very near future off of their minds. What will they find? Who will they face? Was their sadistic and sarcastic landlord sending them on a wild goose chase?
Patrick sighed deeply, shaking his head free of the thoughts. He turned to his spouse, smiling at her form in the darkness before hugging her.
Feeling the warm embrace from her beloved, BJ finally let the questions go and went to the land of sleep.
