Marcus woke up with the sound of something frying. He used the bathroom to freshen up and went to the common room. Selena was frying eggs. Marcus walked up to her and saw that the eggs were quite large in size and had a blue yolk.

  “What is this?” asked Marcus curiously.

  Selena glanced at Marcus before focusing back on the pan, “Eggs, duh!”

  Marcus laughed a bit, “I get that. Why are they blue?”

  Selena shrugged, “That is how they are. There is also some meat and vegetables in the refrigerator”, she pointed and Marcus then noticed the refrigerator. He actually looked around the kitchen. How had he missed it before going to sleep? He must have been really muddled with what had happened to him.

  Selena continued, “We cannot identify what meat it is and what vegetables but it is all edible. So, we eat.”

  “You seem grumpy.”

  “I am hungry. And if you want to eat, you can help.”

  Marcus scrambled over fast to help Selena. Together they made breakfast for two. They sat on the table and ate the blue eggs with greyish toast over which they spread what Marcus assumed was butter. It looked like butter but somehow felt weird to Marcus. It was all delicious.

  “Of course, it is fucking delicious”, muttered Marcus as he ate.

  They did not have coffee or its substitute on Twarftha. Instead, they drank a water like liquid infused with crushed leaves which had the same impact as coffee. It felt like tea but tasted neither like tea or coffee. The taste of the liquid was bittersweet and slightly fruity and it was delicious too.

  Marcus asked Selena, “Have you not asked the demons what you are eating and drinking?”

  “Tamara asked”, came the reply between the bites, “However, the reply that came was that it was edible food and drink and we do not need to know the names. Names would only make it less appealing for us.”

  “What sort of logic is that?”

  Selena looked at him sharply, “Demon logic.”

  They finished their breakfast in silence after that.

  “Where are the others?”, asked Marcus when they were finished.

  “Wandering around”, said Selena putting the dishes in the sink where they magically started to wash themselves, “Tamara mostly would be pestering some demon lords to get an audience with Lucifer.”

  “Why?”

  “Who knows!”

  “So, what do we do then?”

  “You tell me. You were the one who said would get us out of here. I am simply here to follow your lead.”

  “Hmmm. You do not seem to be in a good mood.”

  “Kind of you to notice.”

  “Mind telling me what it is about?”

  “No.”

  “Okay then.”

  Marcus exited the room and started to explore the castle. Selena followed him. The castle was large, made up of many corridors and rooms. Demons and demon lords walked around looking busy but Marcus did not know what exactly they were doing. Marcus asked Selena to lead him towards the entrance of the castle and Selena obliged. The demon guards at the entrance did not let them out of the castle which according to Marcus was obvious. They were free to roam the castle but they were still prisoners.

  It took him a few hours but Marcus had walked through the entire castle. There were certain rooms and passageways that were restricted to them but it was alright. Marcus even passed through the training grounds where he found Shania, Tania and Tim training with other demons. They gave him and Selena a nod of acknowledgement when they passed. Marcus even visited the kitchen, the central dining area, the servant quarters, the prison and the barracks. He visited every area he could visit.

  When he started to feel hungry, Selena led him towards the central dining area. She said that is where everyone ate what was called lunch in the castle. Marcus was thoughtful as he walked. He needed to find sewer access in the castle. He wondered who could help him.

  He asked Selena the same and she said that it would be dumb to ask the demons about sewer access directly. They need to do that on their own. Marcus was not happy but what Selena said made sense.

  “You give them a hint that you are trying to escape and they will lock you down”, whispered Selena.

  Marcus nodded. He understood that. It just meant that they had to plan their escape discreetly. He was not sure he was good at that though.

  When Marcus went to sleep with the rise of the red sun, he wondered about how he was going to escape with the others. He also wondered what Tasha was up to. However, the thing he did the most was try and get in contact with Memory. However, Memory did not respond to Marcus. He did not give up though. It was only a matter of patience and he would have a word with Memory.

  The days soon passed and Marcus fell into a routine. Marcus would wake up, eat breakfast with Selena and then go explore the castle for sewer access. He would sometimes train with the demons and try to talk with them but the demons did not talk much. At least not with him. For some instinctive reason, they were distrustful of him. Marcus could not blame them.

  Everyday Tamara had gone before Marcus woke up to try and get an audience with Lucifer. It was the same with the other three adventurers. They were also out of their designated residence before Marcus woke up. It was only Selena who remained.

  Marcus once asked Selena about this and she told him that he was a heavy sleeper who slept longer than the others. Marcus wondered about that and realized that he had been sleeping longer than normal. He wondered why.

  Marcus practiced magic in secret when the blue sun was close to setting. He had found a room in his exploration which remained empty and he could lock it behind him. No one disturbed him. He had made an excuse that he was meditating and he did not want to be disturbed. The others respected his privacy and Marcus was grateful for that because he was sure that he would not be able to practice casting his magic otherwise.

  While practicing Marcus realized that there were very few spells he knew and he got tired very quickly after casting various combinations of them. He concluded that his internal magic energy was low and started conducting tests. His magical energy did replenish fast. Initially it took about half an hour which then had reduced to about ten minutes as the day passed. Based on experimentation he gave levels to the spells he knew in order of their magical energy expenditure.

  Marcus started to visit the library more and more as the days passed. He had already visited all the areas of the castle where he was allowed and he had not found any access to the sewer. He thought he would be able to find a book in the library which could have the blueprints of the castle but it was highly improbable.

  Marcus found the demon library well stocked. He did not find the castle blueprints but he did a lot on demon culture and stories related to them. Marcus relaxed as the days passed. He still practiced his magic and sometimes trained with the others, but most of the time he spent in the library. This is where he felt he belonged.

  So, Marcus spent a majority of his time in the library. Soon, Selena got bored of sticking with him and started to train with Tim, Shania and Thalia. Marcus did not mind.

  Marcus found the library to be usually empty. Very few demons came to the library and there was only one librarian, a blue female demon who looked like half water nymph half human and who went by the name of Linguis Devourer. Marcus struck a repo with her and soon she recommended many books for Marcus to read. She also conversed with him sometimes.

  All in all, Marcus did not feel like a prisoner as the time passed on Twarftha. It was still in the back of his mind that he needed to escape but it did not seem urgent. All that comfort shattered one day.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Marcus entered the library one day to find Linguis missing. Moreover, the air in the library seemed heavy, ominous and depressing. Marcus frowned at that. Marcus stepped back to exit the library to find that the door had closed behind him. Marcus tried to open it but could not.

  Marcus frowned and turned around to look around the library. From where he was standing, he could not see anyone in the library. Marcus started walking towards the desk where Linguis would normally be seated. The oppressive feeling increased as he approached the desk.

  As he reached the desk, the air at the chair shimmered and a demon appeared in it. The demon was tall, taller than Marcus by a couple of feet at least. It had a humanoid body but the face of a goat. Its eyes were red with black slits looking straight at Marcus. Its horns were large, curved and black and the pressure emanating from it made it difficult for Marcus to breathe.

  Marcus cleared his throat and said, “Hello?”

  The demon did not speak for some time, simply looked at Marcus. Then the demon said in a low guttural tone, “Marcus Blank.”

  “That is my name.”

  The demon’s eyes narrowed and Marcus shivered as the feeling of oppression intensified.

  “Could you tell me your name?” said Marcus haltingly, “Please?”

  “I am Lucifer Morningstar”, the demon leaned back and the oppressive feeling reduced a bit.

  “Ah! So, you are the leader of demons. The demon king?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how may I help you, your majesty?”

  “Sir would suffice. No need to call me your majesty.”

  “Okay, sir.”

  There was silence between them for some time.

  Then Marcus said slowly, “Is it something that you want from me, sir?”

  “You are an enigma, Marcus Blank. I wonder what Rauros and Leyda were thinking, sending you here.”

  “They were confident in my ability to escape from any situation?”

  “Do you even possess such ability?”

  “No.”

  “Do you think before you speak?”

  “Normally. But right now I am having trouble with that. What is it that you are projecting? This feeling of… I don’t know… Oppressiveness? It is hard to simply look at you, forget about thinking.”

  Lucifer did not say anything. However, the pressure, the oppressiveness that Marcus was feeling reduced considerably. It was not completely gone though.

  Marcus said, “Thank you.”

  Lucifer leaned forward, “You have still not told me why Rauros and Leyda send you.”

  “To help free the adventurers trapped here on Twarftha.”

  “And what makes you qualified for this rescue?”

  Marcus raised his hands in exasperation and said, “I have no fucking clue. I mean I have been no help since I got here. I fucking got myself captured for fucking crying out loud. I am thinking I am more of a pawn or those two just want me dead.”

  Marcus felt a bit terrified after the outburst. He had just shouted at the king of demons who was looking at him, betraying not a single emotion. Marcus was not sure what Lucifer was going to do next.

  Lucifer finally said, “Tell me about the rebels.”

  “Eh?” Marcus was confused. What rebels?

  “The rebels that were with you when you were captured.”

  Was Lucifer talking about Harados?

  “I was with Harados. Are you talking about him? Is he a rebel?”

  “He did not report you to his superior and acted on his own. You tell me.”

  “I don’t know much about demon chain of command or politics to comment on that.”

  “You have spent quite some time reading here. What exactly have you been reading then, Marcus Blank?”

  “Oh! This and that”, said Marcus in a small voice.

  Lucifer did not say anything. He did not need to. His stare was unsettling. His silence was making Marcus more uncomfortable than what he was saying.

  Lucifer said, “I do not believe you understand the gravity of your situation. I can kill you if I wanted to with a mere thought. I am not doing so because I believe you would be useful to me. Stop being useful and lose your life.”

  “Okay. How can I help you then, sir?”

  “You can help me by finding out the identity of rebel leaders. The ones who are rising against my authority.”

  “Why me?”

  “Why not? It is not as if you are doing anything productive.”

  “Okay. And how do I help you find the rebels?”

  Lucifer grinned. Marcus shivered. The pressure intensified and the last thing Marcus saw was Lucifer’s grinning face bearing down on him.

  ***

  Tasha looked at Harados. She said, “Are the demons ready?”

  “Yes. Yes. Yes”, came the reply in a drawling voice, “You do your part and we shall do ours.”

  Tasha hissed, “There is no room for errors.”

  “We have been over this a thousand times, Miss Lightweaver. Now all we need to do is attack.”

  “One mistake”, muttered Tasha, “And we are screwed.”

  “We are screwed anyways”, said a demon whose name Tasha did not know, “We will just be screwed more.”

  Tasha frowned at the demon but did not say anything. She had made a deal with the rebels. Getting their leader on the throne for the freedom of the adventurers. Tasha had negotiated for an early release. Once the adventurers are safely returned to Una, she will help the demons dethrone Lucifer. It was a win-win for everyone.

  So, why did she feel so uneasy? The rebel demons had confirmed that Lucifer was bound to his castle. They had told her that getting the adventurers out of the castle would be possible, just difficult. They had planned it out. They had considered every possible scenario and had contingencies for it.

  Still, Tasha had a feeling that something could go wrong. And she did not like this feeling. She glanced at Harados beside her who was communicating with his hounds. She looked at the castle in front of her.

  They were hidden in the empty houses surrounding the castle. Their presence had not been noticed. Security was relaxed near the portcullis and the castle walls. They were simply waiting for the signal.

  An explosion rocked the far end of the castle.

  “That’s the signal”, said Harados.

  Without needing another word, the demons, demon lords and Tasha moved towards the castle sneakily. Today, the adventurers were going to be free.

  ***

  Marcus woke up to the sound of an explosion.

  “What the fuck!” he exclaimed as he fell out of the bed.

  Marcus frowned as he looked up. He was back in his room. How had he gotten here?

  He got up and walked out of the room to find the adventurers huddled on the sofa in the common room. They all looked up when Marcus walked into the room.

  “How are you feeling?” asked Selena.

  At the same time Tamara said, “What happened to you?”

  Marcus told them he was feeling fine. He was indeed feeling fine. He sat beside Selena. He then told them about his encounter with Lucifer.

  Tamara stood up and grabbed Marcus, “What?”

  “I know you have been trying to get in touch with him but please calm the fuck down”, said Marcus.

  “This is gorking bull shit”, shouted Tamara. She took a deep breath to calm down and continued in a normal voice, “Tell me everything again. Every aspect of your meeting with Lucifer. Do not leave any gorking details out.”

  Marcus retold Tamara about his meeting. He told her everything that he could remember. Lucifer’s words, his expressions, his feeling of oppression.

  Tamara was quiet for some time after that. Another explosion jolted the adventurers out of their reverie.

  “Okay”, said Marcus, “What the fuck is going on?”

  “From what we understand”, said Tim, “There are two factions of demons. One faction is loyal to Lucifer while the other faction are apparently rebels and want Lucifer dead. The rebels apparently are attacking the castle and Lucifer ordered us locked in our rooms.”

  “Why though?”

  “Why what?” asked Shania.

  “Why are the rebels attacking? Why are we locked in this room?”

  “We don’t know”, said Selena, “We were not told anything. Just herded here. And a demon carried you in here unconscious. We thought you had been attacked.”

  “Well”, mumbled Marcus, “What Lucifer did to me can be considered as sort of an attack. I wonder what exactly he did to me.”

  We need to talk, said a voice in Marcus’ head.

  Marcus recognized it. It was Memory.

  Right now?

  No. When you go to sleep. Then we will talk. Do not contact me till then.

  Fucking perfect. This was normal for Memory. Marcus did not even bother asking Memory any more questions. He was sure that he would not get any reply.

  “So, what do we do now?” asked Marcus, “Simply sit here and twiddle our thumbs?”

  “Nothing gorking much we can do”, said Tamara, “We wait this out. How is your escape attempt going?”

  “I have found nothing to help me”, said Marcus, “I want to explore the sewers underneath this city but I have not found an access point in the castle.”

  “I don’t think there is an access point inside the castle”, said Tamara with a frown, “I will help you from tomorrow.”

  “You will?” asked Marcus with surprise and Tamara simply nodded.

  They waited mostly in silence after that. Marcus could hear explosions and sounds of fighting but none of them knew what was going on out there. The door to their rooms was locked.

  After what felt like hours, the door to their rooms opened and a bunch of demons deposed an unconscious figure in their rooms. Tamara started to talk to them but the demons exited as fast as they came, locking the door behind them.

  Tamara fumed and shouted at the demons banging on the door. But Marcus’ focus was on the figure that the demons had placed in their room. As the other adventurers put the figure on the sofa, Marcus identified the half elf and groaned inwardly.

  Tasha Lightweaver had been captured by the demons.