The Demon King’s land is nothing like the stories of old once described. There are no pools of tormented souls crying, screaming, and clutching at the hands of would-be dwellers. There isn’t a dark sky looming over the region with an ominous miasma, encroaching upon the ground and stinging the eyes of travelers. A vast armada of demons and night creatures accompanied with a chorus of savage war cries are nowhere to be seen. If anything, the Demon King’s abode is a wasteland. Withered flowers and husks of trees parade around the barren region. Cracks and splinters of dead earth create a jagged road where water once flowed. The place is dry, lacking the ominous and fearful fog described by forefathers. It is devoid of all life; no movement from any creature for miles.

  “Alright, everyone!” Miranda, sworn protector of the kingdom of man, plunges her iron broadsword beneath the ground. Her brown hair flows in the wind as she faces the rest of her party. They stand attentive at their commander and leader, her presence strikes a courageous tune in the hearts of her companions.

  “The Demon King’s castle is nearby. Beyond this land is the fight of our lives. Everything we’ve ever done, the battles we’ve fought, the people we’ve lost,” Miranda breathes a heavy and despondent sigh, “ it all comes to this. We make camp for tonight. Rest here and tomorrow, our destinies will be fulfilled.”

  The party gives cheers and sings battle cries before setting up tents and fires. After camp is made, the adventurers sit around the fire, and the moon shines a bright and brilliant light along an ocean of stars in the night sky. It is a fine night for the adventurers, who confess and reminisce on the journey they began so many years ago. They share the remainder of ale and food, filling their bellies before the final battle. One of them, Ashton Stormshadow, leader of the assassin’s guild, flicks, drags, and presses his finger in the middle of the air.

  “I still don’t understand what it is you’re doing,” an Elvish woman says, waving her blonde hair out of her face.

  Ashton smirks. “I’m choosing and maxing out my skills, Sylvie. If I am to defeat the Demon King with one strike, I have to go all out!”

  Ashton stands and pulls out a long and slender katana. The blade is an obsidian black akin to an endless abyss, and spikes of electrical energy surges from the edges of the nefarious steel. Ashton crouches down and closes his eyes, in a flash he leaps into the air and swings out his sword in a vertical slash.

  “Storm Shadow Strike!” Ashton screams. A wave of black energy forms a crescent shape and flies through the sky. It crackles and screeches with waves of electrical surges before it sucks in a nearby field of clouds in a small black vortex. Ashton lands on the ground with a plop and sheaths his sword. The vortex explodes and the sky illuminates with a fierce light. Sylvie averts her gaze while the rest of the party groans at the sudden flash of light. Ashton smirks and waves his hand in the air.

  “Oh nice I only used fifteen thousand MP! I can kill the Demon King ten times over with this one.”

  “Oi! Ashton you fuck it’s the middle of the night! Some of us are trying to enjoy the beautiful scenery, not blow it to smithereens!” An old dwarf rubs his eyes before throwing a large bone with small pieces of meat hanging off of it.

  Ashton sidesteps with a smile and shrugs. “Hey it never hurts for a little practice run before the big fight,” Ashton swipes his hands and says “system close.”

  Sylvie is enthralled by Ashton’s display of might. She walks up to Ashton and leans forward, her soft red lips near his. “Wow Ashton, you’re so cool and strong,” Sylvie slides her hand around Ashton’s neck and pulls him in, “and really hot.”

  Ashton blushes, “Well, I do try my best.” He leans in to kiss Sylvie’s cheek, but she pulls him down and puts him into a chokehold.

  “Well, how about you try to not give away our position! Now all of the Demon Lord’s army knows we are here because of you showboating!”

  Sylvie puts Ashton in a chokehold and his legs buckle. He tries to kick his legs up and slaps Sylvie's arm as his cheeks flush red.

  “Felix-” Ashton’s voice struggles to escape the strong arms of the Elvish woman,

  “Felix said we’re-- alone.”

  Sylvie glances at a man enveloped in a thick blue robe adorned with belts and flasks. His leather boots wrapped with twine hold small scrolls and a staff rests against the log he sits upon.

  “Felix, is this true?” Sylvie keeps a tight lock on Ashton while his body sags and his arms falter.

  “Yes it’s true, I surveyed this place a day ago. His armies are cleared out and his fortress barren. To the best of my knowledge, we are the only people here.” Felix pokes at the campfire with his staff to keep the embers going.

  “Well that’s stupid, why would the Demon Lord practically leave the front door open?” Sylvie releases Ashton, his body falls to the floor with a soft groan.

  “Aye, I believe the little demon welps fear our coming!” The dwarf bellows a mighty laugh and chugs foamy beer from a wooden pint. He wipes his face with his hefty brown beard and goes to refill his pint from a nearby keg.

  “Or it could be a trap.” A woman crouches on the ground with her palm pressed flatly against the Earth. Her eyes flicker with a soft green glow and two vines flow from beneath her golden embroidered robe. After a moment her vines retract, and her face creases with drops of sweat.

  “There’s not a single sign of life for miles. No plants, not even tiny creatures roam the dirt. This place is completely abandoned, it’s as if no one has lived here at all.”

  The woman stands and turns to Felix, “are you sure this is the right place?”

  Felix nods, “I’ve been researching this for years, all records of the Demon King point twenty miles away from here and an additional five miles beneath the surface of the Earth.”

  “Maybe he moved away-” Ashton says before Sylvie pushes him back to the ground.

  “How do we know this isn’t a trap? Has there been any new revelations from Abel?”

  Near the corner of the camp the old dwarven man groans, “Felix! The keg is empty again.”

  Felix points his staff at the keg; the inside of the empty keg swishes and trickles with a faint scent of mead.

  “Thank you kind lad.” The dwarf happily pours himself another beer while singing a jolly tune.

  Felix turns to the woman, who holds a set of weary eyes and twitchy hands, “Lucy you have to relax. We’ve been on this journey for how many years and has there ever been a time we’ve been in danger?”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Lucy shakes her head and takes a deep breath, “I just want to make sure that we will be ok.”

  Felix rises up and dusts off soot and embers. He places his hand on Lucy’s shoulder, “We’ll be fine, we’ve always been fine and this fight is no different. We have the Seven Hero Relics, ten years of experience and most of all, we have each other.”

  Lucy shares a small smile with Felix as they reminisist on their past antics and journeys.

  “If it makes you any better I’ll ask Abel for any new revelations, but until then,” Felix pulls out a pint from beneath his robe and hands it to Lucy, “share a pint with Thordin, he’s going to need someone to take him back to his tent.”

  Lucy laughs, “more like drag, I swear I don’t know why you allow him to drink on missions.”

  Felix shrugs, “he keeps the party happy and relaxed, you don’t find many men like him in the world.”

  They both look at Thordin, who has devolved into a drunken stupor. He shakes his hip in a rhythmic motion, spilling his drink across the floor. He sings a dwarven song in a strong and loud voice, his audience the moon and stars.

  “Alright, but you might need to drag the both of us back to our tents.”

  Felix gives Lucy a playful shove before she joins Thordin in his drunken dance. He wears a smile and tender eyes as he watches Lucy play with Thordin while Ashton tries to wrestle with Sylvie, who puts him in another chokehold. Felix leaves the campsite to find Miranda a couple feet away from everyone, her figure emanates a beautiful glow under the moonlight. Her fierce red hair against her fair skin beneath the stars brings Felix to akin this sight to a fairy descended from the heavens. Felix clears his throat and takes a seat next to Miranda, whose eyes are lost on the Horizon.

  “Why so far away from the festivities? Afraid you’ll lose to Thordin again?”

  Miranda grins, “I didn’t lose to Thordin, I just didn’t want him to fall over in a puddle of his own piss.”

  “You’re right, you were conscious enough to walk while we put Thordin in a wheelbarrow and rolled him out of the tavern.” Felix chuckles while Miranda nods, “I still feel bad for emptying out the tavern's liquor basement.”

  “True, but we did save their city from a dragon, so I believe it is a fair trade.”

  Felix laughs and stares at Miranda; her brown eyes glimmer and shine with the audience of a thousand stars. She seems lost in thought and Felix tries to reach out but he holds back, choosing instead to gaze upon his leader's beauty. The duo sit in silence, interrupted only by the occasional cheers and screams from the rest of the group.

  “Can you believe it Felix? After almost a decade, we made it to the end of the road.” Miranda forms a weak smile with a mixture of content and melancholy.

  “I’ve been with everyone for what feels like my entire life. I have traveled to the edge of the world, fought unimaginable horrors, and seen a thousand stories unfold before me.”

  Felix raises an eyebrow, “you’re saying this as if we won’t see each other again.”

  Miranda sighs, “Sylvie is returning to the Woodland Realm, and Ashton to the Assassin’s guild. Thordin says he is going to retire and Abel will take the Pope’s position when we return.”

  Miranda folds her arms, “I don’t want to admit it, but whether we win or lose, this is the end of our story.”

  The two sit in more silence, with Felix contemplating Miranda’s words.

  “What are you going to do, once it’s all over Miranda?”

  Miranda is startled by the question, but after a few moments Miranda crafts a response, “I think I would like to retire as well. A tavern owner always sounded pleasant. The nights are always full of entertainment, and with every new visitor comes a new story, rich with adventure and life.” Miranda nods, “Yeah, that sounds like a good way to end my own story.”

  Miranda turns to Felix, their eyes meet and Felix’s heart flutters, “What about you Felix, how do you want to end your story?”

  Felix puts his hands together and rubs them, scraping his nails along his calloused palms.

  “I never really gave it much thought if I’m being honest. I always lived in the moment, I never thought that it would come to an end so soon.”

  He rests his body on the ground and looks up to the sky, “ In truth, I don’t want this to end. Before I met all of you I was wasting away in the Mage Tower; the only companions were the legends written in books. When the king chose me to join the adventuring party, I packed my things and left my lonely abode the same day.” Felix pushed up his glasses and wiped away a small tear, “The day I left the tower was the day my story began.”

  For a moment, Felix let his guard down and the hardened shell that surrounded the usual stoic mage broke.

  “I never thought I would see it end.”

  Miranda punches Felix on the shoulder, “Now you’re the one who’s acting all sappy. Don’t be sad it’s ending, be happy that we made it.”

  Felix closes his eyes and chuckles.

  “You’re right.”

  Felix pauses before answering Miranda’s original question, “I guess I would go back to the Mage Tower and become an Elder Mage. Reading endless amounts of tomes and spells until I become riddled with wrinkles and gray hair.”

  Miranda snorts, “That, Felix, is the most boring and sad answer I could have gotten. Yet the most Felixy answer I could have expected.”

  Miranda grabs Felix’s hand and his eyes flash with a sudden spark of joy, “You could always join me, I’ll need someone to make the food while I’ll be the bar maiden.”

  Felix smiles and squeezes her hands, “How do you know I wouldn’t want to be the barmaiden?”

  Miranda snorts, “alright, when this is over you shall be renamed “Felix, the Bar Maiden of Dragon’s Keep.”

  “Dragon’s Keep? I’m pretty sure that names been taken by fifteen other taverns.”

  “The name is a work in progress!” Miranda exclaims. The two chuckle beneath the star light and midnight winds. They gaze into each other’s eyes and see a humble future together. Before either of them can make a move, they hear Ashton scream from the camp, “Storm Shadow Strike!”

  Their hair raises before they duck as an arc of energy surges and pulses above them. It singes their hair and eradicates the gentle breeze around them. The energy creates a vortex before an arrow accompanies the energy surge in the sky. The two entities create a dual explosion that sends another shockwave around the camp. Felix casts a small half shield as Miranda leans into him.

  “Woo!” They hear the cheers of Ashton and Sylvie, who leans back and forth with flushed cheeks. She holds a firm grip on her mithril bow decorated with rubies.

  “You love birds going to join us or what?” Sylvie giggles and purses her lips together.

  Miranda rolls her eyes, “Come on barmaiden, let’s go join the others.” Miranda stands and tries to pull Felix off the ground.

  “Give me a moment Miranda, I want to lie here for a bit.” Miranda bends down and gives Felix a small kiss on his cheek, “alright, but don’t fall asleep! We are going to need you to refill the keg.” She laughs as she runs towards the others, who embrace their leader in the ongoing party.

  Felix sits in comfort with the sounds of drunken chuckles and slurred words. His party, compatriots, friends; his world revolved around them and the adventures. He grabs one of the scrolls stashed in his pocket and unfurls it. It’s covered in stains, charred at the corner, and it’s ripped at the top middle of the page. Felix smiles and rubs his finger across the rough paper. The first quest they received; stopping a small group of goblin bandits from stealing a town's food supply. Ashton almost blew up a part of the town while Thordin and Sylvie chased after stragglers. Everything they did built up to this moment. Now it's time to finally let it all go.

  “Felix! Get over here already!” Lucy says.

  Felix wraps up the scroll and stuffs it back into his pocket. He gets up and observes Miranda and Thordin deep in competition. Thordin chugs a pint of beer before he coughs and spills it all over the floor, while Miranda flips her empty cup over his head with a hearty smile. Ashton and Sylvie point their fingers and cackle as Ashton trips over a log and falls over. Lucy rolls her eyes and sips away at her drink.

  Felix smirks at the sight of his friends, “How could I ever let this go?”

  He dusts himself off and walks back to the group, who raise their hands and hoot to the entrance of their grand mage. They throw Felix a wooden mug and he snatches it in the air. The mug fills with beer and the party continues the festive night in the heart of the demon king’s domain. One final hurrah before the end.