"Yes."

The question put Alex into a bit of a melancholy, "Yes I have. But you probably wouldn't call them heroes, I'm the only one who ever did."

"Why are you the only one who called them heroes?"

"Because they were simple folk, a group of farmers who joined a campaign to rescue some kidnapped families from a bandit army. They all died but they never faltered in their conviction that it was the right thing to do. No one else ever called them heroes because no one else is alive to remember them." Alex gave a long look at the kid, "The real heroes of this world aren't looking for any sort of glory, they just want to do whats right. You might not like that fact, but it's the reason your squire already has more heroic qualities than you do. You want to become a famous hero, you should learn from his example. In stead of making a foolish scene like you did at the fort."

And with that Alex turned back to the road and resumed walking. Everyone was quite for a while, even Demon kept her thoughts to herself.

"Edward." The silence was broken, "My squire's name is Edward. And he's also my best friend, the only one who supported my decision to follow my dream of becoming a hero."

Alex didn't respond.

"And my name is Alexander. Like the Lionheart. I met him when I was little. Our carriage was attack by some thugs and Alexander Lionheart heard the fight and came to rescue us. My mother and older sister died, but he managed to save me. No one else came, and some of our guards even ran away. He told me that heroes always do the right thing, that they save people whenever they can because it's the right thing to do."

Oh, that kid. Alex did remember the event, although it was hazy because he was drunk leaving a tavern in a disreputable neighborhood at the time, he decided not to give the kid the rest of the details about how he happened to be nearby. "Before he was famous Alexander Lionheart spent 5 years working for the temple of Boann in Praenomen to earn the divine favor required to be counted as a hero of the people. But the more famous he got the more stupid he became, and the less time he spent saving people in small situations. He became hungry for fame and glory, it was like a plague of the mind and a lot of people died because they did anything he asked them too just because he was a famous hero. IF you follow his example you'll end up the same. You should try to learn from his mistakes instead."

"He had to work to get his divine favors?"

"The gods don't give out favor for free kid. Not to anyone, it becomes easier to get more after you get the first, But a heroic party has to get at lease one divine favor per person to be recognized by the kings as a heroic party. Alexander Lionheart's party had a total of seven divine favors, and they thought they were invincible because of it."

"Don't the gods bless those they favor."

"Then what happened to Alexander Lionheart and his party?" Alex barely let the question dangle, "Where are they now? And what happened to them?"

The young Alexander became notably uncomfortable, "I don't know, the last reports I could find mentioned visiting the libraries of Tut'Tal, we are going that way to find out."

Alex nodded, "Then you'll want to join a caravan heading there from Grumen'Kal. If you've never traveled the desert before you don't want to do it alone for the first time. The desert isn't really endless as it's name suggests, but it becomes very disorienting and many people die every year walking in bad directions because they don't know how to navigate it."

"You're not going to talk us out of it?"

"I'm just a mercenary. I travel a lot and see a lot of things. But I'm not being paid to send you home, and I'm not being paid to protect you. What you do with your life is your own choice, live how you want, die whenever your time is up."

Again silence.

(Master?)

(What is it Demon?)

(Do you think he'll find what he wants to know?)

(Only part of it. If he want to follow the trail to your old prison then he'll have to pass the trial heavens, and that requires a minimum of six heroic party members. He has only his squire, and neither of them are carrying divine tokens. At most he'll only hear that my old team went off to face a demon and never returned.)

(Odds of him seeking vengeance?)

(15 years of building a heroic team large enough to earn the knowledge of the directions to your now empty lair? Not exactly what I would call vengeance.)

(Hehe, good point. I suppose that learning the demon got free is a long way off in human terms. Except that I'm not free...I'm stuck in a cat now.)

(Stop and smell the flowers at some point, Demon.)

(I'm a cat! I want to kill all things that move, and get love and pets when I'm bored. You did this to me you know.)

(I happen to have an attachment to living. And not letting a demon lord run around rampant.)

(Ummm, you ARE the Demon Lord now. I'm your Demon servant. When you kicked my mind out of your body you kept my soul and power with you, that's why you are experiencing body corruption, remember?)

(I'm not fully corrupted yet, and until I am I refuse to think of myself as a Demon, Lord or otherwise.)

(You think that you'll get the answers you seek from those two in the south?)

(You yourself said you don't know the cause of demonic corruption, even though you've been a demon for a few thousand years. I figure a living god and his avatar might.)

(I hate them.)

(Because they locked you up in a cave.)

(THEY SCARE ME! I had no idea that an avatar could be that powerful, there are some things that never got written in books you know.)

(And that's why we're going to ask them.)

(Knowledge is never free.)

(Nothing is free, no one is ever free.)

(I know.)

Alex reached over his shoulder and scratched Demon's head absent mindedly. It was going to be a long walk south, and with the two followers he couldn't cheat with his demonic abilities. He'd need to ditch them, or figure out another way to part company.