I dont want to be the he.., p.1
I Don't Want to Be the Hero Vol. 5, page 1
Copyright © 2022 M.E. Thorne
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Andreea Sava
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Copyright
Author’s Note
The Story Thus Far
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Afterward
Books by M.E. Thorne
Author’s Note
Welcome to the penultimate book in the I Don’t Want to Be the Hero series! I would have never expected Mal’s adventures to take off like they did when I first started writing. Thank you again for you support, and I promise Vol. 6 will be a worthy end to the series!
I’m already hard at work on Dark Lord’s Commands Vol. 3 and Dungeon Delving Vol. 2, so expect them out this summer. I also have a slew of audio books coming out too.
You can sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates. If you enjoyed this book please leave a positive review and spread the word!
Thank you again!
The Story Thus Far
Growing up in The City, Mal was told that it was a utopia, overseen by the benevolent Goddess. She protected her children from the outside world, a dark wasteland ruled by the Demon Lord.
But even in a perfect world, Mal felt like an outcast and a freak. He had the unique ability to see magic. And any spell he could see, he could break, shattering hexes, bindings, and blessings as easily as he breathed. Only his friend and lover, Sarah, believed in him and saw his value.
All of Mal’s illusions about the nature of his world were shattered when he turned eighteen. Branded a Hero by the Goddess, he was brainwashed and exiled out into the outside world to slaughter and kill in her name. Only a chance encounter with the demon knight Annowan and her dragonkin squire Gilly saved his life.
Becoming Annowan’s squire at the same time as the orc Thalie, Mal slowly learned about the world of Amalgam, and the empire ruled by Annowan’s grandmother, Lilith, the Immortal Empress and the ruler who sat upon the Throne. He also learned the truth about the Bitch Goddess, who had once attempted to conquer Amalgam along with her human, elven, and dwarven allies.
He resolved to defeat the Bitch Goddess and to save Sarah from her clutches.
Book 1
Using knowledge implanted in Mal by the Bitch Goddess, Annowan resolved to find and kill the Four Generals, the legendary warriors who had led the Bitch’s army during the cataclysmic war between the empire and The City. During this journey, they were joined by the goblin dragoon Krencha and her mighty mole-dog Scrapple. The party braved ent haunted woods, cursed dwarven ruins, and abandoned cities full of mutant insects to reach the Red Mountain, the resting place of the first general.
Mal also became romantically entangled with Gilly, Thalie, and Krencha, coming to love the three women and their unique strengths.
Upon arriving at the Red Mountain, Mal was horrified to find that the Bitch Goddess had possessed Sarah and was using her to claim the general. During the climactic battle, Mal used his spell-breaking ability to free the general, who in turn attacked The City’s troops and saved the party.
Revealing herself as Tarial, the Last Herald, she had volunteered to carry the party to Babylon, the demonic capital and the home of Lilith and the Throne.
Book 2
Upon arriving in Babylon, the party met Lilith, who was the empress as well as Annowan’s grandmother. They also learned that Tarial was Lilith’s wife and the last remaining member of the empress’s harem.
Lilith explained that Mal was a spellbreaker; the spellbreakers had been renegade humans who had broke with the Bitch Goddess during the war, siding with the Throne against their deity. Impressed by his deeds and by his ability, Lilith made Mal a ward of the Throne.
Next, the party was sent on a quest to find the second general, braving the inhospitable and spell-cursed Coldspite Basin. There, they allied with Daggerdare, an elven treespeaker, who had come to break the curse of eternal winter over the valley. Together, they faced corrupt blizzards, snow monsters, and undead wurms, as they pressed into the heart of the Basin and the general’s tomb.
During the journey, Gilly revealed that Mal’s paramours were planning on wedding him upon their return to Babylon. They all shared the same goal, defeating the Bitch Goddess, and by creating a harem they’d become members of Lilith’s court. Daggerdare, drawn in by Mal’s strength and resolve, joined their group as well, becoming Mal’s lover.
Finally, reaching the center of the Basin, the party was joined by Tarial, who revealed that the tomb was actually built by a group of angelic beings known as the Watchers. The Watchers had been created by the same divine being as Tarial, but upon arriving in Amalgam they had been deceived and corrupted by the Bitch Goddess.
Fighting the tomb’s undead monstrosities, the party was ambushed by Sarah, still possessed by the Bitch Goddess. She mind-controlled Mal and forced him to break the magic sealing the tomb. Fighting back, Mal broke free and thwarted the Bitch’s plans by releasing the entombed general, Revekar, the necromantic king of the dwarves. Revekar swore revenge on the Bitch Goddess and the Throne, before escaping.
Retreating to Daggerdare’s village, Annowan resolved to negotiate peace between the elves and the Throne, bringing them together against their mutual foe. Mal wed Daggerdare, pledging that he and all his wives would work together to bring down the Bitch and save the world.
Book 3
Returning to Babylon, Mal married Gilly, Thalie, and Krencha, officially forming his harem with his lovely new wives.
Their quest next took them to Dragonport, Gilly’s hometown. Velka, Annowan’s mother, had worked for Gilly’s family as an adventurer and archeologist, digging up the secrets of the past. Lilith hoped Velka’s library would contain clues as to the two remaining generals’ locations.
They quickly found themselves contending with Gilly’s powerful but petty family as well as the kinless, the city’s underworld assassins. Mal quickly learned the killers had aligned themselves with the Bitch Goddess, and they were attempting to breach the seal Annowan had put over her mother’s library.
Rushing inside, the party found the library was in chaos. They discovered the madness was caused by the library’s power core, which was a shard of the Bitch’s divinity. The Bitch Goddess invaded, determined to take back her missing power.
Separated from the others, Mal and Annowan fought against the mad library, trying to reunite with the others. As reality continued to break down, Annowan also found her heart opening to Mal, admitting that she loved him and cared for him. The two spent an evening of passion together, and Mal vowed that together they would defeat the Bitch..
Rejoining his harem, Mal attacked the heart of the library, determined to destroy the shard of divinity before the Bitch could claim it. A fierce battle ensued, but Mal won in the end, destroying the shard and denying the Bitch the chance to absorb its power.
The party had not only defeated the Bitch, but they had also discovered a clue towards the next general; they had learned the location of an abandoned island tomb. In front of the entire imperial court Mal proposed to Annowan. She said yes, finally accepting the love she had found.
Book 4
Fresh from his marriage to Annowan, Mal and his harem are sent to the remote region of Rylon, a peninsula extending from the southern coast of Amalgam. The clues they had located in Velka’s Library indicated that was where they could find the third general.
Reaching the area, they find it’s under assault by a wave of reality altering magic, transforming the landscape into a strange, clockwork version of itself. It becomes clear that the third general, Belial, is awake, and she is slowly changing the world, forcing it to become perfect and logical.
Annowan is less than thrilled when Lilith decides to stow away on their trip. The empress’s power is more than welcomed though as Mal and his harem contend with the Bitch and Reverkar, who have also come to claim Belial’s power. Fighting against them and the strange, clockwork monsters created
Racing against time, Lilith, Mal, and his wives climb the tower, fighting against Belial’s clockwork constructs. Belial attempts to kill the party using a magical bomb, left over from the war. Lilith sacrifices herself, transporting the bomb and herself to the void, to save the others.
Outraged, Annown goes on a rampage, forcing Mal to confront and then later comfort her, helping her come to terms with the potential loss of her grandmother.
At the top of the tower there is a brutal showdown. Mal and his wives narrowly outraced their foes, slaying Belial before she could complete her mad quest to remake the entire world. Lilith makes a miraculous appearance, whisking Mal and his wives to safety as Belial’s tower collapses.
Returning to Babylon, tired but triumphant, Mal spends some time with his wives. They know the final battle is coming. There is only one general left, and both the Bitch Goddess and Reverkar will be vying for their power.
Chapter 1
“Thalie, behind you!”
Without breaking stride, my orcish wife ducked and spun. Her halberd scythed through the zombie that had been trying to jump onto her back.
Raising my buckler, I slammed into the group of skeletons that had been approaching. Even as they were pushed back, I raised my spellbreaker ability and snapped at the necromancy that held them together.
They tumbled to the ground, reduced to a pile of inanimate bones.
To my right, I heard a war cry as Daggerdare hewed into a giant, undead construct. Her limbs surged with vital, green energy as her axes sheared through the thing’s leg tendons, sending it stumbling. Krencha and Scrapple took advantage of the chaos to slam into the giant. The goblin bludgeoned the monster’s head while the mole-dog leapt onto its chest, forcing it to the ground.
“For the caravans!” Krencha cheered as she slammed her mace down, crushing the construct’s misshapen skull.
A flash of black, destructive light flared to my left, showing that Annie and Gilly had finished off their foes. I turned and watched as gouts of balefire consumed the last few remaining zombies, turning them to ash and then into nothing.
I took a moment to catch my breath and inspect the scene.
Necrotic remains were scattered across the alpine meadow; fused bone, stitched skin, metal surgical pins, and runed plates. Despite the death around us, a cool, refreshing breeze was blowing down from the mountains, clearing the stench of preserved flesh.
“Everyone alright?” Gilly called out as she walked amongst the dead, retrieving her arrows.
“No problems here,” I called.
“These pipsqueaks were nothing!” Krencha said as she gave the giant one last smack, ensuring it wouldn’t be able to get back up.
“Mal –,” Annie came forward, sheathing her blade. “Are we close to his hideout?”
I closed my eyes and focused. Pushing past the lingering remains of necrotic magic, I tried to pinpoint the source of vile energy I had detected that morning.
“That way.” I pointed towards a small copse of trees tucked against a nearby hillside.
“Are we finally closing onto Reverkar, or is this just another proxy?” Daggerdare asked.
I mentally visualized the cold, throbbing magic ahead of us, tracing the paths it wove through the air; I saw they led deeper into the mountains.
“Another proxy,” I told them.
My wives gave a collective groan.
Not that I could blame them. We had been hunting Reverkar, King of the Dwarves, for weeks, pursuing him deeper and deeper into the Cutblind Mountains. Each step in our investigation had brought us closer to his true location, but that also meant we had to wade through an army of the dead first.
This is what, the third zombie pack we’ve fought so far today? I glanced up at the sun. And it’s not even lunchtime yet. If we push ourselves like we did yesterday, we’ll probably end up fighting a half-dozen more packs of the undead before we stop for the night.
Annie took the lead. My demonic wife was tall, regal, and beautiful; her crimson red skin contrasted wonderfully with the ebon horns that spiraled from her brow. An undying flame danced in her eyes, and even though we were all exhausted, I knew she would push us to see our mission through.
Gilly, on the other hand, slouched and grumbled as we began to walk, her tail almost dragging in the dirt.
Slowing my stride, I put my hand on the small of her back. “You okay?”
“Just tired,” she replied.
I noticed she had a gray pallor around her. Her sapphire scales, normally lustrous and bright, were looking dirty and worn, and her hair looked greasy and limp.
“I know what we’re doing is important,” she said quietly. “And I know we need to stop Reverkar, but fighting zombies day after day while camping rough can wear on a girl, you know?”
Daggerdare nodded sagely. “All warriors have their breaking point. No one can fight forever. Those who try to push past their limits, past the point of exhaustion and reason, are only looking for their deaths.”
I looked over my harem. Krencha looked energized and excited, but I knew the goblin dragoon always felt most alive in battle. Her coppery skin was covered in bone dust and grime, and I could see tightness in her demeanor, a haunting exhaustion she couldn’t push off forever.
Even more disturbing, I noticed her normally pristine armor was scuffed and marred, showing she hadn’t had a chance to polish and clean it.
Thalie looked wilted. As an orc, she had a natural affinity for plants, and she often grew a flower crown to rest atop her emerald locks. But she hadn’t bothered growing any that morning. Instead, she had tied her hair back with a ragged band of orange vines.
I looked down and inspected myself, seeing the obvious disrepair of my boots, the dirt caked under my nails, and the foul, sour odor from my unwashed clothes. “Everyone stop,” I stated flatly. “We’ve been pushing ourselves too hard. After this is done, let’s go back to Frostgrounds and take a few days to rest and recover. Like Daggerdare said, if we keep this up, we’re only bound to get hurt.”
Annie looked ready to argue for a moment, but she stopped herself and instead gave our group a long, hard look.
She must have seen the same weariness I had seen because she nodded. “You’re right. What we’re doing is important, but we’ll do ourselves no good if we exhaust ourselves before finding Reverkar.”
Gilly straightened up a bit, a new spark of energy entering her eyes. “You mean we can look forward to hot baths and cold beers?” She turned and hugged me. “Mal, I think I love you!”
I laughed, kissing her brow. “I already know you love me. We’re married.”
She giggled. “True, but there’s nothing like a reminder every now and then to reinforce our marital bonds!”
As we approached Reverkar’s hideout, I took a moment to speak to my wives individually.
Krencha insisted she was fine, and that she could keep going, but I noticed Scrapple gave me a small, grateful lick along my palm as I reached down to scratch his snout.
“You just want to find Reverkar and claim his head,” Gilly told the goblin.
“What can I say, killing the last dwarf in existence would be an amazing cornerstone for my legend,” Krencha admitted before she slouched in her saddle. “But you’re probably right, Mal. We’ve been out here, fighting all day and camping rough at night. Having a chance to rest and recuperate might not be a bad idea.”
I reached up and kissed her. “Exactly. You don’t want the bards to sing about your filthy, dented armor when they recite your tale, do you?”
She playfully swatted me away.
Daggerdare was quiet when I drew up next to her. The elvish treespeaker was normally a reserved person; she preferred to let her actions speak for her. The scars that ran along across her body were proof enough of that.
But I could tell she was reaching her limit as well.
“You okay?” I asked quietly.
She paused a moment, then nodded. “It’s just hard seeing life twisted and bent by that bastard. These zombies and undead servants are an affront to everything the Mother Tree stands for, a break from the cycle of life and death.”
