Mez tapped his foot out of frustration.

Not his usual calm self, the rogue was quite upset with the current trail of events that had reached him to this conclusion. Only a few months after being released into the world by the dventurer!s "uild #nown only as $aunch, Mez had already performed less than adequately on his last two missions and most recently had his original partner, %are#, a fellow rogue, reassigned to a more lucrative area while Mez was sent to be sent to another assignment with a different partner. nd Mez #new the truth of the move, it was a demotion. lateral move to a less lucrative area with probably little wealth to be gained from reputation. $here was only two things that $aunch cared about, building reputation in the far reaches of &aerun and earning gold, most of which was collected by the more senior members of the guild as dues for favors and other assistance while adventuring. Mez sat at the corner of a bar in a small inn at a settlement on the outs#irts of a region un#nown to Mez. 'e had been travelling many days and shown wear for his woes. 'e wore a blac#, short brim hat with a once white now turned brown from dust and grime band going around it. brown, low cut shirt covered his leather armor that adorned both his chest and legs. 'is blac# pants were muddy and worn, showing frayed edges that brushed at the tops of his brown leather boots. (ehind him flowed a blac# )ac#et with that stopped )ust above the top of his boots. *t mainly served the purpose to conceal the + daggers he #ept along his bac# in sheaths attached to a belt that belted into his shirt. $he first two of these daggers pointed outwards )ust below Mez!s shoulder blades. $he other four sat )ust above the small of his bac# also facing in a manner that would ma#e it easy for Mez to go from a calm posture to hands on the hilts of his weapons in a blin# of an eye. Or so he though anyways. pparently $aunch believed %are# to be the superior rogue, and therefore sent him to (aldur!s "ate to pursue opportunities there. ,hile $aunch usually allowed most members to adventure freely and would only appear when it was time to collect dues or pass information, there are times where the needs of the guild would necessitate the strategic placement of members. lthough usually such assignments entailed see#ing strong, young, ambitious and most importantly potentially powerful members to attend one of their various academies spread out across &aerun dedicated to training these recruits in the ways of the guild and to hone their gift that was discovered by their recruiter. &or Mez it had been his deft hand at acquiring one such recruiters bag of gold right from under his sash that started his path that has now led him to sitting in this very inn, awaiting the arrival of another guild member, who was probably also found in a similar way. -our life or your death, you decide. Mez remembered the guild member telling him as he stared down the pointed end of the most amazing sword he had ever seen a man carry. lthough Mez was only .. years of age then, he was one of many orphans who ran the streets of his town getting food and coin any way they could. Orphans to the ever growing threat right outside the gate that #ept most of the humans of the #eep on the correct side of the

walls. (ut every human city was intimate with war, Mez!s was no different. ,hile the guild member always #new Mez was approaching him from behind, could feel the child!s mischievous intent emanating off his eager frame, he instantly too# note to how quiet this one!s approach was, for one his age and of no formal training. /o his e0periment a success, seeing the child had the potential to ma#e a fine guild member, he allowed him to ma#e a go at his bag, and promptly punched him in the bac# of the head as he tried to ma#e his hasty retreat down an alleyway, sending him sprawling to the ground. $o deny me the coin for food is death anyways, what does it matter and he spat on the ground close to the man!s feet to emphasize his disdain towards the situation. Mez touched himself on the nec# as he vividly remembered then the man wal#ing right up to him and pric#ing him right below the chin with the tip of that magnificent sword. (lood dripped freely from the wound and down the sword and to the ground. %o you not desire strength1 $he strength to not have to beg for your meals1 $he man calmly spo#e to Mez as he ad)usted his position to come eye to eye with him from across the sword. ,ould you rather my sword or a feast celebrating your entrance into a world you never #new open to you slide into your throat tonight1. 2 years later and Mez had never eaten so well still. $hat ne0t day he was on the bac# of a horse and within a tenday he was training at the $aunch /chool for 3ogues. *t was the approaching sounds of footsteps that bro#e Mez out of his silent contemplation. 'e loo#ed up from his glass, still half filled with the ale that was originally poured for him an hour earlier, as a human figure strolled through the entrance. woman of no particular interest other than the fact that she was a woman at an inn which typically only seen men patrons due to its secluded location in a town where the farmers probably were required to fight on a regular basis without the protection of an army. /he wore a full length wizard!s robe, blac# fading to white as it flowed to the ground, si0 intertwined dragons was the design stitched across the chest of the robe. Mez #new this design to be the symbol of his secretive guild, to see it boldly worn out in public was unusual to say the least. $he rogue turned bac# to the bar, and at that moment he was the only man in the establishment not eyeing the stranger who had )ust entered. /he sat at a position across from the three sided bar from Mez, two chairs to the left as the emissary from the guild e0plained. /he loo#ed up at him from under her upturned hood. %eep brown eyes loc#ed with his, the wizard then willed them to change color in the blin# of an eye to one blue eye and one red eye, then bac# to brown. $hat was the signal, Mez #new, not that he needed it with that robe she was wearing. 'e flashed a hand sign to silently notify his soon to be partner that he had ac#nowledged the signal and to continue with the ne0t phase. /he gave him an inquisitive loo# which meant to tell Mez that she had little understanding of what he had )ust signed. 'and signals had recently been incorporated into the training of the various schools of $aunch after e0tensive research was done into the history of the drow elves by the guild. lthough their hand signs were nowhere near as comple0 as those used by the drow, it did

serve its purpose in communicating quic#ly and silently. *t seemed unusual that a guild member wouldn!t #now the intricate language, but it also seemed unusual for a guild member to wal# into an inn where a covert meeting was suppose to ta#e place wearing guild attire. 'e began to wonder, if she was actually an imposter. 'e threw down a few copper pieces for the drin#, and stairwell that would lead to the room that the guild meeting. 'e gave not a glance to the wizard, in case indeed to be an imposter, he didn!t want to give any suspicions. made his way to the had set up for his this one proved clue to his

Mez sat in a corner of the small room that was adorned with a bed, table, and chair. thic# layer of dust coated the entire room, while it appears to be used often, the room seemed to haven!t been cleaned in a long time. 'e gave a side glance to the bed and could only imagine how many germs and various bodily fluids it contained. shudder went down his spine and he turned his focus bac# to the door. $hrough the door strolled the wizard from downstairs, Mez felt comfortable that the small size of the room allowed him the advantage in case this wizard did in fact end up being an imposture. 'e sat with his arms crossed at his waist, his hands only inches away from the hilts of the daggers located on the top of the small of his bac#. $he wizard stopped right in front of Mez, only entrance, and bowed gracefully. ,ell met, Mez winced at the sound of his official title with unfairly earned during schooling. *ndeed.... also give her name. 3asia the &iredancer she wide, disarming grin. two strides from the the 4nremar#able. Mez the guild, one he felt he he motioned for her to promptly responded with a

3asia sat and removed the hood of her robe, e0posing long, bouncy, bright red curls. /he wasn!t as dar# s#inned as him, but she had a tan tint to her comple0ion as if she had also came from an area of perpetual heat and sun. 'er eyes had changed to a lighter, hazel color, the beauty of which wasn!t diminished by the various scars and cuts she carried along her face and arms. 3asia was also a human, he noted, and also of young age, she couldn!t be a day over .2 Mez thought to himself has she sat down at the chair ad)acent to his, her curls bouncing playfully and her smile beaming. *ts not often that you see human wizards, especially one as young as yourself, Mez s#eptically commented. ,ell unli#e you rogues, wizards aren!t actually considered released from school when we begin ta#ing assignments, she e0plained * will have to return to school from time to time to receive additional instruction. *!m e0cited to start our first mission together though, when do you thin# $aunch will contact us ne0t1. 3asia was eager and bubbling full of e0citement. &irst mission, Mez mouthed under his breath. 'e didn!t li#e the sound of that, although he was relatively new to adventuring, he didn!t li#e the idea of ta#ing on a fresh fish from the school. t second glance, he deduced that the robe she was wearing was probably school uniform. 'e also wore a similar pant and vest combination when he was in school but

discarded it immediately after being released. 'e loo#ed bac# up at her get rid of the robe he announced after a few moments of silence. ,hy1 -ou attract attention, our )obs are usually easier if we attract less attention. (ut are we not here to build reputation1 3asia as#ed, and for the first time since they met, scrutinized the rogue that sat before her. s with Mez, she was also not told anything about the meeting other than the details of how they would identify one another and what to do once that identification was made. 3asia had e0pected to be teamed up with a senior wizard as most apprentice wizards usually were until her field training was complete, so she didn!t e0pect Mez to be sitting at the other end of that bar that evening. Our )obs are easier accomplished when done so with discretion, Mez replied coldly and in a way that would end any further discussion on the topic. 3asia gave him a stare that edged on threatening, then she rose and slowly removed her robe, e0posing her s#in tight leather breeches that accentuated the curves of her hips and thighs, a red blouse that buttoned from top to bottom that matched her hair. 'er arms showed many scars and burn mar#s then what Mez originally noticed on her hand, nec# and face. /he wasn!t slender, but her build was athletic for a female.$ight leather boots completed the outfit, Mez also noticed a small blade attached to her an#le running along the boot. 'e had never seen a wizard carry such a weapon, which only made him question the abilities of his partner that much more. &or someone who has seen no battles, you sure seem li#e you!ve ta#en a hit or two, Mez smir#ed as the words left his mouth. ,ell it is #nown that mage training is more, uhm, intense, than that of the rogues, 3asia returned the smir# which then erased the one off of Mez immediately. ,hich only made 3asia begin laughing. * see you two are getting along already, a strong male!s voice entered the room but his presence was not #nown to either Mez or 3asia. 3asia immediately dropped into some semblance of a defensive posture. lthough she didn!t reach for her sidearm, her hands shot out wide and she began mumbling the first verse of a spell. Mez remained seated, unmoving, unthreatened by the disembodied voice. %o they not teach you anything about real operations in that school of yours1 Mez said to 3asia, the whole question dripping with condescending sarcasm. 'ow do you thin# $aunch communicates with adventurers on the road1 'aw#1 as he said that Mez stood and faced what 3asia now noticed to be a growing shadow in the corner of the room. figure wal#ed out of the shadow, much smaller than the voice led on to be. halfling, wearing the finest blue and yellow cloth armor 3asia had ever seen. (londe hair flowed down around his uncharacteristically slender face which made his bulbous nose stand out that much more. ,hich the halfling was obviously proud of since he possessed various loop, stud, and dangling rings all along the nostrils. ,hen the halfling turned to regard Mez his blue and yellow cape flowed perfectly as if it magically e0tended not to impede the halfling. 'e wore rings on every

finger on his hand, some of them glowing, but outshined by the bands of what appeared to be gold and silver. lthough 3asia!s #nowledge of magical items was still elementary, she deduced that each one of those rings had magical properties. nd as if to complete the ensemble, in his left ear the halfling possessed more rings of various shapes and types. *ncluding one that dangled from his ear lobe and seemed to get lost in his hair. ,ell met, $aunch, Mez bowed, although the tone of his voice betrayed his obvious feelings of disdain towards the halfling. 'umor me Mez the 4nremar#able, why is it that %are# has achieved such greatness since leaving the school, yet here you are, dirty, smelly, an embarrassment to the guild. ,hy do * waste my time assisting you1 Mez remained in his low bow, his face blushing with rage. 3asia, who by now had stopped spellcasting and now was )ust watching, recalling what she was told by her mentor before leaving to meet her first partner. /he #new that every guild member was given a guild title after being released from the school and it would only change when a new one was earned. /he #new Mez to only be a few months ahead of her in adventuring so his title was li#ely his first. /o what did he do in school to earn such an abysmal title1 pparently whatever it was continued to follow him because this seemingly high ran#ing member of the guild was tal#ing down to him as if he was on the edge of e0pulsion. /he hoped his luc# didn!t rub off. ahh yes, because $aunch is forever charitable. nd * couldn!t stand to see you waste the talents that we spent so hard training you to perfect so you can go out and support those who would want to follow in your footsteps, nd those who have, it would seem. Or are all those rings you wear spoils of war. %id you pull each one of those off of a corpse of a man you #illed $aunch1. Mez dared to say, still in his bow. Most, the halfling chuc#led, he held out his hands and began admiring them although * admit a few are gifts from strong adventurers. Oh much stronger than you Mez the 4nremar#able * assure you. $his one for instance, the halfling held his arm straight out so it rested right under Mez!s bowed head, with the other hand he pointed to his pin#y to a spar#ling silver band with small stone set in it. (ut it appeared to be more than a stone, inside the stone waves appeared to be splashing bac# and forth. $his one was acquired by the great %are#5 he stopped suddenly and loo#ed up as if to recall something very important, than a smile appeared on his blemish free face and his blue eyes began to spar#le. Oh, has no one told you %are#!s new title1 3asia was beginning to feel insulted for the stoic Mez, who was standing there ta#ing a verbal beating for a reason un#nown to her. /he began to step up and stand up for her new partner but before she could get a word in the halfling dramatically snapped a hand up towards her and no words came out. t first panic swept over the wizard until she realized that all sound had ceased around her, the boards didn!t crea# when she wal#ed and the heavy breathing of Mez was silenced.

* am tal#ing now6 boomed the halfling, although there appeared to be no e0tra effort in his speech. /urely f the room hadn!t been magically silenced the boards would of shoo#. %are# ,averider the "oblinbane6, he continued at the same volume 'e is growing a great name for our guild and you wal# around loo#ing li#e a street urchin barely able to pic# a poc#et. slew of retorts came to Mez!s mind at that moment. lthough it didn!t matter since he was magically silenced anyways. 7onsidering that he was use to receiving more lectures than praises in his short time as a professional adventurer, he was use to the tactics used by $aunch!s emissaries to e0press the anger of the organization. "et to &allcrest in Nentir 8ale, he continued in a calmer but still magically enhanced voice, we have little invested in that region. /o if you mess up there won!t be much to clean up. "row our reputation and earn some damn gold so you can pay dues. Or else you will earn your dues by way of volunteer cleaning services for one of the brothels we pay for information. nd put a damn uniform on, never again do * want to see you not wearing an item of clothing that has our brand on it. $he halfling held out his hand with his palm down and from it dropped two pac#s and two sets of clothing appropriate for a male and female human. blac# and red travelling )ac#et the same length of Mez!s was included. On the bac# of it, the si0 intertwined dragons that made up the guild!s symbol. "uarantee this is the last charity you will receive from us Mez the 4nremar#able,. s he finished the sentence, the dar#ness around him began to spread again, and soon breathing was heard in the room again. Mez stood bac# up to see a confused and e0asperated 3asia staring at him. nd you should get a move on, it appears you have company... the disembodied voice of the halfling remar#ed but sounding as if he was much further away. ,as that Master $aunch16 3asia suddenly blurted out. 'ardly, )ust an emissary, he replied. (ut you referred to him as $aunch -ou are are required to refer to all emissaries of $aunch as $aunch, there will is the will of the organization, their word the word of Master $aunch himself. *t not always the same person, but their entrance is always the same. /ome are nicer than others, he!s one of the nice ones. 'im1 ,ell when you aren!t on a cold strea# $hats what you call it1 Mez!s response was interrupted by the sounds of 9 pairs of feet heavily stomping down the hall but in an attempt to silence their footfalls. (oth adventurers stopped and listened to see if the footsteps would stop at a room further up the hall. $he reservation of a room at the end of the hall was not an accident. loud and self5defeating /hhh from one of the people approaching confirmed that the halfling was correct in his advisement on his departure. 3asia!s hand began to glow blue and Mez!s hands went to the hilts of the daggers on the top of the small of his bac#. Oi6 little brat. we #now

you bought yaself a wench. be a good lad and open the door so we can parta#e on ye tab or else we!ll open it for ye and neither of ye wal#s out with any coin at all, lewd laughter echoed down the hallway. Mez heard the thug press his head up against the door as if he was waiting for a response. Mez responded by throwing one of his daggers into the door, it went right through and stuc# into the face of the thug. hush came over the hallway, it was obvious that the other thugs in the hallway were reconsidering their current course of action. 3asia loo#ed over to Mez, her mouth wide open in a dumbfounded e0pression. Me nodded towards the door ,ell, are you going to do something1 he calmly pointed to her hand, still glowing blue, and bac# at the door. Oh...right she stammered. $he door was blown off its hinges by the force of 3asia!s magical bolt. $he thugs fell bac# to shield themselves from the fragments of door flying at them, but they hadn!t even unsheathed their swords by time Mez let loose another the daggers, each stri#ing center mass on each of the thugs. Mez and 3asia slowly strolled out their room, pac#s on their bac#s with the newly acquired clothing hastily strapped on top. Mez began removing the daggers from the corpses. $he original thug loo#ing the worst of the bunch, the dagger penetrated right through his ear, and if that didn!t #ill him instantly the e0plosion surely did. 'e laid on the floor with his head twisted around so that it was facing his bac#. 3asia turned away from the grotesque sight and noted that Mez had already replaced the four thrown daggers and had two more daggers with larger hilts in his hands. * thin# its time for us to leave, Mez remar#ed and started wal#ing bac# towards the stairs. $he loo#s on the faces of the patrons remaining in the inn verified Mez!s fear that the e0plosion had been too loud and that the entire inn was aware that a battle had )ust too# place. $he growing shouts and sounds of chairs being shuffled about followed them as they left and hastily wal#ed down the street. $hat magic bolt of yours was entirely too loud. ,hat did * say about discretion1. Mez snapped at 3asia as they wal#ed down the hill towards the residences that led to the intersection that the town was built around. $he town proper mainly consisted of small, flat, . story houses. Off in the distance amongst the rolling hills farms were placed, larger houses could be seen dotting the tops of some of those hills. $he town itself only e0isted as a trading point where two ma)or trading routes intersected. $he intersection itself contained a small mar#et. -ou didn!t even have to #ill him6 ,e could:ve ta#en them in hand to hand combat. Maybe their threats were a bluff, 3asia retorted with equal venom in her voice. Mez turned hard on her and stared her directly in the eye. *f you spend your life guessing the truth behind bluffs instead of acting upon them then * assure you that life will be a short one,. Mez said with all seriousness ..says Mez the 4nremar#able 3asia responded unceremoniously, as she crossed her arms across her chest. Mez scowled and turned to continue wal#ing down the hill. Mez noticed that in the short time it too# them to wal# down the hill, many more houses shown candlelight than earlier. $he

evening grew late and he #new such a small town wouldn!t have so much activity going on unless an event of interest had )ust occurred. ;i#e the murdering of four of their own by outsiders.. he said to himself out loud as he stopped to regard their surroundings again. <eople were peering from slats behind closed shutters. silence hung in the cold evening air. /oon the air would turn colder, Mez was never a fan of the winter. 3asia strode up ne0t to him a moment later. -ou continue down the road, * will pace you and cover your flan#s from the rooftops, Mez whispered to 3asia. ,e should )ust both disappear from sight $hat would only wor# if we hadn!t already been spotted ,here are they1 =verywhere ,ith that Mez performed a bac#wards somersault into the air and on top of one of the structures. gainst the bac#drop of the night s#y, Mez was near invisible and only moments later 3asia could not spot him at all. 3asia had hoped to rest before setting bac# out. 'er trip to the town with no name that sat at the intersection had too# her two straight days of travelling with very little sleep and rations )ust to ma#e it on time. (efore she was even able to order any food at the inn Mez had sent her the signal to begin the meeting and now here they were fleeing the town li#e criminals when it was them who were assaulted. ,ell not really, 3asia thought, the thugs never did get a chance to defend themselves. $he town filtered down to )ust a few houses and smaller farms if you too# the road south. =ast led to a mountainous region and west was the direction 3asia came from, where the road was dry and with little shade. <lains and small shrubs was all she saw for scenery for the duration of her trip. 3asia reached the town!s intersection at the same time two men carrying swords wearing farmer!s attire entered the intersection. $heir pace betrayed their behaviour, they were surely suppose to meet her at that very point. 'ey lady, slow down. round these parts you respond when addressed by the local militia. One of the farmers called out to her as the other one slowly drew his sword. -our friend doesn!t loo# in the tal#ing mood, 3asia responded as she turned to face the men who had approached her from the west . News from the inn says ye got yaself in a little trouble tonight, care to e0plain yaself1 said the man whose sword was drawn. $he other farmer stood with his hand on the hilt of his weapon, the ease of his voice not showing in the tension that showed in his posture. $hese two came to fight, 3asia #new, nd where did ye friend go6 the guard as#ed forcefully after 3asia had realized that she never responded to the first question. $hat man is no friend of mine, and those men in the inn were #illed in self5defense, * accept no guilt for their fates,. 3asia turned to wal# away after her confident claim, assuming that Mez was somewhere watching her bac# to ma#e sure a sword wasn!t plunged into it at that very moment.

/ure enough both men began to approach her from behind as a third appeared from the side of a small shac#. 3asia began to channel another magic bolt to stri#e the guy until she noticed the dagger stic#ing out from behind his head. /he snatched the dagger out from the bac# of the man!s head as he continued his zombie li#e, wide eyed stroll to oblivion. $he man must of had no idea of where he was or what had transpired but a few seconds later he fell face first into the dirt to die, eyes still bulged. Mez dropped down from a rooftop and plunged a dagger right into the nec# of the farmer who hadn:t yet drawn his sword. $he one who did sensed his aerial approach and instinctively but his blade up to bloc# the attac# and managed to stumble bac# and out the way. ,ith the dagger buried deep in the nec# of the twitching farmer and the other dagger free, Mez began approaching the other farmer with the body dragging behind. $he farmer threw a straight thrust as soon as Mez was within range but Mez used the farmer!s fallen comrade as a flesh shield. /o while it felt as if he had made solid contact, when the farmer loo#ed up from his blow he only saw the bac# of his friend, his sword driving right into the spine. Mez ripped his dagger out of the man!s throat and spun to place it in the throat of the other but he was suddenly )olted bac# by an un#nown force. bright searing light and intense heat is all Mez #new for those first few moments. 'e retreated behind a few houses and stumbled to the ground. 'is feet shoo# and teeth clattered, every hair on his body felt as if it was standing on end. /o this is what it feels li#e to be shot by lightning Mez said outloud, to the pile of horse shit he began to brush off the front of his shirt. 'e leaned on the wall and attempted to gain his composure. 'e needed to get bac# out there and assist 3asia, he #new, but as he too# his first step, his #nees buc#led under him and he hit the ground again. 3asia followed the strea# of bright light to its source. plain loo#ing human male standing on a rooftop about two buildings down from the intersection. /he let loose a magical bolt his way and went into chanting as she sprinted to the left to ma#e space between her and the other farmer who was now approaching her since Mez had been ta#en out of commission. $he farmer made chase as 3asia moved towards the building closest to the mage to gain cover. 3asia spun bac# around when her bac# was to the wall of the structure to see the farmer coming straight on sword in hand and 3asia with no way of defending herself. $he spell she had channeled was too dangerous to use is such close quarters and she hadn!t yet prepared any more magic bolts. /he never imagined her adventuring career would end so early. *t had to fly true, and it did. Over two merchant booths the dagger flew end over end, its final destination being the side of the face of the farmer that was chasing 3asia. $he farmer fell bac# and howled in pain, his thrust being cut short by the dramatic turn of events. 3asia stared down the length of his short sword. *nches from her chest, if for only a brief moment before her attac#er fell over, she saw her death staring her right in the face. s the farmer fell over in swears and protests she retrieved his dropped sword and placed it through his chest before he could begin to recover. moment of elation swept over 3asia, a bright

smile beamed across her face. $hat is until her first #ill loo#ed bac# up at her. $he man loo#ed so pathetic, even without the dagger in the face and being covered in blood, she thought. $his man was no great warrior or evil villain or goblin#in on the other end of the sword she held. >ust a man, who probably had no idea that these outsiders would enter his home on this day and end his life. "reat grief came across 3asia at that point. /he watched the man!s final moments, the e0tinguishing of that last flic#er of life behind his eyes. /he )ust stood there then, she didn!t notice the lightning stri#e go soaring past her. Mez dive rolled hard and bro#e into a sprint as the wizard disguised as a peasant continued to stri#e bolt after bolt in an attempt to incapacitate the nimble rogue. Mez slid behind a building right as another blinding flash struc# at the corner of it, blowing debris and rubble down the alley Mez had retreated into. Mez was sweaty and bleeding from multiple small wounds. 'e was breathing hard and hadn!t the willpower to recover himself from the trash and wood he found himself under. *f that wasn!t the worst of it he began to hear the cursings of many angry males ma#ing their way towards his location, probably ready to blame the outsider for the damage to their house way before the resident wizard he thought. 'e had no idea if 3asia was o# or if his dagger had reached in time or if it had even struc# true. /he might be dead, he thought. ,hile that thought didn!t sadden him, he was regretting how he was going to e0plain to $aunch how he managed to get his fresh out of school wizard #illed within hours of their partnership. ,here!s the rat6 ,e!ll run a pi#e up his arse for bringing trouble to the crossroads, $here was another one too, a female, where did she go16 &ind them6 $he shouts from villagers mar#ed the awa#ening of the entire village. >anir, the wizard who had engaged the pair in combat ?and as Mez e0pected the resident wizard of the small colony@ smir#ed as he hopped down from the small building that had served as his command point for the ambush. 'e had a general idea of where he had downed the rogue and was going to move in to finish him off and have first dibs at any spoils5of5war. $hen he would move to loot the corpse of that female that he watched disappear under the building with one of his thugs, never to come bac# out. Maybe if she wasn!t dead yet he would have his way with her before #illing her, he thought and his smir# turned into a full on smile. >anir #new his worth to the small community that had appeared only in the past few years. &irst as a security bloc# sent out by the local nationstate to secure the road from bandits and to open it for more lucrative trade. =ventually the security turned out to be as dirty as the bandits they were hired to defend against and the law of the land became to listen to whoever had the most power. /o easy it was for >anir to wal# into town and display his magical prowess and immediately find himself a high ran#ing member of the corrupt local militia. -ou should of let my boss rape her, the mage began to spea# aloud as he strolled down the alleyway, confident that he was in close pro0imity of the rogue. $hey would of had fun, she would of had fun, *!m sure they would:ve let you watch, >anir began to laugh at that statement. 'e wore

a lewd smile on his face, -ou #now you might of even been able to )oin, after they were all done of course, but instead, here you are, about to die, )ust li#e that wench6 >ump6 $hats all 3asia had to say, she #new. /he #new Mez had been watching her approach from the rubble. /he #new he would be ready to react when she gave the signal, maybe it was their training or her growing confidence in a man who had saved her life twice that day. (ut at that very instant Mez leaped high and far into the air. 'e twisted and turned into a somersault onto the nearest rooftop right as 3asia let loose a &ire blast down the alley, >anir had nowhere to run, and no spells prepared to protect himself. $otally caught off guard, he didn!t even manage to get a scream out before he was incinerated. 3asia stared down the alleyway in awe, a small tear found itself on her face as she watched the hus# of the man once #nown as >anir fall away to ashes. (uildings on both sides of the alley had caught fire and the sounds of approaching villagers were upon them. ;ets go6 Mez screamed as he threw his hand down to 3asia. wa#ening from her daze she reached up and grabbed it and they sprinted from rooftop to rooftop out into the night and out of the settlement. $he sun was high in the s#y before the pair stopped moving. $hey had ran the trail for the few hours of night that remained and then too# to the wilderness as the sun came up, ta#ing detours and doubling bac# a few times to cover their trac#s. $hey finally made camp at the edge of a treeline. 3asia fell out on her bedroll immediately after setting it, while Mez too# a position in the trees to maintain watch and apply bandages, although he was asleep only a few minutes later. 'e awo#e hours later to the sight of 3asia preparing some of the rations from their pac#s, the sun hung low, sunset was almost at its end, he realized. 'ave you healed1 ,e should eat and get on the road soon, 3asia said as she loo#ed up to Mez. *!ll live, Mez responded as he hopped down from the tree. 3asia and Mez e0changed stares, at first a short glance but then immediately re5met for a much longer time. 3asia!s e0pression was blan# and unreadable. Mez began to scowl, but then realized that she wasn!t angry at him, but she wanted him to say something, but he didn!t #now what. (ut Mez #new that loo#, he #new it very well. 'e )ust hoped that whatever caused it, 3asia would come bac# to her wits soon. 'e hoped she would handle it better than he had. $hat was a very lucrative trade area, * want to #now what happened, a very angry half5orc leaned over to a come eye to eye with a much smaller by comparison human who was on the brin# of urinating on himself in fear of angering the boss of their band of bandits. th5th5 they burned it6 he barely squea#ed out. $he small camp shuffled around nervously, #nowing the murderous rage possessed by their leader 4dogold ,interclaw. 4dogold grabbed the human by the nec# and lifted him from the ground with one large, grotesque, misshapen hand that was attached to a

disproportionately large arm. 'e began to squeeze the human who then began voiding his bowels for all to see. O#, well lets try it this way. * want to #now who these impertinent fools are who waltzes into M- territory, burns down one of Mstorefronts, destroying M- rightfully stolen gear and still draws breath6 4dogold screamed at the human, with each my he violently )er#ed him by the nec#. (y the end of his rant, the human was surely dead, limp in the infamous claw 4dogold possessed. 'e threw the human to the ground with a great enough force that he bounced along the ground and came to a stop at the feet of a doppelganger. &ind out, 4dogold said as he settled bac# down in his chair adorned with the s#ins of various goodly races. $he doppelganger bowed and wal#ed into the night, his mission clear to him. AA Now communicate to me that you will be ta#ing my left flan# and i need to push forward to draw the enemy out, Mez communicated to 3asia as they marched down the road. 3asia replied by flashing various hand signals and Mez nodded with approval. $hey had been on the road for three days since their encounter in the corrupt town that ended with many of small farming and merchant town dead and half the town in burnt rubble. $heir hasty retreat made it impossible for them to procure horses for their long )ourney to &allcrest and $aunch, their dventuring "uild, was not pleased with what happened that evening and decided to punish them by not allocating them any gold or rations until they made their final destination. Mez wasn!t happy that 3asia hadn!t #nown any of her hand signals at their initial meeting and too# the long wal# as an opportunity to catch her up on the sub)ect matter. =ven though 3asia had a grasp on the intricate hand signals after the first day of non5stop training. -ou #now we can stop this now, * have it, *!m not a slow learner, * )ust wasn!t taught, 3asia said with a bite in her voice. $he newly partnered duo weren!t e0actly fond of one another, but they understood that they were going to have to wor# together and wor# well if they were to gain prestige and recognition within their guild. (esides, 3asia continued we haven!t said a word to each other in three days, this silence is maddening. /houldn!t we be learning about one anotherAA ,hy1 $he strongest teams are built through camaraderie and trust. %*d you )ust quote that out of the "eneral /tudent Manual1 Of course, you don!t #now it1 Mez let out a full on belly laugh, and Mez was not the type to laugh. $hat whole boo# is dribble, it:s full of bedtime stories and principles that they use to get the young members e0cited about their indentured servitude they are destined to face. -ou should be more grateful, you wear their clothes, fight with their gear, and eat their food, $he accuracy of 3asia!s statement was right on point. $hey were both wearing matching uniforms of $aunch. Mez in his blac# pants, shirt and boots over top his leather armor was traditional and generic enough, but the floor length traveling coat he wore was blac# with red trim and on

the bac# was the symbol of their guildB si0 red dragons intertwined. 3asia!s apparel was almost identical in design, but she )ust wore her wizard!s robe and her leather armor. $he si0 daggers Mez wore along his bac# under that coat was also issued by $aunch, but as Mez!s stomach began to growl, he was reminded of one amenity that their guild wasn!t providing for them. *f you so believe in our leadership then tell me why we are wal#ing all the way to &allcrest with no gold or horses and only enough rations to last us, oh i don!t #now, -=/$=3% -6 Mez screamed the last word with much emphasis at the slowly lightening s#y. *t was pre5dawn and the late fall chill was biting at them already. 3asia!s long, curly bright red hair blowed hard in the breeze while Mez #ept his hat in his pac# so that it wouldn!t blow off bac# down the path. $here was no rebuttal from 3asia, as she too hadn!t ate well since they began their )ourney, s#ipping many meals to ma#e their first encounter on time and eating as little as possible to ration the last of their food until they were able to come upon more. =ven with such rationing, the prior evening mar#ed the last of their provisions, and it wasn!t a hearty meal. ,ell it was punishment for destroying that town bac# there, 3asia began saying after a few moments of silence. Oh yes the town that wanted to rape and #ill us in our own bedrolls, * weep for them. Mez sarcastically chimed in, which to his surprise, drew a smile from his partner. ,ell our )obs are to grow the reputation of our guild across the land as a good entity whose goal is to e0plore and protect, not to burn down farming villages, innocent or otherwise,she commented with a smile beaming on her face. Mez stopped wal#ing and regarded 3asia, who in turn faced him. %o you really believe that1 'e as#ed with a serious e0pression etched on his face. *ts in the Manual, she responded. Mez shoo# his head and continued wal#ing ,e should have stuc# to hand signals, he muttered under his breath, not low enough for 3asia not to hear him. (efore the sun reached high into the air, the pair reached the fortified city of $rafford. lthough it was much larger than the settlement they )ust left, $rafford was considered considerably smaller than other fortified human cities. Mez and 3asia gazed upon the wooden ramparts dotted with watchtowers with relief. O# we need gold and transportation, 3asia stated. O#, you get us gold, *!ll procure transportation. 'ow do you plan on doing that1 *!ll ambush some travelers on the way out the gate, *!ll meet yoAA NO6 3asia!s eyes flared blue and red, Mez noticed, and bac# to their brown hue as she shouted her ob)ection. $here will be no unnecessary #illing today, 3asia started breathing fast, visibly agitated. Mez observed her for a few moments and then responded O#, &iredancer, his voice full of contempt -ou get the transportation and * shall get the gold. Mez began to wal# off after the proclamation in the direction of the city. nd how will you do that6 3asia called out to him. ,ithout turning to face her, Mez responded with a simple wave and continued his wal#.

flustered 3asia wal#ed down the bustling main street of $rafford. /he chose not to enter the city with her rogue companion after their discussion. * could use some time away from the blowhard anyways, she thought to herself as she allowed the aromas of coo#ing meats and freshly prepared breads and pastries into0icate her. /oon enough she found herself inside one of those shops, a restaurant that also had a large array of into0icating weeds and herbs available. $he ceilings were high to accommodate the perpetual haze of smo#e that floated above the rela0ed patrons. 3asia #new this was the place to grab a free meal, with a little charm and a little more magic, she thought and smiled as she gazed over to a table full of old men who loo#ed a tad bored. Mez ran from rooftop to rooftop without regard, this is where he felt most at home. crobatics training was where he e0celled. 'is talent was not due to any naturally given ability, li#e everything else he did it too# more practice than the average student )ust to become proficient. (ut unli#e other topics of instruction, Mez truly en)oyed acrobatics. 'e loved the feel of the wind against his face as he moved at high speeds, the incredulous loo#s he would get going across the roofs or performing a rather difficult maneuver. 'e loved even more when those people didn!t even #now he was there. ;i#e a shadow against the wall that disappeared )ust slightly faster than it was noticed. ;eaving the witnesses wondering if they had seen anything at all. 'owever, this was not the case today. young human girl, no more than C years old, watched Mez intently. $he doppelganger chose his form well, because if any adult, or even a boy of the same age, would of watched Mez with the same intensity, he would of too# notice almost immediately. <eople rarely question the motives of a young girl, the doppelganger thought to himself as he observed his boss!s prize bounty go passing by. $o the rest of the world, the doppelganger appeared to be a )ubilant girl en)oying the last days of the waning season. (ut the giggle she let out would of sounded much more sinister in his original form, because it signified that the assassin had found its prey. 3asia wow!d and dazzled the inebriated men sitting around the halfling sized table on pillows smo#ing e0otic herbs and drin#ing mug after mug of ale. *t wasn!t long until they were buying her drin#s as well as sharing their food and pipes. 7heers and )eers erupted in sporadic bursts as 3asia used minor fire spells to light the men!s cigars and pipes. O*6 %o it again girly6, an e0cited old man who loo#ed as if he was about to e0plode with e0citement. O# o#, settle, 3asia said with a big grin as she motioned for the table to quiet down by motioning her palms downwards. /he then slowly turned them upwards and held them aloft as if holding a large mug in each hand. On the tips of her fingertips, small balls of magical energy began to appear. t first they appeared sporadically on various fingers until each finger possessed one. $hen she turned her palms upwards and the balls of energy began hopping around from finger to finger amongst the hands and the old men at the table stared with a dazed awe. $hen with a flic# she tossed all the balls up in the air at once and right before they came bac# down to her fingers, she clapped her hands together hard and they all collided and e0ploded in a harmless flash that sent the men reeling.

/houts and claps ensued, and 3asia couldn!t of wor#ed them better. /he was eating and drin#ing well, but also she too# note of who was paying special attention to her minor talents. 'er show had served a dual purpose, because while she was rela0ing and having a good time with the men, she also #new that in a town of this size, a wizard could always get what they needed as long as the right people #new they were there. /he also #new there might be others who might want to ma#e a name for themselves by eliminating her. (ut she hadn!t used any magic in days and was well prepared for any misguided thugs that may venture her way. drin# for ye, from master dwarf, the well endowed waitress announced as she plopped a mug down in front of 3asia and pointed to the other end of the room where a male and female dwarf sat. $hey didn!t appear to be warriors from their loo#, 3asia thought as she lifted her glass in their direction. $he male and female dwarf both smiled and raised their glasses in response, in a blin# they downed those mugs and were already slapping down coin for more. $he dwarves were barely visible over the multitude of mugs that sat upon their table, but from her vantage point, 3asia saw that they were dressed more e0travagantly than the average peasant. $hey both wore rings and )ewels on their fingers and their clothing, while not overly e0pensive, definitely showed a higher level of craftsmanship and detail than the typical garb of the region. /eems li#e she had a new friend to ma#e she thought to herself as she rose up to approach the table. Mez watched with amusement as a pair of young street thugs shoo# down a man passed out in the alleyway, obviously from too much drin# the night before. $he boys were not aware of his presence, perched D stories above them hanging under a balcony of one of the larger structures of the city, his legs tuc#ed so that his whole form would be hidden in the shadow of the structure, $hey pulled a few bronze coins from the man and Mez shoo# his head $oo small, he muttered out loud. 'e thought bac# to when he was one of those street urchins, sha#ing down drun#s, pic# poc#eting visitors to his town and disappearing into crowds and down sewers before they even #new their purse had been pilfered. 'e #new 3asia was right, he couldn!t )ust ta#e from peasants the way he use to, if for no other reason than he was better than that now. 'e thought he would be more suited ambushing a lightly protected caravan or snea#ing into the camp of some highwaymen and #illing them in their sleep before utilizing their campsite for the evening. No one ever missed highwaymen. /o he!s not the protective type, good to #now is what the doppelganger was thin#ing as he laid face down in the alley. 'e had hoped that his drun#en helpless victim act would entice the would be hero into action and an easy ambush. 7hanging forms multiple times a day too# its toll on the creature and he was too fatigued to continue at the pace he was going. 'e was going to need to ta#e a different approach, the doppelganger thought. 'e rose up from his prone stance in the alleyway and began to meander onto the main street, playing the role of a drun#ard to its fullest, #nowing that Mez was probably still watching him. 'e didn!t want to blow his cover, not yet. ,ell met, 3asia bowed and the two dwarves motioned for her sit at an available pillow across from them. ,ell that:s yet to be determined, now

isn!t it, the female dwarf remar#ed, eliciting laughs from the male sitting ne0t to her. =ase up on the young lad, she probably hasn!t even seen her second decade, the male dwarf replied and e0tended a hand that appeared to be stic#y from spilled beer. =ither way she shoo# it but wiped her hand down her robe as she sat but smiled to disguise her disgust. $hose parlor tric#s * saw ye doin over there, ya got more lethal ones1 the female dwarf cut right to the point. /he leaned over and loo#ed 3asia right in the eyes. /he willed her eyes to turn blue and red momentarily ?which was actually their natural color, not the hazel color that she would magically apply when in public so not to elicit unwanted attention@ and then changed them bac# before responding few, enough you could say,. $he female dwarf leaned bac#, seemingly unimpressed, but the male with her was so startled that he shot ale though his nose and started laughing again. (wahaha, * bet there!s some real fight in this one, he leaned over to regard the wizard, * can tell. -eah that better be all that you!re tellin! the female dwarf responded that )ust made the other dwarf laugh all the harder. ,e!re leading a caravan south and we require security, you want the )ob1 the female dwarf as#ed bluntly. %o you go past the Nentir 8ale1 $hat is my final destination, Ours as well, ,hat does it pay1 .E gold each for you and the three others we have hired, Others1 3asia remar#ed. * have a partner, the pair of us are more than capable of providing security for your caravan, and we will do it for .F gold each,. $he two dwarves put a serious loo# on their faces. ,e have 9 wagons, 2 men, and plenty of gear to protect. $he road we are going to travel will be difficult, highwaymen have been attac#ing almost every wagon that leaves this post. -ou e0pect us to leave our lives and our gear in the hands of an amateur wizard and a partner that we!ve never met1 $he male dwarf was no longer laughing, the e0pression he wore was grave. 3asia leaned in close with a sly smile on her face,,e are adventurers from the $aunch guild, she spo#e barely above a whisper. 'er e0pression shown that she e0pected the dwarves to be awe struc# and ta#en bac# but instead the dwarves were unmoving. (ah *!ve seen some o! ye type. lways getting #illed trying to ma#e a name for themselves. -ou can bring your partner but only if you split your portion of the gold with him. -ou $aunch guys are usually more trouble than you!re worth, the female dwarf stated. *f that is the deal you are offering, then we accept, 3asia smiled and stood, hiding her anger towards how the dwarves spo#e about her guild. $aunch was everything that she #new, everything that she cared about. $he nonchalant way Mez had dismissed the core principles earlier had her already on the defensive, now her new employers already had a disli#e for her because of her affiliation. $he dwarves stood up and introduced themselves, Nororin the male said, =ilella, said the female as they both returned 3asia!s bow with a small of one their own. Meet us on the main road going south right before the gate preceding dawn, you!ve already met our drivers, =ilella pointed over to the table 3asia had been sitting at earlier and the men all threw their hands up and shouted a cheer of sorts before drowning their ale, a few ta#ing pulls from their

herbs. $his is going to be a fun trip indeed 3asia thought as she let a small smile brea# on her face and she returned to the table where her new friends, and responsibilities, were ordering another round. $he sun wore heavy in the s#y when Mez spotted the pair. couple of nicely dressed dwarves whose poc#ets were bulging with coin coming out of one of the more upscale eating and drin#ing establishments in the area. 'e #new that he wasn!t the only pair of eyes on the two, thats what he was hoping for. ,hat he didn!t e0pect, was to see himself in the alleyway intersecting the dwarves path, poised to stri#e. Mez stared in disbelief as he saw an e0act replica of himself hiding in an alleyway and not in the stealthy way that Mez usually did. %espite his loo#s, this character before him did not possess the same s#ill in stealth as he. Mez bounded from rooftop to rooftop to try and get a better angle on the imposter but not in time he thought as the doppelganger hopped out from behind his post on the side of the stone structure and appeared in front of Nororin and =ilella, daggers out and twirling threateningly in his hands. $he two dwarves threw their hands up in front of the fa#e Mez as if in surrender. (ut from those hands came a bright light, and against the dar# bac#drop of the setting sun it was bright enough even to blind the real Mez who was on a rooftop opposite from the one the fa#e Mez had been hiding behind. ,hen his vision read)usted, the dwarves were already out of sight and the would be thief was stumbling bac# into the alleyway, still appearing to be blind. 'e )umped down from his post and let a dagger fly towards the bac# of the assailant. ,hether it was luc# or instinct Mez was not sure, but the imposter managed to get his dagger up to deflect the throw and continued to stumble away and around the corner of the bac# of the building. Mez made all haste to get around that corner but when he arrived he saw no one, his twin was nowhere to be found. Now this is an interesting development, he said out loud before turning to scale the nearest wall to get a better loo# of the area. ,hat Mez didn!t #now was that there was no way he was going to find the doppelganger, who was now in the sewer scurrying along on his belly in his newest form of a rat. $he assassin was angry and e0hausted, he did not anticipate having to shift again between forms, and especially from one foreign species to another without shifting bac# to his original form, which too# e0ceptional stamina. Now he was stuc# as a rat for at least the evening. (ut he couldn!t be too upset, he #new the town guard would now be loo#ing for him. nd being the outlaw that he is, the doppelganger #new Mez would put up a fight and hopefully be #illed. *f Mez was apprehended, the doppelganger would simply shift into a )ailer the ne0t day and end his life from the safety of a )ail cell. 'e had him chec#mated, the doppelganger thought, but what he didn!t #now is that he had caused many more layers of difficulty for the rogue that night that even Mez was not aware of yet. s night fell, 3asia was hoping that Mez had obtained enough gold so they could at least secure a room in an inn that night, but she hadn!t seen him since earlier in the day. /he was e0cessively inebriated and barely able to stand, the world spun around her but she was still able to ta#e note of various young buys pacing her from behind the various structures that lined the narrow streets of $rafford. /he began muttering the

beginnings of her fire blast spell while preparing both hands with magical bolts, )ust in case. *t too# her so much concentration to prepare spells that she had been practicing since her first days at the mages! school that she didn!t notice the tall, fully armored elf standing right in front of her. /he bumped into him head on and bounced off of his pate armored chest and fell to the ground. /he loo#ed up at him unsteadily and then with a scowl, and then sic#eningly as she began vomiting all over the elf!s freshly shined plate armor boots. ,ell met.. the elf said sarcastically as he shoo# his foot off to the side of them ..* see even in this state you can tell that you are being stal#ed. 3asia loo#ed up to ta#e in who had addressed her, tall and statuesque the elf stood, with long flowing hair, pale s#in and ears and nose equally pointy. 'is eyes shone a light, almost reflective blue hue that glistened off his silver armor even in the starlight. large sword was strapped to his hip and a steel shield across his bac#. /o * suppose you:re the hero who has come to save me1 3asia managed to say as she used the elf!s hand and then shoulder to ease herself bac# to her feet. -ou #now what:s easier than fighting these low rent thieves1 show of force, and what:s a stronger force than that of numbers1 'e spo#e as he helped her steady herself. 3asia smiled but then said -ou #now * have enough force to handle a few children with rusty swords, before starting to wal# past him. 'e grabbed her arm and tuc#ed it under his ,ell then may * have the honor of escorting you bac# to your room1 he as#ed sweetly but with enough force to convey that it was more of a suggestion than a request. -ou #now there!s an outsider starting trouble on the streets tonight, everyone is on high alert for a rogue in a blac# and red coat who has been using magic to sha#e down wealthy vendors. $here!s already rumors of a bounty, 3asia then snapped her arm away from him and said &irst of all * don!t have a room, secondly if there is money to be made on the street tonight * shall )oin in the hunt, gold isn!t e0actly flowing from my poc#ets right now, then she turned and faced all about while screaming -ou hear that you nasty little street urchins, *!m bro#e, go hunt elsewhere before you become the hunted6. /he breathed heavily, her bouncy curly red hair having fell all over her face she loo#ed vicious indeed the elf thought. Maybe we can help each other.... the elf motioned towards her. 3asia, she said as she turned bac#. $he elf stared for a second before bowing down low >ohan, well met 3asia..beautiful eyes, very e0otic, 3asia realized that in her drun#en rant she must of allowed her enchantment that changed her original eye colors to slip. /he wasn!t about to let this G>ohan! #now though that her concentration was so hindered that she couldn!t even maintain a low level enchantment such as that, they needed gold, and this guy seemed a suitable temporary replacement for the temperamental Mez. Maybe he would even invite her bac# to his room. Mez moved from shadow to shadow, building to building as he too# note of the heightened level of tension and e0citement that wafted through the air. 'e #new that he was a hunted man once again. Once again stuc# in a situation that isn!t his fault. n obvious setup but by who1 wannabe1 'e wasn!t that famous he thought. s a matter of fact he was sure that he wasn!t #nown at all in this region. =0cept in that last town.. he mumbled out loud. /o it would seem that trouble had followed them and that he and 3asia might be in danger. 'e had to find her immediately, if

they hadn!t already gotten to her he thought to himself as he began to move with more urgency. (eing that they were only a bloc# down from his current location, it didn!t ta#e long for Mez to locate the duo of 3asia and >ohan strolling down the street. nd he didn!t have to get close to tell that 3asia definitely wasn!t herself. ,ho was this heavily armored elf she was conversing with he thought to himself. 'e dropped down behind them and made his silent approach. 'e didn!t desire to accidentally startle the elf with the long sword and ris# getting cleaved in half, so he was sure to call out 3asia before he came within reach. Mez, too# you long enough, * have a new partner now, she remar#ed in a slurred voice as she threw her arm over the shoulder of >ohan and a giant smile bro#e out on her face and they both turned to face the rogue. >ohan drew his sword and pointed it at Mez before saying -ou are the scoundrel that is being hunted in the streets tonight, yield or draw your weapons. Not this again, where did you find this loser, eh1 * grow weary of being chased from towns under false pretenses, before 3asia could respond to the inquiry >ohan had set his sword in motion and was unslinging his shield. Mez duc#ed the overhead swing and quic# stepped bac#wards and even hopped bac# a few more steps to gain distance from the charging elf warrior. 'e reached bac# and launched two daggers from his shoulder sheaths that thudded hard into the upraised shield of >ohan, generating a loud clan#ing noise as they did. 'e followed up by running low towards >ohan e0pecting him to drop his shield in defense. 'e was shoc#ed as he too# to the air in a great leap to somersault over the head of >ohan that the elf!s shield was actually up in the air ready to bloc# his downward thrusts. Mez made direct contact with all three stabs to the shield but quic#ly threw his head and chest bac# to avoid a straight thrust that came within a breath of his nec#. 'e bac# pedaled and found himself standing ne0t to 3asia. t that moment Mez smelled why 3asia seemed so incoherent. little too much of the ale eh1 %amn roo#ies, can you at least help me out here1 ,hy is this friend of yours attac#ing me1 Mez shoo# 3asia to snap her out of her stupor but she only responded with more vomit, which Mez quic#ly )umped bac# to avoid having sprayed all over him. /he isn!t going to be any help he thought to himself as >ohan renewed his charge. Mez readied himself to parry another stab from the sword the elf was carrying but the act was feigned and instead >ohan shield bashed Mez and he fell bac# many feet, barely able to hold his balance. $he world spun for a moment and blood flowed from Mez!s nose. $hat was e0actly the opportunity >ohan was loo#ing for but as he moved in to stri#e, 3asia grabbed him by the arm. ,ait, she spo#e, Mez stood up straight and was about to sheathe his daggers thin#ing that the assault would come to an end once 3asia vouched for him , * have some words for this one /he said and began to approach her partner. /o, your idea to ma#e money was to rob somebody eh1 No wonder they call you 4nremar#able, )ust a common thief, she continued and Mez gripped at the hilts of his daggers hard and his palms blanched from squeezing so hard. ,hile *!m out getting us legitimate wor# providing security for a caravan you:re out sha#ing down innocents, >ohan seemed to ta#e interest in her last statement and Mez noticed that sudden piquing of interest. $he two met eyes and 3asia!s

rant continued well *!m done being chased out of towns than#s to you, the ne0t time $aunch contacts me * shall tell them that our partnership didn!t wor# out, ;eave me, she said with conviction, although slurred heavily. $hey don!t wor# li#e that 3asia, they shallA Mez began to e0plain but with a dismissive waving of the hand she turned around and wal#ed bac# towards >ohan. *t wasn!t until then that Mez glanced around and noticed that a crowd had gathered to the sounds of fighting and more than a few were beginning to draw weapons. 'e came at >ohan on a straight sprint, and >ohan came to meet him, thin#ing that he was about to attac# 3asia from behind. Mez used that to his advantage, #nowing that the elf wouldn!t ris# swinging that longsword from out wide with 3asia so close he e0pertly predicted the shield bash and spun around the elf instead, hoo#ing 3asia by the arm and ta#ing her along for the spin. (efore 3asia managed to get out ,hat are you doing1 Mez had already sheathed his two main daggers, reached down and snatched up the others that were lying on the ground from earlier and was halfway up a wall and on a rooftop ma#ing all haste for the nearest gate. /houts of protests erupted from the bystanders and even a few arrows were heard by Mez as they hopelessly stuc# into the side of the wall he was already up and over. >ohan watched Mez go over the wall with passing interest. 'e was a lot more interested that the young, beautiful mage that he had came upon by chance on the road was to leave on the same mission as him at dawn. %id that charlatan tric# you into )oining him1 No matter, he!s gone now he said to 3asia who was still staring over the wall dumbfounded. >ust a common thief, and a #iller, that!s all he is. * never wanted to partner with him anyways, she spo#e without even facing the elf. * would ma#e chase but we have to rest, we have to be up early in the morning. -ou may sleep in my room tonight if you so desire. ll of us are rooming together tonight, >ohan made sure he wal#ed right in front of 3asia to grab her attention and avert her gaze from the rooftop. 4s1 $he others hired by Nororin and =ilella, you are the fourth, aren!t you1 /he paused momentarily before finally saying -es, * am the fourth, lets go meet the others shall we1 *f the others are anything li#e you then this will be an en)oyable mission indeed, she smiled and too# his arm and they wal#ed off while the rest of the onloo#ers were already pursuing the fleeing Mez. Only one bore witness to the conversation the two had )ust e0changed. &rom the grates of a nearby drainage ditch a rat sat with his head po#ed out. 'e had watched the entire fight actually, and #new that his )ob would now be much harder with his two assignments now splitting up. lthough he had a feeling that if he stuc# close to one, the other would eventually go to the other. (ut there was nothing the doppelganger could do until he couldn!t change out of his current form. 'e #new that the two would probably get a whole day ahead of him by carriage before he could pursue. (ut to a creature who could change into a flying animal whenever he willed, no head start would be enough. s soon as Mez was clear of the wall that guarded $rafford he let his rage play out in full. 'e shouted and stomped and threw his daggers into

a random tree in the middle of an empty field. 'e was livid. ,hy was it that everywhere he went he was treated as a criminal when it was never him doing anything wrong1 nd now it appeared as if there was some vile creature going around imitating him and ruining his reputation. *f that didn!t beat all, once again he was stuc# with a partner that had no sense of loyalty or discipline. ,ho gets drun# while on mission, he thought to himself as he continued to stomp and #ic# dirt around. 'e #new that he couldn!t )ust leave 3asia to her new elf friend and move on, $aunch would punish them both severely if they )ust decided to reassign themselves. 'e decided that he would stay close to her until she could see the error in her ways. /he did mention that she was heading out with a caravan, all he would have to do is watch the gates. 'e felt as if no matter what he did he would never escape his reputation as a thief, and e0pendable rogue of no importance. *f thats how they all felt then he decided thats how he would behave. $rue to a rogue, he would do what it too# to survive and not hesitate to do otherwise no matter what the moral implication. 'e saw a campfire not too far off in the distance. 'e had no intention of being cold and hungry yet another night. 'e felt sorry for whoever he would come across in that camp. $hen he stopped and thought about that last sentiment, No * don!t he mumbled to himself and began moving faster, daggers drawn. AA H/o we:ll ma#e for the trail at first light. s sure as the beards on their faces those dwarves will leave the southern gate at the same time.H H,hy:s that boss1H squea#ed a diminutive half5orc from across the campfire. $he much taller, muscular orc who was previously spea#ing stood tall and strode through the small circle of bandits around the campfire to stand before the still #neeling half5orc. H*nterrupt me again and *:ll cleave you in half,H the orc spo#e clearly and evenly, more so than most of his #ind. $he #neeling half5orc did not loo# up, but loo#ed down towards the feet of the imposing figure. 'e loo#ed there because that:s where the tip of the barbed broadsword rested. /et )ust behind and to the left of the leader of the bandit camp. H:*:m sorry sir6H the half5orc proclaimed as he threw himself at his leader:s feet. $he orc replied with a swift #ic# to the face with is armored leather boot which sent the unfortunate half5orc sprawling into the dar#ness. $he two smaller orcs and the two goblins that were still #nelt around the campfire began snic#ering amongst themselves. H%warves are predictable,H the orc spo#e aloud as he strode bac# to his original spot in the circle, Hthey will leave at dawn because nighttime is too dangerous and any later than dawn would be a waste of traveling time,H H$hat:s whyssss weez fight with you *anroar, weez #nows yous a smartie,H one of the two goblins equipped with hand crossbows identical to the one the half5orc was also carrying. H$hat:s incorrect Ilel, you fight with me because * allow it,H *anroar glared menacingly at the goblin while refraining from further violence. *anroar:s confident rant continued for many minutes, enthralling his band. $he group grew so e0cited and an0ious for battle that they didn:t

hear the whistle that cut through the air. Nor did they realize immediately when one of their orc brethren fell bac#wards dead with an arrow stic#ing out of his forehead. $hey stomped around the campfire hooting and hollering while another one of the orcs was silently pulled into the shadows. *t wasn:t until the shadowy figure leaped from behind the two goblins, burying daggers into the base of their s#ulls, that *anroar and the last remaining orc from the band of bandits realized the doom that had befallen them. Mez yan#ed the two daggers out of the s#ulls of the two goblins and stared down the remaining orcs with murderous intent. $he one orc unsheathed his sword while *anroar glanced around and began to surmise the fate his comrades met. $he orc bandit charged Mez, swinging wildly. Mez sidestepped swing after swing with ease. smile creased his lips, a rare occurrence. Over the shoulder of the one clumsy orc, Mez spotted *anroar:s big toothy grin as he slowly unsheathed his broadsword and started ma#ing long strides in his direction. Not the type for full frontal combat, Mez quic#stepped bac# into the shadows and leapt high into the air, grabbing onto a low hanging branch before lifting himself up on it. $he orc chasing him turned and twirled, obviously confused about the sudden disappearance of his target. H,here:d the little bug go1H *anroar questioned the orc, now appearing agitated at losing his prey. ,hen the companion orc returned his inquiry with a blan# stare, *anroar shoved him into the dar#ness H,ell find him6H he e0claimed. $he orc fell ungracefully to the ground several times as he stomped into the deep woods in search of his target. *anroar loo#ed down )ust in time to see the half5orc he e0pelled from the camp area earlier lying dead with a slash going across his throat. 'is crossbow was missing, he noted. :,as this really the wor# of one tiny human1: he thought to himself, :No way, there must be more present:. t that thought *anroar grew tense. No one ever ventured this deep into the woods, especially after dar#. $here must be a force in the woods preparing an assault on his band that probably drew too much attention to themselves. nd he )ust sent his only ally in there against them. 'e couldn:t care less about the fate of the other orc, but his best chance at a tactical retreat would require as many bodies as possible. (ut *anroar was wrong. $here wasn:t a force awaiting him in the woods, there was only Mez. 'e silently contemplated #illing the leader first or stal#ing the other orc and silently #illing him deep in the woods before coming bac# to finish the larger one. Mez hadn:t ate or slept properly in many days. 'is thoughts weren:t clear but his instincts were in control. 'e wanted the campfire and provisions for himself, but he didn:t want the same fate as the orcs he had )ust ambushed. ,hile it was their own ignorance that allowed them to ma#e camp without sufficient guard, as a solo fighter, he wouldn:t have any defense against ambushers of his own. Mez eased himself out of the tree slowly and began stal#ing the campsite once again )ust as he did when he planned his attac#. ,hen the half5orc was thrown at his feet he was ta#en off guard and forced to #ill him immediately, but to his advantage, stealthily. 'e still possessed the crossbow that he pilfered from the corpse that allowed him to #ill the first orc without having to lose one of his coveted + daggers. 4nfortunately, the half orc only had one arrow on his body and he wasn:t

too sure about being able to ta#e out the much larger orc now that he lost the advantage of surprise. *anroar stood at the ready, his large hands and arms managed the broadsword with ease as he swung it around his head and body threateningly. H*s that all you have6 %o you fear a real challenge16 -ou should6 No one wal#s away from *anroar,H *anroar yelled into the dar#ness in every direction, hoping to illicit any sort of reaction from anywhere in the dar#ness that would give him a better idea of who was out there and what he was dealing with. $hen he saw it. ,ith a sudden leap he landed upon the campfire, e0tinguishing it immediately. $hat second it too# for Mez to ad)ust to the sudden dar#ness was e0actly what the Orc was counting on to ma#e a dash into the woods. Mez could hear the direction he went in but he hesitated in ma#ing chase. $here was no way he could match the speed of the Orc without giving up his position and possibly running right into an ambush. :8ery well, * have all night: he thought to himself. 'e then grabbed what food and water he could find from one of the pac#s along the border of the campsite before ma#ing his way bac# into the woods on the same route that he came in on. AA 3asia silently rose from her bed granted to her by the gentlemanly >ohan, who elected to sleep instead in a corner with the pac#s. /he loo#ed out a street facing window and saw it was still dar# outside. *t was the cool breeze, the slight moisture in the air that signified the passing of night. $he sun would be up soon and with her newly sobered mind, worry began to creep in about her actions the previous night. /he remembered betraying her partner. %espite how he:d been acting that day, 3asia always considered loyalty to be her most important trait, and she had no business not ending the fight and helping her partner clear his name. :=ven if he was guilty: 3asia thought to herself as she let her face fall into her hands as she let out a deep sigh. 'er hair, which naturally curled, was a frizzy mess. :$he damn dwarf: she thought as she ran one hand through her fiery red hair and began to recall the events that occurred after she and >ohan returned to the room. &irst she was introduced to a 'alfling who reminded her of Mez. /he was thin for one of her #ind but her stare was intense, not li#e any 'alfling 3asia had met before. nd another dwarf, she remembered, although in her stupor, she didn:t remember anything about him. lthough she did remember his greeting, a ruff sha#e of her head. /he quietly began strapping on her leather armor, thin#ing to wa#e >ohan after she finishes preparing to allow him some sort of privacy. $hen another memory of the night before came to 3asia. Nororin and =ilella stormed into the room shortly after they got there stating that thieves were about and they required a night guard for the caravan. /he didn:t remember the conversation but she remembered the 'alfling and %warf she had )ust met leaving with the other two dwarves. s she began to put her ,izard:s robe she too# a second to stare long and hard at the symbol on the bac# of it, the symbol of $aunch. *n the moonlight it loo#ed regal. ;ight danced off of the entire robe, a special fabric she #new to avoid damage from her own spells. /he wondered when

$aunch would visit again. 'ow would they ta#e her and Mez:s falling out1 ,ould they consider her rogue and come after her in force. highly trained wizard going alone on her very first mission, what other conclusion could they draw1 >ohan silently wo#e and his first sight was the worried loo# on 3asia:s face. 'e stood and strode across the room to her. 3asia was startled by his swift silent approach but then felt foolish for being so. =lves are naturally quiet and light footed, but this was the first time seeing >ohan in )ust pants and a t5shirt. Otherwise his large armor would have given him away. 'e gazed in her eyes in the moonlight and said with the utmost confidence H&ear not, we:ll encounter a few bandits at the most. *f anything it:ll be funH. >ohan smiled hard but 3asia returned the smile only in gratitude. ,hile >ohan:s assessment of her state of mind was correct, the reason couldn:t have been more wrong. /he wal#ed past him and grabbed her pac# from where >ohan was )ust sleeping, H*:m going to relieve the dwarf and 'alfling so they can prepare themselves for the road,H she said flatly as she moved out the room. AA *t was as dawn crested over the horizon that *anroar finally made it bac# to the entrance to the cave where his band of bandits called home. /pit foamed from the breathless orc:s mouth as he had )ust spent the larger part of the evening running for his life. ,henever he felt he was at a safe distance, a defensible position *anroar would feel the presence of the phantom #iller. 'e #new that he was being watched, stal#ed, and he had no idea where his hunter lied in wait. $he massive orc was always use to being in charge, being the feared. 'e could never thin# of a time where he felt the way he felt this evening. *t angered himJ *anroar unsheathed his body length broadsword and let off a roar that echoed off the walls of the cave. %eep into the dar#ness the roar traveled. $he same roar that followed their band into battle so many times. $hat struc# fear into the hearts of unfortunate travelers and craftsmen who would fall victim to his band:s murderous ways. s in the times before, this roar was a call to arms. AA Not far from *anroar:s position, Mez was hunting, but not *anroar. Mez had confused the trail of the band leader with the other Orc who fled the scene that night as well. (ut the light of day made the trail much easier to follow, and by full dawn Mez was sprinting through the brush very close to a path he saw earlier. 'e anticipated the weary Orc would rest on the path or turn in either direction. No matter which he chose, the chase was coming to an end, Mez could feel it. Mez wasn:t feeling much else. 'is body ached from days of physical activity with no rest and little food. $his is where Mez felt most in his element. 3aised on the streets, his parents both dying in one of many undead attac#s that had befallen his worn torn hometown. *t was when he felt his most fatigued that his survival instincts would #ic# in. ,here most would see# shelter and rest, Mez becomes more feral and quic#er to #ill. 'is instructors at the academy said he would become desperate under pressure, but Mez #new the truth of it. %esperate people let their desires control their

actions. 'e let his desires strengthen his resolve, to focus on the goal at hand. : nd right now,: he thought to himself, :$hat goal is #illing this orc6: startled deer started a sprint down the path and off into the brush as the fleeing Orc e0ploded through the brush and onto the somewhat developed dirt road. 'e gasped heavily for air and coughed until mucus began falling from his mouth and nose. $he sound of a small branch brea#ing in the direction from where he )ust came had the Orc on the alert, sword drawn. 'e stumbled and swayed left and right, he could barely hold himself. Mez came through the brush about .E feet to the left of where the Orc anticipated his approach. ,ithout brea#ing sprint he turned towards the Orc and let two daggers fly from his hands. $he Orc was too slow to respond and the daggers buried into his left arm. 'e snatched them out his arm and tossed the daggers to the side )ust in time to parry a straight thrust from Mez. Mez bac# peddled four or five steps and drifted to the Orc:s left. $he Orc snarled at Mez who wore a straight face. No emotion, not even fatigue, could be seen in Mez:s e0pression. $here was only purpose. $he Orc grew enraged at the over confident rogue and came across his body swinging his sword from up high. Mez unsheathed his two daggers on his shoulders and used them to bloc# the blow. *n a blin# Mez was no longer under the swinging Orc but behind him. $he sudden shift in momentum sent the Orc sprawling forward. Mez pivoted on his heels and threw both the daggers he was holding into the bac# of the falling Orc. $he wounded Orc lurched forward and let out a guttural scream. 'e managed to catch his balance before hitting the ground and he turned to face the rogue although he could feel the blood filling his lung. Mez unsheathed his two main daggers, which were slightly larger than his throwing daggers with more sturdy hilts, and approached the Orc at a quic# wal#ing pace with his arms out wide. $he Orc smiled and lazily swung his sword from side to side as if to entice the rogue to attac#. Mez wal#ed within stri#ing distance of the sword and slashed at the throat of the Orc with his right hand dagger. $he Orc threw his head bac# to avoid the blow while thrusting at Mez:s e0posed front leg. Mez:s left arm shot down and the ring of metal on metal contact went through the air as he bloc#ed the blow with his dagger. /tartled floc#s of birds flew from their perches at the tops of the trees of the surrounding forest. $he noise of so many birds ta#ing off at once was deafening. Mez used his slashing right hand to grab the sword arm of the Orc and he threw a right #ic# to the head of the Orc who was winding up for a punch. $he stunned orc fell bac# and Mez spun around and threw a #ic# with the other foot, #noc#ing a tooth from the Orc:s mouth. $he moment Mez:s foot made it bac# to the ground, he shot both arms forward in a low double thrust that impaled the Orc:s stomach and stopped his bac#wards motion. $heir eyes met one last time, not even an arm:s length away. $he Orc saw the steely glare of Mez one more time before he snatched the daggers from the Orc:s gut, tossed them into a bac#wards grip, and slashed across the Orc:s throat in both directions simultaneously. (lood sprayed all over Mez as the Orc:s head went bouncing down the path. $he body fell to its #nees, as if to concede. $he woods grew silent again as the last of the birds flew off. Mez quietly

sheathed his daggers and went to the tas# of collecting his throwing daggers and searching the body. AA %ozens of goblins and a handful of orcs congregated at the mouth of the cave *anroar traveled to. $hey all stood impatiently as *anroar continued a combination of berating the band and firing them up for a fight against whatever phantom had chased him from the woods. H..,hen will it be you who is #illed in his sleep1 Or you1 -ou want those pin# s#inned mil# drin#ers attac#ing us at will1 $hey don:t fear us because they don:t have a reason to. ,e hide from their city guards, attac# the wea#est of the lot, and end up with more bodies than loot. ,ell *:ve had enough6H *anroar was trembling with rage. =ach question he as#ed was accentuated by slicing his sword through the air, dangerously close to the first goblins to come out of the cave. 'is minions #new that this was a different *anroar, that the last time he got that fired up they attac#ed and too# the cave they were currently staying in from a different band of bandits, humans. 7onsidering that the group as a while rarely met all at once in once place, the band was e0cited to get passed the lecture to find out what they would be ta#ing ne0t. H...that caravan is carrying precious cargo. Or else they wouldn:t have bothered with an advanced party, find it and bring it to me or else don:t come bac# here,H *anroar stated with a snarl on his face. $he band erupted with noise and many of the horde was already ma#ing their way across the hilly landscape to the slopes that would bring them to the main path. ,hat appeared to be an eagle flew about a mile over the scene. *n actuality, it was the same doppelganger that caused so much trouble for Mez in $rafford. ,ith eyesight capable of spotting a field mouse from many miles away, the doppelganger had no problem assessing the current situation. 'e watched the orcs and goblins charge through the open, roc#y brush from an inconspicuously located cave and in the direction of Mez, who was standing over a dead orc only a mile or so away from the approaching force. 'e wasn:t sure if Mez heard them or not but he began moving quic#ly, bac# into the woods that surrounded the road running through it. $he very same woods that was about to be overrun by about D dozen blood thirsty creatures. $he doppelganger had no intention of landing and approaching Mez in a territory so hostile, :(ut * cannot allow *anroar:s smelly bunch to #ill 4dogold:s prey.: $he doppelganger was well aware of the rivalry that e0isted between the two clans. 4dogold was once a member of *anroar:s clan well before they acquired the cave they currently reside in. (ut a failed attempt at a coup left 4dogold and many of his followers wandering the wilderness in the depth of winter. $he doppelganger was not under the employ of 4dogold during that trying time but the few survivors that are still within the clan would proudly describe the horrific conditions and inhuman acts they would parta#e in to survive the trial. $hose orcs were now high ran#ing members of 4dogold:s clan and their strength had grown considerably while their desire for revenge grew twice

as fast. :Maybe it:s time * went for reinforcements: the eagle thought as he crac#ed a smile the best a creature with a bea# could and made all haste bac# to his band:s encampment. AA $he four wagons was an hour out from the southern gate in $rafford. $he sun was )ust over the horizon and a bright, sunny day was ahead of the convoy lead by Nororin and =ilella who drove the first cart. 8arious older men and dwarves lead the other three cartsJ one of those older dwarves was the cleric $unhar $unneltrac#er. lthough dressed as a commoner, $unhar practiced his religion devotedly and possessed great healing abilities. 'e has been in many wars and battles so he was stationed on the third cart and assigned team leader. $he always calm, somewhat meditative ?which was very unli#e a dwarf@ $unhar sat bac# and stro#ed his long, thic# gray beard as he lit his elongated pipe for the first time that day. 'e breathed deep and held his breath while he contemplated his convoy formation. 'e sent 3asia and >ohan together to scout ahead to the southeast and the mysterious 'alfling rogue, #nown as 'armony, to scout ahead to the southwest. 'e had a gut feeling that the =lf and 'uman would wor# well together, and he #new to trust his gut. $he 'alfling on the other hand, he didn:t #now what to ma#e of her. $he night before he had attempted to learn more of his teammate but she came off very cold and callous. /he even made a quip at his god, which would have sent any normal dwarf into a frenzy. $he dwarf finally e0haled and watched the smo#e dissipate into a weird haze and then into nothingness. 'e watched the smo#e cloud with concerned intent, as the smo#e finally cleared he watched an eagle go flying by high in the s#y. (ut being a 7leric in touch with all things natural, he #new instantly that he was not watching an actual eagle. ,hat bothered him is that he couldn:t ma#e out what it was, and that worried him. H$oday is going to be an interesting one,: he muttered to himself. H'uh6H the old man ne0t to him e0claimed as he was practically falling asleep holding the reigns, H,hat:d you say $unhar16H smile erupted onto $unhar:s face and he motioned to pass the pipe to his riding partner, HNothing my old friend, nothing at all,H $he old man smiled and grabbed the pipe from the dwarf:s hand with gumption and too# a long draw from it as well. AA H/o why do you hide them1H >ohan as#ed 3asia as they wal#ed through the woods. /un shone from between the branches and chased away the last of the evening chill. well5rested, well fed 3asia was in high spirits and en)oying her new mission with her new friend. >ohan:s armor shined brightly in the sun, much too shiny for a scout who was supposed to see before being seen. >ohan didn:t careJ as a matter of fact he shined his armor the night before in an attempt to impress 3asia. 'e had performed many escort missions where he ripped through goblins and thieves as their pathetic, bandit weapons bounced off his impressive armor, rarely producing the slightest of scratches. 'e was not afraid to be seen by those #inds.

H'ide what1H 3asia coyly as#ed and loo#ing bac# at >ohan she dramatically faced frontward again to hide her blushing. *t was not his armor that impressed her, but his eyes. >ohan:s eyes were a bright, light blue with gold flec#s in the iris. 3asia couldn:t help but feel drawn to those eyesJ she wanted to stare into them forever. H-our eyes1H >ohan as#ed, Hthe other night * saw them turn blue and red, but now they are hazel. * assume the red and blue are your natural eye color. $hey:re beautiful,H he said as he gently grabbed her by the chin to force her to loo# him right in the eyes. H*...*...H 3asia began to stammer and trip over her words. /he could feel her enchantment slipping and she was about to let her natural eye color slip again. $hey both felt it, the ground felt as if it was beginning to sha#e, as if a small earthqua#e was ta#ing place. 3asia and >ohan both loo#ed into the deeper woods and bac# at each other. H$hat:s not right,H she said as they bac#ed away from each other and >ohan drew his sword and shield. :,e should report bac# to the convoy,H >ohan said, now whispering. H3eport what1 ,e haven:t seen anything yet, we should chec# it out,H she replied in hushed tones. >ohan loo#ed at her doubtingly but 3asia began muttering her spells and wal#ed in the direction of the vibrations, >ohan reluctantly followed. AA H7rossbows to the trees, find him6666H n orc shouted out orders to a few goblins that were with him. rrows cut through the brush and branches, they thudded into trees. Mez waited calmly with his bac# to the trun# of a very high tree that shoo# violently with every crossbow hit. Mez was sure that they didn:t #now e0actly where he was but he #new he was spotted while ma#ing his way down the trail to warn the convoy about the enemies he seen flooding in from the open field. ,hile 3asia wasn:t currently with him, he wasn:t going to let his appointed partner be ambushed by such a large force no matter what their current personal standing was. 'e #new that once the force made it past him there would be no chance of him ma#ing it to the road before them. 'e had to ma#e his stand here. nother arrow thudded right behind the spot on the tree Mez was perched, that was the signal he needed. $he rogue dropped from the branch, daggers drawn, and was elated to see he was barring down right onto the Orc shouting commands. 'e came down hard and buried his daggers into the shoulders of the Orc, hilt deep. 'e quic#ly withdrew them from the collapsed Orc and beheaded him before he could hit the ground. s the orc fell, two startled goblins that had observed the descent but failed to alert anyone, let loose their crossbows. $he arrows thudded into the bac# of the falling Orc and Mez threw two daggers straight pass him and into the s#ulls of the two goblins. Mez sprinted towards the dead goblins as 9 more with spears turned and began to scream and chase the rogue. 'e snatched the daggers from the dead goblins: heads and ran horizontally up the base of a wide tree, similar to the one he was )ust hiding in. $he goblins stopped and two threw their spears, ma#ing contact with the tree but not Mez. Mez pushed off the tree hard and flipped bac#wards in midair to find him above all four goblins. 'e threw his two daggers at the forward two goblins who had threw their spears, hitting one in the bac# and the other

in the shoulder. One of the goblins with a spear still positioned himself below Mez and thrust upwards when he thought the timing would be right to s#ewer the tric#y dagger thrower. (ut Mez was better than that. 3asia and >ohan came upon the scene as Mez grabbed a spear being thrust at him right below the blade. $he sharp side of the spear appeared right in front of Mez:s nose, giving his heart a bit of a )ump. 'e twisted his body around the spear and he came down to his feet and strained his muscles to bring the spear into the air along with the goblin on the other end and he slammed him to the ground. ,ithout missing a step he twirled the spear around his body, smac#ing the other goblin in the face with a sic#ening crac# and thrust the spear into the chest of the dazed goblin he had )ust stole it from. 'e let go of the spear and unsheathed two more throwing daggers. Mez flic#ed the daggers at the spearman who managed to bloc# one, but not both daggers. $he second dagger tore s#in from the throat of the goblin. 'e stumbled and held his nec# as blood squirted from it. Mez then unsheathed his two larger daggers and li#e a tiger going in for the #ill on wounded prey, began to stal# the goblin. horn blared in the distanceJ Mez stopped and faced the direction that he was previously travelling. 'e loo#ed towards the main road, towards the convoy. $he une0pected distraction was the opportunity the wounded goblin as loo#ing for. $he original goblin, who received the blow to the arm during Mez:s somersault, lifted his crossbow with his other hand and too# aim. Mez was startled and almost let loose another one of his daggers as the e0plosion of a magic bolt went off behind him. 'e loo#ed in the direction of 3asia and was relieved to see that she was the source of the destruction. $hen he glanced bac# to the dead goblin, his crossbow snapped in half, and a large mana burn scorched across his chest. H"lad to see you have my bac# still,H Mez said as he approached her, stepping over the final living goblin, gasping for breath as he bled out on the ground. H"lad to see your bac# is still intact,H 3asia replied and smiled. Mez stopped in his trac#s as he was the shiny figure approaching 3asia from behind, he #new that armor and shield. 3asia noted his sudden change in demeanor and turned to see >ohan:s approach and the loo# of determination on his face as he gripped his sword. /he threw an arm in front of >ohan and the loo# she gave him this time as their eyes met was anything but coy. H,e are all here to protect the convoy, which may be in great danger right now, fighting amongst yourselves is foolish.H /he glared at her current partner and >ohan, after a long hard stare at Mez ?who returned it with equal distain@ sheathed his sword and stood at ease. Mez began collecting his daggers as he spo#e, H large force is ma#ing its way towards your convoy, they:ve been plotting against your trip for some time it appears,H HMaybe an overzealous rogue angered about a failed attempt at thievery tipped them off to our trip, and when to stri#e,H >ohan spat out viciously. 3asia glared at him again and this time >ohan returned the loo#. H%o * loo# li#e their leader, damned elves thin# with their ears and not with their heads,H he stated as he motioned to the ground littered with the dead and flic#ed the blood from the end of his daggers before sheathing them. =ven through the thic# metal armor, 3asia felt >ohan tense at the statement as if to e0plode into combat at any moment. H/ave it for the orcs, our friends are in danger,H 3asia said

as she made her way towards the convoy. H-our friends,H Mez mumbled. HOur employers,H >ohan also mumbled. H-our employers,H Mez retorted somewhat louder as if to ma#e a point. $he trio charged through the trees and brush. /hield and sword in hand, >ohan too# position in front and barreled through anything that stood in their way. (efore they made it to the path Mez observed multiple goblins in the trees, their crossbows were a chatter of clic#s as they sent arrow after arrow a short distance away. H3asia6H he e0claimed as he pointed to the trees. /he replied by shooting off a pair of magic bolts into the trees from her hands. $he two goblins they hit went flying into the canopy and crashed hard into the ground, forward of >ohan who didn:t stop his charge. Mez also threw two daggers, hitting a pair of goblins in another tree who fell very stiffly and landed with a hard thud. 'e ran in their direction to collect the daggers as 3asia continued forward, shooting another lone goblin out the trees with a magic bolt while moving. >ohan didn:t see the orc running with a sac# from the opposite direction, but his momentum proved to be the more powerful as he smac#ed the orc hard with his shield and sent the creature and his sac# flying bac#wards. >ohan, startled from the impact, stumbled bac# and loo#ed around before seeing the orc rise bac# to his feet and growl at him while drawing an a0e of his own. $he elf let out a war cry before charging the orc with his sword swinging cross body in a slicing motion. $he Orc was wearing a heavy leather tunic and breechesJ he loo#ed upon the up armored elf and #new better not to charge him directly. 'e side stepped >ohan and swung his a0e over his head in an attempt to decapitate the elf. >ohan duc#ed under the swing but positioned himself perfectly for the swift #ic# that followed it. 'e stumbled bac#wards and down a short berm and onto the path below. $he orc )umped out from above and his a0e bore down heavily into >ohan:s chest and the in)ured elf could only let out a breathless wheeze. 3asia came to the edge of the path to see an Orc standing over >ohan, who she couldn:t tell to be conscious or not. $he sight of her in)ured friend enraged her and she hit the orc with two magical bolts, which sent him stumbling forward. 'is final sight would be an angry wizard with red and blue eyes letting loose a fiery spew from her finger tips hot enough to char the creature until it was unrecognizable. /he loo#ed down and saw a deep dent in >ohan:s chest plate and the elf lying very still. 'er eyes began to water as the realization hit home that her newest friend, the nicest being she had met since entering the outside world, was lying dead before her. (ut before that epiphany had time to hit home, she loo#ed up to see all the old men she had dined with the night before being brutally murdered and dragged from their carts by orcs. 'armony was fighting off two orcs who had her surrounded and bac# on her heels. Nororin was hunched over in the seat of his cart with an arrow in his chest, still holding the reigns that no longer held beast of burden. =ilella swung her mace bac# and forth as tears streamed down her eyes. /he fought desperately to fight off the Orcs trying to climb onto her cart, ne0t to her dead husband. (lood flowed from an arrow stic#ing out of her left bicep as she swung the mace with her right.

3asia:s feet felt li#e cement, never had she seen such unbridled hate and carnage of good people. Never had she e0perienced loss. /he felt a fire light from deep within her, a feeling she had not felt since the day she saved Mez in the alleyway. Mez put two daggers into the throats of the Orcs surrounding 'armony. 'armony too# her hood off from her long green cloa#, e0posing her short, auburn hair. H nd who are you1H she as#ed, short sword in hand, her white blouse was green with Orc blood and red with her own in one spot. ,hile most 'alflings typically dressed conservatively, 'armony wore her shirt plenty open to e0pose her ample bosom under her silver chainmail and short tight shorts that made her short legs seem longer. H friend,H Mez ran past her towards the cart where =ilella fought for her life. HMany friends are enemies waiting for an opportunity,H she said as she too# pace with him. H,ell then * guess * should #eep an eye on you,H Mez replied. $hey both stabbed into the bac#s of two Orcs swinging at the dwarf on the cart. $hey both clutched their sides and 'armony and Mez continued stabbing until they fell to the ground. Mez caught =ilella as she fell to the ground from the cart. H/ave....$unhar......H she barely got out before falling into unconsciousness. H,ho1H Mez as#ed. H$his way,H 'armony stated and she ran towards the ne0t cart, which burst into flames as flaming arrows began flying in from both sides of the path. =very step 3asia made ignited the ground below her. $he heat from her body generated a hot breeze that made her robe flutter behind her. /he spotted three orcs waiting behind a flaming cart for Mez and 'armony to come running past. /he let loose a fireball that set off an e0plosion as it made impact. $wo of the orcs were torn apart by the force of the e0plosion and the third ran around frantically, slapping at the flames that would not go out. 'armony was aware of the wizard the entire time and was not startled by the e0plosion, Mez on the other hand stutter stepped but smiled when he saw that once again, his partner had his bac#. flaming arrow struc# 3asia but she hardly seemed to notice, she didn:t even reach to pull it out of her leg. /he did, however, turn and blasted the canopy with heat until the woods caught fire without actual flame. $hen she did the same across the path into the other woods and soon after screaming goblins began falling from the trees, the pain in their screeches apparent. 'armony and Mez ran behind the third cart and saw a glowing $unhar, chanting a prayer to his god as loudly as he could belt out while swinging his staff from side to side, fighting off a pair of Orcs. Mez threw two daggers into the bac#s of the orcs and two more into their midsections as they turned to face him. 'armony used the opportunity to hop onto the cart and behead the Orc grabbing his crotch and $unhar wac#ed the other Orc in the head with his staff, squishing it li#e a rotten pump#in. $unhar stumbled bac# and Mez and 'armony both grabbed his arms and eased him into a sitting position. $he dwarf was sweating and breathing hard, Mez didn:t #now how long or how heavy the dwarf was engaged in combat, but as $unhar began to heal himself it dawned on him that his energies was being spent healing those in the party. :'e:s

probably the reason they weren:t all dead by time we got here: Mez thought to himself as he loo#ed into the face of the old, weary dwarf. H,here:s 3asia, where:s >ohan1 ,hy didn:t they warn us, and who in the Nine 'ells are you16H $unhar said in between gasps of breath with his old, scratchy voice. H*:m the one saving your arse, any questions1H Mez replied. $hey all loo#ed at one another for a second and then $unhar made a sort of shrugging motion as if to accept or dismiss the answer. H$hey came loo#ing for it, they #new we had it,H $he dwarf put his head bac# and breathed heavily, H$he small blac# bo0, we can:t let :em have it. 'armony, ye need to retrieve it. $his is greater than the minor pittance offered for this quest. * too# it to protect that bo0. -e need to get that bo0J an orc with an elaborate broadsword too# it,H H,hat:s it worth to ya1H 'armony as#ed which caught Mez off guard. 'e suddenly felt as if he was running with his old street gang again, pulling )obs for money and putting the bottom line above all else. HName your price, &$=3 the bo0 is retrieved. =ilella and Nororin are especially wealthy for traders in Nentir 8ale5H, H,ere...H Mez corrected. loo# of panic appeared on the dwarf:s face,H Nororin is dead, =ilella will be soon,H he stated. H,ell why didn:t ye start with that ye dolt6H $unhar pushed past the two rogues and ran off the cart and almost into 3asia, who was still shooting fireballs at anything coming through the woods. H&ind the bo06H was the last thing $unhar said before running over to the collapsed =ilella and he began praying over her and casting spells of healing. H$hat bo0 sounds li#e its worth a lot of money, even if the owners are deceased,H 'armony faced Mez and loo#ed up into his eyes. H*:m in,H Mez stated as he hopped down from the wagon and approached 3asia, who was no longer e0uding heat. 'er eyes returned to hazel and she loo#ed around. /he spotted two of the guys she had drin#s with the other night, one cleaved in half horizontally, the other appearing to have been sliced vertically from the shoulder down to his stomach. /he almost threw up when she saw Nororin, still sitting in the same spot he died in. 'e put his faith in her, and she had let him down. /he began to tear up, until she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. /he glanced and saw it was Mez, H$han#s,H he said, H-ou:re a good partner,H. *nstead, 3asia smiled. AA $he doppelganger landed at the feet of 4dogold and transformed from his eagle form into an ase0ual humanoid form. H$hey are in the land of *anroar, sir,H the doppelganger spo#e without raising his head. 4dogold thrust his claw into the air. H ssemble6 ,e ride for war, we ride for blood6H 4dogold e0claimed at the top of his lungs and the members of his camp began hooting and hollering. 4dogold smiled a toothy grin, his bloodlust beginning to boil. AA dar# haze hung over the s#y, deeper than the average late afternoon sunset. thic# haze of ash was high in the air from a fire 3asia started many miles away. 3asia, Mez, and 'armony traveled throughout the day, stealthily at times, violently at others. $hey trac#ed the HvictoriousH orcs as they headed bac# to their hideout. $hey silently #illed any orc

or goblin that was unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of them. /oon enough, Mez and 'armony were ma#ing sport of their steady advance. %ispatching their enemies and disappearing bac# into the trees before being spotted, ta#ing their prey with them. 3asia too# the position of rear support, and couldn:t be happier to do so. 'er mind was still preoccupied by the fate of >ohan. AA >ohan sat up abruptly and was swinging his arms wildly in every direction. 'e gasped deeply and too# in his surroundings. *t was much later in the day than he had remembered, and $unhar wasn:t squatting over ne0t to him. H/it down, elf. *:ll have ye good in a minute,H the dwarf forcefully pushed him bac# to the ground which made him wince slightly. (ut even then he felt $unhar:s healing magic at wor#, easing his pain and mending his wound. 'e glanced down and saw the deep crevice the orc had carved in his chestplate. * thought that was going to be my last sight, he thought to himself, a grinning, snarling orc chopping down an a0e upon him. $he blow hurt more than anything the elf had ever e0perienced, and while he was not a seasoned veteran of combat, he certainly did consider himself well trained and practiced. 'e had parta#en in his share of town guard s#irmishes and when promoted to road patrol, he had dispatched his fair share of murderers and thieves. None of that prepared him for this orc, he thought. 'e stared up into a dar#, ugly s#y that smelled li#e burned wood. H$hat:s the best * can do for ye, but that:ll put you in battle condition, we need to get moving,H $unhar hoisted himself bac# to his feet with his staff and began dusting his #nees off and wal#ing towards >ohan:s sword. >ohan didn:t realize until he watched the dwarf:s departure that he didn:t have his sword in his hand. 'e loo#ed to his other side and saw his shield many feet away from his hand. $hat #ic# was so hard it sent his weapons flying from his hands. 'ow embarrassing, he thought to himself as he loo#ed bac# to the s#y. H"et off ye arse and let:s go6H $unhar tossed >ohan:s sword to his side Hwe have to go support 'armony and 3asia and get bac# that bo0,H >ohan sat up again and loo#ed over to meet eye to eye with the dwarf who was now standing at his side, gripping his staff. H,here:s 3asia1 *s she o#16H >ohan as#ed frantically. H s far as * seen her wal#ing that way she is,H stated $unhar as he pointed off into the charred woods. >ohan gazed into the woods with a puzzled e0pression on his face. H7:mon elf,H $unhar hoisted >ohan up by his arm, Hloo#s li#e you:ve never fought alongside a wizard beforeH H3asia1H H*ndeed, she:s more than she appears....it appearsH H,here:s 'armony and the rest1H HNororin is dead, * sent his body bac# with =ilella, who retreated bac# to town on the last surviving horse. s for 'armony, well, she:s with them5H

H$hem1H H ye, with the rogue that came in and saved all of our arses. HMez, that:s right, he was with us,H H-ou #now the li#es of him1H >ohan stopped and thought about what $unhar had )ust told him. :..the rogue that saved them..: ran through his head a few times. 'e had no time for this line of thoughtJ 3asia could very well be in danger. H* #now little, e0cept that he is a thief, but we have no time to waste, how far out are they1H $unhar grinned through his thic#, full gray beard. AA $he moon rose fully in the air, but the night was unnaturally dar#. $he ash was still heavy in the air as dus# turned to night. $he lac# of light meant nothing to 4dogold, who was mounted upon his (anebrea# along with three of his top ran#ing lieutenants. $he banebrea# stamped on the ground with its heavy, flat foot. Most resembling a rhino, the creature sniffed and stamped at the ground an0iously. 4dogold #new that they were close to the source of the fire. ,ith the information provided to him by the doppelganger, he #new that a fight would be imminent, and that the smo#e was most li#ely a result of said fighting. 'e )ust hoped that he would be able to #ill his prey before his enemy. /o then he could #ill them all himself. 4dogold put his elongated, mangled claw up in the air. <arallel to him but further off to either side of 4dogold, his lieutenants raised their hands as well. ;i#e a silent wave, dozens of orcs and half orcs rose from the brush, weapons at the ready. $hey stared out into the dar#ness, not sure of what they were going to encounter. 4dogold dropped his claw and the force began to ma#e their way into the direction of the battle. $he charge slowed when the troops began to discern what was above them, hundreds of charred and burned trees. $he ash fell li#e snow as they tentatively made their way towards the path. 4dogold and his banebrea# was the first to brea# through the thic# woods and onto the path. ,hat he saw was a familiar sight. few burned wagons, blood and bodies littered the ground. 'e dismounted and began to observe the scene as his lieutenants and the rest of his band arrived on the scene. Many covered their noses, the stench from the burning of wood and supplies throughout the ma)ority of the day hung thic# in the night air. (ut it wasn:t only burnt trees and supplies he smelled, 4dogold thought as he stepped on what sounded li#e a pile of fallen fall leaves but turned out to be the charred remains of an unfortunate orc. One of 4dogold:s lieutenants rode up ne0t to him as the large half5orc contemplated what all of this meant. HNasty wizards, do you thin# this was caused by their wizard or *anroar:s1H 4dogold loo#ed bac# to his lieutenant and then grabbed his (anebrea# by its horn and launched himself bac# onto its bac# before saying H,hat it means is that there still someone out there to #ill,H 4dogold said barely above a growl and he urged his mount into the direction that >ohan and $unhar went in only a few hours earlier. nd 3asiaH

AA HOpen the gates6 Open the gates6H the duty guardsman of $rafford:s southern gate shouted when he spied the approach of the half dead dwarf and her seemingly unmoving companion from a half mile out. /oon after, =ilella and her deceased husband Nororin rode through the gate and =ilella fell off the horse in e0haustion. crowd of town guardsmen surrounded the fallen dwarves, their combined torches creating a beacon that everyone who was still active in the town began moving towards. One of those townsmen was the /ergeant of the "uard, 7ole, who was #nown only by his first name and position. $he tall, sturdy human, wearing the standard issue guard armor with the town:s banner across the chest plate and shield. *t was his helm that allowed him to stand out among all the other guardsJ a purple plume was affi0ed upon the top of it. H/ergeant, many an orc attac#ed my caravan not an hour out of the gates. $he #illed Nororin,H she half whispered and half e0claimed as the deliriously tired dwarf started drifting in and out of consciousness. H/hh, )ust rela0 =ilella, we:ll ta#e care of this,H 7ole spo#e as he hushed the dwarf and eased her into a laying position as the town clerics arrived and commenced their healing spells. $he gate was still open and 7ole gazed into the dar#ness, dar#er than usual, he thought. slight burning smell came and escaped his nostrils throughout the day as well as some of his more attentive guards who had wor#ed the gate that day. 'e had a feeling something was going on beyond the gate, but his responsibility being protecting what was inside the gate, 7ole didn:t bother sending a scouting team. 'e stro#ed his stubble and wiped his hand across the tip of his pointy nose to flic# the sweat off of it, which he was #nown to do often. 'e began to question the dwarf, but thought wise against it as she drifted into unconsciousness while the clerics did their wor#. H<repare two platoons of cavalry to dispatch immediately,H the /ergeant spo#e to the duty guardsman. H/ir, with all due respect, * understand that Nororin and =ilella are friends of yours, but we:ve received reports of increasing bandit activity out there, especially at night. nd on a night li#e this don:t5H. H-our ob)ection has been noted, <rivate6 Now *f you don:t mind, * have a )ob to do,H and with that, 7ole wal#ed away. $he duty guardsman, as well as the other gate guards watched their /ergeant wal# away before e0changing doubtful glances. H,ell you heard :im. =ither volunteer or be volunteered, * need K96H the duty guardsman shouted for all to hear, no one raised their hand. AA *anroar made his way through the comple0 of caverns and crevices that acted as passageways to other caverns. 'is partner preferred solitary over the constant hustle and bustle of the rest of the cave. *anroar thought this unusual for an orc, most acted in their own interest of gaining riches and power within their clan. (ut this one was different. *n addition to his anti5social lifestyle, he was the only orc wizard that *anroar had ever met. 'e never saw the orc #nown as Mo#ul leave the cave, but he never wanted for food. 'e was also one of the fattest orcs he had

ever met that wasn:t a chieftain of a clan. ,hile *anroar:s band was larger than the average bandit band, it was nowhere near the size of an actual orc clan. /pending so many years on the surface, any resemblance of his previous clan had long faded. Now it was a mi0 of orcs and goblins that he had pic#ed up on the way as his brothers who had followed him out of the mountain so many years ago started to die off in combat. Mo#ul was one of those orcs, he was the first one to tip him off to 4dogold:s treachery, and assisted him in dispatching the orc and his traitorous band. lthough *anroar didn:t #now what to ma#e of such an unusual orc when he first approached him out in the wilds that day, he remained forever grateful for the information and not only offered him a high ran#ing spot in his clan but he allowed Mo#ul to preserve his solidarity while still remaining within his ran#s. $his is why *anroar was pleased to #noc# out the code on the unassuming roc# wall that dissipated into a mist that he could wal# through and that solidified once he reached the other side. 'e was pleased because he was bringing his partner something that Mo#ul promised would strengthen both *anroar and the band as a whole. H(rother, * have for you the bo0 that you see#. *t was on that convoy )ust as you said,H *anroar wal#ed in and tossed the small blac# bo0 to the taller, fatter orc sitting across the room reading from one of many boo#s that littered his room. ,ithout loo#ing up the orc caught the bo0 and said, H* #now brother, * could feel the power emanating from the bo0 the moment you reentered the cave,H Mo#ul responded but rushed out as he began coughing profusely. *anroar loo#ed around the space that Mo#ul called home. 'e #new of no other orc who adorned his lair with so many soft items. <illows and cushioned chairs could be seen everywhere. $he entire lair was bright with light but no light source could be discerned. H/o what now1H *anroar an0iously as#ed of Mo#ul, who continued reading. *anroar was about ready to come across the room and throttle the fat orc )ust out of nervousness and the e0citement of the potential of power gained. t the very precipice of his e0citement, Mo#ul finally responded H,ith this,H Mo#ul stood up, he seemed taller than *anroar had remembered, but the orc always had at least a foot of height on him, and KEE pounds ?although all on his belly, *anroar thought@, H..* can forge for you, a creature of great power. $hat you will be able to call to your side during any battle that requires it,H Mo#ul replied and a big smile bro#e on both their faces. *anroar loo#ed ready to )ump for )oy at the prospect of a beastly companion. H,hat will it be, a dragon#in1 'arpie1 feral (arebrea#1H *anroar:s mind whirled at the possibilities of all the tales he heard about warriors who would dictate the flow of battles with their beasts. H-ou shall see soon enough, brother, but for now * require privacy for concentration. =ven disenchanting this bo0 will ta#e concentration and time,H Mo#ul responded and gave *anroar a loo# as if to nudge him out the HdoorH. *anroar too# the hint and gave a low bow before wal#ing into the wall that dissipated as he moved through it. Mo#ul began laughing, at first a soft chuc#le ?or as soft as an orc could laugh@ and then into a hardy, belly laugh. 'e fell bac# onto a pile of pillows and the whole room shoo# with the ensuing thud of the large orc hitting the ground. HOops,H the orc said with a smile on his face and he

began chanting. *t only too# seconds for his belly to begin to deflate, his whole form became diminutive and the large orc suddenly appeared as a normal sized gnome. $he gnome continued chuc#ling and his laughs were almost squea#s as he could barely contain himself. $here was much that the orcs that were nice enough to house him and allow him to perform his research unhindered didn:t #now about him. lthough he was currently going by the name Mo#ul, the gnome couldn:t remember what his original name was. %ue to the volatility of his spells and e0periments, there was a lot about his past he did not remember. ,hat the powerful wizard did #now was that a long time ago he was re)ected by his own #ind because they feared the power of his spells. >ealousy, it must have been, he thought. 'e spent his entire life researching forbidden spells, and had perfected them, one of those being shape shifting. 'e used this ability to meld into various societies throughout his lifetime and use the citizens to assist in his research. dmittedly he had a hand in the destruction of many of those societies, some of which were destroyed when e0periments of his would go bad and he would have to disappear again. (ut through centuries of doing this he had become an e0pert at infiltration. $his situation was no different, Mo#ul thought. 'e stro#ed his large, bulbous nose in a way that had become erotic to him over the years. &or years he scoured the deeper parts of the cave and even made it into the 4nderdar# a few times accidentally. ,ith all of his searching, he could not find a stone strong enough, and as he opened the bo0 in his hands, he #new he had finally found it. H,hen it comes to roc#s, always trust a dwarf * suppose,H he spo#e out loud as he reached into the bo0 and pulled out a small, blac#, shiny roc# of no particular shape. 'e began to chuc#le againJ finally he would have a companion worthy to spend time with him, and to rid him of these smelly orcs. AA Not far from the tree line that separated the forest where the fight had too# place earlier in the day and the plains that led to *anroar:s cave, Mez, 3asia, and 'armony made camp. $he three arrived at the tree line shortly after night fell after an e0hausting day of fighting and agreed to camp for the night and catch the orcs unaware when day came again. Most orcs moved at night and slept during the day so it would be their best bet in catching the force off guard. =ven still, the trio #new that it was going to ta#e more than brute force or even stealthy tactics to get them in a position to grab the bo0. Mez appeared as only a shadow in this especially dar# evening. 'e wrapped his blac# traveling )ac#et tightly around him and over his face as he slept under the base of a low hanging tree. 3asia and 'armony had no issue ta#ing up watch that evening after Mez described to them in detail of what had transpired since they were in $rafford. 'e told them of the loo# ali#e, how he came across the orcs in the woods that night, how he stal#ed the larger orc throughout the night )ust to end up #illing the smaller orc, all the way up to where he engaged the orcs 'armony was fighting. $hen the weary rogue finally slept for the first time in many days, leaving 3asia and 'armony to observe and scout the cave.

$he two climbed two separate, tall trees right ne0t to each other. 'armony quietly sat bac# and cut branches into arrow shafts. 3asia hadn:t said much since the three had arrived at the campsite. 'armony didn:t mind the silence, if anything she preferred it, but she read the loo# on 3asia:s face. /he #new her teammate was disturbed and while that didn:t particularly bother 'armony in the least, she didn:t want to go into this potential bloodbath with a distracted teammate. =ven if she was pivotal in them getting out of that ambush alive. H,hat:s on ya mind 3ed1H the 'alfling turned to 3asia who didn:t bother to loo# bac#. 'armony waited for a second. /he tossed her short, straight auburn hair behind her and as#ed again more forcefully H'ey 3ed, ,hat:s on ya mind1H 3asia gave a side glance to 'armony before replying, HNow you decide to tal#,H with more than a little venom in her voice. 'armony cut her an incredulous loo# before calming herself. 'armony reminded herself of their situation, and 3asia:s current mental state. H'ey you #now, people die out here every day, that:s )ust the line of business that we:re in.H 'armony let the silence hang in the air for a minute before saying. H-ou:re $aunch right1H. 3asia loo#ed over to 'armony, wondering what would be ne0t to come out of her mouth. H$hat robe of yours, it matches our rogue friend:s down there. *:ve seen that robe twice in my life, once when * was )ust a wee girl. *t was the only time * remember ever seeing my father.H 3asia:s visage softened when 'armony spo#e the word :father:. /he too, #new what it was to be raised without a father. lthough all the instructors raised her from infancy, and she was never without a male to answer to, she never called any of them father. ,henever she would as# about who her father and mother were, they would all say the same thing :(rave warriors who died upholding the ideals that $aunch stands for:. nd they would drop the topic there, or order her to perform a tas# as if to end the line of questioning. /he #new there was more to the story than what they told her. /he hoped that once she began adventuring that she would gather clues about the fate of her parents. Maybe what happened to her parents also happened to 'armony:s. H$he second time,H 'armony continued, Hwas in a town very far from here. village * use to frequent. 'e was hired to destroy it. * tried everything * could to stop the evil, devil horned bastard. (ut * was not enough,H 'armony stopped and loo#ed as if she was in deep contemplation before saying, H'e made sure to let me #now it was only business. $he bastard even tried to recruit me. ,hy would * ever sell my soul for profit1 ,hy did you1H she as#ed, a deep hurt shown in her face. 3asia couldn:t bring herself to answer. 'armony wiped her face off from forehead to )aw slowly. /he let her hand rest at her chin as she stared out to the cave beyond. &rom their location they could only ma#e out various torchlights and forms ma#ing their way in various directions. <robably out to do more harm, to #ill those who have so those who have not will have for only a short period of time. H$he morale of the story 3ed, is that you can:t save all the people all the time. *f you:re going to be soft s#inned out here, be sure to #eep your friends few or you:ll be mourning every hour o: every day,H

'armony stared at 3asia for a moment to gauge her reaction. $here was none. 3asia continued to stare off into the distance, to the cave. 'armony )oined her. Many minutes passed before 3asia turned to face 'armony again H'ow is it that $aunch is any different than what you do1H 'armony turned to her with a scowl on her face. H%o you not ta#e )obs for profit1 %o you not care of nothing other than the bottom line1H 3asia grew bolder with every question. H,ith discretion6 $hat:s the difference between me and you and you should thin# better than to compare me to the li#es of your puppet master,H 'armony was clearly agitated and the anger came out in her defense. H,e are an organization who see# to grow the reputation of our guild across the land as a good entity whose5H H nd what good came from burning down a village of innocent people, eh1 &armers, /table hands, small traders of basic goods, * resupplied there regularly. *t was one of the few places in this dar# world we live in that * felt comfortable and safe in. ,hat good entity does such a thing to such a place16H H* #now not of the place you spea# or the events that too# place. Maybe the village was more than it appeared. * don:t #now why an agent of $aunch would do such a thing but *:m sure the orders were )ust.H 'armony and 3asia e0changed threatening glares for many minutes. $hen the two turned away from one another and went bac# to observing the cave. Not another word was said between the two that evening. AA H'ow are we supposed to save them if * can:t even see in front of my dammed face1H >ohan grew agitated at their slow progress through the thic#, dar# woods. 'e was frustrated that he couldn:t tell how long it had been dar#, or how much longer it would be until the sun came up. 'ad it already came up but the ash was too thic# in the air to see the sun1 'e was also angered that his perfect set of armor had a deep gash in the middle of the chest plate. $he evening was cold and his sweaty underclothes from earlier had practically froze under his cold armor, ma#ing movement difficult and uncomfortable. H-ere a little green to this type of wor#, ain:t ye elf1H $unhar as#ed from a few feet in front of >ohan. HNonsense, *:ve protected my hometown from the li#es of orcs and goblins for decades.H >ohan said defensively. H ye, and * don:t doubt that you ended most of yer nights in a cozy bed within the walls of that town now didn:t ye1H H nd why does that matter1 *:ve scouted these roads many timesJ *:m familiar with the wilds as good as any.H H ye, you:ve scouted the roads, yere as familiar with the 3O %/ as good as any. (ut * bet ye barely entered a tree line or climbed a mountain in search of an enemy or booty eh1H HOnce again, dwarf, * see not why any of this matters.H

H nd that, elf, *s why yere going to die young. *ts why ye almost died today.H $hose words struc# at >ohan:s chest )ust as powerfully as the a0e blow. 'e remembered what he thought was his final sight again. 'e saw the orc bearing down on him, on a simple convoy mission gone wrong. 'e always had dreams of fame and fancy since he was a young elf. 'e would run around and chase his friends with stic#s playing dragon slayer. t such a young age he #new that:s what he wanted to do. Once he became of age, he left his home with the elves home in search of adventure. $hat was the first time he was told, by his sword master instructor, that he was too young and unprepared for the outside world. =verywhere he went he was told he wasn:t ready for adventuring. $hat:s why he spent so many years as a town guardJ it was the only wor# he could get. 'e hoped that his reputation would grow through his guardsman wor# and it had, after many decades, landed him a )ob on this convoy. =ilella had told him when he reported to the bar at 7ole:s request that she thought he was young. *t was only the friendship that e0isted between the two that convinced her to allow him on the escort mission. nd how did he repay the #indness1 'e did nothing as her husband was #illed and her goods were looted. ll this time they were right. H-ou:re right, * am sorry. <lease train me,H >ohan stopped in his trac#s and dropped to one #nee. $unhar stopped and turned to face the #neeling elf. (eing a dwarf, his eyes were accustomed to dar#, soot filled areas underground and even the perpetual ash dar#ness they currently traversed wasn:t much of a challenge. 'e saw the elf and smiled, maybe he has a hope at living after all, he thought to himself. 'e then purposely dropped the smile before saying H ye *:ll train ye sorry arse, but * don:t e0pect any lip from you. $he moment you question one of my orders is the moment this partnership ends. nd for now on we split all profits two parts my way and one yours, got it1H. H-es master,H >ohan spo#e without raising his gaze from the ground. $unhar gave the curious elf a final glance before saying H,ell c:monJ we can:t leave the ladies alone with the li#es of that rogue. nd *:m betting for sure that they:ll be in a heap of trouble by time we get thereH. >ohan stood and smiled, finally something was going his way. AA $he doppelganger, in the form of a squirrel, scurried up a tree not far from >ohan and $unhar. 'e had been scouring the forest all evening trying to find Mez and 3asia since the ash was too thic# for him to see anything from the s#y. &inally he thought he had a lead, the sounds of non5orcs conversing could be heard from a short distance away. 'e didn:t want to sound the alarm without confirmation, but the sounds of conversation had ended and their footfalls were quiet on the ash covered ground. $he banebrea#s, on the other hand, were much larger creatures. s a squirrel, he could feel the vibrations through the trun# of the tree of the departing creatures. $hey were headed in the wrong direction. 'e couldn:t wait, the doppelganger hopped down from the tree and too# the form of a wolf and let loose a long, loud howl.

4dogold loo#ed up into the s#y and smiled, the hunt was on. 'e roared and pumped his claw in the direction of the howl. $he band began howling in e0cited response and they charged through the trees, ready for anything. $he lieutenants on their banebrea#s lead the way, clearing the path of anything that stood in their way. ,hether it be stone or tree, nothing stopped them. $he forest shoo# as they sprinted to satiate their riders: bloodlust. AA Mez:s eyes popped wide open. 'e felt the vibrations in the ground where he was laying. /omething large, no, many somethings large were headed directly towards them. 'e rose to his feet and let out a tweeting bird sound. /econds later, both 'armony and 3asia could be seen descending their respective trees. $he moment 'armony:s feet touched the groundJ she #new why Mez wore a panic#ed loo# on his face. /he too, began to feel #nots in her stomach. 3asia came down moments after and loo#ed at both of them and their silent conversation in confusion. H,hat do you guys see something1H she as#ed quietly. Mez responded with a series of hand signals :Many enemies approaching..must move now: :Move where1: she signed bac# Mez loo#ed over in the direction of the cave. ,hat other choice did they have1 $he enemy to their bac# and to their front, they were surrounded. t least the cave could be a defendable position. 'e loo#ed over to 'armony and she nodded. 'e wasn:t sure if she could understand the sign language, but was sure she could read his body language. 'e turned to 3asia who loo#ed doubtful. HMost of them are still out of the cave, whether or not it is those who we:ve observed leaving all night coming together at once or not * don:t #now. (ut * doubt it. ,hat * don:t doubt is that while we #now that their cave is mostly empty while the rest are out looting or what have you, *f it isn:t them behind us they won:t #now that, and they may not be so an0ious to chase in behind usH 'armony e0plained the situation to 3asia who returned the e0planation with a confident nod. :3eady1: Mez signed. :3eady: 3asia replied. $he three equipped themselves for battle. Mez by ad)usting his body length holster, 'armony quic#ly shined her sword, and 3asia began preparing her spells. $hey buried their field pac#s and only equipped what was necessary. Mez gave the two one final loo# before nodding in the direction of the cave and sprinting towards the tree line. 'armony and 3asia followed after. ,ithin a few strides the three had bro#en through the tree line and were sprinting through the open field and were running amongst the brush across the plains. $he s#y was much clearer and brighter outside of the forest. $here was a much smaller concentration of ash and soot in the air. Mez allowed himself to en)oy the cool, fall breeze on his face. 'e was able to smell the crisp air and not the burnt forest. $hey were only a few dozen yards from the entrance of the cave when they encountered their first enemy force. &our lightly armored orcs with large pac#s loo#ed as if they were leaving for a long term e0cursion. $hey were so comfortable in their surroundings that they didn:t sense the approach

of the rogues. (efore they had even loo#ed up from their trudging march Mez had buried a dagger into one:s face through the eye while 'armony thrust her sword into the face of the other. $he orc Mez stabbed fell dead while the other one screamed in pain, falling to the ground clutching his face. $he other two behind them managed to drop their pac#s and unsheathed their sword and hammer respectively and face the two rogues. (ut they didn:t react to the two magic bolts that 3asia let loose from their side. (oth orcs were thrown to the ground and Mez and 'armony wasted no time in ending their lives. Onward they ran until they reached the mouth of the cave. Mez lifted his fist in the air, head height, and 3asia and 'armony stopped. 'e put two fingers up in the airJ 3asia #new it to be the sign to wait. /he glanced over to 'armony who nodded. Mez slowly wal#ed his way into the dar# cave. =ven with their eyes being ad)usted to the dar# all evening, it was still hard to see far ahead of them. Mez could not sense anything around him other than a deep cavern. 'e )ogged bac# out to the other two and whispered H/tay close, arms distance. 7ommunicate without spea#ing. $ap each other:s side if you need to communicate anything,H Mez stated and the two nodded and into the cave they went. AA Mo#ul:s lair began to grow hot, unnaturally hot. $he gnome sat with his legs crossed in front of what appeared to be a fire burning in the midst of his chamber. 'is ceremonial blue vestment and matching cape was inscribed with the mar#ings of many various runes and symbols. 'e wore it especially for this occasion, he #new if he was going to pull this off his preparations would have to be perfect. 'e specifically pic#ed out the perfect staff to go with his ceremonial garb. $he simple staff was opaque with a blac# tint and stood taller than the gnome by almost a foot. ,hile it was thinner than most staffs, it was sturdy and had seen its share of battles in the hands of many wizards over the course of the countless centuries since the relic:s mysterious creation. $he staff:s smooth surface was only interrupted by the four corners that made it a perfect square on either end. Mo#ul gripped the staff with both hands tightly against his thighs as he leaned over and began chanting. 'e had to prepare himself. $he portal into the hellish landscape #nown as the byss was open and his trap was laid. /oon his prey would be within his grasp, all he would have to do is reach out and ta#e it. s his chanting continued, the inside of the staff began to generate electricity coming from the middle as at first spar#s bouncing off the sides. Mo#ul:s chant went on and as the intensity in his voice grew so did the spar# in the staff. $he spar# elongated into what resembles a small strea# of lightning hovering in the middle. 7rac#ling could be heard as the strea# grew to ma#e contact with both ends of the staff. $hen the strea# became thic#er and more violent, bouncing off the walls of the staff frequently and sending smaller shoc#s from the main strea# into the side which would bounce bac# off and into the main strea# again. Mo#ul stood and gripped his staff with his right hand while holding out his left and continuing his chant. /par#s and shoc#s of lightning began

shooting out the top of Mo#ul:s staff as he held it aloft. $he runes that littered his blue vest, cape, and pants changed from blac# to a bright red and danced around his garment. $he runes floated around Mo#ul lazily, hovering li#e glowing red insects. 'e was ready. $he fire roared to tower above the small gnome who seemed to not fear the flame. 'is face and head was already devoid of all hair, by his own choice, so there was nothing for the flames to singe. nd his dar#, wire framed glasses protected him from the brightness that shone as bright as the sun. H*t:s time6H Mo#ul yelled e0uberantly, interrupting his chant in the middle of another spell. Out of the flames a roar thundered into the room which carried with it a blast of heat and fire. =verything Mo#ul wore from head to toe was magically enchanted to protect against heat yet he began to grow uncomfortably hot to the point where he almost lost his composure and began to attempt to retreat the chamber. $he flames fell silent and disappeared as if they were never there. *n their place there stood a snarling hellhound. $he creature:s red eyes encompassed his whole eyeball and stared the promise of death at Mo#ul. $he beast:s blac# fur stood on edge, its large muscles tensed from paw to tail. $he hellhound laid its ears bac# and erupted into flames all over its body before ma#ing a leap at Mo#ul. Mo#ul was prepared for the lunge, he teleported across the room and the nimble hellhound landed gently and reared its head in the other direction, already aware of the location of the shifty gnome. 'e let loose another fiery roar that Mo#ul responded to by shooting an intense bolt of lightning directly at the hound. $he heat of the two colliding blasts sent both beings flying bac# into walls on either end of the room. Mo#ul was first to rise and as the 'ellhound began to sha#e off the blast and stumble somewhat, Mo#ul sent a spray of static energy in the direction of the hound. $he hellhound charged again but winced and slowed as his body felt assaulted by the many shoc#s of lightning that was hitting him from Mo#ul:s static cloud. Mo#ul smiled and began to con)ure a much larger static cloud above the hellhound. $he hellhound:s flames intensified and he let out a snarl before charging at Mo#ul again, this time caught unaware by the quic# recovery made by the creature. 'e tac#led the gnome to the ground and swiped at his face but was thrown bac#wards and into the air as the runes that hovered around Mo#ul all shot towards the hellhound from various directions. s the hound slid across the floor, Mo#ul stood and gave his vest a quic# brush with his hands before going bac# into chanting. $his time, however, as he chanted he spun and twirled his staff about his body, his eyes began to resemble pools of electricity and his cape stood straight out behind him. =lectricity spar#ed and shot out from everything he was wearing. 'e shouted the last word of his spell as he came up on the in)ured hellhound and stabbed the top end of his staff into the side of the beast. *f the walls weren:t magically enchanted, the howl of pain would have been loud enough to hear in the outer reaches of the cave. $he hound returned to its furry state and fell to the ground, lying very still

8ictorious, the gnome stro#ed his nose with glee and summoned another static cloud. $his one much thic#er and larger than the one he used in battle, he used the magic of the staff to guide it on top of the hellhound. $he unconscious hellhound was quic#ly awa#ened as every movement he made elicited a shoc#ing response from the cloud. $he hound roared but could not generate any flame or sound. fter a minute or so of frantic desperation, the hellhound stood still and #ept its tail stiff. 'e didn:t #now how he came to be on this plane or why, he only #new that to avoid pain, he mustn:t move. $he gnome hopped and danced around the room, the first piece was in place, he thought to himself. Other than having a sore )aw, his garment did an e0cellent )ob of transferring the energy from the blow of the hellhound bac# into him. *t was unfortunate that he wouldn:t be able to use it again for a tenday H...but it won:t matter once * have this wily bugger wor#ing for me,H he pointed a finger at the hound, who only stared bac# with the same intense glare he greeted the gnome with. Mo#ul responded by continuing his singing and dancing before suddenly stopping. /o suddenly that he was still standing on one foot as he whispered H/omeone is here, someone that shouldn:t be here.H $he little gnome silenced his staff and closed his eyes to meditate. HOoh one of them is a magic userJ it:s been so long since *:ve fought a fellow wizard. * can:t let *anroar have all the fun with this one. (ut * still have so much to do here,H the gnome whimpered. Mo#ul began to sul#, but his e0pression brightened into a beaming smile and he began stro#ing his nose again, HOr * can )ust lure them here,H AA Mez, 3asia, and 'armony made haste into the dar# cavern in an attempt to escape the perceived threat coming from their rear. *f they only would have waited a little longer they would have realized that it was not enemies on their heels, but allies. $he horsemen of $rafford thundered through the open plains with all haste to investigate the threat that brought =ilella half dead to their gates only a few hours prior. $he two dozen men ran in K ran#s straight across, ma#ing up a tightly formed, intimidating force. $he orcs watched the approach from the trees to the east. ll were quiet as the larger force anticipated the signal that would mar# the beginning of the ambush. $he horsemen were only a few hundred yards from their location set )ust inside the tree line. *n5between them all sat 4dogold, who was relishing every moment. 4dogold lived for battle, while most would have probably thought his deformity a hindrance, he always thought better. 'e #new with every fiber of his being that his elongated deformed claw was the divine blessing of his god "ruumsh. 'e believed he was created for the soul purpose of combat, and so he saw it as the greatest praise he could give to his god. 'is golden armored glove that he wore on his deformed claw sported spi#es across the #nuc#les and bac# hand while the middle fingers came together to a double edged longsword with a thin layer of potent poison across the edges. $he sun crested over the eastern horizon, opposite the direction that the horsemen were travelling. $he riders were blinded momentarily and they

all began to slow down and shield their eyes. $heir formation wavered and began to lose the military precision they once had. H,e should head to the trees, * doubt that they came this far anyway,H one of the horsemen at the center of the ran# stated. H ye6 Maybe we should head bac# to the path and chec# that way. *f they didn:t ta#e the shortcut by the gate they would have ended up bac# that way6H another horseman shouted over the howling of the chilly late fall winds. 4dogold had played the situation perfectly. 'aving once been a member of *anroar:s band, he #new the terrain well enough to #now that travelling east this time of day was almost impossible, and that the horsemen were more li#ely to turn bac# towards the woods. $hey were also downwind of the humans, so their horses would not smell the force as they approached. *t wasn:t until right before the horses breached the tree line that 4dogold let out a bloodcurdling shout that the others #new to be the signal. 3ight before the $rafford soldiers: eyes, dozens of orcs suddenly appeared. $he front ran# let loose a series of arrows from their crossbows that tore through the horsemen:s ran#s. 'orses fell deadJ ta#ing the riders with them and a few of the armored soldiers too# arrows in5between the seams of their armor and fell hard to the ground. One was trampled by the horse behind him who had ta#en an arrow in the face and was neighing wildly. H mbush6H was the last word the human leading the charge said before 4dogold and his banebrea# came charging out the woods to behead the soldier with his outstretched arm while his banebrea# impaled the horse ne0t to the soldier and sent the rider flying off. H=y, did you hear that elf1H $unhar stopped and >ohan nodded his answer. $he two heard the familiar sound of a battle that had )ust commenced not far from their location. H%o you thin# it:s the guys1H >ohan as#ed as he unsheathed his sword and shield. H* don:t #now, but *:ve never heard the war cry of an orc that * didn:t run to, c:mon let:s chec# it out,H $unhar remar#ed as he pic#ed up his wooden staff, that had been acting as his wal#ing stic# all night, with both hands and began charging through the woods to the east. >ohan followed behind but not with the same smile that $unhar wore. 'e was still replaying his near death e0perience in his head the night before. &or the first time in his life as a warrior, he charged into combat unsure of himself. 'alf of the soldiers managed to avoid the first volley of arrows. $he fortunate warriors lowered their pi#es and raised their shields as they crashed into the orcs ran#s. 7ries of pain rang out as the soldiers stabbed at whatever came within range. Many orcs suffered stabs to the throat and chest and fell to the ground in pain, or in death. One soldier threw his pi#e at one of 4dogold:s mounted lieutenants and the orc fell to the ground with the force of the blow. ,ith the lac# of a rider, his banebrea# grew frenzied and charged right down the ran#s of 4dogold:s ambush force, trampling the orcs who were unable to get out of the way in time. $hat same soldier drew his sword as he hit the ground and immediately engaged an orc that he landed right ne0t to. $he two shield bashed each other and both fell bac#. $he orc growled and banged his sword against his shield and the human responded by charging

again while twirling his sword. n upward swing of his sword sent the orc dodging bac#wards who then put his shield up to bloc# the straight thrust that followed. $he soldier continued to swing from left to right to #eep the orc bloc#ing and off guard. 'e felt the approach of someone to his right and disengaged the orc by quic# stepping outside of swinging range. nother orc appeared from behind a tree to the right of them both swinging his a0e with all his might across his body. 'e swung with so much might that he buried his a0e deep into the trun# of that very same tree. $he soldier stabbed the orc repeatedly while he tried to pull his a0e out of the tree. $he original orc came from around the new orc, now bleeding from multiple wounds and collapsing to the ground, swinging over his comrade and at the human. $he human circled around the tree and )umped bac# as the orc had come around the tree from the other side and thrust his sword trying to anticipate the human:s movement. 'e felt another at his bac# but before he could turn to see who it was the figure reached bac# and held him in place. H>ason are you o#,H the familiar voice gave the soldier momentary relief. H-eah Iiev, what:s our status1H H*t:s )ust us cousin,H the words struc# hard at his heart. >ason had grown up with many of the soldiers that had fallen that day. =ven worse, the remaining orcs began tightening their ran#s in a circle around them, a few of which were mounted on banebrea#s. $here was no way the two of them could outfight or outrun the force. =veryone in town #new they were headed on a dangerous mission, the fact that only un5wed members of the town guard with little to no surviving family members were chosen for the mission did not go unnoticed. H*:m glad it was with you cousin,H Iiev spo#e through words that sounded as if they got caught in his throat in mid5sentence. HMe too, cousin, let:s ta#e as many with us as we can. /ave the lives of those who they will never get the chance to meet,H >ason spo#e in a very low, calm tone. $he two nodded, they were prepared to meet their deaths. &rom only a few dozen yards away, >ohan and $unhar came upon the scene. $he dwarf stopped his charge as he spied dozens of orcs surrounding two forms. 'e stopped >ohan from running past him and put his fingers to his lips as if to silence the elf. $hey both dropped down to one #nee and >ohan whispered, H$hat could be 3asia and 'armony over there, why are we stopping16H s if to answer his question, a large half5orc mounted on a banebrea#, strode confidently into the center of the circle. 'e raised an unusually shaped sword5type weapon into the air and the rest of the orcs let out an elated shout. 'e charged at the two forms standing bac# to bac# and stabbed his golden weapon straight through the chest of the one figure and into the bac# of the other. 'e ripped the sword out of the human:s chest and they both collapsed to the ground. $he orcs cheered and the mounted orc said something that $unhar and >ohan couldn:t hear and the force was on the move in the direction of the open field. H* thought you always ran to war cries1H >ohan stated sarcastically. H ye.H

H/o why didn:t you want to enter that fight1 /cared1H the elf teased the dwarf. $unhar responded by smac#ing the elf in the bac# of the head before saying H$hat wasn:t a fight, it was a slaughter. * didn:t get these gray whis#ers by blindly charging into unwinnable battles. ,e see how far it almost got you.H t that comment the blood drained from >ohan:s face and his hand subconsciously moved to his chest as he was once again reminded of how close to death he had )ust come the day before. H*t loo#s as if they:ve all moved onJ let:s see if we can do anything for those two. * thin# one is still breathing,H $unhar responded after a short time had passed. AA 4dogold:s doppelganger assassin could not careless about the result of the previous battle. *n the form of a hunting dog, he sniffed feverishly at the ground and in the air. 'e had caught the scent of a trio of humanoids that weren:t orc or goblin. 'is searching brought him to the mouth of a cave less than a mile from where his boss was engaging in combat. $he doppelganger morphed into his original pale, thin form and thought about how to proceed. /hould he lead his allies to the mouth of this cave that also smelled heavily of orcs of another clan1 /hould he see# out the humans inside the cave and handle them himself1 'e would gain more favor from his boss if he handled them himself, or would he1 4dogold came all this way to see the )ob doneJ maybe he would want to do it himself. H'ey6 ,hose dat outside our cave6H the doppelganger whirled around and saw three of the orcs native to that lair pointing and beginning to run towards him. No time to decide he thought to himself before turning into a bat and flying into the cave. AA Minutes felt li#e hours to the trio as they made their way deeper into the cave. H$he smell is absolutely abysmal,H 3asia remar#ed, which drew harsh glances from both 'armony and Mez. H*t is important that until we #new what we:re dealing with that we remain silent. $here could be enemy forces right in front of us and they would hear us before we saw them,H Mez replied in hushed tones. H-ou $aunch guys are the absolute worst6 Now shut up, * thin# there:s an opening coming up,H 'armony added. 3asia mentally forgave the insult to her organization, #nowing that this wasn:t the time for prideful arguments. $he three came to an opening and were awestruc# at what they saw. $he cave opened up to a multi tiered comple0. 'armony gazed across the e0panse that stretched so far across that the other side could barely be seen. /he loo#ed down and saw that the opening held many floors littered with openings and pathways that probably led to other sections of the caves and a few that appeared to be living quarters. few bridges stretched across at random points in different directions connecting the wal#ways that separated each floor. t the very bottom of the long drop was a glowing, underground pool that was probably the orcs: source of water. $here were also orcs, but very few for such a large facility. s 'armony had mentioned earlier, it appeared that most of them were out of

the cave, leaving a few milling aboutJ carrying supplies bac# and forth across the bridges and some were even napping in random locations. /he turned bac# to Mez and 3asia who were wide eyed, ta#ing in the unusual sight. H*t appears this is their main living area, and probably a hub to the rest of the cave. * had no idea such a large facility e0isted so close to $rafford,H she whispered. H'ow are we to locate the bo0 in such a large place1 'ow do we #now who has it or where1H 3asia as#ed. H$hey must have a loot room somewhere around here. /omewhere where they #eep the bul# of their spoils, most bandits do,H 'armony responded and Mez nodded in agreement. H*:ll go find that room, you5HMez began to say before 'armony reached up and placed her hand over his mouth. /he put her fingers to her lips, signaling for the three to be silent. $hey bac#ed up against the opening they had )ust came through as a pair of large, lumbering orcs came wal#ing by discussing the horrible details of their most recent pillaging e0cursion. Moments later, 'armony pee#ed around the corner both ways and signaled to Mez and 3asia that the coast was clear. H/tealth is what * doJ *:m much smaller and would have an easier time finding us the correct path. $his isn:t my first infiltration, can you say the same1H 'armony said loo#ing at both Mez and 3asia. =mbarrassed, 3asia loo#ed away while Mez wore an e0pression of both understanding and anger. 'e was always being cast aside as :the new guy:. t that moment 'armony sounded a lot li#e %are# to him, even if her logic was sound it didn:t sound good hearing it. H*:ll come bac# when *:ve found a clear path,H 'armony said and she gave Mez a playful tap on the shoulder as she said it. /he sensed how tense the rogue had become at the last statement and didn:t want him to thin# she was tal#ing down to him. ,ithout a sound, the 'alfling rogue ran off down the natural path that circled the top tier of the cave comple0. Mez and 3asia were left alone, for the first time since they arrived in $rafford two days ago. 3asia felt the strong urge to apologize for how she acted when in $rafford, but #new it was the time for silence. :* wrong in city: she tried to communicate using their hand signal language. :Not, bad, OI, you confused in city: Mez signed bac#. $he sign language was not as comple0 as the one the dar# elves used that theirs was based off of. *t was meant to communicate combat commands, not basic conversation. /o when 3asia nodded and smiled, Mez was happy to #now that she must have understood what he was trying to say. $he two sat there for many minutes in complete silence. Most of the orcs were on the lower levels and going about their business. few could be seen carrying buc#ets across the bridges, or arguing amongst each other about trivial things. Mez and 3asia both loo#ed over as one particular argument turned loud and ended with one of the orcs going over the edge of the wal#way on their level. $hey all laughed as the orc hit the ground below with a sic#ening thud and its blood splattered across the stone floor on the ban#s of the underground pool. $he rest of the orcs laughed

heartily and went bac# to doing whatever it is that they were doing. Mez and 3asia e0changed glances of disgust and sat bac# in their position. ,ithout warning a dar# figure shot past them thought the air at a fast pace. startled 3asia, who was dozing off at that moment due to the lac# of sleep the night before, let out a startled scream and let loose a magic bolt that made direct contact with the dar# figure which disappeared from the s#y. Mez:s eyes went big and he unsheathed his daggers and turned towards the opening. H*t was a bat 3asia, a damned bat6H Mez whispered in sharp tones. 3asia:s )aw dropped and she mouthed :sorry: but Mez wasn:t facing her to see it. $he cavern erupted with noise and there was no doubt in Mez:s mind that their cover was blown. H$ime to go6H Mez said and 3asia began to prepare her spells. $hey came out of the opening right as an orc carrying a spear turned to enter it. started orc came face to face with Mez and began to )ump bac# but before he could both of Mez:s hands shot out and stabbed the orc in the chest. $he creature grimaced and Mez released him by #ic#ing out and in5between the two stabs right into the chest of the orc, sending him flying bac#wards and over the edge. HMil# drin#ers6H a lightly armored orc yelled as he unsheathed his sword. 3asia felt the air suc#ed out the air as the entire comple0 grew quiet for the longest second of her entire life. nd the instant silence was almost immediately replaced with a roar of bloodlust and e0citement. =very sleeping orc was awa#eJ every supply carrier had dropped his bo0es and was drawing weapons. 0es, swords and crossbows were now pointed at the two humans unwelcomingly intruding on their front door. Mez and 3asia went bac# to bac#. 3asia:s spells were at the ready and her eyes were their natural colors. Mez switched out to his throwing daggers from the small of his bac# and held them in a reverse grip, ready to be thrown. H,e need an out6H Mez said with intensity in his tone. H%o you see 'armony1H 3asia as#ed. HNowhere, no time,H Mez responded. H/pear6H 3asia screamed as she dodged right Mez mirrored the movement on the left to stay in sync. ,hile the various schools of $aunch were all secluded from one another and they never mi0ed for training purposes, all students are taught the basic movements and formation for K, 9, and .E man teams. %ay in and day out for many years these movements were practiced and taught and tested and perfected by every student of every school. nd on this day, those techniques were put to use. H,e need to get to the bottom, that:ll probably our best bet. $he lowest levels should have an entrance or e0it.H 3asia let loose a magic bolt as three orcs began charging their positing from her front. Mez released his first daggers at the two a0e wielding orcs charging his front. $he orc hit by 3asia:s magic bolts stumbled and the orc behind him was tripped up in the fall. $he third orc leaped the two falling orcs and bore down with his mace. 3asia sidestepped the swing and Mez whirled around with his two main daggers and stabbed the creature in the bac#. 'e let go of the daggers and let loose the two throwing daggers on his shoulders at the two orcs who had stumbled before. 3asia snatched the daggers out of the

bac# of the stunned, mace wielding orc and stabbed them into the bac# of his nec#. $he orc crumpled to the ground with a pain stric#en e0pression frozen on his face. Mez managed to stab the first two orcs in the face with his initially thrown daggers, but the one orc with a dagger stic#ing out his eye continued to charge while the other fell to his #nees, staring up at the dagger that buried into his forehead )ust below his helm. 3asia turned and blasted him with a fireball that sent the orc flying bac#wards. <anic#ed and in searing pain, the orc ran blindly off the edge of the wal#way to splatter on the cave floor after many seconds of falling. ;i#e a call to arms, the sight of the falling, inflamed orc sent the rest into a charge at the humans. =very arrow that was pointed at them was now flying at them. Mez grabbed 3asia and they both dived to the ground as the orcs recovering from their stumble and two daggers in their shoulders were hit with the bul# of the friendly fire. $he last two orcs fell dead and Mez immediately went to the tas# of collecting his daggers. H$o the bottom it is, and may we #ill every last one of the vile criminals,H Mez yelled over the sounds of hollering orcs. 3asia nodded and began preparing her spells again as they both began sprinting down the wal#way. AA s they departed three orcs came charging into the cave behind them. =0hausted from their chase and startled from the sight of coming bac# after chasing an intruder who had disappeared into midair. Now they:ve returned to see the bodies of their own littering their front doorstep. HIill the intruder6H one yelled, not yet realizing that battle had already begun. $he bat 3asia struc# fell into a humanli#e clump as the doppelganger landed hard and rolled into an unoccupied dwelling of an orc most li#ely now in battle. $he doppelganger was furious. 'e stumbled to get to his feet and was disgusted to find out that he had #noc#ed over a pale of waste that had splashed throughout the already disgusting domicile. 3otten meat and the smell of bile filled his nostrils and he vomited on what probably served as that orc:s bed. :,hy are these two so hard to #ill16 * grow weary of this damned chase for such novice wea#lings.: $he doppelganger thought as he stomped bac# and forth in the room in a tirade. 'e cautiously pee#ed out from the blan#et that served as the main entrance to the hole in the wall and saw what was commencing. Orcs disappearing and reappearing from holes, all determined to get to the top of the comple0 first to #ill his prey. Not after all of this, this is M#ill now, he thought. 'e began con)uring up the sight of a large, dangerous loo#ing orc. 'is maw was mangled and he was at least a foot taller than any other orc there. 'e was still in serious pain from being blasted by a magic bolt while in such a feeble form so he was unable to con)ure the great armor that he imagined. *nstead, the massive, nude orc grabbed a piece of slimy fabric from the ground and tied it into ma#eshift s#ivvies. 'e stepped out of the hole and grabbed the first orc

by one hand by the throat and pic#ed him up. 'e stared the orc in the eyes and the stunned orc showed fear as the doppelganger chec#ed him to see what weapon he was carrying. crossbow he thought before dropping the creature. $he orc stared up at the intimidating stranger timidly before sidestepping past the broad shouldered behemoth and continued his charge. $he doppelganger watched a few other orcs go running past before he finally spied a weapon that he wanted. $he orc that was charging was brandishing a heavy a0e with particularly well sharpened edges. 'e threw a straight )ab at the unsuspecting orc and #noc#ed him out cold as he tried to run past. few startled orcs stopped and began sizing up the new orc as he pic#ed up the a0e from the unconscious orc:s grasp. 'e returned their loo#s with a snarl and roar before he too, began charging in the same direction of the other orcs. H,e neez to get to these humans sooner than him *:m thin#in:H One of the orcs said before they too resumed their charge. AA $he two sprinted as fast as they could while spying the holes as they ran past to see if any had any deep openings. H$hey:re all small holes in the walls, sleeping areas,H 3asia screamed as arrows continued to bounce off the walls both in front and behind them. few paces in front of the pair, four orcs came running from around a hole in the wall headed in their direction, clubs and a0es drawn. 3asia muttered the last few words of a spell before blasting the orcs with a spray of fire from both of her hands. n arrow thudded into Mez:s arm as the pair stopped and one orc only a few levels down was able to get a good shot off at him. Mez stumbled to his side as 3asia:s inferno continued. 'e bro#e the shaft off from the rest of the arrow and stood bac# up as blood flowed from his right shoulder. n orc managed to ma#e it through 3asia:s flames and he swung his barbed club at her, hitting her in the chest. /he stumbled bac#wards and onto Mez who fell with her. $he orc too fell forward, and Mez shot upwards with his dagger in hand to both impale and prevent the orc from falling on top of the two. H(y the gods that hurts6H Mez screamed as he winced in pain from the weight of the orc bearing down on his outstretched, in)ured arm that 3asia had )ust landed on. 3asia wheezed and rolled off of Mez who pushed the orc to the side and retrieved his dagger from its chest. H re you o#1H Mez shouted over to 3asia who was chec#ing under her robe and leather armor for blood. H>ust...got wind...#noc#ed outH she managed to gasp while than#ing the gods her chest wasn:t caved in. $he other three orcs were lying on the ground in flames. Mez wal#ed over to the opening where the orcs had )ust emerged. short distance away more orcs were running in their direction. H'oles are a bad idea,H Mez shouted over to 3asia who was regaining her composure. /he stumbled towards the edge but stopped herself cold as she loo#ed over and came to a realization. H$he bridges, they aren:t using the bridges.H 'e loo#ed over to her and then wal#ed over to gaze over the edge. Mez loo#ed 3asia in her multicolored eyes and smiled before ta#ing a leap over the edge and landing on a bridge two levels lower than where they were. 3asia

watched Mez fall into a front roll, daggers drawn. H4nremar#able eh1H she muttered to herself before ta#ing the leap as well. $he bridges ran perpendicular to one another at various lengths and locations on opposite walls. $he ne0t bridge was three levels down and the nearest point that they could )ump from was many yards across the long, narrow rope bridge with wooden plan#s. (y the time 3asia landed, Mez was already sprinting towards the ne0t mar#. rrows whizzed by the bridge and 3asia stared straight down a gauntlet of death as she fearlessly too# chase for her partner. Many of the orcs were beginning to catch on to their movements and were ma#ing ad)ustments as the whole flow of the mob moving in and out of holes in the walls now seemed to be moving in a different flow. $hey all made for the quic#est route to the bridge. s Mez approached the aerial intersection, a group of orcs charged in from the other direction. H'ere6H Mez shouted as he vaulted himself over the side of the bridge. $he wind rushed past his ears and he had to grab his hat to #eep it from flying off during the long descent. 'e hit the bridge hard and it swayed as Mez rolled and made it bac# to his feet. 'e grabbed the ropes on either side and held the handrails for dear life as the orcs approaching from the other ends of the bridge stumbled and fell to their deaths. 3asia glanced down and watched her partner descend from the bridge. *n amazement she gazed out to a man who )ust too# a three story )ump down to his possible death and he didn:t even hesitate. 'owever, before she could see Mez land, her immediate situation demanded attention as she )umped bac# to barely dodge an a0e swing by an orc. /he responded by blasting forth a spray of fire before )umping off the ledge behind Mez. 'e loo#ed up to see burning pieces of bridge falling and a much larger form falling fast. 3asia landed solidly directly in front of Mez, and the plan#s below her feet gave way to the sudden impact. Mez immediately dropped his dagger and shot his arm straight down through the hole in the bridge to grab 3asia by her elbow. $hey e0changed a brief moment of mutual shoc# before Mez pulled 3asia up to where she could climb through. H3oll ne0t time, absorb the hit. -ou could brea# a leg.H Mez e0plained before ta#ing off in the direction of the ne0t bridge. nd then he saw those eyes, with so much murderous intent. 'e was the only orc in the whole place that wasn:t moving, and his eyes were loc#ed with Mez:s. 'e was also the largest orc Mez had ever seen. =ven more intimidating was the fact that he was wearing no armor at all. Most of their attac#ers had been wearing some sort of leather or steel armor. $his orc was wearing nothing but his obscenely large muscles. $hree levels below them the doppelganger had figured out their route. $hey were going to )ump to the short bridge towards the end and then they would have to )ump to the bridge on his level. $he bridge was lesser developed than most in the cave. *t sagged deep in the middle and shoo# a lot. 'e will have to land there, right in my hands, the doppelganger thought as he continued his stare down with Mez as he calmly wal#ed towards the old bridge.

$hen a war cry was heard from the upper caverns, one that was not foreign to the bandits inhabiting the cave, but was no longer a welcome sound. $he chase for the humans stopped momentarily as all eyes turned upwards as 4dogold came charging through the entrance on his banebrea#. ,ith his lieutenants in tow also mounted and a horde of screaming, charging orcs behind them, 4dogold:s second attempt of ta#ing control of the band was underway. Mez and 3asia made all haste for the ne0t bridge. &or reasons un#nown to Mez, the orcs suddenly changed direction again. $his time the orcs were running bac# to the upper levels. H%o you thin# they found 'armony1H 3asia screamed over the sounds of the noisy cave. Mez loo#ed up and saw orc after orc being thrown from various levels. H*f so she didn:t come bac# alone,H Mez replied before coming to a halt. HNe0t hop,H he said before leaping over the handrail rope and landing gently onto the ne0t bridge. 'e moved out the way and 3asia followed suit. $his landing was more graceful than the last, but also less than half the distance. H,e have one more to go then * thin# we can hit the ground,H Mez said as he began )ogging towards the ne0t intersection. H$hat:s quite a drop to the floor, you sure we can ma#e it1H 3asia replied. H-eah * have an idea,H Mez replied before )umping bac# suddenly, almost #noc#ing 3asia over. n orc flew in from above and slammed into the bridge. $he whole platform shoo# violently and Mez and 3asia held on for dear life as the bridge became a symphony of noises indicating that it was too old to be sha#en in such a manner. $he behemoth orc growled and ran onto the bridge below Mez and 3asia. $hey were still many strides from where the two bridges: aerial intersection would be a feasible )ump, but the way the bridge was bouncing made for a perfect opportunity for the doppelganger to catch the fighters off guard. 'e charged the loose rope bridge before timing a great leap that bent and strained the bridge in such a way that he sprang from it li#e a springboard. $he orc grabbed the bridge with both hands as it swung towards him. $he bridge suddenly stopped moving as if it were anchored. Mez and 3asia loo#ed to each other before coming to their feet. Over 3asia:s shoulder, Mez spied an orc on a banebrea# wearing an unusual pointed weapon that appeared to be an e0tension of his arm. $he orc:s banebrea# stopped and reared before he let loose a spear with the other hand. Mez grabbed 3asia and tried to ta#e them both down to the ground in time but managed to get nic#ed in the shoulder by the shaft tip. HMy arm6H 'e yelled as they both fell to the ground, Mez holding his arm and rolling on the floor while losing blood in now his left arm as well as the right. HMez, behind you6H 3asia screamed as she shot a magic bolt at the giant orc that suddenly appeared before them with a spear stic#ing out of its chest. $he orc stepped bac# but otherwise seemed unfazed by either the spear or the magic bolt. 3asia continued her charge by releasing two fireballs at the creature. $he orc grimaced and then laughed as he unsheathed his great a0e and began to swing it over his head. Mez rose to his feet behind 3asia who was retreating fast. 'e swung the a0e in a downward

motion and chopped a hole into the bridge. <lan#s fell into nothingness right before Mez:s eyes. 'e reached bac# for a dagger and realized that he only had two throwing daggers and his two main daggers remaining. $he orc stared at the gap before ta#ing to the air. /imultaneously, Mez also leaped in the air high above the orc going in the opposite direction. s he flew past, Mez threw his last two throwing daggers into the bac# and shoulder of the orc. 4nfazed by the blow, the doppelganger gripped the great a0e with his two great orc hands and was amazed at how resilient a form he had come up with out of anger. 'is head snapped bac# to attention and his eyes met 3asia:s multicolored eyes before dropping his shoulder and charging into her. 3asia flew bac#J she bounced and rolled down the bridge. s her body came to a stop, another orc fell from the s#y and bounced off the bridge and sent it into another violent bounce session. $he doppelganger lost his balance and fell forward, )ust short of where the orc had )ust landed before continuing his descent. 'e had to focus. Mez steadied himself to the bouncing of the bridge. 'e focused on the rhythm of the sway, the vibration under foot. 'e planned every step as he sprinted bac# in the direction of the gap. Mez leaped and rolled right below the hul#ing orc from behind before grabbing the daggers from in its bac# and shoulder and stabbing them into the orc:s sides. 'e howled in pain. =ven in his current form, the doppelganger #new the seriousness of the in)uries he had )ust sustained. 'e stumbled bac#wards as he turned to face Mez but was righted by a magic bolt blast to the bac# of his head. Mez then threw the same daggers that had already inflicted four wounds on the creature and threw them deep into the chest of the orc at close range. $he doppelganger swung his a0e downward at the seemingly unarmed rogue but was surprised to find him under the weight of his blow, on one #nee bloc#ing his a0e with the hilts of another pair of daggers. $he bridge buc#led and crac#ed under the weight of the blow. Mez rolled bac#wards and as the orc stepped where he was #nelt )ust a moment ago, the floor gave way further. $he orc )umped bac# and Mez found himself on only a few plan#s of wood in5between two large gaps. *f that wasn:t the worst of their problems, as he turned to loo# towards the ne0t )umping point, he spied orcs on the other size of the bridge hac#ing away at the ropes trying to ta#e it down. 'e loo#ed to 3asia who was shooting both fireballs and magic bolts at the orc as he lumbered towards her trying to absorb each blow. 'e didn:t #now if she would be able to get over the two gaps in time. H'ey idiots6H the only other non5orc voice Mez and 3asia had heard for many minutes had them both loo#ing upwards towards the nearest cavern wall H* told ye to wait6H 'armony yelled over to the pair before throwing out a large, long rope with a #not at the end. Mez leaped over the gap furthest from 3asia and grabbed the rope and began to tie it around his waist, H3asia lets go6H he yelled over to her. *t was enough to grab 3asia:s attention from her spell casting right as the orc came within stri#ing range. 'e let loose a powerful swing that would have cut 3asia in half if not for the bridge giving out at that very moment, causing the orc to lose his balance and his grip on the a0e. 'e fell straight down

into the dar#ness, the splash of the underground la#e indicated how long his descent was. 3asia held on to one of the plan#s with one hand and one of the ropes from the bridge with the other as the bridge swung towards the wall during its rapid descent. H"rab my hand6H Mez yelled from under 3asia. 'e was holding one hand out and using the other to hold onto the bridge by the rope. 3asia let go and made the reach of her life and grabbed Mez:s arm right as the bridge swung out of his reach. $he rope Mez had tied to his waist swung the other way and the two $aunch roo#ies swung bac# in the other direction with Mez and 3asia grabbing each others: wrists. 3asia loo#ed down and saw the emptiness that awaited her should her hand slip. /he loo#ed bac# up and Mez was reaching down with another arm to haul her up. 3asia began climbing the rope and Mez was right behind her. 'and over hand the two climbed, ignoring the occasional arrow that flew past or the level after level of orcs fighting amongst one another. $he two were unaware of what had brought this fortunate change of events, but they had no time to ponder it as they were still two levels down from 'armony and Mez:s arms began to go numb. HIeep climbing, *:m not going to ma#e itH Mez solemnly said acceptingly as he began to lose grip. HNo way, it:s my turn to save your arse6 * will not lose my partner on our first mission,H 3asia screamed down to Mez. /he then shimmied down the rope to his position and grabbed him by the loop around his waist made by the tied rope. /he continued to climb with her #nees and one hand while Mez used his #nees around the rope to act as a bra#e, ma#ing sure 3asia didn:t slide bac# from the weight. AA >ason shot up from the ground gasping deeply for breath. &or many minutes, $unhar had wor#ed intently over the body of >ason, casting spells to both heal his wound and purge his body of the poison introduced to it by the blow. s soon as >ason regained consciousness, $unhar fell bac#, also gasping for breath. >ohan spied the dwarf, drenched in sweat although the morning was bris#J he loo#ed as if he had )ust fought a ma)or battle. $hen the elf turned to the human, clutching his chest, probably replaying his final moments the same way >ohan had did the day prior. H-ou:re o#, you:re with friends,H >ohan eased the human onto his shoulder and into a sitting position under the tree. H re you o# $unhar1H >ohan as#ed as he started to ma#e his way bac# towards the dwarf. : ye....)ust give me a minute,H $unhar replied through a gasping breath. s >ason came fully to his senses, a clearer picture of what happened to him began to form. 'e sat there on the tree at first only being able to remember the pain he felt before losing consciousness. Now he remembered being bac# to bac# with Iiev. 'earing the heavy footsteps approach his cousin while he faced in the other direction, fully e0pecting a rush at that moment. >ason loo#ed over and saw Iiev:s body crumpled over in the fetal position. 'e had a hole going through his abdomen and out of his bac#. >ason grabbed his side where he felt the stab as well, tears fell from his face. Iiev was the last family he had left in $rafford. =very sibling he had, his mother and father, all died in defense of the town. 'e had almost e0perienced the same fate.

H* saved yer life the least that you owe me is a name,H $unhar requested through a deep, raspy voice. H>ason, <rivate of the "uardH the human replied softly, still deep in reflection. $unhar and >ohan e0changed glances before $unhar said H,ell ye should be good to wal# now, yer town:s that way. * assume yer boss will want a report or what have ye.H HMaster dwarf, please tell me, would you live somewhere that was cursed1H H4h oh, me thin#s this one has a case of the shellshoc#s. Might want to #eep him around for now,H $unhar remar#ed to >ohan about the human, who was still staring off into space. $hey both helped him to his feet and regarded his leather armor. H$hey sent you out here in that cheap stuff1,H >ohan snic#ered Hit:s not even hardened. *t can:t be any thic#er than your everyday tunic.H 'e fingered the torn leather vest and >ason smac#ed his hand away and turned to face $unhar. H,here did they go1H >ason as#ed. H little revenge eh1 ,ell then let:s go,H the old dwarf shoo# his staff above his head before charging in the direction that 4dogold:s band went in. >ason and >ohan e0changed menacing glances before >ohan too# off behind him. >ason retrieved his sword and shield from the ground ne0t to his dead cousin. H*:m sorry cousin, but * cannot die in the service of $rafford. * will avenge your murder, and then * will revo#e my vows,H >ason said as he readied himself for combat. 'e loo#ed down the shield that bore the crest of $rafford. H$his one:s for me, for Iiev, not for $rafford.H AA 'armony helped Mez and 3asia over the ledge, only two levels lower than where they entered the cave. $he fighting continued many levels below them. $he front line between the orcs was at the mouth of one passage that led to the level below it. $hey shield bashed and swiped at each other with their weapons from across an invisible wall because neither side wanted to charge right out at the other.

H,hy didn:t ye wait6H 'armony yelled as she gripped Mez by his coat and stared him down. H$he situation evolved6H he responded as he pushed her away. H,here in the Nine 'ells were you16H 3asia harshly questioned 'armony who replied H%oing as * said * would, finding the loot room. nd * did, down this path,H 'armony pointed behind her towards a long, dar# opening in the cave wall. 'armony too# a moment to regard the twoJ Mez was bleeding badly and gripping his arms while 3asia loo#ed ready to #eel over in e0haustion. HMust have been a hell of a fight to get down that far, we:ll grab this bo0 and find a way to snea# past to an e0it,H 'armony spo#e and they made their way towards the opening. *t went on for a ways, and winded in many different directions. 'armony lead the way, being that she had already wal#ed the path, Mez and 3asia followed behind her. $he two watched the 'alfling go around a curve and the moment she left their field of vision, a wave of nausea and a feeling of sic#ness washed over them li#e a diseased breeze )ust hit them. Mez dropped to his #nees and lurched forward as he began to throw up all over

the floor. 3asia stumbled in her sprint and fell hard on her side, HOw6H she screamed as she reached bac# and held her hip. H,hat in the Nine 'ells was that16H 3asia yelled over to Mez, who was )ust finishing off his vomiting session. H'armony6H 3asia called out as she turned to loo# towards the bend but was startled to see that the curve was no longer in front of them. /he loo#ed both ways many times before she realized that they were in an entirely different cavern. $his one was very straight and well built with torches hanging from either wall. Mez had come to his senses and also wore a confused e0pression as he came to his feet. H$his isn:t where we )ust were, everything about it feels different,H Mez spo#e as a bewildered 3asia nodded her agreement. H,here do we go1H she as#ed, Mez could only shrug in response. AA dozen large, heavily armored orcs strode confidently into the cave. ;ead by *anroar, the marauding platoon was all carrying large sac#s and crates after a successful evening of plundering a local farming village. $he moment he crossed the threshold of the opening, *anroar #new something was wrong. 'e ran to the edge of the wal#way and he growled as his eyes lead his gaze from the litter of bodies on the various levels of the facility to the fight his men were desperately losing only a few levels below him. $hen his gaze too# him to the leader of the assault, *anroar loc#ed his gaze on 4dogold and his wic#ed 7lawsword impaling another one of his comrades. *anroar ripped his barbed greatsword from its sheath on his bac# and let out a roar that shoo# the cave. $he warcry had all loo#ing up once again, but this time it was 4dogold:s orcs who recognized the yell as a threat. *anroar and his orcs charged through the maze of tunnels and soon found themselves on a direct intercept course with many of 4dogold:s orcs who charged to meet them. *anroar slashed bac# and forth with his greatsword, the two enemy orcs that charged to meet him fell hard with gashes in their chest and throats. 'e leaped into the middle of a group of the enemy orcs and swung his greatsword over his head many times, beheading the orcs that were too slow to get out of the way. $hey all gave *anroar a wide berth and his platoon was right there to engage the now scattering orcs who thought to be the vanguard against the bandit camp:s leader. *anroar laughed heartily as he cut down orc after orc, no weapon could match his enormous greatsword and shields splintered whenever a bloc# was attempted. *anroar was so confident at his advance that he neglected to see the charging banebrea# coming right at him. &rom behind, 4dogold rammed the confident *anroar who went sprawling bac#wards. 'e rolled to a stop many paces away from where he was once standing. $he enraged *anroar immediately rose to his feet and let out another one of his famous roars at 4dogold whose banebrea# stopped in midst of his charge in response. $he beast buc#ed and 4dogold was sent sprawling into the gravel covered stone. &ighting stopped amongst the rest of the orcs as the two leaders faced each other. 4dogold held 7lawsword out wide and wore an e0pression of angst for his former boss who gripped his greatsword and swung it across his body with one hand with ease. ll of the orcs in attendance and the last few stragglers who were still alive from fights in various locations throughout the cavern

all #new that there was no longer a need to battle. ,hoever was the victor of the battle between 4dogold and *anroar would be the ruler of the bandit camp, and whoever lost would not desire to try their hand at the stronger of the two fearsome orcs. *anroar charged 4dogold:s position and thrust forward with his greatsword. 4dogold parried the stri#e and )umped bac#wards before swinging 7lawsword bac# above his head and downwards towards *anroar who sidestepped the blow. $he two circled each other for a moment before both attac#ed head on. $he sound of the two swords ma#ing contact echoed through the facility and had every orc in attendance screaming for blood, cheering on no one in particular but e0cited for the fight itself. $he two pushed at each other with their swords, their faces only a breath apart. *anroar gripped his greatsword with his other hand and pushed harder on 7lawsword. HNot this time,H 4dogold remar#ed as he fell to one #nee under the weight of *anroar. 4dogold then rolled out from under *anroar and slashed upwards, ma#ing contact with *anroar:s gauntlet. *anroar stumbled to the side and 4dogold responded with a stab at *anroar:s armored side. *anroar:s stumble ended as a fall as the stri#e to his side was enough to #noc# him over. *anroar slapped at an incoming stab at his throat from 4dogold with his greatsword. 'e #noc#ed 7lawsword to the side again and again as 4dogold:s arm pumped furiously at the disadvantaged orc. *anroar rolled out of the way of one of 4dogold:s stri#es, ma#ing 4dogold lose his balance momentarily. *n a blur, both orcs swung at the other at the same time. 4dogold swung a blind bac#hand with 7lawsword while *anroar swung upwards with his greatsword from the all fours position his roll had left him in. (oth orcs hustled bac# to their feet and into defensive postures. 4dogold was gripping his nec# where blood had begun squirting out while holding up 7lawsword in *anroar:s direction. *anroar touched at a gash that had been cut into his face by 4dogold. $he cut wasn:t too large for an orc, and was bleeding at a tric#ling pace. 'e smiled and began swinging his greatsword again, H$his time * won:t let you runH *anroar said as his smile grew. H$his time you will wish you had,H 4dogold spo#e and the cheering and yelling suddenly stopped. *n the e0citement of the fight, *anroar had let the fact that 7lawsword was a very potent poisonous weapon, but the rest of the orcs in attendance #new about the sword 4dogold had custom made while rising in the ran#s of the bandit band only a few years ago. *anroar loo#ed around at the e0pressions on all of the orcs: faces. $hey:re waiting for me to finish this, he thought to himself as he loo#ed over to 4dogold, still standing there bleeding from his nec#. (ut as he began to ma#e his final approach towards 4dogold, he found that his feet were very heavy and hard to move. 'e loo#ed down to see if some sort of spell had been cast on the ground but swayed as he did so. *anroar loo#ed bac# up to 4dogold but could barely ma#e out his form on the bac#drop of the other orcs as his vision began to blur. H* bet that cut to the face made the poison reach your brain first,H 4dogold said as he stal#ed *anroar, who now couldn:t manage to maintain his grasp on his greatsword. 4dogold wal#ed to the side of the hunched over *anroar. 'e made his prey stare at the weapon that had #illed him H%o you see it1 $he poison, much more potent than the swill you all use to coo# up here,H 4dogold calmly said while holding 7lawsword only inches from *anroar:s face.

$he cheering had resumed, this time all for 4dogold as the spectator orcs now #new who would win this fight. 4dogold threw his hand and sword up in the air in triumph and the orcs screamed even louder. H$his is power6H he shouted over all of them before running bac# over to *anroar who was now on one #nee, still fighting to regain composure, and ran 7lawsword right through *anroar:s stomach and out of his bac#. 'e held the orc aloft on 7lawsword and roared before charging to the edge of the ledge and #ic#ing *anroar in the chest and off of 7lawsword. $he life was already out of *anroar:s eyes as he descended almost a hundred feet before splattering on the cave floor. AA /o all this time the witch could teleport and didn:t tell me, 'armony thought to herself as she continued her sprint down the dar# cavern. /he #new she couldn:t trust either of them, but she didn:t e0pect them to abandon her in midstride. ,hether it was to abandon all hope and escape or an attempt to beat her to the loot room she was not sure. /he did #now that if it was the latter then all the teleporting in the world wouldn:t assist them in getting past the magical barrier that surrounds that place. On her right hand, 'armony wore a simple ring, silver band with a green gemstone. (ut what differentiated this ring from the average band is that it could detect illusionary magic, specifically shields and traps. lso, with some effort, 'armony had learned to use the ring to disarm and dispel these sorts of magical instances. $his is why 'armony #new that if anyone else but her would have come across that same dead end littered with mining gear they would thin# that they had stumbled across a failed mining e0pedition. (ut with her ring 'armony saw the glowing doorway as clear as sunlight on a bright day. /he hadn:t entered it the doorway when she discovered it. 'armony was hoping to have Mez and 3asia cover her from being attac#ed while dispelling the illusion but she #new now that was no longer an option. $he stone wall face dissipated right before 'armony:s eyes and what replaced it set the 'alfling bac# a few steps. beautifully adorned living area with high valued magic items littered throughout the small cave. 'armony drew her short sword and slowly paced into the room at a low crouch. /he thought that the owner of such powerful magic items must have traps set in case of an intruder li#e herself. (ut years of complacency left Mo#ul without the mind to perform tedious tas#s as securing his lair. ,hen 'armony realized she was alone, she begun rooting through Mo#ul:s possessions. ,ell those guys missed out on a big score, 'armony thought to herself as she poc#eted various gems, )ewels, and potions. $hen it appeared before her, right on a pillow she had wal#ed over when entering the room, Nororin:s and =ilella:s bo0. *t was the ob)ect that they had braved the comple0 to get. /he pic#ed up the bo0 and began inspecting it. ,hile she had to admit that the wor#manship that went into ma#ing the bo0 was impressive, there was seemingly nothing valuable about the bo0. =0pecting the bo0 to be magically sealed, she activated the power of her

ring before opening the lid to find nothing. ,hoever too# this must have whatever was in it, and * bet it was valuable, 'armony thought to herself before stopping to loo# around the room once again. (y the gods, it:s a ,izard:s lair 'armony spo#e in a whisper when the realization finally hit her. /he quic#ly grabbed whatever else was of value around her and made haste for the e0it. 'armony did not want to be around when the ,izard came bac#. /he shuddered at the thought of the inhumane treatment bandit wizards were #nown for. H"ood thing they only as#ed for the bo0,H 'armony said as she left. AA H,hat is an :4dogold:H 3asia as#ed Mez as they tre##ed down the endless hallway. H* don:t #now,H he responded. H/o why are they chanting it up there1H H* don:t #now.H H,ell do you #now where we:re going1H H%o you1H Mez and 3asia both stopped to regard each other. $he two sweaty, bloodied guildsmen had no answer for each other. $hey both loo#ed up and down the hallway in either direction. *t appeared to them that they hadn:t ta#en a step. $he passageway didn:t waver and no light could be seen in the distance. =ven the torches on the walls were uniform as far as the eye could see. HIind of nice for an Orc den,H 3asia finally said to brea# the silence. H*f we:re even still in the cave,H Mez responded. loo# of resignation fell over 3asia:s face and Mez could only loo# away to hide an identical loo#. H,e have to #eep moving,H 3asia said. Mez turned as if to continue their march but fell forward. 3asia moved in time to grab him before he hit the ground but her strength wavered and the two fell together. H,hy bother1 $his arena is of my creation. $here is no way out,H a high pitched male voice in the distance spo#e, Hbut * went through so much trouble to bring you here, don:t you want to see what * have in store for you1.H 3asia began channeling her spells while Mez struggled to his feet and held his daggers with wavering hands. $hey both stared into the infinite distance, awaiting the appearance of their host. *n a blin#, a gnome appeared before Mez and 3asia. Mez braced to attac# but then hesitated in shoc#. Neither of the fighters e0pected to see a gnome down there, especially one that could get so close to them without being detected. H,hy did you bring us here1H Mez managed to say through a tight )aw. HOh no no, this )ust won:t do6 'ow can * adequately test out my new toy with a bro#en doll,H Mo#ul spo#e moc#ingly. 'e held out his hand and wiggled his fingers a few times and a refreshing sensation washed over Mez and 3asia:s bodies. $he pain left Mez:s wounds and the fatigue was lifted from 3asia:s body and they suddenly felt as if they had )ust awa#ed from a good night:s sleep.

HNow, young wizard, what is your name1H a smile beamed across Mo#ul:s wrin#led face and he began to stro#e his bulbous nose. Mo#ul wal#ed right past Mez to 3asia and he began to loo# over her as if she was a mannequin in front of a store. H,hat business is it of yours1H she retorted. H,ow, spun#, yes, * li#e it * li#e it,H Mo#ul replied and the gnome chuc#led before. *n a bold move, Mez too# the laughing gnome as off guard and stabbed at his bac#. t the moment of impact, Mez only felt open air. 'e managed to stop himself short of stabbing 3asia in the leg but saw from behind her that his adversary was now many yards away down the corridor. HOh don:t thin# that *:ve forgotten about you, young rogue,H Mo#ul remar#ed, and 3asia turned to face the dwarf to be shoc#ed by his new appearance. 'is robe shined a bright blue but no light source could be discerned. $he torches in the hallway couldn:t be seen in the brilliance of the light that now emanated off of his body. H-ou serve a special purpose, for while defeating your partner in battle will please me, * also have important business to conduct. -ou will be the test sub)ect for my new toy,H $he gnome threw a small blac# crafted stone to the ground, he began twirling his opaque staff and a lightning bolt appeared inside of it. Mez and 3asia hadn:t noticed the staff in the wizard:s hand until that point. Mez unsheathed his second dagger and 3asia:s red eye appeared slightly brighter than usual as she prepared to use her spells. H(ehold, %ode)u6H shot of flames went into the air from where the crafted stone was laying. ,hat replaced it was a full sized 'ellhound, taller than the dwarf with bristling blac# fur covered in tar with flames shooting out of its body in random swaths in various places on its body. $he beast snarled at Mez and 3asia and they both felt the intensity of its glare. $he hound bar#ed at the pair and its pointy teeth were lic#ed by flame pouring out of its mouth. 3asia shot a magic bolt at the creature but her shot was deflected by a lightning stri#e that shot out from Mo#ul:s staff. $he collision caused a flash and the room shoo#, HNo wizard, your fight is with me6H Mo#ul yelled before firing an arc of lightning at 3asia. /he )umped bac# to avoid the blast but was unprepared when the one bolt branched off into many and all struc# her at once. 3asia yelped in pain and was thrown bac# many feet. H3asia6H Mez yelled as he turned bac# to helplessly watch his partner get thrown bac#. 'e turned bac# to the gnome )ust in time to see a flaming hellhound pounce on him. Mez hit the ground with the hellhound on top of him with the wind #noc#ed out of him. 'e quic#ly regained his composure to see the hellhound rearing its head bac# as if it were about to shower him with flames. Mez #ic#ed both his feet upwards and the hound rolled over him. (oth parties )umped to their feet and faced the other. H7ome now, don:t tell me that:s all the fight you have. * haven:t had a battle with another wizard for many years, * was hoping for a little fun,H Mo#ul said menacingly as he wal#ed past the MezL%ode)u standoff towards 3asia. Out of the dar# came two magic bolts directed at Mo#ul, both of which he deflected with his staff. H*s that your only tric#1 *f * would have #nown that * would have let the smelly orcs have their way with you so not to waste my time,H Mo#ul began to sound agitatedJ he wal#ed faster towards the wizard. *n a wisp, all of the torches in the

hallway went out. $he corridor was now pitch blac#. Mo#ul stopped his confident stride and began the mutterings of another spell. H;earned this one from Mez,H 3asia spo#e in a quic# deep tone. /o quic# that Mo#ul only managed to loo# up fast enough to see 3asia leap into the air and somersault over him. s she approached the pea# of the )ump, her arm outstretched and she let loose a powerful fireball from her hand that crashed down on Mo#ul. /he landed on her feet on the other side of the wizard and 3asia appeared much as she did when they encountered the wizard >anir at the crossroads town. 'er garments and hair flowed in the breeze generated by the heat given off by her body. 'er one blue eye had also turned red and her comple0ion was turning bright red. 3asia:s arms flowed every which way while flames danced around them. *t was at the moment of impact, when the flames erupted into the air, the hellhound %ode)u paid no mind to Mez. $he hound sniffed at the air and seemed preoccupied with the fight between the two. Mez saw this opportunity and pounced. 'e rushed the hound with both daggers in hand and stabbed each one into its shoulders. %ode)u howled in pain and his whole body erupted into flames. %espite this, Mez held on for dear life to his daggers, still in %ode)u, as the hellhound charged 3asia:s position. Mo#ul:s magical barrier managed to bloc# the brunt of the magical attac#, but he had not anticipated such intensity of fire magic at such a short range. $he wizard ran the calculations through his head. $here:s no way such a lowly wizard should be able to con)ure up such powerful flames. $o be able to infuse enough magical energy into a fireball using flame of this realm that isn:t magical at all...in a moment of clarity, Mo#ul figured out what #ind of opponent he had bec#oned. 'e turned to stri#e out at the fiery 3asia but she assaulted him with a wave of heat that repelled his lightning stri#es. &earing for his life, the gnome deactivated the :arena: and the four found themselves in another cavern not unli#e others they had traveled earlier. flame tornado appeared before 3asia. $he gnome began to flee down the corridor, but then stopped and turned many feet away. H%o you thin# *...H Mo#ul began to say before realizing he was staring down a fiery twister that was ripping up the stone around it. Molten roc# was thrown every which way and the cavern began to sha#e. 3asia was loc#ed in a spell casting trance, she didn:t hear or see anything around her. /he was only focused on Mo#ul. /he didn:t hear Mez yell H3asia loo# out6H right before letting go of the daggers on the charging hellhound. 'e fell hard to the ground and rolled in pain from being burned from the flames. %ode)u leaped at 3asia from behind. 3asia had no time to react as the hellhound erupted into flames and flew past 3asia and into her flame tornado. $he twister doubled in size and intensity and charged down the corridor at Mo#ul. %ode)u:s face appeared on the side of the twister facing Mo#ul and it let out a deafening growl before crashing into his position. $he ensuing e0plosion was one that neither warrior had ever witnessed. blinding flash followed by all the air in the room being suc#ed past them in a strong, hot gust. $hen a shoc#wave that seemed to bend stone itself traveled at them and blasted Mez and 3asia bac# a great

distance. $he two bounced off of the cavern walls as they flew bac# for dozens of yards. &inally the sound of the blast was li#e bombs had gone off in every inch of the cavern that had preceded them, send roc# and debris in every direction. AA >ohan and >ason led the charge, shields at the ready, with $unhar )ogging up behind them. $hey had located the entrance to the orc:s lair and were ready to go in, swords swinging. ll three of the eager fighters were #noc#ed to the ground when the earth buc#led before them. $he whole region shoo# violently as if a powerful earthqua#e was occurring. H;oo#6H >ohan yelled and pointed a few hundred yards ahead of them the ground shot into the air and then began to collapse on itself. H(y the gods6H >ason barely gasped out as they observed the growing sin#hole envelop the plains area beyond the entrance to the cave. ,hen the ground finally stopped sha#ing, the three read each other:s e0pressions. $hey tried to discern if anyone had any idea what had )ust occurred. H%o we still go in1H >ohan as#ed $unhar after many moments of the three lying prone on the ground. H* don:t thin# there:s any more :in: to go me boyH $unhar replied as he got up and dusted himself off. s they approached the opening of the cave they spied a small figure coming running out the cave. >ohan stepped in front of the three with shield leading, but then rela0ed his posture when he discerned his 'alfling teammate was the one approaching them. H'armony6H >ohan yelled as he ran to her. H/ave ya blubbering elf, *:m fine. >ust a few bruises is all,H she spo#e as she came in range of the three she slowed her pace. H re we safe1H >ason as#ed. H,ho:s he1H 'armony loo#ed over to $unhar as she pointed at the human. H/it here, *:ll heal your wounds.H >ohan relieved 'armony of her bag and they assisted her to the mouth of the cave before she laid down and too# a moment to embrace the mid5 afternoon sun. $his time of year it was rare to get afternoons as nice as this, she regretted that she had )ust spent most of the day in a cave. /he heard them tal#ing to her, but she wasn:t ready to spea# yet, so she )ust closed her eyes and rela0ed for the moment. 3asia and Mez are most li#ely dead was the first thought that came to mind. 'armony:s eyes popped open and she was greeted by all three men staring down at her. HOy you guys are an ugly lot. nd yer breaths could use some mint,H she said as she waved her arms in front of her to get them all away from her. /he sat up and began spea#ing H$he bo0 and some valuable loot is in that bag. ,e can split the reward for the bo0 but the lot is mine since * didn:t see any of you :heroes: in those caverns.H 'armony then loo#ed over to >ohan H* lost contact with Mez and 3asia. $he orcs had a wizard too. *:m betting that:s where the blast came from. No one behind me would have lived.H >ohan:s face turned pale and he loo#ed as if he was )ust struc# in the face. H,ell there:s a chance5Hhe began to spea# but 'armony reached up and put her hand on his face. H$he blast came from the lowest levels,H she whispered, Hif they had anything to do with it there is no way they avoided it or the fallout that followed.H >ohan loo#ed away from 'armony who gave him a single pat on the shoulder before using him to hoist herself up.

H;et that be a lesson, the first lesson actually,H $unhar said to the two men standing ne0t to 'armony, H%on:t enter situations that ye:re not prepared for. Mez and 3asia were obviously too ine0perienced to be on these roads. $hose damned adventurer guilds thin# they can teach this stuff in classrooms and with boo#s. $hey do more harm than good.H silence hung in the air after $unhar:s last statement. H/o how do you intend to train us, master1H >ohan as#ed and 'armony began wal#ing towards her bag. >ason loo#ed at the dwarf and bac# at the elf before saying H,ait * never agreed to be trained by anyone.H H ye, ye didn:t young human. (ut lemme as# you this, do you intend on sitting on that wall until you:re sent on ye ne0t suicide mission1H and as $unhar as#ed >ason began to loo# away, he #new the answer. H,ell this means * can no longer go bac# to $rafford, * too# an oath.H 'e replied while staring at the ground. H;et 'armony and * ta#e care of all the little details, you )ust get ready to train, it:s going to be a long winter.H $unhar stated and he and 'armony both laughed. AA /he was surprised to be awa#e, she was sure she had died. $he last thing 3asia remembered was the force of the blast shooting her bac# and what felt li#e all life as she #nown it e0ploding into little pieces all around her. 'er eyes darted around as she tried to ma#e sense of the scene around her. $he cave was totally dar# but dust particles could still be seen floating around in the air. /he tensed her body and realized that none of her limbs were damaged or heavily burdened. 3asia also noticed that she was holding a small stone figure in her hand. /he brought it up to her face and realized that she was holding the hellhound statue that Mo#ul had used to summon %ode)u. 3asia sat up and small stones and dust cascaded from either side of her. *t was then she felt all the aches and pains from her )ourney down the corridor. H3asia, is that you1H she heard echo from an un#nown distance from her. *t was Mez, she #new, at least it sounded li#e him. 'e also sounded li#e he was in pain. H-eah it:s me, you o#1H she responded as she fought to stand up. H*:ll liveH Mez stated as she slowly approached the sound of 3asia:s voice. (y the time the two made it to each other, their eyes had began to ad)ust to the dar#ness. HNice attac#, but maybe not in close quarters ne0t time please1H Mez as#ed seriously but with a hint of teasing in his voice. H* didn:t e0pect it to be so powerfulJ it had something to do with this...H 3asia responded as she held her hand out and showed Mez the statue of %ode)u she was holding. HNice find, * stumbled upon his staff, trade1H Mez as#ed as he held out the staff for 3asia to see. 3asia stared at the staff for many moments. /he could feel the magical energy coming off of the ob)ect. *t almost felt as if the staff was calling out to her. ,ithout giving it anymore thought, she snatched the staff from Mez:s hand and tossed him the statue. H%eal,H she replied as she inspected the staff. /he willed her magic into the device. $aunch taught their wizards how to use all #nown implements, but this staff was different than anything 3asia had encountered. s the implement came

alive with electrical energy, a swirl of fire began to surround the current inside of the staff. $he image was awe5inspiring for the two warriors who had never seen anything li#e it. Mez momentarily regretted ma#ing the trade, but was happy instead to #now that his partner would be more capable in future battles. $he light from the staff illuminated the area enough for Mez and 3asia to discern that the way behind them had caved in. /o with their path predetermined, the duo began their hi#e into the un#nown dar#ness, hoping it led to a way out. AA 'e thought he was the only one still alive. 4dogold used all of his strength to lift himself out from under the cave that had collapsed on top of him. 'is newly regained #ingdom was nothing but rubble and dust. ll of his minions, new and old were scattered about. ll 4dogold could ma#e out were random limbs appearing from under heavy piles of stone. 'e slowly stepped over various piles and bodies not #nowing what to do or where to go. 4dogold had no clue what had triggered the e0plosion, but #new it had to have something to do with the humans he was hunting that he spotted on the bridge earlier in battle. Oh how he regretted letting the same destroyers of his last #ingdom destroy this one as well. Out of anger, he stomped a stone into pebbles. H* ,*;; I*;; -O46H 4dogold roared and the e0clamation echoed eerily. H nd * will assist,H a voice came from beyond 4dogold:s vision in the direction of the la#e. $he doppelganger approached cautiously, not sure if 4dogold would #ill him for failing in his mission at such grievous consequences. $o his relief, 4dogold only smiled in return as the doppelganger dropped to one #nee. H*f they are still alive, * will find them and * will #ill them,H the doppelganger spo#e. 4dogold grabbed him by his shirt and lifted the doppelganger off the ground and brought his face up against his before saying HNo my assassin, ,= will #ill them6H AA H,ell where:s the worth in a bo06 *t:s what was inside that was valuable to me ye dolts6H =ilella e0claimed as she thrashed about in anger in her hospital bed. H$hat was all that was requested, maybe if you would have told us the contents of the bo0 then * could have found it for ye,H 'armony responded with contempt from across the room. /he stared out the window to >ason and >ohan, who $unhar ordered to escort her bac# into town while he made long term arrangements. 'armony had her hopes set on spending the winter in quiet, comfortable &allcrest. (ut now with the diversion of the orc ambush and the first heavy snow of the season sitting lazily in the s#y above them waiting to fall, there was no way any other caravans would be leaving this season. $his instead meant a long winter in $rafford, a place that she considered abysmal. *t also meant that instead of a winter of sleeping in and living off of her earnings, she would have to assist $unhar in training >ohan and >ason. /he en)oyed wor#ing with the dwarf because he always seemed to get into profitable situations. =specially the last one 'armony thought to herself when she felt her coin pouch inside of her )ac#et, teeming with coins she

earned from selling the items she found in the cave. /he #new better than to report to =ilella with them or else she may have tried to sta#e a claim on them. /he watched the grumpy dwarf fiddle through her belongings loo#ing for her payment. =ilella was mumbling obscenities the entire time she searched, which made 'armony smile. $here was no such thing as fair when dealing with rogues, only agreements. /he empathized for =ilella losing her husband, but a deal is a deal and empathy wasn:t going to pay for her resupply, or the e0penses she would incur training the two $unhar pic#ed up. /he caught the bag of coins as =ilella tossed it to her from across the room. /he smiled in return and began to ma#e her way out of the room before =ilella as#ed H%id those two human ma#e it1H her voice was grave, as if she already #new the answer. HNo, they died,H 'armony responded in her trademar# fashion of bluntness and uncaring. H,ell that:s what they get eh1 'ad no business out there in the wilds,H =ilella said barely over a whisper. 'armony nodded and continued on her way. AA ,hat felt li#e two days and two nights to the weary pair were only the remainder of the day and the entirety of the evening. Mez and 3asia followed the cavern which luc#ily led outdoors. $he sun had )ust climbed over the horizon, but Mez and 3asia didn:t #now that. $he s#y was thic# with clouds and the air was white with snow as the first snowstorm of the year was in full force. $hey appeared on the side of a mountain not far from the pea#. $he wind whipped around and Mez and 3asia were horribly underdressed for the weather but it did not matter to them at that moment. $hey were finally free of the stale stench and perpetual dar#ness that had become their prison since the fight. t the bottom of the mountain, Mez spotted a large city with high walls. H%o you #now of the place1H 3asia as#ed over the howling winds. HNo, but * doubt its &allcrest,H Mez replied. H* thin# we:ve run out of options.H H$aunch will not be happy that we did not ma#e it to &allcrest,H H3ight now, * really don:t care.H Mez was impressed with the resolve in 3asia:s last statement. 'e hoped she would stand )ust as strong when $aunch found them and punished them for failing a mission. Mez had failed enough missions to understand the dire circumstance. AA $he town of $rafford was in mourning. $he loss of two dozen strong, young men was especially hard to a town that would need all the help they could get to ma#e it through another winter. 7ole, /ergeant of the $rafford "uard, made no delay in calling to arms all able bodied men and women in town to his service. None would refuse or they would ris# being e)ected from the city:s walls with none of their possessions. (ut it was not the

lac# of troops that compelled the e0perienced guardsman to e0ecute the call to arms. 7ole loo#ed out upon the town from the highest tower on the wall. 'e #new those that traveled with Mez and 3asia were somewhere in the town. 'e already had a <rivate interview =ilella and verified that they were behind the walls and no one would dare leave right before the storm everyone felt coming. 7ole would find them, and through them he would find Mez and 3asia. nd then all will be right again 7ole thought as he stro#ed his long, pointy nose. AA