1

The long journey north was tedious. The road was well maintained, but the surrounding countryside was mostly forested with a scattering of farms and villages. They were small, like the places that the companions came from themselves. Some were not much more than crossroads. There were very few inns this far north in the Empire. They spent much of their time camping by the roadside, staying at an inn only when one could be found or afforded.

They ran into the odd person on the road, but it was usually only the occasional farmer with a cart laden with hay. For the first half of the trip, they did not find anyone from Domara. They longed for more information but had not found any yet. The one thing they had in abundance was a lot of time to talk to each other and with two new additions to the group, there was much to talk about.

One clear evening they camped in a grassy glade off from the road a few yards. With both tents and a small Gnomish one, set up in a small cluster around their little campfire. Warming themselves by the flames, they began to talk about home.

Elwin and Emerson sat back against a large, gnarled log that they had found near the clearing. They dragged in over next to the campfire, so they had something to sit on while enjoying the evening. They had just finished eating a light dinner and now they both smoked a pipe, a new habit they had picked up from Selby. The Gnomes loved to smoke pipes and Rowdy had brought his own from home. Elwin and Emerson bought theirs in Nina where a Gnomish craftsman was happy to sell them. Usually tobacco or cloves were used, but Rowdy had told them of some other plants that could also be dried and smoked. Some had sweet, flavoured tastes that the Gnomes like to save for festival times.

Yet Gnomes were not the only ones who liked to smoke. It was becoming increasingly common among Humans and Elves as well. Pirates and sailors began introducing the new fashion when they brought tobacco, along with other new plants and ingredients, back from the southern islands over a hundred years ago. This included the latest product opium, which none of them had ever smoked before, but Elwin was reminded of the man thrown out of the Opium Den back in Verant City. Opium use was becoming more common across the Empire, but Elwin was unsure of whether this was a good thing or not.

Selby tended to be closed and quiet. He had been like that since the day they met him. He was talkative, but said little about himself. He was good with a sword, he could dance and had a silver tongue and a sharp wit, but beyond that he was a mystery. Anna had explained at length, what it was like to live on a farm. Selby and Rowdy had lived on a farm, Rowdy because he lived in a village and had a trade. But Selby? When Anna was finished, Elwin decided it was time to ask some questions.

“You know Selby, you never told us about yourself?” Elwin provoked.

“Aye, what’s to tell really?” He said with a shrug. His answered was not very helpful.

Elwin pressed him further. “You have a strange accent. I’m not familiar with it. Where are you from exactly?”

“Well, if you must know, I come from out east, near Nashalon. It was an army outpost at one time, but now it’s a busy town along the main road heading east out of the Empire,” Selby replied. It was the first time he had mentioned home.

“I thought there was a treaty with Heathlon that made colonizing the east off limits?” Rowdy spoke up.

Selby laughed. “Sure, there is. But nobody cares what Heathlon thinks! They are not going to go to war over it,” Selby assured him.

“Does this place have a name?” Emerson questioned.

“The town is called Saxa, unofficially of course. Technically, the place does not exist, and you won’t find it on any map, but it’s in the territory of Karella,” Selby replied.

“What does your family do for a living, if they weren’t farmers I mean,” Elwin asked.

“My parent ran an inn,” Selby replied with a broad smile. He was starting to remember it with relish. With dreamy eyes he continued. “It’s called the Whistling Winds Inn. It’s a beautiful little place with a dozen guest rooms and a huge stone fireplace in the common room.”

“Sounds like an excellent place to live. Why leave such a comfortable place and become an adventurer?” Elwin wondered.

“Aye, now that is a complicated story I’d rather not go into now. Besides, it may not be suitable for a young Lady’s ears,” Selby said with a raised eyebrow and a sly look over at Anna. He was still deep in thoughts about the old inn that his parents still ran.

But Anna was just as interested to hear this story. “I think I can handle it. I was raised on a farm with five brothers you know!”

Selby nodded to her.

“So be it then. Well, I never planned on being an adventurer, it just sort of… happened. I had to leave town and get out of the territory for my own good,” he said staring into the fire.

“You must have done something bad!” Emerson commented.

Selby laughed. “Aye, I guess you could say that! But it’s not so black and white where I come from. You people don’t understand because you come from a peaceful part of the Empire where bad things rarely happen. It’s not so where I lived in Saxa. Truth be told, it was a small town, but there was much corruption that went on there.”

“How do you mean?” Elwin probed further. This place called Saxa was starting to sound interesting. Why was Selby so uninterested in talking about it? He wondered.

“Well, far away from Verant City many things are different. The generals and their legions act more like warlords. They used the territory as their own personal playground. I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t mean it like they are bullies who push people around. I mean they would wage real wars against each other over land or disputes over honour. In the last twenty years, my home shire had gone to war with other neighbouring shires at least a dozen times!” Selby tried to explain.

Elwin and his friends recoiled. What were they hearing? Wars between various Lords! I seemed strange and impossible.

Selby continued. “I know, it sounds mazy, but it’s true! There is very little in the way of Verantian law or peace out east. They fight each other over pride, honour, coin and territory. Karella is a war zone in a lot of ways.”

“You were involved in one of these little wars?” Elwin questioned.

But Selby shook his head. “No, I stayed clear of such dealing as best I could. Not that anyone can stay completely clean of such things. My family owned a nice little inn, like I said. Nay, I skipped town because of a woman.”

Anna perked up when he mentioned a woman. “You left because of a woman?”

“Aye. I consider myself a rogue of sorts, maybe even a dandy if you will,” Selby replied with a wink towards Anna. “And quite the dancer.”

Anna blushed.

Elwin nodded knowing that a dandy was more of an upper-class term for someone with great charisma and wealth, but not much ambition.

“Some might call you a blackguard,” Anna pointed out. A blackguard was a seducer of woman, unfaithful and untrustworthy. Blackguard was more of a lower-class term used to describe someone who is out for their own personal pleasure and not much else.

“If they do, so be it,” He replied with a careless shrug, but it was obvious to Elwin that he was bothered by the comment. “I guess one might say I seduced the wrong woman, but it was more like the wrong woman seduced me!”

Anna was sceptical, but the boys were on the edge of their seats as Selby recounted the tale of his exploits. Despite the towns smallish size there was a tight-knit group of upper-class people who ran the town using the local Earl as their puppet. He was weak and the generals and rich families took full advantage, assembling private armies, spies and legions of followers. “There will always be people who want to cling on to those who have power,” Selby commented. Selby continued by explaining how he had learned to fit into the upper-class. He studied them intently, learning their speech and mannerisms. He learned to dress like them and eventually he started to work his way into the inner circles of the wealth, despite only being of middle-class origins himself.

“The entire class structure is bullshit! If I had been born ruling class, I would have been a great hero, a troubadour no doubt! Instead, because I’m from a lower class, I’m called a blackguard or worst things. They threaten me with jail and torture! I was forced to leave my home!” Selby added near the end of his story. He had become quite angry with his past life and the circumstances that led to his wondering the Empire.

Elwin understood why he did not like to dwell on his past. They had left their home willingly. Nobody forced them out. Elwin supposed that they could always go back to Salome Hollow if they had too. To be utterly homeless and forced to leave their family would be a bitter pill to swallow.

Anna had looked away guiltily when the word blackguard came up. She was not always as careful as she should be with her words and sometimes it irked the others to hear her childish musings on subjects she barely understood. Being the youngest in the group it was accepted as part of growing up and not much was said to her on the subject.

“Get to the woman already!” Emerson said trying to change the mood to something more light-hearted.

“Aye, I am! She was the most incredibly beautiful creature you could’ve ever laid eyes upon! No wait! That’s not entirely true, Quinn was more beautiful still!” Selby said with a slight nod towards Emerson. “All the men I knew wanted her when the saw her radiances, but she was beyond reach for most people. She was the youngest of the Earl’s four wives.”

“You seduced a married woman?” Anna gasped. It was scandalous for such a thing to happen. In Verant adultery was very serious not in terms of jail, but in terms of honour. People might fight a duel to the death over such a thing.

“Nay, of course not!” He replied. “She seduced me. It happened one night, at a party of sorts. That’s when our affair started. It lasted almost a full year before I was finally caught. Normally something like this could end in a deadly duel. I know, I have fought and survived three duels of honour already! But the Earl’s wife? I had to leave town immediately or face torture and a brutal death. By the Gods, I had to leave the provincial territory for that matter!” Selby said staring off in the fire. But it did not really matter who seduced who. The affair was still a very serious matter for both sides and the damage had been done.

“Wow, you fought in duels?” Rith said. Duels were mostly told in stories and legends, a way of solving problems between individuals without involving entire houses or legions. It was like arena fighting, only it was over honour instead of freedom and gold.

“Aye, I have extensive training in swordsmanship. I also know how to use a musket, the ruling class likes to hunt with them these days,” Selby pointed out.

“She wasn’t the only one, was she?” Elwin gave Selby a sly look.

Selby was a bit more evasive on this question, but still came forward with an answer. “I may have been involved with the daughter of a wealthy merchant as well, but I didn’t have to leave because of her.”

“So, what did you do after you left?” Elwin enquired.

“I came west into the heart of the Empire, looking for adventure, I guess. I had no real purpose in my life,” Selby explained.

“Well, that sounds a bit familiar,” Emerson commented with a laugh. He of course referred to their current situation. They had no real purpose either or at least they had not found one yet.

“Our generation is lost, I fear,” Selby said with a sigh.

“How do you mean?” Anna asked confused.

“Years of various foreign wars and seven years of civil war have left this Empire a shell of its former self,” said Selby. “The young are disillusioned with what we are supposed to believe and do… and what actually goes on.”

“Maybe this new Emperor will change it?” Rith suggested.

“By the Gods I hope he does! The Empire will collapse and fragment if he is shown to be weak. The writing is on the wall now,” Selby concluded.

2

Over the next few days Selby opened a little more and started to tell them about some of the places he had been and some of the adventures he had been on. He had met an adventuring party a few years ago and travelled with them for a while. They were monster specialist and always looked for reports of villages and farms being attacked by various goblin and orc tribes. People in the wilderness were poor and the jobs did not pay very well. They never seemed to earn enough money cleaning out hordes of creatures. Selby grew restless. He was used to living a higher lifestyle and wanted to earn more coin, if he could. He had heard of old ruins that were south of Verant City that they could be explored and plundered for the treasure they might hold, but the adventuring party simply was not interested in changing roles from hunters to explorers.

Selby became disenchanted with the group. Eventually, he left them and came to the city. He had trouble finding others that might be interested in exploring some old ruins, so he sot them out on his own. It took a long time before he found the first one. But that was not the only problem. The ruins were dangerous and without someone else to help him, it was impossible to explore without getting trapped or killed. The ruins still had creatures crawling around them after all and without back up, he had to give up on the idea. Unable to explore further, he returned to Verant City to look for new companions to form a party. That was how he met Levka and Tram. They travelled around for a few years until that fateful day when they met Elwin and his friends. They all knew the rest of that story.

Yet even as Selby was opening to the group, he was not the only new member of the party. The latest party member was the Gnome, Rowdy Pinkerton, although he was merely hired on as help and was not really a member of the party, he was treated as such none-the-less.

As they walked along the road one day, it became very apparent that Rowdy loved to talk. And if there was anything that he loved to talk about it was drinking, his home village of Nina and above all engineering.

Elwin felt that there was no more boring subject in the world than engineering and thanked the Gods that he had not set out to be an engineer!

“…And that’s how we Gnomes discovered fireworks!” Rowdy said concluding one of his famous diatribes. “How that became gunpowder is another story entirely…”

Elwin rolled his eyes certain that he’d heard this story at least twice before already, but he said nothing. Elwin wondered how something as interesting and fun as fireworks be reduced to such mundane details of its creation!

“Do you know anything else besides engineering and invention? Or is that all you dwarves do?” Emerson asked. He had a smarmy smile and winked at Elwin when he said it.

“Listen here you idiot! I’m a Gnome! Dwarves are a little taller and a lot stouter! And they all have long beards, even the women. By Cuthbert don’t you Humans know anything!” Rowdy’s face was red with frustration.

Emerson merely laughed, which caused everyone else to laugh along with him. Rowdy, with his hands on his hips and his short stature, looked like a statue one might find in a rich family’s garden.

“Who’s Cuthbert anyway?” Anna wondered with all seriousness. Rowdy had mentioned the name many times, but had never really explained who it was exactly.

“You’ve never heard of Cuthbert, I suppose? Head too full of Fire Lord mush, am I right? Our Lord this and our Lord that! Your Fire Lord gave you all kinds of mazy ideas, didn’t he? You think that Gnomes worship the same Gods as Humans?” Rowdy questions challenged Anna to think, but to no avail.

“I don’t know, I never really thought about it before,” She replied with a shrug. Religion was just something that was already there long before her. She simple accepted it without question, without thinking about it.

“Well Cuthbert is the God of the Gnomish people, the father of the entire race, our creator. Who do you think your creator might be?” He questioned her.

“Wow, a religious debate, right here within our group! I’m overcome with… blasé!” Emerson said rolling his eyes and laughing sarcastically.

Rowdy gave him a scolding look. “You should think more with your head and less with your sword.”

“What good would that do?” Elwin added light-heartedly. Everyone laughed again. Even Emerson had to smile at that one.

“Hey, were trying to have a conversation here!” Anna said looking cross at the both of them. “I think Rowdy is right, we need more thinking around here, real debate. We’re acting too much on impulse and look where it has gotten us! How many more people must be killed before you start thinking before you act? Honestly, if I knew you would be this disorganized, I would have stayed at home!”

“You begged us to bring you along!” Emerson exclaimed.

“That was before I knew you were all mazy headed!” Anna shot back.

Elwin knew she was frustrated with them. Emerson never took anything seriously. Selby was a mystery in many ways, only Rith ever supported her and Elwin often wondered why he did that exactly.

Elwin was not happy about her comments, especially about the deaths, but he would not get into a fight about it now.

“So, the Fire Lord is our creator? Is that what you are saying?” Elwin finally spoke up trying to understand Rowdy’s question. Elwin knew little about religion it was not important to his family. They observed various rites and festivals, nothing more.

“Is that what you believe?” Rowdy asked.

“You know something different?” Elwin questioned him.

“What does anyone know really?” Rowdy replied. Again, he taunted them avoiding the real question and giving a strange cryptic response.

“By the Gods, why can’t you make sense? Instead, you talk in riddles!” Elwin said. Elwin had enough of these frustrating people. He stormed off, to talk to one of the others as they traveled the road.

Rowdy called out to him. “The Fire Lord is the champion of the Human race, but not the creator!”

“Then which God is our creator?” Anna asked Rowdy perplexed.

Rowdy was still watching Elwin, but he would not turn and speak to him. Rowdy turned to Anna and said. “What makes you think you were created by a God?” A sly smile crossed his face. Anna pressed him for a more solid answer, but Rowdy was stubborn and would not tell her anything more.

As if to goat him further, Emerson started in about the woman that came to Rowdy’s door. “Who was the cute little girl that came to your home the day we met you?”

“That’s Rowdy’s girlfriend!” Anna jumped in before Rowdy could give his own reply.

Rowdy gave her a harsh look.

“She not my girlfriend!” He snapped. “She just a young woman… who happens to be… my friend.”

“Ah, Rowdy has a girl back home!” Emerson teased. “Are you going to marry her when you return?”

“No! I mean yes! I…” Rowdy was not sure how to put it.

“Her name is Ellie! They had a bit of a spat before we left the village!” Anna said laughing. “Is that what you were fighting about?”

“It wasn’t a fight,” Rowdy said defensively. “I just had to clear some things up was all.”

“So, he does have to marry her then,” Selby added in. Everyone laughed.

“Foolish Humans! Do you ever shut up?” Rowdy was red faced with embarrassment. He would have gone on to explain the situation, but for some reason he just did not feel like talking any more.

The rest of the party breathed a sigh of relief and walked the rest of the day in silence and were thankful for it.

3

They had been walking for two weeks. It was late in the afternoon when they decide that they should rest for the day. It was around that time they could hear a sound coming from up ahead. Suddenly a wagon came into view from around the bend. It was pulled by two beautiful black stallions. The wagon was covered and they could see it was a family traveling south.

“Hail strangers!” The middle-aged man with the reigns said. As they approached, he slowed the horses down until they came to a stop next to the group.

“Well met!” Elwin greeted them. “Where do you hail from?”

“Domara,” said the gaunt looking woman sitting next to man in the wagon.

“There aren’t many people out here these days,” the man commented. “Where are you headed?”

“Domara,” Elwin replied.

“Really? You know what’s going on there?” The man questioned he stared at them intently trying to figure out what might be going on here.

“Not really. We’re going to make camp nearby. Are you interested in joining us?” Selby asked.

The man looked at the woman. She scanned the group. Her eyes came to rest on Anna. She nodded her head to her husband.

“Alright we can camp for the night, I guess. We just passed a clearing a few hundred yards back,” The man replied.

Elwin’s instincts were right. They turned out to be a family of four, husband, wife and two young daughters about ten and twelve years old. They were farmers that had lived in Domara all of their life.

They all sat around a large campfire that night sharing food between them. The wife, whose name was Prim, was a great cook and did not mind cooking up a delicious stew for all ten of them. The man was named Luddin and the two girls were called Lana and Gwenn.

Elwin sat next to Luddin and they talked together while they ate. Luddin explained that they had packed up and were leaving Domara for good. Their small farm had been near the west side of the town.

“So why are you leaving the town?” Elwin asked as they all quietly ate their stew.

“You haven’t heard what’s happening up there?” Luddin questioned.

“We’ve heard only rumours,” Selby replied.

Elwin confirmed with a nod of his head.

“About earthquakes I suppose?” Luddin questioned.

“Yes,” Elwin replied.

“Our house collapsed when a really strong one hit,” Prim said adding to the conversion, she sat close to her husband. Their children ate in silence kneeling at their feet.

“What about the town itself?” Rowdy asked.

“I know of a few places that I heard were damaged, but we lived outside the town and I didn’t like going into town if I could avoid it, especially after the first few quakes started to happen,” Luddin replied. It did not seem to bother or surprise him that he was talking to a Gnome.

“First few? How many has there been?” Elwin enquired.

“Oh, by the time we left, there must have been a dozen or more. Maybe four major quakes and the rest were minor tremors, but they still shook the house something fierce until it finally fell. The whole place is cursed if you ask me!” Luddin said.

Prim nodded in agreement adding. “I was luck enough to be out in the garden at the time.”

Elwin nodded. “So, you’re just going to leave your property behind?”

“It’s not worth rebuilding if the quakes don’t stop,” Luddin said with a shrugged. “They started a couple of weeks ago, but only the Gods know when they will stop.”

“Only the Gods know why this is happening,” Prim added.

“You folks seem awfully interested in Domara. Why are you heading there anyway?” Luddin asked.

“We are escorting the engineer here,” Elwin pointed to Rowdy. “We have an imperial order. We need to report back on the situation in the town. I guess the Emperor had heard the rumours as well.”

“I don’t know much about this new Emperor,” Luddin said shaking his head. “But I’m sure you’re going to find that the town is in rough shape. It maybe too late to bother with rebuilding it.”

“That will be for me to decide!” Rowdy proclaimed.

However, Elwin was starting to wonder if Luddin might be right. What if they get there and the city is already devastated? He thought. This could be a shorter mission than expected.

4

A few nights later, the party had camped near the road once more. There were more people starting to leave Domara and come down the road. They camped back in the bush so they would not be disturbed by the strangers. That evening, not long after dinner they were all very tired and the group started to turn in for the night. Now that they had three tents, two human-size tents that could sleep two men each and Rowdy had a small tent that would sleep two gnomes or one person, it was decided that they would give Anna the one-person tent since she was the only woman in the group. It was the proper thing to do, even Rowdy agreed. Anna retired to the little tent in private. That left enough sleeping space for four and there were five of them now.

“I’m just fine sleeping out under the stars and keeping watch,” Selby said to the group. They all sat around the campfire, the tents behind them. It was a clear night sky with both moons nearing half full and shining brightly.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Elwin asked, but it was half-hearted. They had walked a long distance that day and spent all evening talking. They were all exhausted. Their destination was close now, only a few days away.

“Aye, I love it! I used to be a dandy, but now I’m an outdoorsman at heart. I love the stars at night,” Selby replied. He relaxed against an old log before a campfire that sparkled and popped.

“Well, I’ve had enough tonight. I’m going to sleep. I’m bunking with Emerson tonight,” Rith declared and then got up and head to one of the tents.

“What? That means I’m stuck with Rowdy!” Elwin bemoaned.

“Hey, I heard that!” Rowdy complained. But that did not stop him from getting up and heading to the tent along with Elwin. They bickered to each other in whispered tones as they both climbed inside the tent.

With everyone inside their tents, Emerson got up and came over to sit next to Selby. Selby did not stir.

“Look, I want to show you something,” Emerson said. He pulled out the ring and gave it to Selby to examine. “Remember that fight in the tavern at Golden Meadows?”

“I’m not going to forget that anytime soon,” Selby replied darkly.

“Well, that huge warrior that Rith killed, was wearing that ring,” Emerson explained. “I took it before we fled. Later in Verant City Elwin and I took it to a jeweller. It turned out the jeweller knew the ring. You see the engraving on the inside?”

Selby looked carefully at it. He shifted it in the dancing firelight to get a better look. “O.B.C.” He read.

“The jeweller told us that it means Order of the Blood Chalice,” Emerson explained. “But the man knew nothing else beyond that. I was wondering if you knew of this order.”

Selby’s eyes danced with recognition. “I’ve seen a ring like this before!”

“Really?” Emerson said. “The jeweller said they were custom made, only two dozen at the most.”

“It was a soldier out east,” Selby said, but he shook his head with uncertainty. “I think a nobleman. I want to say house of Thaine, but I can’t be positive.”

“That makes a bit of sense,” Emerson said. “Wasn’t Golden Meadows a Thaine stronghold?”

Selby nodded. He turned to face Emerson. His eyes staring into Emerson’s steel grey ones. He kept his voice low and calm. “I’ve heard a few vague rumours of this Order of the Blood Chalice, dark treasonous rumours. Travellers from out east claim that the house of Thaine may have joined with dark forces. No one knows anything for sure, but this Blood Chalice order, or whatever it is, could be involved in a conspiracy.”

“To overthrow the Emperor?” Emerson questioned.

Selby shook his head. “I don’t know. No one really does. As I said, these are merely rumours. We would need one of their members to talk to know for sure.”

Emerson remained tense. He questioned. “Can I trust you to keep this a secret?”

“With absolute certainty,” Selby replied. He actually seemed somewhat offended that Emerson would ask such a thing. He softened his expression and said. “You and your friends can trust me completely.”

“Good,” Emerson said.

Once he was satisfied that Selby could be trusted, he proceeded to explain who Vask Fillius was and how they came to meet him in a strange alleyway in the Wizard Quarter.

Selby sat and listened stunned by the story, but now he understood why they had been in such a hurry to leave the city. “I appreciate why you were in such a hurry to leave the city. Vask is not completely unknown. He helped the Emperor in battle. I’m sure a lot of people know who he is.”

“But why would he want Elwin’s map?” Emerson asked.

Selby just shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’m sure all will be revealed soon enough.”