Marberg streets were paved with stone and the once decrepit buildings were built with a sense of uniformity. Along the main street the occasional pedestrian walked between the few places still open this late into the evening. To Valum’s shock even a few elves and dwarves could be seen, most dressed in various armors and carrying different types of weapons. When Valum was last here in Marberg it was nothing, but a backwater town with nothing of interest while it still was considered the edge of occupied territory for the kingdom it was surprisingly well developed. Valum was sure monsters more terrifying that goblins would be attracted to it, but the walls of Marberg were a mix of stone and wood beams making it fairly well guarded.

Gerrad left and said he was planning on going to the capital with his supplies and thanked Valum once more before leaving.

Valum was still in a daze and needed to find out more details as to how much time had passed since he was gone.Making his way to the tavern run by the adventurers guild Valum came upon a sign with a roaring bear and the sigil of the guild hanging above.

When Valum was younger he had always desired to join the guild, but was married early and his responsibilities took over.

Walking into the large three storied building Valum saw a wide variety of characters both old and young sitting at tables and chatting. A few turned to look at Valum as he entered, but most did not pay him any mind which was fine by him.

The interior was not fancy, but the furnishings were solid and well built. The food smelled well enough and the hearth gave it a warm glow. At the counter a hefty man with a handlebar mustache and a balding head cleaned mugs and watched the various activities keenly. The man was unfamiliar to Valum so he approached and took out the little money he had, handing some of the copper coins he had to the man. “One room windowless if you can make it happen. Also...I’m looking for some information. I am new to town.” Valum lied, but he also felt a sense of dread for what he would potentially find out.

The man smiled, taking the money “Of course I will have the maid go make up a room immediately Mr.?” The tavern owner prodded for information which was partially his way of making extra money. Information paid well and if you got something good the right buyer would pay well.

“Lemmark.” Valum said without giving more he didn’t want his name spreading out until he had a clear picture of what was going on. “Do you happen to know what happened during an expedition some years ago to the site of some old ruins along the north road?”

The balding tavern kept smiling “Why yes Mr. Lemmark the good Duke went there with an expedition and found a sealed vault with quite the collection of goods. He decided to expand the tiny town here to be a base of operations for the adventures guild and expand several other small towns in the area. The crown saw fit to increase his rank to Duke. That is about all I know?”

Valum nodded, it made sense that the Duke would reinvest in his land, but he needed to know the time since it happened “how long ago was the expedition?”

“Oh my! Err well I would say at least a dozen years give or take.” the man said confidently.

Valum froze his face stiffening and a slight dizziness began to overtake him. The word dozen rang over and over in his head like a steady drum crashing down in his skull.

“Thank you for the information,” he said through his teeth trying to seem pleasant.

“Of course Mr. Lemmark! The maid will escort you to the room.” a well endowed woman came up and led the way to the second floor down a long hallway to a small room just large enough for a bed, a nightstand, and a small chest.

Valum sat on the bed and realized there was zero chance his wife had stayed in Marberg. With the news of his death she would have taken their daughter and went to the capital. She had a distantly related family that would at least give them a room and possibly work.

Though Valum wanted to cry and scream enraged he composed himself and could feel no tears forming despite the torrent of emotions he was under assault by.

Despite his desire to find his wife and daughter he first needed to figure out what was happening to him and why he had a sudden weakness to sunlight. Clenching his fist he looked up to the sky and prayed to the goddess again to guide him.

The Thirst he had felt for the last two days only kept increasing despite his unnatural amount of water intake. It was to the point that he could feel the urge to drink constantly. Whatever it was that was causing the thirst was most certainly linked to the burning in the sun.

Laying down he knew the sun would be up soon and he had a long time before the sun fell below the horizon. Taking a deep breath he stretched out onto the bed and began to ponder what his daughter looked like as a young woman. Hopefully like her mother.

The day passed quickly and as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon Valum stood up and moved quickly to check out the surroundings. The tavern was filled with people, laughter filled the room and Valum who was wearing something a bit out of fashion considering his clothes did not fit him. Even though he borrowed some he still needed to get some decent fitting clothes and figure out how he can move in the sun without that intense burning.

Walking out of the tavern he made his way to the town square where nighttime merchants tried to sell goods to passerbyers the town was so different from when he had left it. Based on some of the conversations he had heard it sounded like tensions between various human factions and other races were rising even if they kept on a smiling face people felt it would come to blows soon. The human nations largely remained unchanged beyond minor expansion into the wilderness of the continent, but beyond that nothing had significantly changed.

The only feasible thing to do was find a job as soon as possible and earn some money as his little pocket change would not last long. Walking over to the job posting board which was near the main square. The only one that popped out was a night shift guard for a caravan heading to the capital. The job was posted by an “Endela” with no last name given. This would scare off most people as it was never wise to take an odd job like this from a person unwilling to give their own last name.

Valum sighed and took the flyer. He had nothing more to do than go and see who this Endela was.