1

Elwin stopped to catch his breath and to check his pocket watch. Time, it was the one constant upon which he could truly rely. It was the steadiness of logic and reason that appealed to him in a world of magic and miracle. It had always been there, day-by-day ticking away. So now little brass pieces of cogs and springs could measure hours and minutes precisely? Was that supposed to make the Verant Empire advanced? He wondered.

Elwin looked up and saw the sun was high overhead.

It was five minutes past one. He could tell by the sun as much as by the watch.

The watch was accurate enough, of course. Elwin kept it wound up everyday. It was the only real thing of value his family had owned, other than the farm. He inherited both when his father died. He was the eldest son, so he got the estate as per Verantian tradition. Ironically, he treasured the watch more than the farm. The farm had been in the family for generations, the watch a mere twenty years. But that did not seem to matter much to him, it had belonged to father.

Both his father and young sister had died from a mysterious plague that had swept across the lands two years ago. That was life, Elwin reflected. People died all the time, from disease, famine and war. There was nothing a person could do about. His father’s death was old news already. Ancient history in his mind. How many minutes were there in two years? He wondered. Best not to open that box. Best to keep that box hidden away. It helped Elwin keep his sanity. It had to be this way. This was life in the Verant Empire. Grief felt almost as constant as the steady march of time.

Elwin felt the cold reality of the watch before he slipped it into the pocket of his breeches. He pulled his light brown traveling cloak tight around him.

He took another deep breath and looked over at his friend Uskker. Uskker, a generation older than Elwin, bore a serious expression. His gaunt face, lined and weathered with time, appeared solemn and tired that day. He pointed his spade at a group of trees in the distance, split by a babbling brook.

Elwin saw the spot and clutched his own pitchfork.

They nodded to each other.

If Elwin wanted to be an adventurer, then he would have to learn to fight these creatures. It did not matter that half of all adventurers were killed while adventuring. What were facts when contrast against the creative mind? Facts like, out of those adventurers who did survive, only one in ten ever became rich. What did matter was that adventuring was the new sport in the Empire. There was plenty out there to be had. The most successful were handsomely rewarded.

In the last few years, many books had been written about the latest adventurers making them famous over night and household names in many places. Elwin had read every copy he could find. It gave him an interest in history as well, a valuable trait to have when adventuring. Elwin read a few books by Cyrin 'the Bard'. He would have read more, but in Salome Hollow it was hard to get good books. The latest ones were always the easiest to find. They were peddled by smart merchants who always had the latest editions hidden away in their packs. Unfortunately, Cyrin wrote the Verantian History Chronicles over a hundred years ago which made his books elusive in a sleepy little village.

Elwin wanted to be one of the lucky ones, one of the successful adventurers. Salome Hollow was a backwater in the middle of nowhere. That was how Elwin felt about the southwestern plains sometimes. It was a tiny speck of dust on the great plains of Verant and it made Elwin feel equal to that speck of dust. He yearned to get out of this place.

Since nothing interesting ever happened in the hamlet, Elwin hoped that he, his best friend Emerson and his brother Rith could become the next great adventurers to strike it rich. He often fantasized about all the books that would be written about them. They would have lavish celebration for them at the imperial palace. He and Emerson had not found away to tell Rith about this dream yet, but Elwin was sure that he would find out soon enough.

2

Elwin and Uskker advanced across the dead field. It was early spring. The snow was gone, but it was a cool bitter day, nonetheless. The starkness of the trees before them made Elwin feel uneasy. All the tales of the horrible things that had happened to adventurers began to overwhelm his thoughts of fame and glory.

He pushed those thoughts aside.

“We’ll kill them,” Elwin whispered just loud enough for Ussker to hear him.

They approached the trees.

“We’ll do what we must,” Uskker replied in an equally hushed tone.

It was obvious to Elwin that his friend meant business. The filthy green creatures had been raiding Uskker’s farm the last three nights. This time they came during the day. Elwin felt that was bold. He wanted to teach them a lesson.

Uskker was by no means an expert tracker, but goblins took little care in covering their tracks and this pair was carrying a squealing pig with them. They stole it from Uskker’s farm earlier. Elwin and Uskker tracked them down to this desolate place. A place where Elwin was sure he would have to kill them.

The wooded region was larger than it had appeared across the field. Now the tall maples, pines and oaks filled the area. Before them they noticed a large mound, the babbling creek flowing behind it in the distance. The trees creaked as they swayed in the cold breeze. It added an eerie tone to the adventure.

Elwin knew a little about goblins, but most of what he knew was gleamed from stories. He had killed a couple of kobolds while hunting once, but goblins were rare in these parts. They did not like all the open fields and farmland. Goblins liked dark dangerous forests and swampy territories.

Uskker, being the elder, had seen a lot more. He knew a lot more about the world. He fought goblins before. Elwin hoped this was going to be a learning experience. Goblins were typical of the kind of creatures an adventurer could expect to find living around a ruin of a fort or an old castle. Caves were another place goblins liked to live. Elwin knew he would have to get use to seeing these creatures. For an adventurer like Elwin wanted to be, old ruins and caves were places explorers often found themselves in.

As if that was not dangerous enough, there were more than just goblins in the world. The world of Gaia was filled with creatures like orcs and ogres who could be lurking in similar places. He would have to toughen up and get a lot more experience. What if they were asked to get rid of an ogre by the mayor of some town? Could Elwin seriously call himself an adventurer if he had to look the man in the face and say, sorry but we don’t do ogres!

Uskker motioned for Elwin to go around the far side of the small hill so they could flank the goblins. They were close enough that they could hear the garbled grunts and growls that Elwin felt barely passed for speech. Uskker had assured him that goblins were smart enough to have their own language, guttural though it might be. After hearing it though, Elwin was not so convinced. If it was a language, then Elwin felt that it was not far off from canine.

Elwin steeled himself for the moment that was coming. He had hunted many times. He had taken down quite a few deer, elk, rabbits and birds in his scant eighteen years. He even had to back down and run from a bear or two in his time. Yet none of these were intelligent, weapon wielding humanoids.

Goblins use primitive weapons at best, but they were still weapons. They had language and tactics too. It would be the most advanced creature he fought yet. Elwin thought about those kobolds he had killed about a year ago. They were small reptilian type creatures that usually lived in swamps, but when desperate they will go for anything that is easy. The creatures walked on two legs and carried a crudely made spears. But kobolds were small, the size of an eight-year-old human child. Elwin did not really count it as an advanced or intelligent creature.

Elwin felt the goblins were a bit more intimidating.

What else might they be capable of? He wondered.

Uskker had been scanning the trees. Did he suspect an ambush!? Elwin felt a nervous anticipation.

As the goblins came into view around the side of the hill, Elwin crouched down low behind a young pine tree. He had not been spotted yet. He did not know what he should do next, but the energy was building up inside him. He became tense. He tightened his grip on the pitchfork. They had not discussed any plan of attack beforehand, so Elwin had to act purely on instinct.

With no real plan or thought, he sprang out from behind the tree brandishing his pitchfork menacingly. The two goblins, who were trying to build a campfire, were caught completely off guard. They shrieked with an ear-piercing clarity that scattered every bird in the surrounding area. One of them reached for a crude dagger in his belt. Elwin lunged at the goblin, but it side-stepped him with apparent ease. Damn it! He thought. They did have thoughts and strategies!

The other one turned to run, only to come face to face with Uskker’s spade. He smashed it on the head. The goblin staggered, dazed but remained standing. It dropped a knife.

Uskker kicked it away.

The other goblin desperately lunged at Elwin with a dagger. A few clashes against the pitchfork and it became obvious that Elwin was the better fighter.

Elwin was disappointed. He wanted it to be a real fight!

As a full-grown adult, Elwin had all the advantages. The goblin was merely a child by comparison. With superior reach and faster movements on his side, Elwin knock aside the dagger. With a quick thrust, he stabbed the goblin through the chest, pinning it against the dark earth and rotting leaves on the side of the earthen mound.

The scene was grotesque. The creature screamed and thrashed about unable to escape the burning agony of the dirty old pitchfork. Behind him, Elwin could hear the pig running around squealing, terrified. As the life drained from the goblin, its flailing limbs slowed until they eventually stopped.

Elwin looked over at Uskker to see what happened. He wanted to know if he had killed the other one. Instead, Elwin saw the other goblin scrambling away. Uskker did not bother to chase after it. He looked over at Elwin and smiled.

Elwin was puzzled. “You could have killed it!?”

“What difference would that have made?” Uskker replied cryptically.

Elwin pulled his pitchfork from the dead body. “They were a menace, weren’t they?”

“That maybe. But killing is serious business. A last resort. Every life you take will haunt you, weighting down your soul if your cause is unjust,” Uskker said.

“Even a goblin!?”

“I don’t know about that, but I don’t want to take the chance,” Uskker said with a shrug.

Elwin looked down at the lifeless form and understood a bit better. His head was swimming with images, he could not think straight. He just kept staring into the human-looking eyes that stared off at nothing. It was a more frightening experience than he had anticipated. He thought going off on an adventure and killing some goblins would be fun.

This was not fun at all. It left him with a sick empty feeling inside.

Had he done the right thing? It was a question he had no answer for.

The creature had a dagger, it attacked him. He was defending himself. But Elwin knew he had provoked the creature. He was not sure what he should think. He did not know what to do. Uskker’s comments had thrown him off guard.

Elwin examined the blood. It glistened in the dull light that came through the barren branches of the trees. He noticed the deep red colour looked remarkably similar his own.

They bleed like us, he thought, and it made him shudder.

He leaned closer and examined this curious creature; two legs with feet, two arms with hands and a humanoid-looking face. Wide eyes, a bulbous nose, large ears, but the skin was a strange dark green and very leathery. It wore an animal skin loin cloth and a belt that had several little pouches tied to it.

“I’ve seen many of these creatures. But you’ve never seen one this close before?” Uskker questioned, but it was more like a statement.

“It looks so…”

“…Human?” The old man finished. He pulled his dark green cloak tight around him.

The wind was chilling, but Elwin hardly noticed it. He was already cold.

“You know, you’re probably right. We should have killed them both. But I think the other one will go back and tell the horde to stay away from us. We’re dangerous people, don’t toy with us,” Uskker said.

“What do you mean by horde?” Elwin enquired. The word had piqued his curiously. Besides, he needed to distract himself from the human-like corpse on the ground.

“Goblin’s always travel in hordes. It’s like a wolf pack, but much larger. There could be as many as fifty goblins in a single horde. Sometimes hobbes as well. The two races usually mix together since they’re so similar,” Uskker commented as if quoting a book.

“Fifty!? They could kill us if we’re ambushed!” Elwin exclaimed and looked around fearfully. Now he knew why Uskker was looking around so much! He was hoping the whole horde was not already here waiting for them.

Uskker laughed. “Not to worry! Goblins are cowards by nature! They steal livestock while our backs are turned, like thieves. They fear a real fight. It’s the orcs and ogres that you must watch out for. An orc is as large as a full-grown man and ogres, even larger! Neither of them back down from a fight. We’ve nothing to fear from goblins and their kin!”

Elwin relaxed again, then he noticed something. It was whole reason he wanted to come along. He pointed to the soft deerskin pouches hanging off the goblin’s belt. “I didn’t know goblins had possessions.”

Uskker only shrugged as if it made no difference.

“I’m searching him for treasure!” Elwin’s eyes lit up at the notion and he grabbed one of the pouches.

“Ha, fancy yourself an adventurer, eh Elwin!?” Uskker laughed.

Elwin opened the first pouch and peered in. It was filled with various herbs and mushrooms which made him think about magic and other wild adventurous things. He wanted everything to have some fantastic reason for being there.

“Could they be wizards? They have a lot of herbs,” Elwin pointed out.

“I doubt it,” Uskker pointed to the pig that was now rooting around the forest floor contently. “More like seasoning for roast pig I would wager.”

Not to be discouraged by the possibilities, Elwin opened another pouch.

This time it contained some money, two gold coins and five silver. He examined one. “It’s Verantian alright. They use money same as we do?”

“Maybe,” Uskker said. “Maybe it was just shiny and they like shiny things. Remember they’re only goblins. It’s not like they’re dragons hoarding great treasures!”

“Dragons, Uskker? Those are just legends our parents tell us around the fireplace!” Elwin retorted.

“Just legends, eh boy? I was in the tenth legion, remember? I’ve seen many things you haven’t,” Uskker countered.

“Yeah, well did your legion ever fight a dragon?” Elwin questioned with certain smugness.

Uskker laughed at the absurdity of the question. It was a joke of course. Dragons had not been seen in all of Gaia in hundreds of years and even if they were still around, they certainly wouldn’t fight any human army. A modern legion had muskets, cannons and war wizards. A dragon could not stand up to the latest in human technology. Still, if a dragon ever did still live somewhere in Gaia, Elwin would surely like to meet one. It would be the greatest of all adventures.

Elwin grabbed the final pouch and opened it up. Inside was a rough gold nugget, a small flint and sharpening stone.

“You think dragons are just fairytales?” Uskker asked.

“I don’t know about dragons, but Emerson’s father told him that he met an elf once, in Verant City,” Elwin commented.

“I wager the only elf Emery ever saw was in a brothel!” Uskker exclaimed. He gave Elwin a funny side-long glance as he leaned against his spade.

They both laughed heartily at the joke.

“Elwin there are incredible things out there in this world. I’ve seen griffins with riders flying high over my head, great generals and famous people told of only in stories and gossip,” Uskker said.

“You saw elves before, didn’t you?” Elwin added, remembering some of the stories that the older man had told him.

To Elwin, an elf was a magical creature. It was said that every elf could perform some kind of magic even if it was only basic illusions. They look much like humans only smaller and child-like in stature. Elwin had never seen one in the flesh, of course. Elves were hated in Verant because of the Great War. Many of them that had been living in Verant left rather than face fear, hatred and persecution. That was eighteen years ago, yet people’s attitudes had scarily changed.

“True enough,” Uskker said as he delved into his memory a bit. “I was there when Verant City was sacked by the wild elves from the north. Indeed, I joined the army the year before. It was a mazy time. The Great War wasn’t going well for us. Our leaders didn’t understand the magnitude of what they were even undertaking, so ultimately it failed. I did get a chance to go all over the Empire, even as far as Nashalon. But I will never forget that horrible day when the elves breeched the walls of Verant City. I have seen a lot of dark horrible things, the unthinkable crimes that people commit against each other. There is much death and destruction when you’re involved in a war. I still remember the smell of burning flesh, enough to fill a lifetime. Trust me boy, people can say what they want about adventuring, but you don’t ever want to join the army.”

The two went silent for a time.

“Shall we split the treasure?” Elwin asked his friend.

Uskker smile a big toothy grin and shook his shaggy grey mane. Elwin stood six foot and yet Uskker was taller than that. He looked down at Elwin. “You keep it! I’ll take the weapons they had though. Roll him over. He might have something tuck away in his belt.”

Uskker picked up the dagger from the cold musky earth.

Elwin rolled the body over. It flopped like a rag doll. He brushed away the dead leaves and saw that Uskker was right. There was something tucked away in the belt, a small cooking knife, a plain leather scabbard and a folded-up piece of cloth.

Uskker took all the items. He fit both knife and dagger into the scabbard. He tucked it into his own belt before he unfolded the cloth.

It was big, maybe two feet by three in size. It appeared to be a strange kind of map, sewn into the greying cloth with coloured thread. It was also very old, so Uskker handled it delicately. There was writing, but it was in a strange language that Elwin did not recognise.

“What do you think it means?” Elwin asked in amazement. His dark eyes lit up thinking it could be some sort of treasure map.

“I don’t know. If you ask me, it looks like it might be part of an old tapestry,” Uskker replied. He shrugged and handed it to Elwin. “Here, you have it. I have no use for it.”

Elwin took it with much gratitude. He held it out and examined it as if it were a prize possession. After a minute he folded it up and stuck it in his pocket next to his watch.

The two men gathered some fiddleheads and mushrooms from the damp floor of the woods. It was covered in a thick layer of dead leaves, but the baby fern sprouts were already starting to reach up to the sun. The locals called them fiddleheads since they resembled the head of a fiddle. Elwin liked them fried with butter and herbs the way his mother use to make them, before she got sick.

The two men gathered as many as they could carry.

Uskker grabbed the pig and they both headed back home.

3

Elwin’s head filled with dreams of a massive treasure trove that goblin folk had built up over the years. It would have mountains of gold, silver, gems and crowns, gilded swords and diamonds the size of fists! Maybe this was a map to the treasure and these goblins were going there? His mind bubbled over with the possibilities.

“I know that elves exist, I’ve seen goblins now, but do you really think there are any dragons left in Gaia?” Elwin asked seriously as they strolled back across the fields. Suddenly all the stories and fairy tales were coming to life. Adventurers were out there right now fighting goblin hordes, discovering hidden ruins and new never before seen creatures.

“Oh, who am I to say what this great world has hidden in its darker places. I think it’s possible, but not anywhere in the Verant Empire, maybe in more remote places.”

“What could be more remote that this place?” Elwin joked.

But was it really a joke? He wondered. What was Salome Hollow but a loose collection of about two dozen farms and a few other places that lay in the surrounding countryside? The inhabitants were content to spend their lives toiling away in the fields growing wheat, barley, corn and a few basic vegetables.

Elwin felt that was fine for most folks in this hamlet. But Elwin was different from other people. It was not something you could see or touch. It was something that came from inside him. There was a yearning to flee this place and see the world, adventure, explore. He wanted the action of the big cities, sacred places and famous sites talked about in fables.

“Do you think we’ll have the summer festival this year?” Elwin enquired.

The village had not celebrated the first day of spring. It was usually an important festival. It ushered in the new growing season and signalled the turning of the soil. It had passed unobserved by the community a week ago.

“Oh, I don’t think people are much in the mood for such things as festivals these days,” Uskker remarked. He was right. No one was in the mood for a party now that the plague had come back again over the winter. Dozens of people in the community had died in that first wave. Elwin did not understand what was happening. It killed only certain people, seemingly at random. Others could live in the same room and never come down with the illness. Neither the priests in their monasteries and temples, nor the wizards in their high towers and keeps, could explain it. They could not stop it either. Some folks though it had something to do with the civil war or the Gods. Some sort of punishment for various sins and transgressions.

Elwin scoffed at these notions.

This time when the plague returned it was Elwin’s mother who contacted the disease. His mother started showing the signs a few weeks before. She had no energy, she slept all day, cold sweats and strange dark spots broke out all over her body. It was terrible.

For Elwin, the situation was both a blessing and a curse. He would finally get the freedom he always wanted, but it would come at a steep price. He was sure he could manage losing his mother, but he was not sure if his brother Rith could. He was a few years younger and not as tough.

Elwin pushed the dark thoughts away again.

“We have a new Emperor now. The village didn’t celebrate that either. It’s sacrilege,” Elwin commented. He did loved festivals after all, and they always took his mind off his troubles. A coronation is an even grander event. They were celebrated across the Empire. It was not every day that a new Emperor was crowned, so it was usually a big event.

A new era was dawning. Three months ago, it had been announced across the Empire of Verant that a new Emperor, Xander Frey II, was crowned. Still the citizens of Salome Hollow had not gathered to hold a celebration. Without these social events, people felt even more desperate and isolated. The festivals were a time for the whole community to come together. There would be people performing music, bards to tell tales and the young people could dance. The rest of the village got to drink a better ale or wine than they usually would. They talked long into the night about local gossip, stories and news. There was always plenty of food and a large bonfire at night.

For something like a coronation there would be all of this and more. It would be a weeklong event. There are usually competitions like archery, fencing, wrestling and running. That’s what happened in poor rural places like Salome Hollow. In the big city you would find darker, bloodier sports. Not everyone could stomach gladiatorial combat, jousting, knightly combat, chariot racing and other dangerous sports where many people were usually killed in horribly disfiguring ways. Champions of the Coliseum were talked about as if they were Gods. The current champion was a slave owned by the emperor himself who had won more than ten fights so far.

“Outside of Verant City, nobody knows this Xander fellow very well. I think people will wait and see how he does before things return to normal,” Uskker commented. “Look at how many Emperors we have had in just the last five years. I’ve lost track of who is who.”

“Yeah, but this time it’s different,” Elwin said.

Elwin did not know why, but he knew he was right. He was hanging a lot of hope on this Xander Frey figure, a hitherto unimportant member of the Imperial Frey family. But Elwin had a feeling that he was going to fix things. Bring back honour and chivalry, he hoped.

The people had grown very wary of despots after a series of disastrous rulers left the Verant Empire ravaged, a shell of its former glory. Cracks were finally showing in the once mighty Empire. Twenty years ago, the Emperor Septius III came to the throne and that’s when it all started to fall apart. He had been insane from the start and never should have been a ruler of such a wealthy and powerful Empire. He had mismanaged the Great War and was killed at the sacking of Verant City, while the rest of the family fled to the safer city of Palantine.

This left Getta and his twin brother Corrasus, who jointly ruled as protectorates while Septius IV was too young to take the throne. The years seemed peaceful enough, but Septius had a tragic accident which took his life. It was later discovered that the twins had him killed. Then one day Getta had his own brother kill so he could rule alone. It was a major sin in the Verant Empire to kill one’s own family. It sparked a bloody purge. Getta began eliminating other members of his family. This triggered the civil war that had raged across the Empire for the last five years or was it seven? It was hard to tell when the war officially began.

Eventually Getta was killed by an angry mob that stormed the palace two years ago. A series of different protectorate leaders oversaw the Empire at one point or another, the Mayor of Verant City, Consul Valen, Otho general of the Red Dragon Army. Some of these leaders were dead now. It was two years of chaos and a serious political crisis which had nearly torn the Empire apart. Those despotic rulers were all gone now, finally deposed.

The poor class had already backed Titus, Xander’s older brother as their champion. After his capture and execution, Xander became a natural fit. They were both grandsons of Septius I, a former great ruler of the Empire. Once the ruling class rallied around the new leader, they raised enough coin, equipment and soldiers to win the civil war and make Xander the Emperor.

Now that the war was over, people were eager for the younger brother of Titus Frey, and new Emperor Xander Pubicius Frey II, to usher in a new age of enlightened rule and live up to the promise of his great older brother.

4

“How’s your mother doing?” Uskker said changing the subject.

Elwin looked despondent and did not answer.

“Look Elwin, I know that things are hard now that your mother has the plague. It’s noble of spirit to look after her in this troubled time. It’s what a good son should do. I know you wanted to join the army and fight in the war two years ago, but after your father died… Well, your mother needed you more than ever,” Uskker said.

The most important thing in the life of the Empire was family. A person’s whole life revolved around it. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and anyone else the family may have adopted along the way, all held a sacred importance. In ruling families, even the slaves held a symbolic importance. A crime committed against a family’s slave was a crime against that family.

Uskker was right, Elwin wanted to leave White Birch Farms behind him two years ago. He wanted to leave and to join the army, fight for the Empire. It could have been a great adventure, but his father died, and his sister was still sick at the time. Uskker had talked him into staying home a few years longer. Then his bother would be older and could run the farm himself. He had a duty to his family first and the Empire second. He would not have really left them and joined the legions, but the thought had crossed his mind in his weaker moments.

“Nobody knows where the plague comes from or how it infects,” Elwin commented. They had walked almost all the way home. Their farms were in sight now.

“It’s a great mystery to be sure,” The older man replied.

Elwin and Rith never came down with the plague despite constant exposure to it. Some people might call this lucky, but it made Elwin wonder if this was more than just chance. Nobody knew why or where it might be coming from. At least no news had come officially from the Empire. Occasionally, travelers would come by the local tavern and share a bit of news, but mostly they had to rely on what a few returning soldiers had seen or heard about. They had learned that it was not happening everywhere. Certain places around the Empire, mostly in the west, had experienced the same plague.

Elwin did not know exactly what he would do once his mother was dead, but he knew that there was no way that he was staying around here. He was sure his mother was lying on her deathbed. After she was gone, Elwin and his bother Rith would be all alone.

The two men kept walking in silence until they finally came upon the old rickety fence that divided their properties. The two families lived next door to each other with the houses a few hundred feet apart. They both owned long, ten-acre lots, which was the fashion for the shire and province that they lived in.

“How about a little sparring session?” Uskker asked knowing that this would cheer Elwin up.

Elwin nodded eagerly. He loved their sparring sessions. Uskker had made a pair of wooden swords that they could use to practice with. Elwin loved to spend hours after supper working out against Uskker who was an accomplished swordsman, despite his advancing age.

They went into Uskker’s yard through a small gate at the back. Uskker went to the house to drop off the food and shovel. Elwin went over to the barn and grabbed the two wooden swords. Elwin knew that Uskker had a real sword hidden somewhere, but he rarely took it out. Elwin thought it may have something to do with bad memories from the war.

Elwin handled each wooden weapon. They were battered and worn, but the hickory they were made from was strong.

Uskker had taken him under his wing and had taught him everything he knew about combat. Different stances, methods of attack used in battle and other such things. Uskker was no expert in combat, but he taught Elwin enough to get by in a real fight. Uskker never had a son, only three daughters who were all married. Elwin knew that these training sessions were as much for Uskker as they were for him.

Uskker came out of his house holding an old worn shield. “I wanted to show this to you. It’s a souvenir from my legion days.”

He handed Elwin the old dusty shield. It was battered, but it had the crest of the Empire, a griffin on a field of red and white and the Imperial Legion number ten on the inside. On the outside was the army unit’s personal crest of a long black snake, curled and poised to strike against a green background. Elwin’s mind was full of wonder as he looked the relic over.

Salome Hollow had somehow become even smaller, almost claustrophobic. He longed to get out and see the world for himself, the strange sites and creatures, the wonder of the big city, the majestic architecture of the aqueducts. Not to mention the goblin’s treasure horde!

He stared at the shield for a minute and dreamt. Then Uskker said. “Listen Elwin, I got something else I want to show you.”

Uskker went into the barn and from behind a bale of hay he came back with something long and shrouded in cloth. He handed it to Elwin. “Here, unwrap it.”

Elwin could hardly believe it. As the cloth fell away it revealed a long leather scabbard adorned with silver leaf. It was old and worn, but still obvious what it was. When he saw the handle, he gasped in amazement. It was a legion long sword, exquisitely crafted and incredibly well balanced.

Elwin looked at him. “This was your sword? The one you took into battle?”

“It sure was.”

Elwin pulled the sword out. It was well cared for and in excellent shape. “This is incredible,” he said breathlessly.

“I want you to have it, it’s yours now,” Uskker said to him.

Elwin was stunned. “No, I can’t take this it belongs to your family!”

"Why not? My daughters don’t want it,” Uskker replied.

“What about your sons in law?” Elwin questioned.

“Aw, they have their own weapons, they don’t care about it,” Uskker replied. “This sword has character, it has history. It belongs with someone who will understand that. That someone is you Elwin. You need a weapon upon which you can rely. I don’t want you buying some cheap piece of crap in the nearest town. If you’re going to leave this place then you need a strong sword, this sword.”

“Uskker, I don’t know what to say…” Elwin stammered.

“Say you’ll take and use it well,” Uskker replied. “I’ve been waiting for the right moment to give it to you, and I think this is it.”

“Thank you, I can never repay you for this…”

“Use it wisely,” Uskker said. “That’s how you repay me. I taught you everything I know and from our sparring, I know you’ve been doing some training with Emerson’s father too, haven’t you? Don’t look so disappointed! That’s good! He knows even more than I do. You’re capable, Elwin. Be righteous and do good with that sword. That is what I want in return for gifting it to you.”

“I will,” Elwin said. He was trying hard to not get caught up in the emotions of the moment. “You know ever since my father died; you’ve been…”

“I know, Elwin, I know. Believe me, you are like a son to me,” Uskker said. “This isn’t just a sword... This is home. When you weld it, it will be like I’m right there with you, no matter where you are.”

Elwin nodded. He got lost in all the thoughts and all of the emotions. Then out of nowhere, his thoughts were suddenly broken by the voice of his brother, Rith. He had come looking for him.

“Elwin! You must come quickly... Its mother!” Rith exclaimed. He was clearly troubled. His face was pale. He was out of breath.

“What’s happened?” Elwin questioned, levelling a serious look at him. His heart was suddenly racing.

“She’s asked to see you! Well, both of us!” Rith panted, trying to breathe between statements.

“What’s wrong!?” Elwin asked alarmed. He grabbed his younger brother by the arm forcefully. Elwin was taller by a few inches and much stronger. They had the same dark hair and the same dark eyes.

“I don’t know! She thinks… She’s dying!” Rith replied reluctantly.

They stared hard at each other.

“This sounds serious, Elwin. You better run along and see to her. We can practice another time,” Uskker told him.

Elwin and his brother walked back to their own house, deep in worry that their mother was not long for this world.