“I have made many mistakes in my life. Not appreciating what I had, when I had it? Yeah, that is what I most regret. And I did it more than once.” Toren Eringer

Master?

Eringer was leaning back when he heard it, causing him to flail while the front legs of the chair fell to the ground. Sam! Are you alright!?

Injured… and being chased, I think. Release me. We’ll talk later.

Eringer cursed himself for letting this happen. I am so sorry I was not there for you. See you tomorrow. He willed her release back to the Celestial Plane, and this time he could feel it work.

A yell came from the other room, “Where is he?”

Thump, thump, thump. Heavy footfalls of a large humanoid followed the shout. There were other voices, but they were muffled, quiet.

Ah well, this may be uncomfortable…

The door swung open. Standing in the middle, his shadow looming, was the Captain of the Guard. He ducked his head a bit to avoid hitting it on the frame as he stepped through the threshold. He turned around, flicking his wrist to shoo the other guards away.

The half-orc closed the door and walked toward Eringer. His gestures were normal, but his eyes betrayed the rest of his body. The man was incensed. He placed both large hands on the table as he leaned over. “I recall telling you more than once to stay out of guard business. Now I have several people dead and injured, again, and it all seems to revolve around you, again…”

The Captain looked into Eringer’s eyes, waiting to see if he would respond. He sensed that saying anything was likely to elicit an angry retort, so he remained silent.

“I see no other fair option but to ban you from the city.”

“I think that may be premature…”

“And why is that?”

“For one, I was defending myself while simply trying to enjoy a meal…”

“In full gear with a weapon? Not more than a stone’s throw from the last incident?”

“I am sure you can understand always wanting to be prepared; it is a habit from my service.”

“You’ve coined in enough favors for your service. Any other excuses?”

“I did try to call the guard, as you suggested, before they attacked me.”

“I’m aware. Moments before it happened with no guards nearby. None of this is helping your case to stay. It simply appears that trouble follows you and I can’t keep letting people die in my city.”

Eringer’s lips pursed. He had been contemplating revealing some of his conclusions. The more he thought about it, however, the more problems he found with revealing what he suspected. If the Captain were involved with everything, it would be quite devastating. That being said, if he was banned from the city, he could not very well help figure it out.

“I’m sorry, soldier. I’ll allow an escorted trip back to your inn to gather your things and then you must go.” The half-orc stood up, though he seemed much calmer than he had earlier.

“Is this a permanent ban or temporary?”

“Temporary. One month. Things ought to have calmed down by then.”

One month… whatever is happening here could be irreversible by then.

The half-orc raised a finger, pointing at the veteran, “If I hear anything about you trying to get back in the city, the ban will be permanent or you may even be arrested. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes… Captain.”

The larger man straightened up. “Good. Your equipment will be returned to you and you shall be escorted to grab the remainder of your things. Please don’t give me any reason to increase the penalty.” With that, he turned and exited the room, leaving the door open.

Eringer could hear the Captain giving orders to bring him to his inn before making sure he left the city.

In the few minutes he had before he was kicked out of the building, then the city soon after, he contemplated what to do. I definitely need to get back into the city, but how…

-

The former soldier barely registered walking through the city before his expulsion. A trio of guards flanked him as they saw him out the front gate.

The leader of the small group, who had not said much prior, spoke up, “Sorry this had to happen to you, Captain. We know you didn’t do anything wrong. If it helps, there is a village a few miles north east that is very welcoming.” The man pointed over the wheat fields. “I have been there a few times. Only one small inn, but the people are very nice. Tell them Varen sent you and say that I said hi.” He offered Eringer a hand.

Nodding curtly, he clasped the guard’s arm. “Much appreciated.” The veteran did the same with the other two members before walking through the gate.

He vaguely recalled a group of homes nearby, though he had never visited the village himself. Deciding that would be better than sleeping in fields, he started up the road that would take him there.

The twin suns were drooping low in the sky and would be setting before he made it to the village. It was just warm enough to be annoying on a long walk, but that would not bother him much. It was only a few weeks into Autumn, which was his favorite time of year.

Though he stayed vigilant on the walk, nothing odd happened. Eringer was wondering where all the Haren soldiers had gone. It would be reasonable to assume some may have made it to the very village he was heading to at some point.

The village was not lit as he walked into the area. There was light spilling from a few windows of shops and homes, so things appeared fairly normal for a small settlement like this. Several other moons were visible, giving a reasonable view. His new found vision helped for anything not lit by those sources.

There was a two story structure only a few buildings in on the left which had a sign that simply said, “Inn.” The retired soldier walked straight to it and entered.

The lobby was extremely small, with a small couch and an end table functioning as a coffee table. There was a small hallway with stairs leading up to one side and a counter to the other, but no one in sight.

“Hello? Is anyone here?”

Eringer heard light footfalls followed by a door opening behind the counter. A late middle aged human male greeted him. “Oh hi there fellow! I hope you weren’t waiting long?”

“No sir, I only just arrived.”

“We don’t get many visitors. Are you from the city?” The older man looked the guest up and down.

“I only just left. I was hoping to stay here for a night or two, if you have a room available?”

“Of course! Several rooms are open! Would you like to stay on the ground floor or upstairs?”

“Ground floor would be fine, thank you.”

“Excellent! Just four silver pieces for the night, then.”

Eringer fished for the coins and placed them in the man’s hand. As he did so, his cloak dipped enough to reveal his rank on the armor.

“A soldier, huh? Pleasure to have you here!” He accepted the coins, dropping them into a drawer.

“Retired. I was referred to your village by Varen; he said to tell you hi.”

“A friend of Varen, huh? Great! He is a very kind man. Stays here from time to time.” He gestured for Eringer to follow as he walked out from behind the counter and shuffled down the hall.

“Have you had any interesting guests in the last week or so?”

“As a matter of fact, yes! Had several beleaguered fellows show up a few days back. Why do you ask?”

“There was an incident at the main gate of Mith-Fell. Thought some of the culprits might head this way.”

“Oh, well I’m happy to say that there were no incidents here. They are odd folk, but they have caused no trouble.”

Eringer lowered his voice, “Are they here at the inn?”

The man looked around, visibly worried. He also spoke softly, “Umm yes, they are. Do you think it will be a problem?”

“I know we only just met, but would you be able to let me know which rooms they are in?”

The older man thought for a moment, then held up a finger to indicate to Eringer to wait. The man then opened unlocked and opened the door to the room they stopped at, gesturing for the new guest to enter before him.

Eringer walked past, dropping his bags and turning back to the innkeeper.

The host closed the door, but still spoke quietly, “When you said ‘incident,’ what did you mean?”

The veteran sighed, giving the older man a grim look, “The people at the gate were soldiers from Haren in disguise. I was tracking them and fortunately arrived at Mith-Fell just before they did to warn the guards.”

“But… that doesn’t make any sense! Why would they be here and in disguise? Is the war not over?”

“I do not know why they are here, yet. I have been looking into that myself. The war may be over, for the moment, but I think there are bigger things at play.”

The innkeeper nodded gravely, “I see. Well, I would prefer that nothing happen here. They have been peaceful thus far.”

“I think as long as no one does anything out of the ordinary, they will do nothing. It would give them away should something happen to anyone here. That being said, it would be helpful for me to know where they are in case something does happen.”

“Yes, of course. There are four upstairs; they asked to be far from other guests, so I put them all the way in the back.”

“Thank you. Please carry on as you normally do. I do not think anyone is in any danger so long as life looks normal for you all. I leave it to your discretion if others in the village should know, given you are familiar with the people here.”

“I think not saying anything would be best. Do these men know you?”

“I am afraid they would recognize me. Is there anyone good with disguises or magic here? Maybe both?”

“Actually yes, sort of. My friend Gimblair is practiced in illusions. He is a forest gnome from the east. Been here since I was younger than you!”

“Could you direct me to him now? I would rather get a disguise as soon as possible given the situation.”

“Absolutely! Four doors down, across the road. A small shop where he builds and sells trinkets and other things. Tell him Samuel, that’s me, sent you.”

“A pleasure, Samuel. Thank you very much. Toren Eringer, retired Captain of the Illiarin army.”

The two shook hands and then Samuel walked out of the room. He changed his demeanor to that of earlier, seamlessly dropping into a conversation they might have had, “Anytime, lad! If you get bored, feel free to come up front! I never mind a good chat, especially with a fellow like yourself!”

“Much appreciated, sir. I will be turning in for the night, but will be up to talk more in the morning.” Eringer nodded respectfully to the innkeeper.

“Have a good night!”

“Good night.”

Samuel closed the door.

Wonderful.

-

The shop was easy enough to find and Eringer had not seen anyone walking about. There was a single window in the front that had the curtain drawn, but there was a flickering light he could see through it. He rapped lightly on the door.

A bright eyed gnome answered, “Hello. To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing dis fine eve?”

“Toren Eringer, sir.” He held out a hand.

The gnome shook it eagerly, “A pleasure! Gimblair Hobblefellow! What can I do for yeh?”

“Samuel sent me over. Said you may have some supplies I could use.”

“Aye, wonderful! Come in den, yah?” He stepped to the side allowing Eringer to enter, closing it behind the larger man.

“Welcome! What kind of supplies are yeh lookin for den?”

“Well, I was hoping you had a way that I might disguise myself. Whether it be through magic, supplies, or both?”

“Oh! Runnin from the law den, are yeh?”

“Not exactly, no. I am not in trouble with any law?”

“Not the law. Hmm… A disgruntled spouse den?”

“No, but if that were the case, would you be able to help?”

“Not the law nor the spouse… hmm… Wronged a fellow and now he wants blood?”

Seeing this was getting him nowhere due to the curious gnome, Eringer leveled with the other man, “Tracking some bad folks. They know what I look like and I would prefer they not recognize me.”

“Oh. A bounty hunter of some type, eh? No? Hmm… Oh! Are you an adventurer!?”

“Of a sort, I suppose.”

“A quest then, yah? Well if it’s for a worthy cause, I can disguise yeh. Magic shant last long, though. Seeing as ya came here, ya can’t do it yourself. Clothing it is, den!”

“Well, I do know some magic. If you could teach me, I would be in your debt.”

“What kind of magic? Ya strike me as the soldier type, no?”

“Soldiers can learn magic, too. I specialize in healing and offensive magic.”

“Ah, ya are a Divine caster, den! Very few can learn the Arcane magic of the School of Illusion!”

“I was afraid you would say that. I suppose a clothing disguise then?”

“Now hold on, I said very few! I hope ya can do magic better dan ya can listen!” Gimblair clutched his sides in an apparent fit of laughter.

“Alright then. Can you teach me?”

“Hah! I can teach a horse to disguise itself, should dey be willin ta listen!”

“Would you be able to teach me now?”

“Sure! Come over here, take a seat!” He moved a stool that was nearly as large as himself in front of the larger man, then took a step back.

Eringer took a seat and waited.

“First, a demonstration!” Gimblair stood up straight, waved his hands in front of his body, momentarily covering his own face. When they moved away, he looked like a female halfling. “Tah-dah!” The voice was still the same.

Learning the kind of person the gnome was, the veteran thought it appropriate to clap. “That was great!”

The apparent halfling bowed, then dismissed the illusion. He rose back up as himself, beaming, “Thank yeh! Now, have yeh ever done any Arcane magic at all?”

“I am mostly familiar with which spells, at least those of lower level, are Arcane, but I do not think so.”

“Ok let me guess at something else. Anything yeh can do on command? Like something dat doesn’t require use of one of your spells for the day?”

Eringer thought back to a few days ago when he was tied up in the room. “Actually yes, a few things. Though I am not sure if I can repeat it.”

The gnome rolled his eyes, “Well, why don’t yeh try it, den?”

The veteran looked around for a target object, finding a small box on a table a few paces away. He reached his hand out, flexing his fingers to see if he could move the object like he had his sword previously. Closing his eyes, he imagined the object coming to his grasp.

“Aha! See that!”

Eringer opened his eyes to momentarily see a spectral blue hand holding the box in the air. The hand faded away as he broke his concentration and the box fell to the floor.

“Dat there is Mage Hand! Yeh can do Arcane magic, yeh silly man!”

“Ah, well I was not aware how it worked before. I just imagined grabbing my sword when I could not reach it and it came to my hand. I actually did not see anything happen.”

“Haha! Yeh should be looking when yeh cast spells as a novice. Bad things can happen if yeh don’t!”

Eringer nodded. “So, does that mean you can teach me the illusion spell you cast?”

“It should! Dat is called Disguise Self. It is a simple, but quite useful low tier spell. Be careful if yeh let anyone interact with what yeh change, though. Illusions don’t trump any sense except for sight and sometimes sound. Even den, a particularly astute individual can see through it occasionally.” Gimblair went behind a counter and pulled out a spellbook. “I learn best through study. Some people can innately do magic like dis, but I can’t. I recommend yeh read dis.” He flipped open to a page and pointed, then handed it to his new student.

The human looked at the page, then back at the gnome. “I cannot read this.”

“What? How did yeh learn the Mage Hand, den?”

“Well I just sort of… willed it to happen.”

“Ahh. Well den. Our methods differ, but dat is only a potential issue. We practice, den!”

Gimblair spent the next couple hours trying to teach Eringer how to cast the spell. Though the larger man was patient, the gnome was growing more and more frustrated as time wore on with no progress.

“Bah! Yeh can’t learn it, I suppose, at least not from me! Yeh need to find someone dat doesn’t rely on study for dis.”

“Do you know anyone like that?”

“Not here in the village. There are plenty of people in Mith-Fell dat could teach yeh. Be careful though! Dey often overcharge for such services.”

“Thank you for trying. Do you have a way to disguise me without magic? Perhaps other clothing, makeup, and the like?”

“Some. It won’t be nearly as good as an illusion, though.”

“Anything is better than nothing.”

The veteran left the shop shortly after with a slightly modified appearance. Anyone that did not pry too closely should overlook him.

He walked back into the inn. Samuel was behind the counter reading a book. “Hello, welcome!” After only a moment, he realized it was Eringer. “Looking good sir, anything I can get you?”

“No thank you, I think I will be turning in for the evening.” He heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Good night, sir.”

“‘Night!”

As the veteran turned to walk to the hallway, two humans emerged from the stairwell a few feet away. He could not tell if they were one of the Haren soldiers off the quick glance he got, so he proceeded toward his room, walking past both men. Eringer nodded to acknowledge them, but did not pause. As he continued, he heard the start of a conversation.

“Mr. Samuel, we’ll be heading out tomorrow. It will be early, so please don’t get up for us.”

“Oh no problem at all, my friends!”

The other man that had not spoken yet had paused at the threshold of the hallway. He called out to Eringer, “Hey, do I know you?”

Some disguise. He continued walking, pretending like he did not know he was being addressed.

“Hey! You in the hallway, have we met?”

Eringer turned slightly, but continued walking. He tried to lighten his voice, “Doubtful. Have a good evening.”

The man seemed unconvinced, as he walked down the hallway following the veteran. “Mind chatting for a minute?”

“Afraid I have to get some sleep. Perhaps in the morning?” Eringer reached his door and used the key to open it.

“This is important!”

“Sorry!” As he closed the room door behind him, he saw the man reaching for his sword.

Damnit! Still injured, no Sam, no shield, no spells… could this get any worse?

“Hey, Bennet! Get the others!” The man pursuing him knocked on the door.

I should not have even thought about it, of course it can… Eringer drew his own sword, getting ready to open the door and surprise the man. If he could take one out quickly, he would have a much better chance. Then he heard her voice.

I can grant you a power that will help.

"What? How?" he whispered.

It is within my capabilities.

"I would be honored to receive that power."

Very well. I ask only one thing in return. There may come a time when I ask you to do something. I need you to promise to act immediately to do it.

"What kind of thing?"

I do not know.

Eringer thought it over for a moment, finding it a little odd that she wanted a promise. After all, he had already pledged himself to be her champion. It must be something very important, then. "I promise."

The sword pulsed with the familiar purple glow.

A tingling sensation filled his extremities as he heard the knocking on the door grow more aggressive. “What did you do?”

Try the spell the gnome was teaching you now.

Eringer waved his hand, whispering the command the small man had taught him. In his mind, he pictured himself with an older face and different hair. He also imagined his gear looking different with no insignias of any kind. “How long will it last?”

An hour. Unlike the gnome, however, you can use it whenever you want.

He sheathed the sword and opened the door, keeping his voice slightly light, but annoyed. “What do you want, man? I need to get some sleep here…”

The human squinted, eyeing Eringer up and down in a defensive stance with his sword up between them.

“Please put away your sword, I have no quarrel with you.”

The man relaxed, allowing his sword to fall. “Oh, umm, sorry. I thought you were somebody else.”

“If you would like a chat, I can meet you in the morning at the front of the inn here.”

“Umm, no, that’s ok. Heading out early myself. Sorry to disturb you.” He sheathed his sword and walked back toward the front, glancing back briefly as Eringer closed the door.

I need some sleep… the veteran locked the door and moved an end table in front of it. He waited a minute to make sure no one was lurking around, then doffed his armor.

He moved to the bed, layed down, and fell asleep almost immediately despite the circumstances.

-

The battle raged on. The humanoids were dangerous.

At first, their spells were easy to counter or shrug off. That did not last long, however.

A lightning bolt ripped through the air, striking under his wing. It was only a partial hit, but it seized up the extremity and he fell to the ground thirty feet below, taking out the small building he crashed through.

ROAR. It was not supposed to go like this. He was a dragon… an Ancient Black Dragon!

The Druid summoned vines to hold him down.

The Wizard blasted his limbs with cold air to slow him.

The Monk somehow found a pressure point in his neck, numbing the muscles so he could not flex them to spit acid.

The Cleric approached, surrounding the massive head of the dragon in a field magic could not penetrate, effectively silencing him in everything but his voice.

The hero with the beautiful sword, the Paladin, approached. Of all the heroes, he was most injured. His helmet was nowhere to be seen. His armor was partially melted from acid, fusing to the skin. A face that was permanently scarred from the battle, but still conveyed the gravity of the situation. “Your reign of tyranny has ended, Brius.” He raised the sword in both his bleeding hands, pointing down at the dragon’s head, then plummeted the weapon toward the beast.

Eringer bolted upright in a cold sweat. Again, the dragon… There was no light in the room or outside, but the former soldier felt as rested as he thought he could be given the conditions he found himself in. Too much to do now. I will think on this later.

He dressed as quick as he could and recast the illusion he used earlier.

At the front desk, Samuel was snoring lightly as he leaned back in his chair.

Eringer whispered, “Excuse me. Samuel?”

It seemed the other human was a light sleeper, as he awoke not startled in the slighted, “Ah sir, how can I help you?” After a moment, Samuel recognized who the disguised man really was.

“Did those men leave yet?”

“Yes, maybe a half hour ago.”

“Damnit. Any idea where they were going?”

“They said they were heading north, but I overheard them talking about going to Mith-Fell before that.”

“Do you know if they had mounts?”

“I didn’t see any.”

“Thank you.” Eringer fished out some coins and left them on the counter. “Good day, Samuel.”

“Good day, Captain Eringer!”

He walked out front and found a spot to resummon Sam.

“Welcome back, girl.”

Good to be back, Master.

“I want to catch up, but there is a situation. Four of the men that were at the gate are heading back to Mith-Fell and I want to chase them down. We need information.”

Always something! She sneezed excitedly and spun around for Eringer to hop on.

The man quickly put the gear that was not already on her up and secured it, then stepped into the saddle.

Sam took off at a near sprint, heading west to chase down the Haren soldiers.

-

Invocation - Mask of Many Faces