Jano cowed his head as they walked through the darkness. Shadows danced out of the corner of his eyes and though living on the road and escaping from the Emperor and his undead army had been terrifying, he hadn’t felt this immediate fear since they had left the city.

Dariea was walking ahead with their guide, someone she knew but hadn’t introduced. He carried his scythe and their limited supplies like some kind of pack animal.

The homes of the settlement were strewn in clusters, as they climbed the path, with stone courtyards outside. He had kept his head down as they passed by a larger courtyard, hemmed in by dark stone pillars and a row of seats. There was a group of young people fighting with dark shadowy essence in one section and another group working on training dummies with blunt weapons. Flashes of black and purple and blue crashed together. A training yard.

Dariea and the guide were getting ahead as Jano realised he had been gawping. He shuffled on as quickly as he could muster. He finally caught up as they reached a large building, which was twisted somewhere between the palace and an evil lair. It had huge spikes on the roof, with menacing windows like some form of many eyed spiky haired stone dragon.

The guide walked ahead and Dariea stopped. “We’re to wait here.” She said.

“What… is this place?” Jano asked, gasping through some forced breaths from the climb.

His master looked at him and she wasn’t displaying any signs of having climbed anything. “We are being taken to meet the king of the Chaos-Shapers.” She lowered her voice. “He’s a friend. This was where I left for Qursa.”

At that moment the guide reappeared at the doorway. It was a normal height to buildings which Jano was used to, but it was tremendously wide. The door would have been more like a gate.

“They’re ready for you Dariea.” He said. His eyes flicked to Jano, recognising his presence for only the second time. “For you both.”

The guide turned and Dariea started walking. “Just nod and smile and we’ll do great.” They walked through the large door and the shroudy darkness of the outside disappeared and torches lit up the corridors. It shouldn’t yet be dark outside, but from about halfway up the hill the shadows clung tightly to the buildings. It reminded Jano of the darkness which often clung to the walls of the city.

They passed through more spartan rooms, a massive contrast to the extravagance of the palace. There was a smattering of people throughout, which Jano assumed were guards. They all wore robes, rather than plate armour and they all wore similar black masks with only their eyes poking through. It was unnerving and it made Jano feel even less welcome, though perhaps that was the point. The sort of eyes which were barely visible, were those which Jano didn’t want to meet.

Jano followed the others through to a large room, which housed a large, dark throne in the middle. It was as bare as a throne room could possibly be, other than a small group of masked guards and a tall man sitting atop the massive wooden chair in the centre of the room.

“Announcing Dariea and her apprentice, your highness.” The guide said. Dariea bowed and Jano tried his best to remember how others bowed before the Emperor. He dipped his head and torso in an uncoordinated flop, before straightening up and shifting awkwardly.

The King of the Chaos-Shapers watched and smiled once the formalities had been observed. He was a decidedly normal looking man, with silky long dark hair down to his shoulders. He wore black robes with a white and gold trim, but otherwise they gave nothing away of his royal status. He drummed his large thin fingers on the solid teak arms of his throne.

“Dariea.” He croaked, “what an unexpected surprise.” His thin lips curled at the corners. Jano kept his eyes low, trying to avoid eye contact if at all possible. At the side of the throne was a shadowy pet, in the shape of a large lizard. It had what looked like a solid long mass for a body but it was almost entirely too dark to see. Wisps of shadow pushed out from the centre and flicked from the side. It gave a small grunt as it saw Jano eyeing it from afar.

“Your highness, I have urgent news about the Qursan Empire.” She hesitated and shifted uneasily on the spot. Her eyes darted from the king of the Chaos-Shapers to Jano and back.

“Go on.” The king said, his hand flipping lazily on his lap. His eyes narrowed slightly, which Jano could see as the king was the only one in the palace not wearing a mask.

“My King Zabar, he has summoned more of the Shimmer to Qursa. I was not able to destroy the Ledger. He remains as powerful as before. I have failed in our mission.”

The King stirred thoughtfully. “You were not able to prevent it? That is a shame. What else?”

Dariea looked the most uncomfortable that Jano had ever seen her. She retained a smile, but it was not convincing.

“He has an army and a craving for power. I can feel it. He plans to mobilise and expand his territory; I just don’t know which way.”

Zabar leaned forward a little, his eyes focussed solely on Alsace. “How was it that he outwitted the great Dariea? The Mage of the seven scouring and the great teacher.”

She dropped her head momentarily. Jano thought that he saw traces of shame across her face. “I…. I don’t know. He was feeding me false signals but I didn’t recognise them at the time. I think… It doesn’t matter, unfortunately our plan didn’t work.”

The King laughed and ordered his men to bring food and drinks to the palace. The guards moved swiftly, hurrying to meet his orders. “You have not failed. You attempted to prevent a war single handedly. Even if some of our comrades do not understand the nature of the threat. However I must ask, do you think we are in any immediate danger?” Zabar asked, as his face returned to normal.

Dariea glanced at Jano and back. “Not immediately, no, but our beliefs that he is preparing for a war seem to be confirmed. I just don’t know who with… Though it is unlikely to spare most of the nearby kingdoms. Molinia included.”

The King shook his head. “Many of our warriors are on assignment as mercenaries in the Goshnia Forest kingdom. Would have you have me call them back?” He leaned closer, as though he might carry out whatever Dariea was to suggest next.

“I would not presume to tell your highness how to run his kingdom. I only ask that we are allowed to rest here momentarily. Until I can formulate a plan for my apprentice and myself.” She bowed a little as she spoke and Jano tried to copy once more, trying to do a little less movement this time.

“Of course. But I cannot guarantee you rest, there are stirrings here. One that we may need the talents of such a talented Mage as yourself. And your apprentice.” Zabar hesitated and his eyes flicked to Jano, who dropped his eyes and crumpled a little as he did so. “If you are willing.”

Jano peeked up at the King once more, until he realised that he was still being observed. He started to feel panic once more, and he started to miss the dangers of the open road.