Before anyone in the room could react Ekkehardt leapt up onto his feet. In one swift motion he used his right hand to strike a guard that was standing behind him in the face with the pommel of his sword while using his left hand to grab the chair he was sitting on by its stile and swing at another guard. The side of the chair connected with the guard just below his sternum and knocked him on his back as the other guard that was struck by Ekkehardt stood there in a daze while clutching his bloody nose. Ekkehardt then threw the chair at Schwartzbaum, who barely managed to duck, causing the chair to smash into the stone wall and shatter into several pieces. Ekkehardt was then able to quickly draw his sword and discard his scabbard. The next thing anyone knew Ekkehardt was standing next to his companion with his back up against a corner, one arm holding his sword towards the guards, and his other arm outstretched in front of his companion all while everyone else in the room (except for the two guards that Ekkehardt had attacked) had their weapons drawn. Four of the guards had taken positions around Claudius and two more had entered the room. There was a moment of tense silence as the two groups of combatants waited for the other side to make a move. Eventually Ekkehardt decided to speak up.

“If you think that you can talk either of us into surrendering then you’re wasting your breath. I’d be happy to die as long as I get to take as many of you down with me as possible!” He announced.

“Adrian…” Claudius began only to be cut off by the man he was about to address.

“I think we’ve made a mistake here, Claudius…”

“If these men find a way to open the dome then that will put everything your father and I built into jeopardy,” Claudius responded.

“We don’t even know if they can open the dome. Besides, these men are gendarmerie. The law of the empire demands that they be treated as an extension of the emperor. If we kill them then it will be an act of treason,” Adrian argued.

“I would rather commit treason against the empire than against my own people!” Claudius responded.

“If the emperor finds out that you killed them then you will be given an ultimatum: Either you will be brought to the rope or the entire county will be brought to the sword,”

“I don’t fear death. I’d go to the gallows happily if it meant that I kept my people safe,”

“My liege, if you were to die then there would be nobody to replace you. That would only create a power-vacuum that would plunge the county into another war,” Adrian argued. Claudius let out something in between a sigh and a growl.

“...I can’t do it, Adrian. I will never surrender the fate of my land and my people to a group that would thoughtlessly condemn hundreds of Nordfell’s sons to death while their own children remain in safety and comfort within castles and manors of the heartland. If the thing sealed in that dome in the Frauenwald were to be unleashed then I can guarantee you that we will see horrors that could not be created or even imagined by the most wicked of the emperor’s men,” Claudius argued. Suddenly a voice from behind Ekkehardt boomed in anger and frustration.

“Then why don’t you let us kill it?” Ekkehardt’s companion shouted. A furious Claudius turned their way.

“I am Claudius von Brandt, count of Nordfell and son of Ewald! I’ve ruled this land for five decades and seen what the thing is capable of with my own eyes! Who the hell do you think you are questioning me?” Claudius erupted. Ekkehardt’s companion then lowered his hood, revealing themselves to be what looked like a rather effeminate man with a slender build, reddish-orange hair, green eyes, and a face covered in freckles. On his forehead he wore what appeared to be a brown leather headband.

“I am Alexander von Adler the younger; son of Alexander von Adler the first, Emperor of Ostermania, King of Peschtia1 and Bratiprah2, Grand Prince of Remina3, Duke of Barbalunga4 and both upper and lower Shlonskia5, Lord of Tergia6 and Vandow7, Voivode8 of all Suidman9, Chancellor of the Holy Confederation of Reme10, and Sovereign of the Order of the Double Eagle! I am the crown prince of the Ostermanian Empire and the only man in existence that can kill the thing in the dome!” they announced. A look of utter shock spread to the face of everyone in the room (with the exception of Ekkehardt and Schwartzbaum, the latter of which remained completely expressionless). A weak ‘what’ leaked out from the mouth of the scribe, who at this point had himself planted in the corner furthest away from Ekkehardt and Adler and was cowering in terror. At least a minute of complete silence followed. The guards kept their weapons ready, but it was clear to Ekkehardt, Schwartzbaum, and Adrian (the three men in the room with the most experience in hand to hand combat) that they had changed. The discipline and determination they had just a few moments ago had been replaced by ambivalence.

“Rudolf!” Claudius said, speaking with desperation in his voice as he stared at Ekkehardt’s companion with wide open eyes.

“Y-yes, sir!” The scribe in the corner responded.

“Come here,” he ordered. Slowly the terrified man made his way to Claudius.

“My liege…” the scribe asked. Claudius then leaned in towards him and put one hand on his shoulder.

“Rudolf, when you attended the University of Königsstadt11, you sent me a letter detailing a visit King Alexander the First and his son made, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And in that letter you said you saw Prince Alexander with your own eyes, yes?” Claudius asked.

“Yes, sir,” Rudolf answered. At this point it was clear to even Ekkehardt and his companion that the young scribe’s body was shaking in fear.

“Well then,” Claudius said as he pointed to the person who had accompanied Ekkehardt with his free hand, “Is this man Prince Alexander the second?” he asked. Rudolf stared at this person for several moments. For those few moments the room was silent as a crypt and time flowed like molasses. Eventually, the young man spoke up.

“Yes... that is Prince Alexander…” Rudolf declared. The room fell silent once again, but only briefly. Eventually Claudius turned to Adrian and spoke up.

“I’ve made my decision. Order them to lower their weapons and stand down,” He declared. Adrian let out a long and audible sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword.

“You heard the man.” he barked. One by one the guards lowered their weapons and moved away from the travelers, leaving only Schwartzbaum with his weapon drawn.

“Erik...” Adrian called. Without any further protest or hesitation, Schwartzbaum sheathed his sword. Ekkhardt and Adler soon followed suit. Claudius then walked back towards the table and returned to his seat. Seeing this gesture as an attempt to further de-escalate the situation, everyone else then proceeded to sit down, with the exception of Ekkehardt, who no longer had a chair. Adrian decided to help by ordering the guards to position themselves within the guest’s field of vision. The guard who had been hit in the face by Ekkehardt had begun to bleed from his nose. Realizing this, he took a seat next to Rudolf, who had produced a bag with medical equipment in it and began to treat the injured guard. As soon as everyone got settled Claudius began to speak.

“I apologize for that… unpleasant situation that we had found ourselves in… I…”

“Consider yourself forgiven, sir. It is my fault that we got to that point. I should have revealed my identity sooner,” Adler responded, briefly shifting his gaze away from Claudius to look at the injured guard and then the broken chair before returning to the count, “I might have been able to prevent this.”

“I’m sure that you had a good reason to deceive us, your highness, but I would like to hear it before I give you permission to do as you please in my land.”

“Well then, I suppose that it would be best for me to start at the beginning.” Adler began, “It all started three months ago. I was in a meeting with my late brother-in-law Prince Philip of Kleinkastelburg12. This was one month before his death.”

“My condolences, your highness.” Count Claudius said. Although he was good at hiding it, Adler and Ekkehardt knew that his words were not completely sincere. The two of them didn’t let this bother them.

“Thank you, sir.” Adler responded, “If I remember correctly, I was speaking with him… or more accurately I was speaking with his advisors about affairs in the region. It went well and eventually I took a break to speak with my younger sister…”

In the corner of his eye Adler could see Rudolf count to ten on his fingers while muttering something to himself. Although Adler could not hear the scribe, he knew exactly what the scribe was whispering: ‘Adelaide, Amelia, Aurora, Agatha, Alena, Aveline, Agrippina, Alexander…’. Rudolf then moved to Claudius and whispered something into his ear. Once again, Adler knew exactly what the scribe was saying: the name of the girl in question and the rumors that swirled around her.

“Alexandra; your twin sister?” Claudius asked.

“Yes. I found her within a tower that she occupied during the day. She was with my other sister Agrippina, who was the wife of the late Prince Philip. We spoke for a while. Then, with absolutely no warning at all, her skin turned unusually pale and she began to go into a seizure,” Adler explained.

“I don’t wish to cause any offense, but was this related to her… uh… condition?” Claudius asked. Ekkehardt did not appear to be pleased by this question.

“That is what I thought at the time. Our bodyguards (Ekkehardt, Ludwig, and Siegfried) and I tried to help her, but everything just… fell apart so quickly,” Adler explained before looking down and sighing. “Then, somehow, my sister kicked me in the chest with an inhuman level of strength; throwing me against a wall. The next thing I knew Ludwig was dead, Siegfried had a letter opener lodged in his right eye socket, Agrippina had fled, and Ekkehardt was fighting Alexandra, who was somehow on her feet and armed with a sword, probably Ludwig’s. I got up and tried to talk some sense into my sister, but it was useless. When I asked her to put down her sword she hissed at me.”

“Hissed? You mean like a snake?” Adrian interjected.

“Yes. It was rather disturbing when it happened. She then tried to throw herself at me, but Siegfried was able to push me out the way at the last moment. At this point, my sister’s failed attack left her on one of the tower’s balconies. She then leapt onto the handrail of the balcony before using that position to jump onto the tower's exterior wall and climb to the roof. This is something that she would have never done before as she was deathly afraid of heights. We were all completely confused by this turn of events. We simply stood there in silence as we tried to determine if going onto the balcony and trying to confront Alexandra was the best course of action. The cramped nature of that particular space, the dangers of falling to one’s death, and the fact that the shape of the tower’s roof made it very easy for someone to be attacked from above made this decision very difficult. After a few tense moments the decision was made for us. Alexandra broke through the ceiling and dropped herself right on top of us. She attempted to make a downward stab into Ekkehardt’s shoulder and through his heart, but she barely missed, badly slicing Ekkehardt’s back, but failing to deliver a killing blow. The sword she was carrying snapped in half as its point connected with the floor. She then threw the broken hilt of the sword at Siegfried. The broken blade hit him in the forehead, just above his remaining eye, and knocked him down. Then, with one turning kick, she knocked Ekkehardt across the room and moved on to me. I didn’t have any time to react. I just blinked and she was in front of me. Then she lifted me up in the air by my neck using only one hand. I clawed into her hand with my fingernails, but it did nothing. Her flesh had become like iron. As I felt the cold embrace of death inch ever closer I couldn’t help, but notice that during this entire time Alexandra’s eyes had never returned to their proper position. Instead they remained rolled towards the back of her head. Thankfully, Siegfried used this opportunity to sneak behind Alexandra and put her into a sleeper hold. The broken sword had apparently failed to penetrate his skull. As soon as Alexandra was rendered unconscious we were able to get the royal physician to chemically sedate her and have her chained to her bed. Siegfried assisted with all of this. He was able to immediately remove the broken sword from his head without any assistance, but the letter opener required a physician’s attention. He didn’t ask for the letter opener to be removed from his eye socket until after Alexandra had been chained up.”

“My god…” Adrian said to himself. Rudolf’s face contorted into an expression of dread with his eyes wide and his mouth hung open while Claudius simply stared at Adler with a morose and tired face. The only person in the room that was (at least visibility) unaffected by Adler’s story was Schwartzbaum, whose face remained expressionless. After a short pause, Adler continued his story.

“When Alexandra awoke her demeanor had changed completely. Before the incident she was a quiet young girl. She was timid, but also humble, precocious, kind, beautiful, and intelligent,” Adler said as the eyes of the whole room remained glued on them. Nobody noticed Ekkehardt narrowing his eyes and briefly shifting his gaze towards Adler quizzically.

“All of this changed after the sedatives we had given her wore off,” Adler continued, “Once she awoke all that came from her mouth was a combination of the most foul obscenities, blasphemies, and vivid descriptions of how she planned to attack and mutilate everyone around her all delivered in long and sometimes incoherent rants. The worst part of all of this is that she did all of this while speaking in Peschtian.” Adler continued. The last word of Adler’s sentence almost made Rudolf want to laugh and he might have if the situation wasn’t so serious.

“What’s wrong with Peschtian?” Claudius asked.

“The problem is that Alexandra never learned how to speak Peschtian,” Ekkehardt answered, “She had excelled at her native Alemanian13 as well as Reminite, Bratiprahan, and Suidmanish and she had some understanding of Strivalian14 and Metrovingian15, but her fluency in Peschtian never extended beyond basic greetings and how to ask where the lavatory is.”

“Over the course of the next week my sister was examined several times by the royal physician. By the end of the week he came to four conclusions: That someone or something had put a curse on Alexandra, that if the curse was allowed to continue then it would kill her in three years, that the royal house possessed a recipe for a potion that could lift the curse… and…” Adler explained.

“And what else? What were his last two conclusions?” Claudius asked. Adler then regained their composition and responded.

“The fourth conclusion that the royal physician reached was that the curse targeted people based on their bloodline and would jump to its victim’s next of kin once it had consumed them. This brings me to the physician's last revelation: if Alexandra dies then I’m next,” Adler answered. For a moment the room was silent.

“Your highness, I find all of this to be rather unfortunate, but I still do not understand how this brings you to Nordfell or what any of this has to do with the thing in the dome,” Claudius asked.

“I am only here, because the potion we need to lift the curse requires the blood of a demon. That is what the thing in the dome is and I intend to kill it,” Adler proclaimed

“Your highness I apologize for my lack of faith in your abilities, but what makes you think you can kill such a thing or even get to it?” Claudius remarked as he poured some ale into a wooden cup.

“I was told that it would be easy, once I obtain an object that has been hidden away in one of the dark corners of your land,” Adler responded.

“And which object would? My land has many dark corners in it, but I don’t think there is much of value in any of them,” Claudius asked as he picked up his cup.

“Well, during my research into Nordfell, I was informed of a cave within your county called ‘Peșteră Agonică16’. I assume that you are familiar with it?” Adler asked.

“Yes, I am. What do you know of it?” Claudius responded before taking a sip of his ale.

“I know that it’s only accessible high in the mountains to the north. The interior is a complex labyrinth filled with an abnormal darkness; a darkness far beyond a starless and moonless midnight; a darkness that no torch or lantern can penetrate. At the center of all of this is a sword that shines like a magnificent bolt of silver lighting in a sea of darkness, but also inflicts intense feelings of fear, shame, disgust, and hopelessness upon anyone who touches it.”

“And why do you want this particular sword, when there are so many in this county that aren’t cursed?” Claudius asked.

“I never said it was cursed, sir,” Adler shot back.

“If it’s not cursed then what is it?”

“It is simply repelling anyone who isn’t its rightful owner,” Adler replied.

“So you think the sword is your property?” Claudius deduced before mentally adding ‘Well, of course you do! You people think everything is your property!’

“Yes. I have reason to believe that this sword is property of the Adlers and as the rightful heir to all that is owned by the Adlers I should have no problem collecting this sword.”

“And why do you have reason to believe that the sword belongs to you?” Claudius asked.

“Because the few descriptions of it that the imperial records have match up with a sword that has been wielded by my family since before we took the name ‘Adler’. It was forged long ago and carried by one of my ancestors when the Alemanian tribes sacked the Occidental Reman Empire. It was said to be blessed with the power to vanquish any enemy, human or otherwise, by not only the last of the arch-druids of the Alemanian pagan faith, but also by Saint Fredrick, the man who converted the Alemanian people to the Kroppian17 religion. Some time after this the sword was used by my ancestor Guntram Aust to kill a demon in the Albus mountains. The site of Guntram’s battle would eventually be where Guntram’s grandson would build Castle Adler, my ancestral home. The sword remained in my family’s possession until the time of the Bergmen hordes, when it disappeared from the records along with many other things at that time,” Adler explained. Claudius sat there, seeming rather unimpressed as he poured himself another cup of ale.

“I believe that, once I have this sword, I will be able to shatter the Frauenwald dome and kill the demon hiding underneath it,” Adler concluded.

“You seem to be putting a lot of faith in this one sword, your highness. The way you talk about it, it almost seems like you think the sword is some sort of gift from God,” Adrian remarked. Adler smiled.

“Well, it was forged from celestial iron…” Adler replied. At that moment Adrian and Claudius went stiff. Claudius put his cup down just as it came within millimeters of his lips before quickly shifting his gaze towards Adrian, who was doing the exact same thing. After half a second of this they both quickly regained their composure.

“Oh…” Adrian remarked. It was clear to everyone in the room that he wanted to conclude that particular tangent and carry on with the conversation.

“Well your highness, that is an interesting story and for all I know it could be true. What I still don’t understand is why you risked your life coming all the way here when you could have just given someone else the right to take the sword and let them deal with the demon,” the count inquired.

“That wouldn’t have worked, sir. The sword can only be wielded by someone of the Adler dynasty. Besides, I am of the opinion that anyone who refuses to put the needs of their family members above their own personal comfort and safety is unfit to lead a family; nevermind an empire,” Adler explained. Claudius looked down at the table with a tired and solemn expression on his face. After a moment he returned to Adler.

“I have a feeling that I will regret this, but I will permit you to go about your mission,” Claudius yielded. Adler breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, sir,” Adler replied.

“The night is beginning to grow old. I believe that we have a room for you to sleep in, should you accept it.”

“As long as it is not a dungeon I’m sure it will be fine, sir,” Adler remarked. Adrian smirked at that comment.

“Well in that case, I think you should retire for the night. We have much to sort out, but I’m sure it can wait until the morning.” Claudius said. Upon hearing this Adler began to get up, only to be stopped when Claudius spoke up unexpectedly.

“Your highness!” Claudius shouted. Adler and Ekkehardt turned around to face the count.

“I almost forgot; there is one thing that I would like to ask you before you retire for the night,” Claudius asked.

“Yes?”

“Why did you come for this particular demon?” He asked. Adler inhaled and braced himself before giving his answer.

“As I said before we need the blood of a demon that is extremely adept at creating curses…” Adler began before pausing. Claudius stared at Adler, awaiting an answer. After an awkward moment he resumed.

“I apologize, sir. What I am about to say is going to be a little difficult for the both of us, as I think you may find it hard to believe.”

“Many strange things have happened here in Nordfell. Don’t think that you are special,” Claudius responded. Adler nodded and returned to his explanation.

“Obtaining the blood of a demon that can create strong curses is our objective. The stronger the demon’s power, the more likely the potion is to save Alexandra. In light of this knowledge, we have set out to slay the one demon who is most adept at cursing people. We believe the creature in the Frauenwald forest is the most suitable target, because we have information linking it to a number of crimes across Adler lands; crimes that have become infamous not just in the empire, but on the entire continent.”

“What crimes are you referring to?” Claudius asked.

“For starters there were the Weisshart murders twenty-nine years ago which we believe it was responsible for. A year after Weisshart a series of strange occurrences began taking place in the empire. In one village a blacksmith with no history of violence took a crucible full of molten lead and poured it on his newborn son before attacking and disfiguring his wife. This was followed by a series of similar events of otherwise peaceful men, women, and children performing acts of unprovoked violence against their friends and family. These incidents, usually involving only handfuls of people would continue for about five years before escalating dramatically. Elsewhere, forty peasants crammed themselves into the entrance of a castle only to have five more peasants pour boiling oil upon them through the castle’s murder-holes, resulting in thirty-two of the peasants dying from their burns before the five peasants that were pouring the oil jumped to their deaths. Strangely, both of the sets of double-doors that lead to this entrance area were open when this took place, meaning that anyone in the kill-zone could have run or even walked to safety, but none of them did. A few months later a group of soldiers found an entire village skinned alive. The skin of all of the villagers was placed in the village square like some sort of religious offering and it was surrounded by what remained of the villagers. The soldiers soon discovered that a handful of the villagers were still alive, just barely. Naturally they asked these people ‘who did this to you?’. All of the villagers who were still living told them that everyone had skinned themselves voluntarily. This claim was later supported by the fact that knives and sickles were found near the bodies and nothing of value in the village was stolen or destroyed. The final event of that year was probably the most disturbing: A group of soldiers came across a village that was empty, except for about fifty people who were huddled around a well. When the soldiers greeted the villagers all they replied with was that they ‘had to jump in the well’. When the soldiers attempted to move the villagers they resisted violently, causing a fight to break out. Once this crowd was pacified the soldiers were able to see the well with their own eyes. It was full of people; stuffed like a sausage. The soldiers spent the next two weeks trying to remove the villagers from the well. The ones on the top were perfectly healthy, but attempted to resist being lifted out. As the soldiers went deeper and deeper in they found people who had been suffocated or crushed by the people above them. Towards the bottom bodies became more and more deformed, suffering injuries that would suggest they fell from a long distance. Eventually the only human remains left in the well was a thick red paste.” Incidents like these would continue for another ten years, mostly within the empire, but also in neighboring countries. While there was never an exact repeat of any specific event all of them had two things in common: an upstanding person with no history of violence, sometimes even children, committing a senseless and vile act against themselves, their friends, or their families and the fact that they all claimed to have been following the orders of a man with horns on his head; a man who is said to have cursed them …”

“You’re not saying…” Claudius leaked out. Adler decided to finish his sentence for him.

“Yes. We believe the monster we are hunting is the one known as ‘The Cursemaker’.”