Harald stared at the sign before him. He was preparing to enter the training center, to get in a couple of lessons with the trainees. Yet here he was, staring at the sign Elaine had posted outside.
The Siege of Yorktown: The Mysterious Veteran from Lumen!
Harald regretted talking with Elaine the week before. The bard had come to him, asking about his past and his contribution to the Siege last year. He, of course, refused to answer any of the questions regarding his past, only opting to give vague details about his battle with the marauders. Yet it seemed like that did nothing but give Elaine a different direction in her plays. The veteran should have instead told her a false, boring lie that would’ve exempted him from any of this. He sighed regretfully.
As Harald debated about tearing it down, he heard the bolstering laugh of a certain blonde woman.
“HAHAHAHA!” Helen was doubled over, her arms holding her stomach as she cried out in laughter. The veteran narrowed his gaze at her. “Oh, this is priceless!! I cannot wait to watch your ‘heroics’ play out!”
“You know that this involves you, right?” Harald pointed out. The ex-marauder stopped dead in her tracks. Helen was, in fact, a vital part in that fight. That was where Harald and she met for the first time.
“Ah shit…” she suddenly muttered. Harald himself chuckled as realization dawned on her.
“Hope they chose a stunning actress to play you,” Harald commented as he walked into the training center.
As he left the fellow veteran to stew in her silent shock, Harald headed for the usual meeting spot. As usual, his trainees and guardsmen awaited him. There was some new blood among them, a result of the past couple months of growth. The White Raven clan had grown enough to merge with the town’s council. Now, Yorktown’s guardsmen were ravens in their own right. As soldiers or guards, Harald will find out in time.
“Alright, this session will be shorter.” Harald started, his hands moving behind his back. “Midsommar is today and you all will probably want to spend the time with your families and friends. Not only that, but the bard will have her play here later today.” That earned a couple of chuckles and stifled giggles. They had all seen the poster outside. Harald ignored them and continued.
“As expected, it looks like James, Seamus, Dahlia, and Felix aren’t here,” he sighed. Harald was beginning to think that his initial students weren’t ever going to show up. Then again, they had their duties to fulfill. Felix was the captain of the guardsmen and had to tend to domestic matters and council duty. Seamus was busy with the growth and rebuilding of the town, his absence for today being that of unfortunate timing. Dahlia was also helping keep relations with the clan and its people steady. She had been pushing herself to complete deadlines and keep the residents of New Aldren happy.
James was… well, James. The otherworldly man hadn’t been in training for a couple of weeks, his attention solely on the needs of his clan and the town. Harald had stopped punishing James for missing training, mainly from the weight of the man’s responsibilities. It was already enough that he had to run an entire clan whilst on a literal deadline. The veteran looked to his trainees, all of whom were dreading to hear the order to run laps.
Harald sighed. “Kate, Dirk, Elizabeth, and Harris,” he called out to the squad leaders. They were chosen as such months back, around the bloom solstice. They had all been there since the beginning and had proven to be competent guardsmen. “Grab your squads and pick up where we left off yesterday. Formation tactics and defense,” he ordered. The trainees all blinked in surprise. They all stared at Harald, who furrowed his brow. “What are you all waiting for? Get on with it!”
With that, they all scrambled to the weapon racks, each of them grabbing wooden swords and dummy spears. Harald watched from the sidelines, examining as they practiced squad tactics.
“No laps?” Helen suddenly spoke up from behind. She was by his side, watching the trainees with crossed arms.
“It’s pointless,” Harald muttered. “No matter what I do, they won’t ever be on time nor show up when I want them to.”
“They’ll show up on time one day,” Helen commented. “Things are a little hectic right now, what with all the shit we’ve been through.” The female veteran raised her left hand, wiggling her finger nubs.
“That’s exactly why they should show up,” Harald responded. “No one will ever know when the next fight will be. It’s better to be prepared.”
Helen sighed at that. “Don’t you remember what I told you?” She muttered.
“No one is ever ready.”
Seamus looked up at the sky. It was mid-day now. “We won’t be able to make it for the midsommar celebrations in Yorktown,” he realized aloud.
“We can always celebrate here in Vindis.” Bjorn pointed out as he followed behind the young man. The two were currently in the gold district, near the center of the city. The thieves had dropped them off here, since they couldn’t risk having him followed back at the initial shop they traveled from. They still haven’t found the stalker.
Seamus looked around at the well-kept buildings and clean streets. People here had much nicer clothing and fancier capes. Even the watch looked competent. While Seamus and Bjorn looked decent with their wool cloaks and padded gambesons, they still looked out of place here, to where they caught some looks from the people.
“I don’t like this,” Bjorn muttered. “Too many rich assholes in one place.”
“Tell me about it,” Seamus agreed. Valenfrost was the one place where the rich and pompous didn’t belong.
“Weren’t you raised from money?” Bjorn questioned.
“That was different. My father and mother raised me to be frugal and conservative with my coin. I wore nothing fancy and ate nothing a common man couldn’t get his hands on,” Seamus explained. “My father wanted me to understand the unfortunate.”
“Really?” The dwarf raised an eyebrow. “Yorn really was something else…”
“Yeah,” Seamus murmured. As the two walked, they passed by a variety of people. Rich folks with colorful clothing, merchants with golden rings and jewelry, and even a couple of city guards with steel armor. However, there was one person who caught the young man’s attention. It was a homeless man with a blindfold, his walking stick guiding him throughout the side streets. Seamus had only caught a brief look at him, but it was enough for him.
He stopped dead in his tracks, his blood running cold. “Seamus?” Bjorn prodded suddenly. “You alright?”
Seamus tried to answer, to find the words, but he struggled. “I…I…” He started. How could he explain it? How could he explain the sudden fear and terror he felt in his heart? He couldn’t even fathom a reason he felt this way. He had never seen the blind man before. Yet his body reacted as if he saw a terrifying threat.
“I need to go,” Seamus forced himself to say. “I’ll meet you at Nathan’s later.” He didn’t give Bjorn time to answer before he jogged off into the side streets. The young man did not know why, but his instincts were telling him that this blind man was not what he seemed.
Gustus kept close to Eli, his hand moving to the wrapped sword by his side. “Is it wise to be in this part of the city looking like this?” He asked as he spotted another man in colorful clothing. The two marauders didn’t exactly fit in with their homeless disguises and dirty cloaks.
“It won’t matter,” Eli answered. “The worst they could do is insult and berate us. Even then, I doubt these pompous pigs would ever waste their time on homeless men.”
“Right, it’s just that…”
“Don’t forget who’s in charge here,” the spellcaster pointed out. “As long as you’re with me, you do not get to question my methods. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Gustus muttered. The blind marauder grinned and continued his walk, his hand using his staff to guide his walking. The raven familiar the man had was currently dispelled, which meant that Eli had to rely on his staff as a makeshift walking stick to get around. Gustus had to read out the signs and directions in the city for him, just to make sure the blind man didn’t get lost.
After some more walking and navigating, the two finally reached a simple building. Compared to the rest of the gold district buildings, this one looked out of place. It was two stories, with a silver sign that read:
Ferir’s Tomes and Scrolls
It was a wizard’s shop, one that boasted golden accents on its doors and carved gargoyles that sat outside the entrance.
“Wait here.” Eli waved to Gustus, who watched as the blind man entered the embroidered doors. He awaited outside, unsure of what to do other than stand guard.
As the marauder waited, he thought about Deimos’ plan. At first, he had thought it was about the Draugr. That’s what it seemed like in the first place. Now, however, the objective had entirely shifted. The scale and width of their goal was something Gustus only heard of in stories. It was something he never thought he’d be a part of.
He recalled the stories of the Halvorson raid. The tales of Yorn and his fall. The rumor that his fabled son was alive and looking for revenge. They were stories, sure, but Gustus knew that stories always had some sense of reality in them. After all, where else would they have come from?
The marauder had only begun to think about this when he heard a loud commotion in the shop behind him. He turned, his hand moving to his hidden sword. Gustus contemplated on coming inside to help Eli. More noises of a struggle sounded out, accompanied by a loud shout that wasn’t Eli’s.
“Arcane Bolt!”
Gustus prepared himself, his hand already halfway through unsheathing his sword. Just as he grabbed the doorknob, something was thrown out the window nearby, shattering glass everywhere. Gustus stopped, his gaze moving to the steaming heap on the pathway. It was an elderly man, his eyes lifeless and his chest showcasing a deep wound that crackled and steamed. His wizard hat was burnt to a crisp, nearly unrecognizable.
The door in front of Gustus opened, and Eli stepped out. His outfit was changed back to his marauder garb, which told Gustus that the spellcaster had his illusion dispelled. Still, Eli barely had a scratch on him, his robes and black armor only slightly singed. The spellcaster sniffed the air, his face contorting into one of disgust.
“Gustus, get that corpse into the shop. The watch could come at any second.” Eli turned to the marauder, his hand waving. “Get on with it. Don’t just stand there.”
Gustus nodded slowly. “Yes, sir…” He hurried to the body, holding his breath as he grabbed the legs. He dragged the dead wizard hurryingly, hoping that no one would come by and see the chaotic scene. The marauder was thankful that the street was barren during the altercation. He mentally attributed that to Midsommar. The festivities were soon to start and most people would be already getting prepared.
The marauder looked up at the sky, watching as the sun slowly approached the afternoon. Gustus felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought of tonight. When the blind spellcaster was done with his spell circle, he knew Midsommar would turn from a festival of life to one of death.
Seamus felt his legs burn with effort, his lungs quickly working overtime to bring him the air he needed. The young man needed to get out of Vindis to get help. The blind homeless man he had just seen was nothing more than the marauder who assisted Deimos during the raid of the fort. Seamus only needed to see him to understand what was happening.
‘It can’t happen again! I won’t let them do to Vindis what they did to my home!’
He needed to stop this, no matter what. Seamus thought of a plan as he rushed through alleyways and platform bridges. Maybe he could tell the watch? That was useless. Even if they believed him, they didn’t have access to the alarm runes in Vindis. Maybe he could get help from Yorktown? No, it would be half a day’s sail. By the time Seamus would get to Yorktown, Vindis would already be razed and burnt. That also meant contacting James would be useless. Even if the Jarl could rally up a force, he wouldn’t get here on time.
Seamus stopped in his tracks, his mind going to his only hope.
‘Nathan!’
The wizard could sound the alarm, get the entire city on guard and contact the nearby clans. Seamus looked up at the street signs, his feet turning to the south. He sprinted, hoping to all hope that he was fast enough.
Gwenyth stared at the wizard shop, her hands clenching tightly. The elf had been tailing Seamus for the better part of the day, hoping that the young man would give her something to go on. Yet she found something else even more urgent. The marauders were here, and they had just executed Vindis’ primary wizard. She felt for her saber, almost ready to go into the shop and stop whatever they were doing. Instead of rushing, however, she hesitated. That blind spellcaster gave her a horrible feeling. One she hadn’t felt in a century.
‘Could it be…?’
Gwenyth pondered on the possibility. If she was right, Vindis was in even more danger. She looked to the spot where the dead wizard had been. She remembered him from her scouting. Ferir was the primary wizard of the city, in charge of the ley line totems and keeping them connected. He was supposed to be a formidable spellcaster, capable of rank four spells. Yet he had been dispatched in only a minute.
The elf rethought her plan. She couldn’t risk fighting someone like that spellcaster, not when she only had four castings left. While she couldn’t be entirely sure, Gwenyth didn’t want to gamble her life. She needed to tell Arthur and William. The elf turned around, ignoring Seamus as he ran for his life. She would deal with him later. This was a much more important matter.
The elf formed her fingers as she ran, recasting a spell that had run its course earlier.
“Nimble Feet!”
Gwenyth felt her body grow lighter, her stamina reinvigorating itself. It would only last for a minute, but it would be enough for her to make it to the base.
Seamus tripped and stumbled through trash and discarded pots. He cursed as he stood up, not caring for the crap that stuck itself on his clothes. The young man was almost to the wizard’s shop, his eyes focusing on the distant light of the blue lanterns. As he began his run, he could hear the cheering and commotion of the nearby street. Seamus looked up at the sky, seeing how the day grew late. Midsommar was beginning its festivities and the people of Vindis were already preparing to celebrate.
These people weren’t aware of the terror that would befall them. They were oblivious to it all, their laughs and shouts showing the young man that they had planned to enjoy themselves. The marauders would destroy it all and paint the streets red. That is, if Seamus failed. The young Halvorson gritted his teeth and pushed his body farther, his sore legs moving to run.
By the time he made it to Nathan’s shop, Seamus was exhausted. His legs wobbled and his breathing was rapid. He slammed on the door, trying to open it. It was locked.
“No… No no!” Seamus banged on the entrance, trying to get the attention of whoever was in there. “Open! Please open the door!”
He fidgeted with the knob, trying his best to force it open. Seamus soon slammed his shoulder against the door, his yells going hoarse.
“Open dammit!” On his third slam, the door finally gave in and opened. The young man fell to the ground, his gaze moving up.
The gnome called Wheaton looked down at him in anger, his eyebrow raised. “You idiot! What is wrong with you?! You could have broken the–!” His sentence would never be finished, as Seamus pushed past him. The young man rushed to the back room, bursting through the curtain.
Nathan was there, along with Bjorn, Rockford, and the two artificer gnomes. The wizard looked at Seamus with a confused look. “Seamus? Are you alright? You look like–”
“Sound the alarm!” Seamus shouted suddenly, his legs stumbling over. He landed on his hands and knees, but the young man didn’t care.
“Marauders are going to raid the city! I need you to sound the fucking alarm!”
“Nimble Feet! Shadow Step!”
The elf swept through the dark alleyways of the slums, her hands forming runes. She was on her last few castings now, but it didn’t matter. All she needed to do was get to the old town hall. There, she and Arthur could come up with a plan to deal with the marauders.
‘And that spellcaster.’
The blind man was a threat, one that could come to threaten Valenfrost in the near future. If he wasn’t taken care of, Gwenyth would risk a repeat of a war. Even worse, it could mean that he was returning. The elf shook off that memory. It wouldn’t do her good to dwell on that. She needed to focus on the current situation. Soon enough, she could spot the town hall, its decrepit wood giving the elf some relief.
Gwenyth rushed to the building, her nimble feet spell and shadow step dispelling just in time. Her hands slammed the doors open.
“Arthur!” she shouted as she looked around. She blinked in surprise as her eyes met that of a stranger. No, not just a stranger. The man wore lumen armor, the symbol of the phoenix imprinted on his chest. He was accompanied by others who wore similar garbs, their numbers ranging from around fifteen to twenty. There were even some Lumen Knights here, their wax seals showcasing the Delphine coat of arms. They all looked at her with confused and surprised looks, some of them even muttering amongst themselves.
“What the…?”
“Gwenyth!” Arthur’s voice called out from behind her. She turned and met the outlander’s gaze. He was in the courtyard, wearing his armor, as a nearby mage drew a rune circle on the ground.
“Arthur? What the hel is happening?! Why are there soldiers here?!” She stepped up the outlander, almost contemplating on punching him. Before she could act out on it, she could feel her natural alert go off. The elf’s eyes widened, and she hurried to pull her saber out. She would be too late, as something hard hit her head.
Her vision blurred, and her world went spinning. Gwenyth landed on the ground in a daze, something hot trickling down her forehead.
‘Blood…’ she realized. Gwenyth looked up at the grinning mask of Eilif, who stood above her with a blunt club. He raised it once more and struck down, sending the elf into the darkness.
“What?”
“The alarm! You need to alert everyone in the city and the clans!” Seamus reiterated as Bjorn helped him up.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. “I heard you, but… the marauders of the north?”
“They’re here! They killed the wizard in the gold district!”
“Ferir?” Nathan’s eyes widened. “You’re lying! Ferir is Vindis’ primary wizard. They can’t just simply kill him.”
“Well, they did! That blind bastard Eli killed him! I saw it all happen. You have to believe me!” Seamus gestured around. “This city! They’re going to raid it! Like they did with my home, they’re going to kill everyone here and burn it all down!”
Nathan stared at the young man, his expression that of disbelief and shock. He was clearly conflicted with Seamus’ words, his eyes glancing at the crystal ball that rested nearby.
“Even if what you’re saying is true, I cannot sound the alarm.”
“What?! Why not!?”
“Only designated spellcasters have that authority. Magisters and the like. I’m just a cheap wizard,” Nathan revealed.
“Can’t you contact them then?! Alert them!” Seamus shouted.
“I can’t! It’s midsommar, so most of them are drinking at bars or out of the city!”
“Fuck!” Seamus cursed loudly. He grabbed at his hair. They needed to hurry before the ley lines were disconnected from the city and all communication was cut off. It was the same tactic used in the Halvorson raid, the same tactic that had deprived the fort of reinforcements. “Can you contact the nearby outposts? Any of the clans?”
Nathan shook his head at that. “I can only contact people I know. People that I’ve met or have a trace of,” Seamus contemplated for a moment. His mind went to the only hope he had left. The only person who could help. He grabbed his bear pin, the one gifted to him a month back. He held it out to Nathan.
“A wizard named Falrick gave this to me. His trace should still be on it. Find him and contact him.”
When Gwenyth came to, she was met with the smell of shit and mildew. She felt like shit and the blood on her forehead was dried up. She coughed, her blurred vision slowly clearing up. When it did, Gwenyth realized she was in a cell block. Mold grew on the walls and the iron bars around her were rusted to all hell. There was even a body nearby, its bloodied tabard showing her it used to be a city guard.
‘I’m in the copper district’s jail…’
She lifted her gaze to the bars in front of her. The light was scarce, but it was enough for her to see the figures of Arthur and Eilif. The bounty hunter tapped on the bars, his raspy voice grating against the elf’s ears.
“She’s awake.”
Gwenyth clenched her jaw. “You bastards! What are you doing?! Marauders are coming to raid this city and you turn against me?!”
“We know,” Arthur responded simply.
Gwenyth blinked. “What?”
“We know the marauders are planning to raid the city. We have for a while. We’re going to let them,” the former apostle reiterated.
“Why? Why would you…? Those soldiers… The lumen knights… What are you planning to do with them?” Gwenyth questioned.
Arthur narrowed his gaze. “We know for a fact that Deimos will show himself in the raid. That’s a part of the real reason for the Lumen Knights.”
“The real reason?”
Arthur sighed. “The city has been a target for a while. It is a threat, one that could prove problematic in the future.”
“What are you talking about?” Gwenyth questioned.
“Let’s not be naïve here. There is a war coming. With how tensions are rising, at some point, we’ll be forced to engage with the nomads in Valenfrost, whether they like it or not. Maybe in a few years, maybe next month. The council is paranoid and wants to get ahead of the curb,” Arthur explained.
“So that’s what it’s about? Politics? What about James? The ley lines? Sealing the source?!” Gwenyth shouted this out to the former apostle. She knew what she saw in Buravon was real. Arthur had to know that the ley lines needed to be fixed.
Arthur crouched to meet the elf’s eye level. “We know where he is. Had known since the beginning. We just needed to confirm the location of the fracture’s source.”
“You knew all this time? What about the scouting and the…” Gwenyth trailed off. How could she have been so stupid? Arthur wasn’t scouting to learn more about James. He was looking for strategic locations. “You’re planning to meet the marauders when they raid,” Gwenyth muttered in realization. “You want to use Vindis as a proxy battleground. Then sink it when the marauders are taken care of…”
“Took her long enough,” Eilif chuckled.
“Did William know?” Gwenyth asked.
“He knew,” Arthur revealed. “He’s currently in the iron district, forming the summoning circle for more reinforcements.”
“Why did you bring me along, then? If you were just going to stab me in the back?”
“Originally, this was supposed to be a simple mission. We were supposed to seal the fracture, get Holter, leave Valenfrost,” Arthur admitted. “Things got complicated once we found out about Holter’s involvement in this city and those damned marauders.” The apostle sighed. “Alfred warned me you weren’t going to agree easily to it.”
Gwenyth scowled. “That bastard knew about this?! I’ll gut him when I get my hands on—”
“Save your breath,” Eilif called out. “When this is all over, you’ll thank us for ridding this world of both Deimos and this cursed city.”
“Arthur,” Gwenyth muttered, her words laced with vitriol. “You can still change this. We don’t have to sink this city and put everyone to the sword. There’s still time to fix this!”
Arthur only stared at her, his legs standing him up. “We’ll come back for you when it’s all done. After that, we’ll talk.” He turned and left, leaving the elf alone with the bounty hunter.
Eilif chuckled, his brass goggles turning to the window. “You’ve proven to be the same as always, Gwenyth. Oblivious and foolish. Just like when you lost your arm. Or when you let Gerald die.”
The elf’s heart dropped at the mention of her old companion. There was none alive that could say that. No one who could remember what happened a lifetime ago. She strained against her cuffs. “When this is over, I’m going to rip off that grinning mask of yours. No man is immortal, Eilif. I hope you know that.”
The bounty hunter only chuckled as he walked away.
“I cannot wait.”
