Aiden, Cynthia, Desmond, and Maeve woke to a pound at the door, on the ground of Graham's bedroom. Desmond shook awake with a groan. His head throbbed, and his body was still heavy as he forced himself upright.

The pound came again, along with muffled shouting.

Cynthia had gotten to her feet and was swaying back and forth as she scanned the room, in a daze.

“What the hell happened?” she asked. “This place is a disaster.”

Aiden flopped back into a chair as he grumbled, “It is Graham’s room. This place is always a disaster.”

Another pound echoed throughout the house.

“Where is Graham?” Maeve asked.

Desmond scanned the room. Books were tossed around the there were a few broken teacups. Graham was nowhere to be seen and the artifact.

“Where is the pyramid?” he asked anxiously.

Just then, the front door was broken down with a boom.

***

Aiden, Desmond, Cynthia and Maeve sprang into action. They did not have their weapons, but they came flying out from Graham's room ready to take on whatever had come through their door.

As they ran into their foyer, they realized that the group attacking their home was a company of royal soldiers in their shining silver armor. The guards were silently moving around the home, searching for something. When they saw the four companions, they quickly formed up in a defensive formation.

"What is going on here?" Desmond shouted.

"Hey, hands off royal buckets," Aiden said as he snatched some object from one of their hands.

A guard dressed in captain's black approached the defenders. He remained silent at first as he gazed closely at each of them.

"Good morning, my name is Captain Marshall. We have heard reports of ransacking going on in this home. There was quite the commotion early in the morning," he explained as he peered down the happy to Graham's room.

Cynthia stepped in his way to block his view.

The captain smiled as he continued, "We have come to investigate. No one answered the door so we have let ourselves in."

"What are you talking about, what ransacking?" Cynthia asked. "You have no right to come into our home in this way, breaking things and busting our door down."

"We have all the right we have the authority of the crown," the captain countered. "If there are crimes being committed, we must investigate them. Someone even said they saw goblins making away in a wagon and a body. Do you know anything about this?"

"We do have two goblin servants. They are paying off a debt to us by working our home," Desmond explained as he tried to keep his cards close to his chest. With Graham and the pyramid missing he did not want them poking around more than the guards had to.

There is too much unknown. We cannot have the army poking around and slowing us up with any investigations, he thought to himself.

"Goblins, in Hailgrad?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Did you clear that with the crown?" Captain Marshall asked.

"We don't have to clear anything with the crown," Aiden countered. "Do you know how many times we have saved the people of this kingdom from certain doom? How many times we have put our lives on the line to save the people of this kingdom? We have only ever done things for the betterment of Hailgalad."

"You do have to answer to the law," the captain countered. "Anyway, you did not answer my question."

"I am sorry, captain do not believe we cleared their staying with us with the crown," Desmond said with his head bowed.

"And where are these goblins now?" the captain looked around. "I would like to speak with them."

The group went silent for a moment. The captain narrowed his gaze at each of them. It was clear that he was suspicious of them and would not leave until he was satisfied.

"They went out with our leader, Graham," Aiden lied. "We are in the middle of a few missions to help people and they went out to go investigate.

"What kind of investigation," the captain asked impatiently.

"They went to gather some scrolls in Javailty with the White Hand. We were actually gathering our things to get ready to join them our there," Aiden explained. "That is why we did not hear you."

The captain said nothing. He only stared at them intently, scanning each of their faces. Desmond could tell that the man knew they were lying.

After a moment, the captain sighed and said, "I will take this information back to the crown, but hear me now, I know you have done a lot of great things for this kingdom. I know many of our soldiers are not as grateful as they should be. But, trust me, rules were made to be followed, and they were made to keep people safe. There is something more going on here with you four. I can tell. I wish you were more forthright with me, but there is nothing I can do to force you. We will leave now, but, please, in the future be open with us. We are all on the same side after all."

Desmond gave him a nod and put his right fist over his heart, "Thank you, captain. Your words are comforting to hear. We will come to you if we need anything."

The captain returned the gesture as he barked, "Soldiers move out!"

"Sir, they are harboring goblins that were seen with a body. They should be brought in for questioning," one of the grunts protested.

"I said move out," he glared at his troops.

He turned to the defenders one last time and said, "Remember what I said. Be open with us, we are on the same team."

The four bowed to the captain. Then, as quickly as they came, the soldiers were gone, going down the street. As the captain left, they saw their door and shards of wood scattered around the floor.

"Look what they did to our place," Aiden angrily. "It is trashed. Everything is thrown around and broken. Even the kitchen is a disaster."

"You know as well as I do, they weren't long enough to do all of this," Maeve said.

"Astrid," Desmond said, suddenly remembering their prisoner.

The group ran down to the cellar. To their horror, the door to the cell was open. Inside the cell door was the heavy key and there was no trace of the woman.

Cynthia punched the cellar door with a thud, "Our captive is gone. The pyramid is gone. The goblins are gone. Graham is gone. What are we gonna do? We are without any leads. This is hopeless."

"Those goblin traitors," Aiden snarled. "Do you think that they have been planning this ever since we brought them here? They just too their chance with this one?"

Maeve her head, "No. this has something to do with the pyramid. Did you see the way the artifact captivated Farnuk? The woman also seemed to know some spell that caught his attention last night. There is something more to this. I believe that they were not intending to betray us. The same thing that came over Graham and I must have gotten to them."

"Certainly Graham did not go with them willingly, right?" Cynthia asked anxiously.

Maeve shook her head, "There is so much we do not know, but I do not imagine we would. Anyways, there were reports of them with a body. My bet is Graham was still knocked out when they took him."

"There is no way to know what exactly happened," Aiden shrugged.

"Exactly," Cynthia said angrily. "We don't know what happened. We don't know where they are. We don't know how to get them."

"That is not entirely true," Desmond said slowly as he thought.

The group followed him up back into Graham's room. There, he grabbed a piece of paper that had a White Hand emblem on it.

"Graham gave us our next clue. We do not know where he is or where Astrid is, but we know the only group that knew about Astrid. The White Hand and Graham's friend," he said as he held up the letter. "It looks like we are going to Javailty."

***

Desmond and Aiden went to rent four horses from a local stable while Maeve and Cynthia gathered what supplies they could find in their ruined home. They bagged any documents, enchanted weapons, or other tools, anything that could be useful to them. When the men had arrived back with their mounts, they said goodbye to their disheveled home and were off down south to Javailty.

"Heard you lot was making a ruckus last night," one of the soldiers jeered as they were leaving the gate. "Goblins running amuck in Hailgalad. First time I have heard of it."

Desmond and the others said nothing. They only kept their eyes forward as they moved out of the gates.

"Finally, they are gonna be gone. Take that crazy wizard and those damned goblins and don't come back!"

With the soldiers behind them, they rode south out of the city. The ride to the southern city was flat and straight. It went across the fields of Aeros. As they departed from Hailgalad, Lake Zuiden was to their left. There was a calm peacefulness to the morning as a rolling fog came in gently over the path as they rode along, hearing the water lap up against the shore.

They rode on as the day wore on. Each of the defenders was quietly thinking about what terrible fate they might come to in their mission. This was unlike anything they had experienced before and uncertainly hung heaving on them.

Finally, after a long ride, darkness approached as the sun set in the west. There were very few people on the road as they hear the crickets chip and wind blow through the tall grass.

"We should camp here for the night," Maeve said.

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked. "We don't have time to be camping. We need to be saving Graham and figuring out what is going on before it is too late."

"None of us have ever been to see the White Hand, and I have never been to Javailty," Maeve said. "We do not know them and a first impression is important. We need to convince them to help us and that may be best don't by approaching by daylight. Anyways, we could use one night to process what has happened to us. We need to be level headed and on the same page when we meet with them."

After much debate, they reluctantly agreed to set up camp near the Southrun river. Here, they had meager meal of dried meat and bread. Cynthia had started a roaring fire where they were heating up some water to make tea. The area was dark and foreign to them, but the sounds of the river and gentle breeze was comforting.

"I cannot remember the last time we did anything without Graham," Desmond said thoughtfully. "He has been there for us since the beginning."

"He did create our order and put all of his personal wealth into making it happen. He bought that house, recruited each and everyone of us. Doing what he did all on his own took courage," said Maeve.

Desmond looked at his sister. It was clear that either the longer it been since she touched the artifact or the further the artifact was away from her, the more she was like herself. She seemed she seemed more relaxed, and, to his relief, was even speaking again.

"I remember when I was recruited like it was yesterday," Cynthia said as she leaned back on a log. "I was just a grunt in the army. We were on a patrol when we saw Graham and you, Desmond and Maeve, out in the middle of nowhere hunting. It was some vampire spawn, right?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"A weerwolven," Desmond said correcting her. "I remember that job. It was dangerous mission, especially with just us three."

"We were called out to defend against some unknown creature. When we came upon it, the thing was fighting them. Some captain was too scared to go in person, so he sent us. We were all eager to get some good experience and maybe accommodations."

"What happened?" Aiden asked.

They warned us to stay away, but we did not listen. The beast tore my company apart. I was only able to survive because of my skill to channel magic to bolster my strength. I had never felt so helpless before. I thought our army was invincible when I started. I was wrong," Cynthia trained off in thought as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"How did they recruit you?" Aiden asked. "I am surprised I have never heard of this before."

"Graham came to me after the attack and said he admired how I handled myself out there. He asked if I would consider joining with them. I asked if they were part of the crown or any specific group and he told me that they were a group of three that did their best to protect those cannot protect themselves. What's more was he told me that they were looking for someone of my talents to round out their unit. After seeing how little my captain cared about me and my fellow soldiers that died there, I took that opportunity right there to leave the army and become a Defender of Sol," Cynthia said proudly.

Maeve nodded her head, "Yes, before you came along, we had a lot of tough work. Much more hand-to-hand for us. Getting you and Aiden on our side was a night and day difference."

"Speaking of," Desmond said. "Aiden do you remember when you were recruited?"

"How can I forget?" Aiden said with a chuckle.

Cynthia turned to Aiden, "I know a little bit about it, but Maeve and I were doing some research when it happened. I do not think I ever got the full story."

"Well," Aiden started, "I was a part of a another guild at the time. If you could call us that. You would probably just call them a group of criminals. We were all well versed in archery, acrobatics, and were able to lock pick better than anyone. We would steal, that is how we made a living. I never knew my parents and I grew up on the streets. I fell in with his one group and one day we decided to steal from the royal treasury. Not the main one in the palace, but there is another treasury that is in the Academy of Arnorad. It was though to be easier, less security, just a bunch of old folks that are teaching classes to kids. We went there to find a few relics that our buyer informed us about. We broke in and got the relics, but we underestimated the security on our way out. There were some magical traps set in a few of the entrances and exit. On our way out, we were caught. I did my best to get my mentor out of the bindings, but the teachers were quickly closing in on us. My mentor took one look at me and said, see you around kid. He gave me a smile and ran away with one of the relics.I was taken in to the prison at the royal palace. Because I had been caught a few times, before they were ready to put me in a working camp for five years."

"Where was the work camp?" Cynthia asked.

"In some forsaken mines north of Frostwatch," Aiden said as he rolled his eyes. "Graham came to my hearing and asked for them to release me. If they did, I would help Graham track down the relic to repay my debt. I don't know how Graham knew about me. I don't know why he came, but he did. He said he saw great potential in me even though I was a pain in the neck and a thief. He said that I could turn my life around and start doing good things to help people. Anyways, Graham, Desmond, and I tracked down my old mentor, Mendel. The old bastard was getting ready to leave on a ship to the Eastern Sea, but we were able to find a storehouse he was using. In all, we rescued thousands of artifacts worth a countless amount of gold. After that, we turned the relics over to the crown to be given back to the people they were stolen from. I was given my freedom and Graham brought me back to you all. Now, the rest is history."

"You are fortunate," Maeve said with a smile. "Lucky that Graham came along and now you are doing more good than you probably ever thought imaginable."

"Yeah, well better than scraping gold out of those frozen caves in the north," Aiden sighed."Now you two, you and Desmond were the first members of the order besides Graham. Do you remember what that was like? What was he doing before he recruited both of you?"

"I am not sure what he was doing after he left the White Hand," Desmond said. "He has always been quiet on those details. He's always kept his personal life before us rather close to the chest. I do know he was still doing the missions that we would do today, trying to help people, but his reach was limited. I don't know why he did not bring anyone from the White Hand first, but maybe he tried. He just decided that he would start fresh with new people who were not already in that group."

Maeve chimed in, "Desmond and I were orphans since we were little kids. Our parents were killed in northfolk raid. We lived in the north, outside of Frostwatch, in a small village. Our mother was killed while traveling with some good to sell in Frostwatch. It drove our father to despair, he joined the military and went to go get his revenge. We were left behind. He ended up losing his life and trying to get justice, or whatever justice was for him. There is something about our upbringing that seemed to fuel an affinity for magic in each of us. We found that we had a pretty good knack in casting with holy or divine spells that seem to draw their magic from Areandel herself. This specific type of magic not the case with most mages and that is how we became paladins."

"That is a tough upbringing," Cynthia said.

Desmond shrugged, "None of us have had the easiest time. After that, we joined the military in a special group for the crown. After a while we felt like we wanted more. We didn't like the structured rigger of the military. I don't know how Graham found us, but he heard of our talents. One day he showed up and recruited us. We left the army dishonorably, but after we discussed it, we knew it was the right path for us. We had been so angry so angry for what the world is taken from us, but we found some peace in working for Graham."

"Peace until now, peace until that damn artifact came," Aiden said.

"Tomorrow, we will be with the White Hand and all this will be solved," Desmond said firmly.

"If you say so," Cynthia sighed in an unsure tone. "I am getting some sleep."

The four companions retired to their separate tents and slept the night away under a chill, star-filled sky.

Morning came quickly for them all with the rushing water of the Southrun river. Desmond found himself anxious, and a bit nervous to go before the White Hand.

He came out of his tent to find Cynthia already by the fire. She looked at him with a face that was unsure of their day ahead. She sharpened a blade which was her common move to quiet her mind.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

I guess I'm just hoping that they can provide if not, this may be a dead end

She shrugged. Let's get the others up.

Their road south continued on straight and true through endless seas of grass. That was until a city emerged in the distance. It had broad, gray, stone walls that had ivy growing up every which way. A great wooden door stood in the center of the wall. It was closed and resolute, bound together with bands of reinforcing iron. From what they could tell, there was no traffic going in and out of the city.

"A bit different from Hailgalad," Aiden said. "I am surprised that they don't have much movement right now."

"The big show of the kingdom is Hailgalad. At the crack of morning, everyone is coming to sell their goods services for the masses of the capital," Maeve said. "Here, just after sunrise most places are still waking. I am not surprised they are a bit slower, but I am sure no time will be bustling."

"The Four companions rode forward to the city. Desmond marveled at the impressive fortifications. While smaller than Hailgalad, the city looked to be impressive in its own right. It was quite large, but it had an older field than the capital.

"This places looks older than Hailgalad," Desmond said. "Maybe it is just the ivy and the darker walls, but it seems to have an ancient knowledge that the capital does not."

"It is older," said Maeve. "Javailty is technically in the center of Hailgalad's old territory. When it was part of the Vaeloran kingdom, it was made as the primary center fortress to rule over our kingdom. Hailgaladrians actually built Hailgalad, but this city was built by the Vaelorans."

"Quiet," Aiden said. "Enough of the history lesson, we're getting close to the gates."

"Half," a resolute voice called out to them from on top of the walls. "What brings you to Javailty?"

"We wish to have an audience with the White Hand. We are in need of their guidance," Maeve called back.

"And who are you? Not just anyone goes to the White Hand, especially in these days," the soldier responded curiously.

"We are the Defenders of Sol. We come by order of our leader, Graham, to gain insight on our current problem that we have. He was a member of that order," Maeve said.

"And what problem is that?" the soldier continued to pry.

Aiden sighed and shook his head as he looked down at the ground. He was obviously frustrated by the soldiers questions.

"I am sorry am I annoying you?" the soldier asked. "If you do not wish to follow our customs then you can be on your way."

Aiden said nothing but Maeve cut in," No, we are sorry. We are just frustrated. We have gone down many avenues of research and have come up empty. That is the reason we are coming to the White Hand. It is for historical purposes only."

The guard looked at them with untrusting eyes. It was clear that he knew they were hiding something.

Desmond cut in, "We found a cave a bit west of your city, far into the forests that way. We were wondering if they could help us decipher some ruins for our scholarly work."

Desmond looked at the others who nodded To him. Desmond was nervous at the prospect of lying to the guards, but it was true that many of them did not agree with the White Hand or the Defenders of Sol. The White Hand, on one hand, had many more people enrolled in their ranks. More importantly, they had more influence with the crown. The Defenders of Sol had only five to represent them."

The guard turned around and was talking to someone who looked like a captain. After a while, he turned and said, "Alright, you may go on into the city. Just do not cause any trouble in our town and you won't have any trouble with us."

"Understood, thank you," Maeve said with a bow.

The great wooden gate creaked open and made a large boom when surge were fully ajar. Immediately after, four guards fell into place on either side of the gate. They were silent and stood there as watchful sentinels as the four defenders rode into the city.

The other guard from the top from the wall called down, "You will find the White Hand near cities fortress. The right side of this main road." He pointed straight down the main, cobblestone road before them.

He continued, "They are in a large, white stone structure on the right side of this main road. It is a tall spire that cannot be missed. I will admit, in the army we do not go to them for council often, although they do spend time advising Governor Elizabeth in her duties. I hope they can help you find whatever it is that you are looking for."

"Thank you again," Maeve said as she put her right fits over her heart and bowed. "We will be on our way. All the best to you and your soldiers."

***

The streets were beginning to wake up as the sun was continuing to rise in the morning sky. The chill of the early morning day was starting to burn off. A number of vendors were posted up along the road, shouting and raising up their goods. Soldiers in shining, silver armor marched along the side of the road in neat and orderly columns.

Desmond admired the building that were of interesting make compared to the capital. They were made of grey brick with brown shingle roofs. Hailgalad, on the other hand, was made mostly of white stone and birch wood. The darker tones were comforting, a bit calmer to Desmond as they rode.

The defenders continued on, riding along the broad streets of Javailty, until at last they were before the great fortress of Javailty. It was a castle that was smaller than the palace in Hailgrad, but had just as much splendor. Tall pillars of grey ston pierced the morning sky. Beautifully forged, iron gates stood closed to the palace courtyard. The iron gate was laden with a depiction of a field of flowers with people creating art and writing within its landscape.

"Javailty is known as a city of art and culture," Maeve explained. "This is why the White Hand decided to make their headquarters here. Many of our great writers and artists have called this place home over the years."

"Thank you for another history lesson," Aiden rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "That is exactly what we have been looking for in this race against time to save our kingdom."

"Well, aren't you just a bundle of joy this morning," Cynthia said as she punched his arm.

Aiden winced and rubbed his arm. "Let us just get to where we need to go. I want to see if these people are as useful as Graham thought."

The party turned right and saw the stone structure that the guard was speaking of. It was a structure that seemed quiet and no one was going in or out of it. Pristine, white walls encircled a singular, white spire that tore through the cloudy sky. The entrance had banner on each side of a brown large, brown door. The banners were red with a White Hand on them.

"Maeve," Aiden asked, "Do you know what the White Hand is supposed to mean?"

"Oh, someone would like a history lesson now?" She chuckled.

"Whatever," Aiden laughed.

"It is meant to be the cleansing hand of justice," Maeve said. "Or at least that is what Graham told me."

Before she finished, Aiden was already off his horse and at the at the door. The ranger was slamming his fist into the weather-worn door when the others were getting off their horse.

No answer came so Aiden pounded on the door again, this time harder.

"Hello," he shouted.

After a time, the door opened slowly with a creak. It revealed an older woman in a red robe. The group was also greeted by a powerful smell of incense that enveloped their nostrils. The woman remained quiet and looked at them with a grave face. She had the same confidence that they had seen both Graham and Astrid carry themselves with. She had long gray hair that fell down past her shoulders. Her hands remained clasped together underneath the long sleeves of her robe.

"H-hello, I am," Aiden fumbled over his words.

"Goodness me, it has been a long time since someone has come knocking on our door. At least someone of the common folk," the woman said with a smile. Her voice was calm and forceful, much more than they would have guessed to come out of a small framed figure such as herself.

The four companions were taken back by this comment.

"We are not common folk," Aiden said firmly.

"Oh," the woman responded, "And whose house are you from? Are you here on behalf of Elizabeth, Governor of Javailty, or a"are you perhaps a party to the crown in Hailgalad?"

"No, no we are not," Aiden said, still a bit lost for words.

Cynthia elbowed Desmond as she whispered, "Not often he has nothing to say."

"Well, then you are common folk," she said as she gave them a smile. Do" not be worried. I am also a common folk, a simple servant of Hailgalad. You must forgive me, I do not meet new people often and I tend to want to mess with them a bit. Now, my name is Gloria, how can I help you?"

"We are the Defenders of Sol," Maeve said. "We are coming to you to request aid."

The woman looked at them with a surprised face. "Graham is your leader, yes?" the woman asked.

"You are Gloria!" Cynthia said.

"Yes, as I have already told you," the older woman said as she arrived her gaze. "What are your names?"

"Yes, Graham is our leader," Maeve stepped forward. "I am Maeve. This is my brother, Desmond, and we have Cynthia and Aiden."

The woman continued to examine them. "Why has Graham not come with you?"

"We have come to you because we have nowhere else to go," Maeve said with her head hung. "We ran into some trouble and Graham is gone, taken. The only lead we have is this letter from you."

Maeve handed Gloria a letter and she looked at it carefully. Then, her eyes went wide, and she asked, "Surely Graham was not taken by a hand of goblins. Did you find any of our missing mages?"

Maeve nodded her head as she said, "We found one and she has taken our leader."

The woman stared at them with concern as she said, "Come inside."