The Defenders of Sol followed Gloria through the dark hallways of the White Hand headquarters. The torches on the walls that illuminated their way and the smell of incense was thick in the air as they walked on. They passed many rooms that were empty of people, but filled with books.

“There are not a many people here as I might have thought,” Maeve said. “I assumed that your ranks would be hundreds strong.”

“Well,” Gloria said, “We don't have the people that we used to. The use of magic is failing our kingdom. It is hard to find talented young people to join our ranks, but we do persevere and our numbers are steady.”

The tight halls finally opened up to a wide courtyard. Here, there were a number of gardens. Finely trimmed hedges sectioned our tranquil spots where people were reading and even playing instruments. In a far grotto, there were some teachers showing young pupils how to cast and hold a ball of fire in their hands.

Desmond breathed in and out with the fresh air. He looked around and saw the circular wall shape where the rooms for people's personal areas and inside studies were. It was clear that the wall was used for aesthetic purposes and keep a quiet atmosphere inside rather than for militaristic need.

Then, in the center of the courtyard, the spire shot into the sky. It looks to be even taller than the palace of Governor Elizabeth. The combination of its height and small circumference seemed to be a marvel of construction for the defenders.

"This place is so peaceful," Maeve said. I do not know where else I would rather be to clear my mind. There is a connection here that I have not felt before."

Glorious smiled as she said, "It is the best place on earth for one to clear their mind and to think. We are truly blessed to have the space to be our own to be what we are. Now, follow me."

they continued to follow mage across the courtyard and back into the circular wall structure that surrounded the courtyard and the spire.

"What is in the spire," Aiden asked.

"That is for our leadership council chambers, and old relics that we keep safe here," Gloria said as she stared at it a moment.

Desmond turned around to see one last glimpse of the wondrous spire that looked like a long spear. it pierced the air and near the top there were four additional outlets. they jutted out from the spire and thrust it into the clouds.

"Are those four rooms up there?" he asked

"Yes, they are for our four council leaders, now come."

They went back into the circular wall structure and found a quiet study that had a fire going and scrolls all around. Large bookshelves, that went up to the ceiling of the room. They were filled with an untold amount of ancient books.

"Looks like the old man's room back at home," Aiden said.

The woman smiled, "Graham and I share two things, we like old books and are quite the messy people. Now, what is it that you wish to bring to my attention? You say that you found one of our mages. May I ask who it was and what they're doing with Graham?"

"Well," Desmond started. "We found a mage called Astrid. She lured us out on a mission to help a village against the spirits that were attacking them. When we found out that she was behind it all, we were able to capture her and bring her back to our home. It was there that Graham shared with us your letter and I identified Astrid as one of the missing mages."

"Wait, why did she lure you?" Gloria ask to confused tone. "What has happened and what was she looking for? Why did she take? You said she took Graham away."

"Well," Desmond continued, "A few days ago, we were on a mission west of here to take out a vampire den. After finishing that, we found a caravan trying to make their way through the western forest."

Gloria shook her head, "Thise forests are riddled with strange tidings. They used to be home to an ancient cult that worshiped a dark god whose name I will not utter."

"Dyurkan," Aiden said. "Is that who you are talking about?"

Gloria gave him a look as she shouted, "How dare you use the name of the enemy here. The enemy that always looks to stifle us at every turn."

"Then why was your mage working for him?" Aiden pressed.

"What do you mean? Astrid?" Gloria said "That is preposterous."

"Perhaps if we finished our story," Maeve said as she raised her hand and put it on Aiden's shoulder. "Then we can deliberate on who is wrong."

Gloria gave Aiden another foul look, but then nodded to Maeve.

Maeve said, "Well, we found a caravan that had been attacked by these giant spiders. We went with a few of them to save their captives. Their trail led us to a decrepit cabin in the middle of the woods. Deep below the building, we found a strange temple that had a pyramid artifact."

"And you're saying this artifact is for Dyurkan?" Gloria asked.

"We did recover the artifact," Maeve said with a nod. "And we brought it back to our home. That is when Astrid came to us with a mission to save these people. When we went there, we found it was a trap to get the artifact from us. We beat her and brought her back to Hailgalad. We had goblin servants that turned against us. They drugged us somehow and took the artifact and Graham."

Gloria sat and and fell back into her chair with her face, dumbfounded, "I cannot believe you, you found it."

"Found what?" Desmond asked.

"In ancient times, when Durkin was attempting to overthrow the divine order, he amassed a following of dark mages. The people that he snared tried to create a new world order. There are people that he was able to manipulate because they craved power. They thought that they would receive this from him. One of their leaders was proficient in the creation of magical artifacts with power granted to him by Dyurkan. This evil mage created what he called the staff of Dyurkan. It was a meant to channel the dark energy from this terrible deity to conquer the world," Gloria explained.

The defenders stayed silent as the older woman continued, "Back then, the White Hand had a great number of mages. We hunted for this artifact, and this group of mages and fought many battles against them. Dyurkan also failed in his plan to take over the land of gods. He was exiled from the divine order. After, he went into hiding and feared to show his face in the open because he knew he could not face the divine order alone. With this, he worked through this group of dark mages to try and conquer the world. He thought if he thought he could conquer the mortal world, then he could regain some of the power he had lost. The White Hand had won battle after battle. After many years, we were able to take out the cells of dark mages one by one. They had a large number of people north in the ruins of Garnloban, north of Frostwatch. There, we took out their leader and his captains, and laid waste to their plans to conquer the world."

"What about the artifact," Desmond asked.

"We could never find the pyramid that laid a top of his staff. The staff that their leader held was confiscated, but the pyramid was taken and brought somewhere that we did not know. Into hiding these dark mages went. They hid from the world in order to one day rise up, summon the Lord and his power and succeed in conquering the world."

"What we must have found what was an old holdout of theirs. The temple was built underneath that cabin in the woods. It may have been a small cult of them that were able to take the artifact far away," Maeve said.

"Time seems to have washed them away, but that artifact still holds a great power. I imagine that drew any manner of beast around it. That is probably why the spiders nestled there and why they were so dangerous," Gloria explained.

"That was what we thought," Desmond said. "We thought that this thing had drawn them in and we weren't quite sure what to do with it."

"And where is it now you said Graham was taken, but what about the artifact?" Gloria asked.

"Artifact is gone as well. Astrid had escaped from our prison cell that we had in our cellar and our servants helped her take the artifact," Maeve said nervously. "Now, we do not know where she or the artifact is."

The woman looked down and stroked her chin as she thought, "The caves we were investigating were not far from where you were in those forest, just south is where we lost Astrid. They had a cult that was worshiping Dyurkan in there, and we believe that is where she was probably turned. It was a cult of goblins and if you had goblin servants working for you, there's no wonder why they had betrayed you. She is a great master at deception. It is in her training to be so. We are all trained to master our minds and the minds of our adversaries. Goblins are also susceptible to the swaying of Dyurkan."

"What do we do now?" Cynthia asked. "We came to you because we have nowhere else to turn. We have no leads if she has an artifact that is powerful as you say, we need to find her and save Graham."

"That we do," she said, "But in order to wield the full power of the artifact, she must first get the staff. Luckily, it is safe with our order. I think the best course of action is to bring this to the high council, although I'm not sure they will be on our side."

"What do you mean on our side? How could they not be on our side? There's evil out there. Isn't that what the White Hand is made to take out?" Cynthia said, as she got viably frustrated.

Gloria raised her hand and said, "It used to be that way, but time has worn our numbers thin. Our resources and reach is limited, and, for the most part, especially with our leadership, we have turned more to advising leaders rather than working in the field."

"Is that why Graham left?" Maeve asked.

"Partially," Gloria said cautiously. "Partially from the death of his wife."

"His wife," Aiden gasped. "He had a wife? Did you all know this?"

The other defenders shook their heads it was clear they were just as confused.

Gloria blushed and she looked down, "If he is not shared those things with you, then it is not my place to do so. I am sorry, I have to respect his privacy. I know it is a deep wound that he carries every day."

The group of silent as they looked at one, another. Desmond was beyond confused, almost to the point of being hurt. Graham had been married. He thought he knew everything there was to know about his leader, but it turned out that he knew very little. He knew nothing about his time with the White Hand. He didn't know he had a wife he didn't know anything about his past. If he kept this, could he be trusted?

Desmond shook his head. That is preposterous, just because he kept this does not mean he is a bad person. We all have secrets.

Gloria stood up as she said, "Come on, we must see the high council now. I think we can convinced them to mobilize and act."

The group hurried out towards the spire. As they moved, the mages in the courtyard were all fixated upon the defenders. They curiously watched them to see what was happening. In no time, a group was growing of anxious people wondering what was going on.

As they approached the spire, two robed guards who had silver chestplates, walked up to them. Each of the mages had staffs at the ready.

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"Outsiders not cleared by the high council member are not allowed in the spire, you know this Gloria," one of the guards barked.

"Yes, I do, Markel as previous head of the council, I know more than you ever will," Gloria shot back. "I was here when most of the rules were written now step aside to your superior. There is urgent news to discuss.l

The guard Markel looked over to the other guard who shrugged. He looked upon the lady and said, "Fine. We have our eyes on them."

"As do I," Gloria said as she stepped forward.

The group entered the spire which had no door. It was only a very wide opening. Desmond looked at the intricately carved white stone that had countless depictions of scenes and other designed. He did not know was possible for stone to be carved in such delicate manner. The smell of incense washed over him again. It was a calming sense that seemed to clear his mind.

"What is that smell?" he asked Gloria as they walked forward.

"It is incense from the Gudblomst flower. It is a plant that brings a calming sense used in many teas. We use it here to keep our minds calm and clear in order to make proper decisions. A clear mind is a right mind as we say here at the White Hand," Gloria said.

As they walked forward, Cynthia saw the council chambers and stopped. "What are we doing?" She asked as the rest of the group stopped and stared at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" Maeve said. "We are trying to rescue Graham."

"I mean, what are we doing with these councils and high people? You heard her, they don't even do any of the real work anymore. They are just advisors if they were out there in the field, they could have found this artifact and they could have saved everyone from the torment that it is bringing, not waste our time with these people," Cynthia said.

Maeve put her hand on the large woman's shoulder, "We need the information that they have, we need their council. We cannot do this alone."

Cynthia shook her off and walked away. "I will meet you outside."

She stomped away and Aiden looked at her go. He turned to the others and said, "I will go with her and make sure she does not cause any trouble."

Gloria looked at Desmond, "Is she all right?"

Desmond shrugged, "She will be. Cynthia is a woman of action. Her and Aiden tend to be on more of the practical side of life. Councils of mages speaking about high proclamations is not something that she is too keen on."

"I see why Graham chose her then," Gloria said with a smile, "He was never one for those things either."

The three continued forward through the short hall that opened into an enormous room.

The spire's ceiling seemed to have no end, the space above them had looked to be a clear night sky. There were candles, floating sporadically that almost looked to be stars. It was a wondrous sight that took Desmond's breath away.

"Do my eyes deceive me, is this some illusion?" Desmond asked.

"It is an enchantment," Gloria explained. "Another calming technique to help for the aura of this place. All about clearing the mind."

Desmond continued to the be lost in the shimmering sky above him. As he stared, suddenly a book flew past his face. It went flying forward towards a high seat, where an old man sat. He was high on an intricately carved, wooden bench that looked down upon the audience room were Maeve, Desmond, and Gloria walked in. The man was flanked by two people to his right and one to his left. Each were slightly elevated, but lower than his position. It was clear that whoever he was, the old man was the high councilor of the White Hand.

"Gloria," a deep, melodious voice called out. "Who have you brought before us? This council meeting has not yet come into session."

Gloria gave a slight bow, "Lord Halieor, I bring before you the Defenders of Sol."

"Pupils of Graham," the man said as he adjusted his glasses. "And where is that deserter?"

That backhanded comment fired up Desmond. It him angry as he forgot all manner of procedure and stepped forward. "He is not a deserter. He is a great person. He has done great things for this kingdom. He has saved many lives more than I can say about your society," the young man said hotly.

Gloria looked at Desmond with her eyes wide.

The old man sat atop his high seat, smiling with contempt. "Boy, you know nothing about who we are or what we have done. You come to my hall you insult me and now I assume you are going to ask for help. I will not stand for this. Gloria throw them out now."

The mages in shining, silver armor approached as Gloria raised her hand and shouted, "My Lord, we must listen to them, please. It is true. They are naïve, but they have news that very well may save our kingdom."

"Very well," the old man said after a pause. He eased back in his chair. "I will give you five minutes. After that, you must leave this place."

Desmond flash a glance to Maeve as Maeve nodded and stepped forward. "We captured one of your lost mages, her name is Astrid. She lured us out to a remote village, where she was terrorizing the villagers with these conjured spirits. After we confronted her, we came to find that she was after an artifact that we recently found. It is a pyramid artifact no bigger than something you could hold in your hand. As I mentioned, we captured her and brought her back to our home. With some help, she escaped with the artifact and stole Graham away. We don't know where she went, but Gloria tells us that you have the other piece of this artifact needed to summon the power of Dyurkan. Whatever she has been planning for, her aim to bring that dark god's power back. She wishes to claim it for herself."

The old man scoffed, "Are you serious? What catastrophic blunder by your order to let that artifact in the hands of someone who has lost their way. I just hope we're able to find her before real damage is done."

He pointed at Desmond. "This is what happens when splinter organizations think they know better than us. Graham thought he knew better than the White Hand. He thought he had all the answers And was more righteous than us. He leaves, makes the Defenders of Sol, and causes a catastrophe and let it be known. Make no mistake this is a catastrophe. The power of that artifact that could be brought upon this world is incredible and the hands of even a movie, it could bring ruin to a city or a kingdom. The White Hand will handle this mess."

Desmond stepped forward, "We will not be berated."

The old man raised his hand, and with that lightning struck through the sky in the roof above them. The clear, night sky became cloudy and rolled with a powerful thunder as he repeated himself from on high. "We will clean up your mess."

"How?" Desmond asked.

the old man turned to Gloria, "Gloria?"

Gloria thought for a moment, "Well, we know where she went missing in those caves. We know it is an extensive cave network that we have not fully explored yet, but perhaps at this time, we will revisit that location. These worshipers of Dyurkan always go underground to hide from the light. We are almost certain that is where she will go."

Maeve stepped forward, "Should we go to the crown or Elizabeth with this predicament."

Lord Halieor shook his head, "And why do we need to bother the other authorities of this issue? The hand can handle this as we have handled countless disasters in the past."

"Astrid should be coming here next. She may want the staff to complete the work as was mentioned before. She may be coming here right now to steal it from You. If she gets her hands on both of those objects, she could summon the very essence of Dyurkan upon Hailgalad. The leadership must be warned," Maeve said.

Desmond looked at his sister and could see the stress of the artifact was weighing on her.

The old man shook his head, "She would be a fool to show her face back here again. No matter of any army that she could conjure up could begin to take on the White Hand. We can let the guards at the city gate know that to watch out for any unchecked, mages or suspicious folk, but let us not get carried away with hysterics. Yes, this is a catastrophe that Graham and his cast of defenders have brought upon us, but let it be known the White Hand will right this wrong. We will find her and we will bring her to ultimate justice."

"How can we help, Lord Halieor," Desmond asked. He thought the lord might help to get them back in some decent standing.

"You have done quite enough. I will permit you to stay here under our protection for the time being so long as you stay out of our way," the old man said.

Maeve stepped forward again, "That is not an option. We are going to find Graham and we are going to put this right. Let us help."

The silver guards came up behind each of them and planted their staffs in the ground.

"Lord Halieor said no, you will not get in our way, not now. You will be quartered here we will get the other two companions that you traveled here with. You will follow us, we will find a room for you to stay while we set this issue right," the guard barked.

"Wait," the old man shouted as he and the other council left their high benches and came down to speak more closely with Desmond and Maeve and Gloria.

"I know I am being hard on you two," the old man finally said as he came into the assembly area.

There seems to be a little crack in him asHalieor gave them a slight smile and patted Desmond on the shoulder.

"The world is a dangerous place and all the more dangerous when there's people like us around. I a world that is increasingly less magical, mages can turn evil and disrupt entire kingdoms on a whim. We have to be vigilant, we have to be strong, and we have to be together," the old man said. "It is true that I resent Graham leaving. I think he could have done more here rather than going off on his own, but I hope the best for his safety and I want you to know I hope the best for Hailgalad. Please, let us right this wrong."

Desmond and Maeve smiled at the old man. Then, Maeve spoke, "That is what we all want. We just want Graham back. And that insane Astrid stopped. If we can do anything, please let us know."

Just then, the sound of an incredible explosion came from behind them that shook the spire to its core.

***

Cynthia barged out of the tranquil gardens and into the front hall entryway of the White Hand compound. Shite hot embers burned within her as she felt so helpless, so frustrated at the people in there.

"What is the matter?" Aiden asked. "I am usually the one that runs. my way is to be the hothead. You are usually the strong, stoic type. Why don't you stick to that?"

"I am sick of this. I'm sick of all these organizations. I'm sure they're getting berated in there right now. I knew I couldn't handle it. To be lectured by some people who don't know what it's actually like to go out and help people these days. I'm sure no one in there has actually gone out and helped the people of this world and quite some time I just, I cannot do it anymore," she kicked the dirt angrily as a mage watched them from the front doorway.

Aiden put his hand up, "I know, it frustrates me too, but it is necessary that we go to these people. We need their help. We have nowhere else to go."

"We do have one," she said.

"And that is?" Aiden asked.

We know the other piece of the puzzle is here with the White Hand. We brought her the artifact. She has the that now, and she has Graham. Based on everything I heard from Gloria, Astrid needs that staff if she wants to wield true power. The next lead is the White Hand headquarters," the woman said as she ran her hand through her short, brown hair.

"So the next move is to do nothing?"

Cynthia nodded, "Exactly, they will show themselves here and we will be able to grab them. I don't know if she will send some of her goblin servant, or maybe even another mage. By how it seemed, when she brought us out there into that forest, she was alone. She had those conjured spirits, but she was alone when she brought us out. She is not confident or dumb enough to take us alone. If she had others, she would have had them there in that forest. When she comes here for the staff, we take her."

"Seems like a lot of ifs," Aiden said. "Meanwhile, Graham is locked away in some dungeon somewhere and we won't be able to get him."

"No, you could tell how desperate she was," Cynthia said excitedly. "She wants to carry out this plan as soon as possible. She will have to come here since we know any number of goblins would not be able to steal it themselves. We use her desperation to our advantage and we wait."

Aiden shrugged, "I guess so, I imagine she will be coming soon. Then, just a matter of how this council meeting will go, and if they know of where she could possibly be hiding out in case your plan does not work."

"Maybe these people will be of help, but I am not sure," Cynthia said as they looked out into the streets of Javailty.

After a time in silent thought, Cynthia started to calm down. Aiden leaded back as they sat at a bench looking out at the passersby in the distance. Cynthia spotted a few approaching red robes.

"Look there's another one of them," she nudged Aiden. "I wonder where they are coming from."

The person had a hood over their face and they get a glimpse of them. A strange anxiety bubbled up in Cynthia as she studied the figure.

Just then they saw a group of kuinan people walking past with a great and many gemstones.

"Look there are some of them," Aiden said. "Do any of them look like Astrid?"

Cynthia rolled her eyes, "They are not bad people. In fact, most of them are normal just like you and me. Have you ever met a kuinan besides the mage?"

Aiden shook his head, "No, I grew up in the north and we rarely get to see them up there."

Cynthia pointed at the gemstones. "They are pretty great miners. They live in the south, along the mountain ranges. Actually, most of them do not even live in Hailgalad. They live within Kaboutian lands for the most part. They often are lumped in with goblins because they prefer living in caves and in the dark. Many times, fear comes from the unknown."

"It truly is a wide world we live in. Many of us only experiences a small part of the kingdom. It is amazing how many different peoples there are not to mention goblins, trolls, and all manner of different peoples and beasts," Aiden said. "Meanwhile, here we are on the side of the road."

"Here we are," Cynthia said. "Sitting here just as helpless as most of these people probably are."

The person in the red robes was now at the entrance to the White Hand's door.

"Morning," Aiden said with a nod of his head, but the mage gave no response.

Then, they suddenly pulled back their cloak to reveal a strange bottle that glowed a fire red. Without a word, they wound up and threw it through the doorway, past Aiden and Cynthia. The bottle crashed into the courtyard. When it made contact, it made a loud explosion of fire. The power of the blast blew the stone right from its foundations. Aiden and Cynthia were thrown into the air and everything went black.