In Riverton, Quora had flown to Cyrus's house and had barely landed when she shifted back to her human form to pound on Cyrus's front door. No response. After a moment of waiting, she pounded on his door again with the same result.

He knows.

Quora turned the door handle to find it locked. She forced the handle to turn all the way, crumpling the locking mechanism inside. She pulled the handle out of the door with the lock, ripping a hole in the door as she callously threw aside the handle. She let herself into Cyrus's house.

"Oh, Cyrus..." Quora liltingly said.

Cyrus and Amelia's scents permeated the place, but Quora could not sense either of them. She checked every closet and the cellar, listening for heartbeats. She sighed and concluded that Cyrus and Amelia were gone. Quora went upstairs to Cyrus's office.

"He must have taken that journal, too."

As if fate had heard her say it, the desk where Cyrus had kept the journal was empty. Oddly, she noticed nothing else missing from when Cyrus first showed her the office. She sifted through notes on one of the desks, making a mess of papers. She started pulling books from the shelves and glancing through them before discarding them; she was willing to ransack the place if it meant finding anything on the Visions of Fafnir. Instead, she found references to history and philosophy - useless to her. She recalled the secret compartment where Cyrus had kept his Scion brooch and knelt down at the corner to fiddle with every book until she found the one that opened it. Quora pulled out the brooch's box and a small book. She opened the box and found it empty.

"He needs it? So much for hiding."

Quora threw the box aside and checked the small book. It had no title, but at a cursory glance, the pages constantly referenced something called a 'Bloodstar.' She could have sworn she heard that name before.

Fafnir and that accursed Bloodstar!

"King Orion..."

She took a closer look at the book's contents:

We managed to extract a strange stone from the ruined lands of Majar to the south. Clear white and covered with jutting points, with a bloody red core beneath - we have dubbed it the Bloodstar. It nearly thrums with magickal power. We reported nightmares on our trek back to Karst but no ill effects otherwise.

Quora kept reading:

My fellow Scions and I have taken the Bloodstar and sealed it deep below the castle as Lord Dreamford suggested - we fear it has been affecting the king in unforeseen ways. The constant visions, the outbursts...who knows what could happen if a creature like him were to lose his mind? We can only hope the king does not become privy to our deception. I should note that one of the nightmares we reported after taking the Bloodstar described this event to the letter.

Quora stared blankly at the pages, and then flipped further in:

The outbursts have lessened, but King Fafnir remains insistent that nothing was wrong. The visions seem to come more randomly than before, and his obsession with recording them has stayed the same. In one example, he had one during a meeting with Myra the Brave and was wholly focused on writing it down, ignoring the warrior entirely. The only time the visions do not occur is when he is in the presence of, judging by her revealing lavender garb, a Majari sorceress. We know nothing of her except she seems to be good friends with King Fafnir and Queen Mona, the three enjoying simple pleasures together. We have decided not to investigate the sorceress for the king's good.

A tear streamed down Quora's cheek. She continued:

As I write, Fafnir has discovered our treachery and found the Bloodstar. He drank deep of its power and has completely lost his mind. He has slain all of my peers, and only through my allies in low places have I managed to escape. Lord Dreamford has arrived to confront King Fafnir - a contest that threatens to destroy Karst as both of them are master magicians. It's almost a shame I will not get to see it, as I am bound for Myrellia stuffed in a supply caravan.

Quora stowed the small book on her person and pondered what she just read. This was most definitely Cyrus, though he had led her to believe that Dreamford had been hunting the Scions - not that their deaths were, in truth, Fafnir's doing.

"Fafnarok...I had no idea..."

She thought about the fate of her friend, and how he showed no signs of the Bloodstar's influence while in her presence. How long had it been affecting him? Did she have some gift that was anathema to the Bloodstar? Why did he feel the need to find it again? Perhaps Quora could find answers if she were to find the Bloodstar for herself - if it still existed. She felt a pit grow in her stomach as she figured it was likely still beneath Dreamford - having been declared an enemy of the realm, getting to it would be difficult, even for her - but she still had options. She took her leave of Cyrus's house.

Outside, Quora found Han scratching his head at the damage she had caused earlier. He gave a nervous smile when he saw her.

"Oh, Quora! Good to see you. I came out here to do yardwork, when I noticed the door's busted," Han said, "Know anything about it?"

Quora looked at the ruined door handle a tilted her head at Han, "No, it was like that when I came."

"Ah," Han nodded, "Too bad the old man and his nursemaid are out, eh?"

Quora slowly approached Han, taking on a sweet voice, "Out? Where did they go?"

Han thought for a moment, "I saw them head on the main road heading north. Heading for Dreamford, if I had to guess."

Must all roads meet there?!

"Thank you, Han," said Quora, "I'll be going, now."

"Alrighty. Take care, Quora!" Han said, "I'll get this door boarded up until we can figure out a replacement."

Once she was out of sight of Han, Quora shifted into a bird of prey and flew west - to Campbellton Gate.

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When she first came to Campbellton Gate, its garrison was slaughtered, and the keep left deserted. As she made her approach, its drastic changes had become apparent - the forces of the Shadowteppes had completely overtaken it and turned it into a forward base. Black yurts held up with barbed supports littered the area outside of the keep, bustling with goblinoid activity; so much that the ground in Aveldan started to resemble that of the Shadowsteppes, as if its influence had broken a dam leaked northward.

Quora landed near the yurts and shifted into her human shape, allowing herself to be spotted by the hobgoblin patrols. The creatures paused before cautiously advancing with their heavy blades levelled at her. They made no sound, but the hobgoblins looked at one another through their emotionless helms as if unsure.

"If it was my wish to wipe you all out, I would have done so already," menaced Quora, "Take me to Stragor at once!"

The hobgoblins slowly surrounded Quora, until one of them began to twitch and shake. Red glowing runes appeared on its helmet before the hobgoblin spoke.

"Ah, a pleasant surprise." said Stragor's voice, "Bring her to the keep - and I warn you; you won't live to regret it if you lay a hand on her."

The red runes disappeared, and the hobgoblins formed a protective circle around Quora before escorting her through the encampment to the keep. As they walked, Quora caught glimpses of goblinoid life, and it was about what she expected: the hobgoblins lorded over their more diminutive counterparts, the goblins providing entertainment through music with bone instruments or being pitted against each other in gladiatorial scraps. Since the creatures of shadow did not require food or warmth, no fires were lit in the encampment. Indeed, no particular smells stood out to Quora in this place - it gave her a feeling of emptiness compared to a human settlement. Quora shoved her way through her entourage when she was within Campbellton Gate's walls.

"Out of my way, I can find him myself," demanded Quora. The hobgoblins seemed happy to be rid of her. There was something odd about Stragor - he had a scent. Quora followed it into the keep and didn't bother knocking when she was at Stragor's door.

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"I might be the king of darkness, but you could at least observe some manners."

Quora leaned back far on her chair, which seemed like a dark silk bag stuffed with feathers, "I could, but I won't."

Stragor chuckled, "Can't say I didn't expect that answer."

King Stragor's quarters had become lavish, the walls and floor were lined with dark silks, and white candlelight kept the place lit. Trinkets wrought from pale silver littered a ruined dresser, its damage covered up with more silks. A goblin came along bearing a silver pitcher, and Stragor fetched cups. He offered one to Quora while the goblin climbed a step stool to pour his cup.

"Wine?"

Quora shook her head, "No."

Stragor tilted his head, "You sure? Freshly looted from Dreamfordian stores."

"Give it to me."

The goblin hobbled over to Quora with the pitcher of wine, and Stragor brought her a cup. She took the pitcher from the goblin and flared her eyes, making the little shadow creature scamper away. Stragor laughed at what he saw. He took his seat on a ramshackle throne and relaxed. He pulled off his helmet with one hand, dispelling his shadowy appearance and revealing what Stragor was underneath - a middle-aged man with short white hair and red eyes, wearing leather armour dyed black. Quora was curious as to why he would reveal himself like this.

Stragor took a sip of wine, "What good would it do? You said yourself that you could wipe us out if you wanted to. I'm not about to test the truth of that."

Quora nodded, amused.

"I'll get right to business, then. You're Quora, correct? The Beast of Myrellia." said Stragor, "As I said when we last met, an alliance between us will..."

Stragor tapered off; Quora was loudly gulping down wine from the pitcher. He sighed and waited for her to finish drinking. She lowered the pitcher and licked her lips, satisfied.

Stragor continued, "An alliance will serve us both, and I think we can work something out. I plan on attacking Dreamford itself, and I have something you want - after all, not just anyone carries around Visions of Fafnir V for no reason."

Quora perked up, "What do you have?"

Stragor reached to an end table and picked up a scroll, "It's not the original, but I believe it is Visions of Fafnir IV."

Quora looked at the scroll with malaise. At another time, she would have felt tempted to snatch it from him without question, but when she caught up to Cyrus, she'd have all of the Visions and some extrapolations on them. Still, there was another thing Stragor might offer.

"Tell me, Stragor," said Quora, "Was the Shadowsteppe once called 'Majar?'"

The question took aback Stragor, "...Yes, I am among the last living Majari. Why do you ask?"

"I don't want that scroll," said Quora, "Tell me of the day when the Bloodstar corrupted your land. In return, I'll grant you a boon."

Stragor put down his cup and leaned forward pensively, "This is a steep bargain to make me recollect that day. Alas..."

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I remember that day like it were yesterday. It was noon and sunny, and my clan had just finished packing our caravans to follow the herds of bison. We Majari were nomadic folk who had never stayed in one place for long. I remember my wife's smile when I looked into her eyes for the last time.

It was a blot in the cloudless sky, but not like any other - it shined like a second sun, a ghastly red orb with a white corona. We Majari held a stark belief in fate and fortunes told by smoketellers, who make heavy use of a smoking pipe in their readings. When we saw this thing in the air that had never been seen in the readings, we panicked. Many of us were right to rely on fear to keep us alive.

It hung in the air for mere minutes before it crashed down upon Majar, but this did not make a seismic wave of destruction; it did something much worse. I remember the sky turning bloody red and feeling a wave of abject terror wash over me. I saw my wife curl into a fetal position and whimper before I ran. I don't recall how far I ran that day; I only knew I needed to flee. I heard others of my clan turn into ravening berserkers, descending upon the others like wild animals. I knew my wife would not survive.

I saw the land beneath me turn blackened and dead. The red sky turned pale white but provided little light. The land shook as those massive briars shot out and matted our home in treacherous thorns.

I finally arrived at the neighbouring clan, but it was too late. Strewn about their ruined caravans were their dead, but it was the peculiar darkness that was enveloping them that caught my eye. The bodies seemed to rise on their own, so covered in that darkness, they reached up to retrieve those silver helmets to cover their heads from seemingly nowhere - I saw the first hobgoblins arise. They looked at me, and it seemed my turn was next.

I was plunged into a world of blood and darkness and felt myself land on something soft. I dared to look up and was held wholly in one of the eight hands of a monstrous goddess with scarlet skin. Her four eyes, blazing yellow, burned into my mind. Through her tusked mouth, she spoke a language that I did not know but could understand. She wanted a champion, and I was given no choice. She forced that helmet upon me, and I forgot my Majari name. Darkness covered me, my terrible blade appeared in my hand, and I became Stragor, the Lord of Darkness.

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"I haven't seen that goddess since," concluded Stragor, "Even now, I have no idea of her name. All I know is I must return the Bloodstar to the Shadowsteppes."

Quora was oddly shocked, though she felt a pit in her stomach at the idea of another goddess being involved, as if Myratel wasn't enough. She wondered if this goddess had anything to do with Fafnir's fate.

"You know," Stragor said, a tear streaming down his face, "You remind me of my wife. She had black hair, too, and wore a Majari dancer's garb like yours..."

"Name your boon, Stragor," said Quora.

Stragor nodded, "You are strong enough to destroy us, Quora. For my boon, I wish for your non-interference in my war with Dreamford. You will not aid them, nor us."

Quora stood up, "The Bloodstar drove my friend mad and caused his demise. I would seek the Bloodstar myself if only to learn why. I cannot accept your boon."

Stragor had a defeated look in his eyes. Before he could say anything, Quora pressed a finger to his lips, "...You speak to an enemy of Dreamford. I will not be made to stay out of this. I would pledge my allegiance to you, Lord Stragor."

Stragor was overjoyed. He placed his helmet over his head, restoring his shadowy appearance. He offered a clawed hand of pitch darkness, "Then shake the hand of the Lord of Shadows, Beast of Myrellia."

The alliance was sealed with a joining of hands; by their combined might, Dreamford would suffer.