2 years prior

Valum felt kept drinking water, but no matter the amount he drank, his thirst did not abide.

"Must be from the amount of dust in the ruins. I probably inhaled a lot of it while I was passed out." Valum thought to himself.

Gerrad whose wagon he saved, did not speak much after they got on the road even though only two hours had passed. Value felt at ease around Gerrad. The man seemed like a simple and fair-minded man. Most importantly, he didn't ask unnecessary questions.

The forest had become less dense as they came closer to civilization. The trees did not seem warped and gnarled like they were deeper into the wildlands. No one knew why the wildlands were so dangerous or the beasts were so much more fierce and volatile, but the further the blossoming kingdoms grew the more difficult each step was. Almost as if the land itself did not want to be tamed. Hence, why the continent was called the wildlands.

Marberg wasn’t far from the ruins; it was no more than five days by caravan, but with just the two of them it wouldn’t take more than a day or two. The moon had hung low in the sky at this point and the sky began to brighten, which was a sight Valum desperately wanted to see. For some reason he felt like he hadn’t looked upon it in many years.

A beam of light broke through the trees as the sun finally rose high enough to send ribbons of light into the narrow forest path. Almost immediately, a sharp pain erupted all over Valum’s skin. Feeling as if fire ants had begun to bite his skin all over and his head grew hazy. “What is this?” Valum panicked, backing into the wagon’s back and covering it with the blanket.

Gerrad turned to look at the covered-up Valum in the shaded portion of the wagon. “You okay back there?” he asked with a mild look of concern on his face.

Waving his hand as if to sway away the concern that lingered in the air Valum coughed “No, no it is nothing. Just not feeling one hundred percent. I am gonna sleep. I was awake all night before we met and didn’t sleep last night.”

Valum huddled himself into the corn as he stretched out his hand into a small beam of light only for the burning sensation to return immediately. “What is wrong with me?” he thought as he pulled his hand back massaging it.

Sharp white daggers flashed before his eyes followed by red...nothing, but crimson. “Could it be?” Valum paused as he thought about what had happened in the chamber. He had a vague feeling that it was merely just a dream after he slipped and hit his head, but the images in his head were so distinct he couldn’t help, but feel that it truly was real.

“Did I get infected with some disease? What will I do? Who will cure it? Can the temples do it?” he thought to himself, rapidly asking questions to himself as he awaited for the sun to fall. Luckily the wagon would cut several days off his traveling and they would arrive in his town by nightfall. He gave a silent prayer to the goddess for being able to stay under the safety of Gerrad’s wagon.

The day passed by slowly since Valum could not seem to get himself to sleep at all; it seemed his long slumber from before had not entirely worn off yet. When the moon had risen he stretched, acting as if he had just woken up and sat beside Gerrad as they grew ever closer to his destination. The moon hung high in the sky. He guessed it would be another thirty minutes before they came to the small entrance of the town. Valum’s thirst was still growing, but it was still a fairly minor annoyance at best.

“Gerrad, I want to thank you again for all your help. It has saved me a lot of headaches.” Valum thanked not bothering to look over to Gerrad.

Gerrad smiled as he kept the horses moving. “Don’t worry yourself about that. When we get to the town gates I will let you off and I recommend you make your way to the BearTooth tavern.”

Valum’s smile faded as he heard the unfamiliar words. When he left his home, it was a tiny settlement with no gates and was constantly vulnerable to goblin attacks. Furthermore, the BearTooth tavern was not a thing.

“I’m sorry, but didn’t you say we were going to be passing through Marberg? I’ve never heard of a tavern called BearTooth?” Valum asked hastily.

“Well…” Gerrad looked at Valum with confusion “didn’t you say you were from there? BearTooth is famous around the northern territories as being the center for the adventurer’s guild. Duke Holmerd is famous for establishing the guild here.

The Blood rushed out of Valum’s face; he did not consider that he had been in a coma for longer than previously imagined. For a town like Marberg to develop a gate and walls around the settlement, he imagined it would take at least 1 to 3 years depending on when it had started construction and how complex they decided to make it.

“Ahh!” Gerrad let out a happy exclamation “you can see the lights of the towers ahead! Don’t worry, Valum we will get you home before we can blink.”

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Valum's mind had gone into a frenzy and began to think about what might await him in the unfamiliar Marberg.

Marberg streets were paved with stone and the once decrepit buildings were built with a sense of uniformity. Along the main street, the occasional pedestrian walked between the few places still open this late into the evening. To Valum’s shock even a few elves and dwarves could be seen, most dressed in various armors and carrying different types of weapons. When Valum was last here in Marberg it was nothing, but a backwater town with nothing of interest. While it was still considered the edge of occupied territory for the kingdom, it was surprisingly well-developed. Valum was sure monsters were more terrifying that goblins would be attracted to it, but the walls of Marberg were a mix of stone and wood beams making it fairly well guarded.

Gerrad left and said he was planning on going to the capital with his supplies and thanked Valum once more before leaving.

Valum was still in a daze and needed to find out more details as to how much time had passed since he was gone. Making his way to the tavern run by the adventurers' guild Valum came upon a sign with a roaring bear and the sigil of the guild hanging above.

When Valum was younger he had always desired to join the guild, but was married early and his responsibilities took over.

Walking into the large three-storied building, Valum saw a wide variety of characters, both old and young, sitting at tables and chatting. A few turned to look at Valum as he entered, but most did not pay him any mind, which was fine by him.

The interior was not fancy, but the furnishings were solid and well-built. The food smelled well enough and the hearth gave it a warm glow. At the counter, a hefty man with a handlebar mustache and a balding head cleaned mugs and watched the various activities keenly. The man was unfamiliar to Valum so he approached and took out the little money he had, handing some of the copper coins he had to the man. “One room is windowless if you can make it happen. Also...I’m looking for some information. I am new to town.” Valum lied, but he also felt a sense of dread for what he would potentially find out.

The man smiled, taking the money. “Of course I will have the maid go make up a room immediately Mr.?” The tavern owner prodded for information which was partially his way of making extra money. Information paid well and if you got something good the right buyer would pay well.

“Lemmark.” Valum said without giving more, he didn’t want his name spreading out until he had a clear picture of what was going on. “Do you happen to know what happened during an expedition some years ago to the site of some old ruins along the north road?”

The balding tavern kept smiling. “Why, yes Mr. Lemmark the good Duke went there with an expedition and found a sealed vault with quite the collection of goods. He decided to expand the tiny town here to be a base of operations for the adventure guild and expand several other small towns in the area. The crown saw fit to increase his rank to Duke. That is about all I know?”

Valum nodded, it made sense that the Duke would reinvest in his land, but he needed to know the time since it happened. “How long ago was the expedition?”

“Oh my! Err well, I would say at least a dozen years, give or take,” the man said confidently.

Valum froze, his face stiffening and a slight dizziness began to overtake him. The word dozen rang over and over in his head like a steady drum crashing down in his skull.

“Thank you for the information,” he said through his teeth trying to seem pleasant.

“Of course, Mr. Lemmark! The maid will escort you to the room.” a well-endowed woman came up and led the way to the second floor down a long hallway to a small room just large enough for a bed, a nightstand, and a small chest.

Valum sat on the bed and realized there was zero chance his wife had stayed in Marberg. With the news of his death she would have taken their daughter and went to the capital. She had a distantly related family that would at least give them a room and possibly work.

Though Valum wanted to cry and scream, enraged he composed himself and could feel no tears forming despite the torrent of emotions he was under assault by.

Despite his desire to find his wife and daughter, he first needed to figure out what was happening to him and why he had a sudden weakness towards sunlight. Clenching his fist he looked up to the sky and prayed to the goddess again to guide him.

The thirst he had felt for the last two days only kept increasing despite his unnatural amount of water intake. It was to the point that he could feel the urge to drink constantly. Whatever it was that was causing the thirst was most certainly linked to the burning in the sun.

Laying down he knew the sun would be up soon and he had a long time before the sun fell below the horizon. Taking a deep breath, he stretched out onto the bed and began to ponder what his daughter looked like as a young woman. Hopefully, like her mother.

The day passed quickly and as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon Valum stood up and moved quickly to check out the surroundings. The tavern was filled with people, laughter filled the room and Valum, who was wearing something a bit out of fashion considering his clothes did not fit him. Even though he borrowed some, he still needed to get some decent fitting clothes and figure out how he could move in the sun without that intense burning.

Walking out of the tavern, he made his way to the town square where nighttime merchants tried to sell goods to passerbyers. The town was so different from when he had left it. Based on some of the conversations he had heard, it sounded like tensions between various human factions and other races were rising. Even if they kept on a smiling face, people felt it would come to blows soon. The human nations largely remained unchanged beyond a minor expansion into the wilderness of the continent, but beyond that, nothing had significantly changed.

The only feasible thing to do was find a job as soon as possible and earn some money, as his little pocket change would not last long. Walking over to the job posting board which was near the main square. The only one that popped out was a night shift guard for a caravan heading to the capital. The job was posted by an “Endela” with no last name given. This would scare off most people, as it was never wise to take an odd job like this from a person unwilling to give their own last name.

Valum sighed and took the flyer. He had nothing more to do than go and see who this Endela was.