John Hunt had started his journey from Midwood Hollow to Northmoor three days ago. He planned to meet with the village chief about the next silver shipment.

He had walked this same trail for the last fifteen years, ever since he’d joined the Hunter’s Guild.

At first, he had hated the long and often boring trek between settlements. But as he had gotten older, he found that the soft whisper of wind in the trees and the sounds of the animals around him set his mind at ease.

This trip had been much the same, save for the storm that had blown through the day before. He expected to reach Northmoor within the next two or three days.

John adjusted the straps of his bag, his bow and quiver slung to either side.

He never went anywhere without his weapons. One could never tell what they might encounter.

He had set out just before daybreak, the cool morning air waking him up as he walked.

It had been about an hour since John had left camp, and the sun had started rising behind him. Up ahead he could hear what sounded like shouting.

He stopped to listen, shutting out the sounds of nature to focus on the sounds coming from farther down the shoreline.

Mana coursed through him as he extended his senses. He could hear the terrified voice of a child and a man telling him to drop something.

He unslung his bow, readying an arrow in his right hand, prepared to fire if he needed to.

He moved quickly, eating up the distance in long strides. Using mana to cushion his footfalls and making his steps nearly silent. His shadow magic blurred his profile and helped him to blend in with his surroundings.

As John drew near to where the shouts came from, he could see a young boy facing away from him, dagger in hand. A man stood opposite of him holding a little girl at knife point.

John stopped, taking in the situation in an instant. He was about thirty meters away from them, the sun blinding the man to John’s presence. As he watched the man lower the blade from the girl’s neck, he raised his bow.

He drew the string back, touching his middle finger to the corner of his mouth, and fired. The arrow shot through the air as if the Goddess of War herself had fired it, slamming into the man’s skull and burying itself deep in his brain.

His body fell limply to the ground, blood soaking into the sand.

John had knocked another arrow and moved forward cautiously, looking around for anymore would be attackers that might appear. He couldn’t sense anyone else, and he lowered his bow as he approached the children.

As he walked towards the pair, the boy turned to squint in his direction, positioning the girl behind him protectively.

“It’s alright lad, I’m not here to hurt you” John said, his deep voice calm. He was doing his best not to frighten the two of them.

“Who are you?” the young boy said, trepidation clear in his voice.

“My name is John Hunt. I’m the Baron of Midwood Hollow.”

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Liam had pushed Kira behind him as he heard the man walking toward them. He wasn’t going to let anyone else get ahold of her if he could help it.

“I’m Liam and this is my sister Kira” he said.

Liam moved them in towards the trees, walking backwards until the sun was out of his eyes and getting his first good look at the man.

He was tall, a little over six foot, with short brown hair and a well-kept beard that was starting to grey with age. He was wearing brown trousers and knee-high riding boots with a tan shirt and dark green jacket. He was clearly not a commoner judging by the quality of his equipment.

“Are you two alright?” John had stopped walking and was holding his hands up.

“My sister is injured” Liam said eyeing the man cautiously.

“Would it be alright if I take a look?”

Liam hesitated for a moment, looking back at Kira. She still had blood trickling down her neck. It wasn’t a bad wound, but they would still need to take care of it before they’d be able to continue.

He looked back at John and nodded. The older man lowered his hands and approached the siblings slowly. He kneeled in front of Kira to take a look.

He put his hand next to her neck and a faint green light began emanating from his palm.

Kira let a surprised gasp but didn’t move.

Liam had never seen healing magic in person before. There had been a few people in the village that could heal small wounds like the cut that Kira had received, but most people let those heal naturally since it was taxing on the caster without proper training.

John pulled out a rag, wetted it, and gently wiped the blood off Kira’s neck.

When he was done Liam crouched so he could look. The cut was gone and there was only a faint scar about an inch long at the top of her throat.

Liam pulled her into a hug, holding onto her tightly. He had been terrified not knowing what to do when the man had grabbed her.

He let her go and looked back to John who was standing off to the side, silently watching them.

“You said you’re the Baron of Midwood Hollow?” he asked John.

“That’s right” the older man replied.

“What’re you doing out here?”

“I’m headed to a meeting with the village chief in Northmoor. I happened to hear your shout as I was passing by, and lucky I did at that” John said seriously, glancing at the body lying in the sand.

“Northmoor was raided two nights ago” Liam said gravely. “Everyone who hasn’t fled is probably dead.”

This made Kira stir, silent tears falling down her face. Liam placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. He hadn’t wanted to say anything that she might pick up on until they had gotten to safety, but he didn’t want to send their savior into an unknown situation.

John seemed to consider this for a moment, stroking his beard in contemplation.

“Do you know who was behind the attack?” he asked Liam.

“No. They wore armor with a crest that I didn’t recognize. A blazing raven.”

Liam paused for a moment, thinking back to that night.

“There was this young man with red hair that was well trained in fire magic, he seemed to be leading them” he said finally.

John thought about this information.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about that night? Anything at all?” he said after a moment.

Liam shook his head. That night was largely a blur to him, and he couldn’t remember many more details.

“I’m going to take a look at the town to see if I can find out anything more about these mysterious attackers. Where are the two of you headed?”

“To Midwood Hollow”

“Do you think that you can make it there on your own?”

“Yes, I believe so. But there were two other men tracking us. One of them stepped in a trap so he won’t be able to walk right.”

“That was your doing I presume?” John said, looking at Liam appraisingly.

“Yes, although it wasn’t intentional.”

John nodded lost in thought for a moment.

“I’ll see if I can track down the other two men. Take your sister and go to the Hunter’s Guild in Midwood and tell them I sent you. Talk to Allen, he’ll listen to your story” he said.

“Go to the guild and tell Allen about what happened” Liam repeated.

John nodded in approval.

“John, could you look for our mother? She was wounded and stayed behind not far from the entrance to the forest. She has the same black hair and blue eyes as Kira” Liam asked, a pleading look in his eyes.

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“Sure, just show me on the map where you last saw her” John said warmly.

Liam pointed out roughly where they entered the forest. Then they all set out, John heading west and the siblings towards the east.

Kira was clinging to Liam’s arm, walking silently. Now that they weren’t worried about being followed, they were able to travel at a much more sedate pace. They walked from just after sunrise until an hour before sunset.

Liam set up camp and started a fire to help ward off any would-be predators.

They huddled up next to each other and soon drifted off to sleep.

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John moved quickly, he had to know what was happening in Northmoor.

What the boy had told him had been disturbing. If another country had invaded the village, it could lead to the start of a major war.

It was possible that it was just a large group of pirates that had grown over-confident, but John didn’t think so. Not by what Liam had described.

The crest he had seen, a flaming raven, was unknown to John. The only crest that featured a raven that he knew of was that of the royal family of Liridia, the country directly west of Valenterra. But that crest featured a black raven rising over a white castle.

He would have to look deeper to find the truth. And the longer he took to get to Northmoor, the more likely that any evidence would be destroyed.

John had travelled through the night, stopping once to rest for an hour at midday.

As he neared the edge of the forest he slowed his pace. Being cautious in case there were men searching for their missing comrades.

He had run into the two men Liam had told him about only a few hours into his journey, dispatching them quickly.

John extended his senses, searching the clearing for signs of life, and found nothing.

He started sprinting across the plains that ran from the forest edge to the village, trying to spend as little time out in the open as possible.

He continued to monitor his surroundings, eating the distance in long strides as he covered the mile of grassland in minutes.

As he entered the still smoking town, he noticed all the corpses lying haphazardly in the streets. Dried puddles of blood and viscera painting the cobblestone roads.

Someone had hung several of the townsfolk, stripped of their valuables and clothes, from a wooden beam that ran between the guardhouse and another building.

John looked away from the grisly sight. He had seen a lot of death over the years, but rarely had he seen such cruelties to civilians. He said a silent prayer for the fallen to Voemis, the God of Winter and Death.

There were no signs of life left in the village and John was about to turn back to search some of the buildings when he heard a bell ringing near the docks.

He took off, making a beeline straight for the harbor. As he passed between two houses, he reached the water line and could see five vessels sailing out of the bay and into open ocean.

A black flag with a burning raven flying from each of them.

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It had been nearly four days since the two siblings had parted ways with Baron Hunt. Traveling had been easy without having to watch their backs, and now they were nearing the town.

Kira had been quiet for most of the journey. Liam was growing concerned, her normally cheerful and lively personality was all but gone. He hoped that there would be someone who would be able to help her when they arrived in Midwood.

Aside from a pair of wolves out hunting for prey, they hadn’t run into any trouble in the last few days. Kira had been able to send them away easily with her blessing, and Liam had to admit he was impressed with how quickly she was grasping the skill.

Even he hadn’t fully understood his own blessing from Feltia the Goddess of War, which gave him an instinctual understanding of how to fight with nearly any weapon he picked up. Alex had said that even though it would be an instinctual feeling, he’d still have to train with the weapons to use them effectively. The blessing more or less gave him the basics as if he had read them out of a book.

Liam had trained diligently with every weapon he’d been able to get his hands on, relying on the guardsmen to show him the techniques he needed to build upon what his skill showed him. Now he was proficient with a variety of them ranging from short swords and daggers to spears and bows.

He wouldn’t hold up in a fight against an experienced opponent, but against a common thug or two he’d be able to manage.

As they came around the next bend in the river, they noticed a man sitting on a bucket fishing.

At the sound of the leaves crunching beneath their feet, the fisherman looked up at them.

“Well, hello there young ones. What might you be doing way out here?” he said.

He was an older gentleman with dark brown skin. Soft brown eyes were peering up at them from beneath a straw hat, a kind smile shining through his bushy silver beard. His coveralls were patched, and his boots well worn.

“We are trying to reach Midwood Hollow” Liam said.

“Are you now? You come from Northmoor did you?” the man said, his voice was low and rough with age, but warm and friendly.

“Yes sir.”

The man tilted his head quizzically, thinking for a moment.

“Well, the why’s and how’s of you getting to be here don’t much matter to me” he said still smiling at them. “Just cut through the forest here and head south. You’ll come upon the road that’ll take you straight to the gate.”

“Thank you. Take care” Liam said.

“Go on now, don’t want to be out here after dark do yuh” he said jokingly as he turned back to his fishing rod.

Liam and Kira cut through the forest like the man said, quickly finding the road and following it west.

It wasn’t long before they saw the town gate. The wall surrounding the town was nearly two and a half meters tall, and made of mossy cobbled stone, with large wooden doors marking the entrance. A man and a woman leaned against the open gate, talking amongst themselves.

As the siblings approached, the female guard stood up straight to greet them.

“Hmm, I don’t recognize you two. What’s your business here, and where are your parents?” she asked them.

“Baron Hunt told us to head to the Guild Hall, he said to tell a man named Allen about the attack on Northmoor” Liam replied, dodging the question about their parents.

“Attack on Northmoor? Where did you say you met Baron Hunt?” she asked.

“He saved us from a man trying to kill us in the forest almost four days ago. He said he was heading to the village to check out the situation there”

She looked them both over. They were both filthy, covered in grime and sweat. Kira’s shirt was stained with blood from when she had been wounded.

“It sure looks like you’ve both been through hell to get here. I’ll take you to the Guild Hall, they can take charge of you there” she said finally, motioning for them to follow her.

As they walked through the town, the two young children looked around in wide eyed amazement.

The town was full of life. A market was set up in the square. Wooden carts filled with fresh produce and stalls selling all kinds of trinkets were everywhere. It was organized chaos, the two siblings had never seen anything like it.

All of the buildings were built using pine logs from the forest with reddish brown clay shingles on the roofs. The wooden houses and shops were starkly different from the stone buildings Liam and Kira were familiar with.

The cobbled streets were well kept, and magic lamps sat on poles on either side of the roadway. They were off for now but once the sun began to set, they would keep the area well lit.

As the group neared the far end of town Liam noticed two large buildings. One appeared to be a mansion made from the same pine wood as the rest of the buildings, with a wraparound porch and a balcony on the second floor overlooking the plaza below it.

The other was made of stone and clay, giving it a similar look to what they were accustomed to. There was smoke rising from one of the two chimneys and a pleasant aroma was wafting towards them.

Liam and Kira were nearly drooling at the thought of real food for the first time in nearly a week.

The guard walked up to the stone buildings door and knocked. It was answered by a rather large man who had to stoop to fit through the door.

“Anise, what can I do for yuh?” he said, his voice was deep and smooth.

“I’ve got two children here that say they were instructed to speak with Allen about an attack on Northmoor. Apparently, the Baron himself told them to do so” she replied, obviously not fazed by the mountain of a man in front of her.

She indicated the pair and the man stepped out of the building to get a better look at them.

“What’s yer name lad?”

“Liam, sir” he said nervously.

The man was the largest person he’d ever seen, he was easily over seven feet tall. He had a thick red beard and long hair. His bangs were braided and tucked behind his ears to keep it out of his eyes. Thick muscles filled out his dark green tunic and dark brown trousers. Liam thought the man’s boots were big enough to crush him if the giant wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.

“Don’t worry kid, I ain’t gonna eat you. My name’s Eric and I’m one of the Hunters apart of this here guild” Eric said with a chuckle. “Come inside, I’ll call for Allen”

Anise waved goodbye to Eric and headed back towards the town gate as the siblings followed him inside.

It was quiet inside the Guild Hall. Only two other people were in the main room which seemed to be some sort of tavern. Tables and benches were in neat rows leading up to the bar where a woman was sitting. A man was behind the counter cleaning a mug. There were two hallways, one on either side of the bar, but Liam couldn’t see where they led.

They walked up to the bar and Liam and Kira sat on a pair of stools. Eric whispered something to the barkeep and the man placed two mugs in front of them, filling them with a sweet smelling juice.

“Who have you brought now Eric?” the woman sitting next to them asked. Her long brown hair hanging down her back in a ponytail. She was dressed similarly to Eric in a green tunic and brown pants. Blue eyes scanned the faces of the two children.

“John sent’em here to speak with the vice commandant” Eric replied before walking down the hallway to the right of the bar.

The woman stared at them for a long moment.

“The name’s Amy, what’s yours?” she said.

“I’m Liam and this is my sister Kira” Liam replied.

“Does she not talk?”

“She’s just been through a lot these past few days.”

“I see. Where’re you two from?”

“Northmoor.”

“And your parents, where are they?”

“Most likely dead.”

Amy stiffened. Her gaze softening.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be crass.”

“You didn’t know, nothing to be sorry about”

Liam was leaning on the countertop staring at the amber liquid in his mug. He wanted to sleep. The past few days had been rough, and he was quickly running out of energy.

Kira had taken a few sips of her juice and was now leaning up against him, eyes closed.

Liam and Amy both faced the hallway as they heard voices coming towards them.

“Allen, I didn’t ask’em anything about it. I brought’em in and came straight to you” they heard Eric say as he and another man came around the corner.

The newcomer was a head and a half shorter than Eric. He had short sandy blonde hair that was neatly kept and a clean-shaven face. He wore a tan tunic and brown trousers, a short sword hanging from his belt on his left hip.

His eyes caught Liam’s as soon as he entered.

“Ah, you must be the young man Eric here has been telling me about. Looks like your sister is worn out, let’s get her into a bed and discuss what happened” Allen said and turned to the barkeeper.

“Jefferey, would you mind preparing a room for these two?” he asked.

“Not at all. Give me a few moments” the barkeep said and walked away down the hallway on the left.

After a few minutes he returned. Eric picked Kira up, cradling her in his massive arms. Liam followed as they headed down the hallway and up a set of stairs.

They entered a room near the end of the hall.

It was mostly plain. A simple bed sat in the far right corner, a small chest at the foot of it. A desk and chair were set up along the opposite wall to the left.

“The two of you can use this room until the Commandant returns” Allen said as Eric placed Kira gently on the bed.

Allen pulled the chair out from under the desk and sat down, Liam taking a seat at the foot of the bed and Eric leaning back on the now closed door.

“Now, Liam, please explain to me about what’s going on in Northmoor?” Allen asked, his voice taking on a more serious tone.

Liam recounted the events that led them to Midwood Hollow. The fighting in the village center, killing their mother’s attacker, their escape, meeting the Baron, and then finally reaching Midwood.

Allen listened to every word, waiting to speak until the end.

“And you said the Baron went to investigate after you parted ways with him, correct?” he asked.

“Yes, that’s what he told us. He said he’d look for our mother as well” Liam replied. “What do we do now?”

“For now, you will stay here. You’ll have a soft bed and warm food. And you’ll be safe” Allen said.

“But what comes after that? What’s going to happen to us?” Liam asked.

“The answer to that question will have to wait until the Baron to returns”