Alice was running through the shroudlands, chasing after a messenger she had been following all the way from the cathedral. The woman was fast, but Alice wasn’t going to let her best lead get away from her.
Keeping her eyes fixed on the messenger, she weaved through the rocky terrain, taking full advantage of her dexterity. Alice’s breath was slowly starting to get heavy and her muscles fatigued. Making a mental note to invest the next few level ups into body, Alice made one final effort to catch the woman. With a burst of speed, she dashed forwards, narrowing the distance between the two.
It wasn’t enough. Before the messenger could get away, Alice drew a pair of daggers and threw them. Her aim wasn’t perfect, the first of the daggers flying too far to the left. The second dagger however connected, the blade sinking into the messenger’s hip.
The woman cried out in pain and stumbled, allowing Alice to catch up to her. As she approached, the messenger drew out a rapier from her satchel. The weapon was too long to fit in a normal bag, making Alice smile. A dimensional bag would be a good prize if she was in league with the cult. If she wasn’t, Alice could say goodbye to her Order membership at the minimum.
“Done running then?” Alice asked, unsheathing her own sword as she prepared for a fight. The messenger snarled and lunged towards Alice.
Alice had to admit, the woman wasn’t bad with her weapon. Her movements were fast and precise, but Alice had faced better opponents in practice. They engaged in a cautious battle, exchanging blows and parries as the two tried to get a good measure of their opponent’s style.
Under normal circumstances the messenger would’ve been slightly better than Alice, but the dagger hampered her mobility enough to level the playing field. As they kept exchanging blows, they were slowly picking up speed, their attacks gaining ferocity as they grew more confident in their opponents level of skill.
Alice deflected a jab aimed at her chest, countering with a swing down, aimed at her opponent’s sword arm. The messenger drew her hand back and moved back on the offensive.
This continued for what felt like hours. Stances and forms blended together into almost choreographed dance as the two combatants tried out every trick in the book to gain the upper hand. Attack, dodge, counterattack, faint. By the end the pair was panting heavily as they circled one another, trying to predict the next move.
“You’re good.” Alice gasped, not being able to help herself. She hadn’t yet been in what most people would consider a real sword fight, and for her first, she was pleased to have an equal as her opponent.
“You’re not bad yourself.” The messenger replied, surprising Alice a bit. It was the first time she had heard her opponent speaking. “Why don’t you head back and we can call it a tie?”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Alice raised her sword, activating the enchantment inscribed on it. “But if you surrender, I won’t kill you.”
The woman gave her a weary smile. “To the death it is then. I would love to know your name before you die.”
“Alice.”
“Joanna. It’s a pleasure.”
Without further words, Joanna lunged at her. Alice sidestepped the attack and brought her sword down on the rapier. The already abused blade snapped in half as the wind enhanced arming sword sliced through it.
Now weaponless, Joanna’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Before she could turn and run, Alice’s fist made contact with her nose. It wasn’t enough to make her lose consciousness, but Alice was more than willing enough to help her with falling asleep. Before Joanna could recover from the first blow, Alice used the pommel of her sword to deliver one last blow on the woman’s forehead, knocking her out for good.
Alice was hesitant to kill the woman. If Joanna was innocent, despite the evidence she had gathered over the last couple of days, she didn’t want to be accused of murder. Even if she wasn’t, killing a person was a line Alice hadn’t yet crossed.
With Joanna unconscious, Alice began to rifle through her belongings. First she made sure the woman wasn’t hiding anything that could harm her. Patting down her body, Alice found a long stiletto hidden in her boot, and a couple small vials filled with what Alice assumed to be poison. She left the dagger in her hip, as it wasn’t life threatening and it would impede her movement if she regained her consciousness. They were close enough to the city that she could drag her in before nightfall.
Next on the list was Joanna’s bag. Alice upended it, causing everything that was held inside to spill out. Food supplies, clothes, potion vials, money and letters all came pouring out on the ground. Alice quickly picked up the letters and tore them open.
The first letter was from a man named William, detailing Rong’s current situation. Food price increases, homelessness problems, decreasing morale of the citizens. The information was nothing new, but the fact that it was recorded and carried out seemed like a piece of useful information. The next letter, and the one after that were more of the same, each one giving a slightly different description of the current state of the city. The last envelope however proved to be more interesting.
“Dear brother,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I write to you today with great news.
I recently attended a council meeting to discuss the latest developments and thought to keep you updated. The city leadership is in distress. Refugees keep flooding in and the resources are stretched thinner by day. The head of the merchant’s guild expressed her dissatisfaction of her supply shipments not coming through, and made it known that she would put a priority contract for the Order of Adventurers to allocate extra resources to secure the future shipments. As contracts will be issued to branches outside Rong, our influence on that will be limited. I suggest letting most of them come through to not draw unnecessary attention to your people.
On a more positive note, the leader of the Order’s local branch is still in firm belief that their focus should be directly on pushing back the undead. If I understood him correctly, some adventuring guilds have become disgruntled with his leadership, most notably the Hunters guild. Give my regards to Mr. Erikson. His wife is missing him.
Mayor Thorne expressed his wishes that rooting out the cause for the recent troubles should be made top priority before his city devours itself alive. I will see to it that he won’t be causing more trouble going forwards, and have already contracted the laughing men to silently remove him from power.
After the city is without leadership, it is time for phase two. In the midst of the chaos a strong and decisive ruler is bound to be elected, and once I manage to win the favor of the people, the city will be mine for the taking. Have your pet necromancer increase the production for the assault. It needs to be severe enough that the Order cannot handle it alone.
There have been no further inquiries of the soul gems, but the fact an out of town newbie wizard managed to piece it together is enough of a cause for concern that you should slow that operation down. I will direct the required sacrifices your way soon.
~Thomas”
Alice didn’t know whether to feel relieved or distressed. On one hand, her instincts had been right, and with this letter as proof, she had enough evidence to elevate the matter to the Order superiors. At the same time, however, the information she was holding in her hands was concerning to say the least. Her eyes lingered at two specific phrases in the letter: “Give my regards to Mr. Erikson” and “out of town newbie wizard”.
The last time Marcus Erikson had been seen was just before he undertook a solo mission. Top secret hunt. He had run into Alice on the way and given her much needed help. Everyone had assumed his mission was still ongoing as no one had heard from him since. If Alice was reading it right, Marcus had been captured and was being held prisoner. She needed to get this information to someone.
After stuffing everything back into the bag, Alice got back on his feet, preparing to head back to the city. Before she did, Alice bound Joanna by tearing spare clothes into strips and hoisted the unconscious woman on her shoulders. She couldn’t just leave a useful source of information out in the wilderness alone.
Alice detoured to the southern entrance on her way back to the city. The walk had taken her longer than expected, mostly due to Joanna waking up midway through and attempting to escape. Alice didn’t feel good about forcing the bound woman into submission, but there wasn’t much else she could do. Joanna’s struggling came to the point that Alice had to knock her out twice, causing her to worry about the possibility of brain damage.
Upon reaching the city gates, she noticed that a larger caravan was being checked by the city guards. Several horse-drawn carts and wagons were standing still in a line, each loaded with goods covered by thick tarpaulins.
While one group of guards were inspecting the wagons, another group a bit further away were talking with what Alice assumed to be the passengers. Almost fifty civilians and half of that in adventurers were waiting impatiently to be let in while being questioned by the officials. Judging by the tone of their voices, there was some tension between the two groups.
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Alice approached the gates and was soon noticed, most likely due to the unconscious and bound woman slung onto her shoulders. A guard detached himself from the wagon investigation and approached Alice, slinging a musket rifle from his shoulder, holding it casually with his finger near the trigger.
“What business do you have here?” He asked after coming to a speaking distance.
“I’m with the Order.” Alice replied instantly, trying to sound as calm as possible. For whatever reason, the guards seemed to be on a high alert, and she didn’t want to add fuel to any fire. “I’m returning from a mission, and bringing in a prisoner.”
The guard raised an eyebrow, shifting his eyes on Joanna. “Who is she?”
“I’m afraid I cannot tell you that, but I am in a hurry. She needs medical attention.” Alice answered. It was obvious that the cult had informants in the city, and she didn’t want to provide any unnecessary information to people she didn’t know.
The guard looked skeptical, his grip on the rifle tightening slightly. Had he recognized Joanna? Was he in league with the cult too? Alice was about to open her mouth to de-escalate the situation, but the guard beat her to it.
“We are a bit short staffed right now and cannot spare people for the usual prisoner escort. Leave your badge with me, and I will check with the Order later that the prisoner was processed.”
Alice nodded and managed to unclasp her badge from her belt, handing it over to the guard. Generally speaking adventurers did have a certain authority to arrest individuals they had contracts to bring to justice. The city guard or policing force often took control of any prisoners brought from outside to ensure their proper treatment and to prevent kidnappings, but exceptions could be made, like with their current situation.
As she walked past the small crowd of people, she gained some jealous attention for being admitted in so easily. Separated from the group of adventurers, a man stood up and started walking towards her, leaving his friend behind.
“You! White-hair-lady! Wait up!” The man shouted with a booming voice, drawing even more attention to their way. Alice debated ignoring the man and keep walking, but curiosity won her over.
Alice adjusted Joanna’s position on her shoulders slightly, and turned to look at the approaching man.. He was huge, towering over most of the people in the crowd. His height was only emphasized by his broad shoulders and muscular physique. Alice would’ve been intimidated by his size, if it wasn’t for his surprisingly gentle smile.
From the corner of her eye, Alice saw some of the guards readying their weapons as they watched the situation evolving. The man came to a stop in front of Alice and extended one of his bulging arms for her to shake. Alice took the offered hand, causing the man’s smile to stretch even wider.
“You waited! I am Aron. That’s Aron, with an A. I have question.” Aron spoke, shaking Alice’s hand vigorously.
“Sure?” Alice replied, trying to keep her hand from tearing off. “What would you like to know?”
“How do you go in the city?”
“Pardon?”
“You go in the city, right? How do you do that?”
“Are you asking why the guards aren’t holding me here?” Alice asked in return, not entirely sure what Aron was after.
“Yes! That! The guard-man said that we need to wait, but it has been hours. I’m bored.”
“I was given permission? I need to deliver her to the Order headquarters.” Alice gestured towards Joanna with her head.
“Oh,” Aron said, looking disappointed. “I see. Thank you.”
Without further words, Aron returned back to his friend, leaving Alice slightly confused at the encounter.
Alice made her way through the city gates and the wide streets to the Order’s headquarters without more complications. She approached the front entrance, which was guarded by the Order officials. After a brief explanation of her situation, Alice was escorted into the building where she handed her captive to the officers and sat down to wait for a debriefing.
It didn’t take long for Morrison to arrive and lead her to his office, where Alice gave a full accounting of what had happened.
“Show me the letters.” Morrison said after absorbing the recent news. Alice complied, pulling the envelopes out of the spatial bag, and handed them over.
Morrison read through the letters carefully, his expression growing more serious the further he got. Eventually his eyes shifted from the papers to Alice.
“You did well.” Morrison said with what Alice assumed to be a hint of pride in his voice. “This is the first concrete evidence we’ve had in months. I’ll have a team analyze these letters and interrogate the messenger to see if we can dig up any more information.” He paused for a moment, and adopted a more gentle expression. “In the meantime, you’ve done more than enough for now. Take a few days to rest and recover. I’ll keep you updated if we uncover anything.”
Alice nodded, feeling an odd sense of accomplishment. She had staked her membership and freedom on a hunch that the bishop was dirty, and by divine luck it had paid off. As she got up and turned to leave, Morrison’s voice stopped in her tracks.
“Your uncle would be proud of you, Alice. I have no doubt that in time you will soar even higher than he ever did.”
Alice wanted to reply, but the words got caught up in her throat. Instead, she gave him another nod before exiting the office before her emotions could overwhelm her.
After her meeting with Morrison, Alice found herself sitting in a local pub, idly staring at the red drink in front of her. Her mind was racing with the events of the past day, her thoughts filled with images of cultists, conspiracies and Jonathan. It was difficult to sit still while other people were working, and Alice didn’t quite know what to do with herself now that she had been ordered to rest. The weight of the information she had uncovered was bearing down on her like a burden and there was nothing she could do about it! Politics, agendas, mysteries. That wasn’t why she had decided to join the Order, but now that she had, the responsibilities her membership came with had started to slowly unveil themselves.
She was soon shaken out of her thoughts however, when a loud voice Alice somewhat recognized, boomed over the chatter of the pub.
“White-hair-lady! I got in!”
Alice raised her head and looked around the room, noticing the same hulking figure she had met outside the city gates waving at her, while slowly moving through the people towards her.
Aron soon arrived at Alice’s table and sat down, soon followed by another man who took a seat next to the goliath.
“I knew it was you! I don’t forget a face!” Aron grinned after finding a comfortable position. “You don’t mind if we sit here right?”
“Not at all!” Alice smiled back, welcoming the distraction. She took a good look at the unknown man, who was in return eyeing her up. The man seemed to be in his late teens or early twenties, dressed in expensive, but road worn clothes. His posture and gear were screaming nobility, making Alice slightly nervous. After a few moments the man offered his hand.
“Leopold Rindell. It’s a pleasure.” His voice was surprisingly raspy, and didn’t fit his face. But that was the least surprising thing in his introduction, as Alice recognized the family name.
“Alice. Alice Althorn.” She shook the Leopold’s hand cautiously, “I’m sorry for asking, but are you-”
“-Related to Lana Rindell?” Leopold interrupted her. “She is my mother.”
Alice’s eyes widened at the confirmation. If what he said was true, Alice was truly in a presence of nobility. The Rindell family was known across Balahir through their feats of heroism. Lana Rindell, in particular, was a living legend. Leader of the Red Company, rider of Belonot and the slayer of Nortrom. If the man in front of her truly was Lana’s son, what in the world was he doing in here?!
Leopold smiled, seemingly used to this kind of reaction, while Aron slammed his meaty palm on his back.
“Yeah. His mum is pretty impressive. Gave me a good beating when I challenged her to a duel.”
“You’ve met her?” Alice couldn’t help but ask.
“Sure did. And the wing-lizard too. I can’t wait to be strong enough to fight one of them head on.”
“A dragon.” Leopold corrected his friend.
“Huh?”
“The wing-lizards are called dragons.”
“But wing-lizard is easier to remember. They are lizards and they have wings.”
Leopold shook his head in exasperation. Alice had the feeling that they had gone over this conversation multiple times in the past.
“So… what are you two doing here then?” Alice asked to keep the conversation going.
“Supply escort mission from Stalliarch. Apparently the roads to and from this city have grown dangerous so more adventurers are hired to guard the shipments.” Leopold replied, leaning back on his chair. “I’ve never seen this many undead going around.”
“Yeah,” Aron agreed. “There were like a million of them. It took a lot of punching to get through.”
“A million?” Alice asked.
“More like a couple hundred. Aron isn’t good with numbers.” Leopold explained with a hint of laughter in his voice. “But seriously. You’re a local right? What is going on here? This city is packed with refugees, undead are roaming around. We came through at least three villages that were abandoned, and one of them still had the scent of corpses lingering in the air.”
Alice sighed and quickly explained everything she felt comfortable with. The cultists, Jonathan’s theories on their motives, the undead. The only thing she left out was the most recent information, as it wasn’t made public and she didn’t want the word to spread. By the end of her explanation, Leopold’s face had grown serious, while Aron seemed excited.
“So what are we sitting around here for?!” The goliath exclaimed, gearing up for a fight. “Let’s go beat them up!”
“Calm down, big guy. We don’t even know where to look for them.” Leopold reminded Aron, while tapping his finger on his chin. “But I think we’ll be sticking around for a while. It’s not every day you come across this kind of event.”
“Wouldn’t it be best if you asked your mother to help? She could take care of the cult easily, couldn’t she?” Alice asked, hopefully, but the idea was immediately shot down.
“No. She and her whole guild are traveling to Fumia to hunt down an eldwurm. Even if she agreed to come, it would take over a year for her to get back.”
“I see.”
Leopold continued, “Even so, we’ll be helping in our own way. Aron here is an excellent pugilist and I’m not bad with a blade myself. Once we get ourselves settled, we’ll be joining the action”
Alice’s eyes brightened up as an idea struck her. The pair of adventurers were outsiders with no involvement in the local conspiracy. With Jonathan gone for the time being and Gaven going on his own missions, Alice was in need of new allies.
“Can I join you two?” She blurted out before she had a chance to think of a more proper way of asking.
Leopold hesitated for a moment, but Aron quickly spoke up. “Sure! We’d be happy to have you!”
Alice shifted her eyes at Leo, who seemed indecisive.
“I’m not sure.” He admitted. “You are a fair bit lower level than we are. If things go ugly, I can’t keep you safe.”
“I can handle myself just fine.” Alice argued, not wanting to be dismissed so easily. “Besides, I know the city and its surroundings. If you are to take up missions, you’ll probably need a guide!”
“Come on, spark-man! Give her a chance!” Aron elbowed Leopold, who eventually relented with a sigh.
“Meet us in a sparring ground tomorrow morning. I’ll see for myself how well you can protect yourself.”
“It’s a deal then.” Alice grinned at the pair as she got up from her seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
She gave the men a wave and left the pub, excited for the following day.