I needed a new quest, so the next morning I cleaned my armor and paid a visit to the Guardhouse. Lieutenant Tarlest and Captain Farrow sat in their usual places and smiled as I walked in. This time, however, there was more admiration than mockery in their faces.

Tarlest whistled. “Would you look at this? In just three days, our boy has found himself some quality armor.”

“Decent weapons as well. And he carries himself as though he knows how to use them.” The captain leaned forward and addressed me. “Have you found yourself a god, young man?”

“I follow Motiacca.”

The smiles vanished. Farrow looked wounded.

“Then you scoff at honor and fair combat? Prefer to hide in the shadows than follow an honest god like Eothis? I should have guessed. I suppose this is what society does to today’s youth.”

“You said you had problems with bandits,” I said. “If you’ll tell me where they are, I’ll take care of them.”

Farrow laughed. “Such arrogance! It took a squad of the king’s best soldiers to whittle the gnolls’ numbers down, yet Mr. Shadowsneak thinks he can slay them all.”

“The lad's a halfwit,” Tarlest said. “A task like this calls for a party of seasoned adventurers, not a fool with a dagger and crossbow.”

“Just so!” Farrow cried. “A group with diverse races and talents. The haughty elf, the pugnacious dwarf…”

“The half-orc struggling to reconcile his idealism with his burning desire to slay his foes!”

“And the sorceress who, despite her arrogance and air of mystery, wears clothes that reveal as much as possible!”

The two officers laughed until tears flowed from their eyes. Then Captain Farrow studied me for a moment.

“Let’s set him loose on the gnolls,” Farrow said without humor. “If he survives, he might see the light of reason and follow a proper god like Eothis.”

“A fine idea.” Tarlest wiped his eyes. “By our last report, the gnoll camp was in the forest around the Londorin Road, a few miles north of the city. The gnolls rob merchants and refugees traveling to Encelas, but they haven’t killed anyone yet. That’s why the king hasn’t treated them like a serious threat.”

“How many of them are there?” I asked.

“Somewhere in the low teens, last I heard,” Farrow said. “Their chief is Nalkak, who’s much stronger than the rest. There's also a shaman who casts nasty hexes and runs like the wind.”

I grimaced. A hex is a spell that doesn’t wound the target, but impairs its ability to act. A lesser hex might slow a target or strike fear into its heart, while a greater hex would cause blindness or paralysis. My first order of business was finding a source of protection.

“Can gnolls see in the dark?”

“I’m afraid so,” Tarlest said. “Gnolls love the dark.”

That killed my first plan, which was to find the gnolls during the day and attack at night.

“Are they afraid of fire? Lightning?”

“No more than the rest of us.”

So much for my second plan.

“Do the gnolls drink spirits?”

Tarlest looked blank for a moment, and then nodded. “Before they became bandits, the gnolls traded with our merchants. As I recall, they had a great fondness for wine.”

“What about ale?”

Tarlest nodded again. “I believe they appreciated ale as well. Are you going to challenge them to a drinking contest? Is that the kind of combat Motiacca prefers?”

I formed the vague outline of a plan. After all, I knew where to find the finest ale in the kingdom. I nodded to the two officers.

“I’ll return when I’ve dealt with the gnolls.”

“We’ll pay 200 gold if you succeed,” Farrow replied, narrowing his eyes. “But you’d better not pull any tricks, lad. Return with Nalkak’s head or don’t come back at all.”

A message scrolled along the bottom of my view. QUEST ADDED: DELIVER NALKAK’S HEAD TO CAPTAIN FARROW.

⚔

I stood next to Prezon’s desk and set down fourteen fangs the size of arrowheads. I followed them with two particularly long teeth that could have served as dagger blades.

“Sixteen in total,” I said proudly. “The last two are from a dire wolf.”

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Prezon ran her finger over the dire wolf fangs. “These will make our alchemists very happy. I’ll pay three gold for each regular fang and ten for each dire wolf fang. That comes to 62 gold. Have we a bargain?”

I whistled. 62 gold was much more than I’d expected. “We have a bargain.”

Prezon brought out a purse from under her desk, opened it, and then made a sour face.

“Due to expenses incurred by our impending move… we appear to be low on funds. Would you accept 20 gold now and a promise of payment for the rest? I assure you that we resolve our debts promptly."

"It's no problem at all," I leaned closer. "Would you care to join me for a drink at the Groaning Gorgon? I'm friends with the bartender, and I can tell you all about my fight in the forest."

Prezon grimaced. "I'm grateful for the offer, but we're all preparing to teleport to Encelas. If I don't finish cataloguing our books and components, they may get left behind."

"So everyone's just... leaving? The entire Enclave is going to teleport out of the village?"

"Of course!" Prezon's eyes widened. "Prince Galliel's army is only a week outside Raven's Rest. We have to get out while there's still time."

"But you're wizards! Can't you just hit them with fireballs? Summon a hurricane or a dragon?"

Prezon looked at me as though I’d asked if a sword should be held by the hilt or the blade. "Don't you know anything about Galliel's army? About the darkwalkers?"

I shook my head. "What's a darkwalker?"

"Darkwalkers are Galliel's elite undead soldiers. We've hit them with our most powerful spells and weapons, but no darkwalker has ever fallen."

I took a moment to consider this. I'd hoped to help defend Raven's Rest from the evil prince, but if the Enclave's wizards couldn't beat his soldiers, I wouldn't stand a chance. I wasn't sure I'd stand a chance against the gnoll bandits. Then a thought occurred to me.

“I’m about to fight a clan of bandits," I said, "and from what I hear, their shaman likes to cast hexes. Do your wizards have anything that can protect me?”

Prezon nodded. “I'm sure our enchanter can fashion you a suitable item of defense.”

"Okay. If you'll give me the 20 gold and the enchanted item, we'll call it even."

Prezon smiled and handed me twenty gold coins. Then she turned to her crystal ball, which glowed as he drew wavy lines with her fingers.

“Antero? The Enclave owes a great deal to a rogue, and in lieu of payment, he’d like an enchanted item. Can you help?”

“Certainly,” came the high-pitched male voice. “Send him my way, and I’ll see that he’s properly outfitted.”

As I left Prezon’s office, a message appeared at the bottom of my field of view. AFFILIATION ADDED – FRIEND OF THE ENCLAVE.

⚔

Antero’s office was markedly different than the alchemist’s. Instead of beakers and calcinators, there were tongs, hammers, and clay ovens against the walls. Antero was an elf with messy blond hair and a blue robe. His headgear placed crystal lenses over his eyes, and when he glanced up, his eyes were as large as dishes.

“Please sit down. Now tell me, what sort of item are you looking for? A medallion to improve your stealth? A belt that allows you to fall from great heights?”

My jaw dropped slightly. I wanted all of them, but I had to focus on the task at hand.

“I’m about to fight a clan of gnolls, and I’m concerned about the shaman’s spells. Do you have anything that guards against hexes?”

“How about an amulet that protects your mind from magical control? It will defend you against blindness and paralysis, and you can’t be slowed or teleported away. What do you think?”

“That would be perfect.”

“Splendid. To hold the enchantment, we’ll need aquamarine.” Antero rifled through a cabinet filled with stones and jewels. Then he withdrew an ice-colored gem carved into a hexagon.

Next, he withdrew an ivory wand from the folds of his robe. Taking a deep breath, he pointed the wand at the jewel and spoke five words in a low voice. As he uttered the incantation, I was amazed to see puffs of black smoke billow from his mouth.

Once he was finished, the blue jewel glowed softly. He carried the jewel to his furnace and turned his back to me. I heard the pings of a small hammer, but I couldn’t see what he was doing.

After a few minutes of hammering, he turned back to me holding a pair of metal tongs. Carefully, he released the tongs, and a bronze amulet fell onto his desk. The mounted aquamarine no longer glowed.

“Give it some time to cool down. Then it’s yours.”

“Thank you,” I said, impressed. “Can anyone learn enchanting?”

“No, that can only be studied by adherents of Zeknir.”

I sighed. If I could craft my own magic items the way I could craft potions, I’d be unstoppable.

Antero seemed to notice my disappointment. “Enchanting may not be a possibility, but a follower of Motiacca can study any school of elemental magic. Our Fire Magic trainers can teach you how to throw fireballs and our Water Magic trainers can show you how to hurl ice spears. Would that interest you?”

“I’d like to study magic, but most spells are too loud. I prefer to attack with stealth, and as soon as I throw a fireball or an ice spear, everyone will know where I am. Are any schools of magic good for rogues?”

Antero looked down at his table, seemingly lost in thought. “An… interesting problem. Most elemental spells are quite loud, but I believe spells of Light Magic and Shadow Magic are entirely silent.”

“Shadow Magic? I thought necromancy was forbidden.”

“It most certainly is, and you mustn’t confuse Light and Shadow Magic with Holy and Unholy Magic. The schools are entirely separate. Only Theris’s followers can study Holy Magic and only Dhok’kor’s followers can study Unholy Magic. But any god’s followers can cast spells of Light or Shadow Magic.”

“As a follower of Motiacca, I should probably look into Shadow Magic.”

“That’s certainly a consideration. If you don’t mind my prying, what do you want to accomplish as a spellcaster?”

“I intend to fight Prince Galliel.”

Antero raised his eyebrows. “In that case, I wouldn’t recommend Shadow magic. Many of Galliel’s necromancers know Shadow Magic at a high level, so they’ll be protected. I think you'll have a better chance if you study Light Magic.”

In all my years of playing fantasy games, I’d never played as a Light magic caster, and I had no idea what spells were available. But it seemed unlikely that the school of Light Magic would be weaker than the others.

“Light Magic sounds fine. Can someone here train me?”

“I’m afraid our Light Magic expert left for Encelas some time ago, but I know a retired wizard who can help you. Her name is Gurnil, and she lives northeast of Raven’s Rest. Give me a moment, and I’ll write you a letter of introduction.”

Antero took a feathered quill and wrote strange florid characters on a sheet of papyrus. When he was finished, he folded the sheet twice and handed it to me.

“Once Gurnil sees this, she’ll be willing to help. But be warned—training may come at a price.”

I took the letter and bowed. “Many thanks. You’ve been more than helpful.”

“Think nothing of it. Any enemy of Galliel is a friend of mine. Be sure to take your amulet!”