The guild was going to be converted into a library. Gareth stared at the dark windows while people passed by him, going about their mornings. He had nothing to do. Nowhere to go. When he’d heard about the discovery that Harian Hawks could be trained, he had marveled at the idea, but now he had been replaced by trained hawks. The Messenger’s guild had been around since the beginning of their country, but now it was gone. True, most of the messages had taken ages to get where they were going, if they made it there at all, but it was hard to think such rational thoughts when he had no job and was about to lose his home.

Gareth took a deep breath, still staring at the empty building. He ran a hand through his long red hair, pulling some of it loose from its tie. He couldn’t just stand there forever. Clearly, this was the best choice for the country of Hari. The trained hawks could carry a message across the dense forest easily, without getting lost. They just needed something with the scent of the message’s recipient, which they could track across a remarkable distance. Gareth couldn’t do that. He was just a scrawny nineteen year old, who had spent most of his time with the guild lost in the forest.

He forced himself to turn away from the building. People were starting to stare at him and whisper because he’d been standing there for so long. The best he could do was walk back to the inn, go upstairs to his room, and sit in the lone chair at the table in front of the window. This was his last day with a home, as he couldn’t afford to pay rent any longer. The guild had closed several days ago, but he hadn’t found a job in that time.

How could there not be work in such a big city? Arium, the City of Sanctuary. He wouldn’t be finding sanctuary there any longer. Maybe he should join the knights? He knew how to wield a sword, but the idea of binding himself to a god with the Oath was terrifying. Even if Adytis, the god who ruled over this city, was known to be benevolent. Gareth absently touched the weathered cover of his father’s journal where it sat on the table. His father had gone missing on his travels long ago and was assumed dead. With his mother, Una, having died of illness two years ago, this journal was all he had left of his family.

His wandering fingers found the frayed ribbon that served as a bookmark. A strange fragment of stone had been tied to the end. It was as long across as the palm of his hand, but narrow like a finger, and shaped like a spiral on the end. It was made of Nightstone. Not much was known about Nightstone, but he had found out the name at least. The stone was black and shiny, with points of light in the depths, like a starry night sky. The fragment gave off a dim light.

Gareth’s mother had never opened the journal, or said how she had gotten it with Gareth’s father missing. Had someone found it and delivered it to her? The way she had avoided even looking at the journal had unnerved him, but now that he was sitting there with nothing to do and nowhere to go, it was harder to ignore his curiosity. And he wanted to read what his father had written. He didn’t even remember what the man had looked like, and his mother had said very little about him.

Gareth hesitated only a moment longer before opening the journal. On the first page, in a neat scrawl, his father had written The Journal of Leary of Arium. That explained how someone would have figured out where to take the journal, but where had it been found? Gareth settled back in his chair and began to read. Part travelogue, part confusing ravings, the writing in the journal became only messier and harder to read the further he went. But Gareth was riveted, the need to see how it ended keeping him in his chair.

There was no resolution at the end, no closure. All the talk about revelations, the Nightstone fragment, and the fallen city of Obsertus, and this was how it ended? Little was known about Obsertus, other than fragments of Nightstone sometimes being found on the plains. There was more to the phenomenon than that, but just thinking about it sent a chill through him. At least he knew his father hadn’t disappeared on the plains like the people in the stories. His last entry was just before he entered the city.

Here at last. Now to find the door, to find the answer.

What door? What answer? Gareth closed the journal and gently set it back on the table. The sun was getting low, the room gloomy with shadows. The fragment attached to the journal still put off its dim glow, which wasn’t enough to light the room. His stomach growled. Had he been there all day? That thought barely registered, his mind awash in what he had just read. He had heard stories of people entering the fallen city, but supposedly no one ever returned. Was that what had happened to his father? But the city couldn’t have just swallowed him. Was he still there, lost somewhere in the city built into the mountain?

Gareth didn’t dare hope. His father had gone missing when he was two, so he would have to have been in Obsertus for seventeen years. Another worry crept in. Had his father abandoned him and his mother and gone to live in the abandoned city? He shoved that thought away. Nothing in the journal made that sound likely, though clearly his father had been obsessed with Obsertus, with finding out the truth about what had happened to the city. He had traveled all over the continent looking for answers.

Gareth stared at the cover of the journal as the light of sunset dimmed further. Maybe it was time to leave Arium. Tomorrow morning, he would have nowhere to live and nowhere to work. Nothing to hold him back. He could go anywhere, could even follow his father’s journey. He didn’t know what exactly he would be looking for, but the more he thought about it, the more excited he was.

He had never left the country of Hari before. Now was his chance, and maybe along the way he could discover the truth about Obsertus, the fragment of Nightstone attached to the journal, and what had happened to his father.Preparing for the journey was easier than he’d thought it would be. He had dinner downstairs before packing what little clothing he had in his bag, along with the journal. It was the bag that had accompanied him when he delivered messages between the cities of the gods. It was an odd thought, but once he left Hari, he would be out of the land of the gods. They had much less of a presence in the other countries. How different would things be out there? All of his questions, worries, and excitement followed him into a restless sleep.

In the morning, he refilled both of his water flasks, then stopped by the store to buy rations before leaving through one of the city’s two gates. He stopped on the faint outline that passed for a path and looked back at the city one more time. Would he see it again? Gareth forced himself to turn away. He didn’t know if he would come back, or what reason he would have to return. For now, he would focus on what was ahead.

He took his map from his bag. It was a rough map he had drawn in his time with the Messenger’s guild, but it should be enough to get him to the border of Acantha. It was supposed to be cold there, even if it was Summer, so he had bought a thicker cloak, which he kept in his bag for now. Gareth had slept in the forest at night before, but even with a campfire, it could be dangerous. There was always the danger of Red Wolves attacking. They wouldn’t attack a bigger group, but he would be alone out there. He would stop in settlements at night as much as possible.

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Gareth stepped off the path, if it could be called that, and sat on a mossy boulder, frowning at his map. There were only two cities between him and the border of Acantha. Votum, City of Truth, was closer to the border, but the other city… Gareth sighed, folded the map, and put it back in his bag. There was no avoiding it. He would have to stay the night in Ravita, City of Corruption. A shiver ran through him. He had heard frightening things about Varus, God of Corruption, and about his hollow knights. Some said the knights had no souls, and some said they were merely corpses with only Varus’s will keeping them going.

Supposedly, they weren’t Varus’s only knights. There was a very small group known as the Knights of Corruption, but he knew little about them. They might not even exist. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be in the city long enough to find out, and he doubted he would be the only traveler. That was something. He tried to focus on that thought as he set out through the forest. Ravita was close enough to Arium that he would be there by sunset. For a moment, he considered taking his chances with the Red Wolves, but that would be foolish. Plenty of people passed through Ravita and nothing bad happened to them. Nothing that he had heard.

After a while of walking, his worries faded into the background. Gareth took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of pine. The forest of Hari was mostly evergreen trees. It was always so peaceful out there, with the chirping of birds, the wind rustling the pine needles. This only brought the loss of his job back to his mind. He had enjoyed all of his time in the forest, even if he had gotten lost out there a lot.

He didn’t see any travelers, but he thought he heard someone around midday. Having passed this way before, he didn’t follow what little path there was, which most travelers would stick close to. He knew from experience it was hard to tell where the path was and trying to follow it was an easy way to get lost. What little sun made it through the trees was warm. By the time the sun was setting, Gareth was even more reluctant to enter the city up ahead. The stone walls and gate looked darker than those of Arium, but maybe it was just the shadows of sunset.

The gate was open, and three other travelers were heading inside. Gareth followed them into the city. It was more lively than he had expected. Apparently, people lived in Ravita, not just the hollow knights. The inside of the city felt like any other city of a god that Gareth had visited. He did spot the hollow knights easily among the crowd. They went about their work guarding the city, wearing all black armor and helms with the visors down. A shiver ran through him as he wondered what they looked like beneath that armor. He didn’t want to find out.

Gareth stepped to the side of the crowd and took out his journal. Had his father passed through Ravita? There was no mention of it if he had. Leary had written his first entry in Votum, where he had found a fragment of Nightstone that was likely the one with the journal. A shadow passed in front of the light of sunset. Gareth looked up, finding someone wearing all black standing in front of him. At first he tensed, thinking it might be a hollow knight, but the person wasn’t wearing armor or a helm. Instead, they wore black clothes, black gloves, a black hood and scarf, and even dark glasses.

“Interesting stone,” the person said. She sounded like a woman. “Are you a traveler?”

Gareth had met many strange people on his travels, but never someone so completely covered in the heat of summer. He tried to put it out of his mind so he wouldn’t stare. “This is my father’s journal. I’m going to follow his travels.”

“Interesting…” the woman muttered. “Do you know where to find the inn?”

Gareth glanced at the city. “This is my first time here, and I’ve only just arrived.”

“Then I will show you the way,” she said, sounding almost excited. Did she live in Ravita?

Gareth followed her lead through the city, to an ordinary looking inn. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. So far, this city was hardly different from any other. Except for the hollow knights.

“Have you been traveling long?” the woman asked when they stopped outside the inn.

The sun had finished setting, but candles had been lit in the few lampposts scattered around the city, and more candlelight spilled out of the windows of the buildings.

“This is my first stop since leaving Arium,” Gareth said. He hesitated, feeling awkward when she said nothing more. “I was a Messenger.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry. I heard about the hawks. A roost is already being built here in Ravita to house the trained hawks.”

Gareth didn’t want to talk about this.

“Enjoy your travels,” she said. “At least you’ll have a safe place to stay for your first night on the road.” She walked away, back along the street.

Gareth watched her go for the moment. He should have asked her name. A pair of travelers pushed past him in their hurry to get inside the inn. Gareth spotted a hollow knight coming down the street, patrolling the city. Maybe the travelers had wanted to get away from the knight. Gareth went inside the inn, getting stew and water so he wouldn’t have to use the supplies from his bag. He slept better than the night before, from the weariness of having walked all day.

In the morning, he had a good breakfast at the inn. As soon as he stepped outside, the woman from the night before came up beside him. Unless it was someone else dressed the same way. When she spoke, that cleared up his doubts. It was her voice.

“Would you be opposed to having company on your travels?” she asked. She patted the bag across her shoulder, which was black like the rest of her clothes. “I’ve brought my own water and food, so you won’t have to worry about me draining your supplies.”

That had come out of nowhere, but it would be safer to travel with someone, and he could admit he was nervous about leaving Hari for the first time. Maybe it would be less frightening if he was with someone else from Hari.

“I’m not opposed to it,” Gareth said, “but I don’t even know your name.” He told her his.

“I’m Thea,” she said. “This won’t be my first time out of Ravita, but I’ve never left Hari before.” He thought he heard a smile in her voice. “I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like out there.”

He waited, but she said nothing more. He didn’t want to pry, and maybe she would say more on the road. Maybe she would at least tell him why she wanted to travel. The two of them left through the opposite gate Gareth had entered the night before, with all four travelers who had been at the inn. They all seemed in a hurry to leave Ravita behind. Gareth took out his map, then stepped off the path, with Thea beside him.

“Where to next?” Thea asked.

“Votum,” Gareth said. “City of Truth.”

That was where his father’s journey had begun.