Lucullus drew his short sword, and swung it in a wide sweep, grazing the attacker. He doubled down, and lunged for the malefactor. His blade was met with a forceful shield parry, knocking him off balance. Before he could regain his footing, another assailant tackled him from behind, ending with both of them slamming into the side of the cart. Lucullus’s grunts echoed through the evening air. He drove his elbow into the man who tackled him to break free, and slashed him across the shoulder as he stumbled back to his feet.

The other assailant lunged at him with a flurry of sword slashes. Leveraging his size and stature against his foes, he put all of his weight into each strike and counter. It was then that two other attackers joined in. He swung at one, and kicked toward another. But the mystery bandits began to overwhelm him. One of the taller assailants managed to slash his face with a higher strike, leaving a large diagonal cut from his jaw to the top of his brow. Though he managed to give each of them serious injuries, they cornered him against the side of his cart. He attempted to thrust his sword into one of them, but another kicked the sword from his hand.

As he prepared himself for an outmatched fist fight, he heard another person approach. And to his surprise, the tip of a sword appeared through one assailant’s chest.

“Begone ye fiends! May Ferax lay a thousand curses upon you.”

Lucullus cracked a confident smile. “That you, Tullius?”

He went to strike at another bandit. “Aye. Heard your agony from a mile away.” He cracked a grin.

Together, the two turned the tide of the battle, and smote all their attackers. After the battle, Tullius hopped in Lucullus’s cart for a ride back to the village.

Lucullus reclined into the driver’s seat. “Seems I need a private guard just to go to Furca these days.”

Tullius cleaned blood off of his sword. “Comes with the lax enforcement of Lucium’s laws in the southern provinces. The Archduchess, way people talk, has really brought the hammer down on these barbarians. We ought to do the same.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps our woes are because of a lack of religious fervor. Most only even visit the temples out of a social obligation, or simply out of respect for the traditions. But they never seem to truly put their hearts into their prayers. Nor do they show the slightest bit of reverence in the temples. How can we expect for our people to thrive if we treat our gods like an afterthought?”

He looked off to the fields in the distance. “Might be that same lackadaisical attitude that causes our enforcement of the law to be so favorable to these disgusting lowlifes.”

Lucullus shrugged and focused on steering the cart.

After dropping Tullius off by the barracks, he returned to his house. With his mother already asleep, he retired to his bed for the night. Being so tired from his travels, and the intense fight he endured, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Fire engulfed the village, Lucullus’s house included. He rushed inside the house, worried about his mother. Large pieces of wood began to collapse around him as he sprinted up the stairs to his mother’s bed chamber. Inside, he found a horrific sight. His mother was melting in the flames. He rushed to try and save her. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting through his back. He stopped in his tracks, and dropped to one knee. His surroundings became engulfed by a multitude of spirits made from the fire which engulfed his house. In front of him appeared Tullius. He reached out for Tullius’s help, but his old friend turned his back, and he felt a great flame scorch him.

Lucullus sat up in his bed, yelling at the top of his lungs. His breathing was heavy, and his whole body was drenched with sweat.

His mother hurried into his room. “Son, what is the meaning of this? Is something wrong?”

He took a moment to look at his surroundings. He began to calm himself as he saw the sunrise stream light through his window. He looked at his mother with immense relief, and leapt out of his bed to hug her.

She embraced her son, though confused. “Have you had another of those dreams about your father?”

He shook his head. “Worse than that.”

She began to stroke his messy hair. “I hate to know what could be worse than that. Do you think you should see a Conjector to interpret your dreams? Maybe the gods are trying to send you a message.”

His breathing slowed, becoming deeper as he calmed down. “No. They’re just dreams. Nightmares really. But I’ll be fine. I just need to forget about these dreams. If I get obsessed with analyzing them, I’ll go insane.”

She sighed. “Okay. If you think that’s best, I won’t argue with it. Just remember, I’m always here if you need to talk about it.”

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“I know.” He strode over to his bed to put his work clothes on. “No doubt some evil spirits are trying to play tricks on my mind. Just means I need to pay Ferax another visit at the temple.”

He kissed his mother goodbye, and went to work on the farm until noon. He made his usual rounds of tending to his horses, swines, and lambs. After the animals, he did his field work, in which he tied his horses to the plow, and worked the ground. He finished just before noon with a cover crop planting over his fields.

As he journeyed to the temple, his thoughts kept returning to that dream. He knew it was just a dream. But why couldn’t he get it out of his mind like the other dreams? No matter how many nightmares he had of his father dying, he would always forget about them. So why was this dream any different? Maybe his mother was right. Perhaps he should see a Conjector. It might at least put his mind to ease. But it would have to wait until after his visit to the temple, for Ferax mustn't be kept waiting.

He sauntered into the temple, and knelt down for some prayers which he’d routinely used in the past for nightmares. Not that Ferax was a demigod of dreams, but he could intercede on Lucullus’s behalf to the goddess of dreams. When he had finished his prayers, he stepped outside the temple to see Tullius and a couple of guards rushing along the road. He ran toward Tullius and grabbed him by the shoulder, and turned him around.

“No time to talk, Lucullus. There’s been a death at the inn.” He shrugged Lucullus’s hand off.

“A death at the inn?” He started to follow him.

“You got straw in your ears? Yes, there’s been a death. The solemn bell rang just a minute ago.” He shook his head.

He never heard any bells ring. The temple must truly block out as much sound as they say when you’re kneeling at the shrine.

They flung open the door to the inn, and rushed over to the body. Lucullus immediately recognized who it was laying on the floor.

“Doesn’t look like one of ours, Captain Tullius.”

Tullius bent down to inspect the body. “Most certainly a traveling patron.”

Lucullus shoved people out of his way, and knelt down at the body. He muttered curses under his breath. “Decimus... How could this happen?”

One of the guards tried to pull Lucullus away from the body.

“No. He can stay where he is. I trust him.”

The guard bowed. “As you wish, captain.”

He inspected the body for any of the usual signs of a typical tavern brawl. Not a scratch. “Can anyone tell me what happened here?”

The innkeeper came forward. “I saw him stumble from his room. He dropped a bottle of ale on the floor. He may have died from whatever was in the bottle.”

Lucullus turned to the innkeeper. “Is the bottle intact, that it may be examined?”

He shook his head. “The thing shattered all over the floor by his room.” He paused for a moment, looking over at the room. “But I did notice someone run out of here in a hurry shortly before he came out of his room.”

Tullius stood up from the body. “What did this person look like?”

The man shrugged. “I only saw someone in a black cloak. Hood up. They never turned around for me to see their face.”

“I’ll have the guards put the word out for this mystery man. Do you suspect he did it?”

He shrugged once more. “Perhaps. Maybe the ale was poisoned. Maybe our suspect is one of those sorcerers from Emporikos, and they cast a spell on him.”

Tullius reexamined the body. “If it were poison, there would have been some outward sign.”

“I saw him stumble. Would that not be such a sign?”

He chuckled. “A sign of too much to drink perhaps. But I would say stumbling means nothing to this case. My bets are on sorcery.”

Lucullus slammed his fists on the floor, and yelled curses against Emporikos. “This wicked wizard must pay with his blood! Woe upon Emporikos, and to all of its people.”

Tullius put his arm around his friend, and gave him a firm shake. “Calm yourself, Lucullus. This man will be brought to justice, if it is he who has done this. But you mustn’t lose your senses over this.”

Lucullus gazed at the body. “He was a great friend, Tullius. He would feel the same way if it were me dead on the floor.”

“But would he shout with such unclean words to the gods, as you have done?”

His head sank. “No.” He reached over to put his hand on Decimus. “But what he would do is stop at nothing to find this vile creature who has done this.”

He patted his friend on the back. “Trust me, we will find out who did this. But we can’t behave like some rabid dog. Words like you have uttered only serve to sow further enmity between Lucium and Emporikos. We need not start wars over this.” He looked his friend in the eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll send for the Archiereus of Furca to cleanse Decimus’s room. Then we can safely enter, and see if he left any indication of who would do this.”

Lucullus reluctantly nodded. “Okay.” He wiped sweat from his forehead.

“Come now. I’ll walk with you back to your house, make sure the killer doesn’t jump you or anything. You probably ought to rest, and recover. I know it can’t be easy to lose someone so close.”

The two left the inn, and processed what happened on their way to Lucullus’s house. As they arrived at the door, they were greeted by his mother.

“Hello, Claudia. It’s good to see you.”

She reached out, and hugged her son. “What happened?”

“A man visiting our village was found dead at the inn. He was a good friend of your son.” He sighed. “He’s taking it pretty hard.” He struggled for a moment to speak. “My guards and I have reason to believe the murderer is one of those rogue sorcerers from out west.”

She hugged her son tighter. “Lucullus, please don’t go near that inn. If what Tullius believes is true, then it’s cursed.”

Tullius gave a dismissive wave with his hand. “Won’t be a problem for long. A messenger has already been sent to bring the Archiereus of Furca to clear it out. Should be safe to go into that room afterwards. As long as you avoid that room for now, the rest of the inn should still be safe.” He waved goodbye, and started to walk back.

“Tullius. I wish to join you in your investigation.”

He did a double take. “I know you want to help, but this is better left to the guards and the Archiereus of Furca.”

Lucullus let go of his mother and grabbed Tullius’s shoulders, shaking him as he spoke. “I must join you in this.”

Once again, Tullius denied him. But Lucullus continued to press him on the matter. After some time, Tullius relented, and agreed to letting Lucullus join the investigation.

Lucullus spent much of the night obsessing over what he saw. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get the image of Decimus’s corpse out of his mind.