All around him, Lucullus saw miles of desert. Never could he have imagined such a desolate place to be in. Each step felt labored, as if a horse was tied to his legs and refused to move. He looked down, yet he saw nothing wrong with his legs. Strange, he thought, I wonder what sort of spell the Chaodites have conjured up this time. He looked around, but Aela was nowhere. The winds began to blow the dust up around him; visibility became like it was in the blizzard at the Avarus Wall. As he struggled to make steps in the sand, he felt more resistance.

“Lucullus!”

He looked around again; nothing.

“Lucullus!”

This time, he saw a faint figure in the distance. It must be Aela! With all of his might, he ran as hard as he could toward the figure, but as he looked down, he saw himself sinking deeper into the sand with each step. “Aela!”

The figure seemed to get closer, despite Lucullus barely making any forward progress, and the dust began to settle. “Lucullus…”

He looked up to see that the figure had changed. His eyes struggled to stay open with all the sand that had blown in them. “Who are you?”

The figure pulled back its hood. “I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to recognize me. We’ve hardly met.” The figure’s voice seemed to be many voices at once.

“Are you a friend? Or an enemy?”

The figure resembled a slender woman. “Who I am is not important right now. I come with a message.”

“A message?”

“You have embarked on a dangerous journey, Lucullus. And you are going down the wrong path. While you remain here, Lucium burns. If you don’t return now, Lucium will be lost forever, and it will be too late to save the ones you love.”

“But I have received the mission of recovering Princess Olivia! Without her, King Titus’s throne will be lost. Without evidence, I can’t convince him to stop the Chaodites!”

“You already have enough evidence, Lucullus. The tides are changing fast, and your ship will be swept under the currents if you do not change course.”

“My curse shall remain if I do not return with Olivia.”

“I can remove the curses of men, but I can’t help you if you curse yourself.”

Lucullus struggled against the sand, but to no avail. “You do not look like any spirit I have been visited by before.”

Suddenly, a string of loud roars echoed through the air, and the skies began to darken. The woman looked up, and saw a great flying beast. “It appears that our time together is nearing its end, for now.”

Lucullus desperately reached out. “Wait! I have yet to know who you are.”

The woman began to fade into the dust storm as it reappeared. “I will see you again, Lucullus…”

“Wait!” He frantically looked around, and was surrounded by these great flying beasts. He rubbed sand out of his eyes, but still couldn’t see well. All of the beasts opened their mouths, and great flames engulfed him.

Lucullus sat up in his bed, and screamed as loud as he could as he drew his sword.

Aela’s clutched her chest as she was startled awake by his terror. She leapt out of her bed and went over to him. “Lucullus, is something wrong?” she asked frantically.

He sheathed his sword, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Just a nightmare.” He looked over to the window. “We got a couple hours before dawn; you should probably get some sleep with that time.”

“I think it’s too late for that. What sort of nightmare would make you grab your sword?”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. I have plenty of nightmares. This is nothing special.”

She sat next to him on the bed. “Are you sure it was nothing? That didn’t sound like nothing.”

Suddenly, several servants and guards burst into the room. “Ist alles in ordnung, Altum?”

Aela turned to them. “Ist gut. Geh jetzt.”

The guards nodded, and with the servants, they exited the room.

Aela turned back to Lucullus. “I know it’s been a short time, but in all the days we’ve traveled together, I’ve never heard you scream in the middle of the night. I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned any nightmares to me.”

“It’s something I don’t like to talk about. Let’s leave it at that.”

She sighed and got up. “If you insist. But I’m here if you need to talk about it.”

He laid back down. “Why are you so interested in my nightmares?”

“It’s not normal for a man to scream loud enough to wake a whole castle over a nightmare.”

He rolled over. “If a man’s worst fears are right before him, what else can he do in such a terrible dream.”

Aela returned to her bed, and tried to get what little rest she could. Or maybe there’s something you’re not telling me.

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A few hours past dawn, one of Matilda’s servants entered Lucullus and Aela’s chamber, and bowed before them. “The Good Duchess will be coming by your chamber shortly. She has returned from her trip.”

Lucullus answered, “Good. I look forward to hearing of what she has discovered. Do you know exactly when she will be here?”

“Her carriage was spotted coming into the courtyard a few minutes ago. I was sent ahead to announce her arrival.”

Aela looked at him curiously. “I didn’t know she had any servants Lucullus could understand, much less why she would need to send one ahead of her.”

“Milady wishes to give notice whenever she makes a visit to anyone’s private chamber; it’s proper court etiquette. And I am one of her most educated servants. Being closer than any other of her equals to the biggest trade routes, she often requires servants who can speak many tongues to tend to her many guests of diverse backgrounds. Some, like your friend, can’t speak the native tongue of Immergrun. Thus, some of her servants must know other tongues to tend to the guests without Milady present. She informed me that he could speak Northern Dasosan.”

Lucullus nodded. “I see. Well, if that is all, then you are dismissed. I shall wait here for her, then.”

The servant bowed once more, and left.

“I guess customs are different from back home,” Aela muttered to herself.

“It is nice to know that she has returned.”

She shrugged. “I suppose you’re right, but I don’t see the point in bothering with sending a messenger just a few minutes ahead of your arrival. He barged in all the same as she would.”

“At least we know she will be bringing news.” He fastened his belt, and adjusted his sword in its sheath.

As if on cue, the door opened, and Matilda came through. “Hello again, Altum.”

Lucullus turned around to see her sauntering into the room. “Hello to you, too. I’m glad to see you’ve returned safely from your journey.”

She chuckled. “I see you’ve been working on your flattery, Altum. Maybe some day you could come back to my court, and I’ll show court etiquette in Immergrun.” She smiled, and looked over to Aela. “I think I’m starting to like him. I do hope the rest of his people are like him.”

Aela shrugged. “I think he may be unique from a lot of his people. I’ve only ever met one native of Lucium to embrace the Savra, and he wasn’t even a full Altum; he was Acredo.”

“Then truly, he must be the one from prophecy. There can be no doubt.”

Lucullus nodded along. “What news do you have from the Fahrmanner?”

“Ah yes, back to business.” She cleared her throat. “The Fahrmanner refuses to submit to an audit. Even after I personally visited them, they shamelessly shut me out. They never refuse any audits from me. I know they must be hiding something. News of the arrival of the Prophesied Chaodite Slayer might have reached them.”

Aela countered, “But why would the Fahrmanner deny your authority? Do you think they’re in a conspiracy with the Chaodites?”

“I would bet my whole realm on it. None of the previous records we’ve been given from them, which goes as recent as a week before your arrival, show any indication of Olivia having reached our shores.”

Lucullus chimed in, “Why don’t you just take their records by force? If they’re not submitting to an audit by your authority, then force must be used.”

Matilda put her hand on his shoulder, and laughed. “Your heart is in the right place, Altum. I wish it were that simple, but with the title of duchess comes a mountain of political headaches. Every move I make falls under more scrutiny than you could ever imagine; I shudder to think what the Queen goes through.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I can get you close to the Fahrmanner. My servants lurk in the shadows, and can help you move quietly. But as far as getting those manifests, you’ll have to figure that part out on your own. My advice is to stay in the shadows as much as you can.”

“It seems like all I do is move from one shadow to the next.”

She gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Your excellent espionage in the Count’s castle is worthy of much praise. You and your friend proved to be a fantastic team, and I wouldn’t want to potentially hinder you with a stranger trailing behind you at every step. I have full confidence in your skills. Perhaps you should consider a career in espionage; I might even offer you a place in my court, if you would be open to such a thing.”

“I’ve certainly had the practice, but I have no interest in such a career. If I could ever go back to the life of farming I once had, that’s all I could ever ask for.”

“Regardless of your career choices, my dear Altum friend, I can get you close to their headquarters, but you’ll have to go from there on your own. And if you do decide to do this, I recommend making copies of their documents instead of taking the originals. The Chaodites won’t receive a forewarning of your arrival if you heed my advice. Trust me, the man behind the Fahrmanner notices everything; even a single hair out of place will rouse his suspicion.”

“I suppose we don’t have much choice in the matter. Aela, are you ready to do it?”

Aela nodded.

“Then I suppose we should head for the Fahrmanner as soon as we can.”

“Good. When you two return, I can get you to the main island, too. It should help save some of your limited funds.”

“We appreciate it, Duchess.”

She smiled. “I’m always happy to help a friend.”

Duke Ignatius paced around the war room. “I must say, Tullius,” he briefly paused his pacing before continuing, “I was hoping you would’ve killed them.”

Tullius stood tall, and kept a stoic expression. “I try to resolve things without bloodshed if I can. I save the fighting for those who can’t be reasoned with.”

“Regardless, I am impressed with your diplomacy. I sent you to stop invaders from coming into my territory, and you certainly delivered.”

“I was more than happy to help, sire.”

Ignatius leaned over the center table. “Your service to Lucium, and to House Praelia, has produced great fruits. You have shown loyalty, integrity, and reliability over the past few months. I don’t agree with your methods, but I can’t question your results.”

“Thank you, sire.”

He stared down at the map. “I have to admit something to you, Tullius… I think a war is coming.”

Tullius looked puzzled. “A war? With who?”

“Who do you think?” His face became grim. “I don’t like the prospects in the slightest. Emporikos, however, is not my biggest concern. I think our other neighboring countries are the bigger threats. If Emporikos invades, the others will strike the moment they see an opening.”

“Why are you telling me this, sire?”

“I fear that King Titus is losing control of the noble houses.”

“Why do you think that?”

He chuckled, but kept his somber expression. “There’s talk of treason up north. My guess is foreign influence. No doubt the Dasosan agents have fed grand promises to the nobles; perhaps they’ve even made threats to cause weaker nobles to defect.”

“Is there something I can do to help?”

He shook his head. “I just wanted to inform you of the situation. Better to tell you now then later. I say all of this because I may soon have to call you to war.”

“If duty calls, then I shall defend my nation.”

“Good. I was worried that you may have been too attached to your village to leave it.”

“If all of Lucium were to fall, what good would it do to defend one village? Even if it is my home village, it can’t weather the storm that you say is coming.”

He nodded. “Then, you are dismissed, Sir Tullius.”

Tullius bowed, and left the castle. And taking his men with him, he traveled back to his village, and they went into the inn for ale.

A few days after having returned to his village, Tullius was greeted with a messenger, who simply gave him a letter and said, “Sir Tullius, a letter from Archduchess Sabina.”

He opened the letter, nervous of what it could be about. He just barely finished reading the letter before he darted toward the stables. He sent word to his men of his departure, and rode toward Castle Avarus with great speed.