Goldleaf was a small fishing town that stood on the rocky shores of a small inlet. It was little more than a handful of buildings scattered on the narrow strip of land that lay between the glittering waters of the sea, and a dense forest. Further inland, a tall rocky mountain with sheer sides rose dramatically from a forest of trees sporting leaves of colours ranging from deep emerald green to coppery red.

“I’d forgotten how beautiful Urdelon was in the autumn,” Colnus muttered to himself as he walked down the pier.

“You’ve been here before?” Steven asked without turning around.

“Not to this particular town, no,” Colnus replied absently. “But I participated in the Second Crusade.”

Steven smirked. “Looking back, it’s funny how much blood we spilt over the correct way to worship the Creator.”

“It wasn’t funny, it was tragic.” Colnus sniffed. “And I was no exception. I was as zealous as any…”

He stopped to place a hand on one of the two trees that flanked the road leading into town. He craned his neck to look up at their brilliant yellow leaves that gleamed like gold in the midday sun. “Truly a beautiful place.”

“It is,” Steven agreed. He stopped and turned around to look at the Fleeting Maiden that dwarfed the fishing boats she was moored alongside.

“Don’t worry,” Kara said as she patted her father on the shoulder. “Jerry runs a tight ship. He won’t let them out before she’s squared away.”

“Still though,” Rol chimed in. “We’ve been at sea for a week. You could have let them loose in the town for a spell first.”

Steven gave Rol a withering look. “We work then we play, lad.”

He gave the Fleeting Maiden one final, lingering stare before turning to Colnus. “Do you see anything out of place?"

The old man looked around theatrically before shaking his head. “No, I can’t say I do... “I must say, this place is very remote.”

“It is by design,” Steven replied as he led them into town. “Until we caught that creature, we assumed the Dark One was being informed by men who had pledged themselves to her. After all, we didn’t see lesser demons appear until the princess turned ten.”

“Perhaps her premature death changed the rules,” Colnus remarked bitterly as he looked up and down the town’s only dirt road. “Is the current Vessel in this town? That seems irresponsible.”

Steven pointed at the mountain in the distance. “She’s in the monastery up there.”

Colnus raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “That looks more defensible.”

Rol’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You can see it from here?”

“You have good eyes,” Steven remarked as he walked towards a tidy two storey building close to the shore. A fish leaping out of the water was painted on a sign hanging outside along with the words, the Flying Fish.

“We’re going to have a drink?” Colnus asked incredulously. “After saying we work before playing?”

Steven flashed the old man a grin. “We are here to work.”

Happily, Rol bounded up the stairs and opened the door where he was stopped in his tracks by a dozen hostile stares.

“Is it me or are things a lot more tense than they were a fortnight ago?” he whispered to Kara, who had been half a pace behind him.

“Perhaps, but we won’t find out why cowering out here,” Kara said as she pushed past the tall boy.

“I wasn’t cowering,” Rol protested as he hurried after her.

He noted the man wearing a white tunic sitting at a table close to the bar and sat at a table nearby.

“You order, you pay, and then you sit down,” a surly man growled from behind the bar. He had a head of thinning hair, an ample belly, and a scowl on his face.

“I’m sorry, landlord,” Kara cooed as she walked up to the bar. Coins jingled as she placed a bulging pouch in front of the man. “My associate there has forgotten how things work in the month we’ve been gone. Ale and a meal for four, please.”

“Remind me why I didn’t leave you on the Maiden, kid?” Steven asked caustically as he sat in the chair that was back to back with the man in the white tunic before gesturing for Colnus to take the seat next to his.

“Because I’m big and intimidating,” Rol replied with a toothy grin.

Steven grunted before leaning his head back. “What’s got the locals so riled up, Hardin?”

The man sitting behind Steven straightened up imperceptibly and replied without turning around. “There’s been some strange goings on in the forest. The locals say they have a bad feeling when they enter.”

“Rural folk are always superstitious,” Steven shrugged. “Or perhaps they’ve caught a whiff of more of those things.”

“Speaking of which, where is that creature we lent you?”

“At the bottom of the sea,” Steven replied cheerfully.

Hardin turned around to reveal a taught, cleanshaven face that was crimson with fury. “Do you know what we went through to catch that thing?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“It was dead, and we didn’t want to have to keep it around for a moment longer than we had to,” Steven replied casually. He looked up and winked as his daughter carried four filled tankards over.

“Thanks for the help,” she said, looking pointedly at Rol. “You’re a real gentleman.”

“I’m sorry, I was busy looking intimidating,” he replied with a sloppy grin.

Hardin’s eyes widened when he noticed Colnus for the first time. “New recruit?”

“Something like that,” Steven replied breezily.

Colnus nodded coolly. “I take it you are from the monastery?”

The man ran his hand over his short cropped hair. “What gave it away?”

“Tell me something, brother,” Colnus said softly. “It took the Order sixteen years to identify the Princess as a Vessel. How did you find the current one so quickly?”

Hardin sucked in his breath and turned back to face his drink. “You are well informed.”

“I’d answer his question if I were you,” Steven warned.

After a moment, Hardin replied. “We grew complacent. The last time we had to deal with a Vessel was over two hundred years ago and hard won research was forgotten or faded into legend. By the time the Order took the threat seriously, it was too late. However, once we did, we poured the records and learned that if the Vessel were to die before it was possessed, a new one would be chosen at once. It was a simple matter of scouring the lands for a birth at the time of the princess’ demise.”

“So you knew that killing her prematurely was futile and neglected to tell us!” Colnus roared, sending this chair crashing to the ground as he leapt to his feet.

The tavern fell silent, and Steven slowly got to his feet and addressed the other patrons. “Sorry about my friend’s outburst. Barkeep, a round for everyone, courtesy of the good brother here.”

The landlord looked over at Hardin, who was staring at Colnus in shock. Steven bent over and whispered into his ear. “This is Colnus Robrad. Buy the room a round and I’ll try to stop him from wringing your neck.”

Feebly, Hardin nodded. The landlord rang a bell that hung above the bar and declared, “Free round!”

Meanwhile, Steven picked the chair up and patted Colnus on the arm. “He was just a neophyte at the time and had no say in anything.”

Slowly, Colnus walked over to Hardin’s table and sat across from the terrified man. “Speak.”

“The situation at Port Daralin was beyond salvation, you know that,” Hardin spluttered. “They would have taken the princess. Killing her when you did bought us time. Eighteen years… We have eighteen years now to prepare for the next invasion.”

“Seventeen years and seven months,” Colnus said evenly.

“Has anything changed since we left?” Steven ventured.

Hardin shook his head. “Only the strange feelings felt by the locals.”

“You have already uncovered a lesser demon in your monastery,” Hardin remarked. “I’m surprised she hasn’t already been moved.”

“It’s not that simple,” Hardin said. “We need to find a lord who is willing to accept her in their lands.”

“Those will be hard to come by after what happened at Port Daralin,” Steven mused.

“The abbot departed shortly after you did in search of one,” Hardin continued. “We received word last week that he is on his way back.”

“With good news, hopefully,” Steven remarked as he extended his hand. “Thanks for the information.”

“Creator willing,” Hardin breathed as he turned around and shook Steven’s hand. Five silver coins appeared in his hand, which he quickly pocketed. He looked up and saw Colnus giving him a baleful look.

“I would like to go to the monastery at once to assess the situation there,” Colnus declared. “We could be more trouble than we think if the others are as corrupt as this one.”

Hardin shrank in his seat before speaking meekly. “I’m afraid I have orders to wait here for the abbot’s return. We did receive word that he is on his way back...”

Steven frowned. “I need to speak with him at the first opportunity, so I’m not going anywhere either.”

“You just don’t want to stay in the monastery for a moment longer than you have to,” Kara snorted.

“I can’t help but feel we need to check on the Vessel urgently,” Colnus remarked. “I can go by myself.”

“Somebody is going to have to accompany him, or they won’t let him in,” Steven pointed out.

“You might need someone to look intimidating when you’re negotiating with the abbot,” Rol remarked.

Kara let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll go with him.”

“Then I will too,” Rol said quickly.

“Kara,” Steven beckoned his daughter over. “Take him to poke around the monastery then come right back, eh?”

The girl arched an eyebrow. “After he’s discovered something that will help you impress the abbot?”

Steven winked at her and grinned broadly. “We need to show him results. Now get going, We don’t want our man to get lost in the woods.”

As Colnus stood, a plump woman arrived at their table bearing four plates laden with meat and potatoes. “The young lady said you were sick to death of fish, so I’ve brought you roast venison. It's dry aged using our special technique to make it more tender and bring out its flavour.”

“Do we have to leave right this moment?” Rol’s mouth watered a heaving plate was set down before him. “We’ve only had Arnel’s slop for the past week.”

Colnus, however, was already striding swiftly out the door. Kara grinned at the boy and arched an eyebrow. “Coming?”

“It’s a day and a half’s hike!” Rol called out as he dashed out after them. “Aren’t we going to at least get provisions?”

“We’ll just live off the land,” Kara said as they emerged from the tavern. To their surprise, Colnus was waiting for them on the road outside.

“It occurs to me that I do not know the way,” he admitted.

“Follow me,” Kara said as she led the way down the road.

“What about food?” Rol asked.

“The forest will provide,” Kara replied without turning around.

As they approached the edge of town, Rol noticed that passersby were eyeing them with concern. Eventually, a burly man crossed the road and planted himself in their path.

“Good day,” he said politely. He was a head shorter than Rol but had a thickness to him. What concerned Rol the most was the large, two handed mattock the man carried on his shoulder.

“Where might you be going on this fine day, strangers?” he asked after Rol and Kara returned the greeting warily.

“To the monastery,” Kara replied.

The man scratched the back of his head and looked over his shoulder into the forest before turning back to Kara. “I’d be wary of going in there. Strange things have been going on. I’m a lumberjack, you see, and I’ve experienced them first hand. Not been going past the creek myself.”

“What sort of strange things?” Kara asked.

The man shrugged. “The feeling like we’re being watched.”

Kara raised an eyebrow, and the man chuckled. “I know I’m sounding like a superstitious bumpkin, but I’ve spent my life in those woods. I know when something is off.”

“We can look after ourselves,” Kara promised.

The man eyed Colnus and Rol in turn before nodding. “Oh of that I have no doubt, but there are somethings that strength can’t fight off, you know? At any rate, if you’re determined to go in, I can’t stop you, but I will warn you to not stay in there after dark. We’ve been hearing noises. Noises that don’t belong.”

“I’m afraid that will be quite impossible,” Kara said. “We are going to the monastery after all.”

“Maybe he has a point,” Rol said nervously. “We could go back to the Maiden and get more of the lads to come along.”

“If you’re scared, you don’t have to come along.” There was a mocking undertone to Kara’s voice that made Rol’s blood boil.

“I’m not scared!” he insisted.

“If you’re still determined to go,” the man continued. “Two of our people are overdue to return. Their names are Lanus and Ferney. On the off chance you meet them… Tell them they are missed."

“Well, I’ve given you fair warning,” the man said as he stepped aside. “My conscience is clear.”

“Thank you for the warning, sir,” Kara said as she continued down the road. “Creator watch over you.”