1

“So, this is Seaside!” Brie exclaimed with a sense of wonder. She often said things that were almost child-like in her reactions. It was one of things Auldric loved about her.

Auldric Hearthstone had been here before, so he was not quite as impressed, but he had to admit it was a very nice place with an incredible view of the ocean. No wonder the rich like to come here in the summers, he thought.

Seaside had beautiful white sand beaches and calm waters in a large protected bay. At one end of the beach were the docks. There were a dozen large wharves that went out far enough for large galleons to port with ease. Next to that was a huge shipyard where new ships were still being constructed. Seaside had been a seaport for at least the last two or three hundred years, maybe even more, but Auldric was not sure of the exact history of the place. But he could always visit a book shop and find out.

Brie seemed to have more energy now. The walk down the imperial road had been long, taking a few days since they had met Lucius. However, seeing the deep blue green of the ocean and the white sand beaches had motivated her to run down the wide old stairs out onto the beach.

She squealed with excitement and Auldric ran to catch up. “Hey, slow down!” He shouted after her. She just laughed and ran until her feet hit the water. The waves gentle lapped the sands. Brie took her shoes off and felt the sands between her toes and the coolness of the water as it came in covering up her feet.

Auldric caught up to her. He looked around. They were not the only ones here. There were other people walking up and down the surf, a few blankets and large umbrellas shading couples and families from the hot sun. They were well into summer. He was already sweating in the sun and the heat.

Brie was running around the surf and acting like a child, which made Auldric laugh to himself. She shouted for him and then came running over to him. “By the Gods! Look what I found in the sand!” She held up an orange starfish. “What in the name of Gaia is it!?”

“It’s a starfish,” he told her. “You’ll find them around here sometimes. Clams too if you dig for them.”

“Wow!” Everything seemed to fascinate her. She tossed the starfish back into the sea and went looking for clams, even though she had no idea what she was looking for.

Auldric looked back at the city and took it all in. The city was beautiful, nestled against a large hill of black rock that seemed to be volcanic at one time. The rock was easy to carve, so the city climbed up the hill in a series of carefully manicured terraces.

The homes were grouped close together and carved back into the hill itself. The houses all build from a local clay and been painted white with blue clay tile roofs that looked very striking against the dark rocky background.

Brie had not seen it yet. She was too focused on digging holes. “How do you know where the clams are, also what do they look like?” She shouted to him.

“Come over here,” he told her.

She came over. Her hands and knees covered in white sand. “I don’t know how to find them,” she confessed.

“Never mind, we’ll find a tavern that serves them,” he said. He pointed out all the houses in the hillside. “Looked at this place.”

Now she saw the city for the first time. “By the Gods,” she said breathlessly. “Can we live here? I love this place already.”

“Probably not after I do what I came here to do,” he explained. “But we will be here a while, so you have time to enjoy it at least.”

“The trees here are all weird, like tall with no branches and big spiky leaves on top,” She pointed out.

“We are pretty far south now,” Auldric explained. “Those are coconut trees. Over there, those are date palms. East of here a few miles there are plantations where they grow them. The River delta is full of them.”

“You know so much,” Brie said. She held on to his arm tight and kissed him on the shoulder. “You have no idea how glad I am that you found me. It seems like a lifetime ago. I’ll show later how much I appreciate you. By the Gods, being pregnant has made me so horny! I wish I could fuck you right here on the beach!”

They both laughed. “There will be plenty of time for that later,” Auldric assured her. “But first we need a place to stay and then we must find Lucius. Besides, here on the beach… the sand will get into place you don’t want it to.”

“Fine,” Brie said a little disappointed that she could not get what she wanted right then and there. “But can we rent one of those houses instead of getting a room at an inn. We have the money, don’t we?”

Auldric had to admit that he still had most of the money he got from Lucius. “I suppose we can, but you need some new clothes too.”

She looked down at herself and had to agree. The old homespun cotton and wool dresses were too hot for this climate. “Is it always hot like this here?”

Auldric nodded. “All year around. In the winter months it rains a lot.”

2

They walked around the town looking for a good place to stay. Brie gawked at everything and everyone. People wore clothing with shortened pant legs and short sleeves on their shirts. Light colored wide brim hats made from straw were also very popular.

“Everyone is dressed so strange, but it looks comfortable,” Brie commented after a while.

“Let’s find a place first. Then clothing,” he told her.

They did. They found a small home up on the hill with a sign out front proclaiming bungalows for rent. The old woman who owned several of them wanted two gold coins a night to stay in one. Auldric paid her for two weeks in advance, he was reasonably sure he would have much more than that soon enough once he started his work for Lucius.

From the outside, it looked small with a simple doorway, a window next to it and a stone patio in front that faced the road. The view of the ocean was nothing less than perfect. Once inside the home, it was much bigger. There was a large open room that was kitchen and living space with a large table to sit at. There was another room with a bed in back. It was nice and cool in there away from the summer heat.

“I love this place!” Brie proclaimed. “I can smell the salty breeze from the ocean all the way up here!”

“Look at that view,” Auldric pointed out.

“I know, I can see the galleons miles out on the sea making their way into shore,” she added. “So many big ships here.”

“It’s a big port, but White Cliff is even bigger,” Auldric told her.

“Maybe we can see that place too… one day,” she suggested.

“There is a lot we can do in this life,” he said to her. “Let’s take it one day at a time. Don’t forget, you’re pregnant.”

“Yeah, I know,” She said rubbing her belly, but she was not showing just yet. Pretty soon she would not be able to hide it. “Baby is hungry, can we eat?”

“Lucius said we can find him at a tavern by the beach called The Fisherman’s Wharf,” Auldric recalled. “We can eat there.”

An hour later, as the sun was starting to hang low in the sky and turn from yellow to a beautiful orange hue, Auldric and Brie found themselves sitting at a table on the deck of the Fisherman’s Wharf, overlooking the ocean. They listen to the waves hitting the shore while Brie tried every type of seafood that the tavern could make.

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“By the Gods!” She exclaimed. “The shrimp is my favorite so far, but these oysters, they are great too.”

“Try the lobster,” he suggested while he nibbled on deep fried octopus.

“I’d love to, but how do you get it out of the shell!?” She asked holding one of the tails up.

Auldric showed her how to crack the shell and get the tender and sweet meat inside.

“Auldric, this is amazing!” Brie told him while washing the lobster down with a watery ale.

“I know, right?” He laughed along with her. He tried the scallops done in a white wine sauce. It was one of the best meals that he could ever remember having and the fact that he was sharing that meal with Brie, the woman that he loved, made it even better.

They had not seen Lucius yet, but her never told them when he would be there, just that it was a place that he could be found.

“If he doesn’t come here tonight, then we’ll just have to come back here again tomorrow for another meal,” Brie said finding a bright side. “I would love to come here every night!”

“This meal is costing as much as the house we rented per night. That’s not affordable long term,” Auldric told her.

She just shrugged. “I know, I know, you want to buy a place near Palantine. A farm maybe?”

“Or my own music shop,” he added.

3

Later, after the food was gone and they sat around with big mugs of ale, that was when Lucius walked in. He was a tall man standing over six foot in height. His sandy blonde locks were hidden behind the hood of his cloak and his dark eyes scanned the tables in the tavern.

He saw them. He knew that at some point they would come in here and they would start this terrible business of theirs. Lucius pulled back his hood. His curly hair was recently cut tighter up to the base of his neck which was more of a military style. In the summer heat he liked to keep it short.

He walked over to their table. “May I join you?” He asked politely.

“Of course,” Brie said to him indicating the chair that was available.

Lucius put his riding gloves on the table and took his cloak off, folding it and putting it across the back of the chair. He sat down. “I had a feeling I would find you here.”

“One list, ten names, no more,” Auldric spoke up immediately.

“Fair enough,” Lucius nodded.

He opened his pack that he had set next to him on the floor. From it he pulled a folder containing documents. The front of it read Imperial Directive Twenty-Five. He pulled out a sheet of parchment with a list of names. It did not look like a typical sheet of paper and the names were all handwritten.

He handed it to Auldric.

Auldric looked it over. “All of these people can be found in this town?”

“As far as I know, they should be,” Lucius replied.

“A hundred gold you said, per name, right? Ten names?” Brie questioned.

“Absolutely,” Lucius confirmed. “I swear it is the truth. As a knight I can not lie to you, nor would I cheat you. I am Order of the Red Dragon. There is an integrity that comes with the order and I would not jeopardize that reputation for anything. This list is worth a thousand in gold.”

“The money is hard to pass up,” Auldric admitted.

“It’s the kind of money that can change your life,” Lucius agreed.

“That’s exactly why we are here,” Brie added.

“So how does this work?” Auldric asked. “How do I prove that I did the job?”

“You mean, how do you get paid?” Lucius laughed, then he explained. “That’s the easy part. You see, the list is magical. I have an identical one here. Each person you… eliminate, will be magically crossed off the list you have as well as the one I have. I will know instantly. No need to bring in someone’s head. We want discretion after all.”

“But to get paid I still need to find you,” Auldric pointed out. “Seaside is an expensive place. I need a steady income.”

“I’m going to be here in town for a while so you can find me right her at this tavern,” Lucius said. “This is my favorite place when I’m in Seaside. I can get the gold, that’s not a problem, just give me a day in advance to get it.”

“Alright then,” Auldric said. “It looks like we have a deal. But I do have one final question.”

Lucius nodded to him.

“You look like you’re a skilled warrior. Why don’t you just do it yourself and keep the money?” Auldric questioned.

“Because,” Lucius started. He picked up a shrimp from one of the plates and ate it. “This isn’t the only list. And it not my only mission. I have a lot already I have to do, and I need to finish it… some of it at least, before the summer is out.”

Auldric and Brie looked at each other. She nodded to him.

“Aright,” Auldric said. “Fair enough.”

“Let’s have a drink to celebrate!” Lucius proclaimed.

A round of drinks arrived and they drank heavily and ate all the finest foods that The Fisherman’s Wharf had to offer.

4

The place was a real shithole as far as Auldric was concerned. It was a seedy tavern over by the ship building yard. It was frequented by the workers that built those ships. They were low class labors with little pay. It seemed most of these men, old and young alike tended to drink whatever money they got. The furniture in the tavern was mostly mismatched or in rough shape. The bar was dirty on a good night. The barkeep did not seem to care who his clientele were as long as they had some silver or gold in their purse.

This was the kind of place that Auldric normally avoided at all costs. He did not like ending his night in a fight if he could avoid it. He liked places that had lot of women. This place had none. Did it even have a name? He remembered seeing a sign that indicated it was a tavern, but what was it called? No matter, hopefully he would not have to come back here again.

When he first got there, it was maybe half full. He did not see his mark anywhere. He had a general description and a name to go by. That was it, but he was sure he could find the man. The man he was looking for was Clarence Penrose. Penrose was a family closely related to the House of Thaine. The now disgraced house that lost the war and the throne to Xander Frey.

The Thaine family was old and had deep roots in Verant City, Palantine, and the southern coastal places like Seaside. But Golden Meadows was their home and seat of power. A small city dominated by the Thaine castle perched in the middle of it.

The siege of Golden Meadows lasted three months, but Auldric had already left the army by then. Victory at that point was all but assured and he did not feel the need to stick around and see the end. He had enough of war. He had been in three major battles and a dozen small skirmishes in the two years that he fought on the front line for the rebel forces.

Clarence was a real son of a bitch. He was suspected of being a highwayman and leader of a gang that worked the roads between Seaside and White Cliff. Lucius had an informant that had placed Clarence in Seaside over the last few days, and he was alone which was rare.

Being a highwayman was crime that carried a steep punishment, up to and including death, but did that make him a traitor to the Empire? No. He and his gang and burned a village loyal to the rebels to the ground after murdering and raping the common folk of the town first. Auldric felt that was way too familiar to him. Something similar had happened to his family, but it involved the Red Dragon Army instead. He wanted this guy to go first. There were former members of the Red Dragon Army on the list. He planned to get to them soon enough. But killing Clarence seemed a bit more personal.

This is what was going through Auldric’s head when Clarence walked in and took a seat at the bar. Auldric waited for a while before getting up and sitting at the opposite end.

He ordered an ale and had one sent over to Clarence.

When Clarence received the gift, he looked over at Auldric. “Do I know you?” He asked him. An innocent enough question, but the way he said it put a bit of a mean edge on it. He had that accent that most people from the River Delta Province had. He drew out the vowels and spoke in a deep voice.

“Afraid not,” Auldric replied. He mimicked the accent perfectly having been there before. “But I heard of ya. And I liked what I heard. You’re on the right side is all.”

“Is that so?” Clarence replied. He softened his tone. “I thank you kindly for the drink.”

And that was how it went. Auldric joined him and got deep into the role of a Thaine family supporter. It was easy, having met so many of them. Auldric was almost as good an actor as he was a musician. He wanted to get close to this piece of human garbage. Gain his trust. It would make sticking his knife in the man’s back that much easier and satisfying.

It took a few hours of heavy drinking to get Clarence to a point where he was drunk, but comfortable enough in Auldric’s presence to let his guard down. It was the wee hours of the morning.

“What do you say we get out of here and find some nice young women to warm our beds tonight?” Clarence suggested to him.

“Lead the way,” Auldric replied.

The two left the tavern. They were up from the rock shore. There were no sandy beaches at this end of town. The waves crashes below. The wind had picked up.

Clarence stopped to piss off the edge. Putting one foot up on the railing of a small fence that was there to stop drunks from falling into the rocks below. When I was finished he asked Auldric. “So is this where you think you’re going to kill me?”

Auldric had already slipped the dagger into his hand. He was caught completely off guard. There was no time to waste. He came at Clarence’s throat with the blade, but Clarence was fast for someone who was drunk. He deflected enough of the swing that the dagger only grazed his cheek. Clarence grabbed his arm and twisted it. Knocking the blade from his hand and sending him to one knee.

Clarence chuckled. “I saw that coming, you know.”

Auldric used his free hand to slip a throwing knife from his boot into his hand. Years of practicing slight of hand tricks had taught him how to do it unseen. He took the knife and twisting around, he plunged it into the man’s chest.

Clarence grip loosened and Auldric came to look him right in the eye. One hand still on the blade. He saw the look of shock in on the man’s face, the disbelief spreading instantly. “Bet you didn’t see that coming.” Auldric said.

Clarence leaned back against the fence which creaked under his weight. He shook his head unable to speak for the shock and air leaving his lungs as they filled with blood.

“When you get to the abyss, tell them Auldric Hearthstone sent you,” Auldric told him. He pulled the knife out. Grabbed Clarence by the shoulder and spun him around so he was facing the ocean. With one smooth motion he took the dagger and slit the man’s throat.

He shoved Clarence over the fence. He watched long enough to see the body hit the rocks about twenty feet down and disappear into the dark water.

He picked up his dropped dagger.

And so it begins, he thought to himself as he walked away.