Duncan Redheart's Story

Beads of sweat ran down Duncans face, he had been running now for well over an hour. He hadn’t long entered the city, a man several leagues west had claimed that Thedan was beset by problems and Duncan was eager to go somewhere where he could help. This man had not mentioned the ghosts. They had come out the mist without warning, Duncan tried to hold his ground but there was a bloody horde!

What kind of city has hordes of ghosts wondering its streets?!

As he was thinking Duncan failed to notice the barrels ahead, and hit them at full speed. So great was the impact that both his feet left the floor as his body twisted and turned over the barrel. He landed with a hard thud which took the wind out of him. For a brief moment he led there, in that murky alleyway upon the cold stone floor.

“huh...the stars are out...that’s one thing I suppose...”

Before long the sound of groaning and shuffling got closer and he briefly wondered if a ghost could dematerialize and appear closer. But before he could become lost in thought again he dragged himself to his feet. He ached a lot more than he first realized. He carried running down the twisting alleyways and long roads. He could see the city-folk peeping out their windows at him, but not willing to actually open a door and help. They were scared, but he still made a note of it.

Without knowing where he was actually going he realized he could be running literally anywhere and as that thought went through his mind the worst happened. He punched a nearby wall and cursed his luck. In front of him was a graveyard.

“For the love of sin! What did I do to deser-”

As he complained to the night air, that distinct groaning and shuffling once worked itself up the street once again.

“I hate my life”

He immediately withdrew his sword and shield. The first came at him with a hard cleave. He blocked it with his shield, at the same time running the spirit through with his sword. As expected it amounted to little. He heard another approach from behind and turned violently hitting it with his shield before turned back to block another cleave from the first creature. He parried the spirits attacked and brought the blade heavily upon its neck. He took the spirit head clean off. This seemed to make it retreat. That was it, take off the head and they have to retreat! He turned back to the second spirit, they were slow moving creatures and couldn’t parry or block his attacks well. Duncan easily took the second spirits head from it shoulders and watch as it to retreated back into the fog. As he did, more appeared...and then more...followed by more.

“For crying out loud...”

Duncan heard a second moan, it came from behind him. They were coming from the graveyard, he was surrounded. Duncan sighed to himself and dropped his satchel, he quickly opened and retrieved his helm, placing it upon his head. It wasn’t full armour but it was something. It would be a couple of hours to sunrise. He would have to last until then.

“Blessed be his disciples, we who stand before him, blessed be our swords, they who defend him.”

A ghost came at him, he cut the spirits hand of, sword and all. Before bashing it away with his shield.

“He is in the weak, he is in the innocent, he is in the wronged and the right. We are his vanguard, his chosen few.”
Another came, he dodged its thrust and brought his foot down on its knee dropping the spirit onto all fours. He began bashing at its neck with his shield. It was brutal but it got the job done, another decapitated.

“And we will protect him, whatever the cost. Amen”

Hopefully night would be over soon. His armour could take a lot of damage, but...well...it was going to be a long night.

Duncan was aching all over. But he was refreshed for the most part. After the sun had risen and that cursed fog had dissipated Duncan had all but completely collapsed, luckily some of the city-folk had been watching Duncan’s ordeal from their windows. When the danger had passed a number of them came to help him and even let him sleep for a while in one of their homes. They had apologized profusely for not opening a door to him during the night, Duncan was a little annoyed that they hadn’t but he didn’t let it show.

After a couple of hours he thanked the people for their charity and went about the day. He had removed his helm and a great deal of his armour, it was pretty banged up after last night. The ghosts had managed to get in a great number of hits, his plated armour had taken the brunt of the assault but now it was covered in heavy denting and deep scratches. He decided to find a blacksmiths first, then to find an inn for the night. Duncan did not want to repeat last night’s little escapade any time soon.

After wondering the markets for a while, he eventually got directions to a Dwarfs blacksmith just up the high street. Around this area there were obvious signs of battle, shattered windows and roof tiles smashed upon the floor. It would appear Duncan was not the only one who had problems with ghosts last night. Although whoever fought here...seemed to have been a lot more destructive if not anything else.

He found the Dwarfs blacksmith a little up the road, he entered as an Elf man left. Duncan didn’t as much enter as fall into the Dwarfs shop. He looked as if he had been beaten to pulp the night before. He had a slight black eye, he walked with a limp and was obviously quite sore. There were two others in the store who already seemed to be engaged in conversation with the owner, so Duncan politely and quietly stood a little behind them, but standing was suddenly very difficult so he moved to lean against the wall. He just wanted his armour back, he felt exposed without it. And if he was going to help this city...he had a feeling he would need it.

Acele

She bit her lip as her worst fears came true. The dwarf could not repair her weapons. Both her and Thalion had little coin to spare, and she needed those daggers. Especially since her next move was going to be investigating the catacombs. It would be best to do it during the day, destroy the thing that was causing the curse and be free to move around at night, which was her preferred method of work. Acele turned to look up at Thalion, then heard the door ring and turned slightly to look at who came in. The man looked terrible. Limping as he came in, and barely able to lean against the wall as he waited. She lifted an eyebrow as she watched him for a moment longer.

"What would you suggest, Master Dwarf? I need my blades. Do you have any for sale?"

Next to her, Thalion gripped her shoulder for a moment, signaling his leaving her side. He walked over to the man leaning against the wall. Acele could hear his soft voice from across the room offering the man assistance. Half of her concentration went to the conversation behind her, while the other half listened to the dwarven smith. Thalion offered to take the injured man back to the Red Dragon when he was done with the smithy. Acele's lips turned into a small smile, it was just like the elf to offer help to just about anyone.

Red Dragon Inn: Rissien

He tipped the cup back to take a long drink of his ale. Across from him was the man who called himself Xin Hai. Rissien liked him. He was relaxed, calm and seemed friendly. Something that the young warrior admired dearly. A smile crossed his face as Xin asked for his name.

"Rissien. I'm originally from Keydon, but I'm here on business. Thalion is the tall elf and Acele is the little rogue. She's a bit of a handful, enjoys getting into trouble more than I like, but we keep her. Acele's got a deep past, its not something she talks about though, but I can tell by the way she carries herself. Thalion and I have known each other for a couple years here in Thedan. We both are seeking the same thing. Adan is our target, he's a crazed mage in the city. He enjoys taking women, but to what end I don't know. Seems no matter what we do, he's always one step ahead of us. I hate it," Rissien frowned as he gazed down in his cup, "Ah, but I'm sure you don't want to listen to our problems. We have plenty of them, I assure you."

The young warrior smiled brightly at Xin and drained the remaining contents of his ale. Raising the cup, he called the barmaid to bring him more. While he waited, he looked over to Xin, "What brings you to Thedan, Xin?"

Thyra

Faine and the guild had left the bakery just as the sun had risen. He finally found a place to settle the guild, and once that was done, he ordered Thyra to seek out Acele. Her lips pulled into a smile as she wondered around the streets. Faine had told her to use any measure to get Acele to turn herself over to him. Thyra had plenty of ideas to make it work. The crowded streets didn't prove a challenge to her to navigate, as it was she was walking in between the plane of the leaving, and the one of the dead. In that state, those without power, wouldn't be able to see her. It made scouting missions all the more easy.

She retraced her steps to where she'd encountered Acele and almost killed her. From there, she made her way up the street. An inn named the Red Dragon looked promising to her, so she slipped into the doorway and just stood there, surveying the room. Her eyes landed on a man she'd seen with Acele, the young man had his back to her and was holding a conversation with another man wrapped from head to foot in cloth. She cocked her head off to the side as she surveyed the two for a while longer, but after a moment, the one in cloth turned his head and it seemed that he was looking directly at her. Thyra's heart jumped and she glowered at the man before quickly sneaking out of the inn.

She moved further up the street. Passing shops and crowds until she heard a familiar voice. She flattened herself against the wall and peered inside. Found you, you wench, Thyra thought, a smile of victory crossing her features. She watched the other rogue converse with a dwarf who was handling one of her weapons. Thyra shifted to get a better look, her gaze catching that of a broken blade. The rogue grinned as she watched. Acele had broken her blade, thus making her useless in battle. That was going to make things all the more easier.

Closer to Thyra was the elf that followed Acele. He was speaking to a wounded warrior leaning against the wall. The rogue started making plans. There were many possibilities of getting to Acele. She thought about threatening the elf or the young warrior back at the inn. However, both of them knew about her and would most likely fight against her instead. She turned her eyes to the dwarf. He didn't know a thing about the woman he spoke to, she could easily overpower him. The last option was the clothed man that the young warrior was speaking to, but she didn't care for that idea. Something about him caused chills to spread across her skin. Thyra made her decision. Slowly, she slinked away from the shop and headed back to Faine.

Duncan sighed as the young elf approached him, his initial worry was the elf was going to try and mug him. Duncan really wasn’t in the mood for a fight right now, but he was in luck, strangely enough the elf offered him assistance at some Red Dragon Inn. He needed to find an inn for the night and thanked the man for his assistance although his voice was a bit wobbly with a swollen cheek.

“Wow you Thedan lot are quite helpful, once the sun comes up that is.” He commented

He stood back onto two feet to face the man directly, this Elf looked like a fighter. Whoever the young girl was, she looked quite handy with a knife herself. Warriors perhaps? Maybe they were trying to get rid of the ghosts? Maybe they were some righteous band of mercenaries who...Duncan was thinking too much again. He offered to shake the Elfs hand

“Names Duncan, Duncan Redheart. And if you could escort me to this Red Dragon inn, I would be most grateful”

Duncan looked towards the blacksmith and waited for the young girl to conclude her business before limping his way to the counter.

“Don’t suppose you do repair jobs on Plate armour? Mine has taken a bit of a beating...”

Thurgir chuckled and scratches his chin under all the thick bushy beard. He gave the girl a funny look and gestured against the shelves weapon stands, gazing at his own creations as he realized how many people actually died because of him. Then he remembered how many lives he would save with them too. The old dwarf realized there was still customers waiting, one newly arrived looking to get his armour fixed up and the girl who looked almost devestated over the fact that he wouldn't reforge her blades.

'' Look 'ere lass, yer' in a smith! 'Course I got blades for sell.'' He stepped down from the plattform behind the counter that made him in almost the same height as most of his visitors. As soon as his heavy boots hit the floor only the top of his head was visible. He grumbled and snorted as his hand grabbed an old wooden box, scorched by a fire from it's place under the counter. It was filled with knives, some new and some old. Then he pulled something out wrapped in velvet before he got up on the platform again. The box hit the counter hard as he dropped it on it. The velvet wrapped item was carefully placed on it as his eye wandered to the beaten stranger. If it wasn't for the question about the plate armour he would have assumed one of the Alley Gangs had gotten their hands on him. He surely looked the noble type.

'' I can 'ammer out a few dents Lad, just let me finish 'ere and I'll make yer' strong as a wall again'' He answered the man's earlier question as he started laying out the knives from the box out for the girl to observe and try.

He knew better then to bother a customer when it was examining the goods. A good smith answers the questions when they come, not before. A deep rumbling in his gut reminded him of the basket that lass Sophira left for him.. and she told him not to forget to eat. Which he now realized he did. He was deep in his own thoughts but his one eye watched the woman. He wouldn't want her to think he'd completely lost interest in her. To be honest he hadn't been interested in her and her Elven follower when they walked in and so far he wasn't impressed by them. He doubted he'd make much coin from them this time. They looked dry as a Ubjin gold vein.

''Take yer time Lass'' He muttered under his breath as he felt the hunger reminding him once again and he felt how he couldn't wait to get a sip of that ale.

Thurgir Gloryhammer's Shop: Acele

Though she winced inwardly at the hefty price of two hundred and fifty coins total, she didn't let it show on her face. Instead she opened the coin purse and dumped out the contents. Her eyes scanned it and a slight frown appeared on her face. She was short by eighty coins. Behind her, she heard Thalion moving. A moment after and he produced the required amount. Pushing the coins back into the purse, she handed the leather bag to the dwarf.

"Thank you very much for your services, Master Dwarf. Your blades will be well taken care of, that I promise you," Acele told him, and she truly meant it. Once the exchange had been made, Acele gladly took the two blades and their sheathes. Stepping away from the counter, she undid her old belts and replaced it with the new ones. The daggers fit right where her old ones were. There was a little adjusting to be had as the two blades were different in size, but once she figured it out, they were perfect.

"I will head back to the inn. I know you wish to help the warrior. I will meet you at the graveyard when you can."

Thalion nodded, "Just be careful. Don't leave without Rissien."

Acele rolled her eyes at him, not in anger, but out of habit. She knew he was looking out for her, she also knew of how he felt about her and she felt the same. Though she hadn't really told him. Acele was sure he knew though.

"I won't," Acele turned and left the shop. As she left, she walked past an basket with the contents of food spilled out. Her eyebrow rose as she passed it. There was no one else around. Sounds from the Red Claw Inn filled the air ahead of her. The rogue didn't like the feeling she got as she passed the abandoned basket. She made a note to investigate that further after she'd dealt with the graveyard.

Once at the Red Dragon, she spotted Rissien with the clothed man that they'd taken in the night before. There was an addition to the small table as well. A blonde haired woman with yellow eyes was watching her approach. Acele frowned deeply.

"What do you want, Elaine?"

"My, my, that's how you greet a friend?"

"You're no friend of mine. Rissien, Thalion and I were told that an artifact in the graveyard-"

"It's not an artifact, its a relic. Its in the catacombs," Elaine said sweetly, interrupting Acele, who turned an icy glare at the mage.

"Let me guess. Armen told you as well?"

"Armen told you and Thalion?" Rissien pipped in. Acele only nodded, her attention on the sorceress who only gave a sweet innocent smile. The rogue growled softly, but decided to ignore the woman. She turned her attention to the man dressed in cloth.

"This is Xin, Acele. He will be coming with us to the relic," Rissien supplied for her. She nodded curtly.

"Good, from the destruction I saw last night, I'm sure he will be a great help. Let's go."

"Where's Thalion?" It was Elaine who asked.

"It doesn't matter where he's at, he'll meet us there."

Next to her Rissien buried his grin in the rest of his ale before slamming the cup down and standing. He knew of Acele's dislike towards the sorceress, and it seemed that every time the woman came around Elaine always managed to push those buttons. Acele led the way out of the inn and towards the graveyard. Elaine hummed while they went, Rissien walked next to Acele and Xin followed behind. Acele ignored the mage, instead turning her attention to the young warrior.

"If we destroy it today, it'll be one less thing to worry about and our nights will be freed once more."

"Agreed. Lets just hope this thing isn't dangerous to us during the day."

Acele nodded. They soon entered the graveyard. They spread out, looking for a way down into the supposed catacombs. A few minutes later and Elaine called to them. She was standing over the opening to a dark hole. Reaching behind her back, the rogue pulled both her daggers free. Himmeldutteir rested easily in her hand and she felt a strong sense of comfort at holding the elegant blade. Acele then went down into the darkness.

Sinead Nermia's Bakery: Faine

He pushed the door of her little shop opened. He hoped to find her alone, but if there were others inside, then they would just be casualties. Faine didn't care either way. He needed gold and the young elf was going to give it to him. As well as a warning to the rogue that if she didn't come to him, he would turn the city into his personal playing field.

"Well well, we meet again, little elf," Faine said slowly, an evil grin on his rugged face. He stalked towards her, ignoring the fact that her eye color changed completely. Faine got right up to her and took hold of her face in his large hand. He pushed his dagger right against her cheek, his smile never fading.

"I have a request. Two actually. Your gold now belongs to me. If you don't I will make your life hell, I promise you. The second is to find a woman named Acele. Get her to come to me. Do that, and I won't come after you. Disobey me and I'll kill you."

Behind the elf Thyra materialized from thin air. Reaching over, the rogue took hold of the woman's hair, bringing her head back. Faine let go as Thyra took hold of the elf. A blade stopped cold against her throat.

"Don't try anything, girl. Besides, you can't kill something that's already dead," Thyra whispered coolly.

Duncan opened his satchel to show the Dwarf his inventory. His armour would be quite impressive and an imposing sight once assembled. Duncan pointed out the dents and scratches and sighed deeply.

“As you can probably tell those” Duncan gestured to his various cuts and bruises, “bloody ghosts got the jump on me last night, you know you guys should have like a sign or something. Welcome to Thedan, oh and I’d wait here until sunrise because the dead roam the streets at night.”

Duncan sat up from his bag and scratched his chin looking down at his malformed armour.

“And hell, maybe a sign above the graveyard saying, You Do Not Want To Be Here. Because when the sun goes down trust me...you don’t.”

Duncan unpacked his damaged armour as he spoke, the breast plate, Helm and shoulder pads were the damaged parts. He laid them on the counter before the Dwarf.

“This is it, got a feeling I’m gunna need that armour if I run into any more of those ghosts. Or just in general I guess, this city is a little mad...no offense. So how much ya be wanting for this lot?”

With that the door opened behind Duncan. It was a young women, clearly slightly distressed. As she entered it was clear that she was addressing the Dwarven Blacksmith. Duncan got out of their line of sight, and limped back towards Thalion.

“Sorry I never asked you your name, please do not think your charity is not appreciated. What’s with you and the young girl? You guys looked pretty serious when I entered the shop.”

Thalion's gaze had wandered to the woman who spoke quickly and urgently to the dwarf. Something was wrong. He crossed one arm over his chest and rested the other on top. His fingers curved along his chin and jaw line as he listened to the woman's words. She was asking if the dwarf had seen a woman by the name of Sophira.

“Sorry I never asked you your name, please do not think your charity is not appreciated. What’s with you and the young girl? You guys looked pretty serious when I entered the shop.”

He came out of his thoughts as the warrior approached him. He gave the man a smile before answering the question, "I'm Thalion. My friend is Acele. Her and I are working on quite a few things here in the city with another friend of ours, Rissien. Our first order of business is to get rid of those damned ghosts. We heard that in the graveyard there is a relic that's creating the curse, so naturally we are going to go destroy it," he leaned forward, "And then after that I intend to find out what is going on with her," he motioned his head towards the young lady that had come bursting into the shop. "All I can do is hope that it's not what I think it is. Anyway, when your armor is fixed, I will take you to the inn, or you can come with me to the graveyard. I wouldn't mind another helping hand. Besides, Acele tends to get herself into more trouble than she or I can handle alone at times."

Thurgir ignored the out of towner's nagging about the Ghosts. Was he a warrior or a sissy? Thurgir just grunted as a reply. But he couldn't help to ask.

'' Who goes to a graveyard when yer' new in town unless ye' got someone ye' know there ya' sod. Blame yer own sorry hide'' He muttered as he began examining the armour. Not too bad quality, it was obviously Knight fashioned, Human made.

He picked up the different parts and looked them over one by one, frowning and muttering. He was just about to mention his price to hammer out the dents and fix the cracks when Sophira's older sister Sophie came bursting in like she had a Uluch Troll after her.

'' Calm yerself' Lass, I ain't seen 'er since breakfast! '' He grunted as he knocked on the helmet with his fist. He seemed less then worried about Sophira as he looked back at the Knight who began a conversation with the Elf again.

'' I'll 'ammer 'em out for 70 coins. But I would recomend replacing the leather straps too. That'll be an extra 10 coins.'' Thurgir gave Sophie a grim look for bursting in and all. He motioned for her to come closer as he looked back at the Knight.

Duncan looked down at his armour, it’s dents and bruises.

'' I'll 'ammer 'em out for 70 coins. But I would recomend replacing the leather straps too. That'll be an extra 10 coins.''

“That would be eighty in total ey? That is pretty steep...but more than fair. It shall not be a problem. And just so you know I wasn’t in that graveyard by choice I was los-“

Duncan was in the middle of emptying two bags of coins when the woman who had entered the shop began shouting. She had obviously become very alarmed and very stressed...very quickly. Women.

“I am going to stop by my sister’s house. If she isn’t there, I’m coming with you. I will be back before your armor is fixed.”

And with that she stormed out from the shop. Duncan turned to Thalion, slightly stunned by the girl’s outburst.

“Wha- What jus- Who the hell is Sophira? What did I just get dragged into?”

Duncan looked back to the Dwarf.

“I said it once I’ll say it again, this place is nuts.”

Duncan sighed to himself. He finished counting out the coins and pushed them across the counter towards the dwarf.

“An extra ten coins, I feel I should tip with all the madness.”

With that he went and stood beside Thalion.

“So I guess I’m not going to have time to let all this heal.” He jabbed a finger at his face and chuckled. “And according to the young lady I’m going to the graveyard I guess...again. I hope it doesn’t hurt as much as last time. Is there any truth in what the young lady says though, or she just another pretty mad thing here? What did you think she was talking about?”

Thurgir sighed as Sophie stormed off. Just like that little sister of hers. He swept the coins down into his right palm with his left hand. The coins felt cold in his palm as he let them slip down into the lead box behind the counter. His face turned into a frown while he thought over what Sophie was planning, and the fact that something could have happened to Sophira. He finally looked up to the Knight.

'' Ain't anything in this city that I haven't seen before '' He murmured as he walked around the counter and into the forge, grabbing a shovel and started to throw some coal into the big fire. Working on some metal might make his mind clear. Perhaps Sophira would be safe in her home. Well he wasn't going to stand around worrying like a mother. He called out to the man and his elven friend.

'' Give me an 'our or so lad, won't take me too long to fix this up'' He finnished his sentance with a chuckle as he came back out to pick up the various pieces of armour. Thurgir didn't really enjoy working on other people's craftings but armours weren't as personal and heroic as weapons in his homeland of Jultheim.

He sat down on an old rugged chair in the forge, grabbed his toolset and started to remove the leather strappings, a clear signal that chat time was over and the dwarf wanted to work alone now.

If yer' fine Sophira, and out there. Bring me my damned lunch ye' wench

Thurgir Gloryhammer's Shop: Thalion

“Wha- What jus- Who the hell is Sophira? What did I just get dragged into?”

Thalion gave a short shrug at the warriors words. Duncan returned his attention to the dwarf and finished paying for the repairs to his armor. He didn't like the sounds of things. There was a chill in the air that he couldn't shrug off. The girls announcement was less than comforting and his mind went immediately to Adan. His jaw clenched tightly, eyes narrowing slightly as he glared at the ground. He barely listened to the rest of the conversation around him. His thoughts were on the crazed mage. If something had happened to the girl, he feared how much time she had left. Thalion didn't come out of his thoughts until Duncan stood beside him once more. The warrior laughed slightly, Thalion only caught the last bit of what was said.

"...I hope it doesn’t hurt as much as last time. Is there any truth in what the young lady says though, or she just another pretty mad thing here? What did you think she was talking about?”

"I think that we need to hurry. There is a high possibility that her words are true, and if they are, I fear the worst for the girl. There's something else plaguing this city other than just ghosts at night. His name is Adan. My friend Rissien and I have been chasing him for two years in Thedan. He always slips away. We've turned this city upside down several times and always he's no-where to be found. The man is a master at hiding. But sooner or later, all powerful beings must come crashing down," Thalion growled out the last bit.

"Once your armor is fixed we will head to the graveyard. I'm sure Acele has already begun her search for the artifact. From there, we will search for Sophira. If I am correct, then once we've found the artifact that's causing the curse, Adan will surely come to us."

Sinead Nermia's Bakery: Faine

Faine turned slowly to the little elf, his eyes glinting dangerously at her words, "But what?" he whispered softly, a deadly edge to his tone. Thyra pulled the girls hair harder, the edge of the blade drawing a thin trace of crimson.

"Do you intend to try to protect her? Do you even know what she is? Acele is a killer, a thief, a rogue who does not know her place. She won't protect you, if that's what you think. She only protects herself. Don't try to flatter yourself, elf," Faine turned away, ordering his men to finish taking the gold that she had.

Thyra pulled the girl closer to her, her lips brushing against the elf's ear, "Don't try it. What do you hope to accomplish hu?" The rogues voice was a whisper, cold and hollow, definitely inhuman, "Fighting will only get you killed. Fighting me will do nothing. There's nothing more you can do, girl. I'm already dead. Don't try to flee either, there's no where you can hide from me. You won't even be able to leave the city," Thyra's threats lingered coldly in the air. She almost wished the girl would retaliate, that way she could shed some blood. She was eager for a fight, itching to sink her daggers in flesh, especially Acele's.

Faine turned back to the two women, his cold eyes glaring down at the elf, "When you find her, tell her that if she doesn't come to me, I will tear this city apart. I will burn it to the ground."


Catacombs: Acele

It was pitch black, but she didn't mind the darkness. In fact, she welcomed it. Of course, being a rogue, she preferred darkness over daylight. It made things so much easier. However, she wasn't sure how her companions were fairing in the dark, so she kept her pace slow. Behind her she could hear Rissien struggling to stay upright in the darkness.

Rounding a corner, Acele backed away and bumped into Rissien as a torch next to her flickered to life. It was an eerie green color, throwing off it's odd light into the corridor. She gazed at it uncertainty for a moment before continuing on. As she went, more torches burned their strange green color.

"Must be magic. I hate mages, why does it always have to be a mage... why?" Rissien's voice echoed softly behind her.

"Don't say such rude things, Rissien. I'm a mage, remember?"

Acele rolled her eyes. The sorceress hadn't been invited to come, but she'd come anyway despite the rogues clear dislike. The rogue moved quickly through the eerie light. Her senses dragging her through the corridors. Though she wasn't entirely sure where she needed to go, she had the strange feeling that she was moving in the right direction. Sooner than she expected, she came into a large round room. At its center was an altar. Symbols carved across the walls surrounded the small altar and the statue that sat on it. The statue looked like a woman with a staff larger than herself held in one hand. In the other there was a ball. Aside from that, the woman was wrapped in an elegant gown that hugged her features.

Acele slowly sheathed the curved dagger onto her lower back. She still held Himmeldutteir in her left hand as she walked towards the statue slowly. Her eyes flicked from one side of the chamber to the next as she stealthily made her way across the room. As the rogue approached the statue, she reached out her free hand to grasp the relic. Her first plan of attack was to smash the damned thing upon the floor, and if that didn't work, she was going to try out Himmeldutteir's strength.

"Acele..." Rissien's voice held worry and concern as well as a hint of fear, "I don't think you should touch it."

"How else will I destroy it?" She whispered back, though she did hesitate for a moment. Her hand reached across the distance and grasped the statue. As she was about to remove it from the altar and throw it upon the ground she found she couldn't move. A moment after and blinding pain erupted through her. At first she couldn't breathe, or cry out from the intensity, she only crumpled forward, her dagger falling from her numb fingers. Then she screamed.

Rissien rushed across the room and wrapped his arms around her waist. He dragged her from the statue, prying her fingers from the cool white stone. Once she was freed, she fell limp in his grasp. His heart jumped to his throat as he held her.

"Acele? Acele!?"

His attention was caught by the statue giving off a slight glow. The glow pulsed, growing brighter. When it pulsed again, the air seemed to be pushed at them in a powerful rush. Thrown backwards, Rissien tightened his grip on the rogue's body only to drop her upon impact against the wall. He slid down onto the floor, stunned. From the statue a pulsing, ghostly being emerged. It was large, almost human aside from it's clawed hands and feet. Rissien couldn't quite bring the thing into focus as his head was pounding. Slowly, he managed to get to his feet and draw his sword.

"This would be a nice time to help, Elaine," he called weakly. He eyed the beast, then looked to Xin who stood still watching the thing too. When no answer came to him, his eyebrows came down and he looked into the hall. The sorceress was not there.

Abandoned Area: Adan

"You won't be leaving the catacombs alive, fool," the mage cursed as he let his magic release into the reflection that he'd summoned. It was like a mirror, except made from pure magic. The edges were fuzzy, while the middle was clear and sharp. He watched as the foolish little rogue had tried to take the statue and destroy it. Then there was Rissien, the young warrior who had been hunting him along with the elf. The only thing that disappointed him was that Thalion was not there to die as well. However, Adan would settle for the elf's good friend and lover. Then there would be nothing left for him, and his grief would be his ultimate downfall.

Adan weaved his magic tightly, letting course through the mirror into the being he'd summoned. He would crush them easily, and once that was done, he could go back to working on his many women. They needed to be made into thoughtless puppets in order for him to sell them. That took time and a lot of energy. His eyes glowered at the mirror. He wished to be finished with this en-devour soon, thus leaving him with as much energy as possible for his other tasks. The creature took it's first deadly swing at the group and Adan's eyes brightened with satisfaction.

Duncan was in the middle of asking Thalion about this Red Dragon Inn, more specifically how watered down the booze at this inn was, when this Sophie came back into the shop. He turned casually to face her.

“Is your armor ready yet?” She asked him whilst walking closer.

Duncan raised an eyebrow to her.

“Not yet lovely, but shouldn’t be too long now. Don’t worry Thalion here was just telling me how a group of his friends are already at the graveyard. It would appear we’re more the backup than the vanguard.”

Duncan jabbed a thumb at the Elf stood next to him, indicating Thalion to her. He smiled but his swollen left cheek burned like sin when he did, and he had to stop prematurely, rubbing his cheek painfully.

“I hope whoever summoned these spirits is in this graveyard, so I can kick the crap out of him and see how he likes it...or she I guess...don’t want to make assumptions now.”

The young girl suddenly began rooting through her bag before producing a jar full of medical herbs.

“You’re going to have a difficult time fighting sorcerers with all those injuries. Here, I brought something for you.”

She handed Duncan the jar and he held it up before himself

"I must look pretty rough for you to bring me something, my thanks young lady”

“This is arnica salve. Put a little on each of your wounds and you should be healed up by the time we get to the graveyard. My name’s Sophie, by the way. Who are you?”

“Ah I see, so you’re a healer then. That’s useful, especially for me...right now. The names Duncan Redheart, Knight Captain Of The Order Of Redheart and this is...” He paused "Sorry i don't actually know your Second name"

Thalion stepped forward and bowed his head slightly "Thalion, just Thalion will do."

Duncan opened the jar and carefully sniffed the contents, he shrivelled his face at the strong musky smell.

“I’m going to smell pretty bad by the time we get to the graveyard as well.” He chuckled “Never mind though, I’m sure the bad guys won’t refuse to fight me on accounts of my poor hygiene.”

He opened the jar and began applying it to his face, he had a few bruises over his body as well but he didn’t feel entirely comfortable exposing himself to people he barely knew.

“So miss Sophie the healer, tell me again. What exactly have I been roped into? Who has been taken by this supposed evil sorcerer...or sorceress?”

She seemed genuine enough, and having a healer onside would be beyond useful in these situations, but still Duncan did not like this. He was no stranger to women being in battle, and was not naive enough to think they cannot handle themselves. But this Sophie was a healer, not a warrior and Duncan couldn’t help but feel wary about taking her into battle. He wanted to do in good in the world, but not if it put other people at risk. But he could see that she was determined, her sister had been taken after all, she’d probably go alone if she had to.

“Sir Duncan,” she said, her eyes narrowed “the kidnappings started around the same time ghosts began haunting the streets at night. I think they are related, and I am willing to do whatever I need to in order to rescue my sister.”Duncan chuckled to himself

“I have no doubt my lady, but do not put yourself under any unnecessary risk. I would not want to see a civilian caught in any crossfire.”

“Which means you are going to want this.”

Duncan reached out and accepted the handkerchief.

“More herbs?” Duncan asked raising an eyebrow

“I have a powder that, when released into the air, will cause anyone who breathes it to be afflicted with a constant and very uncomfortable coughing spell. It should incapacitate our enemies, but it won’t distinguish friend from foe. If I release it, breath into the handkerchief and you will be fine. I won’t use it unless I need to, for the sake of your friends (her she nodded at Thalion), but you should keep the cure close at hand, just in case.” Not wanting them to think she was willing to hurt innocent people for the sake of her sister, she added, “It’s relatively harmless as long as the antidote is inhaled shortly afterwards; it usually takes about half an hour before people start cracking ribs and hacking up their lungs.”

Duncan smiled “Well the healer has a few tricks after all, perhaps I should start worrying about my own well being rather than yours hmm?”

Duncan placed the Handkerchief into a small leather pouch.

“I’ve seen these type of weapons before, a bunch of barbarians up north attempted to deploy some toxin they had stole against my order. But there was a breeze and they ended up taking out mostly their own warriors. These things can be risky, so I would suggest using this only as a last resort Mrs Sophie. Saying that, these things can be invaluable against those who are magic-born, still we should use this warily.”

Duncan had never been a fan of such ways of combat. Toxins and poisons had tendencies to backfire and although extremely effective, it always made Duncan nervous.

Duncan approached the counter

“Master Dwarf, how’s the armour coming along? Apparently we’ve got a damsel to save...” Duncan paused “How very cliché of me...”

Adan

A sneer pulled at his lips as he watched from his flickering mirror. His arms were outstretched before him as he controlled the beast that trampled everything in its path. The relic stood on it's pedestal, almost lifeless. It's power returned to normal after his releasing his own twisted magic from its solid form. He had no need for the artifact anymore, it had served it's purpose, harnessing his power and creating a diversion to bring the cursed elf and his friend to their doom. Of which, he was about to enjoy fulfilling.

The creature swiftly turned to face the clothed man who challenged him. It seemed that who ever that man was, he could clearly see Adan where Rissien could not. There was also the fact that this new addition to the group seemed to be very powerful. Too powerful. Adan's eyebrows crunched together as he focused his power directly into the ghostly creature. A swing at the group caused rock to turn to powder. The dust engulfed the three of them, obscuring his view of everything for a few moments.

Another swing into the area where he'd seen them produced a yell that satisfied him. From the dust, he caught sight of the young warrior dragging the woman from the debris. She had succumbed quickly to the trap, he was sure she was dead after having his full power pushed through her petite body. Rissien gently laid her down on the other side of the altar, trying to keep her out of harms way. He turned to face the creature, and Adan put all of his focus on the warrior. It was a mistake, but he didn't realize it until the end. The glowing man had been forgotten, the strange sound that he had emitted finally took it's toll.

Power reverberated through his connection with the creature. It rushed up his arms and into his chest. Breathing became difficult. Adan's eyes widened as he realized that the clothed man had used the creature to attack him directly. However, it was too late to reverse the mistake. With his concentration on Rissien, his last will of killing the warrior carried to the ghost and the thing blindly attacked. It was too late to turn it around to fend off the impending doom that lingered dangerously behind it. Fear and rage pulsed through the mage. He gave his last command, ordering his creation to tear down the catacombs before he let go of his magic that directly controlled the creature.

He let go of the mirrors magic as well, the smoke whisked away into nothing. Adan stood for a moment longer before stumbling backwards, completely spent of all his energy. There was nothing more he could do, including his business. Angered, he left the room and made his way towards his study where books of magic awaited his attention.

Catacombs: Rissien

His eyes had widened when Xin had created a shield of sorts to protect Acele and him. He hadn't expected the monk to be so powerful or so quick. For that, the warrior was highly thankful.

"I apologize, Rissien. I should have mentioned earlier that Elaine's intentions were not pure. Then Acele might have been spared her fate." Xin yelled before jumping in front of them.

The warrior was stunned by his words, but he was more in shock about the power that the man wielded. He had seen powerful mages, ones like Elaine and the crazed Adan, but Xin was something else entirely. Rissien concluded that he was very happy to have Xin Hai on his side rather than vice versa.

"Thank you, Xin," Rissien muttered though he wasn't sure if the man heard him. The monk then addressed someone else other than the creature that tried to kill them. It was at that moment, that he realized the ghost was indeed being controlled by Adan. This knowledge drove his hatred for mages even more. A powerful swing from the beast sent rock tumbling to the ground. He shielded Acele as best as he could, however another swing cut to closely and Rissien's voice cried out in the dust. Sharp rock cut across his face, but the cause of his cry was from the ghosts arm sending him hard into the floor. Breathing was painful and he was sure a few ribs were cracked, possibly broken.

Wincing, he reached for Acele and managed to drag her out of the dust. He then turned, her dagger in hand, and faced the creature. The weapon felt heavy in his hand, the handle didn't fit well at all, but it was a weapon and it was all he had. The creature went wild then, as if it had lost control and rocks rumbled all around them. Rissien found it hard to keep his footing. As the ghost lifted both arms in a wild fit, the young man took his chance. He hefted the dagger, and threw it straight at the enemy. The blade hummed through the air. His aim was off, but it hit the ghost none-the-less. To his utter surprise, the weapon stuck. Well, what do you know, I got lucky, he thought, a wry grin unfolding on his face.

He wasn't sure exactly what happened next, but the thing gave a terrible cry before leaning forward and shrinking down to a normal size. The half man half beast looked upwards and its face seemed... relieved. Then it disappeared from sight. Rissien let out a sigh as the dagger he'd thrown clattered to the stone floor. Looking over to Xin he flashed a smile.

"Wasn't that exciting?" he asked, then he gave a laugh that turned into a groan of pain and he doubled over slightly. When the pain in his chest subsided enough, he looked back to Xin, "Are you alright? You took a pretty hard hit earlier," he asked softly. He had just barely been grazed by the thing and it had broken his ribs. Rissien would be amazed if Xin was unscathed. Of course he would be happy if his friend wasn't hurt that was always a plus in battle, then he could put all of his worry towards the rogue.

Thurgir Gloryhammer's Shop

Thalion nodded his head towards the woman, a smile on his lips as she worked quickly to give Duncan his remedies. He was happy to know that she was a healer, but he was also happy to hear that she knew how to handle herself in a fight. He had been doubtful of her wishes to come with them, but he knew that kind of determination. It was similar to Acele's when she set her mind to something. It was near impossible to change that woman's mind.

Thinking of Acele, her beauty and her deadly grace, put him in an eager mood to leave the shop and get back to her side as quickly as he could. The elf could only imagine what kind of trouble she could possibly get herself into. After taking the little cloth that had been handed to him, he tucked it away safely in one of his pouches and turned his attention to the dwarf just as Duncan went over and asked about his armor. It looked to be nearly done, but Thalion was no black smith. So he leaned against the wall and waited.

"I'm sorry about your sister, Sophie. We will get her back, I promise," he said and turned his deep gaze towards her to let her know that he meant every word he said. He'd already lost his sister to the mad man, he would not lose another woman to him.

Selket was excited today. She had woken up early just for this occasion. Today was the day she would be traveling to Thedan on her own to stay. She jumped from her comfortable bed and dressed quickly into her uniform and grabbed her hand carved bow and arrows. She said a loving goodbye to her mother and her friends and made her way to Thedan.

It wasn't a very long journey to Thedan as her village lay right in the wooded outskirts of the cit and she was soon at the gates. They were open for the day and sentries were posted on either side. They gave her a nod as she passed them. She loved the city and it was made apparent by the bright smile on her face as she took in the people bustling about the city. One lady in particular intrigued her. She was frantically heading toward what appeared to be a smithy. Thinking that this could be a chance to make a new friend in the city, she followed her.

She entered the hot smithy not far behind her. She was speaking to a rather handsome elf and what appeared to be a knight. The girl handed them some handkerchiefs and the knight went up to the counter. “Master Dwarf, how’s the armour coming along? Apparently we’ve got a damsel to save...” Duncan paused “How very cliché of me...” This intrgued her very much. She hadn't had an adventure in a very long time and would love to help this damsel. With any luck, she'll be beautiful. "Who are we saving?" she said briskly, as if she was a part of the group all along.

Thurgir cursed the crowd of people under his breath as he finished putting on the last leather strap on the armour. He looked it over a last time, it looked fine. He wiped it clean with a cloth from his apron before carrying it out of his forge with ease even though it was almost bigger then himself, he placed it on the wooden desk and spit on the ground and wiped his hands on the dirty cloth.

'' There ye' go good as new I say. But don' ye' go getting yerself' beaten up by Spirits again ye' sod'' He gave the young Knight a grim look with his one good eye and then turned his attention to Sophie, ignoring the new girl who just bursted into his shop more interested in the people then his craftings.

Sods... This ain't no Tea House, He shook his head before speaking to Sophie over the chatter of the small crowd forming in his Shop.

'' Sophie.. Be a good lass an' make sure Sophira is alright. If it wasn't for that lass I'd starve to death'' He chuckled but it was clear that there was no happiness in that laugh. Was his life really that dull that the bleedin' highlight of his day was getting food from a barmaid. By the Stones of his ancestors' home.

Thurgir Gloryhammer's Shop: Thalion

"Don't be so hard on him," Thalion whispered softly, patting the girls shoulder lightly after hearing her rant towards Thurgir. His eyes flicked to the stout dwarf before going to the doorway. He was eager to leave, to see if his friends had fared well or not.

"Thank you, Master Dwarf, for all of your services," The elf turned to the others of the gradually growing group, "We should head to the graveyard. If they have not done so already, the start to finding Adan is with destroying the relic that is there. With that done, Thedan's nights will be freed."

He left the shop, headed towards the cemetery and with the help of the group, found the entrance to the catacombs below. As they entered the darkness, the air felt dusty, breathing was like taking in a mouthful of sand paper. Thalion coughed lightly, put his arm over his mouth and continued on. The darkness subsided to eerie light that flickered on the walls. Voice's from further in spurred him.

"Qaida?" It was Rissien's voice that called the rogue's name. Thalion's heart jumped for his friends voice held distress. He rushed down the corridor without heed to any danger that might still linger. Upon entering the room, he noted all of the destruction quickly before his eyes looked down upon Rissien holding a still Qaida. He ran forward and dropped next to them, his hands reaching for her.

"What happened?"

"The relic. I don't know if she'll be alright. Maybe she's just unconscious for now, but after she touched the relic a huge ghost appeared. We both would have been dead if it weren't for Xin."

Thalion turned to Xin, his eyes filled with gratitude. He only gave the man a curt nod, "Are you both alright?"

"Fine. Xin's quite the fighter, got to say, I'm glad he's on our side," Rissien said with a grin towards Xin Hai.

"We need to get her to the inn, then we go after Adan."

Rissien's face turned serious, his gray eyes glinting like cold stones. He nodded once towards the elf and then let him take the rogue into his arms. Lifting Qaida easily, he turned to the group that had followed him in.

"Friend's of yours Thalion?" Rissien asked, raising an eyebrow.

"From the blacksmith, funny how Thedan gets all the more interesting the longer we are here," he said softly, though his voice held no mirth in it. His worry was towards the woman he held. Leaving the catacombs, they made their way back to the inn where the rogue was put safely into her room. Soon after, they were on their way towards the abandoned portion of the city. Thalion knew that Adan had made his nest somewhere in the broken houses and warehouses, where, however was a different story. Therefore, the group's journey through the ghost town was long. Until Rissien stopped the elf about two hours into their search.

"Thalion, look," Rissien pointed towards a large building. Specifically, a slightly glowing symbol carved into the stone.

"It's his."

"Yes it is," Rissien turned to the group, "Lets go. Once you're inside, fan out and search for any women. If you find Adan, kill him."

Duncan smiled in glee when the Dwarf handed over his armour. Her ran his fingers of the smoothness of the plates and felt the toughness of the new leather straps.

“Ha! Thank you master Dwarf! Onwards guys, I got myself some ghost to repa-”

"Who are we saving?"

Duncan looked confused at the new woman. He began assembling his armour and placing it upon his body as Sophie and the new woman spoke. He put on all his armour, except his helm which he left off for communication purposes. Duncan chuckled at the newcomer.

“Another one? We should start a club. We could have matching uniforms and secret handshakes...” Duncan said as he was sliding on the last of his boots “We could call it, The saving damsels and killing evil warlocks, wizards and mages club.”

Together all four of them quite briskly headed for the cemetery. It took some fumbling around eventually they found an entrance. To their horror they heard a frantic voice further down the into the catacombs, and from Thalions reactions he guessed it was his friends. He hurried ahead but Duncan and the others decided to approach with more awareness and with a careful demeanour.

Eventually the three found Thalion and three others, Duncan recognized the girl from the Blacksmith.

“From the blacksmith, funny how Thedan gets all the more interesting the longer we are here,"

“Thats it, we should call our club the Dwarfs Blacksmith Club.”

Duncan looked down at the girl worryingly, there didn’t seem to be any threats but Duncan placed himself between the injured girl and the rest of the catacombs just encase.
Thalion and the human picked up the young girl and began to walk with her, they agreed to take her back to the inn.

“Sophie, perhaps do your thing whilst those two carry the poor girl? That “Quida” looks like she could use a healer.”

As they were walking back Duncan found himself walking next to Xin.

“So...A monk a guess? Funny to see another man of the faith in these parts. What brings you down here?”

After they had dropped of the girl they began to search the town for this Adan’s base of operations. Duncan couldn’t really help, he was a warrior, not a detective. He tried to give suggestions, using his knowledge of mages, but eventually just gave up and turned to Sophie.

“That girl we found doing okay when we left? It looked like she had been hit by some kind of magical based attack...those can be difficult to heal I know.” Duncan said scratching at a faint scar across his left eye “Bah! I’m sure you know exactly what you’re doing, she ain’t goin’ anywhere with you as her healer!” Duncan grinned happily at Sophie, trying to take her mind off her sister.

"Lets go. Once you're inside, fan out and search for any women. If you find Adan, kill him."

“Women? So your sister is not the only victim of this man? This Adan truly needs a sword run through him.”

The group approached the building and Duncan finally placed his helm upon his head. It was different to most helms, the metal clung tightly to his skin, whilst he eye holes were much larger than most other plate helmets. This is because it gives the member of the order of Redhearts easy 180 degree’s of vision.

Before entering Duncan stopped and stooped his head

"Blessed be his disciples, we who stand before him, blessed be our swords, they who defend him. He is in the weak, he is in the innocent, he is in the wronged and the right. We are his vanguard, his chosen few. And we will protect him, whatever the cost. Amen”

Duncan raised his head

“So...I got round of drinks for whoever kills this sod, and another round for breaking whatever is responsible for the ghosts. Shall we enter?”