The First Mage

Going from our camp south-west of Alarna to the woods east of it felt a little nostalgic. I had made this trip twice before, albeit in the opposite direction—once with Tomar and Riala, and once with Lilana. It was curious how circumstances changed though. Both of these times I was a little nervous to leave the town for various reasons, like not knowing what awaited us in the woods or whether I’d find the others. This time I was thinking about what would happen once we left the woods and entered the town. After hammering out the details of our rough plan, however, I was confident in our approach.

Our first destination was a certain location I had once died at. It lay far to the east of Alarna, but it was the best entry point for us, as it would get us directly into the office district, not too far from the temple garden.

We must’ve gone at least ten hours before we finally reached the clearing we were looking for. The sun had long set when I stepped into the open space and the lamp in my hand assisted the moon in illuminating the area. I had missed to inform Bren and the others what this tunnel was about, and they were understandably confused as they followed me.

“Is that... a chair?” Bren asked.

“Yea... It was Arax’s,” I said.

“The cat ten!?” Taul yelled out in surprise.

I began briefly summarizing the purpose of this clearing as we got closer to its center, where Arax’s throne stood. Nearby lay two heavily decayed beast corpses, felled by Tomar, and then there was a patch of grass that was tinted red. I came to a stop in front of it, while the others still took in the scene.

“And this is where Lilana died...” I said with a heavy heart.

“I didn’t know that we were coming... here...” Bren said quietly.

Grym stepped up next to me, surveying the spot where we had sullied the green grass. Glancing up at him, he looked uncharacteristically chipper.

“Chin up,” he said. “You and the little one got that monster. It will never terrorize anyone again.”

“No, it won’t. But that doesn’t offer as much gratification as I would like. I died here... At least I came back, but Lilana...” I paused for just a moment as the others gathered around. Realizing that they were waiting for me, I quickly shook myself out of it. “Anyway, let’s go. The entrance is over there.”

A natural cave on the other side of the clearing had been turned into an entryway to the tunnel. The wooden wall and door blocking it off were reinforced with metal and sufficed to hold back curious beasts, while a lock with a heavy bolt prevented unauthorized access by humans. We didn’t have a key on us, but as he had done in the past, Reurig made quick work of the lock.

We made our way into the cave one after the other and looked down the pathway towards the tunnel. From here, we would need about an hour to reach Alarna, and then the real work would begin. Steeling myself, I walked on, leading the way.

***

Night had fallen over Alarna and the town bells had just rung for the last time that day, to announce that it was midnight. Even without a curfew, very few people were still moving around outside at this time. That was unless they had a good reason for avoiding prying eyes.

Emeryn peeked out the front door of the house she had inherited from her parents, located in the south-western district of town, close to the king’s mansion. Nobody in sight, she slipped out, closed the door, and immediately pressed herself against the house’s wall.

As a Fighter herself, she was familiar with the routes taken by the guards in this area, and she had chosen this specific point in time to leave because she knew nobody was going to be here. Not only that, there was no law prohibiting her from walking through town. But simply going would not have had the same exhilarating feeling. Sneaking was only natural.

A wide, mischievous smile on her face, she kept looking down the small side street both ways. Her heart was pounding as she slowly took her first steps, creeping along the wall of the house many had envied her for. Reaching its corner, she slung a bag around her shoulder and patted the building goodbye. She had never cared much about it, despite its impressive size and favorable location.

I’m sure someone else will be happy to have you, she thought.

Emeryn was finally ready to start her journey and hurried down the street, sticking to the shadows where possible. She was going to leave her hometown behind, and for that purpose, she was going to make her way to a tunnel her parents had told her about years before. Their existence was a closely guarded secret, but in the event of an emergency, they had wanted their daughter to have a safe way to flee town.

Despite the lack of immediate danger, Emeryn kept stopping at corners and carefully peered around them. She zipped across open areas only when necessary, and as quickly as she could. She also jumped into hiding whenever she thought she heard something. Emeryn craved excitement, and she had never felt this alive before.

Reaching an archway in the wall that separated the living area for the wealthy from the rest of town, she once more peeked around a corner. The main street was as empty as all the other streets so far, but she still crossed it quickly and entered Old Town. As the oldest part of Alarna, it was structured far less consistently and was made up of many winding roads that could appear like a maze to those not living there. Having done upfront reconnaissance though, she navigated the area with ease.

It didn’t take her long to reach her target destination—a simple building on a random street. It was small, only built to house and protect the entrance to the tunnel, and its door was hidden from prying eyes, so you could enter and leave without someone watching you. Emeryn’s expression grew even more ecstatic now that she had made it here. She could practically taste the freedom that awaited her, but she froze when she suddenly heard someone yawn behind the next and last corner she would’ve had to round.

“Really a nice assignment,” a male voice said, smacking his lips.

“Right? Definitely beats walking through the streets all night long,” another said.

Emeryn’s smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a grimace. Guards were protecting the tunnel entrance. They hadn’t been there the day before, and she didn’t know why they were here now. But the reason for their presence mattered little. Her escape plan was crumbling to pieces, interrupted by two Fighters who seemingly enjoyed their boring ass job of watching over some house in the middle of town.

“The beasts can come now. As long as we’re instructed to stay here,” one joked.

The other laughed. “I guess that’s not going to happen as frequently anymore with the blessings. Would’ve been a dream assignment before.”

Miffed, Emeryn wondered what to do. Should she go through them? She was confident in her fighting abilities, but it would be two on one, and she didn’t recognize these guys’ voices. Unable to tell whether she could take them, she was reluctant to risk it. However, this was the only way out of town she knew that didn’t involve making it past gates that were even more heavily guarded.

I should’ve slipped through the hole in the southern gate before they closed it up, she complained to herself. Tomar and his group had created a convenient path through it when they left, but at that time she hadn’t made the decision to leave yet.

She kept listening to the idle smalltalk of the guards, but she couldn’t stand around like this for much longer. Someone might come to check on or replace them at any moment. Or a citizen could unexpectedly walk past her. She would have to make a decision. Fight or turn around, those were her options. Or so she thought, before the town bells suddenly started ringing. Her eyes widened in shock. For a second, she thought she might be the reason, though she quickly realized that nobody would ring a warning because of her. Especially if she hadn’t actually done anything yet.

“Would you listen to that? A general alarm!” one of the guards said.

“My, if only we could hurry over there and help,” the other responded ironically.

For Emeryn, this was her third option though. This alarm was not about a beast, but if she couldn’t escape town, she would at least take whatever entertainment she could get in here. She snuck away from the house until she was out of hearing range and then transitioned into a sprint, running north. The source of the alarm appeared to be in the office district.

Come on, she thought. Be about something interesting.

Over the past couple of days, this alarm typically indicated a black stone incident, and while oftentimes tragic, they weren’t exactly captivating. Seen one, seen all. But maybe this would be different.

Curiously, the bells and other guards running through the streets led her to the eastern guard station. Entirely intact, it didn’t seem to be about stones, and the Fighters who converged on it just stood around in a half-circle in front of the building.

Hm. What’s going on?

She watched the events from a safe place, not yet sure whether she should join. As a few guards moved slightly, she was able to see through the cracks in the small crowd and finally understood what happened. Lying on the ground in front of the station was Captain Eissen, unmoving and bleeding. Two guards were checking on him, while a mere three meters away another Fighter was held on the ground, a bloody sword lying next to him. Emeryn couldn’t see the man’s face, but she could guess that one of the Zale’s had presumably exacted revenge for their family member.

Positively surprised, she turned around and walked westwards, away from the commotion. An outright murder was certainly an event worth mentioning in this town, but unfortunately it was already over when she arrived. There was nothing more to see, and nothing for her to do.

Disappointed, she dragged her feet as she left the side streets and slowly made her way home. She wouldn’t give up, but it seemed like she might have to put a bit more effort into this after all. Maybe the tunnel wouldn’t be guarded around the clock, or she could investigate the schedules of the Workers and try to slip out the eastern gate. She certainly wouldn’t be the first. The question was when she would leave, not if—no matter how much she had hoped it would be today.

The main square opened up to her as she left the eastern street, when she was surprised for a third time that night. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed movement down the street leading north. With quick feet she stepped back into the shadows and watched multiple shadows dash across the road in the distance.

Emeryn was baffled, counting upwards of five people who seemed to sneak around town just like she was. For her, this was partly fun, however. She understood she hadn’t needed to be quite that sneaky for most of her trip. But what was going on with these people then? Her curiosity piqued again, she hurried after them. This wasn’t the night she had envisioned, but it was certainly eventful in its own right.