Dakin watched Thovren walk off, one hand slowly rubbing the spot on his neck where the crossbow bolt had been pointed. "Well okay then..." He muttered, pushing himself to his feet and brushing a bit of the dirt from his shirt. "Dorn will know what's going on!" Without looking back he took off towards his adopted father's home, a small cabin built just outside the city walls and not too far from the Old Hag's abode. Pushing his way into the house he was greeted, not by the large smiling man he had expected but rather by gloomy silence. No candles shed light in the room and everything was cast in deep shadows, it was clear that Dorn was not present. There was no need to call out, the place was too small to require searching, and something about the oppressive nature of the silence made him fearful to willingly break it. He wanted to turn around and leave right then but he knew it would be unwise not to gather some supplies, just in case.

Dorn's traveling pack was hung on a peg beside the straw-beds set against one corner and Dakin quickly tossed in a few cloth-wrapped rations he found in a cabinet. There were a few small poultices on a shelf beside the window, a jagged piece of flint near the stove, and finally the boy's only spare set of clothes. It felt odd gathering things one might take on a trip but he had an overpowering sinking feeling that had not left since awakening beneath the old tree. As Dakin was heading for the door he spotted something curious on his adopted father's desk, large hand-bound book that he had never paid much attention too but that was now sitting open as if being recently examined. He carefully snatched it up, taking care not to tear anything, and brought it towards the window to catch what little he could of the evening light. His eyes widened at what he could make out; a book of maps, apparently acquired by his mentor over a long career of traveling. Several of them appeared to be hand-drawn by the man himself, and Dakin could make out several small notes and symbols used by Dorn, though the boy couldn't read them himself. He did know enough of the land to identify one or two maps of the area, the moors around the town and even over to the High Forest, but most of them were of places completely unfamiliar and mysterious. One particular parchment bore three particularly strange symbols; a flying snake with bared fangs, a dark-red circle filled with a twisting maze of black lines, and a distended shadowy humanoid figure with long finger and a long angular face; and seeing them made the boy uneasy.

After a short internal debate, Dakin slipped the book into his pack and fled from the cabin, choosing not to look back at its gloomy and lifeless exterior. His next stop would be Autry's cabin, which wasn't far from Dorn's place, because he knew that his mentor and the old hag went way back to the man's adventuring days. Perhaps she would know what was going on, if it was in fact her that he'd spotted on the road before falling asleep. Dakin's spirit swelled a bit when the shack came into view and he spotted a light on inside. Jogging up to the door, he thought of knocking but on hearing muffled voices he simply pushed the door open in his excitement. "Hello? Miss Autry?"

Argurios walked into the house, looking around. His right shoulder was still hurting, but he didn’t want to show it. It wasn’t broke, he knew how that felt, so it might be just cracked, but most likely it was nothing. Someone jumped through the door yelling: "Drop your Weapon". Argurios flinched a bit, but as he saw it was the militia’s boy, he relaxed. He knew the girl from the village yet he had no recall of her name or what she did or anything. He moved around a bit, while the others talked. In the back was a little girl also from the village. The boy who patted his shoulder was also from the village. It seemed that only the village children were here and even that there was only four of them. He heard as the other boy asked "have you found anyone else either?" Argurios looked at the ground and simply shook his head. The boy mentioned someone else so it seems there’s only five of them altogether. Thinking about it , it seemed smarter to Argurios for them to be at one place. He turned around, finally realising his shoulder he lifted his left hand in a questionable manner. “So there are five of us total? Where did the other guy go? Wouldn’t it better for us to stay together? I thought about it and got the idea we rest here for the night and tomorrow we search the village.” He explained. He was a bit slow from his father’s side, but he would never admit it. “Oh yeah and I got some food to. If anyone wants to eat.” He unfastened the pouch from his side and put it on the shelf. “Oh and what are your name? Sorry if I seem rude its just I’m not good with names.” Argurios tried to be as polite as possible. For what he knew these were hs last family members that were alive.

As soon as Atrus heard motion of any sort, he quickly downed the previously overfilled invisibility potion in hopes of not being caught by who or whatever was entering the house that belonged to Old Autry. Surprisingly enough, the potion seemed to have taken a quick effect since when he looked down at himself nothing was there. He hid away from the door only to seethe the door was pushed with some force to be opened. Hearing a voice that he knew wouldn't be evil, he moved from his hiding place and quietly moved over to the door and the person who had just entered his master's home.

He was thankful that he wasn't the only person in existence any more, but he had so many questions for the person who had just arrived. He was still invisible, so Atrus wasn't sure about speaking up and seeming like the house was haunted or anything. As fun as it might be he didn't want to scar off the only other being that he knew was still there in this world with him. Another though had planned to cross his mind until something had happened that he didn't expect. Atrus let out a cry of pain and dropped to his knees, his entire body suddenly burned with pain and the only reason that he could think to be the reason was the potion. Maybe because it affected all of his body and the transformation back to being visible was a painful one, but he needed to study more about it so it wouldn't happen again. The pain quickly increased as his visibility returned but suddenly stopped without reason.

Atrus panted heavily as he looked around the area, the burning effect of the potion wasn't something he could have predicted, and in all honesty he was glad that he found that instead of using the same potion mix out in the field and having that happen to him. Looking at the person who had entered the house not to long ago, Atrus got up slowly and looked at him, nodded just slightly and extending out a hand. "I'm Atrus. Sorry about... all of that, but I didn't know if you were a friend or not, and I didn't know the side effect of that potion. There could be more for all I know."

Brisa sat in stunned silence when Kaya told her of what happened to the village.

How could everyone be gone? Vanishing into thin air was the stuff of stories, not reality. Autry had taught her much of the magical history of the land; but nowhere did it mention a story where people simply vanished. It would have to be magical; how else could it be accomplished. What had really happened? What had attacked the village?

The thoughts tumbled in Brisa’s head as she sat staring at the fire she had just lit. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around it all. It just didn’t seem possible. She liked things neat, facts, order, precision, logic, not scattered thoughts and ideas that raced through her mind faster than she could focus on them. She hadn’t always been this way, Autry had drilled that precision into her and now it was second nature. She felt uncomfortable returning to her own scatter brained ways.

Fortunately she was quickly distracted by Argurios and his rather spectacular entry. She followed Kaya and watched as Kaya confronted the unknown. Brisa admired her for it, but she was also vastly relieved that it was simply the leather-worker’s boy. Brisa had seen him when she was fetching hand crafted pouches for Autry. She had never met him, and was very nervous around him, but she also knew he was one of the town and that was something. Right now that familiar face was welcome.

In very short order she found herself startled into jitters again as Thovren made his equally spectacular entry. He was another boy she had seen but had no contact with. He always seemed to be busy, just as she was. They would pass each other in the street as they went about their duties but nothing more than that.

When Dakin showed up it was a huge relief, him she knew well. He and his teacher were always here at Autry's. That Dorn wasn’t with him was bad; whatever happened it had to be bad to stop both Dorn and Autry from returning.

The two of them were both magical warriors in their own right, and both seasoned adventurers at one point in their life. Autry hadn’t told much of her history to Brisa but she knew the woman was once an enchantress in Waterdeep. Wherever that was. It sounded vast, busy, and exciting. It also sounded like Autry could handle her own when she needed too. Dorn she suspected was the same, a newcomer to the village like Autry his life must have been equally as exciting and challenging.

Dakin’s appearance broke through her mind, sending her worries scattering. It was something known she could focus on.

“Come inside” she said calmly, relieved that her voice didn’t betray her edginess. “It’s safer in here. Autry’s charms protect the house from the night beasties.” She winced visibly again, Autry didn’t like people to know she had charmed her house. It made people nervous, suspicious, or worse. Autry had shown Brisa the charms and told her eventually she would teach the girl how to lay the enchantments for them.

Autry is gone she berated herself. She had no doubt, as the others straggled in with the same news she knew in her heart that Autry was gone. The old woman was more of a family than her own. She had at least understood Brisa. She won’t mind now.

“I have food too, in the study. And more in the cellar if we need it.” she continued quickly trying to cover her slip-up. “Maybe there are more people out there, it can’t be just the five of us--Right?”

She beckoned to the others and turned and headed back inside the room. The cry of pain brought her out again at a run. She was certain something horrible was happening. Instead she saw Atrus and her eyes widened.

“Atrus!” she said in surprise. “Where in Mystra’s Mantle were you? Have you been here the whole time? Are you ok?”

She knew there was a neutralizing potion somewhere, Autry always had them around for the boy to use, but she didn’t know where. She knew a bit of his studies, though potions were not her strong suit she liked studying the formulas. She just couldn’t craft them to save her life. But she was very familiar with the potential for nasty side effects. Once he had even turned himself into a chicken, Autry had corrected it fairly quickly, but Brisa had been awed. She didn’t know that simple potions had the potential to do that.

“What kind of potion was that? Wait never mind. It’s not important. We need to figure out what happened, if we can. Autry is gone but I’m going to look for her at dawn.”

She hadn’t realized she intended to do that, but now that she said it she knew she had to. She had to try and find her at least.

“The study” she said continued “Lets talk in there. Its warmer, and we have food. It looks like its still several hours until daylight so we shouldn’t leave now anyway.”

Kaya had hardly time to talk with Brisa about what happened to the village. First Argurios bashed on the door and after that, many more children popped up rapidly after each other. Like someone had drawn a magic sign on the door that attracted them. Kaya recognized all the children that came through the door even though she might have talked to some only once. The first one was Thovren, the militia captain's son. The apprentice bard did not know much about the young man but she had seen him on a few occasions listening to her play from a distance. It was almost like he's a little shy to come closer. None the less the militia boy asked if Kaya was alright. A sign of a true gentlemen. Kaya bowed lightly and smiled. "I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Thovren". Kaya took a quick look at Thovren and noticed that he pretended to be a bit calmer then he truly was.

Kaya had not much time to think about it because the next visitor entered the house. It was the human boy named Dakin. Kaya had heard stories how the boy was always following Dorn, a beast of a man around in the woods. He was looking for the old hag but just like Kaya would not find her. Just another apprentice that seemed to be left behind. Atrus was the next to appear. He did it in a matter that made Kaya almost forget about how Thorven and Agurios entered the house. The scream of pain was so loud and intense that it sended shivers down the spine of the young girl. Whatever that boy was doing, Kaya wanted no part in it.

For a moment Kaya listened to all the chatter around her. All the children were still in the hallway and talking to each other. Some interesting facts where mindlessly slipped by Brisa as the young girl talked about the charms and potions that Autry, Altus and Brisa herself where involved in. Quickly Kaya started to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. Next to all the villagers some persons of special interest disappeared too. Autry the village herbalist who came to the village 20 years ago. There was no doubt in Kaya's mind that she possessed magical abilities. It was the same story with Dorn. He also appeared one day to more or less settle himself in the village and teached his adopted son all about the mysticisms of nature and wildlife. Serath Trannyth, a former mercenary who settled in the village to raise his son. Argurios father served in an orcisch army and Aeden Mirrets came out of nowhere to play songs so beautiful that you could only hear in the throne room of kings. It was not a coincidence that children with a connection to persons with a past in adventuring where the only ones left behind.

Kaya followed the group into Autry's study. Her mind was on the events of the evening, going over every single fact she knew so far. For Kaya, the whole situation was equally exciting as it was terrifying. She was worried about the fate of her parents, Aeden and fellow villagers but realized that a great adventure lies ahead. An adventure that she would not go on alone. Before the girl took her seat in the study she took a small moment to introduce herself. "I am Kaya, Kaya Gheine. I'm pretty sure most of you have seen, or at least heard me play once or twice. " said the girl as she looked around. Even though the situation was dire and the group of people around her mostly strangers, Kaya felt confident and calm being the first one to properly introduce herself and take the lead in the conversation that was to come. "I am glad to see that at least some of us are save. I don't have much of a clue about what happened but I looks like our family, friends and neighbors have vanished into thin air and we're the only ones left. Somehow I don't think it a coincidence that it happens to be the six of us that are gathered here." Kaya paused for a moment to see how everybody would respond to her words.

Dakin sighed in relief as he recognized Brisa's voice, one of the few children in the village he truly considered a friend. It wasn't that he didn't get along with any of the others but his training with Dorn was his whole life... everyday it was some new orison, some new meditation, some new exercise to train his mind and the list seemed to be never-ending, until now. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that Autry wasn't present and it quickly sank in just by glancing around at the downtrodden faces of the others kids that they all found themselves in the same situation as he did.

"I don't understand..." He muttered as he walked in, slowly sliding the bag from his shoulder while his head shook from side to side. "Is Autry not here? I just came from Dorn's cabin and I couldn't find him-" At that moment Atrus reappeared with a cry of pain and Dakin instinctively fell back into a defensive pose with the staff held before him. His hazel eyes blinked rapidly as he recognized the alchemist boy and he let the staff fall to his side. Before he could comment on the strange and alarming entrance, Brisa was ushering them into the other room where they might more comfortably discuss their situation.

The apprentice boy chose not to sit, doing so would make him more tense than he already was, and instead stood just inside the door with the staff at his side, butt-end resting on casually on the ground but knuckles tightened around the shaft. Its presence was calming, if only slightly, and he was fairly confident in his staff-fighting capabilities though he realized that the problem they currently faced would not be beaten away with a piece of wood. When Kaya introduced herself, Dakin had only listened to her play on two occasions when Dorn was otherwise indisposed, the man often stating that he simply wasn't 'that interested in music', and he had thought it quite impressive even without any other performances to compare it to.

When she had finished speaking of the vanishing of the townsfolk, Dakin lightly thumped the butt of his staff against the floor in a manner that Dorn had often used to get the attention of those around him. "I heard the town bells and... well then I woke up beneath a tree. I went straight to Dorn's cabin but... he wasn't there and I found no indication of where he's gone. Are you saying that everyone has just up and disappeared?" The words seemed preposterous even as they left his lips but it certainly seemed to be the case. "Brisa, what's going on?" He didn't know why he turned to her in that moment of fear and uncertainty but there had always been a 'take-charge' aspect about her, plus she was the only one he really considered more than a passing acquaintance.

Thovren was standing at the door, Half listening, half keeping an eye on the outside in case anyone... or anything heard them and came to investigate. When he heard enough of people asking whats happening or where is everyone he decided to finally answer their questions. To him it was obvious, and it was very disturbing. Like Dakin he lifted a boot and stomped it on the ground to get everyone's attentions before speaking. "All I know is that we cannot remain here and wait for people to return or spring up out of the ground." He hardly knew any of the children in this room personally. He was always to busy himself. Working and training by his own hand or his fathers. "I could not find anything in my house to prove my parents simply packed up and left either Dakin. SO I think we have to assume they were taken by" he sighed "By whatever it was attacked our village." as ugly of a truth that was it was the only plausible thought in his mind. And everyone seemed to be dancing around that very possible truth. So he decided to be the one to say it aloud and voice everyone's fears. And if it had the power to take their parents who were far more skilled than themselves, what could it do to them?
He quickly turned and pulled his fathers letter out of his pocket. "Had anyone found anything strange by chance? Some clue as to where they are, or just strange anything really." He unfolded the letter and took a look at it again. "My father got this letter from a man he says he has not spoken to in years. And it arrives just before the attack." he waited for anyone else to speak, he could only hope others had something no matter how vague that could help them.

Brisa looked startled when Dakin asked her what was going on. How was she supposed to know? She didn’t even know everyone was gone. Yet she knew one thing…

“It has to be magic” she said speaking up. “People don’t normally just vanish, except when magic is involved.”

“I’m Brisa by the way. Brisa Potter.” It was an afterthought to introduce herself, added quickly and just as quickly she plunged onward in her train of thought.

“If everyone is gone…vanished…then there must have been some magic at work. I can’t imagine Autry, or Dorn, or your father Throven…doesn’t he lead the city guards…or your father Argurios…just allowing themselves to be…whatevered.”

“Magic, I don’t know what kind but some kind of magic. I haven’t read of any such magic before. Not in any of the magical histories I’ve studied.”

She stopped to draw a breath. She hadn’t talked that much to any of the children before, not even Dakin though they were on friendly terms. She blinked surprised at herself. She felt comfortable talking about magic, she had studied it for so long and so much that she had more understanding of it than other things. A sudden flash of inspiration hit her. That was why Autry had drilled her so much; a mage who lacked confidence was next to worthless. But what if it was something else, what if it was different. What if it was some not so esoteric source. She shut up quickly, snapping her mouth shut so abruptly you could hear her teeth clack together.

“Sorry” she mumbled. “I just think its likely magic was involved. But I don’t think I’ve seen or noticed anything…odd. Except maybe her animals, they are all weird now. Silent and still but breathing. They were fine this morning though. Is that helpful?”

Brisa actually wanted to be helpful. She just wasn’t sure what to do now.

She covered a yawn with a hand. It was late, very late, and dawn was fast approaching. She didn’t tell most of the others, just Atrus when she had helped him up after his potion wore off, that she planned to leave and wander the town at dawn. They would probably try to stop her, but she had to see for herself that Atury was gone. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe the others…she just needed to see it for herself. It was the one thing she was sure of. That and that magic had to be involved. She had to wait till dawn though, trolls terrified her. She wondered if they were even now roaming through the village destroying the place.

She had no way of knowing that even the trolls would steer clear of the village for several days. The aura of the evil that now lurked there was strong enough to repel even them.

Ronin dug into his pack as he walked alongside Sir Erikson’s warhorse, looking for his map. “By the nine boy what are you doing?” Sir Erikson asked.

“I’m looking for my map.” Ronin replied.

“Why do you need a map? There’s not but one road between us and Llorkh.”

“I want to know how far we are, you asked me to stop pestering you every five minutes so I want to figure it out by myself.” Finally finding his quarry, Ronin pulled the slightly crumpled parchment from his pack with a triumphant “Ah ha!”

“I see your packing skills have not improved since we began our little excursion.” Sir Erikson commented. “If you hadn’t forgotten your parchment tube that map would be in far better condition.”

“Yes sir, but as I said when we left, if we weren’t in such a hurry I’d have remembered to grab a great many things. Like my bedroll, which I sorely miss.” Ronin replied, rubbing his stiff neck for emphasis.

“Consider it penance for your forgetfulness. Once we reach Llorkh we can get you a new bedroll, your old one was beginning to smell of mold anyway.”
Ronin unrolled his map, quickly finding Waterdeep then following the road east found the stretch of road they currently tread upon between Loudwater and Llorkh. This was the third day of their travels and was well past mid-day. He measured the distance using a notched stick he’d rolled the map around and figured they were now more than an hour’s travel from the town. Something niggled at the back of his mind, a sense of wrongness. He looked up from his map in the direction of the town, something was missing.

“Smoke.”

“What’s that lad?”
“We’re only a few miles from town and the wind is none too strong. We should be able to see smoke from people’s hearths and the smithy above the trees. But there is none.” Ronin said as he looked to Sir Erikson.

“Aye, right you are lad.” A look of concern spread over his aging features. “Right you are.”

“Before we left, you said you had a friend in Llorkh. That our haste was due to a letter he sent you.” Ronin hesitated before continuing. “If I may, what was in that letter?”
Sir Erikson stared at the smokeless sky, stroking his greying beard in thought. “It was a request for my aid. He’s the cleric in Llorkh, he’d been feeling a something foul emanating from the mountains to the east. He feared for the people of Twiddledale on the other side of the mountains, he was loathed to leave his town. So he wished that I come and check Twiddledale’s safety on his behalf.” A grim look passed over Sir Erikson’s face that Ronin had never seen before.
Sir Erikson lent down in his saddle, offering Ronin his hand. “Come, we make haste for Llorkh.”

Ronin stuffed the map back into his pack before accepting Sir Erikson’s hand. He pulled Ronin up into the saddle behind him. “Hold on boy.” Was all the warning Ronin got before the massive warhorse took off at a full gallop toward Llorkh. Ronin held on for all he was worth as the steed flew over the road. After only a few minutes the gates to the town were visible, once they were close enough Ronin noticed the lack of any guards on the wall and the gate was open.
Sir Erikson slowed the mount to a stop as they reached the gate. From there they could see the town and all its buildings. A great sense of eeriness settled over Ronin like a wet blanket, it seemed to press in on him. No smoke rose from the chimneys, no adults hurrying about their business, no children playing and no ringing of the smithy. Not a soul stirred.

The warhorse breathed heavily beneath them as Sir Erikson called out, “Towns folk of Llorkh, I am Sir Erikson. Paladin of Helm and friend to your cleric, Grothby. I’ve come to give aid, please let me know of your presence so that I may render aid unto thee.”

His voice seemed to be echo among the homes. No reply came forth as they waited, the heavy breathing of the warhorse the only sound they heard. After a moment Sir Erikson stirred. He reached behind him, offering his hand once again. Ronin took it and Sir Erikson help lower him to the ground off the massive warhorse.
“Leave your pack with Amorachus.” Sir Erikson said as he dismounted, his armor clanking as he stepped to the ground.

As Ronin strung his pack to the saddle Sir Erikson drew forth his bastard sword from its sheath on his back. Ronin followed suit, unslinging his shield from his shoulder and placing his left arm under the strap and holding the handle in that same hand. Once it was secure he draw his short sword from its home in a sheath at his left hip, making barely a sound as it left the leather. Ronin felt the adrenaline and fear mixed within him, he’d never had to actually fight someone. Sure he’d sparred with others but the most danger that ever came of that was nasty bruise or broken finger. He’d never faced real danger and the fear was gnawing at him, trying to claw its way through his mind like a wild animal.

“Lad, stay at my back. Amorachus, stay.” The warhorse nickered in reply as Ronin fell in behind his master. “Keep your eyes and ears open boy, mine aren’t what they used to be.”

“Yes sir.” Ronins voice wavered as the fear seemed to settle in his belly, making his breath rapid and shallow. His eyes darting around.
Sir Erikson turned and faced Ronin. “Ronin, slow your breathing. Remember what I taught you, Take deep, slow breaths.”
Ronin nodded, forcing his breathing to slow and take in more air. It help a little but the fear was still there, gnawing on his insides.

“You scared lad?”

Ronin nodded.

“Good, being afraid can be useful. It tells us when to hide, when to run and when to fight.”

“But you’re not afraid.” Ronin said.

“Aye lad, because I know when to hide, when to run and when to fight. I don’t need fear to tell me when to do these things anymore.” He placed a large armored hand on Ronin’s shoulder. “One day, you will know these things, and on that day you need not listen to fear. But for now, listen but do not let it control you. For fear does not control you unless you let it and fear does not think, it simply acts.”

Ronin nodded, he closed his eyes for a moment and focused. Not on removing the fear, but just making it quieter. When he opened his eyes he still felt the fear in the pit of his stomach, but it was no longer trying to claw its way out, just making him more cautious and alert. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Sir Erikson nodded and stood, facing into the town a moment. He closed his eyes for several second before slowly opening them. He slowly scanned his gaze across the town before closing them and letting out a breath he'd been holding in concentration. "Something evil happened here. But if there are any evildoers here I cannot see them. Let us move cautiously."

As they moved inward Ronin began to notice things that about the state of the village. There were no signs of struggle, no bodies in the streets or blood on the walls of the buildings. It was just empty.

"Cloud it be disease sir? That would explain the absence of destruction."

"Yes but the livestock is usually one of the first things destroyed as it is usually the origin of such catastrophes." Sir Erikson said, nodding in the direction of a pen of pigs.

Ronin noticed that the pigs he saw looked half starved. "Sir the pigs-"

"Yes, they look to have not eaten in days. Three if I were to guess."

"Sir, if I may. What is it we search for?"

"The stables lad. If the people have indeed fled this town then that is where they would have been headed before leaving. Perhaps there we will find a clue as to what has transpired here."

"Alright." Ronin followed Sir Erikson farther into the town. Watching behind the to make sure nothing attempted to sneak upon them. After what felt like an hour to Ronin but was only a matter of minutes before they came upon a large stable. As they opened the door Ronin was assailed by the stench of horse manure, a smell he was quite familiar with from his time spent caring for Amorachus. But this was worse, coughing a little from the stench they pressed inwards. In most of the stalls there were horses, but all were skinny and weak from lack of movement in the stalls, and they hadn't been cleaned in days.

"Well it appears they didn't take the horses, and if it was an attack they would have killed or taken the animals." he pulled on the latch holding one of the stables closed. "Let us free these beasts." Sir Erikson opened the stall and began gently coaxing the horse from the stable, grabbing a bail of hay as he passed.
Ronin followed suit, slinging his shield over his back. He opened the nearest stall and he too led it out into the fresh air. He also went to the wall and retrieved some water from a well and poured it into the nearby trough.

"You stay with the horses while I check a few of the homes." Sir Erikson ordered before walking in the direction of a nearby house.

Ronin unslung his shield and waited, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. After another few minutes that felt as though they were hours passed before Sir Erikson returned.

"Did you find anyone?"

"Nay, the town is deserted. But it is as though everyone just up and left, food left on plates and ale still unfinished in the mug. But not a single sign of struggle." Sir Erikson exclaimed, frustrated.

"So what do we do?"

Sir Erikson stood for a moment pondering, his brow furrowed in frustration. He sighed before saying "Grothby said he sensed something east of here and that he was worried for the safety of another town. He wished me to see if some evil fate had befallen them, so I shall honor his wishes. But if that town has befallen the same fate, we make for Waterdeep and tell them everything that's happened." Sir Erikson sheathed his sword across his back and made for Amorachus, gesturing for Ronin to follow.
They once again mounted the large horse and took off through the town, heading east towards the near by mountains.

They rode for several minutes, the unease Ronin had felt long behind them, before he felt compelled to ask, "Sir, I know you wish I not ask this question but I feel it important.

"How long will it take us to get to this other village?"

"Little less than two days if we only stop to sleep and let Amorachus get his strength back."

"Can he run for that long?"

"As I've told you before, Amorachus is no common warhorse." As if in response the massive horse seemed to pick up more speed as they made thier way uphill.
For hours they rode, only stopping long enough for Amorachus to catch his breath before they were off again. As they made it farthere into the hilly pass that ran between the two larger mountains the vegetation began thinning and a foul wind made its way through the pass.

"Ah, there must be a bog on the other side of the pass. "Sir Erikson commented."

They had made it to the other side of the narrow mountain range before it became too dark to risk continuing. They pulled a small ways off the path onto some dry ground.

"No fires tonight lad. We do not wish to announce our presence this close to the bog." Sir Erikson pulled some bread, cheese and dried meat that they kept as trail rations while traveling. They ate in silence as the oppressiveness of the bog seemed to reach far beyond its shore as a heavy mist settled along the ground.

Just as Ronin finished eat, Sir Erikson suddenly roused from his seat and looked east. Ronin unsure of what was happening placed his hand on his sword, ready to draw it. "Sir, what is it." He asked, somewhat unnerved.

"I can sense something, it's not far from here. I don't..." Sir Erikson stopped speaking for a moment, the turned to Ronin. "I'm going to go see what it is. I need you to go find somewhere to hide until i return."

"You want me to hide?" Ronin was taken aback. "But-"

"Do as I say. Now."

Ronin recognized that tone, it was Sir Eriksons way of giving orders without giving an order. He nodded and grabbed his pack from the ground.

"If I don't return by morning, head east down the road to Twiddledale. If you have not yet found me, I want you to gather what supplies you can and make your way to Loudwater. Find someone who can give you a horse and ride for Waterdeep. Tell them everything." Sir Erikson untied Amorachus from the tree and mounted him. "Good luck." was all he said before taking off down the path.

Ronin hurried about, looking for a suitable hiding place. Eventually finding a group of fallen trees, he found he could squeeze in underneath one and the other formed a bit of a roof. Dense brush filled the gaps between trees making it impossible to see through. Ronin lay curled up around his pack on the cold ground. He was alone now, with some evil outside that Sir Erikson had feared was too dangerous for him to be near. So dangerous that he told Ronin what to do should he not return. With this came the fear again, it crawled through him making him shiver and turn his breathing ragged.

Ronin focused on what Sir Erikson had told him. 'Listen to it, but don't let it control you. It does not think, it only acts.' Ronin focused on his breathing, forcing himself to take deeper breaths. Then moved on to thinking, he forced himself to remember everything that Sir Erikson had told him to do and focused on those instructions. Soon the fear receded into worry.

The next thing Ronin is aware of is his eyes are closed. He opens them to see the canopy of his little hideout. Through the brush he can see a somewhat lightened sky, not quite morning but no more than a few hours away. Figuring it was close enough to morning Ronin peeked outside is his concealment. Satisfied he was alone he crawled out and headed to their camp sight from last night. Once there Ronin saw no sign of Sir Erikson or Amorachus. 'head east to Twiddledale.' Ronin steped out onto the road and could see the fresh tracks Amorachus had churned up the night before.

He followed the tracks down the road, after only ten minutes of walking he saw a shape down the road. Ronin drew his sword and stopped, standing perfectly still and listening for any sound. After several minutes Ronin began making his way down the road again, removing his shield from his back and placing it on his arm. Once he was only a hundred yards away, Ronin saw who it was.

Amorachus stood in the middle of the road, just standing. Looking for all the world as if he were simply waiting. As Ronin closed the last of the distance he began looking off the sides of the path for any sign of Sir Erikson. Once he reached Amorachus the large horse turned his head to look at him for a moment before returning to starring ahead. Ronin, worried began looking around for Sir Erikson or anything that would suggest where he'd gone. The longer he found nothing, the more a cold dread settled in his stomach.

'Twiddledale.' Ronin returned to Amorachus and was about to start leading him when he decided that riding would be acceptable. Sir Erikson had told Ronin from the start that he was never to ride Amorachus unless it was an emergency. He figured this qualified. Ronin had trouble at first climbing the massive animal. And once in place it seamed Amorachus was reluctant to continue moving, but after a bit move prodding began to move.

Ronin hadn't had much experience riding horses. Mostly just caring for Amorachus, though the stable master had shown him how to ride once or twice he'd not had enough time to fully learn. But Amorachus was used to riders and needed little in the way of steering. And so they rode for Twiddledale.

After an hour of riding the sky continued to brighten but the sun had yet to show. But now Ronin could see a wall with a gate, one that could only belong to the town of Twiddledale. The wall looked abandoned, no guards manned the wall or gate. And Ronin could see no smoke rising from chimney's. Ronin walked Amorachus closer to the gate, keeping very alert making sure nothing sneaked up on him in the dense bog as he approached the gate. He stopped atop Amorachus, the gate was closed and Ronin could see the the wall curved down either side. Meaning it more than likely encompassed the entire town.

He dismounted, approaching the gate. The gate is closed, that means someone was around to close it. These people knew something was coming, just like Sir Erikson had last night. If someone was still here that meant Sir Erikson could still be alive somewhere. He pushed on the gate, it barely budged which meant it was barred. He doubted he could scale the wall so he only had one choice left.

"Hello?" He called over the wall. "Is there anyone there?"

Argurios moved to the back of the cabinet. His shoulder gnawing at him more and more. He sat at the ground his back to the wall. He heard others speak, but couldn't concentrate. He was still tired from his father's hit and the pain made him even more wary. Out of his pouch he took a leaf his father gave him when he was in pain. It didn't dull the pain completely yet made it more bearable. As the pain loosened it's hold. Argurios sighed and unintentionally fell asleep.
In his dreams a small demonic Hare came to the center of town. Argurios chased it through the town when finally a sling firmed in his hands. Swinging it about his head and realising. The Hare puffed into a cloud of smoke. Argurios stood confused by what just happened. Behind him a large data stature formed fangs pointing from its jaws, long claws from the hands. It let out a loud bowl and began to char Argurios. Argurios frightened by the nightmare began running. Before he noticed he was standing infront of the towns gates, the nightmare no longer giving chase. He could hear someone calling from the other side. Then the nightmare came from above and he woke up.
Argurios woke with a start. His hands covering his head. He sat still for a moment. When he realised nothing was wrong and that he was safely back in the cabinet he let out a relieving sigh. "What was that about." He murmured to himself. His shoulder didn't hurt him at all, until he didn't try to move the arm. It was stiff from the hit, but as he presumed it was nothing serious. Slowly he got back up on his feet and looked around. A distant sound could be heard.

The children talked until almost dawn. It was strange for Brisa; she rarely spent time with other children. Atrus didn’t count as when they spent time together it was almost always doing chores or lessons at Autry’s.

She fetched food for everyone and tried to be polite to all but in truth she was out of her depth. She really had no feeling of how to interact with others around her own age. As the talk continued she found herself drifting off to sleep. She wasn’t the only one but she was profoundly embarrassed when she realized what she had done.

She covered it up by leaving the study, making her careful way through the house to her own “work room”. Her work room was mostly a desk and books but she knew she couldn’t follow her plan without some supplies.

Autry had left her a leather satchel for carrying her books. Her spellbook, wrapped in an oil cloth, she placed carefully inside. It was her most valuable possession. She would fill the space with whatever else she thought she needed.

Unfortunately Brisa had no clue what she would need, or any understanding of the reality of what she was planning on doing. Additionally she had no real direction. That didn’t stop the stubborn girl however.

She returned to the study with the others, and settled to wait. She hadn’t realized she had dozed off again until Arguios started awake, then stood. He looked puzzled but Brisa didn’t ask him why. She was still not comfortable with the others in general, and him in particular.

She sidled out of the study, as quietly as she could, and carefully opened the front door. It was not yet dawn but it was light enough to get about.

She could hear someone yelling, in the silence it was particularly loud. Brisa jumped in excitement nearly tripping herself on her own feet.

“There’s someone else here” she shouted to the others then raced out the front door heedless of anything beyond the fact there was another living soul out there. It wasn’t Autry she knew but maybe it was help.

Thovren's ears twitched at the shouting. He didn't know who they were. They didn't sound familiar and as much as he wanted to believe help might have arrived. It could also be anyone, maybe a trick by one of the things that attacked them? He would rather find out and risk himself than have Brisa run into the unknown and potentially get harmed. He quickly loaded his crossbow in the middle fo the room. "Wait here please until it is safe." He didn't have time to make sure any one them were complying with his request. He simply spend out and easily managed to catch up t Brisa. He pulled her off to the side. "Don't just run towards the first thing that talks." he tried not to scorn her but that was really the only way this was going to sound. "Especially just after the entire town was killed or kidnapped. Do you know this..... person is safe? is it one of them?" He waited a few second for a response. "Let me check it first," he said firmly "If they are dangerous, better I take the brunt of it rather than you. Or at the very least just stand behind me. And if they are friendly well then I apologize in advance."
He was the only person with passable fighting skills left in the village. And he took it upon himself to try and protect what was left. With a situation as dire as this he felt that someone had to take on that role. At least until they figured out what was wrong.

He took a deep breath and ran towards the gate. Who ever it was didn't manage to get through the barricade, which was a good sign. He climbed to the top of the wall and looked down to see a boy, probably not any older than he was and a horse. He rested his loaded crossbow on the barricade, not facing the boy but just for ease of access. "Hello." he said in response. "Who are you?" he asked, straightforward and to the point. He didn't feel like pleasentries were proper in this situation. At least until he new the boy was just a traveller. But then again that posed even further questions if he was alone. He could always introduce himself afterwords. "Why have you come to this village?"

As the night dragged on, the concerned voices of the others getting softer and softer until it was clear that most had fallen asleep or at least sank into their own silent thoughts but Dakin knew such rest would not find him so easily. He could feel the tension of the world around him, the disharmony in the very order of nature cause by... whatever it was that had stricken their village. For a moment he thought about expressing this feeling to the others but he doubted they would understand simply because it was coming from a feeling of connection they had never experienced. Besides, Dakin did realize that trying to explain it might do more harm than good if it did nothing but add to their worries.

After what felt like hours, the apprentice finally sat cross-legged in the corner of the room and started a meditation that Dorn had taught him only a few weeks before. First his breathing became slow and even, an action that took him far longer to learn than he'd care to admit, and after many long moments he began to feel the energies around him. In a way, they were like invisible threads stretching from his soul to the living world in a crisscrossing weave so complex and intricate that it was impossible to comprehend more than little chunks, even for master druids. Dakin could only feel his own threads, everything else forming into a tangled blur, though over the years he'd been slowly distinguishing more and more of them through his training.

Sinking deeper into the meditative trance he began to see what had been causing the uneasy feeling; strange gaps in the tangle, tiny holes of nothing; but before he could even begin to try and puzzle out the cause he was brought back to reality by Brisa's shout. His eyes flying open, he was on his feet just as Thovren issued an order to stay put and followed the girl outside. Dakin blinked a moment in confusion but quickly snatched up his staff and headed out after the crossbow-wielding boy, knowing well that he could handle himself if there was trouble. Where as the others seemed to be quite frantic and suspicious of whoever was outside the gate, the apprentice showed no such worries; he appeared perfectly calm and collected as he followed them with his staff leaning against his shoulder. "I would think that whatever was powerful enough to just take everyone wouldn't necessarily need to knock on the front door and ask if anyone's home..."

“Them?” questioned Brisa startled by Thovren’s insistance. “What them? No one saw what happened. We don’t know it was a person or people. All we know is that everyone is gone. They could have been flown away on the backs of giant purple flying frogs for all we know.”

She was really irritated but it did no good. The boy had lectured her then left, leaving her to retort to hang in empty air before she even got to harp on him for bursting into someone else’s house and leveling a crossbow at people.

Dakin was next out of the house, he was in a hurry too but at least he looked a little more focused. He headed off immediately after Thovren. Brisa caught Dakin’s words as he jogged to catch up with Thovren.

“Good point” she muttered. Once again to empty air. “I doubt trouble would announce itself.”

She shoulder her bag, which was heavy for her, she had no idea how much heavier it would get over the day, and was going to follow the two boys. The way Thovren had bossed her around didn’t set well with the stubborn girl; Autry was the only person who could boss her around without making her feel resentful. Resentment, and thinking of Autry, changed her mind.

She would explore the city like she had planned and leave the boys to threaten the unknown person.

She headed into town and she didn’t know why but the first place she decided to go was Aheric’s house. It was the best house in town, and if anyone survived they would likely have holed up there. Plus it was one of the few buildings with a second story, she could get a good look around the village from inside the house.

She walked through the silent town shivering. It was far to eerie. As she rounded a corner however she no longer noticed the eeriness. In fact she noticed nothing, almost nothing anyway, around her. All her attention was riveted on the front of Aheric’s house.

Pinned to his walls, like one might pin a insect specimin to a card, were three people. Autry, Aheric, and Dorn. Autry and Dorn were pinned to either side of the door, Aheric above. It was horrid and Brisa stood silent, still, blinking trying to wrap her mind around it.

She dropped the bag she had been carrying with an audible thud. Somehow she made herself walk forward, eyes focused on Autry’s face. The woman was dead, Brisa was pretty sure of that. Still she was inexorably drawn forward till she was inches from the woman. Autry was pale, so pale she was almost blue. Brisa knew she had to be dead.

“Autry?” she whispered, her voice horse.

Naturally Autry didn’t answer. Brisa reached out a finger and touched the dead woman. Her finger pushed into Autry’s body, it was a very unpleasant tactile sensation, like sticking your fingers in moldy pudding (which Brisa had done more than once).

She didn’t shriek, she didn’t call out, she didn’t even cry. She did, however, run to the side of the house and vomit. Over and over, small body heaving with each retch.

“No” she whispered between heaves. “No.”

When her stomach was empty she continued to dry heave for some time, until she was able to calm down. She was shaking from exhaustion, her limbs wobbly as she stood. All she could think however was Who did this? and more primal thoughts that centered only around making whoever it was pay.

She wiped her mouth off on the sleeve of her shirt and returned. She saw something she hadn’t seen before. On lintel of the door there was writing in black ink, at least she thought it was ink but it was darker than any of the ink she had ever used. The words were in a language she had never seen and as she struggled to pronounce them they sounded so foreign. She thought it had to be important though, a clue of some sort. She grabbed her bag, pulled out a blank piece of paper and a charcoal stub and carefully began copying the words onto the paper. Maybe she could find someone to translate them.

She was soon absorbed in her work, it wasn’t that the words were difficult to copy, but her paper was small and she wanted to write perfectly and neatly so she could study it later. She didn’t even notice that the dead bodies had little blood, and not even the glimmer of a shadow.

Argurios stood for a moment. Breathing slowly he stretched. His body was a tad sore from sleep. Only his shoulder was in pain, but only if moved. It was swollen, yet it still hidden beneath the leather jerkin. He gathered his stuff and excited the building. He could see the two human boys run towards the gates. He wanted to follow, but as he saw the little girl go on her on je followed her. He may not no heR, but it didn't matter. He wanted to keep everyone safe. Help someone. Most people despised orcs as companions;, saying that they were wild and barbaric. Because of his father Argurios counted himself more as an orc than human and he wanted to show everyone that he wasn't like the others. He was like his father. Smart, good mannered and helpful.
As he followed he, he kept a certain distance. If something happened he could help. Though he wasn't sure how. He was stronger than other boys and a tad larger, but that was because of his orcish heritage. He was no better at fighting than any other, in most cases he was worse. Only his strength and size saved him. The one thing he was the best with was the sling. But it was useless at close range and in quarter combat. He could lift heavy things for her. He was over joyed as he realised howl he could help. He was the strongest now, so he could help her get to places she couldn't. He quickened his pace, proudly marching forward only to realise he lost the girl.
He was walking around through town trying to find her. Finally he turned around the corner and saw her. In the distance he could see her sitting on the ground. Argurios got scared that something happened and he was too late. He untied his sling, put a rock in a socket. As he lifted his arm, a pain surged through his shoulder. "Damn" He cursed through his teeth. Holding the sling in his right fist, he ran forward.

As he closed in on the girl he could see she was not y The smell of puke in the air. Though he couldn't see the puddle, he knew it was close. " Hey girl are you Ok?" He shaked her shoulder, trying to remeber her name. "Brisa what's wrong?" He was glad he could remeber the name. He kneeled down to lover himself infront of her, noticing the girl was writing something on a piece of paper. He Looked around if there was anyone else, but the was nothing, noone, he didn't see the body's on the wall behind him.

Ronin stood outside the gate shifting from foot to foot. His armor feeling heavier than usual. Should he call out again? The wall was quite high, maybe he wasn't heard? Or maybe the door would open and bandits or monsters would come pouring out. Just then Ronin heard feet pounding on wooden steps just over the wall. When he looked up he saw a head peek over the wall. A boy, about the same age as him Ronin guessed. The sharper features and slightly pointed ears hinting at the boys elven heritage.

"Hello." Said the boy. "Who are you? Why have you come to this village?" He asked.

If there are people here still, maybe Sir Erikson made it. Ronin thought hopefully. "I'm looking for my master, Sir Erikson. He's an older man wearing armor and has a bastard sword across his back. He would have arrived last night." Ronin's hope seeping into his voice.

Kaya suddenly woke up to some sort of commotion. As she opened her eyes she could see Tovren, Dakin, Agurios and Brisa run off. For a moment the girl tried to remember at what point of the night she fell asleep but for some reason she could not. Everything that happened seemed a little vague, even for the girl who could remember every detail. As she blinked her eyes she knew she had to make a decision. Follow the boys or Brisa and the Orc. As she walked outside she noticed how the militia captain's son ran off towards the gate and how Brisa moved in direction of the village leader's house. Instantly Kaya decided to follow the only other girl in the group.

As Kaya followed Argurios from a distance she noticed that nothing had changed. The eerie silence and absence of people still hang over the village of Twiddledale. Even the wind held its breath. As the young girl walked around the corner she noticed how the Orc boy approached the young girl. Regardless of his wild appearance and clumsy manners Argurios seemed to have his hearth in the right place. None the less it was a kind of funny sight to see the body shake the girl with his Orcish strength. As her eyes looked around she noticed the corpses on the wall of Aheric's house. The village leader, Dorn and Autry where all pinned to the wall. Hanging there lifeless and cold.

For a moment she stared at the scene. Memories of how she played for Aheric on his last birthday crossed her mind. She could still hear the man's kind voice as he told her that he was honored that such a skilled minstrel would play for him on his birthday. Both Dorn and Autry lived a more secluded life and she did not know them personally very well. None the less, she had spotted both on rare occasions listening to her as she played. As anger and pain filled her hearth Kaya could feel a tear running over her cheek. For the first time she started to get really worried about the fate of her family and Aeden. What happened to them and why are Aheric, Dorn and Autry pinned to the wall.

As more questions filled Kaya's mind she felt her resolve grow. Someone had did this to her village and they were going to pay. Kaya was going to find those responsible for taking her family, her friends and her kin and put them to justice. The girl closed her eyes and pictured the scene in front of her. Three corpses pinned to the wall. What does that tell you. They where meant to be found. A message or a warning but for who? Did the person or people knew that some children would survive or was someone supposed to find them. So much questions went through the young girl's head that she almost forgot that Brisa had lost her mentor. That girl must be in so much pain and grief right now.
Kaya carefully approached Brisa and Argurios and kneeled next to the girl. "Are you alright Brisa?" she asked gently.

Brisa found herself abruptly jarred into paying attention to more than her writing. She was shaken in a manner that made her feel a bit like a rag doll. It wasn’t that bad really, but her teeth did clack together.

She looked up into Aruguios’ face and tried not to shy away. He did make her nervous, but in the grand scheme of things most people made her uncomfortable. She was always afraid they were judging her. She was afraid she would have to get over that. Might as well start now. Plus the appearance of Kaya around the corner helped her feel more at ease.

“No” she said, her voice very empty. “I’m not really all right.”

She gestured behind Argurios to indicate what was bothering her, it was plane he hadn’t seen the grisly display yet.

“I’ve never seen writing like that before” she said “so I was trying to copy it down. I’m hoping that some way or some how I can use the writing to figure out who killed them. Some one has to be able to read this gibberish right?”

Autry would get mad at me if I didn’t pay attention just because its too much to look at. She said I had to think clearly at all times, if I couldn’t learn that I’d never be any good at..” She trailed off and shut up. “I gotta learn to focus I guess.”

She snuffled a bit fighting back tears when her eyes were drawn back to Autry it hurt to see her hanging there like that.

“I wish we could get ‘em down and burry them or something. I just aint strong enough myself. Would you help me?”

“We don’t need to dig a grave…we can put them in the butcher’s cellar. Its very cold there and we can lock it from outside. Nothing will get them and they can, I don’t know, rest. It just seems wrong somehow to leave them hanging there.”

“And I should find Dakin and tell him. Dorn was, well I need to tell him.”

She folded up her paper careful not to smudge the writing. Carefully she placed it inside the cover of her spell book and carefully placed the book back in its wrapping back in the bag. Then she stood, squared her shoulders and looked at the other two.

“After we I get that done” she said softly “I’m gonna try and find what did this.”

Argurios turned around. And there he saw three village People hanging dead on the wall. The whole image stunned him. He sat down beside Brisa. He knew these people. They came to his father more than once. Though he didn't know them personally, still the pain of losing someone was there. He was thought to be kind and love everyone in the village. The Farm boy never underwent any training of anything that was not connected to a peaceful Farm life. He sat there for a moment. He saw death for the first time and this was a cruel death. Though he was listening to everything he didn't react for couple of seconds. Then he stood up, he couldn't take his eyes of the body's. "I would be glad to help" He said with a monotone voice. And like he was in he slowly walked towards the wall. Slowly he grabbed each body and pulled it grem from the wall and laid it on the ground. Every time a body was pulled free from the wall more blood gashed out a sound like scratching meat with a nail, could be heard. Argurios didn't notice it. He was in shock and the one thing in his head was to get the body's of the wall. His mind was somewhere else. Looking like a robot and ignorant to his suroundings Argurios pulled the body's free. Now as they may on the ground he picked two of them up. Each on one of the shoulders. He didn't notice the blood on his hands or the blood on his tunic. He turned to Brisa with a lifeless expression. "Where do I put them?" He asked, waiting on further orders from the small girl. His head was incapable of its own thoughts. Still in shock and closed to everything around his only escape from collapsing was to follow someone else.

****In town***

Brisa stared at Argurios in astonishment. He had done that so easily. She knew instinctively she never could have done that. At least not so quickly. She blinked owlishly one or two times to try and focus but she was impressed.

“Bakers” she finally said and pointed a finger at a nearby building with a sign hanging out front showing loaves of bread with little squiggles to represent heat.

“Come, I’ll show you.”

She led him to the baker’s shop and pointed out the cellar at the back of the shop. It was a simple matter to get the bodies inside and when they were done Brisa scrounged around and found the lock the baker used to close it up at night. She snapped it on, pretty sure that they would be safe from scavengers there.

“Um” She walked up to Argurios and shyly put a hand on his arm for a brief second “Thanks. That, well that was really nice of you.”

Then she turned, pulled out a piece of charcoal and wrote a simple note on the wood of the cellar door.

Here lies Aheric, Dorn, & Autry. They gave their lives to our town and for our town and shall be remembered in the hearts of those who live on.

Brisa was no poet but that sounded like something one might see on a tombstone or grave marker. As she was putting the piece of charcoal away she realized she had yet to tell Dakin about what happened to his mentor. He would have wanted to see.

“Dakin” she said by way of explanation as she turned and began running back towards the gate. “I forgot. Oh and Atrus” she hollered back over her shoulder as she increased the distance between herself and the other two.

“He needs to know too.”

****at the wall***

Once things had been sorted out, to the satisfaction of the three boys gathered there, a ladder had been lowered so Ronin could climb up. It was significantly easier than opening the gate. They would have to team up to get that open, which they would in order to bring the horse inside at least. And rope ladders may be mildly challenging for grown men and women to climb; they held no challenge to young children. The emptiness of the town was still eerie, quite and pressing, but there was some comfort in knowing that there was life outside the city walls.

The stillness was broken by the sound of running footsteps and panting as Brisa came running up.

“Dakin” she said panting a little. She wasn’t used to so much activity, since signing on as Autry’s apprentice she had spent most of her time in fairly static study and simple chores.

“I found Dorn” she continued between pants. “I mean his body. Um…he’s dead. I..I…Autry’s dead too. And…”

She looked up at the three boys and for the first time really looked. Her eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer. Him she did not know, even by sight.

“Were you the one yelling.” She blushed briefly. “What I mean is who are you?”