“What do you mean, ‘They’re not what I saw?’” Nocturne asked, puzzled, looking down at the bruised and battered Irah. But Irah refused to say a word more.
“Irah--” Nocturne took a knee in order to meet him eye-to-eye. “What did you see?”
Irah avoided the sorcerer’s gaze.
“It was…” His hands fidgeted uncontrollably. “It was much bigger, with black fur, and-”
He stopped again, his eyes beginning to water.
“Irah.” Nocturne took on a much calmer tone. “I need you to tell us, so that we can find this thing.”
Skleeg stepped in, putting his hand on Nocturne’s shoulder.
“Give him time,” said the Goblin. “He needs rest.”
Nocturne sighed and nodded. “Right. We should take him to the clinic.”
“The clinic won’t take him in,” Yorel interjected. “But I’ve got a friend that can help.”
Nocturne clenched his first. As much as he hated to admit it, Yorel was right. The Raven Port clinic would never take care of someone like Irah, no matter the condition they were in. Setting aside his own feelings about Irah, Nocturne knew Yorel’s friend was probably the man’s best chance now.
“Alright. Thank you, Yorel.” Nocturne turned to the rest of the party. “Shall we meet back here tomorrow?”
“Sure, but… where are we staying?” Emyr spoke up.
“Emyr, Skleeg, you can take this room,” Yorel offered.
“Oh-- I do not want to intrude, but--”
“Nonsense. Riley is occupying the room across the hall as well.”
“Well, then. Thank you, Yorel.” Emyr said, smiling weakly.
Once they were all in agreement to meet at the Nest the next morning, Nocturne set off to one of his properties. The market street was a ghost town, but Nocturne enjoyed the peace and quiet; it was much needed after the unexpectedly eventful day. The young merchant could barely keep his eyes open until he made it home. After a warm bath, he drifted off to sleep.
***
When the sorcerer came to, instead of the comfort of his bed, he found himself lying on cold stone. He slowly took stock of his surroundings-- ruins of some sort, with vines suffocating stone. Nocturne had never been here before, but something within these ruins was pulling him in its direction, and he could not resist. As he walked further, he noticed writing on the walls. The runes were written in a language he’d never seen before, and yet he could somehow make sense of it all.
He looked up at one of the carvings, which slowly pulsed in a faded, yellow light. “Light guide your path,” he read in a whisper.
Entranced, Nocturne walked deeper into the ruins. With every step, more runes revealed themselves in that same pulsing light. Soon enough, however, his muscles tensed up, and what was previously a chill in the air became a nearly unbearable cold. The sorcerer found himself standing before a black globule, suspended in mid air. Without thinking, almost automatically, Nocturne reached out to touch it. In a split second, darkness began to engulf his entire body. Dark, shadowy tendrils wrapped themselves around him, firmly constricting him. He was unable to move, and as the darkness reached his face, he began to suffocate.
Suddenly, Nocturne jolted awake, panting and covered in sweat. He was back in his room. He rubbed his eyes and scanned the room; beams of sunlight were now peering in from the bedside window. Shaken, the sorcerer jumped out of bed and poured out a warm bath. It was just a dream-- but why did it feel like he had physically been there? He could still feel the chill in the air and the jaggedness of the cobblestone underneath his feet.
Nocturne walked out of the bathroom and immediately reached for some ink and parchment on his desk. Almost effortlessly, he was able to reproduce the language he saw carved on the ruin walls: “Light guide your path.”
Whatever this meant, he felt determined to find out. Perhaps his new acquaintances could help.
***
Noct quickly made his way past the busy market street of Raven Port, arriving at the Nest and finding Neeg, his assistant, waiting for him by the entrance. The tall, slender, man calmly stared at a pocket watch as Noct walked up.
“Ah!” Neeg exclaimed. “The game of cat and mouse finally concludes, Mister Vsevel,” he said with a sly smile.
“Morning, Neeg,” Nocturne replied. “Have you been waiting long?”
“Just a few minutes.”
“Great! Let’s go on in and find a spot to talk.”
The two men walked into the Raven’s Nest. It was pleasantly quiet, with Arthoriel cleaning some glasses behind the bar and Riley, Skleeg and Emyr sitting idly by. Riley seemed to be nose deep into a book. Soon, Yorel emerged from the kitchen with a plate of steaming breakfast .
“Food’s ready-- who’s hungry?” She yelled, immediately spotting Nocturne. “Oh, Noct, Neeg, nice of you to join us. Feel free to dig in!”
“Thank you, Yorel,” Nocturne responded, taking a seat at the table next to the group. Neeg joined him.
Yorel placed the food down on the table, prompting Skleeg and Riley to immediately dig in. Emyr was a bit slower, however.
“Emyr, it’s good to see you’re doing well.” Nocturne looked at the blond half-elf and nodded.
“Thank you,” he responded, reaching for a plate. “Yesterday was… less than ideal.”
Emyr still seemed a little shaken by the whole experience. After all, he’d never really seen that kind of action, let alone been hurt to such a degree. He had spent the vast majority of his young life nose buried in books, reading about and practicing magic, but never utilizing it in combat. It was easy to notice that the body beneath his billowy robes was a frail one.
“What matters is that you pulled through, elf boy,” chirped the goblin beside him, mouth full of bread and bacon.
The wizard offered a weak smile. “Yeah. Thanks for what you did, Skleeg.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
The two continued to take in their meals. Before diving into a conversation with Neeg, Nocturne made sure to take care of introductions. The party politely introduced themselves, but quickly shifted their focus back to the food.
“Anyway,” Nocturne interjected, turning to Neeg. “What have you heard?”
Neeg let out a long sigh. “Where to begin?” He gave the table a light tap with his right index finger. “Well, I suppose we should start with the most concerning news.” He cleared his throat. Nocturne listened attentively. “Word has spread across the land that the Elvish princess, heiress to the throne, is dead.”
Nocturne’s eyes widened as the sounds of chewing and clattering utensils came to a halt.
Emyr slowly turned to Nocturne and Neeg, shock written all over his face. The wizard never knew his birth parents and had grown up in Erenor with his adoptive family, but the kingdom of Kaladaar still was of great importance to him, being half of his heritage. More than that, he knew that this tragedy could send the whole Elvish kingdom into disarray. The Kaladaar family and kingdom was matriarchal. Women were born to rule, and though Queen Aenia had a long life yet to live, she only had one brother and a son.
“That means… her son would be next in line, then, right?” Emyr asked, concern plaguing his voice.
“That would be the case, yes…” Neeg paused. “However, in the midst of the event that took his sister’s life, the prince has gone missing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Emyr suddenly stood up, placing both hands on the table.
Riley leaned forward, attempting to make eye contact with Neeg as Emyr blocked her view.
“So, this ‘event’,” she asked, strangely calm. “What exactly was it?”
“This is where the details get a tad fuzzy,” Neeg responded, sliding his spectacles up the bridge of his nose with his middle finger. “As you know, Kaladaar and its people are extremely guarded. It’s a miracle word of the princess’ death even made it this far, but…”
Emyr sat back down as all present, including Arthoriel and Yorel, who were still behind the bar, digested Neeg’s information. “There is word of an attack. Dark, vile, creatures that somehow made it past the elves’ tight defenses,” Neeg continued.
The adventurers exchanged looks with one another as silence took over the room once more.
The tavern remained quiet for about a minute before Emyr spoke up. “If… there’s any chance the attack and the creature Irah saw are connected, then--”
“He might be onto something,” Nocturne interrupted. “We should go to talk to him.” The sorcerer stood up.
Neeg cleared his throat, getting Nocturne’s attention. “Before you do, Mister Vsevel,” he clasped his hands together. “There is one more thing.”
Nocturne slowly sat back down.
“As if we needed any more indication that these events are beyond normal,” Neeg said with a stern look on his face, “there have also been whispers of strange figures roaming around, wearing peculiar black garb.”
“And what are they doing?” Nocturne leaned in.
“Rumor has it they are members of an ancient order of Blood Hunters--”
“Alright.” Riley interjected, rolling her eyes, “Now this is just bullshit.”
Emyr looked back and forth between Neeg and Riley, confused. The rest of the party seemed to share in his confusion. “Wha- Blood Hunters?” he set his eyes on Neeg. “What does that even mean?”
“They’re a myth,” Riley stated. “Tales about men and women that reject their humanity, communing with dark arts to combat monsters by becoming those monsters themselves.” She took a sip of water and placed the glass back on the table. “Nothing more than that,” she concluded.
Neeg nodded. “Your skepticism is valid, Miss Riley,” he replied. “However, given the… oddity of these events, it’s worth looking into.”
“So, these hunters…” Nocturne said. “Where were they last seen?”
“From what I understand, some were last spotted just a town over, in Loth,” Neeg said.
Nocturne looked at Emyr, Skleeg and Riley expectantly. “What do you say?” the sorcerer said, conviction in his tone. “Are you all up for a bit of a longer trek?”
Emyr took a sip of his water, his hand subtly shaking as he raised the glass. After taking a second to calm his nerves, he spoke up. “If it means getting to the bottom of this… I’m in.”
The goblin shrugged. “Might as well,” he said.
The three of them then turned to Riley, who was sitting with her arms folded.
“Riley?” Nocturne stared at the Rogue.
“I have a job to do,” she started, looking back at Nocturne. “It leads me to Loth.”
Skleeg, Emyr and Nocturne all displayed their enthusiasm. They had only seen Riley in action once, but once was enough to know that if they were going into any danger, she would be an asset.
“However,” she quickly exclaimed, taming their eagerness, “we part ways once we arrive in Loth.”
Nocturne nodded. “That works,” he responded. “Just knowing you’ll travel there with us is good enough.”
With that, the party finished their meals and began preparations to journey ahead the following morning. Loth was only a few days away on horseback, but everyone was aware that traveling at night meant making themselves susceptible to gritty encounters with bandits or wildlife. They needed to be prepared to set up camp. Before they could leave town, however, they had a few things to cover. The first stop was visiting Irah. Yorel had taken him to her friend Layla, a doctor who worked independently of the Raven Port clinic. She had been able to take care of his wounds and had provided him a place to rest. From there, Neeg said his farewells to the party and made his way back to work; Nocturne had tasked him with holding down the fort while he was away.
***
The visit to Layla’s was a quick one. The doctor graciously served the party some tea and gave them time to talk to Irah. He seemed to be recovering well, and better yet, he was in much better spirits. This relieved Nocturne, as he was concerned he had been too hard on the man in his desperate attempt to try and understand the situation they had gotten themselves into.
Irah also apologized profusely to Emyr, upon learning about the wounds the wizard had suffered. The group let Irah know about their plans to travel to Loth, in pursuit of the mysterious figures believed to be Blood Hunters. Emyr and Nocturne both reassured him that if the creature he saw was still out there, they were going to do their best to find it.
Before they took off, Irah tugged at Nocturne’s sleeve and uttered words that took the sorcerer by surprise. He hadn’t ever thought of the man as someone who actually cared for anyone at Raven Port. After all, no one in the port town ever took the time to care for him. The words echoed in Nocturne’s mind as he made his way back home to say goodbye to his family: “Please be careful. I wouldn’t ever want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
Nocturne walked up the steps that led to the front door of his family’s home. He almost knocked before remembering that he had a key. It was strange to visit his childhood home. He was not estranged from his family by any means, but his mother had always been aloof, his father busy with notary work, and his sister with her nose buried in her own studies. Nocturne himself had learned to keep busy from a young age, starting out with helping his father with his work, and eventually leading to the founding of his own business.
He walked in, gently closing the door behind him. “Felicity? Father?”
He put the keys back in his satchel and scanned the living room. It was as tidy as ever, with the exception of the sheets of paper scattered about.
“Anyone home?” He yelled out once again.
This time, he heard shuffling coming from the office across the kitchen. A door creaked open, and a man looking over twenty years Nocturne’s senior emerged. He was wearing similar clothes to Nocturne; a vest over a white button down shirt, along with brown pants.
“Nocturne, son,” he said, adjusting his spectacles. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“Father, I’ll be leaving town tomorrow at dawn,” Nocturne replied.
The older man was taken aback. “Oh? To what end?” He slowly paced towards the living room, taking a seat and imploring Nocturne do the same. The sorcerer complied.
“I’ve got business to attend to in Loth. I’ll only be gone for a few days.”
His father nodded, lips puckered.
“I’ve also something to discuss with mother - where is she?” Nocturne kept the conversation flowing. This is how things worked between him and his father. They were concise and to the point, as if both were racing against time. The older Vsevel had slowed down a bit in his old age, however.
“She’s been gone a few days.”
“Typical,” Nocturne stood up, sighing. “Well, if you do see her, let her know I want to talk.”
With that, Nocturne made his way to the front door.
“Noct--” his father’s voice made the sorcerer come to a halt as he opened the door. He looked back at him. He was still seated.
“Be well,” he concluded.
Nocturne nodded firmly. “You as well, father. I will see you soon.”
***
The next morning came all too soon. Emyr, Skleeg and Riley patiently waited for Nocturne at the southern gates of Raven Port. Riley sighed, stretching her arms and shoulders.
“Say, Riley,” Emyr spoke softly. “What should we expect from Loth?”
“A whole lot of nothing,” the rogue replied.
“A-Ah, right,” Emyr faltered. “Well, is there anything interesting to see in town, at least?”
The young wizard knew they had a task at hand, but his eagerness to explore and see new things had not fizzled out, despite the dangers.
“I’ve only been a few times,” Riley counted the number of arrows in her quiver as she spoke. “It’s a shithole - no one really goes there by choice.”
Skleeg peered up at the half-elf woman. “We are,” he said.
She looked down at the goblin. “This is hardly by choice.”
Skleeg let out a chuckle.
“Look alive, adventurers!” Nocturne shouted as he approached the party with two horses and a small carriage. Riley scoffed at the sorcerer’s remark.
Emyr stared at Nocturne in awe. “Where did you get the horses, Mister Nocturne?”
“Ah, a small favor from a friend,” Nocturne replied. “We just need to get them back in one piece.”
“Right,” Emyr chuckled nervously.
“So,” Nocturne smiled at the group. “Who’s taking the reins first?”
“Not it!” Skleeg shouted, already climbing into the back of the carriage. Riley followed Skleeg.
“I’m not well-versed in this sort of thing, Mister Nocturne,” Emyr smiled sheepishly as he backed up towards the carriage. “I leave it in your capable hands.”
“Neither am… I,” Nocturne whispered to himself. He stared at one of the horses. “Well…” He said with a sigh. “It can’t be too difficult.” He gave the horse a pat, causing it to neigh loudly, startling the sorcerer. Nevertheless, he climbed onto the box seat and gently tugged on the reins. It took a moment for him to get comfortable, but soon enough, he commanded the horses with a swift crack of the reins, and they were off. Nocturne looked back for a moment. He felt his heart rate jump as the gates of Raven Port faded from view. “We’ll be back in a few days,” he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath.
It wasn’t long before the sun began to set, and Nocturne felt that familiar chill in the air that came with nightfall on the southeast region of Erenor.
“How much longer do we have?” Emyr whined from the rear of the carriage.
“It hasn’t even been a day, you dimwit,” Skleeg snapped back. The two traded a few more barbs before Nocturne shushed them.
“Quiet down,” he said. “It’s getting dark - we need to find a place to camp.”
Riley peeked her head out the front of the carriage. “Find someplace off-road,” she said. “The deeper we go into the woods, the better.”
Nocturne nodded, directing the horses onto a path that led into the woods. The road to Loth wasn’t the most dangerous in the realm by any means, not compared to the likes of the Forgotten Lands at the center of Aidalon, but there was no such thing as being too careful.
Nocturne brought the horses to a halt as soon as he couldn’t see the roads behind him. “This’ll do!” he said, dismounting.
Riley jumped out of the carriage and scanned their surroundings. “Not bad,” she said, walking up to one of the many trees that surrounded them. “We should be fairly covered by the trees here, but we should keep watch through the night, just in case.”
Emyr emerged from the carriage and stretched his back. “I’ll gather up some wood and start a fire.”
“Good idea, Emyr,” Nocturne replied. “What of you, Skleeg? Are you planning to sleep in there or are you going to help?”
Mumbles were heard from inside the carriage before Skleeg finally jumped out. He had a bedroll under his arm. “What do you want from me, merchant boy?” There was a hint of sourness to the goblin’s tone.
“Well, you could help Riley set up the tent,” Nocturne pointed at the rogue behind him.
“She seems to have that covered,” Skleeg replied.
The sorcerer looked behind him and saw Riley was already done setting the tent up. “Or not.”
Emyr returned with wood and rocks, immediately starting to build a makeshift fire ring. Nocturne lent him a hand, then uttered some words as he extended his arm and opened his palm towards the ring. Sparks materialized, producing a crackling sound as they began to engulf the wood. Emyr gasped as the sorcerer produced fire from nothing. The wizard could’ve done the same, but he most definitely would’ve had to look into his spellbook and find the appropriate materials and incantation. Emyr was smart and talented, but learning spells took an immense amount of work and even more reading. For Nocturne, it seemed to come naturally.
“Mister Nocturne, how long have you been studying magic?” Emyr asked.
“I never have,” Nocturne replied.
Emyr stared at him, perplexed. He had heard of mages with a natural knack for magic, but given how sheltered his life had been, he hadn’t had the chance to interact with many. Those he did meet, like him, had dedicated their lives to reading about and practicing magic. The few human mages he’d met who had come close to mastering specific schools of magic, had spent decades to do so.
“I don’t know how or why, but…” Nocturne paused, staring down at the fire he had created. “It just comes to me.”
“That’s truly fascinating,” Emyr said, the sparks dancing in his eyes.
“Hate to interrupt whatever this is,” Riley snuck up behind them, startling Emyr. “But the goblin is already out. I figure I’ll hit the hay myself. You two mind taking first watch?”
“First watch?” Emyr raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, we’re in the middle of nowhere, wizard,” Riley said. “We need to take turns keeping watch, lest we want to wake up with no supplies, or worse, not wake up at all.”
“U-uh, r-right,” Emyr stuttered, realizing just how dangerous traveling could be. His conversation with Nocturne had almost made him forget entirely.
“Not a problem, Riley,” Nocturne replied. “We’ll take first watch.”
The rogue responded with a firm nod and retired to the small tent she had put together.
Soon, only the crackling of the fire and the nightime sounds of the forest could be heard. It was peaceful, but that peace would be interrupted every time the goblin sleeping a few feet behind Nocturne and Emyr would let out a loud, dry, snore. Emyr couldn’t help but let out a contained chuckle; at least thinking about the absurdity of the situation he found himself in helped calm his nerves. Never in a million years did he think he’d ever leave his hometown, let alone be traveling with a red-skinned goblin.
The young wizard and the sorcerer conversed for a few more hours before Riley woke up and offered to take up watch. Skleeg did not wake up so easily. It took some poking and prodding before he finally came to, furious at the concept that someone would interrupt his slumber. The goblin rubbed his eyes and snarled, grabbing his bedroll and dragging it closer to the fire where Riley was already seated. Riley saw the goblin angrily take a seat from the corner of her eye.
“Didn’t sleep well, I take it?” She asked, while she sharpened one of her daggers.
“Didn’t sleep enough,” Skleeg grumbled.
“Funny, I always thought you goblins were nocturnal.”
“Eh, I’m not like other goblins.”
“You don’t say,” Riley shot him a look, a smirk on her face. The two quieted down again. About an hour went by before they addressed each other once again.
“What about you?” Skleeg looked past the fire at Riley.
“What about me?” She replied plainly.
“I’m not from around these parts but I can tell you’re like a fish outta water,” Skleeg snorted. “Where are you from?”
“I’ve been around,” she said, sheathing the dagger she’d been working on and pulling out the other. “But I guess I grew up in Lintfork.”
“You guess? Whadda ya mean ya guess?”
“Like I said, I’ve been around.”
“Huh,” Skleeg nodded. “So what brought you to Raven Port?”
“Work, mostly.” The sound of steel gritting stone continued.
“Work, eh? What do you do?”
Silence greeted him. Riley stared at the small cleric sitting across from her. “You’re asking an awful lot of questions, goblin.”
Skleeg shrugged. “Just makin’ conversation, that’s--” The goblin stopped abruptly, turning his head away, eyes narrowing.
“You hear that?” he whispered. Riley unsheathed her second dagger, now looking in the same direction as Skleeg.
“Wake the others,” she said, her eyes quickly scanning the woods, attempting to find the source of the noise. As Skleeg stood up, an arrow grazed his cheek, piercing his skin.
“Go!” Riley yelled, prompting Skleeg to quickly run into the tent and shove Nocturne and Emyr awake.
“We’re under attack!” He yelled frantically, “Get up!” He heard more yelling coming from outside. Multiple voices, all male, screaming as they ran towards the campsite.
Nocturne was slow to get up, but Emyr jolted awake. What he feared had come true.
The goblin ran out of the tent, shield and mace in hand. He saw Riley, bow at the ready. The rogue fired one arrow, finding one of the men’s exposed necks and killing him instantly. She quickly fired again, taking down another. Soon, three men reached the campsite, swords drawn. With a bellowing battlecry, one of the men swung his sword at Riley, who just barely managed to drop her bow and duck out of the way. She swiped at his thigh with one of her twin daggers, causing him to buckle, and kicked him out of the way.
Skleeg took a closer look at the men as chaos ensued. He noticed the ragtag, mismatch outfits, scavenged gear, and leather armor patched together shoddily. He had undoubtedly had run ins with these kinds of men before. They were bandits, men who preyed on travelers in search of anything they could loot. The goblin uttered a prayer and extended his hand, aiming at one of the men attacking Riley. Light emanated from his palm, and a yellow bolt made its way to one of the bandits, burning through his armor and quickly dispatching him.
As the man hit the ground, Skleeg noticed an archer about ninety feet away from him, preparing an arrow. Instinctively, the goblin took a knee and raised his wooden shield in front of him, feeling one, two, three arrows dig into it. He lowered his shield just in time to see a firebolt from Nocturne take down the archer. Riley made quick work of the last remaining bandit, knocking him out and promptly tying him to the base of a tree.
It was quiet once again. Nocturne looked around, a concerned look on his face. “Where’s Emyr?” He looked down at Skleeg, who shook his head.
“Emyr!” Nocturne shouted, pacing back to the tent. Riley sheathed her weapons and began searching for the young wizard. One of the horses neighed, prompting Riley and Nocturne to run over to them. There, by the carriage, they found Emyr, cowering in fear. Riley raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the wizard.
“Seriously?” She put her hand on Emyr’s shoulder as he laid face down with his arms over his head. The young half-elf jolted up at her touch.
“Is- Is it over?” He asked, looking up at his two companions. Nocturne sighed as he shook his head, extending his hand towards Emyr.
“It’s over,” he replied with a smile.
***
The party did not get much sleep after the encounter, instead taking time to pack up their belongings before dawn. By the time the sun was rising, they were already back on the road. Nocturne had once again taken over the reins, but this time, Riley joined him up front while Skleeg and Emyr stayed in the carriage.
“You handled yourself well back there,” Nocturne said to Riley, his eyes not veering from the road. “I am glad you came with us.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “You didn’t do so bad yourself.”
The ride was quiet after that exchange. Hours later, just as the morning fog began to clear and the clouds made way for the sun to shine, Nocturne could see the town of Loth in the distance.