A dark figure slipped through the streets of Pavenole, a town full of thieves and killers. The waft of death that lingered among the buildings seemed familiar to the traveler. This time, however, he returned no longer a seeker, but moved with the stride of a victor. Finally, the man found himself at the base of the infamous En’Dir Guild, which had been working its way up the guild ladder as of lately. The building was battered and worn on the outside, but the man knew well that almost all guilds held their true treasures displayed within.
A gruff voice from within the battered doors demanded reason for the stranger’s presence.
“I seek audience with the leader…” the traveler explained in a slow, confident voice.
“The master is not in at the time being,” the guard within replied.
The man took note of this, switching his balance to his left foot when he heard the click of a readied crossbow in the vicinity. “Then let me speak with whoever is in charge as of right now before I find that crossbow and shove it down your throat,” the stranger threatened, disappointed in the poor defenses.
He could hear the guard shuffle nervously within. He finally agreed, opening the battered doors to reveal a colorful room. As the stranger stepped inside, he pulled the cowl of his cloak close to block his face from the lighted room. He quickly looked over the guard, who was a heavy built man with a scar running down his jaw.
The guard took note of the worn outfit of the stranger, which seemed so odd in the presence of the man’s glimmering scimitar strapped to his right hip and a devilish looking sword sheathed in a tight, secure scabbard on his left hip. A quick, daring bend of the stranger’s head towards the guard caused him to tense up. The stranger chuckled and moved on.
A woman with a not-so-concealing outfit met the stranger in the room ahead. She had a morning star strapped to her side. Her auburn hair was long and tied in several strands, which held glimmering stones within them. Narrow, yellow eyes met the stranger’s as she glared at him. “You wish to talk to the temporary leader?” she hissed. A quick nod of the stranger had the woman spinning on her heels to lead him up a flight of stairs.
After moving about several chambers, the stranger and guide reached a circular room with two massive doors, which were guarded by two tall, skinny men wielding heavy crossbows. The guide whispered something to one of the guards, who knocked on the door and peeked inside. The second guard looked over at the stranger suspiciously, but huffed and looked away when the stranger coughed knowingly.
Within the room, a man paced back and forth. He had dirty-blonde hair that was cut short along with hardened blue eyes. A magnificent falchion was strapped across his back.
“Roik, sir, someone seeks audience with you,” the guard informed.
The man turned a weary eye on the guard and waved him away. “I’m rather busy…tell them to return later if they need to speak with me.”
The traveler slipped past the guard, who snapped up a heavy crossbow in retaliation. A rock spun into the nose of the crossbow, knocking it upward as the bolt misfired and stuck into the ceiling harmlessly. The stranger’s poor traveling cloak slowly drifted back into place. Roik held up a hand to halt the two combatants.
“That’s enough…you may leave us,” Roik said with a sigh, waving the guard away. When at last the two were alone, Roik turned towards the intruder with a raised brow. “Quite the audacious one, eh?”
“Really now? I see things exactly the opposite,” the stranger said, taking a quick step towards Roik.
“You were adamant in seeing me…so make your business,” Roik stated wearily.
The stranger began to meander about the room, inspecting all of the items within. He touched a few, picking some up and casually dropping them back in place, which caused Roik to flinch every time. Finally, the temporary leader had enough and intercepted the man before reaching his desk. “What do you want?”
Seemingly disappointed, the traveler slowly retracted his curious fingers under his cloak. Suddenly, he threw off his cloak, revealing a lean, muscular figure below. His clothing was tattered and had bandages on his left hand and right foot. His black hair was short and un kept, which seemed to match with his pure black pupils. Most prominent, however, were the multiple scars covering the man’s face, the worst being a gruesome scar running from one ear to the other, giving the man the appearance of an eternal grin.
Roik seemed stunned by man’s appearance, but no recognition struck him. Seeing that his identity was yet revealed, the man looked about the room until he came across a decorative mask on the wall. Slowly, he plucked it from the wall and put it on. As he spun around, Roik instantly fell to his knees.
“M-master En’Dir! You have returned! Excuse me for the rude introduction…but we had no idea it was you!” Roik said, surprised. “How have you been, Voyse?”
Voyse quickly removed the mask and dropped it on the ground. “Do not worry yourself. I was merely testing to see if you had forgotten me or not. It seems you haven’t taken full ownership of the guild, which is good, not to mention you’ve kept it up productively. I’m impressed.”
“O-of course, Voyse. How was your journey?” Roik asked, regaining his composure and returning to his feet.
“A bother…” Voyse said, rubbing his chin. “Did you find anything on the Adept’s Stone while I was gone?”
“Well…not too awful much. Last we heard, the stone was at Tier Bastion, but that’s about it. However, while looking up information on the Adept’s Stone, we came across something that you might fight very interesting!” Roik said, suddenly remembering something. He rushed to the single desk in the room and pulled out a dated book from under some stationary. He tossed the book at Voyse, who opened it on the marked page.
“What is this?” Voyse asked, hardly wanting to take the time to read the entire page.
“There is a second artifact…one that controls the Adept’s Stone,” Roik said, beaming with pride for the finding of this information.
Voyse’s eyes widened in surprise, instantly going down to the scripture to read every word. When he was done, he closed the book and chuckled. “Things just got much, much better…”
“But…without the Adept’s Stone, it’s kind of pointless to have the second artifact, no?” Roik asked.
