by Jamie Davis
It was Hal’s first time not flying back in the coach cabin of the plane. After Barry passed by, hall took a moment and enjoyed perusing the amenities afforded to the business class travelers up front. The flight attendant brought him a drink while everyone else got situated.
The rear of the seat in front of him had a small viewing screen that offered a selection of inflight entertainment and Hal started scrolling through his options with a finger. He found his favorite TV sitcom and decided to enjoy a few of his favorite episodes for the flight. After all, Tildi had said to get on his flight and she’d take care of the rest. He had a few hours to kill until he got to the mountain retreat outside of Denver. Hal assumed that was where she’d open a portal or something to take him back to Fantasma.
As the plane taxied down the runway and began to take off, Hal plugged in his earbuds to the seat's headphone jack and settled back to watch some TV. He reached forward and tapped the play button on the touchscreen to start the video.
The screen in front of him went black, then flashed to a complex strobing pattern of white and colored panels forcing Hal's eyes to lock on the view screen. His vision began to bend at the edges and he began to feel like he was falling, as if he were spinning through the air backwards.
Hal realized he’d never make it to Denver after all, and he wondered what the other passengers would think. Would he disappear completely or did his body remain in place in a sort of suspended animation? Hal would have to ask Tildi when he saw her next…
Hal groaned and opened his eyes. He stared up at some sort of tent stretched out over him. He was laying on his back and it was dark. It took him a moment of looking around for Hal to realize it wasn’t a tent. He was lying in a comfortable canopy bed. The room’s stone walls were covered here and there with tapestries. A wooden wardrobe stood along one wall and a pair of chairs sat on either side of a small table.
On one of the chairs, Hal spotted a familiar black outfit folded and waiting for him. His leather pants, and white linen shirt were there, along with his boots, leather breast plate and even his twin daggers and double brace of eight throwing knives. His worn leather backpack hung on the back of the chair.
Recognizing his armor and gear set him at ease for the moment. He had to admit, this was a lot better than waking up in an alley like he did the last time he came to Fantasma. Out of habit, Hal opened up his stats menu and checked back on his attributes and other character information. It had been a while since he’d looked over his listed abilities.
The glowing gold letters scrolled past his eyes as he scanned the numbers.
Name: Hal Dix
Class: Rogue
Level: 11
Attributes:
Brawn: 16 — +4
Wisdom: 8
Luck: 24 — +8
Speed: 14 — +3
Looks: 8
Health: 88/88
Skills: Taunt - 2, Dark Vision, Acrobatic Dodge - 6, Hide in Shadows - 2, Sneak Attack - 5, Open Locks - 2, Find/Remove Traps.
Master Thief skills - Instant Kill (land an attack while engaging this skill and instantly kill the target). Detect Lies (detect if someone is lying for a period of five minutes once per day).
Experience: 142,600/250,000
The door opened and Hal dismissed his stats so he could see who came it. It was a liveried servant, their tunic emblazoned with the crest of the Duke of Tandon. Hal was in Duke Korran’s palace.
“Ah, Master Hal,” the servant said when he saw Hal staring at him. “The Duke asked me to check on you. It is good to see you’re awake.”
The servant bustled over to the curtained windows and flung them open, flooding the room with bright sunlight.
“What time is it?” Hal asked, shielding his eyes from the sudden glare.
“It’s nearly midday, sir. The Duke and Duchess will be taking their lunch soon if you’d like to join them. His Grace wasn’t sure you’d be feeling up to it after your ordeal.”
“What ordeal? I feel fine,” Hal said.
“You were found in an alley down by the Harbor district,” the servant said, pouring water from a pitcher into the wash basin on the table. “You were unconscious and wearing strange clothing. Luckily, a passerby recognized you and summoned the guard. They brought you here to the palace. The Duke’s physician proclaimed you were only asleep and to allow you time to awaken on your own.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“You were carried in here late yesterday afternoon. I helped undress you myself. The Duke had your things fetched from the armory. He kept them there should you return someday to claim them.”
“Good thing, I guess,” Hal said. He checked under the covers. Yep, he was naked. “Would you let the Duke and Duchess know I’ll be right down to lunch as soon as I clean up a bit and get dressed?”
“I would be happy to, sir. Would you like assistance dressing?” The man asked.
“No, uh, I think I can manage myself, thank you. Tell his Grace I’ll be right there.”
“Of course, sir. If you need anything, another servant will be close by. Just call and one of us will attend you.”
The man gave Hal a deep bow and rushed from the room.
Once the servant was gone, Hal jumped out of bed and began dressing. He had to admit it felt good to don the old gear again. He had practically lived in that outfit six months before on his last visit to the city. He and Kay had freed the city from the Emperor’s Wardens, killing each one in turn until Korran, captain of the royal guard, stepped forward to take the place of the former Duke.
Hal stood by the window while he buckled on his leather breast plate. The city below looked good from what he could see. The harbor was full of merchant ships, a good sign of a healthy economy. The streets he could see seemed filled with people going about their work. All seemed well in the city of Tandon.
Attaching the throwing knives in their leather scabbards to the front of his breast plate, Hal wrapped the belt with its pouches and two sheathed daggers around his waist. Finally, he pulled the long black cloak across his shoulders, clipping the cloak’s brass clips to the shoulder buckles of his breast plate. The black fabric hung down to just above his heels. The broad hood lay back at his neck.
Not for the first time, Hal wished he had a mirror to check out his appearance. He was pretty sure he looked totally badass. He was a Master Thief after all. He had to look the part.
Hal checked his inventory as he picked up his backpack.
Leather Pants
Cotton Shirt
Leather Boots
All-Weather Cloak
Studded Leather Armor (+2 to defense)
Bracers of Fire Resistance (+2 to save vs. fire spells and effects)
Steel Dagger (x2)
Throwing Knives (8)(+1 to attack/damage)
Leather Backpack
Flint and Steel
Wet Stone
Lock Picks
Climbing Grapnel
Sturdy Rope
Healing Potion
Hal walked to the door and poked his head out. A young servant standing across the hall snapped to attention.
“How may I help you, sir?”
“I’m dressed,” Hal said. “I suppose it’s time for lunch? I’m famished.”
“Yes, sir,” the boy said. “Follow me, sir.”
The boy kept stealing glances over his shoulder at Hal, awe showing on his face each time.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Hal asked.
“You’re The Hood, ain’t you!?. I’ve heard all about you and how you saved the city and the Duke and Duchess!”
“I suppose that’s me, but I didn’t do it alone. Others helped along the way,” Hal said.
“Oh, yes, Lady Kareena, known a Kay on the streets. I know her, too,” the boy said. “She stayed here in the palace for a time after your disappearance. She left the city at the behest of His Grace.”
“Just out of curiosity, boy, how long have I been gone fr
om Tandon?” Hal asked.
“It has to be over two years now.” The boy scratched his head as he walked. “I hadn’t started working here in the palace yet and I’ve been here two years next month.”
Two years, Hal thought. That’s a long time. A lot could happen in that time frame.
“How long has Lady Kay been gone to the east?” Hal asked.
“Nearly a year since she left, sir. It was just after the winter solstice feast last year. I was serving the Duke after supper when she made her request to seek out her family.”
“The Duke and Duchess offered her whatever support she needed,” the boy continued. “They outfitted her with a caravan to the east and guards to get her through the barren lands between here and the eastern cities.”
“And that was a year ago? And no one has heard from her since?”
“Not that I know of, but I’m not privy to the information the Duke receives from the eastern cities,” the boy replied. “They are still under the Emperor’s control and not much filters back here from that far away.”
The lad stopped at a pair of double doors. “This is the Duke’s private dining chamber. He’s expecting you.”
The boy pulled the door open and bowed as Hal walked past him into the room. There was a twenty-foot long table with chairs lining both sides in the center of the long room. At the far end, Hal spotted the Duke and Duchess. A group of servants hustled about to bring out food and drinks for the meal.
“Hal Dix,” Duke Koran exclaimed as Hal sauntered in. “Come here and let me see you.”
Hal strode across the room and stopped with a low bow to the Duke and his Lady.
“Your Grace, I understand I have you to thank for the restful hospitality after my untimely arrival in your city,” Hal said.
“Please, we’re in private. Call us by our names. We were both very concerned when the sergeant of the guard announced you’d been found in the Harbor District, unconscious and alone.”
“Very well, Korran and Olivia,” Hal said. “Thank you for taking care of me until I awakened this morning.”
“It was the least we could do, Hal,” Olivia, the Duchess, said. “You did so much for both of us in freeing the city. Please sit down and eat something with us. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“I am at that,” Hal said. He slid into a chair to Korran’s right. Olivia sat across from Hal on the Duke’s left.
“I have two questions for you Hal, if you will deign to answer them,” Korran said as Hal dished up some meat and vegetables from the platter in front of him.
“Of course,” Hal said. “I have no secrets from you.” Hal took a roll from the platter in front of him and slathered some fresh butter on the warm bread before taking a bite.
“Why did you leave us so suddenly two years ago?” Korran asked. “No one saw you leave the palace by any gate or even by the secret passage in my quarters.”
Hal finished his bite of bread while he thought about his answer. He’d never hidden the fact that he was from a far-away land, brought here by a strange mage across a great distance.
“I’m sorry for that, Korran. It was not my intention to leave without saying goodbye. I was eating at the feast you threw to celebrate taking back the city. I looked up and thought I recognized the mage who sent me here. I had to catch up with her and raced down a passage from the great hall. It was there she cast a spell on me and began to return me to my home, to my wife and daughter. I had no chance to do anything but go with her.”
“I wondered if it might be something like that,” Korran said. “We searched the whole city for you, even offering a reward. Imagine my surprise when someone came forward to claim that reward yesterday, saying they found you in an alley wearing strange clothes and unconscious.”
“Yes, well, I discovered I was returning suddenly, without a chance to pack or prepare for the trip,” Hal said.
“Why did you return, Hal?” Olivia asked. “Is there some danger to the city? Have you returned to help us again?”
“I’m not aware of a specific danger, Olivia,” Hal said. “I encountered the strange mage again in my home land. She told me only that Kay was in some danger to the east and she’d only survive if I returned to find her.”
“I thought your reappearance was too timely to be a coincidence,” Korran said. “Kay left for the east to seek out her missing siblings. I asked her to send back reports of things she saw there, to help us and the other free cities in the west to prepare if there was to be a new invasion.”
“How long has it been since you’ve heard from her?” Hal asked.
“The last message I received was dated six months ago,” Korran said. “It took nearly two months to arrive and I’ve heard nothing since. I usually received monthly reports so it is concerning that we’ve received nothing else in the last four months.”
“That matches up with what I was told before I came. Did you send anyone to look for her?” Hal asked.
“There was no one I could send. I asked each of the caravan leaders who arrived from eastward lands if they had any word from her but none of them heard anything. She usually sought them out when they arrived in a city. She would give them a sealed message and a sum of gold to deliver it. As far as I can tell, she’s approached no one since the last message arrived.”
“What kind of information was she passing back to you, Korran?” Hal asked.
“Her last two messages talked of a new army rising in the east under the Emperor’s leading noble, Baron Norak. The final message said she was going to try and locate the source of the rumors in the great city of Hyroth where this new army was basing its operations.”
“Great,” Hal said. “So, Kay was looking for the source of this army when she disappeared. Now all we know is that she was in some vast city in the east. That’s all rather vague.”
“Did you think it would be a simple matter to find her, Hal? Grand quests like this are seldom easy. You sound surprised,” Korran said.
“No, not surprised. I suppose it could be worse. The army could be led by someone named Vader.”
“Is this Vader a dangerous war lord where you come from?” Olivia asked.
“Something like that,” Hal said, opting not to explain movies to them.
“I suppose I’m should head east and see what I can find out. If I can slip into this city of Hyroth, I should be able to get to the bottom of this.”
“You must be careful, Hal,” Korran said. “The eastern cities have been under Imperial rule for far longer than places like Tandon. They will not rise up and overthrow the Emperor like the folk here did. You will have to come up with a different way to accomplish your mission.”
“When does the next caravan leave heading east?” Hal asked. “That is the one I want to travel with. I can’t waste more time here than necessary.”
“I will check but I believe one will leave within a few days. No more than a week, I’m sure,” Korran said.
“Then I should prepare myself while you find out when it leaves.” Hal said, finishing his wine and sopping up the last of the meal’s juices from his plate with a final piece of his dinner roll. “I will have to visit Colin at the Caravansary Outfitters once we know when it leaves. In the meantime, I think I should, if possible, see the final messages sent back by Kay.”
“Of course,” Korran said. “I’ll have copies of her missives sent to your room for you to look over. Perhaps you can glean some additional meaning from them that I could not.”
“I’ll see what they say and get back to you at dinner,” Hal said.
He bowed to his hosts and left the private dining room.
4
A servant led Hal to a private library near the Duke’s personal chambers. Inside, he was shown a box holding the communications from Kay. Hal decided to start at the beginning and read the notes in chronological order.
Kay’s initial letters talked of increasing rumors about a new Imperial army being trained somewhere near Hyroth. She told the Duke s
he was going to procure passage with a caravan to that city and begin her search in earnest there. Kay also mentioned that there was evidence her siblings may have passed through Hyroth as well in the hands of imperial slave traders. She was happy to be able to track both trails at once.
Subsequent letters detailed the trip but contained no further information. That changed with her final letter. It was the only letter sent from Hyroth. She related a story of press gangs scouring the city at night, scooping up drunken caravan guards and travelers. Kay said most of the disappearances happened in or near the caravan district of the city and she was going to investigate. It was rumored they were captured for something called “the arena,” whatever that was.
The last item in the box was a short note from a local caravan merchant. He said that Kay had disappeared in Hyroth and there was no trace of her remaining there. The merchant, a man by the name of Flemming Ginty, said he would continue to make polite inquiries as to Kay’s whereabouts but he didn’t hold out much hope. He suspected she had left the city.
Hal sat back in his chair and thought about what Kay had discovered. It was possible she had tried to get swept up in one of the press gangs to find out what was going on with the missing guards and travelers in the city. If so, she could be undercover and unable to get word out if she needed help or rescuing.
He was lost in thought about it and almost didn’t hear the floorboard creaking behind him. Hal barely got his hand up in front of his neck, stopping the thin rope garrote from crushing his windpipe.
The would-be assassin yanked him backward out of the chair, trying to choke him with the cord twisting and tightening behind his neck. Hal tried to cry out but even with his hand in the way, the garrote was surprisingly effective at cutting off his air supply.
Hal had to think fast before the assassin tried another approach to killing him. He pulled a knife free from the sheaths on his breastplate and, holding it in a reverse grip, stabbed backward at his attacker.