1: Arrival

The sun shone down on the city of Haredil as the small group rounded the crest of the hill. The white towers and copper domes and minarets glittered in the light, welcoming them back after their long journey. The last few weeks had been exhilarating, dangerous, as they had probed lost catacombs in search of treasure, fending off monsters and evil spirits to gain their prize. And a good haul it had been, too, the coins now loading down their saddle bags.

Almandar looked around at his companions, staunch comrades in the battles they had faced, and many more beforehand. Lady Tarissa was the leader of the group, despite her foreign origins. Born to aristocracy somewhere to the south, she looked nothing like the nobles of Haredil or its neighbouring cities. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was now free of her helmet, and her pale lips formed a smile as she saw the city ahead. The paladin might be an exile, but Haredil had become a home for her, too over the past few years. With the dust of the journey, and the heat of past battles, only her regal bearing now marked out her high born ancestry, but once they returned, there was no doubt that she would be able to move amongst the nobility once again, her knowledge of etiquette making her ideal as spokeswomen for the group.

Where Lady Tarissa was muscular and heavily armoured, Almandar’s fellow magician, Calleslyn, was willowy, armed only with a dagger tucked into her belt. She was wearing travelling clothes now, of course, but by tomorrow, she would, he knew, be dressed in rich robes that only complemented her beauty more. As pale and blonde as Tarissa, her hair was long, currently tied back into a long pony tail to reveal the high points of her ears. She had lived among the forests of the southern island for much of her life, which perhaps explained her mixed expression as the city approached. She looked, Almandar thought, calm and relaxed. Perhaps for her, as an elf, this was just the end of another journey, a pause between travels, rather than a true homecoming.