"Thank Pelor," he said as he stood at last to embrace his friend.
Jozan rose and returned the welcome.
Breaking away, Regdar hopped a bit on his injured leg, squatting to test it. Satisfied, he headed for the door and motioned Jozan to follow.
"Hungry?" he asked. "The least I can do is buy you a good breakfast while we catch up."
Jozan stayed put. "I'm afraid I don't have time. I'm on urgent business." The cleric took a deep breath. "I'm only passing through briefly."
Regdar stopped and turned around. "Oh." He scratched his head, then stepped back toward the cleric. "Do you need my help?"
Jozan smiled. "Not this time, but thanks for the offer."
Regdar shrugged. "If you didn't come to catch up and you don't need my help, then what did you come to New Koratia for?"
Jozan looked to the ground. "I came-" He hesitated. "I came to tell you about a rumor I heard."
Regdar laughed. "You came all this way to spread gossip?" He stepped up and put his hand on the cleric's forehead. "Maybe it's you who needs healing magic."
Jozan grimaced. "No." He took a deep breath. "I came because I heard word of Naull."
Regdar's eyes narrowed, and he glared at his friend. "Did the duke put you up to this?"
Jozan shook his head. "No, Regdar, he didn't, and I would suspect, judging from what I heard of your conversation, that he wouldn't be happy to know what I'm about to tell you."
Regdar shrugged that away. "What is it then?"
"I've heard that Naull may be alive."
Regdar waved his hands in the air unsteadily. "I saw her disappear into the Elemental Plane of Fire with my own eyes." He turned around and stepped away from the cleric. "She's dead, Jozan. Dead, and I couldn't stop it from happening." Regdar spun on his friend. "Your spreading rumors isn't going to bring her back or-" he gritted his teeth-"make me feel any better about losing her!" He shouted the last word through grinding teeth.
Jozan nodded. "I know, I know, but I'm your friend, Regdar. I wouldn't come to you with news like this unless I were absolutely certain it's reliable."
Regdar blinked. "How do you know this?"
"Two weeks ago, I encountered a group of missionaries who came to the temple for the night. They told me about a slave caravan they encountered-"
"Slave caravan?" Regdar scoffed. "How would missionaries even know a slave from a slave trader? Besides, what are the odds that they'd know Naull?"
Jozan sighed. "That's precisely why I'm here, Regdar." He looked the big fighter in the eye. "One of the men claimed he used to sell apples to an old wizard named Larktiss Dathiendt."
"Naull's mentor?"
"Yes." The cleric nodded. "The same wizard Naull told us stories about when we first met her."
"And this man, this missionary, he'd met Naull before?"
"Referred to her by name, Regdar."
The big fighter scratched his chin. "He has to be mistaken."
"I consulted with Pelor." Jozan pressed his lips together. "Our savior, the god of the sun, gave me a vision-a very strong indication that this rumor is true," persuaded the cleric.
Regdar blinked again. "And you're sure about all this?"
Jozan nodded. "As sure as I am in the power of Pelor that healed your wounds."
Regdar put his forehead in his hand. "You mean she's been alive all this time…" His words slowly trailed off. "If she's alive I should have been looking for her. What must she be enduring right now?" He shook his head and rubbed his temples. "No, no. I saw the City of Fire…I saw it disappear…This just can't be true." He looked up.
Jozan nodded.
Regdar leaped to his feet. "It doesn't matter. Dead or alive, I've waited too long to find out for myself." He clasped Jozan on the arm. "It will be good to have your company again, my friend."
Jozan grimaced and shook his head. "I can't accompany you, Regdar. As I said, I'm on a quest of my own."
"But I'll need help!"
Jozan cut him off with a stern look. "I'm straining my leave from the church as it is, coming here to tell you what I know."
Regdar took a deep breath and looked around the room. It was empty. He turned his attention back to the cleric.
"I understand."
Jozan reached into his pouch and pulled out a rolled parchment. "This is a map of the Marsh of Haelor, at the base of Mt. Fear."
"To the east?"
"Precisely." Jozan handed the parchment to Regdar. "You will find a mark in the woodlands at the base of the mountain. That is where I believe the caravan was headed."
Regdar took the map and shook his head solemnly. "Thank you, my friend." He clasped Jozan's arm.
The cleric nodded. "I do not know who holds her, Regdar. Be careful, and may Pelor's light guide you when the road becomes dark."
4
Duke Christo Ramas sat behind his large, cherrywood desk, reading statements from the royal treasury. Two hundred years ago, this very desk belonged to Duke Mikale Ochs, a bloodthirsty tyrant who ruled his duchy with an iron fist. Eventually, his military officers staged a coup, and the duke was stoned to death in the main square of Old Koratia by angry peasants.
Duke Ramas hoped the same fate didn't await him. He dipped his quill in ink and signed a document giving the soldiers a small pay raise.
A knock came at the door to his study.
The duke blew on the fresh ink and put his quill back in its pot. "Enter."
A pasty, hunched-over man in ornate, magenta robes with golden pinstriping came through the door. He bowed.
"Captain Regdar is here to see you."
The duke looked up from his desk. "Regdar, eh. Send him in."
"Very good, my lord." The hunched man bowed again and exited.
A moment later, the door swung open wider, and Regdar stepped across the threshold. He dropped to one knee.
"Rise, Captain," said the duke, standing behind his desk. "Come in."
Regdar stood up, closed the heavy wooden door behind him, and stepped farther into the room.
"I suspect your conversation with the good cleric went well."
"Yes, sir, it did."
The duke smiled. "And I also suspect you've come to tell me he talked some sense into that fool head of yours." He chuckled.
"Not exactly, sir," replied the big fighter.
The duke stopped laughing.
Regdar puffed himself up to his full height and stood at perfect attention. "I've come to resign my commission, sir."
Duke Ramas strode around his desk and leaned back against its front edge. "Now, son, I realize I was a little hard on you today, but-"
"No, sir," interrupted Regdar. "I believe you were entirely fair and honest with me."
The duke shook his head, confused. "Then what is this all about?"
Regdar glanced down, looking uncomfortable. "It's about Naull, sir. I believe she's still alive."
Duke Ramas pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you wish to resign your commission so you can go find her, is that it?"
"Yes, sir."
The duke pounded his fist on the desk. "And what am I supposed to do when these black-armored soldiers come marching on New Koratia again? I need you here, Regdar, now more than ever."
Regdar nodded.
The duke was frustrated. "These things I've been saying to you, these talks we've been having aren't just about you being more careful, they're about you learning how to take larger responsibility."
"Yes, sir, I know," replied Regdar. "Now I have a responsibility to myself to find out if the woman I love is still alive." He stepped closer to the duke. "This is something I have to do. You have plenty of capable soldiers who can defend New Koratia while I'm gone, and when I return-"
"Your duty is to this duchy, Captain Regdar," interrupted the duke, standing up to his full height and stepping up to look the big fighter in the eye. "If you leave now, don't ever show your face in my territory again, or you will be hanged from a gallows for abandoning your post. Do I make myself clear?"