Artuck watched as Mitrax finally descended the ladder, closing the hatch as he went down. He walked over to the hatch and sat a chair on top of it, since Artuck had no clue as to what was about to happen.

Another knock came from the door, this one more impatient than the last.

“Coming!” Artuck shouted as he approached the door. He opened the door to find three soldiers standing outside his door, clad in that typical shining black armor, with its red trim. The setting sun seemed to reflect its light straight into Artuck’s eyes, no matter how he moved. As Artuck looked at the bunch, the gruffest of them spoke first.

“Sir? Sorry to bother you, but you are to be placed under arrest for assisting two fugitives. We’ve talked with eyewitnesses who say that you were there, and ushered the men towards safety, is that correct?” Artuck gave them a confused look. Ah, shit. I knew someone would see me. How did they find my house though? It’s so secluded only the… only the farmer who lives nearby knows. Artuck sighed. They had to. But why? I thought they were trustworthy. Man, two hundred years goes by and you’d think I was a little more cautious as to who I trust. I guess old habits die hard, huh? 

“The farmer down the road informed us of where you lived, though he refused to cooperate at first. He left us no choice but to kill his firstborn child. So please, don’t make this harder than it has to be.” They killed his eldest child? What kind of treachery is that? What kind of scum would slaughter for information? Heh, ironic. Reminds me of those years me and my brothers spent nabbing folks and ‘extracting’ information from them. I guess Haldore hasn’t changed a bit. Regardless, this is my brother’s fight, and I’ll make sure their deaths weren’t in vain, but instead will be revered as some of the greatest warriors Alteran has seen. But for now, I have a job to do. Artuck spoke as plainly as possible, showing as little emotion as possible.

“Then if it is what you want to hear, then yes, I did assist them. But they have since moved on. Said they were heading to Calke,” Artuck looked at the evening light shining off of their armor, and he noticed the boyish looking soldier shifting uncomfortably. Most likely his first assignment. How ironic that his first assignment would be his last. 

“Understood, sir. We’ll dispatch a party to search for them. However, you are still under arrest for conspiring with the enemy. Now, if you’ll please-”

Artuck didn’t let him finish his sentence as he shot a massive pillar of light from his fingertips towards the guards, who all screamed as they were engulfed in burning light.

“NO ONE WILL STAND IN MY WAY! I HAVE A MISSION, AND I SHALL CARRY OUT MY MISSION!” Artuck boomed as the guards were engulfed by the light. As he yelled, Artuck felt the whole house shake from the blast. Don’t come up here, my friends. Stay there. I’ll deal with these scum. 

As quickly as it had started, the light faded away, and all that was left were distorted pieces of metallic armor lying on the ground, smoldering and smoking. There were no traces of the guards who were wearing the armor a moment ago.

Geez, you’d think that after the third time of sending guards to my house they would learn it’d take more than three guards to stop me? Heh, at least Malrik isn’t here to challenge me. That man was quite the thorn in my side.

Artuck brushed his hands off, as if he had dirt on them, and closed the door as he walked inside. He lifted the chair and set it back into place before opening the hatch.

“Did you guys enjoy my craft drinks?” Artuck asked as he descended the ladder. As he hopped off, he saw the group sitting at the table with cards in hand, mugs resting on the table in front of them, and a pile of money in the middle. They all looked towards Artuck as he looked at them. Artuck couldn’t help but laugh at the strange sight he was beholding. A goblin playing cards with two humans and a dragonborn, who towered above them. That wasn’t a sight he was used to seeing. As he stopped laughing, Artuck approached the table.

“Alright, enough games, we’ve got work to do.”

“But Cruu is on a winning streak. Cruu hasn’t lost once yet!”

Mitrax rolled his eyes as Cruu spoke.

“And I’m already down twenty gold. This sucks,” Mitrax laid his cards down on the table as he stood up.

“I’m folding. I got a bad hand anyway,” Mitrax mumbled as he walked towards Artuck. Flim looked at Christol, who Artuck could see a glimmer of confidence in his eyes. Flim chuckled and laid down his hand.

“I’m also folding. Clearly, Christol’s got a better hand than I,” to which Christol nervously chuckled.

“W-What makes you say that, Flim?” Before Christol took out ten more gold and threw it in the middle.

“Raising ten, Cruu.” Cruu immediately took out another ten gold and laid it in the middle. The two laid their cards down, and Christol jumped up from the table in excitement.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! I win! Oh my gods, I haven't won any game in a long time!” Cruu folded his arms and chuckled knowingly.

“Cruu admits, you are a good opponent, Christol. You had Cruu anxious that whole game. Well done, my friend.” Christol scooped up the gold and put it in his money pouch.

“Now that the game’s over, let’s get some work done, eh?” Artuck said, smirking. I knew Christol would win. He’s got that magical luck within him. I hope it pays off down the road, on… more important things. 

Artuck climbed back upstairs, and the rest of the group followed after him. After they all climbed up, Artuck closed the hatch.

“Alright, everyone,” Artuck said, collecting everyone’s attention.

“Our first battle will be right here in Halden. Despite the previous leadership’s workings, Flim, the Black Army had already been in Halden for a long time. So don’t beat yourself up about that. They have been there long before you were even born. Regardless, our task is to flush them out of Halden. Once the city is free from the Black Army’s clutches, we will continue on to Scolt, and so forth and so on. 

“As we do this thing, we must be prepared to face all kinds of strange, irregular things. There are stories of people who have heard voices, seen hallucinations of lost family, and even had to fight their own friends. Please keep your mental state in check and make sure you keep your wits about you as we do this. Understood?” They all nodded, except Flim.

“Fight? I don’t know how to fight.” Artuck smiled at Flim, and he saw Flim calm down a little.

“And that’s alright. During this journey, not only will you learn to fight, but fight well. Well enough to kill that so-called, self proclaimed ‘Invincible Ruler.’ Just know, everyone, that you are Alteran’s last line of defense before they lose all hope. Forever. We will be embodying the very thing the people want: Freedom.”

Cruu cheered, and Mitrax joined in. They gave each other a high five and Christol and Flim simply stood there, giving each other strange looks as the two got excited at the prospect of a battle.

“Hold on one moment, you two,” Artuck said as he pointed to Christol and Flim.

Artuck walked into his room and grabbed two knapsacks before returning to the group and handing the knapsacks to Flim and Christol.

“A new set of belongings for you two. We will not be returning to Halden until Haldore is dead. You’ll find everything you’ll need in these bags. Clothes, food, weapons, survival supplies, a length of rope, a canteen for water, and a sleeping pad.”

“Thank you,” Christol said gratefully, and Flim mumbled his own thanks after.

“So what’s the plan, Artuck?” Mitrax asked, as he took out a book bound in red, lumpy leather from his bag and began reading it.

“The plan is to sneak into the Black Army’s encampment here in Halden, hopefully tonight since we’re all here, and slaughter the commanding officials. Once dead, the recruits here won’t have any idea what to do, and they’ll be easy pickings.”

“Do we have to kill them all?” Christol asked, meekly.

“No, we don’t. If we can convince some to lay down their weapons and return home, then that’s what we’ll do. But some are stubborn and won’t go down without a fight. We must be prepared for anything.”
“Okay.” Christol shifted nervously as he stood there. He’s a good kid. Doesn’t want to have to kill anyone. I like that. But sadly, these guys don’t show mercy. He’ll have to learn that, hopefully without getting hurt in the process. This kid’s got potential. Hopefully Haldore doesn't sway him. Christol seems a bit impressionable at the moment.

“Continuing, once we have liberated Halden, we will move on to Scolt, where we will do the same thing. We’ll liberate that town as well, and so on and so forth. Eventually, I’d like to make my way into the Pointe Forest, as an old friend of mine lives there, and having his help on this journey is crucial.”

“Himrol?” Flim asked.

“I see you read those documents I set out earlier,” Artuck said, chuckling. Flim’s face was flushed with embarrassment.

“But yes, I’d like to have Himrol with us. As a powerful wizard, his help would be wonderful. And make our journey significantly easier. For the time being, at least. Plus, he can try to teach you guys some magic. The more tools at your disposal, the easier this journey will become, after all.”

Mitrax closed his book and looked over to Artuck.

“So when do we get started? Nightfall, you said?” Mitrax was looking more and more excited by the minute.

“Yes. Nightfall. And it seems the time is almost upon us. The sun was setting just a few minutes ago. So let’s go ahead and get ready to go. Everyone has their stuff?”

The group nodded.

“Alright, then let’s go.”

Artuck opened the door, and held it open for the group as they exited and saw the still smoldering empty shells of armor lying on the ground.

“Oh, so that's what the noise was about,” Mitrax said.

“We were wondering if you were okay. We heard screaming and thought it was you.”

Artuck smiled.

“Thank you for caring about my wellbeing, but as you can see, I’m quite alright.”

Artcuk closed the door after everyone had left and began leading the group towards Halden.