Chapter One

In the county of Vale the weather was sunny and warm, which was not uncommon, nor was the serene and quiet atmosphere of its country side. The only thing in site for miles out side of the city of Peora was a single cottage on the edge of the Argon Plains.

In this cottage resided a man. No one really knew much about him. He was very good at making potions, and selling their ingrediants, and sometimes he had a beautiful, silent woman with him, other times a small forest gnome.

But everyone knew he was kind and very friendly. He often went around asking customers for advice or recommendations on what to sell, and always was willing to help fix a potion's ingredient list if it was wrong.

All in all he was a very nice man, if a little strange, but most didn't mind or even comment on it. Everyone had their secrets, after all.

It was also not strange to hear an occasional explosion in the direction of the cottage, or the sight of thick smoke of various colors wafting from its windows and open doors when a potion experiment went wrong.

It was such a morning where the man stumbled out of his study, thick indigo smoke clinging to his large frame.

He let out a series of deep coughs as he tried to clear the fumes out of his lungs.

There came a gentle pat on his back.

"Thanks, Croix," he rasped, his deep voice deeper and sounding raw from his coughing fit.

Delacroix shook her head with a smile. Having been with her friend for as many years as she had, she knew it was useless to scold him to be safer.

'Nahmeh, you really should more careful,' Croix chided gently anyways, her soft voice filling his head.

He looked sideways at Delacroix. Her dark purple hair was in a high pony tail, perfect as always, and fell past her waist. Her black eyes assessed him carefully as she gently rubbed his back. He then looked down at himself. His apron had protected his clothes, well mostly. He was sure the same could not be said of his hair.

Nahmeh let out a wheeze that was probably supossed to be a chuckle. He straightened his hunched shoulders and cleared his throat one last time.

"Thanks. I'll try," he smiled and wiped away the tears that coughing had squeezed out of his eyes.

His hand came back black with soot. He sighed and walked over to the sink behind the counter and made quick work of cleaning his face.

There was a pregnant pause until Delacroix's gentle voice spoke in his head again.

'There was a messanger here a few minutes ago,' she said. 'Its a summons.'

"What? Who from?" Nahmeh asked surprised as he wiped his face with a towel.

"Its from the Council. About the Black Circle..." Croix replied, unsure what else to say.

"The Black Circle? What are they up to this time?" Nahmeh frowned, and put the towel down. He still had a few smudges on his cheek and the tip of his nose.

Croix handed him the letter. Nahmeh took it and read it briefly.

"I see," he said and took off his hat.

He put the letter inside it and then his hands on his hips. "Well they want us there by tomorrow. Apparently we'll get more information once were there."

'You arent going to ignore it this time?' Croix asked, one hand up in a gesture of surprise, a little mocking, Nahmeh was sure.

"Well, it can't be helped. It's a personal request from Freesha after all."

'Ah, thats right! Little Freesha is apart of the Council now. My, time sure does fly...' Croix smiled and fixed the form fitting skirt of her long dress.

Nahmeh smiled with a nod. "Finral," he called, the name followed by a small incantation.

A small gnome with shaggy green hair, green eyes, and dark skin popped into existence.

"Yes, Master?" Finral responded politely. "What may I help you with?"

Nahmeh wanted to chide the gnome for his speech, but he had long given up on changing Finral's formal attitude. It was ingrained in him, unfortunately, and he also saw Nahmeh as some sort of high being that he wasn't meant to be on familiar terms with.

But in any case, "I need you to look after the shop for about a week. I've been called to Peora, but I don't know how long it will take. The Council loves to make a show of things, so it could be a while. Will you be alright by yourself?"

"As a familiar, I am willing and capable to do anything you ask of me, Master!" Finral answered seriously.

Nahmeh was a witch. And against the common practice, he would never make his familiars do anything he wouldn't do himself, or what they felt incapable of doing if the option was available. And although Finral wasn't his familar, exactly, the gnome was a creature of free will and thought. In Nahmeh's eyes the choice was Finral's.

He felt Croix shift beside him and saw her give the gnome a small smile. 'I have no doubt you will be fine. Now, should we get going?' She asked as she turned back to Nahmeh.

The witch nodded his head. After a ruffle of Fin's hair, Nahmeh gestured with his hand.

The thick grimoire on his hip blinked from his belt into his open hand. He turned to the appropriate page and began to draw.

The lines seemed to burn the air like pyrography on wood before they began to pulse rhymically for a few moments.

The magic settled into a clear door outlined by silver thread. Nahmeh grasped the handle and pushed it open.

Without a backward glance Delacroix and Nahmeh walked through the threshold.

The door swung shut behind them and disappeared back into the ether.

All at once the smells and sounds met the two magic users. It was very different then the nature that surrounded them out on the plains.

Croix wrinkled her nose with a frown and was suddenly a sparrow. Her iridescent feathers shifted their colors as she adjusted herself on Nahmeh's shoulder.

"This place sure has grown since the last time we were here, Croix," he said to his friend.

Laughter, arguing, and many different conversations were all going on around them as they stepped out of the alley they were in and out into the wide, open street.

'Yes, it has.'

"Come on, now, Croix. Don't sound so sour," Nahmeh said with a laugh. "It's been awhile since we've been to town, so lets enjoy it while we are here, yes?"

Delacroix let out a defeated sigh. "I suppose it could be fun..."

Nahmeh rubbed the top of her head with the pad of his finger. He knew Croix wasn't a big fan of cities, but Peora was where they needed to be. He really admired her attitude toward it all considering her reasons for her general dislike of the place.

"Let's head to the Council and find out what they want us to do this time, eh?"

When this was all done, he would make sure Delacroix had something nice and shiney to add to her collection at home to show her how much he appreciated her.

Delacroix rubbed her head under his chin and settled down with a hum. Nahmeh smiled at the gesture and began to walk down the street towards the castle where the Council waited for them.