Chapter 1

“To you who have fallen, it is my burden, my duty, to remember you…” Cryo whispers. He closes the eyes of the dead DarkHold cultist and slips the Band of Loyalty off their finger. Thomas and David approach Cryo from behind and flash looks of disgust.

“Erm, why do you keep doing that?” Thomas questions. “You know those rings are evil right?”

Cryo smugly starts, “Yeah, yeah, I know. But it’s not these people’s fault that they wear them.”

“It literally is,” David chuckles.

“Well, it’s not their fault they can’t take them off. Once you don the Band of Loyalty, death becomes an inevitable end. I take these rings to respect the dead, and to signify the lives lost throughout our journey.” Cryo takes out an entire chain of rings and shows the group.

“Soooo…” Thomas starts, “you’re carrying trophies?”

“THESE ARE NOT TROPHIES!!!” Cryo shouts. Thomas has definitely struck a nerve with him. “David, are these trophies?!”

David shrugs in silence.

“Whatever, tell Gnomeo to come out of hiding.”

Thomas blows a deep whistle and a small gnome dressed in archeology garb with pink, frizzy hair jumps out of the bushes.

How can you all be so relaxed?” Gnomeo says as he brushes leaves off of him. “We are less than a day away from Ironfast, be on your guard.”

Thomas picks up Gnomeo, and repeatedly tosses him in the air and catches him like a child. “You’ve complained this whole expedition, we’ve gotten you here, this far, just let us do our job.” Gnomeo keeps silent, as he doesn’t want to incur anymore of Thomas’ bullying.

The party continues on their journey toward Stoneveil’s capital: Ironfast Keep. Ironfast is a militaristic dictatorship that is constantly preparing for war. If it wasn’t for their pressing mission, none of them would dare approach this region.

They camp out a few hours away from Ironfast in order to prepare for whatever trials await them. Cryo regales tales of adventures from before this expedition. Thomas pulls several shrubs out of the ground to use as firewood. David absentmindedly plays with insects in the dirt.

Gnomeo trods away from the fire to rest, and Cryo notices. He attempts to make friendly contact but Thomas stops him.

“Just leave him alone tonight,” Thomas whispers. “He’s been in a stink since we passed through his parents' village.”

Cryo retorts, “I know. That's the very reason why he needs a friend.”

“He doesn’t need a friend, he needs an escort. We’ve come so far, had so many close calls, and now we are on the cusp of delivering him. Don't create an unnecessary attachment. He’s a decoder, nothing else.”

“He's been the subject of ambush after ambush. He is traveling across the continent for ‘secret documents’ that could amount to nothing. There’s no such thing as ‘unnecessary attachments’”

“You live for everyone else. Live for yourself, and allow others to live for themselves. Trust me, there’s nothing more that he wants than to be alone right now.”

“How do you know?”

“Simple. Bard’s intuition.”

Cryo ponders the situation, and eventually submits to Thomas’ pressure. They dim the campfire and rest for the night.

The next morning, the party packs their supplies and makes the last leg of the journey to Ironfast. As they approach the city, they notice how smog fills the sky surrounding it. The skies are dark grey, and the grass is either dead or nonexistent, covered by layers and layers of purple shavings. Any sunlight that pierces through the overcast reflects off the purple flecks that litter the sky.

“Pull up your masks,” Gnomeo starts, “these purple flakes are rust and by-products of weapons manufacturing from the city. This land has been shackled by ash since Vary took over.

“Varys?” David asks.

“Varys is the king, or more so the Absolute General of this country. 15 years ago, Varys became the leader after the ‘Blackmarsh Uprising.’ Stoneveil declared independence from Sunderfall and sought to put an end to all of the experiments and discrimination against smaller races like me.”

“You and your parents were refugees right?” Cryo asks.

“Sort of. I was an instrument of that war. I had the singular task of decoding the enemy’s plans. And… I failed. They preemptively ambushed us, and we faced heavy losses, including Varys’ child. Though, we carried through that battle into victory and Small races like Dwarves, Haflings, and Gnomes were freed from Sunderfall’s subjugation. I am here now to make up for my mistakes. Varys suffered many losses that day. Maybe that's the reason why he still remains vigilant, fated to remain prepared for an enemy that will never come.”

The party gets closer and notices how extremely large, gothic, and imposing the walls that surround the city are. The smog billows from the walls edges, akin to a dark crest, imposing darkness upon the land.

“How do people live here?” Cryo asks.

“They don’t,” Gnomeo replies. “They survive. And speaking of surviving, I need you all to listen carefully. When we enter this city, we are going to head straight for the library. No detours, no lollygagging, and whatever you do, do not head towards the Cathedral! PLEASE!”

“Cathedral you say…” David smugly says.

“The Cathedral Terra is the home of Varys and meeting him is likely instant death. So if you could kindly not do that until after the mission is over.”

“Okay, so everyone lock in,” Cryo proudly states. “This is the Final Boss’ lair and we are walking right into it!”

“CORNY!” Thomas, and David shout as they simultaneously smack the back of Cryo’s head, almost knocking him over. The party slips on their hoods as they approach the city gates. The large gates are adorned in a metallic pattern of a murder of crows, colored by iron stained red. A man sparsely opens the gates, and through the very thin crack, he verifies the parties identities. All of them reveal their Core Drills, pendants of a golden drill with green spirals lining them. They signify that they are part Kai-Gurren, a guild that houses the Summoned, and serve as ways to communicate guild rankings.

“Follow me,” the guard grunts as he signals to open the gates further.

He leads the party further into the sullen city. The streets are covered in smog even thicker than outside the walls. Dozens and dozens of men from many species shovel rust with futility. The markets hold food that shouldn’t be suitable to anyone. The streets are packed with civilians covered in rags, and constant coughing adds to the cacophony of noise that further pollutes the city. Cryo surveys the streets and sees large Watchtowers that constantly blind pedestrians with their searchlights, turning an already dreary sight into a terrifying one. Cryo shivers at the thought of the Summoned landing in Stoneveil instead of Sunspire.

The guard leads them to a building that looks no less decrepit than the market slums. The party begrudgingly walks inside and enters a fairly empty room with nothing but a table littered with leather packets. Gnomeo goes to investigate them, and confirms that they are what they’re there for.

“They haven’t given us much info on what this is, or what the Summoned are,” the guard says, breaking the uneasy silence. “This is supposed to be about the ‘DarkHold threat,’ but what even are the DarkHold?”

“How do you not know about the DarkHold?” Cryo asks.

“Varys keeps a tight lid on outside information. We heard of their existence, but what they are, we have no clue. Most of the guards around here don’t even know that our visitors are Summoned, nonetheless what’s going on outside…”

“I see. The DarkHold is a cult that has thrown the continent of Vespera into chaos. They’ve infiltrated several governments, destroyed cities, cut off supply lines, and held thousands hostage. They do all of this as a protest against us, ‘The Summoned,’ warriors summoned from other worlds to save Vespera from an unknown threat. We are here to decode these messages Stoneveil has intercepted, as it is possible that they might be the key to ending this wa–”

Cryo notices the guard has lost interest. Cryo is used to such reactions.

Gnomeo cuts in, “Hey, I need a little assistance.”

Thomas lumbers towards him. “What do you need?”

“I just need some items that aren't here. I need some lemon juice, a lighter, a magnifying glass, and an assortment of other things.” Gnomeo begins listing down several items.

Thomas snatches the completed list out of Gnomeo’s hands, and asks, “What does gunpowder have to do with decoding?”

“This is why I’m the decoder, and you're the escorter. Now go retrieve these items for me so we can get out of here. I’ll be fine on my own, this guard should be suitable protection.”

Cryo, David, and Thomas give each other a look of acknowledgement. They begin to head out the door as Gnomeo shouts, “Wait!!!” The group pauses. “Please, for the Gods’ sake, do not interact with Varys.” The group gives a wave as they exit the building.

“Don’t worry,” Cryo starts, “we made it this far without slipping up.”