Blood bubbled from the guard’s mouth as the man in the dark robes pulled the blade from his stomach. With a wet gurgle, he crumpled to the forest floor.

  “Anyone else?”

  The robed man glanced over at his companions. The other two border guards lay sprawled on the ground, the blood seeping from their wounds into the sandy soil beneath them, staining it black.

  “I think we have this all wrapped up, K’ale,” Aralyn replied, wiping her blade in the grass.

  “How long do we have before another patrol comes through?” K’ale stooped and absently emptied the man’s coin purse.

  He motioned for the others to do the same. It was hard to make a murder look like a robbery if you didn’t steal from the victim, after all.

  “I’d say we have almost 45 minutes. Their patrols in this area are very light, they rely far too heavily on the mountains to protect them.”

  “Well, that is why we are out here in the middle of bloody nowhere in the first place, isn’t it?” K’ale kicked one of the guards, rolling him onto his back; he took the ornate dagger from the man’s belt and slipped it into his own. It looked like an old family heirloom and could probably fetch him a decent amount of coin back in town. No sense leaving it behind.

  “Alright, let’s get moving. We have a rendezvous to make.”

  As K’ale and his people broke through the woods and reached the clearing by the lake, he saw that their targets were already waiting for them. Three men and one woman, heavily robed with hoods drawn over their faces, stood in the clearing. Their leader, a short man with the salt and pepper hair, stepped forward pushing back his hood.

  “You are late,” the man tossed a sack of gold coins down to the ground between them.

  Without saying a word, K’ale bent and retrieved the bag. He counted the coins carefully, 26 gold pieces, and 3 copper pieces and one small emerald. He looked up,

  “The payment is insufficient,” he intoned calmly.

  “Allow me to offer more compensation,” the older man removed the sapphire ring from his finger and tossed it to K’ale.

  He inspected the ring briefly. Satisfied, he put it in his pocket. The prearranged signals had been completed successfully; the correct number of coins and gems were delivered, and the response to his scripted complaint had been correct. K’ale was satisfied this was his contact, which meant that they could get down to business.

  “V’arret, I presume?”

  The man nodded,

  “And how should I address you, Scorpion?”

  “K’ale will be fine,” he replied. “Sorry for the delay. We had some vermin to exterminate on the way.”

  “Exterminate?” V’arret raised an eyebrow. “Was that wise? We are trying to keep a low profile here.”

  “A couple of border guards killed and robbed? No one will even notice. It happens all the time in these woods. This is lawless country,” K’ale chuckled. “More importantly, we had no choice. You were picked up by long distance surveillance as you approached the border. The patrol we took out had been dispatched specifically to find you.”

  “That is… unfortunate. Does this complicate our entry?”

  “Nah,” K’ale laughed. “The government does not have effective control of the border out here. If we move now, we won’t have problem. Are you ready to go immediately?”

  “Of course,” V’arret signalled to his crew, and they followed K’ale and his Scorpions out of the clearing and back into the deep woods.

  K’ale instructed his people to fall back and guard the rear, while he walked up front with V’arret. Though frankly, he would rather have guarded a flank. He disliked travelling so closely with mages; they had a strange, unnatural manner about them that always set his teeth on edge. But he was the leader of this expedition, so it was his responsibility to brief their newly acquired companions, and K’ale was not one to shirk his duty.

  “Where is the target located?” V’arret asked.

  “Well,” K’ale hesitated. “We do not… precisely know at the moment.”

  “What!?” V’arret froze in his tracks and spun to face K’ale. “How is that possible? I was told you had surveillance on them! How could you lose them?”

  “Calm down. We have this completely under control.”

  “Under control?” V’arret snorted. “If it weren’t for the incompetence of your people, I wouldn’t even need to be here. Forgive me if I don’t just trust your word that it is under control.”

  “Incompetence?” K’ale bristled, gritting his teeth.

  “Well, what would you call it, exactly?”

  “This wasn’t my assignment until recently,” K’ale sniffed.

  “Fine. Then how about you explain to me what happened, so that I can revel in your competence,” V’arret sneered.

  K’ale sighed but grudgingly explained.

  “We had traced the targets to the royal palace at Telvanar, but of course, infiltrating the palace was not feasible. We set up surveillance and waited for them to leave so that we could grab the girl. A short time ago, that chance arose; the three subjects left Telvanar and headed north. However, by that time, our Master had given us strict orders that we were to wait and rendezvous with you and your team before proceeding in this matter. So, we left a scout tailing them and rerouted to make the meeting here. Unfortunately, the last time we got word from our scout, he told us he had lost them.”

  “How?”

  “They went up into the mountains. The terrain was rough, the sightlines were poor, and my man lost them at a pass somewhere. He backtracked but couldn’t find their trail again.”

  “Now, I assume you are getting to the part where this is under control?” V’arret muttered.

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” K’ale retorted. “That part of the mountains, this time of year, there are only three viable routes back down. As of right now, they are all being monitored. The moment the subjects return to the lowlands, we will know it. Frankly, it wouldn’t have been wise to go after them in the mountains, anyway. Hostile terrain and hostile inhabitants. Better to intercept them when they return. So, you see? There is no problem.”

  “It is salvageable, I suppose,” V’arret replied, tone dripping disdain.

  “I am so glad you approve,” K’ale sneered; that was another thing he disliked about mages, they were always so void-damned full of themselves. “Now, if you are quite satisfied, we should really keep moving. One patrol felled by bandits might be overlooked, but if we have to take out a second for you, it will raise suspicion.”

  V’arret nodded grudgingly and signalled his mages to continue.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  As they broke out of the woods and re-joined the main road V’arret turned to him again,

  “So, where exactly are we going, if we don’t even know where they are?”

  “We will be setting up camp at a staging ground that is equidistant from each of the three possible points of egress from the mountains,” K’ale explained. “That way we are close, wherever they emerge, and we can move immediately to intercept them.”

  “Sound reasoning,” V’arret admitted.

  “Now, if I may ask you a question?” K’ale didn’t bother pausing to allow the mage to answer. “What are we to do when we encounter them? We have been given very little instruction as to what my men and I are expected to accomplish, now that you are here. Certainly, four well trained adepts such as yourselves would have no trouble with three perfectly ordinary people.”

  “Of course,” he sniffed. “Your main job is to help us locate the targets. The girl is ours and we will, of course, be taking her into custody immediately. As for the other two, you can dispose of them however you wish.”

  “That part will be a pleasure,” K’ale grinned viciously. “After all they have put us through, I will tremendously enjoy cutting both of their throats.”

  Revenge, of course, was not the only reason K’ale wanted to cross blades with them. To take out a lapsed Scorpion, especially one with Mikiva’s reputation, was a sure way enhance his position in the guild. He would never reveal this to the client, of course; Mikiva’s status was not the business of outsiders, but if he could do so without compromising the mission, he was going to make certain that she would find herself on the wrong side of his blade, and his alone.

  “Jade must be taken first, though,” V’arret cautioned. “She is the priority. If, for whatever reason, she is not apprehended, the others are to be kept alive. I wish to… question them. Understood?”

  “Understood.”

  “There can be no failure this time. My Queen wishes her property returned, and I will not fail her,” there was a fervent gleam in V’arret’s eyes.

  “Then let’s get a move on, we want to be at the staging ground before our messenger arrives,” K’ale redoubled his pace.

  On top of being a mage, it seemed that this V’arret was a loyalist, a true believer; the type who lived or died by their master’s word. To K’ale’s mind there was nothing worse than a fanatic. The sooner they could find that girl, pass her off, and be done with these Esrasean clowns, the happier he would be.

  **

  White Pine village was as quaint as its name suggested. Nestled in amongst a small forest of pine trees, the village was a cluster of little wooden houses painted in bright reds, blues and yellows. Smoke curled from every chimney and even at the late hour, there were still bustling crowds of people moving to and fro in the streets. Though it was a mountain village, like Gullmar, that was where the similarity ended. White Pine had a thriving tourism industry and was, therefore, much more accustomed to visitors. People often found the disparity strange, but the reasons were fairly obvious. For one thing, the village was much more accessible than Gullmar, which was completely inaccessible much of the year and required hard riding through dangerous passes to reach. Additionally, White Pines’ lower altitude meant there was a more pleasant climate. However, these things alone would not have drawn crowds to the snowy peak but for the fact that the village lay in the shadow of Tasya’s Peak. The mountain was the sacred place of the Goddess Tasya, one of the 11 Immortal Gods of the Pantheon, and it drew worshippers to the village from all over the continent. They came to pray, to gaze upon the mountain, some even journeyed to the summit to visit the Shrine of Tasya.

  Consequently, strangers were a common sight in White Pine. No one in the crowd even batted an eyelash as Av’ry, Jade and Mikiva strolled into the local inn. After reserving rooms for the night, they moved into the pub and Av’ry found an open place at a small wooden table, as close to the fire as possible. Mikiva brushed the snow from her cloak and stretched her hands eagerly towards the flames,

  “It is cold as Gr’ellor’s heart out there,” she muttered. “How do people live up here?”

  “I imagine you get used to it,” Jade mused, rubbing her hands together briskly. “Though, honestly, I am not sure why anyone would want to.”

  “I will let you in on a little secret,” the server arrived at their table, smiling broadly. “The cold is just an excuse to find creative ways to keep warm. It can really be very pleasant.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?” Av’ry grinned back at her.

  Mikiva kicked him under the table; he flinched and dimmed his smile sheepishly. What could he say? Sometimes he just couldn’t help himself.

  The woman smiled knowingly,

  “In my opinion, there is nothing better to fend off the cold then a hot bowl of stew and a nice warm ale.”

  “Sounds good to me. I won’t turn down good advice.”

  “I’ll have the same,” Mikiva seconded.

  “Can I get mine with a coffee?” Jade asked. “A very large coffee.”

  “Certainly,” the woman nodded. “I’ll be back in no time. You get comfortable.”

  She walked off toward the kitchen.

  “The people here are very hospitable,” Av’ry observed.

  “Maybe a little too hospitable,” Mikiva shot him sideways glance.

  “Now, now I was just being nice,” he protested.

  Mikiva raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. Av’ry turned back to Jade,

  “Coffee, huh? I will make you that elixir tonight. And you will drink it. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jade replied, with only a trace of sarcasm.

  “Good,” Av’ry settled back in his chair.

  Their food arrived and they tucked in gratefully.

  “This is not bad,” Jade marvelled, sopping up the last of her thick, hot stew with a crust of bread.

  “Well, now that we have eaten, and I can feel my fingers again,” Mikiva eyed Av’ry critically. “Do you feel like telling me why we are really here?”

  “What do you mean?” Av’ry asked.

  “I mean, we clearly aren’t here for the food. At first, I thought it was just a convenient place to stop, but we passed two other villages that would have been just as serviceable and travelled an extra 3 hours, in the dark, just to get here. What is in this village?”

  “I was that obvious, huh?” Av’ry rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Well, I wasn’t going to say anything until I was sure, but there is someone here I wanted to talk to. About Jade.”

  “Jade?” Mikiva raised an eyebrow quizzically. “What does this have to do with her?”

  “It is somewhat complicated,” Av’ry sighed. “While I was out trying to find a dragon sage, I made a few other inquiries. I wanted to know if anyone had ever heard of a way to completely block memories. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t have much luck, at first. But someone pointed me in the direction of a man who had once been a devout follower of the cult of Tasya, a fanatical sect of her followers who live up here, on her mountain. His was only a passing infatuation, it seems, as these days his only mistress is of the cold, monetary variety. But in his time, he remembers hearing whispers about Tasya’s Chosen, the high priests she personally selected to live in her mountain and spread her teachings. It is said they are sometimes gifted with strange powers from their god, including the ability to seal memories, as a part of a particular ritual. Of course, only the inner circle were permitted to participate in these rituals, so my contact didn’t know any more details. But it is possible it is related to your… condition, Jade.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Mikiva asked sharply.

  “I wasn’t sure I could find anyone here who would help, and I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. I planned look into it myself, before I made a big deal of it.”

  “Surely there are plenty of ways to seal memories, though. What makes you think that this one is related to Jade at all?” Mikiva replied.

  “Well, mostly it is the fact that Tasya is involved. That makes the most sense to me. The power of a god would explain why even I couldn’t access that part of Jade’s mind.”

  “Well, divine intervention is one possible explanation,” Mikiva admitted. “Although I can’t help but think you might be jumping to conclusions. For example, how can you be sure the problem isn’t… from the other end of the spectrum?”

  “You mean demonic? No, this isn’t a possession,” Av’ry shook his head. “It would be obvious if it was. Fox and I used to encounter demons time to time in the old days and trust me when I say I would be able to tell.”

  He shuddered, remembering what touching a possessed mind felt like.

  “In an advanced possession, like the kind that would be required for a demon to do something like this, the person feels… empty. Like they’ve been hollowed out. Not to mention that I doubt a demon would have let me exit her mind so easily, once I was inside. That isn’t usually how they operate. No, we can rule out demons.”

  “Alright, let’s say you are correct. What are you planning to do?” Mikiva pressed him.

  “My contact gave me the name of a man who used to be one of the Chosen, before he left the faith. He is one of the few that might be willing to talk about such things, since he no longer serves. He might be able to help,” Av’ry replied. “He lives here in this village, so I was planning to go around and talk with him, ask a few questions, while we were in the neighborhood.”

  “What are we waiting for, then?” Jade began to rise from her seat. “Let’s go.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Av’ry gently pushed her back into her seat. “Patience. We can’t go now; it is the middle of the night.”

  “So what?”

  “No stranger will let us in to see them now, Jade. This will have to wait until morning. And besides, it will be easier for you after you’ve had a good night’s sleep. So here is what we are going to do: we are going to go upstairs, you are going to drink what I give you and you are going to sleep. When you wake up, we will go and see the ex-priest. Ok?”

  Defeated, Jade slumped her shoulders,

  “You’re right, of course.”

  “But before that, I wanted to ask, does any of this seem familiar at all? Do you remember anything about Tasya, or the Chosen? Could this be a ritual you participated in willingly?”

  “No… I don’t think so…” Jade thought for a moment. “I don’t know.”

  She closed her eyes.

  “It doesn’t feel right,” she struggled to explain. “Some things… feel familiar. But here, there is no sense of that. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, though. There is clearly a lot I don’t remember. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright,” Av’ry put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find the priest and see if he can shed any light on this. Maybe he knows you, or some way for you to regain your memory. For now, let’s just get some rest.”

  Av’ry rose and placed some gold on the table to pay for the meal and the trio headed for their rooms.