This book was a pivotal moment in my writing career. I had just finished “Territorial War: A Fight for Survival” and was running out of steam with writing. I was six books in and had no idea how to market and barely how to publish. I didn’t discover KDP until I started writing this book. It is a retelling of a tabletop role-playing game that I ran for some friends and family, that I decided to convert into a book. My opening style has since changed a lot from the “Here’s person A and how they look, Here’s person B and how they look, etc…” style of introducing characters to something much more fluid, but this book reignited my love for writing, and started the engine that still runs in my soul today. “The Destruction of the Shroud”, my next release, happens in the same area as this, and even has some of the same characters. If you like dragons, you’ll love this one.
Chapter 1
Four adventurers gathered together and entered the inn. They saw it was fairly busy, but not so busy they couldn’t find a table. They looked around the room, but before they could walk over and sit down they were approached by the barkeep. He was a man named Omar, a shorter man with dirty blonde hair and a smile that he wore at all hours.
“Are you the group that was hired by Seamus?” He said as he approached.
“We are,” Solvana responded, speaking in an eloquent yet firm tone.
Solvana was a simple-looking high elf, she was only 5’4” tall and weighed just over 100 pounds. She wore dark hooded clothing and wielded a few different blades to dispatch her enemies swiftly and silently. Her eyes were a shade of ember that almost seemed to glow when compared to her long jet-black hair.
“Excellent! He already paid for your room for the night, as well as a meal before you sleep. I know we still have some time in the day, so feel free to look around town if you desire. Make sure to check back in with me and I will give you your keys when you are ready to turn in for the night,” Omar explained.
“What kind of stores are around here? I’ve been on the road for some time and would like to resupply.” Drok’thuum asked.
Drok’thuum Vileblood was a half-dragon dragonkin. His bloodline left him with very dragon-like features, including a tail and wings. His skin was mostly black, but it had copper coloring accented throughout. His face had horns protruding from his cheeks that jutted forward and his head had horns that started at his forehead and curled back behind him. He stood about 7’1” tall and towered over most of the people around him. He wore wizardly robes, as anything else made him feel too heavy to fly.
“Oh, to the north we have Noahs, that’s where you’d go to get your basic adventuring goods. Just across the street, you’ll find the Sacred Blade, that is where you want to be if you’re looking for weapons or armor. And lastly, if you’re interested in anything more, head up to Reynor Manor, the Orecrusher brothers recently purchased and renovated the manor to run their operations out of it,” Omar answered.
“Who are these Orecrusher brothers?” Solvana asked.
“Ruel and Cedron, they are dwarves who rediscovered a lost forge some months back. They had the assistance of a valiant group of adventurers, you should ask them of the tale. They are using the forge to imbue magical weapons for a cost. This activity is bringing in a lot of activity into the area,” Omar stated.
“Thank you, we shall take some time to gather some goods. We will return later today,” Balasar said as he nodded his head. He spoke with a very proper tone of voice, carrying his words with class.
Balasar was also a dragonkin, however, he was very human-like in appearance. His body was mostly light skin but had dragon-like scaling that accented the side of his head, down past his neck, and over part of his arms. Two horns also jutted out from the top of his head that aimed skyward. He had a head of messy blonde hair and his eyes were a deep green. He stood 6’5” tall and carried himself pridefully. He never went into any situation without wearing chainmail armor.
Volen was always by Balasar’s side. She was a half-orc that was 6’7″ tall and wore nothing on her body more than some slightly tattered clothing. Her hair was long and dark, and her skin was a dark olive hue. Her eyes were a fierce shade of electric blue. She was a muscular woman, and scars could be seen up and down her arms from previous battles. She grunts at the thought of weakness if she sees it and is always ready to find an excuse to swing her weapon.
“So, shall we grab some provisions?” Solvana asked.
“I would like to get some weapons,” Volen suggested.
“I personally want to go and see this manor,” Drok’thuum chimed in.
“Well, how about we start with the provisions and then circle around?” Solvana suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Volen agreed. Volen typically was not a fan of saying much. She spoke in short sentences and her voice was rough and hoarse.
The group bid their host a respectful nod before they walked over to Noah’s and perused his wares. They shopped around for a bit before they eventually grabbed some rations and camping supplies to get them through any time spent away from town. Noah happily informed them that he would have a stablehand working with some horses and mules soon if they were interested before he wished them well.
The group gathered up their food and supplies and then waved Noah a friendly goodbye. They then made their way toward Sacred Blade. Inside the shop, weapons and various ammunition lined the walls all around. Different styles of arrows sat bundled together in baskets for easy sorting and some finely crafted blades were placed on plaques as decorations.
When they entered, the woman behind the counter was zoned out and seemed to be distracted by something. She stared off into the distance as she tapped her finger on the counter repeatedly as if it were a nervous tick of some kind. It wasn’t until everyone stepped into the store that she finally noticed they were even there.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, welcome to Sacred Blade. My name is Maria, what can I help you with?” she asked befuddled.
“I want to buy these,” Drok’thuum said as he grabbed some crossbow bolts from their container and placed them on the counter. He may not have done it on purpose, but with the depth of his voice and the size of his body, Drok’thuum was a naturally intimidating presence. He had to go out of his way to appear more friendly, because his natural tone and appearance did not help with that.
“And I will take these as well,” Solvana added as she grabbed some arrows from a separate basket and held them up to show her.
“Of course, that will be 2 gold for the bolts and 1 for the arrows,” Maria said as she seemed to only be paying partial attention to what was going on around her.
“Is something wrong, dear?” Solvana asked as they handed over the gold coins.
“It’s nothing, I’m sorry,” Maria brushed her off.
“If it were nothing, then you wouldn’t look so bothered,” Drok’thuum stated.
“Well, it’s my friend, Joel Kahar. He’s been missing for a few days, and I’m starting to worry about him. We meet every day at least once, usually because he stops in here, but I haven’t heard from him at all. He owns an orchard in the northwestern part of town if you happen to be stopping by the area,” Maria stated. “I am worried about him.”
“Well, we just got to Greenfell, but we are making our way around to familiarize ourselves,” Drok’thuum stated.
“Well, if you happen to go near the area at all, and you learn anything about where he’s at, please let me know. I’m sure he’s just been really busy, or he may have traveled out of town to get more exotic supplies, but I am just worried,” Maria requested.
“We will, and we will get back to you when we learn something,” Balasar ensured.
The group then gathered their things and stepped out of the shop. They talked amongst themselves for a bit about where to go next but ultimately decided that the Kahar Orchard was so close that they might as well stop by there before they went over to the manor. Besides, the sun was still high in the sky and until Seamus made contact with them, they were not on a schedule.
They took the walk over to the orchard and as they approached they noticed that the trees were filled with fresh fruit that was beyond ready for the picking. However, something that grabbed their attention was that there were even some fruits on the ground that had begun to rot and decay. This immediately gave them the impression that Joel was not there, or at least had not been tending to his trees in some time.
They slowly approached the home and saw that it appeared no one had been there for a couple of days at least. They peeked around the outside and even tried to peer through some windows. After a few minutes of searching, they realized they were picking up nothing. There was no trace of anyone inside the house.
Drok’thuum walked up to the door and grabbed the handle, he slowly turned it to see that it was unlocked. He looked at everyone else to get their approval and pushed the door open. It took almost no time for them to confirm that no one was in the house.
There was a fresh layer of dust covering much of the furniture in the room, giving more evidence that there had been no one in the area for some days. They looked around the house for a moment but found nothing out of the ordinary except for two things. There was a cabinet that looked as though it displayed armor and it was empty, as well as a journal that was sitting on the dining table.
Solvana grabbed the book and began to look through it. The journal was very old and looked as though it had been repaired a few times over many many years. The entries had long gaps between them, some were even months apart, but they belonged to Joel Kahar.
The first entry was from many years ago when Joel was a young man fighting in a war for his faction. He wrote of many battles, many victories, and many losses. He detailed how he felt losing friends for the cause and gaining valor for his deeds. He then goes on to talk about being too old to fight and eventually retiring to Greenfell to make a simple living growing produce.
As the entries go on, he details meeting a younger lady named Maria, who opened a store in town. He talks about bonding with her immediately over their shared stories of battle during wartime. They were fast friends, and it gave him a sense of happiness to speak with someone who understood his past. He even hints at developing romantic feelings for her.
The last few entries were different. He speaks on a problem that had been developing near a place called Coal Tower, and how some people he knew were run away from there by an unknown source with evil intent. He then talked about meeting a group of adventurers that he told about the problem, and he was happy to see there are still some good people in the world to help out those who can’t help themselves.
After some weeks had passed, there was another entry speaking about how the adventurers returned and told him the problem was a necromancer that was using undead to run off miners and people searching for valuables. He expressed his dismay that they did nothing to rid the area of the evil necromancer but was happy to identify the problem so he could find someone else to deal with it.
The final entry in the journal talked about a friend of his going missing near Coal Tower, and that he couldn’t sit there idly as someone he knew could be walking around as an undead thrall. He couldn’t sleep knowing he was sitting around and nothing, so he decided he was going to don his armor one more time and go deal with the necromancer. This final journal entry was dated 4 days ago.
Solvana explained what she had read to the group and then sat the journal back down on the table. She looked around at everyone and said, “I think we should go and find him.”
“I am in agreeance,” Balasar added.
“Do either of you know where Coal Tower is?” Drok’thuum asked, “I know you’ve said you spent some time here before.”
“I can’t say I do,” Balasar answered.
“Me neither,” Volen added.
“Well, we can ask around town, maybe someone will know,” Solvana stated.
“Shall we start by asking around the manor?” Drok’thuum suggested.
“Let’s,” Balasar nodded.
The four of them made sure to put everything back the way it was, they didn’t want to leave a trace of evidence they were there for when they found and returned Joel to his home. The only thing they took was the journal, Drok’thuum placed it in his pocket in case it was needed, and they made their way across town to Reynor Manor.
The first thing they noticed as they came up the hill toward the manor was a large statue of a dwarf sitting in the courtyard of the building not too far from the bottom of the stairs. There was a placard at the base of the statue that read its dedication. The statue was a memorial to Rama Orecrusher, the eldest Orecrusher brother who died in Resonation Cave. His sacrifice, along with the sacrifice of others, is what led to the reopening of the mine and the Everburn Forge.
Drok’thuum looked at the memorial and read the placard with interest. He seemed to enjoy learning about this place and the people that inhabit the land. He desired to know more and the four of them climbed the stairs and entered the manor.
When they opened the door, they were greeted with an array of red velvet tapestry hanging from banisters and along the walls. There was a sign to their right that pointed the way to a museum of the cave on the southern end of the room, and they also spotted a younger dwarf behind the counter that appeared to be packing things up for the day.
He smiled as they approached and said, “Welcome, my name is Cedron. I am about to close up shop, so I don’t have too much time, but what can I do for you today?”
“We heard that you may offer some interesting services,” Drok’thuum stated, “We’re just wondering what those might be?”
“Well, I can offer a tour of our museum, as well as taking orders for the Everburn Forge,” Cedron responded.
“What kind of orders?” Balasar asked.
“We can take any weapons or armor you have and bathe them in the flames of the forge. After some crafty blacksmithing work on our end, we will imbue your items with some basic magical properties. Or, if you have any sort of custom design in mind, we can attempt to replicate this in the forge, though I cannot guarantee success. We are still in the process of relearning the forge’s capabilities, and it will be some time before we perfect it while we perform the necessary trial and error,” Cedron explained.
“How much would it cost?” Drok’thuum asked.
“200 gold if you want us to imbue your personal items. If you have a custom request, we handle that based on the intricacy, materials, and effort needed,” Cedron replied.
“I will have this dagger done,” Solvana said as she placed one of her daggers and 200 gold on the counter.
“And I will have this sword enhanced,” Balasar added, placing his weapon and money on the counter.
“I guess I will add my hammer to the pile,” Drok’thuum stated.
“I like my weapons just the way they are,” Volen huffed.
“Question, could you silver this hammer as well, on top of the magic, if I paid 250?” Drok’thuum asked as he placed his hammer on the counter.
“I think we can manage that,” Cedron agreed as he collected all the weapons and gold. He placed the gold in a large satchel and put the weapons away neatly in a crate that was lined with hay. “I will get all of these done together, but it will take about a week. Do check back in then and collect your weapons. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“How about this museum you mentioned?” Balasar asked. “It would do us well to learn more about this place.”
“Certainly, please, follow me,” Cedron said as he ushered the group downstairs.
As they walked down the stairs and into the lower floor of the manor, he began to take them on a tour through the museum. There were many items displayed and paintings on the walls. Most of the collectibles were from the cave. There were fragments of ore, dusty items, and old-looking weapons on ornate stands neatly scattered around.
Cedron began to tell them the tale of Resonation Cave, and how Ruel, his older brother, hired a group of heroes that were crucial in discovering the cave. He pointed at paintings that depicted battles fought and victories claimed as they slowly walked through the museum. He explained that the heroes rescued Ruel from the clutches of Granham Castle, and then escorted him to the cave and reclaimed the Everburn Forge for them to use to bring prosperity back to Greenfell.
He told them how he was eventually found in the custody of the Dark One, an evil wizard with intentions of taking the forge for himself and his selfish desire for power. He explained how he was discovered bloody and on the brink of death. He said that the adventurers saved his life and reunited him with his older brother, even though they were too late to save Rama. He then pointed at a painting of the four heroes that had their names written underneath.
He called them by name as they looked at the painting, starting with Nadarr, the roguish-looking dragonkin. Then he pointed out Larissa, the devilkin with a heart of gold. Tuk Frostbeard, their fellow dwarven companion was third. And finally, he pointed out Professor Ludwig, the high elf that brought him back from death’s door.
Solvana scoffed as he explained who the heroes were, and said “I will be outside.” She then turned and walked away, almost looking angry as she left.
Everyone looked at one another in confusion and then returned their attention to Cedron who also had a bewildered look on his face. He then finished explaining the story about how the four heroes defeated the Dark One and his minions and then returned the ownership to the Orecrusher brothers.
He concluded by saying that he and Ruel honored their fallen elder brother by erecting the memorial out front. Then they opened up the forge for business and resumed mining operations. Now Greenfell has life breathed anew and they are happy to have helped in the rebirth of this town’s glory. He finalized by saying the four heroes simply disappeared after the events. No one knows where they all went and they haven’t been seen since.
“That is an amazing tale,” Balasar stated.
“We thank you for your time, Cedron,” Drok’thuum added.
“It has been a pleasure,” Cedron thanked.
“We know you said you’re closing up soon, so we will see ourselves out,” Drok’thuum said as the three of them made their way back towards the exit.
“I will see you again next week,” Cedron said as he started to turn off the lights behind them.
As they walked back up the stairs and out the front door, they saw Solvana sitting on the steps waiting impatiently for them to follow.
“What was that all about?” Drok’thuum asked.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Solvana dismissed.
Drok’thuum said nothing else on the subject. He knew when not to prod, so he instead said,” Well, it’s getting late, I think we should turn in soon.”
“I agree, I’m getting hungry,” Volen stated.
“We can ask that Omar fellow if he knows anything about Coal Tower as well,” Balasar said, “It completely slipped my mind in there, or I would have asked Cedron. He seemed like a knowledgeable man.”
The three of them then walked back to the inn to get a meal and rest up for the night. As they entered, they were met with a surprising roar of life as the tavern was filled to the brim with people eating their food and having drinks. It was standing room only, so they had to wait to find a table, but eventually one opened in the back corner of the room.
They sat down to eat, made their order to one of the waitresses, and observed as people talked amongst themselves and enjoyed their evening while they waited. Omar eventually walked out from the back and waved at the group as he approached, but right as he began to walk over, a lady dressed in expensive-looking clothing and an ornate sword strapped to her hip walked in and grabbed his attention. He immediately changed his course and walked over to greet her.
The lady was escorted by 4 armed bodyguards who were clad in plate mail armor and armed with various weaponry. She seemed stern as she waited for Omar to approach. The group could not make out what was being said, but they could see that Omar seemed almost worried as she spoke to him.
After a few short moments, he made his way over to a table of young men who were in the middle of their meal. They could tell that Omar had asked them to get up from where they were as they angrily grabbed their plates and walked over to the corner of the bar to finish their food. The lady and her guards then made their way to the table to sit and eat. Omar waved a waitress over to take their order and then made his way over to the group.
“I’m sorry about that, here are your room keys for the night,” Omar said as he handed them to each person.
“Two questions, if you will. One, have you ever heard of Coal Tower? And two, who is that woman?” Drok’thuum asked.
“Yes I have, it is not far from here at all, if you take Westwood Trail northeast you will see a large crumbling tower in about a day and a half’s worth of travel, you can’t miss it. As for your second question, that is Jiselle, the new governor of the town. She took the spot when Asra stepped down suddenly not very long ago.,” Omar answered.
“Why did he step down?” Solvana asked.
“Asra is a friend of mine, and he still will not explain to me why he resigned. He just brushed it off and said it was time. I’m sure there is some reason he did, but I can’t exactly make him tell me,” Omar said as he shook his head.
“I see, we could look into this if we get the chance, thank you,” Drok’thuum mumbled as he looked over at Jiselle.
“Let me be the first to say, Jiselle is not one to cross. But if you are insistent, I obviously can’t stop you,” Omar warned. “I will be back with some food for you all in a moment.”
“She seems to be a lover of the finer things in life,” Balasar observed as Omar walked away. “I have some of my more exquisite clothing with me, I think I will go change and see if I can grab a word with her.”
“That’s not a bad idea at all,” Drok’thuum agreed with a smirk.
Balasar quickly went upstairs and changed into his finer clothing. The rest of the group watched around the room as Jiselle finished her meal and was preparing to leave. Balasar came down just in time to catch her before she left. He walked up to her and gave a friendly bow as a courtesy before he spoke.
“M’lady, pardon my intrusion, but I can’t help but notice someone of your caliber in a place like this,” Balasar schmoosed. He could see her guards grip the handles of their weapons as he approached, but he noticed Jiselle seemed unbothered.
“Well thank you, I see you are quite fortunate yourself to own such attire,” Jiselle complimented in return. She spotted the scales along the sides of his jaw and said, “A dragonkin as well, not many of your kind around here. However, I am a busy woman and my time is limited. What can I help you with?”
“I had overheard that you were the new governor of this town, congratulations by the way. But I was wondering if you’d heard anything about a man named Joel Kahar?”
“The name is vaguely familiar, but I haven’t heard of any trouble concerning him. What of it?”
“I have heard rumors that he has gone missing near Coal Tower. I was just wondering if you had a plan of action for that?” Balasar prodded. As he spoke to her, he saw Solvana take a pass behind the group, but he could not make out what she was doing.
“I do not have time to deal with that just yet, though it is on my to-do list. This town was in disorder when I took it over, and there are a lot of things to clear up before I can start sending my men out to deal with things past our town borders.”
“Completely understandable, I wa-”
Jiselle raised her hand to interrupt him, “I’m sorry, but there are a lot of things that I must take care of, and there are only so many hours in the day. Perhaps we can continue this conversation another time.”
“Of course,” Balasar said as he bowed his head in respect. “Good day to you.”
He then turned and made his way back over to the table as Jiselle left the inn and sat with everyone else. Solvana had already sat back in her seat as well.
“They’re Assembly agents,” Solvana muttered.
“What is the Assembly?” Drok’thuum asked.
“A group of people who feel themselves above most others. They may not be outright criminals, but they are not opposed to doing some criminal things if it furthers their agenda,” Solvana answered.
“How do you know so much about this group?” Drok’thuum questioned with an eyebrow raised. “Were you part of this group at some point?”
“No, but we were… familiar,” Solvana answered with a blank stare.
“Well, it would be worth looking into if we get the chance,” Volen suggested.
“Indeed,” Balasar agreed.
“For now, I say we eat and turn in for the night to get some rest. We know where Coal Tower is, we should head that way in the morning and see if we can find Joel. It shouldn’t take long,” Solvana stated.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Drok’thuum agreed. “It would be a good way to develop some notoriety here as well. It may benefit us should we need a favor.”
The four of them waited on their meal, ate well, and then turned in for the night. It had been a long day of travel and socializing, so they looked forward to the sleep they could get. They were fed, rested, and ready to look for a missing person in the morning. They may not have started the day knowing each other that well, but they had ended it with a plan to begin making a name for themselves in Greenfell.
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