[Rob-hin]

“Take your men and comb the city for this warrior and the two mages. Avoid any unnecessary fighting—finding them quickly is key. The mages may have left town, but they belonged to the Arcane Order—the Chancellor and a Regent, I believe. Find any mage, and the mage may be able to get in contact with them. Now go!”

With these orders in mind, the patrol guard ran through town. Others would look for this Xandax and he would find Ghandon, the town mage. The coward would probably be locked inside his home, protecting himself alone. Ghandon wasn’t a offensive spellcaster anyway, farmers hired his advice about the weather and stuff like that. It was time for him to make himself useful.

He kept on running towards Ghandon’s home, his captain had given him a direct order and he would do as he was told. Even as he was unsure what the use was, surely a Xvart can’t help now? Still, he would follow his captain’s orders.

His armour became heavier with every step and undead kept attacking him wherever he went. If it wasn’t for the future of his town and his assignment, he would probably already have fallen in battle.

In the distance he could see Ghandon’s house, strangely enough, none of the undead seemed to care about it. They left it alone, must be Ghandon’s magic.

As the guard reached the small cottage, he didn’t even slow down. He ran towards the front door and slammed into it with his shoulder. The door cracked and splintered under his weight.

“No! Don’t hurt me! Please, get back, get back!” In the corner stood Ghandon. Around him, he placed magic to protect him from the undead. Then he saw who broke into his house “You! What do you think you are doing, breaking down my door like that!?”

The guard stopped and took a deep breath, his search had tired him down. “I have an order for you, from the captain himself.”

“But he’s not my sup…” Ghandon started.

“You will do as you are told!” The guard interrupted. He calmed down and continued. “The fate of Pedsgin depends on it. Your fate depends on it”

Ghandon bowed his head and nodded in shame. “What do you want from me?”

“I need you to find someone and bring him here, ever heard of the Arcane Order?”

****

-Send my gloves to me as soon as they are done, I’m going back.-
He could feel Japheth’s amazement.
–You are in no condition to go back!-
Yolta ignored the comment.
-Oh, and if you can find one, send me a ring of suggestion too.-
He got dressed in his ordinary outfit and picked up his staff which was returned to his quarters after repairs were done. A few seconds later, he stepped onto his teleportation circle.

****
Ghandon kept chanting, his words made no sense to the young guard. There was nothing he could do anyway, so he kept on the lookout for undead. Luckily, they still ignored Ghandon’s cottage.
Suddenly, the sound of chanting stopped. He turned around and looked at Ghandon who looked back at him. “I believe it has worked. He received my message, but due to the great distance I couldn’t give him an conscious message. I gave him an unconscious message to return here, something like a feeling. I don’t know if-”

His sentence was interrupted by an Xvart, appearing out of nowhere. Magic energy crackled through the air around him.

After a moment of silence, the guard remembered his orders. “Come, come! Please, we need to hurry!” In his enthusiasm the young man tripped over his own words. Yolta understood it was important and followed him immediately.

“Calm down,” He started as they made their way towards Aerie and the captain. “why don’t you tell me what’s going on here?”. The guard explained how the undead attacked Pedsgin and how their own turned on them as zombies. He didn’t skip any gore detail.

“And who is behind all this?” Yolta asked, getting to the point.

“I heard the captain say it was a Lich, whatever that is.” Unknowingly, he uncovered the seriousness of the situation. If a Lich was involved, then the situation was far more dire then Yolta expected.

“Hurry.”