Chapter One

A New Day Dawning

Luna Roas del Cranden basked in the glory of Pelor’s light as the sun shone down on her. She felt truly at peace as she gazed over the Lortmil Mountains, admiring the glittering snow-peaked caps, the wildflowers that dressed the mountainsides in a rainbow of colors, the stark majesty of the mountains themselves, the strength and beauty of the coniferous trees, and the shining mountain springs and lakes. While Luna did not worship the gods of nature, many of them were closely affiliated with Pelor and she asked him to pass her thanks on to them.

The beautiful sights of the Lortmils weren’t the only things raising Luna’s spirits, though. Her closest friends, the adventurers who formed the Company of the Silver Wolf with Luna, were all in fine spirits as well. Luna privately wondered if Pelor was blessing the Company  in reward for their returning the Crown of Arumdina to the gnome kingdom of Flinthold and renewing its old treaty alliance with the independent Flan of the Kutuanchke nation.

Airk Venbelwar, the gnomish soldier who fought for Flinthold in the Hateful Wars, arguably confirmed Luna’s views. He’d long blamed himself for the betrayals and suffering Flinthold endured in the Hateful Wars. His rage and guilt led him to accidentally kill his friend Laessar Bradon. To atone for Laessar’s death, Airk was tasked with finding the Crown and restoring Flinthold’s monarchy. The ensuing journey took the Company halfway across the Flanaess to the Great Kingdom of Aerdy. They thwarted a wicked Aerdi plot to fracture the Great Kingdom’s enemies in the Iron League, finding the Crown in the process. The Company’s return to Flinthold only brought further challenges, as they helped defend it from an invasion by the malevolent hordes of the red dragon Lady Babylon.

All of that was behind the Company now, and Luna was relieved to see how much better Airk seemed to be doing. He stood nearly four feet tall, with nut-brown skin, bright brown eyes, and an immaculately trimmed blonde beard and waxed handlebar moustache. He carried himself with an alert vigilance that spoke to his military background. His new suit of plate mail gleamed brightly, as did his magical shield, decorated with the twin crescent moons of Luna and Celene and a ring of stars, and the morning star and military pick that hung from his belt. He no longer felt much of the melancholy he used to. Airk replaced that despair with a calmness that remained on the lookout for danger. When Airk looked at his fellow adventurers, Luna saw a fondness and appreciation that reflected how far they’d come with him and how hard they’d fought.

If Airk was at peace, the human warrior Revafour Greystar was beaming. Revafour was nearly six and a half feet tall, his thick limbs and broad chest reflecting his immense physical strength. His wavy black hair, now down to his shoulders, brown eyes and copper-bronze skin all spoke to his heritage as a Flan, the original humans to live in the Flanaess. The moccasins on his feet further reinforced his Flan heritage, as did his red and brown cloak. While the cloak had an Oeridian plaid style, Revafour enhanced it with traditional Flan beading. He wore heavy plate armor and carried a massive two-handed broadsword strapped to his back, but battle was the last thing on Revafour’s mind. Not only was he pleased at being on the land with his friends, he was also happy with how the Company helped the Kutunachke receive justice.

When Lady Babylon and her forces attacked Flinthold, the kingdom was deeply divided and demoralized. Lady Babylon easily conquered the capital, and she seemed poised to overrun the rest of the kingdom. The gnomes were desperate for help in reclaiming their homes, and Revafour led the Company to secure the Kutunachke’s help. In exchange for the Kutunachke’s help, the gnomes agreed to revive their old treaty with the Flan, recognizing the humans’ land and political rights that they’d long violated. Many of the Flan’s problems today could be traced back to the way the Oeridian and Sueloise humans, and many nonhuman races, broke the treaties the Flan made with them. As much as that angered Revafour, he was happy to help make things right for the Kutunachke.

Airk and Revafour were involved in the politics and history of it all, but the halfling Amyalla Reorsa only cared about helping her friends. Amyalla was some three and a half feet tall, with vibrant fire-red hair, green eyes and a breathtakingly beautiful face and figure. Her smile reflected her wry, humorous attitude and her penchant for stealing both hearts and treasures. Her attire was partly stylish and partly functional, combining a plain leather jerkin, a strapless blue traveling gown and a set of daggers hanging on her belt with a pair of doeskin boots and a deep blue hat bearing orchids and lilacs. She wasn’t as enraptured with the mountains as her friends were, being more interested in the riches their current quest promised.

After the Company slew Lady Babylon and returned the Crown to Flinthold, they left to search for the Glimmering Hall. The Hall was a dwarven city that fell to orcs during the Hateful Wars, who later slew each other in fighting over the Hall’s riches. The Hall earned its name for the way its platinum and mithril veins shone in torchlight, and the Company was eager to see what treasures it still contained.

Luna could imagine what her younger sister, the wizard Seline Roas Del Cranden, might do with such riches. Seline’s long strawberry-blonde hair framed a stunningly beautiful face and bright green eyes, and the rest of her was no less lovely. Her attire was that of a woman who appreciated the finer things in life, an indigo and midnight blue robe decorated with white images of moons, stars and planets, a pair of finely crafted silver bracers, a solid bronzewood staff and a pair of beautifully made moccasins she bought from the Kutunachke. Seline’s mood was one of both trepidation and eagerness. She was less than thrilled with the dust and grime of the road, but she was more than eager for the challenges the Glimmering Hall might present. Her eyes gleamed as she looked over the horizon, and Luna realized she was contemplating which spells to prepare when the Company finally reached the Hall.

Luna was glad that her sister was in better spirits. More than most of their friends, Luna knew how much Seline missed the high society life of Aerdy’s South Province. The Company’s role in stopping South Province from conquering the Iron League didn’t sit well with Seline, but she’d put it behind her. She knew as well as anyone how rotten and corrupt Aerdy had become, and it broke her heart.

Seline wasn’t entirely comfortable in the wilderness, but Weimar Glendowyr was perfectly at home. His clothes were rough and homespun, colored beige and tan, the attire of a man who cared more for the road than civilized high society. His disheveled blonde hair, hardened green eyes and many scars all indicated his wandering, combative background. The battleaxe he carried on one hand, the bronzewood shield decorated with a boar’s head in profile and the daggers hanging from his belt further reinforced it. He took a hefty swig from his flagon of Big Cedar Log, his favorite brand of stout, and sighed contentedly as he basked in the sunshine.

Luna just smiled. Weimar had no problem helping Airk restore Flinthold’s monarchy, but he mostly about helping Airk put his demons to rest. Unlike Revafour or Seline, he cared very little about politics, preferring what he called the honesty of the roads and the wild. He was happy to follow his friends wherever they wanted to go, seemingly with no other concern.

Luna found Weimar easy to read, but Ma’non’go of the Silver Winds was another matter entirely. He was even taller than Revafour, his powerful build hinting at an immense strength even greater than his Flan friend’s. His dark brown skin and eyes, and his black hair, could’ve belonged to a Flan, but Ma’non’go was an Olman, the human group that called the warm southern lands of Hepmonaland home. His colorful clothing style reflected not only his Olman heritage, but also his skills as a fashion plate. He charmed many of the noblewomen he met in Aerdy, and he was always a gentleman to them. It was often hard to determine exactly what he was thinking. He was mute and communicated only through sign language. Even when he didn’t speak, his stoic demeanor often left people wondering what he was thinking. Actions spoke louder than words for him, so he often relied on his wickedly edged trident to do the talking.

That silence often puzzled Luna. Her and Seline’s father, Lord Roas, had found Ma’non’go wandering injured and lost in the wilds of Hepmonaland when he went down there on a trading mission. Roas brought Ma’non’go back to South Province and entrusted Ma’non’go with protecting his daughters. When the Aerdi nobility’s twisted power games forced Luna and Seline to flee South Province and become adventurers, Ma’non’go was very good at his job . He never showed any interest in Hepmonaland, and never explained why he couldn’t speak, despite his friends’ questions. The most Ma’non’go did was to allude to the ‘false friends’ that betrayed him somehow. Luna could respect that, but she was chilled at the seething rage that came into Ma’non’go’s eyes when he talked about it.

Aside from that, Luna was glad that her friends were in a good place. She was as radiantly beautiful as the sun Pelor supported, with long, silky brown hair and gleaming blue eyes. Her robes were of sky blue and sun gold, referencing the way Pelor’s light graced the noonday sky. Her serene, smiling expression reflected her often calm, contemplative moods. That calmness belied her willingness to fight when she had to, as did her chainmail armor, the shield decorated with a sunburst image she carried in her left hand and the sun-shaped mace she carried in her right hand. She disliked doing it, preferring to use the healing spells she received from Pelor. Just as the sun nurtured everything it shone on, Luna tried to live up to that ideal.

Smiling, Luna turned her gaze from her friends and back over the Lortmils.

It was just the seven of them, enjoying the beauty of the mountains as they traveled to their next adventure.