The Ebon Crusade

Part One

       The only building other than the tavern which appeared to be completely unharmed was the brothel. They were probably spared out of luck alone. The door to the whorehouse was unlocked, but Rith found it to be abandoned. Or . . . perhaps not. The soft sound of snoring could be heard coming from the open door of a room down the hall.
       The creature responsible turned out to be a gnome called Roswynn, who happily introduced himself to Rith upon waking as if there were nothing at all unusual about their situation. Rith informed him of the tragedy.
       “Really?” he grumbled, scratching his head. “I slept through a battle eh? I knew I was a heavy sleeper but that . . . Well, I was drunk as a dwarf I suppose. Sweet Creator, What a night! I wonder how many women I paid for, must’ve been at least-”

Rith held up a hand to silence him. “So you know nothing of the invaders, then?”

The gnome shook his head. “Just blew into town last night. I’m a traveler. Bit of an adventurer you see. Although the last time I had a decent job was-”

“I’m going back out to look for more survivors,” Rith interrupted. “Are you coming, or would you rather sit here and reminisce to the floor boards about your days questing in Zarkadia?”

The small town, as it turns out, was home to a small magic shop owned by a retired professor, whom Rith and Roswynn found cowering behind a table, amid the ruins of his store. The invaders had ransacked the place and stolen only one thing: A small gem, which the man described as “Uncut, and black as night, but purple in the light.” He told them they would know it instantly if they found it (as it would be ice cold to the touch), and offered a bounty of 200 gold for its return.

“That’s all well and good,” Rith replied “And I’m sure my friend the adventurer will be happy to find your gem. But I’d like to know about these invaders. Have you seen them before? Do you know who they might be?”

The old man shook his head. “No. It’s very odd, that. They were dressed like peasants. But did you notice? Their eyes were solid white, and faintly glowing, I’d say. They had an air of magic about them. Dark magic by the feel of it.”

Rith nodded, an idea beginning to take shape in his mind. “They took your gem . . . and nothing else. Is it possible that they came here looking for it?”

The store owner thought for a moment on this. “I suppose. Though they also seemed fairly intent on burning the town. There was one . . . the one who took the gem. He didn’t stay. He ran off, that one, into the forest. There’s a small city to the East, an imperial outpost. He might have been headed there.”

Rith rose to his feet. “Anywhere else?”

“Let me see . . .  there’s an elf city in the woods to the North. But I doubt a thief would go there. I think the Prisidians even have some troops-”

“Very well. Thank you for your help,” Rith said, turning to leave.

“Now hold on! If you’re headed to a settlement, then I’m coming with you. This town has been destroyed, and I’m a refugee now. I could use a bit of muscle to keep me safe on the road.”

             Their journey began that morning, and they were able to reach the imperial outpost by nightfall. Unfortunately, they found it destroyed. Many of the buildings were still in flames, and courpses littered the ground. The arrangement of the bodies was such that they appeared to have killed each other.

The store owner fell to his knees. “How? How could this have happened?”

Rith knelt and examined one of the bodies. “This looks like a civil war. The citizens and soldiers alike seem to have slaughtered one another.”

Roswynn followed suit, choosing to examine a face rather than a wound. “Look at this,” he whispered. “Solid white eyes. Just like the peasants that attacked the villiage.”

“Are all of them that way?”

“It would appear so.”

Rith stood. “This is . . . unsettling. These pale eyes seem to mark innocent men who have been made into killers, like dogs gone rabid. I wonder if this might be some kind of plague.”

Roswynn nodded. “We should leave, lest we become infected as well. These people will be of no help to us anyway.”