In a dusty cluttered study, the warped and stretched figure of a knight sat towering over an undersized paper covered desk, staring down at a sealed red letter lit by the moon from the window.
The detestable half smiling crest in the wax met his stare, as if taunting him.
Wasting little more time, he shakily opened the envelope, careful not to put too much strength in his elongated fingers lest he tear the paper.
"Salutations, Hero.
We hope this letter found you well.
There seems to be a misunderstanding about our intentions and frankly put we'd like the opportunity to explain ourselves to you.
You're a man of justice, you might understand our point of view if you actually heard it.
Gorum; We of the Order invite you, we beseech you, travel to the top of Vulcan's Point and we shall send our emissaries.
Glory and Peace, The Order."
"Interesting. " Gorum rasped, gently placing the letter back down on the table.
The Order were rebels simply put, a shadow organization that had made some vague promises about an uprising.
He'd been assigned to hunting them some odd amount of years ago, a retirement project was how it had been described to him. Smush the rebels and finally get some rest.
However...the Dulon Dynasty wasn't perfect, he could acknowledge that much. It was fully possible there was more to the situation than he originally was told. The Royal family never really gave him all the information; it was pretty typical of them actually. Gorum spent almost all of his time in the military fighting, fighting and fighting some more. He was more akin to a war engine than a proper knight captain.
It wasn't in his nature to question his mission, he served the kingdom body and soul. But perhaps there was something he'd missed? It was supposed to be his final mission anyway why not put a bit of effort into it.
'What did the dossier say again?' he thought to himself as he gently shuffled his fingers through the mess of paper on his desk, eventually coming across a folder containing his mission parameters.
"Rebels amassing...espionage oriented, eliminate in every possible sector...seven sectors listed." His orders were as vague as always.
"Might as well hear them out. If I don't like it, I'll just kill them." Gorum huffed as he rose from his hunched over position then soundlessly strode to the door, crouched down and very carefully maneuvered his oversized frame through the undersized door.
Groaning, his picked up the spear he left in the hallway and turned right down the hallway. Down the stairs and through the foyer, out the front doors and across the courtyard. Past the rusting gates and winding gravel road down the mountain into the village.
Ignoring the rotting and abandoned cottages, he shuffled along unhurried and arrived at the coast. There he paused, watching the moonlit waves gently rock back and forth.
It was a long way to Vulcan's Point.
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Vulcan's Hand is a craggy and hazardous waste full of danger, powerful monsters and hostile demons. Poisonous bogs of bright red acid, towering mountains with strange and difficult to navigate outcrops. Vast fields of soot and blackrock, lava geysers and heat vents everywhere.
Named after it's creator, the first Demon King and Master Geomancer, it served as a bastion to demon kind for over 4,000 years.
But now, those were simply nostalgic times and the current Demon King's continent was in a state of disrepair beyond what it ever was before. All life on the surface was wiped out, even bugs didn't dare come out from the cracks in the ground.
Gorum let out a sigh, already bored of the wasteland scenery as he peered down from the highest mountain top. It took him a few days longer to get there than it would have a year ago, his strength was withering and every new mission reminded him of it.
He glanced aside at the strange statue of a mostly naked woman with a hood over her head, a scale in each hand, a heart with a dagger in it on the right scale and a feather on the left scale. Both arms had a crease at the shoulder where it was clear they could be lifted or lowered.
"A puzzle? The letter didn't say anything about which arm to raise..." Gorum mumbled, impatiently tapping his armored boot on the ground. Gorum was never one for puzzles, he was more so the type to just break whatever contraption was impeding him. However, doing so to this statue probably wasn't a good idea if he was pretending to be on their side.
Fed up with having to think, Gorum arrived at his own special conclusion and simply pushed both arms into a raised position. And then click! Glowing red orbs place in the hooded woman's eyes lit up, casting some sort of communication magic from what Gorum could guess. Complex Magic was never his forte, not that he didn't find it impressive, he just didn't get it in an intellectual way. That was the job of Idalia. Truthfully, Gorum considered her above the other two braves in strength, her magical power comparable to his physical power. Not say he was a slouch when it came to magic either, his spells were much less refined but he had the basic elements mastered for combat purposes and he even had a few spells he made himself.
Gorum heaved a sigh as looked away from the statue and back at the wasteland, unsure of what he was doing. A feeling that was completely foreign to him, someone who never hesitated. Even though this would clearly be considered an infiltration tactic, what if it turned out to be real? What if Gorum truly did harbor negative feelings about the way he was treated. What if these people actually swayed him into betraying his duty?
Although it was true in battle Gorum had unshakeable will and determination, outside of battle Gorum was a simplistic and feeble-minded man with little ability outside combat. Not knowing what to do next besides wait, Gorum stood against a rock and began waiting. His spear gripped tightly in hand incase things went wrong.
....
....
....
As night fell and harsh silence filled the air, Gorum stood at attention; certain that he could hear footsteps. And sure enough, 5 robed figures arrived, three women and two men. All humans. After a synchronized bow the leading woman stepped forward and spoke to Gorum.
"Greetings to you, Master Gorum. We are the emissaries of Omen's Order and shall be your guides to the meeting place." the woman said, speaking in a cold voice, yet polite tone.
"Please follow us and ask any questions you need answered, dearest Gorum..." She said gesturing for Gorum to follow along with the group.
And for a moment he thought 'If I go along with them, I could just be plunging myself into a trap! But...' he wanted to hear it for himself, what their offer really entailed.
And so, off Gorum set with these strange people. Following them across the wastes to whatever awaited him.