The Chronicles of the Hero guided Kaer toward a village recently attacked by the Agrandaur monsters.
A powerful necromancer possessed the ability to create an army of monsters using the force of magic. He invoked the Agrandaur monsters—creatures with great adversity toward the living. When they appeared, the temperature in the surrounding area dropped dramatically. The Agrandaur monsters had the capacity to continuously feed the necromancer with black energy.
To complete his final ritual, the necromancer needed a large number of fresh corpses, and so he lured the villagers into the forest, where his monsters slaughtered them.
He had amassed a great quantity of energy and was close to bringing a powerful wraith into the world, but the summoning ritual was interrupted by an anomaly. Through the negation of two spells he had used without studying them sufficiently, the Agrandaur monsters turned against him fatally.
His death left a void in the balance of power, as his army of monsters roamed without purpose, without their master's command.
They wreaked havoc, destroyed crops, and killed inhabitants.
Arriving near the village, Kaer could see the collapsed fences and homes, the destroyed crops. There were signs of struggle near the barn.
Kaer was drawn to the marks near the barn and approached. The grass was trampled underfoot. He could imagine desperate defenders trying to resist against the monsters.
Kaer observed tracks leading away from the barn toward the nearby forest. With his hand resting on his bow, he prepared himself for the inevitable encounter with the horde of monsters.
As he stepped into the strange forest, an odd sensation overcame him. The air was filled with otherworldly energy. A muffled humming resonated through the atmosphere.
Strange creatures lurked among the shadows. From behind a moss-covered rock emerged a malicious gnome with a wrinkled face, then disappeared immediately.
A small stretch of murky and stagnant water chilled him. He waited for an army of monsters to emerge from the depths.
He knelt to touch the water's surface and was repelled by a tingling sensation that traveled across his fingertips.
He heard distant voices expressing themselves in an animalistic language.
Leaves rustled beneath his feet, and the distant sound of an owl echoed through the darkness.
Kaer observed movement among the trees ahead.
He prepared his bow, took shelter behind the thick trunk of a tree, and looked around cautiously.
Not far from where Kaer was hiding, a horde of monsters came into view. They were a frightening sight, their eyes gleaming with malice.
Kaer counted at least seven of them, and their number made his heart skip.
He took a deep breath, concentrating all his attention on the leader of the horde. He pulled back the string of his legendary bow as far as he could, feeling the weapon become one with his hand.
With a swift and precise movement, Kaer released the arrow. It soared through the air, flying directly toward the creature's chest.
The monster let out a painful howl and collapsed.
The other monsters looked around, surprised by their leader's death cry. For a moment, they seemed uncertain, unsure what to do, but then their instincts took over.
Kaer knew he had to act fast, or he would be overwhelmed by the horde. With another arrow, he aimed at the closest one. He released the arrow. It flew through the air and lodged in its throat.
The monster fell to the ground.
The remaining creatures advanced toward Kaer.
He stood his ground, releasing arrow after arrow with lightning-fast speed and precision. One by one, the monsters fell.
Then he summoned the ancestral wolves.
The battle was brief but brutal. When silence returned to the forest, Kaer stood alone among the fallen bodies.
Kaer found the necromancer's lifeless form and took the Black Circle Bracelet.
Returned to Castlecrest, Kaer entered through the wide door of Huzdurwan's smithy. The air carried the distinctive smell of burnt coal and heated metal.
Various tools and implements hung on the walls, and shelves filled with ingots and pieces of different metals seemed to bend under their weight. Kaer stopped in front of a solid table near the entrance.
From behind a brick furnace emerged a man.
"Good day. My name is Kaer, and I am looking for Master Huzdurwan."
"That would be me. How can I be of service?" the man asked.
Kaer examined him carefully. He was a small, solidly-built man with prominent muscles and a broad chest. A braided beard covered his face. He was dressed in a protective coat of thick leather and gloves of the same material.
"Can we speak in a private place?" Kaer asked, and his gaze drifted toward the two assistants working.
They climbed a wooden staircase, and at the upper floor they took their seats at a table.
Kaer placed the Black Circle Bracelet in front of Huzdurwan.
The blacksmith looked at the bracelet for several moments, rubbed his beard with the back of his palm, and pondered.
"If this were an ordinary bracelet, I don't think you would have bothered to come show it to me. If it's that bracelet, then it means sometimes stories are true."
"I've heard that you can extract an essence from this object."
"I've done such a thing before, it's true. Can you pay for this service?"
"How many gold coins do you desire?"
"I don't want gold coins. Whoever possesses such an object can also find what I seek. The Eclectic Dagger—a unique dagger. I should add that the object is not needed for me to become wealthy. I have an old debt that I must repay, and now I believe I will have this opportunity," Huzdurwan said.
"You can begin your work, Master Huzdurwan. You will receive the price you ask for," Kaer said. He pushed the bracelet toward the blacksmith, bowed with respect, and left.
As Kaer descended the wooden stairs, his mind was already turning toward his next move. The Black Circle Bracelet was now in the hands of a master craftsman, and somewhere within its ancient metal lay the Fallen Starlight Dust—a power both legendary and dangerous.
The Chronicles of the Hero had guided him true once again.
But Kaer understood that each answer only revealed new questions.
And somewhere in the shadows, Aspera still waited to be found.