Prologue: The Letter:

Anir was silent when I rode on in on my horse that evening in January, And it frightened me, Normally it was never quiet even when the moon was at its peak at midnight, There was always some noise in one form or another, Unless something had happened, And as I went through the cobblestone-lined streets and passing the various shops decorated with an assortment of various commodities and houses I saw the reason, Everyone or at least most people were in the tavern due to the fact that only the lamps in the tavern were alit, All the others were out, Not to mention all of the sound I could hear came from it, And so I stopped at the Bacaren Inn, The only major inn on all of Urat Island, Tied my horse on one of the posts and walked inside, The place was packed full of drinker's, Gamblers, Whores, You name it and most likely, It was there, And as I stumbled past the tables cluttered with mugs of ale, Food and, Our course people, I sat down on the 3rd of 4 stools from the left and ordered a drink.

"Evening Talen".

Talen turned towards me and gave a look of impressment, "Oh....it's you, Been a while hasn't it Drifter?" he responded with a lowered eye.

"Too long I'm afraid, That last job I had back up north was a real killer in more ways than one, In all my years traveling and assassinating for the group, This was the worst I've had yet, I was sent up to Gafrat Island just to kill some old rich bastard in his cottage" I said with a weary mind while Talen handed me a cold and frothy mug of ale.

"Yeah I've heard the conditions are not nice at this time of year since it's the middle of winter, In fact, you just missed what should be the last cold spell of the year, At least I hope so" he said before cleaning the counter with his stained rag.

"Speaking of time of the year...what's made the whole town become a graveyard on the outside? Attacks? Celebrations?" I asked.

"No, A wake, Lord Ungard died 4 days ago and we just buried him this afternoon, As such, you're now apart of his wake".

'A send-off to that idiot? Ok, Not really sure why but I'll go with it' i thought to myself before saying out loud "Lovely, So let me guess, Now I'm expected to weep until my eyes feel and look like they're on fire?",

"Well at least your cheekiness is intact, So perhaps the northern tundras weren't so bad after all" Talen remarked, I giggled a small amount before remarking "I suppose not my old friend, I suppose not".

I then sat there for some time, Drinking my mug of ale and listening to the sounds of the musicians playing lutes, Fiddles, Drums, Flutes, There was even a keyboardist! Which was for a small town of only a few hundred a rare luxury, And i could distinctly hear them playing the works of past ages such as the Pavana's and dance's of John Dowland from a past land called England, A once large and high-class society which fell millennia ago in blood, Battle and corruption, Although what fully happened, No one now knows, Another work I could hear was a piece for the keyboard, A sonata I think they're called, This one was by an unknown writer of music only known by his last name, Beethoven and it's said through the various legends and myths passed down from our elders and their elders that he was in his day and for a few centuries thereafter considered to be one of the greatest composers in history, But due to the rise of obscene music and entertainment which later was out-lawed, Was forgotten mostly for many years until the great desolation happened, Since then, He has been loved by many, To the best of my knowledge, They were playing his 14th sonata.

By about half of an hour after my arrival most people left except for one person, A fellow elf named Gafri called me over, "Hey you, The one with the brown cloak on, Get over here, I want to talk to you", He spoke with a deep, Raspy and almost gravelly voice and his face, Chest and arms were riddled with various scars and cuts ranging in size and length, He also appeared to be quite old, Perhaps around 400 to 500 years old, I then walked over to the table he was at and sat down.

"I heard about your....little endeavour up in the north, And I'm here not only to give payment for that but to give you something" he told to me.

"Very well, But I don't recognize you, Let me guess, Old Hagnar is in the dungeons again?" i responded, "Sadly yes, On his way here yesterday, An ambush of guards from the 3rd Squad got him, But don't worry, He should be out in a month or two, That Ol' bastard has gotten through worse, For me, Well...I'm just a friend of his, Surprised we've never met considering I've been in this goddamn business for so long", I chuckled at his comment I must admit, But it wasn't a shock, This was his fourth capturing with the 3rd this year.

"That's true, Well let's get to the chase, What's my payment this time? 2 score of coppers? 1 of slivlys? Perhaps a nice shiny gold coin?" I asked, "No, Your payment is 1 jade disc, Half a score of slivlys and a quarter score of coppers".

"A jade disc? Gally is being awfully generous this time, I'm guessing someone held a dirk to his neck?" I responded with a higher tone, "Surprisingly no, He just understands fully that Gafrat Island isn't the nicest place in Tanada, So he gave that to you 'on the house' so to speak" he said while handing me a sack with the payment inside.

"That's atypical of him, He virtually treats me like a slave, A dog almost whose taken a giant shit on his master's bed, But I will admit something, On the way up there, I did enjoy the view of the Lake of Emeralds, But crossing the River White Water was one hell of a nightmare, Those rapids...."I then trailed off into nothingness before Gafri said "Don't worry, That's all in the past, Now your back home, Warm and got some money to spend, Besides I've heard you liked the Northern Triad?".

"Oh i do, Don't get the thought on that I don't But not at this time of year, It's freezing up there, There is a reason why it's called by some 'The Triangle of Cold', However in the warmer months, It's a pleasant place to travel to, And...to kill obviously" i replied with a grin before saying "But still, As long as I've got a bottle of ale, A warm bed and perhaps a whore to wank at and maybe fuck, I'll be fine"

He then poured me and himself, A drink, We then drank a few sips before he continued, "Well with that out of the way, It's time for me to give your next mission, Gally wants you to head up to Hert City near the border, I know it's north, But as you should know, It's located by a set of hot springs, So things shouldn't be too bad, Oh and here's the item I was told to give to you, Its a letter".

"Oh really? From whom may I ask?" I responded,

"It's beyond me, I was just told to give a letter to you by a courier who showed up about an hour before you arrived, Said it was of the utmost importance, Probably the reason why he had a pack of thugs guarding and watching him from every corner for seemingly nothing".

I have to say, This was quite odd, I almost never got any letters, Messages, Notes, etc, Really all I got was the occasional pamphlet telling me my next mission, Payment or something of the sort, But a personal letter? This was unusual, "Well....let me open it up and read it", And I did just that and as I broke the wax seal which bore an emblem of a tree, The sign of life which is the symbol of the Triad, Around which were words, 'Lurandi vita, Nec franget', Which is Latinus for "Our oath is our life, And none shall break it", That was the motto of Tanada, Although few followed it, I must admit I trembled and my hands shook as I opened it and the letter read like this:

"To the Elf known as 'Drifter'"

"Dear Sir, You may not realize this but you have eyes and ears watching you on your travels, And now with your last kill, Little do you know of the effects to follow, As such, I urge you to meet me where you'll have your next mission, Hert City, Meet me in the Hollowing Inn on the eastern outskirts of the city, There you will be informed, But remember, It's urgent."

'-G'

"Hmm....this is most odd indeed" I said once I finished, "What is it about?" Gafri asked.

"Someone wants to meet me in an inn just east of Hert City" I replied with a worrisome face.

"On what exactly?".

"Don't know, Just said it's urgent, No more, This person though did say my last hit will be followed by certain "effects", What he implies I really don't know, The only way I'll find out is if I go there", I then folded the letter up and put it away in my backpack, "Listen, Send word to Gally I might be late because I'm gonna wait until morning to leave for two reasons, One my legs feel like they're falling apart, And two, I need to think about this, Deeply".

As I rose from my seat, Gafri asked me one last question, "Did the seal give any sign on where it's from?".

"In fact it did, The seal bore the emblem of the Triad" I said in reply, and he then sighed deeply before nodding and then leaving,

I then asked Talen to stay for the night at one of his rooms, He agreed and I handed him 2 slivlys, 1 for the drinks and the other for the room, As I walked up the stairs, I noticed the walls were lined with paintings and drawings of nature, Birds, And even a drawing of a bare-lady, Must admit it did ruin the array of an otherwise good collection of art, The room I was given was the 3rd in the left hall on the right, In total the Bacaren Inn had 24 rooms for rent separated in two halls of 12 with 6 on each side, Indeed it was the largest on all of Urat Island, The Inn itself had an interesting history, During the 2-Dozen War (Named as such due to the fact it lasted for exactly 24 years) over 3 centuries ago, It was said that the place was destroyed thrice and rebuilt thrice, I'm surprised the place is still standing now after all these years, Anyway, I then walked into my room, The place was nicely designed and had a wonderful decor with a vase of red Winterblooms by the window, A small one-man bed in the centre of the room, A small closet for storage and a table with a small chair next to it, I then sat down at said table and pondered for a while, What this letter means and why would this person send it? I'm just a petty assassin who kills for payment, Originally it was for the thrill of killing but that waned off years ago, Suddenly a knock then came at the door, I opened it and Gafri appeared in front of me again.

"Sorry to intrude but I almost forgot, The courier also gave me this parcel along with the letter, I apologize for not remembering but as they say, Better late than never, Anywho, Night", "Goodnight Gafri", He then left and I closed the door, Shortly before retiring for the night, I glanced out the ice-rimmed window and saw that most had not returned home and that sound had now come back to the town, Although it was mainly just singing and the crackling of the street lamps with a little bit of walking mixed in, I then picked a book off the shelf and read for a short while, It was a re-printed version of the first in a set of nine of an ancient tome called The Hunchback, It was rather fragmented but I got the general scope of the story, Then I blew out the lamps and drifted into a deep slumber, One which I needed for the journey ahead, A journey to Hert City.

I awoke the following morning only to be surrounded by the 3rd Squad, "Hold it there assassin scum! You're under arrest for the murder of Haser Gornorh, Duke of the Island of Gafnat and Nephew to the King of the Poté!, What say you in your defence?".

Shit, An ambush, I knew then that this was a trap, There was to be no meeting, And the money I received was probably counterfeit, "What the hell is this all about? Who did this?!" I yelled, "That would be I Drifter", And Gafri then walked in and looked at me, "You see, This was all planned and staged, The letter, The parcel of which I see you didn't open and the bag of counterfeit cash, Everything was just a mirage, A performance, And all of us played our parts beautifully".

"You slimy 3rd Squad bastard! Rat! Traitor! Deceiver!" I yelled in front of him.

"Traitor? Oh no no no no, You're the traitor here, Not I" he said with a conceited face, "Well at least I'm an honest traitor, I don't conceal anything, I just go to the target, Kill them and return" I said to him with ample gasps.

"I don't think that matters now, You're going to jail and I'm getting a raise among the 3rd considering there is quite a price on your head, I believe it's now half a score of diamond discs" he said.

'10 diamond discs? That's more than I get in a year!' I thought to myself, "You really are one lousy piece of shit, Let me tell you, You'll pay for this one day, But i do have one last thing to ask, What was in that parcel?".

Gafri looked at me and grinned before saying "Does it matter? Will it help? Should it be cared about? No, All that matters is you, Now get moving you son of a bitch, We've....prepared a nice cell for you".

I then walked out with them in chains heavily guarded to the prison wagon, There I was taken to the jails some 40 kilometers away and locked in a cell deep down in the dungeons, The feeling's I felt were mixed, Some were of betrayal, Some of hate, Some of pity and some were of confusion, Confusion on why, Why would he do this? And how did they find out? No matter the case, I was now left here to rot, Left to die.