“Thidrek, wait!” called Ferran hoarsely. The warrior and the innkeeper were making their way through the forest that cloaked the mountains above Ulmer. Their labored breath misted in the air. The oaks amidst the pines…

Ferran, innkeeper of The Shadowed Rest, was counting coins when he noticed the man sitting alone at a table near the common room’s blazing hearth. Preoccupied by the copper pieces in his hand, Ferran had…