Week 4

The blue moon watched over Sanctuary with a vibrancy that Rio had not seen since the passing of Lady Penastra. Night time provided him with the peace and clarity he needed to reflect on the events of the day.

Common pick pockets! Incensed by what his “friend” had referred to him and his guild as earlier that day Rio paced up and down the jetty. The cool breeze helping somewhat to calm his temper. Not one to often allow his emotions to rule him Rio had been taken back by this remark and he intended to tackle this head on.

The guild was empty now, the prison looking cold and uninviting. Rio had no reason to be here either other then he needed to get away from the festivities. That and he wouldn’t want to be accused of lifting a few silvers from a few drunks. His guild where no doubt at home, some with their families, other perhaps at work. They are all decent people he thought. All working hard to make a living by day, and all eager to come together and discover, retrieve, uncover some sort of lost treasure. Some way of opening up that door of infinite possibilities.

What hurt Rio the most was that one of the most influential people in Sanctuary thought of their endeavours as deceitful, and dishonest, and akin to common thieves and this did not sit well with the Shadow Master.

The past two weeks had been bitter sweet in their achievements. After Chorlen they hoped to repeat their success when they were commissioned to retrieve stolen taxes from a local village by a notoriously hard to find group of bandits and mercenaries known to many as the brothers of nightfall.

The brothers showed why they are so difficult to catch and set a trap for Rio’s guild members. The small group, led by the promising Lazlo had not seen it until it was far too late. Rio never usually went with them on their quests. He wanted them to learn, to experience and always tried to gauge the difficulty of the task at hand to those he sent out to do it. 3 had died that night, a few made it back with some injury, Lazlo included. Markham, Janod, and Trayvan had been killed. 3 good men, two of which were married, Trayvan had children.

When Rio saw them return in the state they did he felt something that he had never really felt before. An overwhelming sense of responsibility and failure mixed in to one. He had let these men down, somehow this was his failing to them. Had he not trained them harder, had he not taught them more sooner, perhaps 3 men wouldn’t have died.

It was shortly after their return that Rio took Lazlo back out to the site of the incident, the master and his apprentice. Raging with emotion Rio knew that this was far from sensible, and his chances of success where dramatically lowered in this raw state, but he ignored his teachings, he ignored his instinct and he knew that he was wrong to do so.

At the site he laid each of the fallen to rest and promised that their families would not go wanting. The blue moon still shining brightly overhead took each of the men to a safer, kinder world beyond.

What happened after that will never be spoken of. Lazlo and Rio returned to the guild later that night. The brothers of nightfall where all dead, the taxes sent on their way again. Lazlo didn’t return to the guild until several days later, and still will not speak of what he saw that night.

Rio reflected on these events. “The people of Sanctuary are ignorant as to what we do” he thought. “It is my place to educate them”. Looking back at the empty prison, the absence of light creating a wonderfully haunting image, he remembered those fallen. “These men deserve better”