Chapter 1

Charlene wasn't a stranger to bad luck. She'd been having quite a bit of it lately. The map-making business was slow, the rent was almost due and she was slowly eating into her savings. That was just this week. There was also her research. She'd been at that for about a month now. She spent almost all of her free time in the library, to the point where it was basically her second home, and had been rewarded with nothing but dead ends. Most people would have given up on it by now but not Charlene. Charlene had never been one to go down without a fight and that wasn't about to change.

The day she finally got her first clue started out like any other. She was at the local library, in her usual spot near the back of the room. She preferred it back there, as it was usually the least populated section of the library. It also happened to be close to the books she needed, which was an added bonus. She had her feet up on the table, nose buried in a book as usual. This one was called 'The Complete Guide to Curses and Hexes'; a promising title. (16) Charlene had been excited at first, as one of the curses sounded close to what she was looking for. However, upon reading further, it became clear the two were nothing alike. It was just another dead end.

Disappointed, Charlene flipped to the back of the book and began scanning the index for anything that might help her. (Nat. 1) Then, she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Miss Amakiir?" A familiar voice said.

Startled, Charlene lost her balance and the chair she was sitting on fell backwards. The book she was reading hit the ground with a loud thump and slid across the floor, getting the attention of the few people reading nearby. She was now lying on the floor, staring up at the very concerned librarian, Mrs. Smedley. (12) Next to her was a tall, half-elf man she didn't recognise, though she could tell from his attire that he was a member of the local Wizard's Guild. The man was currently staring at her like she had two heads. Embarrassed, Charlene quickly got to her feet and picked up the chair.

"Good heavens, are you alright?" Mrs. Smedley asked.

Charlene nodded. "I'm fine. Sorry about that. Who's this?"

"Walaver Chandler," The man said, extending a hand, "Head of Arcane Research at The Zardhurst Wizard's Guild. Nice to meet you, Miss Amakiir."

Charlene stared uncomfortably at his outstretched arm. After a moment of awkward silence, Mrs. Smedley cleared her throat.

"I should be heading back to the front desk." She told Walaver.

She walked off, leaving the two of them alone. As she did, Walaver picked Charlene's book up off the floor. He paused a moment, inspecting the cover, before handing it back to her. She uneasily accepted it, hoping not to have to explain herself.

"Interesting read." He commented. "Looking for anything in particular?"

"Not really." She lied. "Just curious. Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually. Here, let's sit down."

Walaver motioned back to the table Charlene had been sitting at. The two sat across from each other. Charlene wasn't quite sure what he wanted but was secretly hoping it was something related to cartography. Maybe The Guild was having some sort of business trip? Unfortunately, this was not the case.

"Before I begin," Walaver said, "I'd just like mention that we've heard quite a bit about you and your expeditions down at The Guild. We were all very impressed."

(10) Charlene frowned. She didn't need the reminder. In fact, she'd been trying to bury those memories for quite a while. She had a feeling she knew where this was going but decided to keep listening. Perhaps it was just an off-handed comment.

"Anyway," Walaver lowered his voice a little, "getting to the point, there was a warlock working for us a while ago. His name was Ambros Fletcher. Have you heard of him?"

(18) Charlene nodded. She knew him, both from business and gossip. Ambros worked at the Wizard's Guild as well. His job was to document the identities of evil warlocks and all existing patron deities. He usually kept to himself, not really bothering to make friends or even idle chit chat. Occasionally he'd come in to buy maps from Charlene or she'd run into him at the library doing research. Every time, he barely even spoke to her and rarely made eye contact. She thought he was just shy or something, since he'd also seemed a little jumpy at times.

Then, one day, he just disappeared. Rumours began to spread that he'd died or was killed after turning evil. Charlene had her own theories about it, ranging from trouble with the law to a mental breakdown. These were mostly based on his last visit to the library, where he'd seemed much more anxious than normal. She'd considered talking to him but…as bad as she felt for him, she wasn't good at dealing with that kind of thing. She wasn't sure how much more believable her explanations were but they beat the usual ones. At least in her theories he was alive.

"Good." He continued. "Well, and I do ask that you keep this between us, we found him. Were the two of you close?"

"Not really." Charlene answered. "Why? Is he dead?"

"No, he is very much alive. We're more concerned about his mental state. We believe he may be working for an evil entity; one that he failed to catalogue. We don't know much, just that he appeared in Amity Hallow last night and has been wreaking havoc ever since. Reports from the guards indicate he's gone completely mad, chucking spells and speaking nonsense. We need someone to put a stop to this quickly, preferably with non-lethal force, before he burns the whole town to the ground. With your history, we figured-"

"I'm afraid you're asking the wrong person." Charlene interrupted. "I don't do that stuff anymore."

"We thought you might say that. Unfortunately, we don't have many other options. Ambros is a powerful warlock and none of our other hires have returned. You may be our last hope."

Charlene felt a bit guilty. She'd seen that something was off about Ambros. For all she knew, this was partially her fault. Still, going after him wasn't a good idea. Yeah, she'd done things like this before but that was almost a year ago. Now, with her conditions… With her current luck, she'd only make things worse.

Although…business was pretty slow and the rent was almost due. If it payed well enough, one last job could be enough to keep her afloat for a good while.

"What's in it for me?" She asked him.

Walaver grinned at the question. "How's 60 gold sound?"

That was a pretty decent amount. Still, she was doing this alone.

"70." Charlene said. (10)

"I'm afraid 60's as high as we can go." Walaver told her. "However, I do have something else you may be interested in."

She raised an eyebrow. "And that is…?"

"Information."

Walaver looked pointedly at her gloved hands, which were folded neatly on the table. A chill went down Charlene's spine and she quickly withdrew them, tugging the right glove as far over her wrist as she could. She eyed him suspiciously.

"How did you-?"

"I'm the Head of Arcane Research." He reminded her. "I know how to spot a curse. You also flipped right to the index, as if you were looking for something specific. That doesn't really strike me as the actions of someone who's merely 'curious', Miss Amakiir. Tell me, how much do you know about it?"

"Not much." She admitted. "I've looked through almost every book in this section and I have nothing to show for it."

Walaver smirked. "There's your problem. The spell your looking for was outlawed decades ago. You won't find it in these books and most older ones would be heavily censored. To find out what it is, you'd need help from particular sources, The Guild being one of them."

"So you know what it is?"

"I may." He answered. "Though, it's odd you don't, given its nature. Regardless, I'd be willing to tell you everything I know. Maybe I could even find a way out of it. All I need from you is one small favour."

Charlene sighed. "Ok, I get it. I stop Ambros; you tell me what you know and I get 60 gold. You've got a deal."

"Excellent." Walaver said.

He stood up and held out his hand again. Charlene stayed seated, still refusing to shake it. After a moment of standing there awkwardly, he finally put his hand down in defeat.

(15) "Right," He mumbled under his breath, "poor form."

Charlene wasn't sure what he meant by that but wasn't about to say anything. She wasn't one for hand shakes.

"Amity Hallow, you said?"

Walaver nodded. "You know the place?"

Charlene rolled her eyes. "I make maps for a living. Of course I know it!"

"Good, I'll leave you to it then. Once you've dealt with the situation, bring some form of proof to the Wizard's Guild and everything will be explained."

With that, Walaver turned and walked away, leaving Charlene at the table. The second he was out of sight, she put her head in her hands. She wasn't looking forward to this. The entire point of moving here had been to finally put adventuring behind her. Still, she was desperate for information and she wasn't getting much here. If Walaver really did know something, and he did seem to, she'd do anything to find out what. Even if it meant going on one last adventure, Charlene had to do this.

She finally had a lead.