Chapter 1

"Come on, Jack, let's go."

The voice stirred up the memories of Jack Turvold's mind. For a moment, he could imagine his mother; a beautiful woman with a stone composure and freckles covering most of her skin. He looked around but couldn't find her. Along the side of the field he found a dirt road; A familiar sight for Jack. As he tries to catch up, he hears her calling out again.

"Jack! Where are you?"

Something sounded out of tune… he can sense tension in her voice. He starts to run faster along the dirt path. He hears another call from his mother, but this time, she's yelling.

"Jack," followed by a short pause, "Jack! Help us!"

The yells soon turn to screams and Jack begins a full out sprint. As he nears the edge of the field, smoke begins to fill his lungs. Black clouds billow out of the caravan resting area that he and his mother resided in. Approaching the caravan, he stops as he sees men with swords and torches running around frantically. Knights mounted on their horses are riding around, commanding their troops. He can hear their calls:

"Burn the heretics!" one yells. "Blasphemers will be killed!" another screams. "Kill the unfaithful!"

"Let's go, men!" the lead knight says. His armor and shield are engraved with gold and white ivory emblems. "Burn these blasphemers to the ground! It is God's will. He will have His way with them. He will show them that they are to follow His word, or be condemned to hell!"

Jack, terrified of what they'll do if they find him, hides just out of sight in the field. As the soldiers leave shortly thereafter, Jack hurries through the caravan to find his mother. Before he can reach his caravan, he is stopped short be the sight of a woman lying, almost naked, on the ground. She's bleeding profusely from the chest. He nears, only to realize it's his mother.

"Mother!" he yells as he rushes to her side. The sight of her blood makes him feel nauseous. He holds back his gags, tending to his mother. "Mother… say something! Please!"

She opens her eyes and looks at him. For a moment, he can see the life slowly drifting away through her eyes. She gently moves her hand unto his… and is gone. Her smile remains as he feels her grip slowly loosen around his hand.

He now realizes that there is smoke all around him. He tries to gasp for air through his sobs, but it seems useless. His mind feels faint and his body numb. As he chokes on the smoke, he feels his sight fading away. In one last breath for air, he inhales deeply…

I… I can't breath! I'm choking! Someone! Help me! Please!

#########

Quickly sitting up in his bed, Jack gasps for air and feels the urge to vomit. He feels a sense of disorientation and sorrow. His consciousness slowly regains itself as he searches his surroundings. The bedroom is pretty small, and it appears to be morning outside. Voices are heard just aloft his window, and church bells ring in the distance. Must be Sunday… After stretching his sleep away, he forces himself from the cot. On the tableside next to him, his bag and weapons kit are placed neatly on top, with his tunic and pants tucked nicely below. Sitting in the center of the room is a small bowl of fruit left over from yesterday's arrival. I could have stolen better fruit, but free is free is free, I suppose.

He casually walks to the window and peeks through the lace curtains. Lace… Outside, many peasants are going about their business, while sentries walk almost aimlessly around town. Something seems out of place though… The sentries are actually studying the faces of those who walk past.

"Smart little bastards," Jack chuckled. "No matter; how can they identify a man that they've never seen?"

The thought amused him; Searching for a face in a town full of people, when you couldn't even recognize the man if he bit you on the ass. He liked his anonymity. The only people who know his face are the inn-keeper, and the young girl he accidentally ran into yesterday arriving in town. Neither of them knew his name, but both got a good glance as his face. His face had been fairly easy to remember due to the almost dark maroon eyes… a little trick he had picked up from traveling with rogues and shape shifters.

Even with that, he knew where both of them resided and had no doubt that lose ends would tie up quickly should it need to be done. What a shame it would be. That girl will be rather beautiful when she's of age.

The thought almost bothered him. As a man trained to have no feelings in order to remain impartial, he had a real issue with women and children. He'd only had to kill a few women, but only because there was no way around it. Not too sure what to think about how to take care of a child, so he had usually left it up to the children to be scared enough to run. And yet… it got lonely being out there constantly on the go. No family… no loved ones…

No mother…

Shaking the thought from his mind, he focused on what lay in front of him; the blueprints for the city. All the back routes and dark alleys, all the rooftops, and all the inner workings of every home were there in front of him. Why would anyone actually make this and guard it so lightly? The thought was beyond him. He quickly devised his plan of action, and copied the image in his mind.

Opening the door to the hallway, he stepped out in his black cloak. His mind drifted back again:

What if it comes down to it, and I have to take care of the girl? After a short pause, he realized he was visible to the courtyard now. Never mind that, I've got my target now. This time… a lower body count will be a good thing.

And with that, he disappeared into the shadows behind the building…