The Second Coming
Chapter 1

Theman in black stands at the top of a small hill and a feeling of dread washesover him. Around him are the charred andsmoking corpses of his loyal followers, necessary but tragic sacrifices in thebattle for survival. Looking down thehill he counts the figures in white walking towards him: twelve, all thatremains of a larger force he has expended almost all of his will to repel. Taking little satisfaction from thewhite-clad forms scattered around the area, he takes a deep breath and preparesto throw what power he has left at those still approaching. The twelve simultaneously bring their handsforward, however, and his body is suddenly frozen in place, preventing him fromretaliating. Unable to move, he resortsto a verbal assault. “You cannotwin! My line doesn’t end here!”

The twelveclimb the hill and one of them reaches out a hand to touch his forehead. Despite his best efforts he screams, apiercing sound that seems to travel for miles.

Lia awoke with a jolt and the hairs onher neck rose due to the shrill nature of the cry. She ignored her robe and jumped out of bed,then ran through the door into the kitchen. Lia muttered a curse, grabbed a carving knife, and ran into her parents’room, only to replace no-one there. Shethen fled to the outside of their small home and nearly gutted her father inthe process, as he opened the door just before she did.

“What in Revan’s name are youdoing? You could have killed me!”

Lia looked at her father in disbelief;had he not heard it? “I… I heard ascream… is mother alright?”

“She is outside.” Her father paused, apparently ignoring Lia’shysteria. “I did not hear a scream;perhaps you were dreaming?”

Lia did not answer and ran past herfather. She stopped almost immediately;her mother was sweeping the path, as she usually did after breakfast. “I… I… must have been dreaming. It sounded so real…” Lia looked down at theknife in her hand and noticed her knuckles were white from gripping it. “I am sorry, father. I must have had a nightmare.” Lia hastilymoved back into the house and placed the knife back on the kitchen table.

Francis Essmoor knew well enough toleave his daughter alone at certain times; Lia was eighteen, proud and did notdeal with embarrassing situations well. The temple scribe shook his head, smiled, and looked across at Lia, whowas sitting at the kitchen table nibbling on a piece of bread. She was his only child, and he was immenselyproud of her. Lia had sharp wits, asimilar intellect and didn’t suffer fools gladly, which was more than he couldhave ever hoped for. He had oftenwondered what Lia would make of her life and was still unsure what his daughterwould decide to do. For women in Suria,there were usually two choices: marry young and raise a family, as his wifeNatalya had done, or join the church of Revan as an acolyteand live a life of sacrifice. Despiteher age, however, Lia had no interest in either of the more traditionalpaths. She preferred to have dallianceswith the more charismatic local boys, and evening prayers aside, showed no realinterest in religion. As a father inSuria, Francis was unconventional, in that he had not forced Lia to choose apath that was not in her heart, despite criticism from friends and neighbours.

For some time Lia had shown a desire tosee the world outside of Crossmoor, where the family had settled before she wasborn. When Natalya was with child,Francis had received an offer of employment within the Temple of Revanin Crossmoor. What was unusual about theoffer was that the family lived in the southern region of Suria, and thePriestess of Revan who offered him the position had travelled south especiallyto do so. The Priestess had said it wasnormal for the church to recruit people in that manner, but Francis or Natalyaweren’t aware of that method and neither were any of their friends. At the time Francis and Natalya werestruggling to make ends meet, so he had eagerly accepted. Within two weeks they were settled in a smalldwelling in a remote area on the south side of the town, a home in which theystill resided. The only condition wasthat while Francis was employed at the temple, neither he, Natalya or theirchild could leave Crossmoor. Francis hadfound the request odd and when he had politely enquired as to why the conditionwas necessary, the Priestesses only provided a vague response.

After watching her father leave thekitchen to re-join her mother, Lia made a more substantial breakfast; Lia’sslim figure belied her considerable appetite. While she cut a large slab of cheese from her mother’s store, Lia casther mind back to the scream she thought she heard. Her father didn’t hear it, which meant itmust have been a dream, no matter how real it felt. She forced down a shudder, helped herself toa glass of milk, and considered her plans for the day. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t have any, whichshe knew would irritate her friends, who all had significantresponsibility. Lia grinned as shepictured their faces scowling, then finished her breakfast and returned to bed.

*

Lia woke around mid-morning, the earlierincident all but forgotten. Thatparticular day, she decided to wear something bold, and chose some dark-browntrousers with a loose-fitting crimson blouse and some soft boots. As was usual most mornings, Lia decided towander around Crossmoor, and shortly after dressing she offered a breezygoodbye to her mother and walked into one of the more active areas of the town.

Crossmoor was a medium sized town in theheart of Suria and had a population of a few thousand. To the south east lay Surian, the nation’scapital city, and the home of the senate. Due to its proximity to one of the main trading roads through Suria,Crossmoor was well supplied with a large number of inns and merchants. There was also a sizeable temple in the towndedicated to Revan, the God of Pity, and pilgrims often travelled longdistances to worship there.

Inns. There was something about them that had sparked Lia’s interest since shewas an adolescent. The scribe’s daughteroften spent hours at a time in her favourite inn, The Piebald Lamb, which while not one of the Crossmoor’s truly upmarket establishments, did by no means attract the dregs of society. TheLamb had a reputation for being particularly welcoming to travellers, andthe proprietor, Warnock Spicer, was not one to ask too many questions of hispatrons. As a result, it tended toattract folk passing through and colourful characters from the local area.

TheLambwas a short walk from Lia’s home and the latter part of the journey was throughan urban trading district. There weretwo merchants whose wares Lia particularly enjoyed browsing through, the firstof which was Mulby’s jewellers. One day,Lia would replace enough wealth to be able to purchase the attractive pieces itstocked. How she got that wealth,however, she had absolutely no idea. The wares of the second merchant, Daved Trescanthy, were completelydifferent from those of any other establishment in Crossmoor, which was why Liaenjoyed visiting. The merchant’spremises were opposite The Piebald Lamb,and the two establishments shared an almost symbiotic relationship: the typesof client that Spicer encouraged would sometimes visit Trescanthy’s shop, andpeople who came to buy or sell an exotic item would often stop by The Lamb for refreshment.

That day Lia decided against visitingthe jewellers but did call in on Trescanthy; she hoped he had acquired some newitems since her last visit, which was three days previously. TheExotic Emporium appeared to be a simple shop from the front, with nostriking sign or window dressings, and its proprietor also wasn’t much to lookat: Trescanthy was a stockily built man in his early forties, with a greyingand balding pate. TheEmporium was a smallish place but was packed with shelves full ofitems from outside of Crossmoor, including books, clothing, weapons andtrinkets. Lia often thought the outsidedidn’t do the splendour inside justice.

Even though she had been told nothingnew had been added to the stock, Lia spent a fair amount of time browsing,which prompted the merchant to let off steam. “Lia, do you have nothing better to do than bother my genuinecustomers? You’ve seen everything I haveat least twice!”

“You never know what you have here,Daved. With your dreadful memory, youmight have forgotten!” Lia continued tolook around the shop, and traced her hand over a particularly fine lookingrapier, one she had developed a fascination with.

Daved rolled his eyes in mock disbelief.“You know how much that thing costs, Lia, and you will never be able to affordit. And even if you could, I wager youhave absolutely no idea how to use it. Iwould not want your father banging on my door complaining about his skewereddaughter!”

Lia didn’t hear him because her eyeswere focused on the rapier; she gazed at the blade in awe and picked it up inher right hand. “I just love the sound it makes.” She then whipped the blade around in a failedattempt at swordsmanship. As she turnedaround with the blade, Lia caught Trescanthy’s disapproving stare. Reluctantly, she replaced the blade on theshelf and started browsing through a set of books.

“Lia, I can see you are bored. Why don’t you join the temple? It may not sound exciting, but you couldreally help people.”

Lia looked at the older man and smiledbriefly. “I know where you are comingfrom, Daved, and I appreciate your concern, really I do. I dowant to help people, but not in that way.” She sighed. “I suppose I just haven’t found my calling inlife, and my father says I shouldn’t have to worry about that at my age.”

Daved’s expression darkened and he shookhis head. “He is your father, Lia, and Itrust he knows what is best for you. Don’t dismiss being of service to Revan. I am sure He will decide if He wants you or not.”

Lia nodded. “I will do that, Daved, but do not hold yourbreath. Your emporium has far too manyinteresting items for me to look at, and girls in the service of the temple arenot allowed to browse frivolously!”

After muttering something about uncaringand disrespectful youths, Daved returned to his bookkeeping, which left Lia tofiddle with a tray of ornate looking rings, one she had only looked at threedays ago. Eventually she grew bored,left the shop and walked over the street to The Piebald Lamb.

TheLambwas a medium-sized inn with rooms to support fifteen or so travellers. Underneath the sleeping accommodation was abustling, smoky bar with an ale and wine stained floor. TheLamb was quiet that day, which was not unusual considering the hour. Lia noted a couple of late-risers eatingbreakfast and what looked like two merchants speaking in hushed tones in abooth away from the counter.

Lia strolled confidently up to thecounter and rested both elbows on the wooden surface; she also resisted theurge to reach across the bar and help herself. The one time she had tried that,she had nearly lost her hand: Spicer was a good man, but he didn’t get where hewas by letting people help themselves.

Lia raised her voice. “Spicer! Where are you, you lazy dog.”

A moment later a reply came from a roomat the back of the inn. “I was trying toreplace your next client, my dear. I evenhave an empty room you can use!”

Lia laughed out loud, and the twomerchants looked at her disapprovingly.

A few moments later a tall, dark-skinned,well built man nearing his fifth decade entered the tavern from the back room;he was carrying a barrel over his right shoulder. Warnock Spicer was a strong man: he had beensomewhat of an adventurer in his younger days and had earned enough coin toleave that life behind and settle down. His wife, Freda, had passed away some years ago and Lia was the closestthing he had to a daughter. She trustedSpicer more than anyone beside her father, and he often repaid that trust byrecommending her to travellers who needed local information or wanted someoneto carry messages. Lia earned a steadyif unspectacular income as a result.

“Good morning, Lia. You’re a little late this morning, aren’tyou?” If Lia was going to stop-by TheLamb, she usually followed the same routine.

Lia repressed a shiver as she recalledthe scream. “Yes. I was woken early this morning and went backto bed after breakfast.”

Spicer dropped the barrel to the floorbehind the counter. “Well, I’m glad you are here.” He reached down and moments later his handsappeared with two mugs, one of which he handed to Lia. While she took a long draught of the spicedjuice, Lia waited for her friend to tell her more.

Spicer leaned towards Lia and loweredhis voice. “One of my current residentsneeds something doing that I feel is right up your street.” His eyes movedtowards the booth where the two merchants were talking.

Lia’s interest sparked; she was short ofcoin. “What is it they have in mind?”

“I don’t know too many details, and as youknow, I don’t usually ask, but they need someone with local knowledge to tracksomebody down. The person they arelooking for is about your age.”

“So what’s the fee?”

Spicer nodded and smiled. “Five silvers, less my usual twenty percentof course.”

“Five silvers!” She said it ratherlouder than she had intended. “They mustreally be desperate!” Four silvers wasmore than Lia had ever earned before.

Spicer nodded. “I get that feeling, but if you agree to dothis, be careful. If they are desperate,there is either danger involved or the task is hopeless. One of them isn’t exactly what I’d call amodern-thinker, either.”

Lia groaned. “Just because I am a woman doesn’t mean Icannot replace someone who is lost.”

Spicer grinned. “You converted me to your cause a while ago,Lia. Stop preaching.”

”Yes I know, and I’ll be careful.” Liahad already decided four silvers was an amount she couldn’t ignore.

Lia sat at a table closer to the cubicleso she could take a better look at the men. Both were well into middle-age with contrasting looks. The older man had no remarkable features: hishair was almost white and his clothing drab. The other, although of a similar age, dressed younger and still had mostof the colour in his dark brown hair. Lia waited for an appropriate moment, approached their table and clearedher throat. “Excuse me, gentlemen, may Ijoin you?” Lia’s left hand gestured towards a chair at an adjacent table.

The white-haired man looked across ather and scowled. “Forgive me, girl, but we are discussing importantbusiness. We have no time to debate howto bake a loaf of bread.” He turned away almost as quickly as he started theinsult.

Lia was about to offer a suitablycutting retort but the other man beat her to it. He put his hand over his companion’s. “Now Black, I suspect you were not payingattention when the proprietor spoke to us earlier. I believe this is the young lady he describedto us.” He looked Lia up and down with a grin. “Although he didn’t mention theattire.” He rose from his seat, liftedup the chair Lia had gestured towards and placed it alongside the booth. “Please, take a seat.”

Black gave the other man a look of puremalice. “I am only doing this to reclaimwhat is mine, Jonson. If you make a mistake using this girl, youwill pay for it!”

Jonson gave Black a glare of his own,one of contempt. “You will get what isowing to you, one way or another.” Black’s face grew redder, but he did not respond.

Jonsonturned his attention back to Lia and for the first time she noticed hiseyes. The left one was as you wouldexpect for a man with dark brown hair: dark brown. The right,however, was a sky blue colour, similar to Lia’s own eyes. The handsome man ignored the scowls from hisassociate and continued. “My name isAlane Jonson. I have lost someone, and I believe he is inCrossmoor; Spicer believes you are the person to replace him for me.”

Lia grinned. “I’ve been known to locate people, from timeto time.”

“That person is my son Olbane. I do not want to discuss why he is not by myside, and it is not your place to ask why. All you need to be concerned with is replaceing him.”

Lia inclined her head. “Understood.”

Jonson smiled briefly. “I last saw him three weeks ago, in Susanon,where my business is based.” Susanon was the third largest city in Eureza, andapproximately three days’ ride from Crossmoor. “I have reliable information that he decided to come to Crossmoor, and Ibelieve he joined a pilgrimage to ensure safe passage.”

“What does he look like?”

“He is about six feet tall, fairly slim,with sandy coloured hair. He normallywears fine clothes, but to be honest he looks like any other young man in histwenty-second year.” Jonson sighed.“We have asked at the temple and no-one has seen him. The pilgrimage did arrive, but that’s as much as we know.”

Lia understood why five silver coins wasthe reward. How in Revan’s name was shegoing to replace a young man with no distinguishing features in a place the sizeof Crossmoor? “Is there nothing else youcan tell me that will help? Does he haveany particular interests? Ale? Women? Pastimes?”

Jonsonconsidered the question. “He enjoys adrink, and female company, but no more than any other man of his age. He does enjoy the arts, so he might visit theopen air theatre or taverns with particularly good bards. Unfortunately I do not have the time myselfto search.” Before Lia could respond, Jonson looked across at his associate and ended theconversation abruptly. “I am here forthree days. If you replace Olbane before Ileave, let me know where he is and the silver is yours. I am staying here, so Spicer can act as aliaison.” He smiled briefly at Lia. “Good luck.”

While walking away from the table, Liasilently cursed Francisca for dangling a large carrot and then taking it away;the Goddess of Fortune was usually more favourable towards her. How on Eureza was she going to replace the youngman with so little information to work with? There were likely dozens of sandy haired men in their early twenties inCrossmoor, and while the dialect in Susanon was different to the local one, itwas not that different.

Lia returned to the now desertedcounter, gulped down her drink and left the inn. Still irritated at what was an almostimpossible task, she deliberately ignored Black and Jonson. Despite her lack of enthusiasm for thesearch, however, the thought of four silvers inspired Lia to spend the daywalking around, asking people if they had met a sandy-haired man from Susanonnamed Olbane.

When she returned home she wasirritable, hungry and no closer to replaceing her quarry. As she stormed in her mother and father weresat at the kitchen table and she barely acknowledged them on her way to herbedroom. Lia sat down at her smalldressing table and started brushing her shoulder length blonde hair, somethingshe did whenever she felt frustrated.

After a short while there was a knock atthe door. “Lia?” It was Francis’s voice.

“Come in, father. I didn’t lock the door.”

Francis opened the door and sat down onthe bed. “That wasn’t your normal happyentrance to our family home. Whathappened today?”

Brushing her hair hadn’t had a calmingeffect. “I think I have realised my lifeis lacking something. I spent half theday looking for someone I have never met and I wish I hadn’t bothered.”

Francis smiled. “Coin?”

Lia nodded and allowed herself a smallsmile. “Four silvers.”

Her father raised an eyebrow. “For four silvers, I would have tried to replace the person too!”

Lia chuckled. “Well I doubt you would have had any moresuccess than I did, father.” She sighed again.

Francis moved a little closer toher. “It doesn’t sound like four silverpieces is the problem here, Lia.”

Lia put down her brush and turned toface her father, then recalled the conversation she had earlier in The Exotic Emporium. “Should I join the church, father? Sometimes I think my life will come tonothing.”

Francis frowned and took her hand. “I am not sure that is your path, Lia. You would undoubtedly make a powerful andwise Priestess, but I feel you are destined for something else.”

Lia snatched her hand back. “How can I be destined for something else when you won’t even let me leaveCrossmoor!” She said it in a harsher tone than she intended and surprisedherself at how passionately she felt.

Francis kept his voice soft and his facetook on a neutral expression. “We havediscussed this many times, Lia. One ofthe conditions of my role at the temple is that my family remain in Crossmoor.”

“But that makes no sense! I don’t see the harm in me taking a tripsomewhere, say to Susanon? It is only ashort journey and I’d be back within a day or so. I could go with Michael next time his fatherhas business there.”

Francis appeared to consider her requestfor a few moments, and Lia hoped that by mentioning her friend Michael it wouldput his mind at rest. Eventually herfather shook his head. “I understand whyyou want to see new places, Lia, but I must respect the wishes of the church.”

Lia turned her back on him, partly outof anger and partly to hide the tears of frustration in her eyes. “Eventually you’ll be unable to stop megoing, father. When I have enough coinsaved I will leave Crossmoor.”

There was a long pause before Francisresponded. “I know this means a lot toyou, Lia, but we owe the church a lot. If it wasn’t for my position at the temple, we would have had a verydifferent life.”

Lia turned around; the tears in her eyeswere not important any more. Herresponse was shouted back at her father, something she had never done before. “That agreement was eighteen years ago! I am not a child any more!”

Francis’s face remained impassive. “I am sorry, Lia. A Priestesses’ word is the same to me as ifRevan Himself had spoken.”

She was about to utter a retort whenFrancis rose from the bed. “I don’tthink we should continue this discussion today. The next time you are out and walking around town, take a look aroundyou. I am sure you’ll realise youalready have far more freedom than anyone else your own age.” He smiled brieflyand left the room.

Despite wanting to shout a challengeback at him as he left, Lia knew he was right; unfortunately the ache in herheart didn’t diminish.