---
Chapter 2: Shadows in Kalaman
The city of Kalaman had not yet fallen — but it was cracking.
Refugees flooded its outer gates daily, their carts dragging what little remained of their lives. Smoke curled constantly on the horizon, a grim horizon of farms set ablaze and roads patrolled by Dragon Army scouts. But inside the city walls, life hadn't stopped. It had merely tightened.
In the northern quarter, hidden beneath a burned-out tavern called The Cursed Tankard, a group of strangers gathered in silence.
Kaela Sunforged stood with arms folded, leaning against a barrel. She was a knight by training, but untested — more farmer than soldier until two winters ago. Now, she carried herself like iron. Battle-scarred armor, a sword older than she was, and a stare that could hold back the sea.
Across from her sat a boy of maybe seventeen — sharp-eyed, twitchy, with soot-black hair that stuck in every direction. He called himself Thalen, and he claimed to be a wizard… but Kaela had yet to see any magic, just a lot of talking.
Beside him lounged Lira of the Branch, a kender — bright-eyed, barefoot, and fearless in the most aggravating way possible. She was flipping a dagger between her fingers, whistling off-key and seemingly unaware of the tension in the room.
"I swear," Kaela muttered, "if you drop that thing again and stab your foot, I am not carrying you."
"Don't worry," Lira grinned, catching the blade by the tip and spinning it again. "I've only stabbed myself twice today. New record."
Before Kaela could respond, the door creaked open. In walked Captain Merid Halwen, a grizzled Solamnic officer with a sword limp and an even worse limp in his right leg. His expression was carved from stone.
"We've confirmed it," he said without preamble. "They're building a camp outside the west pass. Dragon Army. Thousands."
Thalen swallowed. "Here? Already?"
"They're not just marching. They're looking for something." The captain tossed a parchment onto the table. A sketch. It showed an ancient artifact — a twisted staff, crowned with a symbol Kaela recognized from the shrine.
Thalen leaned in. "That's… that's a relic. From before the Cataclysm."
"And they'll burn this city to the ground to get it," Halwen said.
Silence. Kaela felt her hand tighten around her sword's hilt.
"Then we'd better find it first."