Edwin had hoped that the pause on requests was just a stopgap measure, a knee-jerk response to an unexpected event and that things would soon go back to normal. Those hopes were dashed when there was no change the next day, or the day after. More and more adventurers gathered in the lobby of the guildhall every morning, and rumors about calamities from more goblin nests to a second, even stronger monster wave ran wild. Edwin did his best to tune them out, but he agreed with the rumormongers on one thing: Something was going on.

Finally, on the fourth day of the ban, there was news.

“By the authority of the Guildmaster, all Adventurers are ordered to gather in the training yard at noon.” Edwin read the notice posted on the guildhall doors.

“Are you sure that’s what it says?” An adventurer next to him asked. The man was easily a head and a half shorter and couldn’t see over the tightly packed crowd.

“That’s what it says,” Edwin said with a shrug. “Not really much to get wrong.”

“I’ve never seen them use the word ‘ordered’,” muttered an older adventurer near the front. “Even when there was something we were required to do, they always made sure to sugarcoat it somehow.”

“A mistake perhaps?” Someone else asked.

“Maybe…” The first one said thoughtfully. “But I really don’t like this.”

--- ----- ---

When noon approached, the information had spread to even those who didn’t check in at the hall every morning. The lobby was packed to the brim, and the crowd continued outside the doors and onto the main square.

“Please be patient and don’t push!” Meren, the elderly receptionist shouted over the hum of conversation. “The Chaptermaster is still addressing the recruits in the yard. Make room or they won’t be able to leave and this won’t get anywhere!”

A few minutes later the doors to the training yard opened and the recruits came flooding into the building. The first ones almost tripped as they were funneled through a tight corridor made up of their seniors, looking on in different states of impatience and unrest. Even with the surprising reception, Edwin noticed that the recruits were one and all looking disturbed, worried, downtrodden, or a mixture of the three.

“Just what the hell is going on?” Leodin murmured, and Edwin nodded absentmindedly.

The last of the recruits filed out of the yard, and the Chaptermaster and his deputy followed after them. Master Hector looked around with a grim expression, then asked into the quieting crowd.

“Is Bordan present?”

Edwin turned to his teammate, who looked just as surprised as him.

“Here!” Bordan replied loudly, pushing to the front.

“Follow me.” The Chaptermaster said curtly and led the way up the stairs.

Questioning looks burrowed into Edwin from all sides, and he just shrugged helplessly.

Meren cleared his throat. “Please continue into the yard. The Chaptermaster will be with you momentarily.”

‘Momentarily’ turned out to be around fifteen minutes, plenty of time for the assembled warriors to grow restless again. Edwin and his teammates were approached several times by people hoping for more information, which, of course, they didn’t have.

Finally, the Chaptermaster stepped up onto a makeshift stage that had been erected in place of the archery targets, and the crowd quieted.

“My friends,” Hector began, his voice echoing between the tall walls. “Over the last few days, I have been in constant communication with the Guildmaster. As the matter at hand is complex and highly delicate, he has written to you directly. I will read it to you in his stead. I ask that you keep an open mind and that you do not interrupt me until I have finished. I will answer questions afterward.”

Ildre, his deputy, passed him a scroll and he cleared his throat.

“Adventurers!” Hector began reading. “To understand what misfortune has befallen our home, I shall tell the tale from the beginning. Several days ago I was summoned by our liege, the duke…”

--- ----- ---

Five days prior

The ducal palace of Harvand

Pel Harvand

The Guildmaster barely kept himself from furrowing his brow as he followed the servant through the decorated hallways. He had held his position for almost a decade, and he visited the palace regularly enough to develop a feel for the place. It had never felt like this.

The way the staff walked, as if they wanted to break into a run instead but were held back by discipline and decorum. The way that even experienced courtiers let their disquiet bleed into their expressions when they weren’t paying attention. Something was extremely wrong, and the fact that he had been summoned before whatever that was became public knowledge meant that he was in some way entangled in it.

They stopped in front of the door to one of the more private conference chambers where he was handed off to another servant who politely informed him that his Grace was still in a meeting. So, he waited, growing more uneasy by the minute.

A short while later the door opened and several men walked out whom the Guildmaster immediately identified as the heads of the most important merchant and shipping companies. All of them wore grim expressions, and they spoke in hushed, urgent tones as they hurried off down the corridor. The servant gestured for him to enter.

“Master Crispin, thank you for joining us on such short notice.” Duke Harvand greeted him in a tired voice from his seat at the end of the table, waving him to a chair without getting up himself. “Please, skip the formalities. We have all had a very long day, and it has yet to show signs of ever ending.”

“Of course, your Grace,” The Chaptermaster said, taking a seat across from the only other person at the table, General Marcus.

“Let’s get you up to date.” The general said, waving to his adjutant who was standing behind him. The man, Crispin vaguely remembered him being a captain although he couldn’t recall his name, stepped forward in a smooth motion, reading off the documents in his hands.

“Four days ago, Master Monrei of the Marrad Mage’s College unexpectedly deceased, seemingly passing away peacefully while spending his evening in his home. His death was initially considered suspicious, as he had been generally healthy, so it was investigated by both the city guard and the Inquisition. Raven assets in Pel Ister have provided us with the guard’s investigation documents, which state that no outside influence was identified. The death was ruled natural, and the news was spread throughout the continent to allow for him to be mourned.”

The Guildmaster furrowed his brow. This much was common knowledge, and while it had been sad to hear of the old healer’s passing, Crispin hadn’t given it any more thought beyond that.

“In the following two days, four more members of the Marrad College council were found dead. Two of them were high councilors, the Heads of Ritualism and Materialism, one adjunct councilor, the Head of Alchemy, and finally the deputy of the Materialism faculty. Their deaths were identical to Master Monrei’s – nothing about them raises any suspicion except for their timing, and the fact that some of the deceased were still far too young to fall prey to their age.”

Crispin was stunned. There was no way this was a coincidence, which meant that somebody had found a way to kill mages without leaving a trace. Not just that, they had actually used that method on a grand scale. Even among the nobility, assassinations were extremely rare. In the magic community, nothing like this had happened…ever.

“Yesterday, the Marrad College Council convened in a special session, now with over a third of their members exchanged, and voted on two motions brought forward by the Head of Spellweaving, Master Kelmor. The first motion was to acknowledge the newly founded kingdom of Marrad, as none of the College branches had done so until now. The second motion was to identify the Duchy of Harvand as an ‘external threat to the continued existence of the realm’. Both were accepted with no votes against and only a few abstentions.“

This can’t be happening. Crispin thought, looking to the duke in the hope that this was all some elaborate joke. The defeated look on his liege’s face dispelled that notion immediately.

“The result of these two motions then triggered article five of the Laws on Magic, commonly referred to as the “defensive emergency”. As per the law, another vote was held involving both high and adjunct councilors. Again, there were no votes against, passing it with the required two-thirds majority. As of midnight yesterday, the Marrad Mage’s College has officially joined the war on the side of our enemy.”

The adjutant lowered his papers and stepped back against the wall, leaving the Guildmaster speechless as a cold feeling spread outward from his stomach, slowly climbing up his back while sweat moistened his brow and hands that desperately clenched his chair.

“That can’t be true!” Crispin almost moaned. “Mages haven’t fought against humans since… since…”

“The Mage Wars.” Duke Harvand said quietly. “Even during the civil war that forced our ancestors into exile, they stood by and watched. We are witnessing the end of five centuries of peace and order.”

“What about our mages?” Crispin asked. “Surely they won’t let this stand unanswered?”

The duke nodded. “The Council was informed immediately, and I assume that they are in deliberation right this moment. It will be a difficult conversation to have, I am sure, as it is ultimately their world that is being turned on its head more than anything else.”

He shared a look with General Marcus, then continued.

“Despite the firm stance on nonviolence our College has held until now, there is really no option that I can see for them except following suit and joining the war as well. After all, being peaceful stops being a valid course of action the moment your enemy levels their sword at you. I expect confusion and shock to slow down the process, but once we have taken all necessary measures here in the capital, I will personally travel to Pel Oreis and speak before them myself. Threaten, bribe or beg, I will secure their assistance, for if I fail to do so, by the time winter comes around again this duchy will be naught but fond memories.”

The Guildmaster wiped his hands on his trousers and leaned back, taking a deep breath.

“What madmen are holding the reins over there? How could it be allowed to come to this?”

Duke Harvand nodded sadly. “Yesterday, my greatest worry was how to leave the world a better place for our children. Today, all I hope is that we find a way to keep it from burning to the ground.”