CHAPTER 2
You wash your face upon the river waters; they are cold.
You know seated behind that man, Gurmandiir, in a carriage that follows the white road. He shifts around slightly, and you can see a golden laced blade.
"You are no fool. But you are slumbering and in need of someone to lead you. Listen, you were there, but you didn't see their endless numbers. I tell you, Giant, they are at the foot of Modoc now. No more or no less than a hundred and fifty armed lawmakers defend those walls. Fire and smoke chokes that mouth, aye, they are dragons of flame. Their black riders fall, and their savage half-men bow and kneel, but two take the place of one."
"Why come all the way here? You are a Paladin of the Heart of Ice..."
"Aye, but the fool Cynoggar has betrayed us! We thought him and ally and I've championed him all my life, yet he has lead three of the Paladins into traps of his own making...I will not blame you, Giant. I too have wept for the loss of those blades"
"Aye, I was there. It was due to their sacrifice that I was able to crush the fiend's skull, escape and gain entry here upon king's land."
The man shakes his head in a scowl. "I do not blame you. But you must repay that debt" he unsheathes the blade and it is like a king's hoard taken shape "I will tell you of the Sapient Blades now. This is Agganthorn, aye, and it is brother to the blade of Lorn, whose wielder is my twin Fenrir"
He sheathes it again, muting the glow. "The twins sent there you have already met. Grim Don wieldier of Mailgnash and Graz Hal wielder of Lamelar"
You shudder. He continues "Fenrir is not dead, but one pair, and a half of it, lay lost. Aye, I will tell you of Locus. The fool, mislead, went alone into a tomb of unknown lineage. His brother Od, tells us it was the tomb of Baelund himself. But it does not matter. Locus is missing along with Sleipnir, the fairest blade given to us."
"I buried the twin along with their blades. Their death I mourned, aye, saddened for it was done by a cruel hand"
"Buried? Then the blades have dissolved already...good. You've done well. But tell me, I believe you, it was a Slayer that killed them?"
"A slayer yes, controlled by a mage!"
"Then we have much to discuss."