by Teru

~ Chapter 1 ~

Let me tell you of a town, once the beacon of light in our shadowy world of Darktide, now a forgotten and decrepit monument of broken dreams and lost hope. Stonehold was not always as it is now, empty streets and silent buildings were once the exception rather then the rule. As I look into the past I feel my heart ache with the pains of unfulfilled expectations. Stonehold was not just a town of bricks and timber, but a community of people who had the chance to build something stronger then any wall and more powerful then any spell. This chance slipped through their fingers, like golden grains of sand running through the hourglass of time. I do not recall if there was a specific moment when you could suddenly feel the shadows of the mountains closing in on the town but once the light began to waiver it was only a matter of time till it faded to black. Stonehold failed, that is a fact, however the failure was not due to any lack of effort or sacrifice by many of its residents, most notably my fellow Peacekeepers.

I ventured to Stonehold many seasons ago, during the first winter, the land had a young, fresh feel to it, every footstep you took gave the feeling of walking into unexplored territory, with unforeseen hazards and unknown rewards. I went to Stonehold with the hopes of joining a group of whom rumors had spread to even the southern most reaches of Dereth. It was said that Stonehold was under the protection of a group known as the Family of Silver Serpents, who's goal was to forge a northern kingdom free from the dangers that were so rampant throughout Dereth. This seemed a worthy goal, but what caught my attention was the description of a man and his small fighting force, the man was General Zang, the force was the Peacekeepers.

As I ran north to Stonehold I couldn' t help but feel I had chosen the path less taken, the distance I traveled would have caused many to take the easier path, to turn their backs to what Stonehold represented. The journey was perilous for someone of my experience, I saw many new creatures along the way but I did not stop to hunt, Stonehold was my only thought, I would not eat till I arrived and I would not sleep till I could dream under the northern stars.

I arrived as the sun slowly sank below the northern mountains surrounding the small valley in which Stonehold lay. When entering a southern town it was usual to prepare for battle since it was more then likely you would have to defend yourself from rogues who preyed off of travelers. As I approached Stonehold I did not take out my bow or cast any enchantments, for I had heard it was a different type of town, I entered on faith. The town emerged out of the dense woods that cover northern Dereth like a thick blanket, the buildings were neither impressive in size or many in number. I got closer and began to hear the sounds of the town, at first it was just a low murmur but as I entered Stonehold I found myself in the midst of a bustling town, the square was crowded with people talking and trading. In all my travels I had not seen a town such as this, I had walked into something special but as I was to learn later something very fragile as well.

~ Chapter 2 ~

My first task was to find the man who had sparked my interest in coming on my long journey to this northern town. I realized I did not know what he looked like or where exactly I could find him, so I entered the largest building in town, where a woman stood buying and selling everything from bracelets to breastplates. I asked her where I could find the man know as General Zang, she turned to me and pointed out the store window, I followed her finger out past the square and saw a lone figure standing a little ways out of town. I thanked her, but she was already dealing with another customer so I left the store and slowly crossed the square towards the lone figure ahead. As I walked I couldn' t help but feel that with each footstep I took I was getting closer to a new life and a new reality. That square must have been crossed many times since the founding of Stonehold but no one ever traveled as far as I did in those few short strides.

There he was, the man I had come all this way to find. He stood with his back towards me, looking like a sentinel on guard with his weapon in one hand and his shield in the other. I walked up slowly hoping not startle him, however as I set my foot down on the snowy ground he quickly turned and looked me over in a blink of an eye

"General Zang?". I asked.

He stood there silently for a few seconds, my mind raced to find something to say.

"Yes, who are you?", He answered as if he had been asked the question too many times before.

"I am Teru, I have heard of you and your group and have traveled a great distance to come here, I want to join the Peacekeepers."

He looked me over again, more closely this time, his eyes seemed to look right through me into my soul. I looked back at him but only so that I could see what the fabled General looked like. At a glance he looked very young but with a closer examination his face was betrayed by wrinkles of age around his eyes. His skin was worn and rough, telling a tale of hardship and experience that I had yet to see. He walked up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder and asked me to follow him. We climbed one of the small hills that surrounded Stonehold, after a few minutes we had reached a small plateau that overlooked the town. We sat on that hill overlooking Stonehold for a long time, I told him that I came to become a part of the Family of Silver Serpents, but more precisely to join his small group of Peacekeepers. He listened to me patiently and when I had finished he began to speak. He asked me if I was willing to devote my life to the path of light, to never turn my back to those in need, was I willing to take justice into my own hands and help bring law to a lawless land. I nodded slowly as he said each point, I had come this far I was going to see this through. He stood up and extended his hand to me, I rose and took it, as we shook hands he welcomed me into the Family of Silver Serpents and more importantly, into the Peacekeepers. I had many things I wanted to ask him but then he told me he had an important meeting to attend and that perhaps his second in command, Frost Gunner, could answer my questions. He left the small plateau heading back towards town, soon he was out of my sight. I stood there alone on the hill with the sun setting on my back, looking down into the tranquil valley, unaware that within a week the tranquility would be shattered and Stonehold would never be the same.

~ Chapter 3 ~

My first few days in Stonehold were peaceful, the cloud of fear that seemed to engulf everything in the southlands was blown away by the cool northern winds, Stonehold was slowly becoming my town. During my first few days in Stonehold I met Frost Gunner, if Zang looked younger then he truly was, Frost's white hair and beard gave him the look of a man much older. Compared to Zang's stoic presence, Frost was jovial when in a crowd, working up a conversation with anyone near enough to listen. Although we had known each other for a short time we seemed to hit it off well, good thing too, since we were to spend a lot of time together fighting, hunting, and talking in the future.

During one of these early days in Stonehold I decided to make a run out a place known as Ice Golem hill, it was a favorite hunting spot for those with fire weapons since the golems melted quickly when confronted with heat. I was warned before I headed out that it was also a favorite spot for raiders to attack, since the people would be busy fighting the golems and unprepared to defend themselves. As I approached the frozen hill I saw three figures, I climbed the hill slowly and recognized that they were in a friendly guild called the Circle of Arms, led by the famous Xanthro. I greeted the three and they responded with a friendly hail. I walked up to them and we started up a conversation, I noticed that I happened to be the most experienced hunter in the group, I felt a little twinge of pride. However, I also felt a cold streak run down my spine, if we were to be attacked I was not sure if I would be able to defend them.

We had been fighting golems for just a short time when my fears became reality. Just as we had dispatched a group of golems and began to recover, I had taken my wand out to cast some item enchantment spells, came the shout of "charge!" from the foot of the hill. Before we could prepare ourselves, they were upon us, I turned to see who the attackers were and I recognized her in an instance, it was Alice-te-Katrina. I had little time to react, all I knew was that she was one of the most well known killers in Dereth and I was caught totally unprepared. I ran down the hill hoping to get enough time to cast a few spells so I could have a chance in the fight, however one of her accomplices chased after me. As I ran I heard one of the members of the Circle of Arms scream in pain and then fall silent.

Alice-te-Katrina then shouted, "Bring your champion to fight me and everyone else may survive!"

I stopped in my tracks, I remembered that although I was no match for Alice, I was the most experienced fighter there, it was my duty to stand up and be counted.

I turned and yelled out, " I' ll fight you!"

She stopped her pursuit of the two other Circle of Arms members and walked slowly towards me. I found myself surrounded by the raiders, I knew there was no way I was going to escape.

She stood a few feet in front of me and said, "You want to challenge me?"

I nodded slowly, paralyzed with fear, the band of raiders gave out a bellow of laughter, they stood there staring at me with the smiles of hungry gromnies on their faces.

She pulled out a wand, "You better cast some spells on that bow if you plan on fighting me", she said with a grin on her face.

She started to cast some powerful on her bow and I pulled my wand out, trying to remember the correct words for the spells I wanted, this was not a time to forget basic spell casting. She cast her spells and I was soon ready as well, she instructed me that this was a fight to the death, if I ran I would be hunted down, I knew I could not outrun any of them, I nodded. We moved away from each other in the small clearing that we were all gathered in. We were both archers, but I held no pretenses that my skill with a bow was anything like hers. She motioned to one of her comrades to give the signal to begin. He lifted his sword into the air and then thrust it into the ground. As the blade hit the snow, Alice pulled a lightning arrow from her quiver and notched it. I did the same although I did not have any elemental arrows and as I notched the arrows I could feel my hands shaking, I knew my aim would not be true.

We let loose our arrows at the same moment and all I could see was the flash of the lightning as it came towards me. I tried to avoid it, but her aim was true, I felt my skin burn and peel away as the lightning arrow entered my chest. I fell to my knees and I looked around, the raiders all staring at me but their laughter and smiles were gone, perhaps they had seen too many people die, perhaps they understood the sacrifice I had just made. I fell face first into the snow, my blood pooling around my lifeless body.

The next thing I remember was the pull of the lifestone bringing me back to Dereth, some say the lifestone is a blessing, others would argue a curse. I could have died in that clearing happy knowing that I had saved the lives of the two members of the Circle of Arms who were able to escape while I fought, but as we all know, death is only a dream in Dereth.

~ Chapter 4 ~

My first experience as a Peacekeeper left a sour taste in my mouth, I thought to myself, how can we stand up to these raiders if they are so much more powerful then we are. I began my training the next day, I only entered town to restock the rest of my time I spent training, I promised myself that I would not go down so easily again. It was during this time that the tranquility of Stonehold was shattered, never to be fully rebuilt. It occurred one bright crisp day, I was returning from a hunt as I entered Stonehold. The usual town chatter was conspicuosly absent, as I entered I noticed that everyone was gathered in the central square. I slowly walked towards the square where the crowd had gathered, they were armed and there seemed to be a buzz of excitement in the air. Recognizing many of the faces in the crowd it seemed safe to approach and as I did I could hear the talk jumping from mouth to mouth. I t seemed that Druez Traceless, the Warlord of the Family of Silver Serpents had declared war on one of their allies who also lived in Stonehold. I was a member of the Family of Silver Serpents but I wanted to know where the General stood in this issue.

I had not seen the General for a few days since I had been in Stonehold for only short amounts of time and rarely at the same time as he. However I knew he had to be in the area, he would not miss this. I ran towards the hill were we had talked the week earlier. I climbed the hill and found what I was looking for, my fellow Peacekeepers were sitting in a semi-circle with the General standing in front of them.

As I approached I heard the General say, "Druez has gone too far this time."

Turing towards me, the General said, "Teru, its good that you're here, a lot has happened, take a seat and I'll try to explain what is going on."

I sat down between Frost Gunner and Morgoth Ogureson, a fellow Peacekeeper with whom I had spent many hours hunting in the northern woods.

The General continued, "I attended a meeting of the FSS leadership a few days ago, we attempted to get Queen Danciy Dynae to tighten her reigns on Druez, who we all know has been trying to take control of Stonehold."

"The Queen disagreed with us, she didn't see any problem with Druez's actions", Zang said quietly, "Many of the FSS leaders walked out the meeting then and there, dropping their allegiance to the Queen."

We all sat listening to the General, waiting to here what else had happened.

" I didn' t want to give up that easily", the General continued, "I thought that if we could talk it out, the FSS wouldn't have to die."

"However, Druez has made it clear to me that has no intention of working anything out", said Zang, a touch of anger in his voice, "last night he came into town, accompanied by members of the evil mage Loch's guild. After slaying the inhabitants of the town, he nailed this note onto the Archmage's door."

Some of us gasped in disbelief, Druez had crossed the line.

Zang pulled out a small, torn piece of paper and began to read, "General Zang, Aytalya, and all those that have already left the FSS, you will be killed on sight by the soldiers of the Serpent Queen."

"Druez doesn't want to talk, he wants to kill, that's all he was ever good at, "Zang said bitterly.

The General stopped and looked down into the valley of Stonehold, I could tell he felt the same way about the town as I, "Druez is a power hungry fool, we need to work together not fight each other."

The General turned back towards us, "Fortunately, Druez has no support from any other guild leaders and all the other FSS leaders have already left him and his puppet Queen, he has given me no other option, we are leaving the Family of the Silver Serpent."

As the General finished, Frost Gunner stood raising his fist in the air and proclaimed, "We are the Peacekeepers again!"

~ Chapter 5 ~

The Family of Silver Serpents was shattered, the leaders left and created their own smaller guilds within Stonehold and many others left the town for good. All that was left of the FSS was a small group under the leadership of Druez, it was agreed that they would be banned from Stonehold until further notice. Our group was not safe from the ripples of this event, almost as soon as we had declared our independence some of our members left, many whom I not even met. The Peacekeepers were down to General Zang, Frost Gunner, Hellspawn, Ravage Galson, Morgoth Ogureson, Light of Leagon, Svenn and myself. We found ourselves in a turbulent sea with only a skeleton crew to run the guild, we needed to act quickly to keep the Peacekeepers from becoming part of antiquity.

We began a strong recruiting drive during the next few weeks, we made countless treks into the southlands using the heartland portal that was located near the town. We knew we had to make ourselves more visible or the Peacekeepers might fade away into history. Our work slowly began to pay off as we received messages from across Dereth from people interested in joining us in our fight against the rampant forces of darkness. One of the first recruits to join us during this time was a mage by the name of Sai-Ban, joining us at one of our lowest points and staying a Peacekeeper through good times and bad, all the way to the end.

During this time period I went through a transition along with the guild. Only a few weeks previous I had ran to Stonehold and became one of the newest recruits, now I found myself becoming more of a veteran and with that came new responsibilities. Through many hours of practice and concentration I was able to learn how to summon portals, a skill no other Peacekeeper had at the time. This gave me the responsibility of traveling to many of the most dangerous southern towns, where new recruits were living and transporting them to Stonehold. As I did this I couldn't help but wonder whether they were missing out on an important experience by not running the distance as I had earlier. These thoughts were overtaken by the cold hard facts, if we didn\rquote t pump knew blood into the guild it might not last much longer. I took it as my responsibility to act as the gatekeeper to Stonehold for many of the new recruits that joined during this time. Our numbers seemed to rise everyday with recruits such as Red Monika, Finn Yarber, MacHeath, Archidamus, Deborah, Jaye, Aztec, Judge Death, Judge Mortis, Chi-Maria, Samtgryyl, Antigone, and Glaurung joining the cause.

Although the guilds of Stonehold were able to decide that the actions that Dreuz Traceless had taken were not in the best interest of the town, they could agree on little else. General Zang attempted to create a Council of Stonehold, where the leaders of the many guilds in the town could discuss matters without having to use force. Although there was some support from powerful figures such as Colonel Coward and Angur Jado, many of the guild leaders were apathetic towards any type of organization, they felt that it was unnecessary and it never came into being. It felt as if a student had just been handed a book from which to study and instead of reading, the student threw it to the ground, proclaiming that it had learned all it needed to know. Any chance at a democratic Council of guild leaders disappeared and soon the most powerful figures would take control and guide the town into unknown water.

~ Chapter 6 ~

As I look back, one of the defining moments for the residents of Stonehold occurred during the time of the shadow invasions. The curse was all around us at that time, it was unsafe to leave the valley as the forests were filled with shadow minions. It was said that the shadows would attempt an attack on the town itself, led by a shadow General. Many disregarded these prophesies, others listened intently as it was rumored that perhaps a great weapon or powerful wand could be taken off the corpse of the shadow General by whom ever was strong enough to kill it.

As the time of the attack grew closer, word came from other towns, that they were fighting off attacks from shadows, the prophecies were true. When I entered Stonehold a large crowd had already gathered in the square, as I mingled with the crowd something suddenly hit me. I recognized the insignia upon many of the people's armor, these were members of the guild led by the evil mage Loch. I froze and slowly scanned the crowd, the townsfolk of Stonehold were gathered in a group on one side of the square while the forces of Loch were standing on the other. I slowly moved over to the Stonehold side and found Frost Gunner. When he saw me he motioned for me to come over by him.

I approached and Frost told me in an angry voice, "This is not right, how can we allow these killers to stand in our town!"

I nodded slowly, eyeing the evil gathered across the square, "Who asked them to come here? Why weren' t they attacked when they first entered town!"

Frost sighed and answered, "They were invited."

"Invited!", I blurted out.

"Yes, it seems a group of Stoneholders thought it was best if they came to help defend the town from the coming shadow attack."

"Protect the town?", I said in amazement. "These men know nothing but death and violence, we Stoneholders can defend this town from the shadows without their help."

"I know," Frost said quietly, "I have already informed Colonel Coward, he agreed that we can't let this evil in our town!"

I saw Colonel Coward and Ballpark Billy charge out of the armor store towards Loch yelling, "For Serpico!" Serpico being a member of Ronan's guild, an ally of ours, however no one really knew what that meant.

Coward and Billy fell upon Loch as he stood there talking with his men, but Loch's troopers reacted quickly and Loch ran for cover. It happened so quickly that no one had time to react. If I had life magic I would have tried to heal them as they fought, but instead I could just watch, I knew my bow without any magic enchantments would be useless. Within seconds Colonel Coward and Ballpark Billy had been killed, I still wish I had reacted faster, I can\rquote t believe I let that happen. My vassal Judge Death was the first to act, although he was no match for the mighty mage, he attacked Loch, his courage shocked many in the crowd.

As he attacked someone yelled out, "The shadows are coming!"

I saw Judge Death fall to the ground, his lifeless eyes staring back at me, they seemed to ask, "When will you act?"

The shadows streamed into town, mixing in with friend and foe alike. Frost and I pulled our weapons and went after the Lochs, bypassing the mindless shadows. I soon found myself engaged in a running fight with an archer, elemental arrows whizzing back and forth but none of them could find their mark. As the fight went back and forth, the archer was joined by a mage who began to cast spells that drained my life away, I was forced to try to heal and fight at the same time. As I attempted to heal myself one of the archer's arrows found its mark. I grabbed the acid tipped arrow and pulled it from my leg and notched one of my own frost arrows. The archer had started to run towards me, perhaps thinking I had been injured more then I actually had been. I stood and fired the frigid arrow into his shoulder sending him falling onto his back with a scream of pain. Just as I seemed to gain the advantage in the fight, the mage turned his attentions back to me, allowing his fallen comrade time to recover. The mage started to drain my health again, and I quickly healed then let loose a frost arrow. The uncoordinated mage made a pathetic attempt to avoid it and he winced in pain as the arrow froze the skin on his arm where it struck him. As this happened, Frost Gunner, Sai-Ban, Red Monika, Judge Death and Serpico came running towards me. The archer had recovered and began to flee but Red Monika cast imperiling spells on him as Frost Gunner sprinted towards him, sword drawn. Sai began to drain the health of the archer and he was quickly sent back to his lifestone. Seeing the archer being cut down, the evil mage ran into the woods, holding his frozen arm to his side with the arrow still stuck in it.

The battle went on for many hours into the dark night, with many falling on both sides. Many times as we swept through the town chasing a Loch or being chased by them, we realized that Stonehold had been deserted by the townsfolk. We wondered were they had all gone, we had seen Colonel Coward and his men fighting, but what of the rest of the town? Had we been left to sacrifice ourselves for the them? We fought on into the early morning, many of us being sent to the lifestone multiple times, but in the end Loch had been pushed out of Stonehold and we had stood up for what the Peacekeepers represented. When looking back at that night, it was a moment that separated the men from the boys, those who would fight and die for Stonehold and those who would prosper from us doing so.

~ Chapter 7 ~

I returned to Stonehold one clear brisk morning, having camped out in the wilderness during the night while on a hunting trip. As I saw the town appear in the small valley, a smile crossed my lips. Despite the constant raids by the FSS and other guilds of murderers and thieves, the town was still as beautiful as when I first saw it so many weeks before. When I entered town the townsfolk were already awake and buzzing with activity, I knew something had happened. I saw Sai-Ban standing by the largest building in town talking to a member of Ronan's guild, one of our closest allies, I approached Sai to ask him what had happened.

Before I could say anything, Sai saw me and yelled out, "Can you believe it! He's turned against us!"

"Who? Whats going on?", I responded with puzzled look.

"Colonel Coward and Ballpark Billy, they attacked the town last night, killing anyone they could find", Sai answered with disgust.

"The Colonel and Billy attacked Stonehold?", I couldn't believe it, but slowly it all seemed to come together."

"Yes," Sai continued, "Word has it they are tired of the town, they are tired of defending it."

The Ronan, who had been listening to our conversation quickly added, "I know my guild will not let them get away with this. After the first attack came we kept watch during the night in case they returned."

I nodded to him, "Yes, it will take both our guilds working together to keep the town safe from now on."

He nodded back.

As we stood in the square I looked up to one of the hills that surrounded Stonehold, I saw a lone figure silhouetted against the white sky. I watched as this figure slowly descended the hill coming down into the town.

I was then able to make out who the figure was and yelled out, "Ballpark Billy!"

Sai and the Ronan turned to where I was already pointing my bow, they prepared for a fight. Billy walked slowly towards us but he did not have his bow drawn, he held his open hands out to show that he hand no weapon. I was skeptical, keeping my bow drawn and aimed at his heart.

"Billy, don't come any closer, you and the Colonel have made your intentions clear!"

I yelled out as he came within range.

He stopped, his head hung low on his chest, " I've come to give myself up", raising his hands to the sky, "We made a horrible mistake, we want to come back."

"What!", Sai-Ban blurted out in disbelief, "You were slaying Stoneholders only hours ago and now you want our forgiveness?"

Many thoughts rushed through my mind, I knew they had betrayed us but I also knew that they were two of the best fighters Stonehold had, if they truly meant to reform, we should give them the chance.

I looked Billy in the eyes and said, "If you truly want the towns forgiveness you will have to ask the one man left in this town who everyone still respects, you will have to ask General Zang."

Billy looked down to the snowy ground and sighed, " You're right, we will ask the General."

I let a small smile cross my lips, "Good Billy, that's good to hear."

I knew Billy, or at least I thought I did, he was perhaps a little immature but I knew he and his brother weren't evil, they made one mistake, they deserved another chance. Billy walked out of town, back up the hill where I had seen him standing before, as he got to the peak he vanished out of site, I hoped we would not lose them.

"We should have killed him, you didn' t see the carnage those two brought to the town last night", said the Ronan with an angry scowl.

"I know", I said looking up at the hill were Billy had been, "But everyone deserves a second chance, we cant forgot what they did for this town."

Nothing was heard from Colonel Coward or Ballpark Billy for many hours, I was worried that they had left the Stonehold community for good. The talk in town was that they were planning on joining a well-known evil guild known as Joy of Villainy. The townsfolk were already building the guillotine, all they needed where Coward's and Billy's necks to put in it.

Later that night I learned about the agreement that had been made. The General had met with Colonel Coward and Ballpark Billy in private to discuss their return to Stonehold. I' m sure the same thoughts that had ran through my mind also ran through the Generals, we needed these two to defend the town from the likes of the FSS and others who prey on the innocent. Despite strong pressure from the leaders of other local guilds to banish them both, the General decided to give them a second chance. Zang put his offer down on the table, he would allow the two to return to Stonehold and live in peace as they had before, as long as they vowed to never betray our trust again by attacking the town or allying with the towns enemies, specifically the FSS. The town had been saved from collapse if only for a little while longer but none of us foresaw the coming betrayal to the banished serpent.

~ Chapter 8 ~

Stonehold slowly settled back into a normal routine, there was no organized government, but the town seemed to run on its own momentum. After being allowed to return to the community, Colonel Coward made a strong attempt to show that he would put the town's well being above all else. He became the figure head and spokes person for Stonehold. Coward took it upon himself to bring some kind of order to the town, believing him to be genuine General Zang backed him, however as we came to see, this would turn out to be a mistake on our part.

The relative peace that prevailed over Stonehold since the break up of the FSS came to an end with a conflict that would tear the town apart, it would be later known as " The Lop War". Colonel Coward drew a line in the sand and he wasn't going to budge no matter how many Stoneholders fell in battle.

The beginning of the conflict with Lop was as hazy in my mind then as it is in my memory now. As with the break up of the FSS I had not been in town at the moment that the first stone was flung, however I would soon be pulled into the conflict along with my guild. From what I would later learn, the issue arose around a vassal of Lop's named Mistress of Desires, someone I knew in passing and had fought along side. Although the guild under the leadership of the powerful mage named Lop did not live in Stonehold, a small group of his followers could be found in the town. It was said that a Stoneholder had stolen from Mistress of Desires, she in anger killed the Stoneholder and in doing so was attacked by other Stoneholders, the conflict grew quickly. Mistress of Desires swore to continue to kill any one who attacked her until her stolen goods were returned. The thief was never found and Colonel Coward told Mistress of Desires to leave, that she was not welcome in town any more. Lop then entered the affair, traveling all the way to Stonehold to talk to the townsfolk.

I attended a large meeting at which Lop argued that no one had the right to keep others out of towns. I disagreed with his argument, but I was later to realize he spoke the truth when he told us that we were being played as pawns by Colonel Coward. The talking soon came to an end as it was obvious Mistress of Desires and Lop had no intention of leaving and Colonel Coward had no intention of letting them stay. Although I felt that this conflict was not in our best interests, we supported the Colonel and were soon involved in running battles through Stonehold against Lop's forces. Many times, Frost Gunner and I found ourselves up against either Lop or Mistress of Desires, both powerful mages that we were no match against. We suffered many loses, fighting Lop was like trying to damn a rushing river using small pebbles. He was an unstoppable force, only on few occasions could we force him to recall away.

Violence soon erupted between Stoneholders as Colonel Coward began enforcing a rule, which we agreed to, forcing everyone to fight against Lop or leave. One such incident occurred by the entrance to the Phyntos Dungeon outside of town. A large group had gathered around the dungeon to listen to a well-known guild leader argue that she would have no part in the conflict. Colonel Coward informed her that she would have to leave the town. She began to protest and one the Stoneholders in the crowd pulled out his bow and fired a shot at her, killing her in one shot as she was totally unprepared. The sight of Judge Death's lifeless corpse flashed through my mind and I knew I had to act. I pulled out my trusty Gertahs dagger and thrust it into the archer's back as he leaned over to loot some valuables off the corpse of the fallen woman. Frost Gunner then pulled out his sword and gave the finishing blow, sending the archer sprawling down the steps into the dungeon. Silence fell over the crowd as we tried to comprehend all that had just occurred.

Colonel Coward stepped forward, "The archer overreacted, he did not have to kill her as quickly as he did, he deserved his fate."

I looked down at the two still warm corpses and thought to myself, "How could we have come to this, this war is tearing us apart!"

Fortunately the War would come to and end soon. One night long after the sun had set behind the northern mountains, Colonel Coward stood atop the bowyer's house in Stonehold, a favorite place of his when he wanted to give speeches, which he often did. He proclaimed from his pulpit that Lop had informed him that he would not return to Stonehold and that his vassal, Mistress of Desires will leave the town or he would release her from her oaths of loyalty. This announcement was received by the townsfolk with cheers of joy and celebration, however I was not so optimistic and it didn't take long for my pessimism to be proven right.

~Chapter 9 ~

The town settled back into its normal routine, raids by the FSS and other rogues were common but the valiant defenders of Stonehold always repulsed them. It had been many weeks since the remnants of the FSS had been banished from the town. No one really knew where the FSS was based, however there had been sightings of them in our nearest neighbor, the Plateau Village to the south. From the information we had gathered, the FSS was trying to rebuild in order to fulfill its destiny, which Druez proclaimed, "To rule Stonehold with an iron fist."

The Peacekeepers had also been growing stronger during this time. As our new recruits grew in skill the guild grew more powerful then it had been at any time since I had joined it. We made it our goal to defend Stonehold from any attackers, especially the FSS who had continually raided Stonehold and declared their violent intentions toward the town. Druez had even sent a note, specifying his demands for the town to be placed under his control. The demands included forcing the Peacekeepers to leave and having Colonel Coward swear an oath of fealty to the Serpent Queen.

That is why it was almost unbelievable when Colonel Coward stood atop the bowyer's house one afternoon and declared, "I have made a truce with the FSS, they will be welcome in this town." I turned to Svenn who was standing next to me, "The General must know about this and fast."

When General Zang was told of this he marched up to Colonel Coward.

I heard the General mumbling under his breath, " I go out on a limb to allow Coward and his brother to return and they pull a stunt like this!"

"What are you trying to do, how can you allow the FSS to return to this town!", Zang yelled out, pointing an accusatory finger at Coward.

"They promised to help in its defense, they will be a great help in fighting off raiders", Coward responded.

"Yeah but who is going to help in fighting off them!", responded the General his voice filled with anger, "I let you return to this town under two conditions, that you would not betray us or ally with our enemies, specifically the FSS, you have broken one of those conditions, perhaps both."

There are many here willing to give them another chance, "Colonel Coward said smoothly, "I am one of them."

I stood there watching the two men, the tension was palpable.

"Alright, they can return. The Peacekeepers won' t start any fights but we sure as hell will finish them", the General said. Moving closer to Coward, he continued, "This time you're the one going out on a limb and I sure as hell wouldn't have put my money on the FSS."

The General turned away from Coward and began to walk out of town. I ran to catch up to him.

"What do we do now?", I asked the General.

"We wait", the General said quietly, "e wait till they show their true colors, then we attack and we don' t stop till the FSS has been wiped from the face of Dereth!"

~ Chapter 10 ~

The FSS entered town the next day, Druez being the first to walk back into the town he had raided so many times before, his shiny black jackboots glinting in the sunlight. He walked up to Coward and they shook hands, I felt like throwing up. We had been defending the town from him and his kind for a long time and now he was being welcomed in with open arms. I stood there watching Druez talking to his lackeys Elrion and Dark Force in the square, I turned and started walking out of town.

As I was walking away, I heard Druez call out, "Hey Teru, no hard feelings, right?", followed with a bellow of laughter from he and his men.

I kept on walking. We lived in Stonehold with FSS for a few weeks, watching their every move. It became clear they had no intention of actually changing their ways, they merely acted good while in town and did what ever suited their needs when out of the eyes of Stoneholders. They began filling their ranks with the outcasts of Dereth, many of their new recruits had been accused of random killings and robbery but Druez answered the accusations by saying that they had "reformed". We grew tired of this charade with the FSS and General Zang called a guild meeting, we had a new plan. We were to move out to an abandoned castle known as Edelbar, where we could train in peace. Then as we grew in strength we would raid the FSS, taking out their youngest recruits, stopping the rebirth of the FSS before it grew too strong.

The meeting was scheduled around noon on a bright warm day, I still remember walking through the crowded town thinking, "I never thought we would leave Stonehold." I knew that it was for the best, we couldn' t continue to live in the same town as that scum, but we would return and when we did, Druez would wish he had never came back to Stonehold. I entered the dungeon and found many of my guild mates already sitting in a circle, I sat down in an open spot.

As we waited for a few more members, Zang jumped to his feet saying in alarm, " Archidamus just mindspoke to me, the town is being raided by members of Joy of Villiany!"

We quickly got up and began to prepare for battle we all knew of this evil guild and we knew this would be a tough fight. When we were ready we headed to the portal which exited the dungeon.

"Everyone ready?", Zang asked, looking at each of us.

Everyone replied in the affirmative and we rushed through the portal. As we began to appear on the other side we heard the sounds of spells, we realized it was an ambush. We appeared outside the dungeon amid a mass of raiders, I saw members of many Evil guilds I knew they had to have been tipped off. We attempted to defend ourselves as the raiders fell upon us, but their magic had weakened us too much and many of us fell were we appeared. We then gathered and attempted a counter attack. We rushed through Stonehold clashing with those raiders who were holding the town. As the battle moved around the Stonehold valley, we noticed that it was unusually empty. Where had the crowds that had been in town only minutes before? Where was the counter attack? We were alone again but this time we would not sacrifice ourselves, we had enough. I heard the General give the command to fall back and regroup. We went in different directions, to confuse the raiders, but we all were headed to the same place, Edelbar Castle.

~ Chapter 11 ~

I was one of the first to arrive at the castle, it was empty and eerily quiet compared to the usually crowded Stonehold. I waited as more of my guild-mates came in from the forest, tired and bruised from the terribly one-sided battle we had just endured. Finally we were all there and the General began the meeting that was supposed to have taken place hours earlier.

"Today was the last straw", he began, "We will no longer throw our bodies to the raiders as the rest of the town runs into the woods."

Many of us nodded our sore heads in agreement.

"It has been decided by the leadership of the guild that we will move to this castle and defend it our own, we train here and when we are ready, we will run the FSS and any of their supporters from Stonehold".

An enthusiastic cheer went up from the group, but suddenly our attention was turned towards a figure materializing in front of us. It was Dark Force, he had been tied to the lifestone in the castle, which we had all used upon entering and happened to recall at the wrong time.

Silence fell over the castle, Dark Force then said smugly, "Don't let me interrupt."

"This is a private meeting", Frost Gunner yelled back.

"Bad place for a private meeting", Dark Force responded, sitting down and crossing his arms.

"Leave now", General Zang said, his voice as cold as ice.

"Or else what?", Dark Force said grinning.

"Kill him", was all the General said.

Our mages cast imperiling spells on him as he jumped to his feet. Frost Gunner and Zang were already on him as he ran for the exit. I didn't have time to take aim with my bow, as Dark Force' s body fell to the cold stone floor at the gate of the castle.

"Get ready", Zang said, "They will be back".

We prepared ourselves for the coming attack, stationing our melee fighters at the entrance to the castle, with mages behind them, and the archers on the walls. I stood up on the rampart with Samtgryyl as I saw the figures advance across the snowy plain.

"Its Druez, he has Dark Force and Astrall with him!", I shouted.

I notched my arrow and waited for them to get within range, everyone stood in silence waiting for our arch nemesis to arrive, we had something to prove. As I waited for them, I thought to myself, I hope we can hold them since Druez was far more skilled in hand to hand combat then any other Peacekeeper, if we were to win, it would have to be a group effort. They came into range and I let loose a flaming arrow and the battle began.

Druez came rushing into the line of melee fighters we had barricading the entrance of the castle. I heard the grunts of our fighters and the clashing of weapons as his vicious attack took its toll on the brave meleers who barricaded the doorway. Our mages began healing our fighters and trying to imperil Druez. Dark Force drew his bow and began to shoot up at us on the ramparts and we returned fire. Astrall stood outside the castle and attempted to imperil our melee fighters. When I saw this I started shooting at him causing him to run to avoid the arrows. I yelled out that someone needed to take care of him before he imperiled everyone. I heard Red Monika cast some powerful imperiling spells on Astrall and then watched as Deborah, a powerful Axewoman, ran out to hack him down. Astrall tried to drain away Deborah's health but she was being healed by our mages, she came at him with her axe raised above her head. The scream he let out as her axe cleaved his body in half was almost as gruesome as seeing his blood spray across the snow and his two halves falling at odd angles to each other.

With Astrall sent back to the lifestone in Stonehold, Dark Force began to use his life magic to heal Druez as he cut down our melee fighters one by one. I don't remember how many melee fighters fell that day holding the doorway but they sacrificed themselves so that the guild would have a chance. I was still standing on the ledge above the entrance, but now they had entered the doorway and I couldn't get a good aim. I ran down the stairs to the entrance hall where the rest of the Peacekeepers were. I saw Red Monika take aim at Dark Force and blow him away with a powerful spell, his corpse lay on the ground bubbling from the acid. Druez was still going strong and he now turned his attention to Red, she attempted to heal herself but his nekode ripped through her robe, causing terrible gashes. The remaining melee fighters surrounded Druez as he viciously attacked Red but he seemed impervious to their attacks. Our numbers had thinned down but we still had a chance, I yelled out for a mage to cast a fire vulnerability spell on him, as I saw the red diamond of the imperiling spell surround Druez I let loose a greater fire arrow, my aim was true. The arrow went straight into his chest with a load "thunk" , his eyes rolled back in pain, then looked down at the flaming arrow that was now engulfing his torso. He dropped to his knees and tried to pull out the arrow but it would not budge, I shot it at point blank range, it had almost gone straight through him.

Druez looked around at the few survivors left in the hall, we stared back with icy gazes, "nothing....nothing can kill the Serpent..." He fell in a smoldering pile of ashes and burning flesh. The smell was terrible.

Those who had been sent to the lifestone gathered in the hall with those who had seen the final minutes of the fight, we stood in silence looking at the many corpses littering the floor. We knew we had crossed over into a new reality, everything had changed.

"Its begun", General Zang said solemnly, "From here on out we are at war with the FSS, only one of our guilds will survive."

Zang continued, "We can't stay here, they know we are here, we are going to have to move farther away."

"To where?", Asked one of the younger Peacekeepers.

"There is a portal a short distance to the south, it leads to Mayoi a southern town that is held by our ally the TVC", replied the General, "I propose we head there".

We all looked at each other, so much had happened so fast, it seemed the only choice. We gathered up the equipment from the corpses and began our trek to our new home, General Zang leading the way, Red Monika taking up the rear. We walked through the frozen forest, trying many different paths through the hazardous terrain. Eventually we came to a small crater in the mountains, looking down into it we saw the Mayoi portal. We slowly climbed down the treacherous rocks into the basin of the crater, where the portal stood glowing bright purple in the late afternoon light. We gathered at the portal and cast some spells incase we met resistance on the other side. As we walked through the portal it seemed we were also walking into a new era for the Peacekeepers. We would no longer call Stonehold home, the town would no longer unite us but our mission would, we would see the FSS crushed or we would die trying.

I had entered Stonehold full of idealism and hope, as I waited to enter the portal I looked down at the skin on my bloodstained hands. They were rough and worn, wrinkles and scars had appeared where once smooth skin had been. I realized that ideals are worth very little if no one stands up to defend them, we had but at what price? Were we leaving Stonehold or had Stonehold left us? I felt bitter, I knew this wasn' t how it had to be but I was comforted by the fact that our guild was growing stronger.

We would eventually overtake the FSS and bring the hammer of justice down upon them it was only a matter of time.......

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