Sir Jeffrey Trailson, Knight of the Land, followed Kelly as they rode through the forest. They were in search of a mage tower that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere somewhere in these woods recently and although that sounded strange to Jeffrey he had been assured that it was the case. His old friend Winston was the mayor of the local town and wanted him to check it out before any treasure hunters got wind of its appearance.
The forest grow thicker by the mile and the road grew narrower until it wasn't much more than a trail. Occasionally he would see houses off to the sides through the trees most of which were farms but he hadn't come across anything that could even be described as a village. They were truly travelling into wilderness.
A couple of hours after they had broken camp Kelly slowed. He rode up beside her.
"Are we almost there?" he asked.
She nodded. "It's just up ahead, in a clearing. But we're not the only ones here, Jeffrey."
He paused and they reined their mounts to a halt. Kelly was right. Now that he listened he could hear shouts and banging like the sounds of a camp. It seemed that someone else had already found the mage tower.
"If they are treasure hunters, we'll have a problem," Kelly said.
"Why? I've always found adventurers to be reasonable people."
"I'm sure they are, but the laws of the land say that in a situation like this where ancient ruins or a magical anomaly are discovered, whoever claims it first gets the right to loot it. If there are treasure hunters here then they will already have claimed it. They're not going to let us near the tower."
Jeffrey grimaced. That did sound like it could be a problem. Still, there was nothing for it but to find out.
He rode Swift into the clearing and was shocked at what he saw. Numerous tents stood around and the place was busy with people. Most were human of course but he actually saw a couple of dwarves and even a halfling wandering round the encampment. A few faces turned to look at him as he rode in.
What really caught his attention however was the tower in the middle of the glade. It was tall and looked to be in pristine condition with gleaming white walls and a long ornate windows. However even from this distance he could tell that there was something odd about the windows and as he rode closer he realised what it was - there was nothing beyond them! There was pitch darkness beyond the glass.
Suddenly the tower wobbled, its edges growing fuzzy and then entire top half seeming to jump first forward then back. Seconds later it vanished before reappearing less than a heartbeat after that. Then it did it again. After that, everything seemed to return to normal.
Jeffrey watched on in both awe and horror at the temporal disturbance in front of him. He was no mage and he did not know exactly what it was Winston had wanted him to do but after seeing the tower he knew that it was beyond his capabilities. Winston would not be happy that treasure hunters had already descended upon the tower though.
"Excuse me, stranger, but you're going to have to leave," said a voice to Jeffrey's left and he looked over to find a gruff dwarven man staring at him with hard eyes. "This is a Lockbreaker claim, so unless you're looking to sign up with the guild then you're trespassing." He put his hand on the pommel of his axe. "And I don't like trespassers."
"Easy now, Olig," he heard a woman say. "Don't you recognise a Knight of the Land?"
He turned to find the source of that voice and his magic cock twitched when he found it. A beautiful woman stood there with the corners of her mouth twisted in a small smile. She was probably in her early-thirties with long, wavy brown hair that fell to the middle of her back and brown eyes that sparkled with interest and amusement. She stood around 5'9" and wore plain brown pants and a leather cuirass that stretched over her large breasts.
The dwarf grumbled and stepped away. "Just don't let him challenge our claim."
"Do you think I would?" she snapped, sudden anger in her eyes. "Begon, Olig!"
The dwarf stomped off and left Jeffrey alone with the woman. Kelly rode up behind them.
The woman looked between the two of them and smiled. She gestured for Jeffrey to dismount and so he did, Kelly quickly doing the same.
"I am Rama, leader of this motley adventuring crew," she said.
He bowed. "And I am Sir Jeffrey Trailson, Knight of the Land."
"And you must be from the local town militia," Rama said to Kelly, not giving her much attention. "How nice for you."
Kelly opened her mouth to reply but Rama cut her off.
"If you're here to check the legitimacy of our claim, you will find the law of the realm backs us up," she said. "You have no authority to remove us from this glade."
"I was not intending to, Rama," Jeffrey replied. "I was asked to investigate the tower to see if it was a danger and that is what I'm here to do."
"I'm afraid not even a Knight of the Land has the right to do that without our permission now. You surely know this?"
Jeffrey nodded. "I do. You have the authority to ask me to leave. But, since I am not looking to disturb your claim, I was hoping we could come to some sort of arrangement."
She looked at him and cocked her head. A naughty smile flashed across her face and Jeffrey was sure he saw something lustful simmer in her brown eyes for just a moment. Then she gestured for the two of them to follow her.
"Come to my tent, strangers. We can discuss my terms there."
He and Kelly followed, leading their horses with them. When they reached the tent they tethered them outside and then followed Rama in.
The tent was large, with a broad table covered in papers in the middle. A few chairs sat around and at the rear was a flap that Jeffrey assumed led through to Rama's sleeping quarters.
The treasure hunter turned to them and smiled. "So you wish to poke around my guild's claim, huh?"
"I wouldn't put it like that..." Kelly said, looking taken aback.
"Yes, well, no offence dear girl, but you'll forgive me if I don't take the word of a militiawoman. I know what the local mayor thinks of treasure hunters. He's made his opinion quite clear in the past."
"But I am not my mayor, Rama, and don't always share his opinions. Jeffrey and I are only here to look around."
"How very noble, girl. But I'm afraid I'll need to hear it from the Knight of the Land himself. His word is his honour and all that crap."
Jeffrey sighed. Rama was making this difficult. Then again, he realised, her livelihood and that of her guildmates probably depended on this claim. If she feared that he was trying to take it from her then he could understand why she would be hesitant to give him full access to the site. He spoke.
"Rama, you must believe me when I say that we are not looking to steal or disrupt your claim. I have been sent to ascertain whether this anomaly is dangerous. Kelly is accompanying me as my guide. We are not going to cause trouble."
Rama considered them for a moment. Eventually, she spoke.
