Prologue
Bastian yawned as he walked through the market. While ignoring the occasional snigger and insult thrown at him by some of the bystanders. After all these years, he had become immune to their attempts to antagonise him. His only social interactions are towards the town librarian and the few merchants he buys basic necessities from aside from a few polite greetings to the few people who is friendly towards him.
But something felt different today. There was a certain smell in the air. A smell unusual in the market. It didn't take him long to see why. He saw an unfamiliar merchant in an inconspicuous corner with an assortment of books for sale. Not just any regular books. Even from a cursory glance, Bastian knew that the books were old.
He walked upto the merchant and began browsing after giving the merchant a polite nod. Most of the books were of no use to him. They were mostly outdated or related to a well known fact. Only certain collectors would find them useful.
It was then, his eyes fell on a black leather bound book. What separated this book from the rest was the language it was written in. It was written in the Ancient Imperial language, a language which has been lost to time over the centuries. From his limited knowledge of the language, he read the words "King's Tomb" as part of the title and at that moment, he knew that he had to have this book. He didn't let his excitement show as the merchant might increase the price if he knew that Bastian wanted it.
And so, Bastian nonchalantly asked the merchant. "How much for this book." The merchant looked at the book, then back at Bastian and said. "30 silver"
Bastian frowned at the price. Not that it was too expensive. In fact it was the opposite. Books written in the ancient imperial language were very rare with their prices ranging from 100 gold pieces to 1000 gold pieces. How much is that you ask? 500 gold pieces were enough to buy a small pot of land. A 1000 gold pieces can get you a land a good house as well as the basic equipment needed to start a buisness. Nevertheless this was good news for Bastian. He only had 10gold pieces to his name.
He took out 30 silver pieces and paid the merchant and before taking the book. He said farewell to the merchant before heading home.
****
"It seems I found a perfect scapegoat. You can only blame yourself boy. For you should have known that curiosity will kill the cat." The merchant said to himself looking at the disappearing figure of Bastian. He flicked his hand and and several ethereal arms began sprouting from the ground. The arms grabbed his stall and dragged it into the ground leaving only the merchant. The merchant flicked his hand again and his clothes began to transform. Replacing his once normal clothes with rags. By the time he was done, he looked like a different person.
"Good luck boy" He said before walking into an alley.
*****
Bastian wasted no time to begin studying the book. He went to his study and began rummaging a nearby chest. Eventually, he found what he was looking for. A notebook filled with bookmarks and pasted notes. This belong to his grandfather who had spent his whole life studying the Fae. Sadness filled his eyes as the book caused him to recall his time with his grandfather. This was shortlived as he remembered the book he had brought. After years of work, he had finally found a lead.
His grandfather's research stated that there was a connection between the Fae and the Tomb of the Kings. Unfortunately, no one knows where the said Tomb is. Bastian hoped to uncover a clue from the book.
After placing both the books on his desk. He opened the notebook and tried to decipher the complete title. Imperial languages were a specific language used amongst the higher nobility. They use it to share sensitive messages and edicts amongst themselves. The language itself was no different than the common languages of that time except for the fact that the most of the text were in the form of codes. Even on the title, the only unencrypted text was referring to the Tomb of Kings. Now, years had passed and both the ancient version of common language and the imperial language had faded from history with only a few even bothering to learn more than a few phrases from either languages.
Thankfully, Bastian's grandfather was one of them. Throughout his career, he had gathered entire missives and tried to decrypt the language. The result was the notebook, which contains several possible "keys" to decrypt any text he finds.
After a few minutes, he managed to dechiper the complete title. The title was "My journey to the Tomb of Kings. Written by High Chancellor Theodore Pendragon." A wave of euphoria hit Bastian as he double checked the title. Not only did he stumble upon a book that might lead him to a place even the nobles haven't been able to find in centuries, the said book was also written by one of the most legendary wizards in history. Bastian poured himself some wine to calm his nerves before resuming his work.
The next few hours were consisted of him deciphering the first chapter of the book. He kept at it without taking a break all the way from dusk till the first light of dawn. As the roosters began crying, Bastian sat looking at the deciphered the chapter. The first few pages were consisted of the author's identity and why he was going on this journey. Then it consisted of who would be joining him on his journey and what he was taking.
Apparently, there has been unexplained magical signatures happening throughout the Kingdom. Most of which were concentrated near the Tomb of Kings. He was commissioned by his cousin, the King of that time, Michael Pendragon to investigate the disturbances. The Chancellor had mobilised a small squad of soldier and set out for the Tomb of Kings. The text from here to the end if the chapter then became strange. Most of the phrases didn't make much sense.
It took him a few moments to realize a pattern. Several words and phrases were misspelled. As Bastian removed such words, the remaining words began making a sentence. "Between the pillars of the East and away from the Sun of a new dawn, the haven for the fallen lies in the embrace of the dagger of the frozen moon."
In the eyes of a normal person, this would have been no different than gibberish. However, for Bastian, that was not the case. The pillars of the East refers to two mountains called the Belial pass situated near the east of the kingdom which were compared to pillars by the Third king when he first saw them due to their height and steepness. Away from the Sun was not referring to the actual Sun but in fact it referred to the neighbouring elvish empire to the northwest whose flag has has the Sun in it. The haven of the fallen clearly refers to the Tomb. Bastian couldn't find the meaning to the words. "Dagger of the frozen moon". However, he had enough to know where to go. It was the of Agnir which was located in the south eastern area of the Belial Pass. It is most famous for being the town near the Profaned forest that borders on the end of the Belial Pass.
"The dagger of the frozen moon must be somewhere inside the Profaned forest" Bastian deduced as he rubbed his eyes. He was awake the entire night and it was taking its toll on him. But it was worth it. He now had a destination and nothing was gojng to stop him.
