From the alcove, Nedim stumbled toward the compound with his hands wrapped beneath a rolled strip of cloth. Guards on either side of the entrance started to move to block his way before returning silently to their posts. Both guards swallowed as their lord passed between them, the anger on his face enough to give them pause.
A well-groomed Medaran met Nedim as he entered the house. “You’ve returned sooner than expected, my lord. Is there a problem?”
Nedim stopped and eyed him with suspicion. “And why is that?” Nedim asked.
The servant averted his eyes. “No reason at all, Lord Nedim.”
Nedim smiled. “We were heard, you and I. We have been discovered. I dispatched one, but his accomplice fled into the shadows.”
The color drained from the servant’s face. “Why would you smile at such a thing, my lord?”
“Because I believe I know who arranged for our plans to be heard.”
The servant fell to his knees and held his head low. “I knew nothing of such treachery, my lord. Believe in me and I will put things right. You will never be discovered…”
“No,” Nedim interrupted. The rolled cloth fell to the ground covered in blood. “There is no evidence in plotting. You will arrange to have Parisa’s final daynight absolved and her contract fulfilled. You will have that order drawn up, taken to the palace, and wait for morning until a vizier can confirm it.”
“We must get you out of those… stained clothes, my lord,” the servant begged, careful to avoid the word “blood.” The servant then reached out to Nedim to draw him further into his house but stopped short of actually touching him.
“No,” Nedim refused. “Have a dromid saddled and brought to me, and another packed with clean clothes and enough supplies to reach the next city.”
“Alone?” asked the servant.
“Yes, and without question. After you have freed Parisa, our accuser will have neither plot to reveal nor person to accuse. I have business for the next fading, and I expect everything here to continue as always until my return.”
“Yes, Lord Nedim,” the servant agreed. “You are brave to take such a burden onto yourself.”
Nedim suddenly looked upon his servant with pity. “Keep the house in order. While I am away, any burden on this house shall be yours to bear.”
“It will be so, my lord.”
Nedim took his mount and led the other dromid laden with supplies out of Armaris as the transitioning sky gave way to the rising sun. Nedim took neither of the main roads out of the city, traveling instead Windward toward the mountains across the Great Desert of Minhar. Before the sun reached mid sky, three figures met Nedim among the dunes. Behind them, a Shak’rahn tribe was breaking camp.
“You are still without a wife and child,” said the Vastan as Nedim approached.
“Good and evil are always a choice,” Nedim countered. “As is survival. So what for me now?”
“You’ve done well,” the Des’tri spoke. “Are you sure you would not wish your lady to be with you?”
“In this place, she was never mine to begin with.”
“She still could be,” Cerese added, “if that is truly your wish.”
Nedim shook his head. “If my orders have been carried out, she has been freed to live her life as she will, even if that must be without me.”
“You could become a powerful ally of the Shak’rahn if you remain in Armaris,” said the Des’tri. “All who you’ve met believe you are their lord.”
Again Nedim shook his head. “The one thing that has ever made me happy has been lost to me forever. It is time for something new, not the life of someone else.”
“Where will you go?” asked Cerese.
“I have new clothes, two mounts, and provisions for a fading. I was hoping to stay with the Shak’rahn, if my Des’tri will have me again.”
“Welcome back to your tribe, Nedim,” said the old one. “We will discuss the matter of your trials when the sun rises again. Is it good to have a home again?”
“It is,” Nedim agreed as he and the others joined the tribe preparing to move along. “Wait. What trials?”


This presentation of “Nedim’s Quest” is directly from the 128-page Kindling Moon Rulebook & Realmbook. If you liked the story or not, if you’d like to see more adventures with Nedim or Cerese or not, let us know below. Thanks!