Chapter 1: The Road to Hope

Artur just shrugs.

"It'd make me a hypocrite to complain about being robbed, wouldn't it. Take the damn things. I curse the day I ever decided to join up with the Night Blades. I don't know why, but Ralavaz was so persuasive. He wore this golden mask that just radiated power and I just trusted everything he said."

The others murmur in agreement about Ralavaz's powers of persuasion.

"It's all a little fuzzy, to be honest, like it was a dream. I never saw Ralavaz's face, he never took that gold mask off. This isn't the first time he's caused trouble in this town! Ten years ago Ralavaz and his brother Gardren came to town running the same scheme. Hope was stronger back then and fought back, managed to round them up in a barn and set it on fire. Only Ralavaz made it out, with Gardren and the rest of the trapped Night Blades dying in the fire. Ralavaz got shipped off to the work camps down south, but now that he's free he's back to ruin Hope for good. The edge of his skin under that masked is all burned up, not to mention the death of his brother, so he's probably hopping mad."

"Hey, if I show you his hideout would you put in a good word for us with the Sheriff?"

"As Erathis as my witness, I will not break the law again," Artur exclaims. Alfrey sees he speaks true.

Rose looks full of shame. She doesn't look Alfrey in the eye as she speaks.

"I was offered some money. It sounded like a lot, and nobody was going to get hurt. I thought, 'I'll go to the meeting, can't hurt.' But Ralavaz, he did something to us, something magical. I'm sure of it. We went from curious to fanatical. I don't even remember putting on those uniforms. I guess whatever you did to us cleared our heads."

She finally looks up at Alfrey and looks him in the eye.

"I'm so sorry."

Hilmar realizes that this is some hefty magic, no mere charm spell from a hedge wizard. You suspect it might be not a spell he is casting - this kind of power doesn't land in the laps of failed bandits - but perhaps a power bestowed upon him from a pact with a lower plane, like a demon or something.