The pub was crowded, but that didn't overly worry Malnai. He had his eye on at least three women and he was sure that he was going to leave with one of them... any more would be greedy. He downed his pint and wandered over in the direction of one of the young ladies, the nicest of the three. There did appear to be a couple of men fluttering around her but Malnai was sure that these annoyances could be dispensed of with the minimum of fuss. He met her slightly bored gaze with a smile and inquired politely if he could take her away from all this. One of the oafs beside her didn't seem too happy with this idea and suggested, in less than polite terms, that Malnai would be better off somewhere else. Unfortunately this banter looked as if it might turn more physical so the young fortune teller produced a rose for the lady and presented it to her, "One would hope that such a rose would sweeten the air of this place, m'lady." He was rewarded with a smile and the offer of an arm, which he quickly accepted. There were a few rumbles from behind but no arms reached out, a fact for which Malnai was grateful.

The young woman's name turned out to be Elise and they talked and drank until the barman pushed them out into the night air. It was now the last month of the year and the night was cold with the promise of rain. The couple linked arms and walked off in the direction of Malnai's rooms. He had not exactly asked the young lady about her choice of destination but until she objected he was happy to continue with his plans. Both of them had drunk more than a little and so they were nearly on top of the figure in the shadows before they saw him. Elise let out a short scream and Malnai stepped back quickly, his arms raised in the traditional sign to ward off evil. Laughter came from the shadows, "Such signs will not hurt me, boy. Not unless you really believe in them, which I doubt you do. I wish to talk to you, will you listen?" Malnai cleared this throat once and spoke as Elise moved around behind him, "Y..yes, I will listen, but first, who are you?" The figure laughed again, "Who I am is unimportant, I bring a warning and an offer. Firstly, do not go back to your rooms tonight. Secondly, there is a new force arising in this land, a force which can either make you great or destroy you. We wish to offer you the chance to join us. I shall return on Midwinter to hear your answer." The figure seemed to fade into the shadows as Malnai moved forward, "Who are you? Who do you work for? Wait! Fuck!" The figure had gone. Elise looked around nervously and then stepped back from the young man. He moved towards her and embraced her, moving his lips to hers to kiss and comfort her, a movement that worked very well.

The rest of the night passed without any further visitations and it is doubtful if the couple would have noticed. The night candle had long burnt out by the time they fell asleep in each others arms and Malnai planned that it would be long into the next day before either of them arose. After nights such as that Malnai usually expected to be awoken by a kiss, a caress or a whispered intention, but this morning was to be different. He awoke to the sensation of icy cold water splashing over his body and a female voice shouting, "Get the bimbo out of here and get the boy dressed!" Elise was pulled out of the bed and her clothes were thrust into her arms. She was pushed out of the room as Malnai's clothes were thrown at him and he tried to come properly awake. He looked up into familiar eyes, the captain of the Royal Guard looked down at him. "Good Morning you little fuck, I'm Sophica, a captain of His Majesty's Royal Guard and I'd like a word with you." The young man ran one hand through his wet hair and smiled up at her, "What would your reaction be if I told you that you were extremely attractive when you're angry?" The answer he got was swift as her mailed fist smashed into the side of his head. Darkness descended as a wet and bedraggled Malnai collapsed backwards onto his bed.

The dizziness slowly faded away as the fortune-teller's bleary eyes took in his surroundings. He was in an ante-chamber of sorts and he was still extremely wet. On the plus side there was a huge towel beside him and beyond that was a new set of clothes. He quickly took advantage of both of these fortunate occurances and made himself presentable once again. Once he was dried and dressed he sat back against the wall and waited. He knew that he was in the castle in the same way that he knew his way around Jarros on even the darkest nights and so he could only assume that some noble wanted to talk to him. He couldn't think of anything that he'd done to offend either the king or any noble, well, certainly nothing that would merit this kind of treatment, a prisoner one moment and a guest the next. These musings were interrupted by the arrival of Captain Sophica. She walked into the room quickly and Malnai noticed that her breastplate was newly polished, he must be here to see the King, but why? She looked him up and down critically and spoke, "Right, as you may have guessed you're here to see the His Royal Majesty, King Ranulf IV. You will do whatever the King tells you and you will be on your best behaviour or else I will personally rip all of your motherfucking limbs off and stuff so far up your shithole that I'll be able to wave your fingers through your mouth. Got it?" Malnai spent a brief moment wondering how someone so attractive could be that coarse and then he nodded his assent. A tiny smiled appeared on Sophica's face, but only for a second. A trumpet sounded and the man was pushed out of the door into the Throne Room.

At the top of the room was a huge throne upon which a well-built man was seated. He looked in his late forties or early fifties but he had obviously not let time get the better of him. Sophica pushed Malnai up the room and then forced him to kneel before King Ranulf IV. Legend had it that King Ranulf had been the greatest warrior in the land, when he was younger, but it seemed that very few people would be able to defeat him even now. The King's low, booming voice filled the room, "I have had warnings of defeat and destruction and I wish to have another opinion. You are said to be a fortune teller, so tell me of my future." There was no arguing with that voice. It simply stated that it would be obeyed or people would begin to lose body parts, which was never a favourable event. At this point Sophica thrust his deck of cards into his hands and moved away. Malnai looked up at the King and asked him to think of a question as the deck was shuffled. The King's question was not subtle or specific, it merely wanted knowledge of what was to happen. Malnai let this question fill him and as he closed his eyes he dealt the first card...

The Devil - "You are caught up in your situation, unable to act for yourself, unable to properly control what is going on.

The Magician - "You must act against this, make an impact, use your vitality before all is lost."

The Emperor - "But no, the vitality lies in your line, your children, you must establish and protect them."

The Tower - "You will fall, you act too late, there is nothing to be done. Now is not your time anymore."

Death - "A change, not in your way of life but in your form of life. When the sun begins its return on the night of Midwinter you will die."

This time Malnai opened his eyes to see the enraged face of the King. The booming voice cut across the room once more, "I will not have such things said in my halls! I will not have me pronounced dead by some urchin off the street!" In a flash Ranulf was out of his throne and towering above Malnai, his sword drawn. "Here is your reward for your foresight!" The sword swung down to impact in Malnai's chest and the young man fell backwards into darkness again...