Chapter One

Chapter One
A Pillaged House, A Missing Brother

Rorek ran until his legs burned, and he couldn't run any farther. He had made it to Ardougne. It was a run down, plagued city. Its ruler was unwilling to help the plagued citizens of West Ardougne. His plan was to exterminate West Ardougne's population by spreading a deadly plague onto the animals, which would infect the farmers, and so on, until it would affect the entire city like dominoes by 'knocking over' the entire population. So he and his mourners could enter the city under the protection of plague suits, to extract West Ardougne's large sum of money. Rorek deeply opposed this, he planned to overthrow Lathas's corrupted empire.
He couldn't do it himself though. He'd need to enlist the help of his remaining clan members and recruit his rebelious little brother, Orik. Rorek teleported to Yanille, the city closest to Orik's home, to inform Orik of his plan. He was sure that Orik would be more than happy to help his cause. When Rorek arrived at the small forest clearing, east of Yanille, that Orik had hidden his small dwelling, Rorek was shocked to find that it had been pillaged by a renegade band of Black Knights. When Rorek reached the door of Orik's meager establishment, his idea was immediately confuted. The door was wrenched from its hinges, and a small red insignia was emblazoned on it. It was the mark of King Lathas's Army.
"But," stammered Rorek, "I witnessed their deaths! How can Lathas managed to have recruited this fast?!"
Rorek's mind traveled back to the time that the entire Gnomish population had been threatened. Rorek searched through the remains of the ruined house but his efforts were in vain. A torrent of angst and misery washed over him. He was unable to find his brother among the wreckage.