Deté 52nd, 991 A.D.

"I'm afraid we've lost him, Tom." 

Tom Holt glanced up from sharpening his gleaming longsword and eyed his companion James Raska with lips pursed together. The young man's concerned brown eyes stared back at him, framed in an imperfect face riddled with scars from previous acne outbreaks. His head of thick brown hair fluttered in the slight breeze. 

Tom stepped to the edge of the cliff they stood on and glanced down. Sure enough, the unmarked swordsman they'd been pursuing for so long had managed to slip away and find a way down. And now, the cloaked figure galloped away across the plains of the Kemarian countryside, folds of black fabric flaring out behind him. Tom growled. 

"He's done it again!" he snapped, "Now what?" 

James' lips twitched as his sympathetic gaze settled on Tom's single right eye. "We'll persevere, Tom. He can run all he wants, but eventually, we'll find him, and when we do, our failures will make us all the more determined." 

"I sure hope you're right about that." Tom muttered, slipping a flask of brandy from an inner coat pocket. He unscrewed the cap and contemplated his next move for a second. Then he replaced the cap and returned the flask without drinking from it. "He's headed north?" 

James nodded. "Northeast, it looks like." 

"Well, keep an eye on him until you can see him no longer. If he changes course, we need to know about it." 

"Understood." 

Tom patted the young man's shoulder with a grim smile on his face. "I'll inform the others." 

With that, he strode over the grassy surface of the cliff they stood on, hands folded behind his back. He watched his boots part little trails for themselves through the sheet of vegetation, picking up droplets of dew as they passed through. Then a bird's chirping drew his attention up. Tom watched with a gratified smile as a songbird flitted from one twisty tree with a vibrant canopy of leaves to another. A trio of its brethren trailed behind. 

Tom entered the grove of trees. As he progressed, the ground he walked on inclined downward to a lower level of the cliff formation. He took a couple sniffs and grinned at the savory aroma of bacon cooking not far off. 

He emerged from the grove and found himself on open terrain again. After hopping down a three-foot drop in elevation, he arrived in the improvised camp he and his companions had become so accustomed to throwing together these past few years. 

Tom passed by his companion Trevor Martin, who stood beside a crackling flame and held a pan full of bacon over it. A mop of wispy black hair crowned his head and served as an accent to his striking sea-green eyes. With those features set in a well-proportioned, handsome face, Trevor was a man easy on the eyes. 

Tom smirked as he eyed the strips of sizzling meat. "What would we do without you, Trevor?" 

"You'd starve, that's for sure." he remarked with a mischievous grin. 

Tom threw his head back and laughed. "And we'd likely die of boredom, as well." 

"I'd have to dispute that, Tom. Your buffoonery would be sufficient." 

"Well, I suppose you have a point." he remarked with another chuckle. Then he let his smile fade slowly. "How are we doing on supplies, by the way?" 

Trevor shrugged. "We're almost out, but the nearest village is a mere two hour ride from here." 

"Ah, I see. So it all works out in the end." 

"Indeed, it does. Breakfast will be ready soon, but you should have time for a few sparring matches with Jay before then." 

Tom laughed. "You automatically assume that's what I'm off to do?" 

"With you two, it's inevitable." 

"You've got me there. Again." Tom remarked with a smirk as he started walking again. "I'll go easy on him." 

"Yes, give him a chance to win." Trevor called after Tom with his tone steeped in levity. 

Tom strolled around the two tents in the camp and came to an area thick with grass, where their four horses grazed gratefully. He also found the last of his three companions there, Jay Martin. The man sported a longer face than his younger brother, with a sharp jawline and blue eyes resembling the sky in hue. Messy blond hair sprouted from his scalp. 

Jay looked up from feeding his horse a treat when he heard Tom's footsteps. He gave him a grave nod and took a step closer. 

Tom sighed. "Well, I have bad news. He's escaped again." 

Jay exhaled a long breath through his nose. "I swear, that bastard has a way about him..." 

"He truly does. It dismays me, Jay. How long have we been at this?" 

"Almost five years." Jay replied, twisting a shiny silver ring back and forth on his finger. 

"And yet we've made no progress all this time." Tom muttered, "Are we wasting our lives away in vain?" 

"No, Tom. We'll get him eventually, and when we do, the earth itself will shout for joy. His circuit of terror will end, and we will finally be recognized for our exertions." 

"I certainly hope we have such a happy ending to look forward to." 

Jay laid a warm hand on Tom's shoulder and grasped firmly. "We didn't resign our knighthood for no reason, Tom. We will prevail. We must." 

Tom nodded, eye growing distant as Jay's words sent him into a procession of thoughts. He remembered that moment almost five years ago, when the High Council of Monteryane's Knights of the King's Table had condemned one of their own to be executed for supposedly training the unmarked swordsman they now pursued. 

It'd been James' grandfather that the Council had subjected to the executioner's axe, and once they'd declared that as their intention, Tom had resigned. Jay had followed moments after, and Trevor and James after him. 

In the span of time since then, the four men had operated as independent soldiers, using their phenomenal skill to zip into the battles of the ongoing war between warmongering Innutuk and the prosperous nations of the northeast, tip the scales in favor of their people, and leave just as quickly. 'The venerable rogues', they'd been nicknamed, and Tom could think of no better title. 

Though for the most part, they spent their time pursuing this one wretch, the unmarked swordsman. Endless numbers of innocent people had been slaughtered unrightfully by the blade of his saber, and they'd taken it upon themselves to track him down and arrange his death. 

"Tom? Are you alright?" Jay asked, snatching him into the present moment. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...thinking." 

Jay's lips twitched upward as his hand reached down to the hilt of his arming sword. "I can give you something to think about." 

Tom laughed and unsheathed his longsword in one fluid movement. "Your brother predicted this." 

"Of course he would. He's Trevor, after all." 

Tom shifted his footing into a surer stance and held his blade in a guard position. "Three bouts?" 

"Sure. Best of three." 

Once he finished speaking, Jay lunged with a swift blow aimed at Tom's ribs. With speed to equal his opponent, Tom blocked and swung a counterattack at Jay's neck. He stopped short of connecting the blow with flesh, but with a smirk, he shrugged, and the two backed off. 

Jay shot Tom a good-natured grin. "You and your bloodied reversals..." 

"Let's be fair; you handed that one right to me." Tom retorted. 

"I guess I did." he conceded. 

Without warning, Jay sped in with a thrust. Tom's eye widened and he hastened to raise his blade, but he'd already moved too late. The tip of Jay's sword hovered inches from his chest. With a sigh that morphed into a hearty chuckle, Tom stepped away. 

"Let's be fair, Tom; you handed that one right to me." Jay teased. 

"I did. But we're still tied, my friend. You've only made me all the more determined." 

Tom initiated this time, swinging an upward cut at Jay's chin. Jay beat it down with his own blade and went for a counterattack on his opponent's neck. Tom blocked. 

This third bout lasted longer than its predecessors, each participant exerting more effort, displaying more skill, and unleashing more tricks. Their blades became a blur as the speed increased. The clang of metal on metal rang out repeatedly. 

Tom gritted his teeth to keep his sword continually in motion, shifting from one guard position to the next with a smoothness resulting from years' practice. He knew Jay could only keep up the barrage for so long, and then he could make a move of his own. 

Sure enough, Jay completed his series of attacks, so he took a step back to recalculate. Tom took the opportunity and made his own move. Jay blocked, but Tom's heftier longsword knocked his one-handed weapon aside, giving an opening to theoretically slit Jay's neck from the side. 

They withdrew and shook hands before returning their weapons to their scabbards. Then they headed down to the main part of the camp, where the smell of bacon had grown even stronger. Trevor currently stirred a steaming pot of porridge. 

"Good match." Tom remarked, "Sparring with you is never dull." 

"You either." Jay said, "So, after breakfast, what's the plan for today?" 

"We need to restock on supplies, and Trevor said the nearest village is two hours away, so we'll be headed there." 

"Sounds like a plan. We may come away with more than necessities, knowing the Kemarian markets." 

Tom grinned. "I think you're right about that."

**** 

A/N: I'll admit I had many a smile while first writing this chapter. The unexpected twist at the climax of book 2 really set this one up to start in a unique way, so I hope that was as thoroughly enjoyable to read as it was to write! If so, please do leave a vote and some comments! I really appreciate it. 😁 

Alright, so as far as update schedule goes, you can expect regular updates, two every Friday morning until this thing's all posted. (And by "Friday morning", I mean anywhere from 6 a.m.-11 a.m. PST). I aim for as early as possible, but it usually ends up being from 7-8. Anyway, now you know. 😆 

Okay, so now I'd like to ask a few brief reader engagement questions, just to gauge how I did. So first, did the prose flow nicely and keep you engaged throughout? 

And how about the characters? Where they interesting/likable? Who was your favorite based on this first impression? 

Lastly, I'll just ask if you have any comment of your own to make overall. Anything. (And don't hold nothin' back. I have a tough skin. 😉) 

I'm not usually this inquisitive in my author's notes, just I want to especially identify any blunders in the chapter that's supposed to reel readers in. 

Again, I hope you enjoyed that first chapter, and I guess the time's come for me to post the second. I'll get right on that.