I took a bracing and cold shower, cleaned what seemed like an inch of dried grime and blood off my body, and walked out to dive into my bed.

But there, in the middle of the clean white sheets, sat a small package. Blue wrapping paper with a silver bow.

I picked the box up and took it over to my desk. I had to undo the ribbon to get the tag out.

Montana of Coggeshall

Perhaps it is for the holiday that you have done such a service for me as ridding Osterstadt of vampires. I abhor those vile creatures, those perversions of nature. They made things so very difficult for me and mine. I fear, as well, you did a good job with your disguise, of hiding your identity, for I did not even know you were in the city until that final morning. And what an exit you made, the Hero of Osterstadt, a duke of the Empire. Certainly not what this rebellious city council was imagining. What a time to be alive, eh? But I digress. As you did such a kindness for me, giving me an unparalleled holiday gift, I felt it only right I do the same for you.

Happy Solstice, and enjoy your Fiend Night,

The Master

“Fuck,” I said. “I killed the wrong master.”

I dropped everything I had in my hands. The note fell to the desk, and the ribbon fluttered to the floor. Then I took a few careful steps away from the box. Knowing the Master, there was an equal chance the box would kill me as give me a genuine present.

I went over to the door, backing up there, doing my best to never take my eyes off the box — just in case. It could be a mimic waiting for the right time to bite my head off. Not that it would necessarily work, but I wasn’t too fond of anything biting me anywhere. 

When the doorknob hit my back, I reached around and opened the door.

"Your grace," one of the minotaurs at my door said, either surprised to see me backing out of my room, or surprised to see me backing out of my room naked. “Are you—“

"Get Nikolai and Emeline here now," I said.

The minotaur looked at me for a moment, and I chanced breaking eye contact with the box to glare at him.

"Now."

The minotaur charged off, his hooves clattering down the hall.

I stepped back into my room.

The other minotaur guard followed me in, coming up next to me. He had his short sword out, and a small shield on his left arm extended to deflect whatever blow might be coming.

He did not see the danger as I saw it, moving through the room quickly, looking for any obvious threats. The blue wrapped box didn't catch his eye.

It hadn't changed, at least insofar as I could tell, since I set it on the desk.

"Has anyone come in here lately?" I asked.

"Besides your grace?"

"Besides me."

"No."

"No one was in here after I came in and took a shower?"

"Not from the front entrance," he said. "Why?"

"Is there another entrance?"

The minotaur pointed to the door leading out to my oversized balcony.

"Check out there," I said, still eyeing the box.

I caught the look that flashed across the minotaur's face, a mixture of confusion and concern. But he composed himself quickly and stomped outside into the falling snow.

"I could have gone quite some time without seeing your naked butt once again,” Nikolai said.

"Keep your eye on the box," I said, pointing to the desk, "and I'll put something on."

"The box?"

"The blue one."

"I only see the one. Why am I watching it?"

"I'll tell you when Emeline gets here."

"Won't she tell me when she's here?"

"Nikolai, you know what I mean."

"Sorry," he said with a wry smile, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

I grabbed a set of clothes and pulled them on. When I turned back to Nikolai, he was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut.

"Nikolai!” I snapped.

His eyes shot open, and he looked around.

"I'm awake," he said, not convincingly. "Why am I here again?"

"The box," I said, pointing.

"Is it a present for me?" Emeline asked, walking into the room.

"Not quite," I said. "Or, at least, not that I know of."

"Why are we here, your grace?” Nikolai asked through a yawn.

I pointed at the package.

Nikolai raised an eyebrow.

"Is this an early Fiends' Night present?" he asked, stepping toward the box.

"Not for you," I said.

He frowned. "You wake me up—“

"It's from the Master."

"The Master?" Emeline asked. Her face went pale and all happiness in her demeanor disappeared.

I nodded.

"This was sent prior to you killing him?" Nikolai asked. "Do you expect it is some sort of means of revenge?"

"It's not from the Master I killed," I said.

"Different master," Nikolai mused, tilting his head a little while peering at the blue-wrapped box. “They should pick titles that aren't quite so vague."

"I killed the wrong master," I said. "That's a thank-you present from the master we were actually after."

"Thanking you for not killing him?" Nikolai asked.

Emeline shook her head and looked around the room, maybe searching for something that might make sense of the whole situation for her. 

"Thanking me for killing the other master in Osterstadt," I replied. "Apparently the master we were after wasn’t very big on vampires."

“Which means he's not a vampire," Nikolai mused.

"I knew it," Emeline muttered. 

"Yeah, well," I said, "I fucked up."

Emeline pulled her pouch off her belt and dropped to the floor on the other side of my bed.

Nikolai got all the way to the desk, stopping to peer down at the package. Without touching it, he scrutinized the whole thing. He went over each side, gave it a sniff, and probably would have tasted it if he could've figured out a way to do that without using his tongue.

"You assume it is trapped?" Nikolai asked.

"I decided to be careful for once," I replied.

"Fetch Reinhart Claewins," he barked.

I heard the clomp of Minotaur boots on the stone.

"Who?" I asked.

"Someone to take a look at this for us," Nikolai said, standing up straight, with a slight groan. He stretched his back out, and I heard his tendons creaking in protest. He winced, and shook his head.

"You need to take those potions," I said.

"And what potions are those?" he asked.

"You know damn well," I snapped in reply.

His only response was a frown.

The door to the balcony opened, and my minotaur guard came back in, covered with snow. He shook the snow from him, and gave a nod to Nikolai before turning to me.

"There is no evidence anyone has been on the balcony, your grace," he said. "But the snow makes it difficult to determine—“

I held my hand up. "It's fine, bub. You tried—”

He nodded, and turned to head back outside.

"Whoa," I said, "where are—”

"Someone must guard this door as well," the minotaur replied. "It is a vulnerability."

“I—“ I started to disagree, but Nikolai held a hand up to me. I sighed, and let the minotaur go outside.

"Emeline," Nikolai replied, "are you quite done with your ritual?"

"Her what?" I asked, realizing I'd lost track of the woman on the far side of my oversized bed.

“You do not smell the magic on the air?" Nikolai asked. "She's got something going on there."

We both walked around the bed to see Emeline staring intently at a small copper bowl filled with clear liquid. 

"Emeline?" I asked.

She ignored us, keeping her attention on the bowl.

The color of the liquid flashed to blue.

"Fuck," she said. "He's here."

"Who's here?" Nikolai asked.

I bounded to my dresser and pulled my unfillable knapsack out of the bottom drawer. I grabbed a spear from the bag and turned, ready to fight. I scanned the walls, looking for some sign of an invisible person moving around.

Nothing.

"The Master," Emeline said. “He's here."

"He can go invisible?" I asked, wishing I had some sort of heat vision. Instead, I closed my eyes, and I reached out with tremorsense. 

Still nothing. At least, nothing out of the ordinary. I could feel footsteps from people moving around, some vibrations from creatures outside, and the rumbles from the underground river and waterfall just a few yards away. Which gave me one more reason to be impressed with the work the dwarves had done engineering my home.

"He's not here here," Emeline said. "He's in Coggeshall."

Nikolai crouched at the bowl and peered at it.

I walked over, tossed the spear on the bed and looked into the bowl myself. 

"What is that?" I asked.

"It is what I got the night I went out by myself," Emeline replied. "It is a small ritual that can find the Master."

"So where is he?" I asked.

"In Coggeshall."

"That's the best it can do?"

"It's better than you can do."

"Why didn't you let me know about this before I killed the wrong master?"

"Because you shunted me out of the damn city and told me the Master was a vampire."

"She's got you there," Nikolai countered. "I take it the color changes to indicate closeness?"

Emeline nodded. "If he was in the room, it would be purple. Town, blue. County, turquoise. Dukedom, Green, Country, yellow, Continent Orange. World, Red. On another plane, white. Dead, black."

"Blue," Nikolai said. "Does the shade alter at all?"

"No," Emeline said. 

She pulled out a small piece of parchment and unrolled it. It had swatches of color on it.

“The guide," she said, holding the parchment flat next to the bowl.

"That's blue," I said.

"I know," Emeline said. “So he's in this town.”

"Well shit," I said. "Let's go find him."

I jumped on the bed, snatched the spear, and was halfway to the door before Nikolai cleared his throat hard enough to stop me in my tracks.

"What, exactly, dear duke," he started, "is your plan here?"

"We, um, go find him," I replied. 

"Find him. The Master. Here. In Coggeshall."

“Yes.”

"What does he look like?"

"He's got to be among the newcomers, so--"

“So you just stab them all? Kill every last one?"

"No, but—“

"Accuse one of the more influential members of the Empire of being some undiscovered monster?"

"Okay, yeah — it’s not exactly the best idea."

"It would not endear you to them, and I do not see how it could offer you any insight into which of them might be The Master."

"You don't think the Master is so egotistical he'd skip the chance to out himself?”

"Are you seriously asking that question?”

"Not now, I'm not."

"I doubt the Master has become what he is today by being as foolish as you seem to think he is. There's little to gain by going after the Master right now, half-cocked and poorly dressed."

“So what do you suggest?" I asked, slamming the spear butt into the ground.

"I suggest," he said, leaning back against the nearby wall and stifling a yawn, "that we pause and think for a moment. Given the weather, no one is going to leave the holding today. Or tomorrow, likely. Certainly not for an extended trip anywhere. The weather has blessed us to a certain degree, in that you can make an edict to restrict travel until things clear."

"And then Fiends' Night," Emeline offered.

"I believe the weather will hold until then, or at least close enough until then to keep anyone from leaving."

"Fiends' Night? Why does that matter?"

Nikolai shook his head as a smile spread. "I apologize, your grace, but occasionally I forget your, erm, origins. No one travels during Fiends' Night.”

"Why?"

There was a knock on the door. 

"Hold that thought," Nikolai whispered.

We all stood there for a second.

"Tell them to come in," Nikolai hissed.

"Enter," I bellowed, giving Nikolai the side-eye before realizing that one, it was my room, two, I was the duke. I stopped looking at Nikolai.

A small man entered the room, somewhere between a dwarf and a human. Perhaps a half-dwarf? He was probably over four feet, but less than five, for sure. Thin, which really set him apart from dwarves, and older, with just a bit of fuzz on his face. He had patches on his clothes, and a small pair of spectacles hung out of a vest pocket. He held a hat in his hands.

"You requested me?" he said, his voice high and a bit delicate.

"I did," I said. "Or, um, my chancellor did."

"Ah," the little man said, giving a slight nod to me before turning his attention to Nikolai. "Then I am here to serve. Though not exactly sure what it is I am to do."

"Reinhart Claewins," Nikolai said.

"Aye, that's me."

"You joined the holding at a bit of an odd time, eh?"

"Dependin' lot on your definition of odd, sir."

"I'm no knight, Reinhart."

"Beggin' your pardon, uh, Chancellor. But still, dependin' on—“

"Right. I think of it as an odd time, but I suppose, for you at least, not as much.”

"Not as much, no."

"What was going on?" I asked. "Why—“

Nikolai held up a hand. "A moment, if you will, your grace."

I shrugged, and leaned on my spear. I noticed that there were more minotaurs up and about. Two were outside the open door, and two stood inside the door. Plus the one freezing his horns off outside. They felt the danger. Or they felt that I felt the danger. Or, well, you get the idea.

"You're a man of particular skills, Reinhart," Nikolai continued, walking slowly over to the desk.

"I have been, erm," Reinhart started to clarify, but then stopped himself. "Yes, chancellor. Supposin' I am."

"I need those skills right now."

"You need a finish carpenter?"

"If I did, would you be the man I would call?"

"I am a carpenter, your grace," Reinhart said to me.

I smiled and pointed to Nikolai. "I'm willing to bet he's about to say different."

"You are a fence, Reinhart," Nikolai said.

"See," I said. 

"I would never—“

"Can it," I said.

"We may be a backwoods province, but we are not country bumpkins, Reinhart. We know each and every person who comes into this holding, especially those who swear allegiance to his grace, the Duke of Coggeshall." Nikolai nodded his head in my direction. "Your skills and prior profession are well-known to us."

"I ain't done nothin—“

Nikolai held up his hands. "And I accuse you of nothing but your Choice. I know what it is you have done, and recognize that, so far, you have been a model citizen. However, I do need your rather particular skills to open this box here."

"A box, eh?" Reinhart said. “That seems like something I might be able to help with."

He smiled, and rubbed his hands together as he approached the desk. He moved easier now, more lithe and sure-footed, making me feel that, perhaps, his older appearance was just that: an appearance. He pulled a small piece of metal out of one of his sleeves. It was very slim and looked an awful lot like a lock-pick. He used the lock-pick to check the wrapping paper, moving the box around carefully.

"Did you find it here?" he asked.

"No," I said. "On the bed."

"Ah," he said, and immediately picked the box up and peered at the bottom.

He tutted a few times, but I had no idea what he'd found.

Then, exceedingly carefully, Reinhart slipped his metal pick into the paper, cutting a small hole. He glanced back over at us, then hunched over the box. Suddenly a bit of light bloomed from somewhere on his person. Reinhart used the light to peer inside the hole. He then cut a hole on each side of the box, giving him the ability to look at everything under the paper.

He sighed, pulled the paper off and set it to the side, revealing a box made out of wood.

"Nicely made," Reinhart said, whistling low as he ran his hands over the box.

After a minute or two of intense scrutiny, he popped the top of the box open.

He sighed, and stood up straight.

"Nothing special about it," Reinhart said. "No traps. Just, well, whatever might be inside. And I detect nothin' about whatever gift it is. Anything else you might need, your grace?"

"Uh," I said, looking over to Nikolai.

The chancellor gave a short shake of his head.

"That's it," I said. "Thank you."

"Happy to help, your grace," Reinhart said with a slight nod. Then he walked out of the room.

Inside the package was a very fine scarf, made out of incredibly soft wool, or something like wool, in Coggeshall colors: green, white, and black.

I wished I could still use the identification spells to see what exactly it was, but I’d probably just blow up the room if I tried.

"Don't put that on," Nikolai said.

"I'm not that big an idiot," I replied, tossing the scarf to the side.

"I don't think the Master would poison you with a gift," Emeline said, her ritual stuff all packed up and put away. "That's not his style."

"What is his style?" I asked. 

"Living in the shadows and killing anyone he likes. Growing in power. Not poisoning or trapping."

"These are not important questions for right now," Nikolai said. "We need to figure out how to hold everyone in place, so we can smoke out the Master."

"Do you think he'll kill anyone while he's here?" I asked.

"I cannot imagine he will be able to help himself."

"Then maybe it'd be better to just let him go."

Nikolai took a deep breath and sat down on the chair in front of my desk, giving me a slow nod.

"There is certainly some merit to—” he started.

"You cannot be considering this," Emeline snapped. "It is—”

I held up a finger at her. Then I looked over at the minotaurs, who were still standing on either side of the open door, and gestured for them to shut the door.

They did, taking their positions outside with the others.

"Now you can yell," I said. 

"Why—“ Emeline started. But her bluster was a bit blown by then, and she petered out.

"If we let him go," I said, "he goes somewhere else and becomes a problem for someone else."

"Letting a killer like that just go—“

"It's not just letting him go," I spat back. “It’s keeping our people safe. I can't help everyone."

"That is not true," Emeline snapped. "You're more powerful than you realize, and—”

"Both of you," Nikolai said calmly, his voice even enough to cut between the two of us, "think back to our conversation prior to Master Claewins’ interruption. Even if we were to allow this self-proclaimed Master to leave, there is little chance it would happen until after Fiends' Night. Which means, if we would like to catch him, we have until then to do so. And if we would like to let him go, we have until then to protect our people against him."

"Why can't he leave until after Fiends' Night?"

"No one travels then," Emeline said. 

"Why?"

"I think you know that there are other planes of existence neighboring our own. We visited once such place, if you recall," Nikolai said. "The hells are full of devils, who are often referred to as fiends. On the winter solstice every year, the boundaries between this plane and those planes are weakest, and on that one night, the fiends breach that boundary and wander our world."

"Okay, so it's devils everywhere outside?"

"Yes. Depending. I suppose it's possible you'd find yourself in a place without much in the way of devils. They might not be in some of the lesser populated areas, or some of the more dangerous areas. I doubt many fiends would be willing to go up against the truly powerful beings across Vuldranni. But anywhere there is a concentration of souls, you're likely to find fiends walking. And hunting. The only real protection is that fiends may not enter a home uninvited."

"So everyone just hunkers down for the night?" I asked.

"That's certainly the simplest explanation of it. You hunker down in a home and invite no one in. But the night is the longest of the year, lasting across the entire day until the following dawn. At this far north, it is close to forty hours of darkness."

"So we hunker down for forty hours. Not so bad."

"It is the ‘home’ aspect that provides difficulty for larger populations."

"Or caravans," Emeline offered.

Nikolai nodded at her suggestion. "Or armies in the field."

"What about boats?" I asked.

"What about them?" Nikolai replied.

"What do they do?"

"Likely, they exist, as do the caravaners. Either find a safe port where they might make a home for a night, or make their ship into a home for the night."

"Make it into a home?"

"That is one of the more important aspects of Fiends' Night, the making of a home. We have been waiting for a chance to discuss how you would like to handle this. In fact, it was to be first on the list of our council meeting on the morrow — later today I suppose — but we might as well start now."

"Um, can you tell me how you make this place a home?"

"There are a few general principles. The most important is a shared meal, freely given."

"We do that all the time."

"No, we provide food that everyone eats at their leisure. If you wish to have the entire mountain work as a singular ‘home,’ we must all break bread and eat together."

"Okay, a feast then."

"Yes."

"And?”

"Gifts," Emeline said.

"In some cultures," Nikolai said. "The meal is the most important aspect; that is prevalent across the world, as far as I know. The rest is more—“

"Gifts are important," Emeline said.

"In Osterstadt, yes. But in central Glaton, it is dancing. Music and dancing. The dwarves believe in working on a group project. I daresay there is something else the kobolds do, and the battenti. Even the minotaurs likely have their own, well, traditions."

"But no one leaves. No one travels around Fiends' Night?"

"Not on the day itself, no. There might be times where one travels to be with their family on Fiends' Night, since that is said to be a stronger protection. A whole family inside a structure makes it more of a home. But once the meal happens, no one leaves."

"Okay. So we need a feast. And maybe we find out some of the most popular traditions among our group. And— wait, what about all the workers on the other fort?”

"They should already be on the way here. Though I believe Lady Northwoods was planning on leaving this morning to spend the next few days with her father at his estate."

"That can't happen," I said.

"Something I am realizing now.”

"Order her to stay."

"I cannot."

"Why not— oh. Me. I have to order it."

"Yes, your grace."

"Fine, she cannot leave. No one can leave until the weather is better. I won't have my people lost in the snow. And she has agreed to be my people, right?”

"Yes."

"Boom. Edict."

"Your grace, you do need to actually issue the edict. Not just say ‘boom.’”

"How do I do that?"

"I'm sorry," Emeline said, "but I need to find a safe place to sleep. There’s—“

"Shit," I said. "That's right. He's probably gunning for you."

Nikolai held up a finger. "We cannot make it seem as if you know he is here. We must keep everything ordinary. Which means—“

"I will be killed if I sleep in my room," Emeline said, genuine fear in her eyes.

"You have been left alone until now," Nikolai said. "You believe that is due to luck?"

"I think he's biding his time," Emeline said. "I'd imagine he'd be looking to take me tonight and leave in the morning. Maybe take me with him."

Nikolai nodded a few times, then looked over to me.

"There is one place you would be safe and it might not be seen as too outside normalcy."

"Where?" she asked, hopeful.

"With Montana."

Emeline's eyes locked on mine. 

"Wait, what?" I asked.

Emeline laughed. "Might get some people talking."

"But no one would think it outside the realm of possibility."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

“It means everyone is expecting your grace to dip his royal wick—“ Nikolai started.

"Okay, what the actual fuck?”

"Popular topic at the cantina," Emeline said with an eyebrow raise.

"And you're ready to make it seem like—“ I started.

"At least until the Master issue has been addressed," Nikolai said. "I think it is best we keep the illusion alive."

"And so what’s going on right now? You're in here with us having a threesome?"

"It's too late for your humor," Nikolai said. "I will transmit your orders to the guard, that no one is to leave Coggeshall until after Fiends' Night. Yes?"

"Sure."

"Lovely. Good night, your grace," Nikolai said, with a slight bow of his head. And then he strode from the room.

I looked over and saw Emeline already in the bed. She grinned at me.

"I do get the bed, right?" she asked.