Let's go see this wizard.

You head out of the tavern, and find yourselves in the midst of a busy medieval city. It is night time, but the area you find yourself in is still busy. You appear to be next to a wide river, running out of the nearby mountains, obviously a main method of trade. The city extends away from you, on the east bank of the river (your side, still) and up a hill to a sturdily looking castle. Many people are still milling around, some blatantly drunk, others performing tasks. "Finding said wizard, might be a little of a problem," ghost comments.

Shouldn't he have a house?

"That's where the problem is," sneers a gravelly voice from behind you. Turning, you see a well built man, completely concealed within a long cloak. The cowl leaves his face entirely in shadows. "The wizard is the king's personal Mage, and the arrogant prick refuses to deal with commoners, unless the king puts them through. Usually an audience with the king isn't to hard to get, but with the plague spreading, he isn't seeing anyone."

Do you know where he is?

"The palace of course. But good luck breaking in there. Trust me, I tried."

Hmmm, why break in? [b]i clearly have an idea[/b] Take us to the palace.

The man, although you can't see his face, sneers, "and why should I help you?"

Well, you can get in too and do whatever it is you wanted. And we could just go there ourselves so either way it's just a free ticket in.

The hooded stranger shakes his head. "You want to talk to the accursed wizard, have him help. I must kill him."

Why do you need to kill him?

The man looks up at you, and for the first time you catch a glimpse of his face. It is as pale as death, and gaunt. Yet his sunken eyes burn with a flaming determination. "Because that is justice, for what he has done."

What did he do? Quit being confusing.

The man shakes his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

JUST TELL ME!!!

The glares. "Fine. But if I tell you, you can't try and kill me, or get in my way when I kill my brother."

UGHHHH FINE! Wait? Brother?

"Yes. That backstabbing snake is my brother. We can't talk here though, follow me." He leads you away from the docks, and through a tangle of ally ways. Finally stopping at a dingy door, he pulls out a key and unlocks it, stepping inside to a small, sparse living room. There is little furniture, but it's apparent he has been living here. Closing and locking the door behind him, he motions for you to sit down. "The story is long, he says, but I'll give you the short of it." Settling down, he draws off his hood, revealing his face. It looks almost corpse like in the light. "My brother and I were born into a poor family. Even back then we had our differences, but we got along well enough. Except for the fact we loved the same girl. Despite this, she was a fiesta one and refused to choose. My brother and I eventually moved away, both with fake credentials. I faked a noble birth to become a knight, while he went into the Mage school. We grew up, and grew apart. Eventually, I ran into the girl, now a woman. She finally fell for me, and we married. My brother, although saddened, appeared happy for us. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, not a day before I was to be knighted, my fake credentials were found out, at a tip from a mysterious unknown figure. I ran, my wife in tow, from the palace here, guards close behind. The king claimed he didn't want me killed, but brought back alive. I knew the guards and knights wouldn't listen. They weren't the noble trusted vanguards of honor that were in the Kings guard. They would kill me and I knew it. Running, and we would have escaped too, if my brother hadn't showed up. The one who had tipped them off, his eyes burned with a hatred and jealousy. He wanted my wife, my Katerina. We fought, him throwing spells, me with my blade in hand, for I am an ace swordsman. I won. But at that moment of escape, with me embracing Katerina, he threw a knife to kill me. An unlucky turn, and it struck her instead. She died in my arms. Weeping, I held her as the guards bore down. As the leader ran me through with his sword, I merely met the sneering eyes of my brother. I truly died that day. The gods, however have granted me a second chance. A chance for justice. Something brought me back from the dead, for one year, and with that chance I will kill the rotten fiend I once called family." After this, he collapses, tired. He seems a broken man (or zombie thing), driven solely by his lust for revenge, or justice. He looks up again, and his eyes still burn with determination. "Will you help me?"

Yes, but you can't kill him until we find a cure for the poison. He can't know you're back alive either. Too risky. My plan is too knock out 4 guards. Then we each disguise ourselves in their armor. Finally, we find the mage and get the cure. After it's all done you can kill him. But, let me do all the talking. Oh yeah, try not to kill any guards on the way in.

Ghost raises an eyebrow. "Why four guards? There are three of us."

There's 4. Can't you count? Me, you, that old man from the bar, and this guy.

"That old man won't be coming. He'd slow us down." Ghost snarls.