Mayor Marissi had never considered himself a strong man, but it was only during the last year of his life that he had seen himself as weak. Weakness was a luxury unsuitable for someone like him, he had always told himself. After all, the people of his town trusted him to lead them to prosperity, settle disputes, uphold the law, and above all else, keep them safe. And while that duty seemed to become increasingly difficult every year, Mayor Marissi had managed to uphold his family legacy and keep his town safe.

Until last year.

Last year, the ghost of his grandmother had appeared outside his window with a message and an invitation. Grandma Lucille had been the mayor when Marissi was growing up, and he had never known anyone as charming or commanding as she was. It seemed to Marissi that the entire town loved Grandma Lucille, and he had never tried to hide his pride in her. While some of his friends had grandmothers who could make pies and tell stories, his grandmother could make speeches and tell jokes that rallied the whole town behind her decisions.

Grandma Lucille’s unwavering humor and optimism were at the very heart of her legacy as the mayor, no matter how long the winter or how bad the harvest. She always seemed to know just the right thing to say to bring smiles and laughter to a room. That was one of the reasons Mayor Marissi had been so unsettled to see her as a somber, sorrowful spirit floating outside his bedroom.

“I have a message for you Mari,” the ghost had said. Mayor Marissi had known it must truly be Grandma Lucille because she was the one who had given him that nickname, and he had never shared it with anyone else. “Three messages, in fact. An invitation, an offer, and a warning.”

The invitation had been to go to the fortress home of a powerful wizard, the necromancer who had summoned the ghost of Grandma Lucille herself, for dinner and discussion regarding the future of his people. The offer had been to use magic to ensure the safety of Marissi and his town from invasion or attack if he would accept the invitation, and listen in good faith to the necromancer’s proposal. The warning was that if Marissi did accept the invitation, he must keep the meeting secret, as well as any of the information that would be shared with him during the meal, and if he betrayed the trust of his host, he would be cursed and would lose his ability to speak and lead the town.

“I cannot tell you what to choose, sweet Mari,” the ghost of Grandma Lucille had said sadly. “I can only tell you that Lord Vdekshi’s power is great and terrible, and he will surely keep his promises to you. The good, and the bad. Consider carefully, Mari.” And then, after shedding a single spectral tear, Grandma Lucille had faded away, and Marissi was left sitting up in his bed, shocked at the ominous encounter.

Mayor Marissi had heard rumors and ghost stories for years about a mysterious death wizard who lived in a secret fortress and was responsible for everything from robbing graves and terrorizing travelers to ruining crops and rigging local elections. He had never taken the rumors seriously before that night. But then, he had never been visited by a ghost before that night either. Once he was forced to confront the evidence before him, Mayor Marissi was no longer able to ignore all the accounts of strange disappearances and unexplained mysteries, nor could he deny the creeping dread that had been increasing throughout the years.

The day after Grandma Lucille had visited him, Mayor Marissi had felt a chill and foreboding that no coat could seem to warm and an emptiness in his stomach that no meal could seem to settle. He tried to share his usual jokes and banter with the people in his town, but it all seemed so hollow. Even when they had smiled and laughed, he had seen the unease and worry in their eyes. Everyone had been frightened for years, but nobody had been willing to say or do anything about it. And as mayor, although he felt afraid, he knew that he must be the one to stand up for his town and do something about it.

So when Grandma Lucille had returned the next night, floating silently outside Marissi’s window, he had known what he must do. “Please tell Vdekshi that I’ve decided to accept his invitation,” he had called out to the ghost. “Someone needs to speak up for the people of this town like you used to. Someone needs to be strong.” Grandma Lucille said nothing. She never had spoken to him again after that first night. She just turned away with a sad look on her face and her misty form dissolved into the late night fog.

Marissi knew that his grandmother had delivered his reply though, because two nights later, a black carriage had arrived in front of his home. It had no horses or driver that Marissi could see, but when the knock on his door echoed through the house, he knew it was time to step out into the night and keep his appointment.

Vdekshi had been a gracious host, and just as Grandma Lucille had said, he’d kept every promise he made and then some. But Mari had not been strong. He’d been weak. So weak that he was tricked into breaking his promise and bringing the curse down upon him, and bringing even worse down upon his town. He had proven himself the weakest mayor his town had ever had. And now, after those two years had passed, he was certain he was the last mayor his town would ever have.

He had never considered himself strong, but since the events of the past two years, his weakness and cowardice had utterly consumed him, until it was the only thing he could see when he looked in a mirror anymore. Nothing but weakness incarnate, living inside a shell of the man he used to be.

Until this morning.

This morning he had awoken with the power of speech restored to him, and the curse lifted from his tongue. This morning he had looked out one of the windows of his old town hall and saw two of the strangers he’d betrayed the night before. One of the strangers was the one who had healed him. The other one had nearly killed him.

But now the one who had nearly killed him stood with the morning sunrise behind him, and his eyes were glowing with a white fire. When Mari looked into the white flames, something changed within him. Something was growing and burning.

The stranger with the lantern and stick had given Mari back his speech, but as he watched the flames become brighter and more glorious in the eyes of the large, dark-skinned stranger, he could feel something else come back. It started as an ember in his heart, then grew to a flame he never knew he had. It was his strength, brighter and hotter than he had ever felt it.

Then the white flames had disappeared from the eyes of the dark-skinned stranger, and the stranger had fallen to the ground. The other stranger caught him, and gently helped him recover. Though the flames were no longer visible, the strength was still there. It was time to act. He reached for the door handle, and stepped outside to face the strangers.

“My name is Mayor Marissi,” he said. “And if you’re planning to go after Vdekshi, then I have some information you’re going to need.”