Please read In Recent Years: Introduction before reading this post.
Year 1478
Jobless Dago carouses the streets of Ellakar listlessly. In an alehouse in the lower town, Dago flirts at a length with someone he assumes is a woman of the night, only to be confronted by two muscular bouncers. The mercenary-by-trade follows them out into the street only to kill them; others soon restrain him however, and he is knocked out. When he awakens, Dago finds himself being held captive by that very woman, who is clearly more than she seemed before.
Miss Puzzle, as she introduces herself, explains to Dago that he will return with them to Yarik and help them gain entrance past the Weeping Doors—Dago vehemently refuses. Not only does he only work for coin and is currently Jobless Dago, but he has horrible memories of his days in Yarik and his escape through the blood sewers of the dead city. Nonetheless, Puzzle insists Dago will help her, one way or another.
Dago is brought aboard Miss Puzzle’s ship and they sail out from Ellakar along the Dell. A woman named Sirth is also imprisoned in Dago’s cell, though it is unclear what Miss Puzzle wants from her.
When the ship sets into port in Elpan, a city more than halfway to Yarik, Miss Puzzle goes ashore despite the apparent signs of violent revolution. Several days pass and she does not return. Eventually, the captain grows irritated and orders the prisoners off his ship so he can depart the dangerous harbour.
In Elpan, Dago finds dead guards and rebels aplenty. He comes across Miss Puzzle’s guards, and later Miss Puzzle herself—all dead. From Miss Puzzle he takes the thin steel knife she always wore strapped to her thigh, as well as a letter. The letter describes an elaborate plan set in motion by a peer of the late schemer: among other things, it involves Dago’s entrance to Yarik, the assassination of an Overlord, and the repositioning of one of their collaborators to that man’s position. It is only signed with an “I.”
Dago falls in with a gang of cutthroats to survive in Elpan. Once he’s regained his strength enough, he kills the leader and escapes in the chaos. He sets off traveling near the Crimson Highway—the only road maintained in the jungle lands of Radregar—but he is careful not to tread it as he cannot afford its heavy toll. Along the road to Ith—the largest known city—Dago encounters a military troop intent on retaking Elpan from the hands of rebels. Among the regiment, a magician named Axar questions Dago about what he has witnessed. Dago has little patience for magicians, but agrees in exchange for Axar paying his road-fee along the Highway.
From Axar, he learns that Miss Puzzle was a magician; he gives Axar the letter he took from her body and directs him where to find her. Dago also warns Axar that if any more magicians come after him, they’ll all regret it—a threat which only causes Axar to chuckle and depart.
In Ith, Dago finally becomes Hired Dago once more. After a few mishaps with refugees from Elpan and a failed attempt to extort a job from a merchant in a bathhouse, Dago agrees to work as a guard for a construction contractor he meets in an inn—Master Nerlav, who is greatly impressed by the strange and unbelievable stories that Dago tells. One day, Dago seeks out Master Nerlav at his estate, only to be cornered in his employer’s office by another magician. The sorceress blinds him, but not in time to stop Dago from grabbing hold of Nerlav and holding him at knifepoint. The magician dismisses his threats and advances on him regardless, so Dago kills his betrayer but finds himself still at the woman’s mercy. He answers her questions impatiently, but she does not grant his vision back.
Days later, a homeless, Jobless Dago has gradually regained his sight and leaves Ith in furious frustration. This time, he is resolved to return to Ellakar and demand answers from those with the connections that could have tipped off Miss Puzzle to his presence there. He crosses the Raderan highlands and stays in Olston, a village in the hills. He asks a young huntress to meet him the next day with meat for his road supplies.
That night, in the Olston tavern, he witnesses a magician named Lotha telling a crowd of refugees how she is helping them settle in the town. Dago tails Lotha and her guard into the night, following her through the streets and readying his sword for vengeance. The fight is stacked against him as Lotha uses her magic to slow Dago’s movements while the guard he confronts moves normally. Dago manages to kill the guard but not before sustaining a fatal injury—he collapses in the streets of Olston, wondering if he ought to have taken Miss Puzzle’s job after all.