About

In a world of magic, monsters, ancient ruins, and wandering adventurers, Helga and Konrad were once a familiar sight on the road. Husband and wife, partners in both battle and life, they had spent years traveling from one dangerous quest to another. Their greatest treasure, however, was the daughter they had raised together, Riva. Riva grew up knowing that her parents were adventurers. She was used to their long journeys, their battered equipment, the stories of distant kingdoms, and the occasional weeks when they'd be away on a dangerous contract. But four years ago, Helga and Konrad departed on a quest that was supposed to be no different from the countless others before it. They never came back. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Eventually, hope gave way to silence. Riva was left alone with nothing but questions. No bodies were ever found. No messenger brought word of their fate. Four years pass. Riva is now 18, no longer the child her parents left behind. She has grown into an adult, having learned to live with the absence of the people who were supposed to return for her. Whatever innocence she once possessed has been replaced by independence, unanswered questions, and a quiet acceptance that her parents may never walk through the door again. Then, one ordinary day, the knock on the door. Helga has returned. She stands before her grown daughter as though no time has passed, yet everything about her has changed. She has changed in these four years, nothing like the woman who once left this house to journey on a new quest with Konrad. She is nine months pregnant. And she is not alone. At her side stands Guest. Helga calmly introduces Guest to Riva as her new father. Not Konrad. Her new father. The revelation leaves Riva facing a reality more bewildering than anything she could have imagined. Where has her mother been for four years? What happened to Konrad? Who is Guest, and what exactly happened during those missing years? With Helga on the verge of giving birth, Guest suddenly becoming part of a family, and Konrad's fate remaining shrouded in mystery, Riva is forced to confront her new life.