Our lives are full of moments and cruxes that we attribute to luck; whether that luck is then considered good or bad is purely a matter of perspective. For every player that is dealt a good hand in a game of Tribute, there will be others that will inevitably be dealt bad. For every person in the right place at the right time, there will be somebody who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whenever I hear the comforting tale of someone unlikely saved, there is also a lament of one who wasn’t. Can it be just luck, or is there something more at work?

Take my experience this evening at the Breakneck Cave. I knew its doors were closed a long time before the war began because of the well publicised spider infestation, so it was a surprise as I rode past on my way to Vlastarus in the south to find bandits were guarding its entrance. Of course nothing says ‘welcome, please come in’ more to an adventurer then armed hoodlums guarding a door.

At first glance it appeared the Black Daggers were using the caves as a warehouse of sorts, yet they clearly hadn’t overcome the spider problem. However, as I delved further down beyond the crates and barrels it occurred to me that this number of guards for such small amount of provisions was somewhat overkill. And that is when I spied Hegris, the leader of the Black Dagger bandits.

Clearly Hegris is a dangerous man, you don’t get to climb the ranks to become leader of the largest bandit gang in the Heartlands without being ruthless, callous a cut-throat, and perhaps a little lucky; although I am sure this Nord will tell you his luck was simply the warriors advantage. But it wasn’t simply down to luck that I discovered Hegris in the Breakneck Caves today, it was cause and effect. I chose to ride past the abandoned cave, and made a choice to challenge the guards at the door, and Hegris himself chose to visit this very same day, which proved to be his last. Perhaps then this is all luck really is, a cause, an effect, and a matter of perspective.

S.K