Thick fog crept through the ravines, engulfing the trees in their white silence. The weak sunlight hadn’t yet seeped over the nearby ridges, so the gray darkness of dawn still prevailed. In the sleepy stillness of the new day, the crackling and melodic dripping of melting ice was like soft music. The moaning of the wind in the branches made the narrow dell look like the haunting place of ghosts. Only… it wasn’t the wind moaning.

Noah jumped to the side and the shining blade passed near him in a deadly arch. Without wasting any time, he swung his sword. There was a knack of bones and a shrill scream, and his enemy’s arm was lying on the ground in a fast-growing puddle of blood. He didn’t linger even a second and soon steel was clashing with steel yet again. This opponent was more skilled with the sword than his unlucky brethren currently wriggling on the ground, and his armor was also better.

The two men interlocked, fighting with all their strength to overwhelm the other. The slaver tried pushing Noah to one of the shed’s walls and pinning him there, but the young man was as slippery as an eel. With a few sparing movements, Noah managed to avoid the dangerous situation and dragged his opponent back in the open. Seeing that the fight isn’t going in his favor, the other man started to lose composure and decided to risk it with a dirty trick. As his next attack was parried again, his foot aimed at Noah’s knee. Unfortunately for him, his victim was more vigilant than ever. With a lightning side-step Noah closed in in a blink. His hand rose, giving the slaver a mighty hit on the temple with the pommel of his sword, rendering him unconscious.

With two people down, Noah brushed the hair from his eyes and looked around, catching his breath shortly. Despite them being discovered earlier than expected, everything was going smoothly. His men had almost overwhelmed all the guards and there was only some cleaning up left.

Suddenly on his left, a man jumped out screaming and waving his sword. Noah rolled his eyes. How could one be so stupid!? If you ambush, you are silent. And what was with that sloppy attack? Don’t pick up a sword, if you don’t know how to use it.

The young man ducked and his own weapon sliced diagonally his opponent from heap to shoulder. There was a small hiss and the slaver dropped on the ground, dyeing the muddy snow red. Noah stepped to the side, his senses alert for other attacks. Indeed, he could hear some heavy steps, running towards him. He lifted up his blade but lowered it again almost immediately. Duncan’s large figure emerged from behind the hut, clutching war-hammers in each hand. He stopped abruptly, throwing a quick glance at the three bodies lying around.

“I wondered where you’ve disappeared and here you are, playing around.” The old man clicked his tongue. “Hope your cranky mood has improved.”

Noah just threw him a poisonous glance. He wiped his sword clean and put it back in its scabbard.

“I guess not. Did you get off on the wrong foot this morning, boy? Bad dreams?”

“Stop spouting nonsense and report already, Duncan.” Noah rebutted him harshly. Even if tortured, he would never confess that he had dreamed of Lorelei last night. It had been… disturbingly realistic, albeit nice. Still, just the thought made his body feel hot all of a sudden as a little bit of guilt crept into his heart. He turned his head away hoping that the old knight had missed his suspiciously red ears. Thank the Gods and his late mother for his darker complexion!

Lucky for him, Duncan finally stopped messing around and got serious.

“Just as planned, we’ve left two of them to escape – one binshi and one mercenary. The Shadows are tracking them as we speak.”

“Excellent.” The young man nodded, his eyes still darting around in search of enemies. “I love fishing with a double hook. With a bit of luck, that snake Rowell and his allies will soon fall into our hands. I really want to know which of the turgans is aiding the Red Hands.”

Noah walked away, followed by his friend. In the center of the camp, the knights had already gathered. Surrounded by them, about ten slavers were kneeling in the mud, their faces full of anguish. The young man threw them a fleeting glance. These people didn’t garner any pity. They themselves had given none to the families they had destroyed.

Allen de Mar separated from the group of knights and welcomed them.

“Any casualties?” asked Noah, looking at the red and brown splatters on the knight’s clothes.

“None, unless you count some scratches.” Allen’s reply sounded just as relieved as Noah felt. Then he asked gesturing towards the slavers. “What are we going to do with them?”

“Bring them to Blue-Harbor for trial. They have trespassed in the de Mar territory, so your father should enact judgment.”

Allen nodded with appreciation. His lord was giving their barony some face. He followed Duncan and Noah to the slave’s barracks. The old knight grabbed the heavy steel latch and gave it a mighty pull. It slid to the side with a screeching moan and the doors flung open. In the young morning rays, a large group of frightened people stood huddled together at the very back of the building.

“By the grace of duke Norden, you are all free.” Duncan’s voice boomed in the dusty darkness of the shack.

Heavy silence followed his words. None of the prisoners, still tightly gripped by fear, dared to move a muscle.

“No need to be scared, good people.” Allen also stepped in. “The guards have been subdued. You truly are free.”

From the depths of the hut came the sound of metal dragging on wood. A slightly hunched man came forward, stopping midway to the entrance. Despite the dirt and sparse light, his white hair still stood out. He measured the three knights and after some consideration spoke at last.

“We are grateful to the lords for killing our captors.” The voice of the old man was a bit hoarse but powerful. “Which baron are the knights serving?"

“Are you deaf, man?” Duncan puffed up his chest. “We come under the direct orders of his highness Duke Norden.”

A murmur rose.

“The duke! It’s a miracle! The duke is finally back! He really saved us?!”

The old man however was still not completely convinced.

“How do we know that you aren’t trying to trick us and just re-capture or kill us the moment we set foot outside?”

“Preposterous!” Duncan was honestly shocked by the statement.

At that moment Noah stepped forward to face the bold slave.

“Two reasons.” His eyes locked onto the other man making him tremble visibly. “First, if I wanted you dead, I would have ordered this place torched to the ground. It would have been much easier and less messy than stabbing each and every one of you separately.”

There were some panicked exclamations, but Noah ignored them. His staring competition with the old man continued.

“Second, I have enough well-trained men to take over this camp. If I wanted to capture, sell, or otherwise abuse you, I wouldn’t have asked you politely to come out. Is this enough of a reason?”

The slave representative threw a glance over his shoulder at his distraught brethren and made a decision.

“I apologize for my impudence towards the lord knight.” He bowed deeply. “We are at your mercy.”

With these words he walked with dragging steps towards the door, his heavy chains trailing behind him. As he came closer Noah could see with some surprise that, despite the messy white hair and stubby beard, the man was actually not that old at all, probably barely in his thirties. He was simply a very thin and malnourished binshi. The rest of the captives followed behind him into the light and there were quite a lot of white heads amongst them. The binshi comprised more than half of the slaves. This reminded Noah of the promise he had made with his little guide. He secretly gave a sign to Duncan, who nodded and went away.

One by one, the slaves left the building, blinking in the strong blinding sun. They were thin and dirty, but their faces were glowing with hope and happiness. A similarly haggard group came out from the second barrack, resulting in about a hundred now-free slaves gathering in the clearing between the shacks. Some of the knights started removing their chains, others began preparing funeral pyres and gathering the slavers’ bodies to be burned.

After getting his own shackles removed, the binshi-spokesman started helping the rest of his comrades. Soon, all the men were free. They huddled close together, their happiness slowly dying out replaced by worry. The brave young binshi, obviously delegated to be their leader due to his bold actions earlier, found himself standing in front of Noah and his escorts yet again.

“We are eternally indebted to the honorable and just knights for granting us our freedom.” His voice was polite but cautious as he spoke to Noah and the rest. “Still, we would like to know what you are going to do with us now? What will happen to this wretched place?”

“After a short questioning, you are free to return to your homes,” Allen hurriedly reassured him. “You will be provided with clothes and rations as needed for your return-trip by the De Mar barony. The mine will be closed until the investigation is finished.”

“We are sincerely grateful for your generosity, my lords. However, many of us have nowhere to return to.” There was bitterness in the binshi’s voice. “Our livelihoods were destroyed. Our relatives were slaughtered. For some of us… our wives, sisters, daughters, mothers were sold like animals and sent to brothels. What will happen to them? What will happen to us? Will… will there be justice?”

“The ones of you who still can, should return to their home,” replied Noah calmly, despite the rage boiling deep in his chest. Rowell would pay for this! “For the rest, the De Mar barony and the Ducal Lands are open to anyone seeking asylum. If you can’t find a new livelihood there, when this mine re-opens you can come and work here as paid miners. As for your families, we will do everything possible to track them down or at the very least punish the perpetrators.”

“Even if the perpetrator is high nobility?” The question was almost inaudible.

“Yes.” Noah’s determination was unshakable. This short reply made the other man shudder.

“It sounds almost too good to be true, my lord knight.” The young bishi gave a small bitter laugh.

“This is the least we can do,” said Allen and his face showed sincere sadness and compassion. “This is the will of his highness the duke.”

“We should thank the Mother Above for his grace.” The man lowered his head and whispered mostly to himself. “I only wish the duke could have returned to Norden sooner. Maybe then none of this would have happened. Maybe my dears would still be...”

He choked and went silent, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

“Did you perhaps lose someone too?” Noah saw the man’s empty gaze and already knew the answer.

“My wife and children are with the Mother Above, sir knight. If I wasn’t such a coward, I would have been with them by now.” His hands quaked violently as he spoke.

“As a father myself I know very well, there is nothing more terrifying than having to bury your own child.” Noah put his hand on the binshi’s shoulder. “Tell me your name, good man.”

This unexpected demand caught the other man by surprise.

“I… I am Andrash of Silver Creek, my lord.”

Hearing that, Noah blinked stupefied but almost immediately burst into laughter, scaring the young binshi. He tried stepping back only to realize too late that the knight was holding him in an iron grip. This commotion attracted everyone’s attention but Noah couldn’t care less.

“Dear Gods, this really is either a small world or a joke from the Heavens!” He looked over the man’s shoulder and his eyes glowed with delight. “I believe that I have in my care something precious that belongs to you, Andrash of Silver Creek. I shall return it right away.”

“W-what do you mean, my lor-…”

“FATHER!!!”

The second the shrill scream echoed, the young binshi jumped around, his face paler than snow and full of doubt. Was this a dream? No. Right over there, a small thin figure was running towards him, followed by a grinning old knight. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up from it! The man’s hands opened wide on their own and the boy flung himself in his embrace, burying his face in his shoulder.

“Dad! Dad! Dad!” The child sniffled, tears running like streams over his cheeks.

“K-Kai! Is… is it really you!? Kai! My boy… my sweet, sweet boy… you are alive! Oh, Mother Above, thank you! My dear child, you are alive!” The man was sobbing too, cradling his crying son in a tight embrace and kissing his forehead.

It took a while until they calmed down enough to be able to talk again. Andrash gently pushed his son away a bit and measured him frantically from head to toe. Seeing that he was completely alright, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

“But how?” When he asked his eyes were round with disbelief and his voice was still choking. “What are you doing here? Wha… What about Anuk?”

“Don’t worry dad.” Kai lifted his wet face and smiled brightly. “Anuk is safe and sound. Everything is fine. She is in Yalda with the duchess.”

“Yalda? The duchess? What duchess? How...?” His father was at a loss for words.

“Duchess Norden, dad. The wife of the duke. She is a really good person. She and the duke helped us. I told them everything – about the bandits and the mine. The duke promised to save you, so I led him and sir Duncan, and the knights back here. He really kept his promise, dad! He really saved you!”

“The duke? Here?” The young binshi shook his head unable to comprehend what he was hearing. “Using his name in such a way… My dear child, it is a crime to show disrespect towards the duke by making up such false tales. Tell me truthfully, Kai, where is Anuk?”

“But I am telling the truth, dad. You can ask his highness.”

The boy turned his head and smiled shyly. Andrash followed his son’s gaze only to meet a pair of calm gray eyes.

“The child speaks the truth.” Noah’s reply was short but it was enough.

The young binshi looked like he was struck by lightning. He swayed heavily, almost falling on the ground, but still, never let go of his son’s hand. Terror and reverence were mixing on his face as he, at last, recognized the man before him.

“By the Heavens…? D-Duke Norden… my lord…”

To everyone’s astonishment, Noah reached out and steadied the other man on his feet. A rare warm smile appeared on his lips.

“I was simply fulfilling my part of the deal, Andrash of Silver Creek. It would be unfair to take all the credit. You should actually be thanking your son. He saved not only his sister but also every one of you. Without his bravery, resourcefulness, and guidance, I wouldn’t be here today. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

“That is true!” suddenly called one of the knights nearby. “He is a tough little one.”

“He is a splendid lad! I wish my kid was half the man he is,” shouted another.

“Definitely a knight-material, if you ask me,” added third.

Overwhelmed and completely speechless, the binshi just hugged his son again, crying and laughing at the same time. Noah left the two together and went to Duncan, who was standing nearby and secretly whipping the corner of his eye. He patted the old knight’s shoulder.

“Let’s clean up this mess quickly and go home too, my friend.”