Lorelei stood there, blinking dumbfounded at the two bodies tangled on the ground. While her mind blanked for a moment, her hands began moving in a well-trained routine. She took out a handkerchief and wetted it with water from the jug on the nearby table, wrung it, and pressed it against Sir Lucas’ nose.

“Release him,” she said in a matter-of-factly tone to the young knight whose eyes were about to pop out. “Sit down and press it until the bleeding stops. Tell me if you start feeling dizzy.”

The young man hurriedly scrambled to his feet and stepped to the side, his face turning beet-red behind the handkerchief. This allowed Lorelei free access to Jessup, who remained sprawled on the carpet.

“Are you alright, Jess?” She knelt next to the boy and helped him sit straight. “How’s your arm?”

“There is no time for this, my lady!” The youth vigorously shook his head. “You need to stop master before it’s too late!”

“I don’t understand what you mean.” Lorelei held Jessup’s shaking hands and a smidgen of worry sprouted in her heart. “What is wrong with the Duke?”

Swallowing some swelling tears, the youth began narrating, his voice slowly rising in pitch and volume as the story progressed. No one tried to reprimand his manners, both mistress and retainers completely oblivious to everything else but the inconceivable decision of their lord.

“They’ll whip him and break his arms!” Jessup squeezed Lorelei’s fingers and shouted desperately. “You need to stop this!”

“And how am I to do that?” she whispered and pulled her hands from the boy’s grip.

“You can… talk to him. Talk to the barons. The kush-turgans. There must be another way!”

Lorelei turned his back on the boy’s desperate outcry and walked to the window. Leaning her burning forehead on the cool glass, she peered outside and shivered. Why did he do that? Was he insane!? Tired of living? She cursed his broken sense of duty and her own uselessness. He would never listen to her!

Closing her eyes, she remembered Noah - weakened and delirious, tossing on the ship’s cot, infection and poison gnawing on his body. She also remembered her master, doing everything possible to heal a harbor worker whose leg had been crushed while unloading a wagon, only for the poor man to die in agony a month later. And that one boy who came to her master’s shop with a broken arm, the bone protruding from the skin… Despite her best efforts to arrange the bone in place, the youth’s arm lost touch and mobility from the wrist to the elbow and shriveled up.

“He’ll die! If you don’t stop him, he’ll die!” Jessup’s pleading reached her through the fog of pain and memory. ”Don’t you understand!?”

“I do,” Lorelei snapped back and the weight in her chest swelled. “But Sir Duncan and Lady Nelini have failed to dissuade him. Why should he listen to me? Why should they all listen to me?”

“You are his wife.” Milly’s quiet words startled everyone.

Lorelei turned around and saw her maid, still holding the tablet defensively before her chest, but the young woman’s expression was determined. Feeling everyone’s eyes on her, Milly cleared her throat and continued.

“If anyone’s pleas can reach the hearts of the Duke and the people, it would be yours.”

“She’s right.” Now was Rish’s turn to interject. She put a hand on Lorelei’s shoulder. “You are the Duchess of Norden. You are our Lady Shimshi. The people would listen.”

Lorelei wrapped her hands around her body and bit her lips. What if… she could prevent this and did nothing? What if words that could make a change remained unspoken? She would doubt and curse herself forever! What stopped her from acting? Fear to be rejected? Laughed at? This was pathetic!

Making a decision, Lorelei wasted no more time

“Milly, give me my shawl. Jess, lead the way to the game master’s quarters. We need to catch the Duke before they set off. Sir Lucas, are you well enough to accompany us?”

“Of course, my lady! This doesn’t even count as a scratch,” came the slightly nasal reply as the young knight sprang to his feet.

The eyes of Lorelei’s retainers shone with determination and hope as they marched towards the barracks of the game master. Unfortunately, they were a tad too late.

“I just saw Duke and his entourage leaving with Andrash and little Anuk,” one of the younger helpers shouted over the excited barking of the hounds he was feeding. “If you hurry, you might catch them at the main gate.

Until Lorelei and her group reached their new destination, the dust from the horses was already settling and the Duke and his group were nowhere to be found.

“If we hurry and ride after them, we should be able to-” Jessup began saying but Lorelei interrupted him.

“No. Enough rushing. You said the verdict will be announced at noon?”

“Yes, but-”

“Then we still have some time.” Lorelei looked at the winding road beyond the main gate. She continued, talking more to herself than to anyone else while striding back and forth under her aide’s bewildered gazes. “Rushing in without preparation might bring up a disaster. Besides, when everyone is gathered… Yes, even if he stubbornly ignores reason… Maybe the people, the mothers, the wives, they might listen. But they need not only to hear. They need to see. And the punishment… It must befit the crime…”

“I don’t get a thing you’re saying!” Rish lifted an eyebrow and looked worried at her friend. “What are you…?”

“Milly, help me prepare!” Lorelei gathered her skirts and hurried back to the castle. “Jess, go saddle some horses with Lucas. Rish, find me someone who is knowledgeable about the Imperial Law and bring them to my chambers. Let’s go! We can stop this madness!”

***

People were gathering before the raised platform at the center of the main square of Yalda. The mighty shadow that the main church of the Two Gods threw the crowd waned by the minute as the sun was about to reach its zenith. Around the execution grounds, Shadows and city guards had formed a large circle, keeping the gawkers on the outside. Inside the cleared space, the peers of Yalda and the esteemed delegates of the Great Clans formed the first row of spectators, their faces - grim with anticipation. The black and white dressed priests of the Two Gods, helmed by Bishop Petronius, stood on the right side and threw poisonous glances to their left where the Binshi delegates were. Between them, Mayor Preston and Fat Edwin De Roy, as a representative of the merchants’ guild, together with the Four Barons and their aids formed a buffer between the two warring factions.

Far from the eyes of most, near the back of the podium, Noah and Duncan were discussing the final preparations with the rest of their group.

“Make sure to draw blood quickly enough. I don’t want anyone to doubt the power of your strokes.”

“May Lady Gulfidan forgive me!” The old knight shook his head and his hands clamped at the heavy whip in his hands. “I swore to protect you, boy. Not maim or kill you. There is still time to reconsider.”

Noah let his words glide past his ears and instead turned to Andrash who looked like a stone statue dressed in a Shadow’s uniform.

“After I read the verdict, make sure to bring Anuk down as fast as possible. The carriage will be waiting for you. Make sure she sees nothing.”

The Binshi just nodded but his eyes betrayed his inner qualms. He squeezed the shoulders of his daughter who shook quietly under her white veil. With a sudden jerk, the child tore free from his grip and clung to Noah’s hem.

“Highness!” Her tiny voice sounded distraught as she pulled on his doublet. “You lied, Highness! You said it will all be a fun game.”

“It is, little chichik.” Noah knelt and hugged her. “You just need to stay quietly by my side and hide under your veil. If you manage to keep quiet until the end, you’ll have your very own little pony to ride together with Shana.”

“I want no pony!” the girl sobbed and her tiny fist hit his shoulder. “Dada and grandpa Duncan are scared. And you said blood! Blood is bad! There is no blood in games, only when bad people do bad things. This is a bad game. I don’t want to play, Highness!”

Noah threw a glance at Andrash who also knelt down and began whispering something in his daughter’s ear. Leaving the child calm down in her father’s care, the Duke of Norden threw his Lord Steward a wry smile.

“I think involving her was a bad idea.”

“The people need to see a father taking the blame for his confused little daughter. Like this, we can turn you into a martyr and use your sacrifice to shut the kush-turgans, Bishop Petronius, and the Barons. We need the people to feel, Noah. And there is nothing more powerful than a child’s tears.”

This was an argument Noah couldn’t refute. He needed to get some sort of punishment for the Red Hand’s trickery to appease the Binshi. But without presenting it all as taking the punishment instead of Shana, the Barons and Bishop Petronius were sure to stir up a fuss. He could almost hear the old cleric’s voice: ‘How dare some measly dogs request for the Imperial blood to be spilt? Is the legacy of the saints so weak as to condone some idol-worshipers to trample upon it!?’ And then the barons would likely adopt the stance that the Binshi must take responsibility for what happened in Ildemar since it was done by “some of their own”. A wrong step and a bloody civil war was going to erupt, taking thousands of innocent lives. If a bit of trickery and spilling his own blood could prevent it, it was a sacrifice worth making.

The big bells of the church over their heads struck twelve.

Driving a hand through his hair while trying to ignore the thought that this might be the last time he would be able to do so, Noah ascended the stairs, followed by Duncan.

The appearance of the Duke on the platform was enough to silence the hubbub of the crowd. Eyeing the cramped square, Noah filled his lungs and shouted:

“Good people of Yalda! It has come to my knowledge that my beloved city has been plagued by unrest. Temples were burned. Workshops were destroyed. Lives were taken. All because of malicious rumors.”

He paused for a moment and looked at the faces turned towards him. There was anger, fear, grief, but also hope.

“I now stand before you,” his words traveled over the crowd and sunk into thousands of hearts, “as a servant of Norden and a servant of Justice. As an answer to your plights, my verdict is as such…”

For the next couple of minutes, he read the sentences for the arsonists, the insurgents, and their accomplices. Shouts rose from the people - some of sorrow and desperation but most of support, if not of joy. With that, the verdict of the city was clear - they stood behind their duke’s decision. The time was ripe for the most important part.

“My people,” Noah raised his voice again, “what brought you so much suffering were malicious rumors. And yet there might be a smidgen of truth even in the most outrageous claim. Many of you have witnessed the black lightning appearing over Ildemar. As some have suspected, it was the result of evil magic. The Cult of Pure Blood attempted to penetrate the castle’s defenses.”

His words were like the small pebble that rolled before the landslide. Shouts of fear and anger filled the air as hundreds of mouths cursed the Red Hands. Noah lifted his hand calling for silence.

“Thanks to the valiant performance of the knights and Ildemar’s Shadows, and the help of our allies, the kush-turgans, the threat was repelled.”

Cheers erupted, yet amongst them, a few voices rose.

“What about kush-turgan Yanosh’s legacy? What about our holy relic? Show us the relic! Show us the Star!”

Noah squinted, his eyes darting around in search of the brave shouters. Or rather provocateurs. He spotted a few Shadows making their way through the crowd, undoubtedly on William’s order.

“Rest assured,” Noah’s shout overcame the commotion, “the Star is safe in the vaults of Ildemar.

“Lies!” someone from the crowd shouted. “We know it was destroyed! If it wasn’t, show us proof!”

“The Star is safe,” repeated Noah. “But I won’t risk taking it out of the castle. Still, I brought to you today the one responsible for all this confusion.”

Upon his words, Andrash and two more knights ascended the platform stairs with the tiny veiled figure of Anuk between them. Noah could see the girl’s body shake under the brocade garments and the weight of the crowd’s stairs. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a movement amongst the Binshi dignitaries, who had recognized the attire typically worn by the Star-gazer. From the frowns on their faces and the hands quickly disappearing under their own ceremonial garments in search of their hidden blades, one wrong word separated the current situation from a barrage of hexes. Still, amongst the crowd, the majority of expressions were those of surprise and confusion.

Swallowing dryly, he continued:

“The way the Red Hands operate is sneaky and cruel, pitting a husband against his family, or… a child against her father. My own daughter succumbed to their malevolent trickery. They fooled a child by using deception and sweet words… The aim of those fiends was to steal the Star. Still. my daughter managed to see through their trickery at the last second and thwarted the theft...”

“Don’t twist the truth, Lord Norden!” Zeze from Argali Plane stepped forth and pointed at Noah under the surprised stares of her brethren. “The Red Hands managed to manipulate the Star-gazer under your protection! They managed to damage our sacred object under your watch! They used the holes in your defenses to harm the leaders of the free Binshii! And now you stand here and feed the gullible ones lies!”

Loud noise akin to a tidal wave filled the square. People were confused by the unexpected statement. Noah himself was no less startled and the same could be said for the rest of the kush-turgans. Why would Argali Plane aggravate the sins of the Star-gazer by making such statements? Was Bayan’s injury severe enough to cloud their judgment? No matter what the reason, Noah had to take control of the situation before everything got furhter out of hand.

“I am not twisting the truth, esteemed Elder. Were you to let me finish, I would have reported the situation to our good citizens. Indeed, while trying to thwart the Red Hands’ attempts to steal the Star, the relic was slightly damaged. A damage that can be repaired by Yalda’s craftsmen and one that did not affect kush-turgan Yanosh’s blessing. All blessings and enchantments of the Star are intact.”

Seeing the Binshi open her mouth again, Noah hurried to interrupt her.

“But as the honorable Zeze of Argali Plane has stated, there was an attempt to commit a crime under my roof. According to the laws of Norden, even an attempt to steal something as important as the Star calls for capital punishment. And yet, considering the age of the criminal and the influence of the Red Hands over the perpetrator’s actions, I have decided to reduce the sentence. For attempting to steal and inadvertently damaging a precious object, my daughter will be flogged three hundred times and both her arms will be broken!”

Silence spread over the square for a brief moment before a new bout of screams erupted. Many people looked terrified. Some shouted that it was too harsh, while others agreed to the verdict with glee and anticipation of the Binshi’s reaction.

Noah abruptly turned around and took Anuk’s quacking hand, leading her to the front of the podium. Then, before everyone, he fell on his knees.

“As a father, my duty is to guide my child. To protect her from harm. My failure to do so has resulted in many grievances. As your lord, I have announced a verdict for her crimes. And yet the burden of said crimes weighs also on my shoulders. Now, as her father, I beg you to allow me to be the one punished. Don’t let a child’s life and future be cut prematurely. Let me face the gaoler in my child’s place! What say you, people of Yalda?”

“Let him do it!” a voice rose from the sea of onlookers.

“Spare the child!” another one chimed in. “A noble sacrifice should be honored!”

Noah bit the inside of his cheek. These should be the cries that William had arranged to rally the crowd at the right moment. Now all they could do was hope that the people would follow. And they did. The chant was repeated again and again, and every time more and more throats joined the shout. Even the nobles and kush-turgans seemed to conform with the overall spirit.

Noah stood up and gave the almost fainting Anuk back to her father who brought her away. With the help of Duncan, he took off his doublet and shirt before two guards bound his hands on the flogging pole. He could feel his heart drumming in his ears, silencing the roar of the crowd. A piece of leather was put between his teeth. A short prayer was said to the Two Gods.

The air was suddenly filled with a snapping sound a second before the whip bit into his back. There was no pain. Only an itch spread between Noah’s shoulder blades.A second snap. A second itch. Soon, the third one would follow.

“Stop!”

A shout reached his ears, making Noah flinch. No. He had to be delirious. She shouldn’t be here!

“Stop this madness immediately!” Lorelei’s cry filled his whole world.