The shrill cry echoed through the castle. Through his office’s window, Hagen watched as large black wings descended towards the mostly empty courtyard. Dust flew around with each flap of the wings, forcing John and that bodyguard of his, the only ones present in the courtyard, to run for cover.

“Who do you think it is?” Athalia asked, standing by his side. “I doubt it is the Duke himself given how little pomp they are arriving with, but they have to be someone important to be arriving by air.”

“Whoever they are, I doubt they bring good news.”

The gale eagle finally neared the ground, first setting down the wheel-less carriage that it held on its large talons before landing. The carriage’s doors opened and from inside walked out armored men and women in a single file. At the same time, the rider stood up from the gale eagle’s neck and jumped down.

“Let’s go welcome our new guests.” Hagen turned from the windows, walked around his desk, and left through the door, Alon and Athalia following behind. “With me,” he told the pair of guards posted in front of his door, and then again to the ones at the top of the stairs.

On their way outside, while passing through the kitchen, Hagen noticed Joran’s portly figure on one far corner, no doubt pilfering again. Hagen was well that the kitchen staff complained about it, though they didn’t dare speak out openly. With so many other ongoing problems, he had no time to bother with one guest stealing food, so he simply let it slide.

Arriving at the courtyard, Hagen took a better look at the unexpected guests. The eagle rider wore a mix of leather and fur, common for those who flew and were frequently exposed to the strong winds. The ones who walked out from the carriage, on the other hand, all donned full plate armor that glistened in the sun. Their left arms all had orange and green accents, while a soaring phoenix was emblazoned on their breastplates, both marks of the Ashens, the duke’s elite forces.

Noticing Hagen’s approach, the eagle rider came forward. He removed his leather helmet, revealing a head of fire-colored hair and a pair of green eyes. “Good morning, lord Hagen,” he greeted with a smile, the wrinkles on his face moving as he did so.

Hagen immediately recognized the man. “Good morning to you too, lord Lanard. I must say that I’m surprised by your visit.”

Lord Lanard Olsandre was the uncle of Jorvan Olsandre, the current duke. While technically his title of lord was a simple formality given that he held no lands, he was seen as the duke’s right-hand man and so couldn't be underestimated.

“Yes, His Grace gave the order last night for me to come. May we talk somewhere more private?”

“Certainly.” Hagen glanced towards his wife and she instantly caught his meaning.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “Alon and I will stay here and entertain the rest of our guests.”

He nodded and signaled for Lanard to follow. As he left, from the edge of his vision, he noticed John and his bodyguard walking out from Marleya’s house where the two took cover from the winds.

“I won’t insult your intelligence by acting like you don’t already know why I’m here,” Lanard said as soon as they arrived in Hagen’s office and the door was closed.

“You’re here to apprehend Vasilis.”

Lanard opened a small pouch strapped to his thigh, fished out a sealed letter, and extended it to Hagen. “Exactly. His Grace has ordered for the immediate capture of the criminal responsible for lord Edgarth Tascer’s murder.”

Hagen took the sealed letter but didn’t bother opening it as Lanard wouldn’t lie about it. “You said that you won’t insult my intelligence, and so I’ll offer the same courtesy. We both know that Vasilis didn’t order that murder. He had nothing to gain and everything to lose, exactly the opposite of Rass Skanler. If I had to guess, Joran Skanler had something to do with it.”

“Given that I have no idea how it all transpired, I can’t be sure of anything… but yes, I doubt that the eunuch would do such a thing, especially at this point in time. Like you, I’d also bet on the Skanlers being somehow related to this.”

“And yet here you are.”

“And yet here I am under His Grace’s orders.” Lanard sighed. “Just like you with your vassals, Jorvan has had to face a lot of pressure due to this war. Before, he could hold it off, but now, after Edgarth’s murder, everything changed. If he doesn’t offer a swift and direct response, then his rule may be threatened. Though not as much as yours... I must say that I’m surprised.”

“Why so?”

“I’m surprised that you haven’t tried to pass the blame to somebody else, the Skanlers for example. I heard a lot about you at the academy, and so I know how smart you are. To be frank, I expected you to try and pin this murder on Joran, this way you’d still be able to have your war to depose earl Skanler.”

Hagen shook his head, though he’d be lying if he said the thought didn’t go through his head. “I actually was on my guard against Edgarth because I feared he might try to go directly against Vasilis and his family to prevent the war. When he was found murdered instead, I was caught completely off-guard, and that was a failure on my part. I won’t fail again by incriminating someone without proof.”

It was Lanard’s turn to shook his head, a smirk on his face.

“You disagree.”

“I do, because it is foolish. Don’t get me wrong, your position is truly admirable, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t also be foolish.”

“So what would you do in my position then? Arrest an innocent person?”

Lanard shrugged. “In my experience, everyone’s guilty of something.”

Hagen took a deep breath. “So there’s nothing that can be done?”

“I mean, you could try ordering your vassals to resume preparations to depose Rass Skanler, but they’ll turn against you the moment you do so, and you know it. And that’s not even mentioning that you’ll be disobeying a direct order from your liege.” Lanard came forward and placed a hand on Hagen’s shoulder in a rare show of affection towards anyone other than his own nephew. “I’m sorry. I know that you had good intentions, but there’s nothing else that can be done.”

And that was it. Rass Skanler would remain in power, gradually destroying Knight’s Crossing and tyrannizing its people. If Hagen ever hopes to aid the people there, he’d need to cooperate with Rass. Exactly what Edgarth defended when he first arrived at the castle. The old man may have died, but he got his wish in the end.

“So what now?”

“Now we do as His Grace has ordered and prepare to arrest the eunuch. After escaping the city, we believe that he’ll return to his hiding place somewhere at Knight’s Crossing.”

“Easier said than done. Rass Skanler has been trying it for years now, and Vasilis has evaded him every single time.”

“True, but Rass doesn’t have the resources that the Duke has. In a few days, His Grace will send the whole of his AIR FORCE as well as a whole bunch of Aeromancers and Geomancers. You’re to gather your forces and follow me. The three of us will leave no stone unturned until we complete our mission.”

“Three?” Hagen asked, already aware of what the answer would be.

“Despite his numerous mistakes, earl Skanler is still the ruler of Knight’s Crossing, so his help will be invaluable in our mission.”

“...understood. Will you fly there to notify him then?”

Lanard nodded and proceeded to fish out another letter from his pouch. “I’m supposed to deliver it to him before the end of the day, though honestly, I’d prefer to deal with his cousin Joran. He is still here in the castle, correct?”

Hagen nodded, trying his best to remain calm. “He was downstairs if I recall correctly. I’ll bring him here to you.” With that, he turned around and walked out through the door.

As he expected, Joran remained at the kitchen, this time ordering Claire to cook him more food.

Hagen cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the two. “Claire, would you mind taking the rest of the staff and stepping out for a second? There’s something important I need to discuss with lord Joran.”

“Certainly,” she said with a slight bow of the head.

“Oh, what did you want to talk—”

He didn’t get to finish. As soon as the last cook walked away from the kitchen, Hagen delivered a fast punch to his gut. Joran doubled over, threatening to spew the contents of his stomach.

Hagen grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back to his feet. “You traitorous snake!” With all of his strength, he pushed Joran against the wall, forcing the air out of his lungs. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure you had something to do with Edgarth’s murder. Mark my words, as soon as I can prove it, your head will be on a pole.” He finally released his grip, and Joran almost fell to the ground. “Now come with me, someone wants to talk to you.”