On top of the highest tower build on castle Blaise, there sat a human in his most vulnerable state. He had come and gone to this exact spot for four days now. Each time he left with frosted skin, only to come back and add more bites to his already frostbitten body.

Although he was a bonded, his cultivation was below average. So the cold could without effort, seep into his bones and corrode his lifespan…

The father who sat and stared upon the wintry scenery, finally had enough. He would certainly die if he continued this charade of loyalty! So instead of sitting here, waiting for a humiliating death, he went and got his eldest son convinced, to pack his stuff and travel with him to help redeem his name. To do this, he crossed out the idea of finding and eradicating the elusive bandit camp. Instead, he sought to accomplish the impossible...

He wanted to cement an alliance between the Blaises and the Talcan people. For they too was being plagued by these phantom thieves!..

It was an extremely dangerous mission he wanted to fulfill. But without clearing it, he could never hope to return to his former glory days. To the man he once was… No matter what, he couldn’t accept living the life of an ordinary peasant, not to mention, the life of one who has pissed of his lord and therefor dishonored his whole legacy.

Before he left, he confronted his lord with this ‘mission of redemption’, he had crafted. Lord Blaise wasn’t too pleased seeing his knight disobey his orders. He grumbled, “What am I to gather from this display of yours?”. He was referring to the father’s sudden change into clothes. The sinner whimpered, “My lord! I cannot sit by and let things stand as they are!.. I wish to repent for my mistakes by offering you the impossible!.. An alliance with the Talcans!”.

The lord stared at his subject. Unsure of whether this was some kind of insane joke or if this peasant was actually serious. As silence settled in, it was clear to him that the father was indeed serious. So he told him; “I admire that you wish to throw your life away, doing something so noble… But have you thought of the consequences, if this mission of yours should fail?”.

The father stood stedfast as he made a bet with his life. A life that he would gladly forfeit if his wish wasn’t granted. Even if it meant, selfishly leaving behind those who still depended on him.

The father explained, “I’ll need the evidence we have scraped together thus far of the bandits existence, along with your (wax) seal… After all, they need to know that I come on your behalf… With this, I believe that I can change their disposition, to welcome the making of a friendship that will span for generations”.

Lord Blaise rumminated on this sudden request. War was something he wanted to avoid with the Talcan’s at all cost… But then again… Those bandits had become akin to that of a deadly blight! No matter what, they needed to be exterminated before they found more loopholes to exploit in his castle’s defence…

And who knows, maybe this desperate fool here him, would be the key to do so? Besides if the father should fail, Lord Blaise could paint him as a traitor and say that he stole his seal and went out like a madman to win some lost honor back?

The lord felt his gut squirm. An immense pressure had found its way into his stomach. A pressure that came from having to pick the right choice... After some time, he stated in a brooding voice; “Hmm… I’m not really entirely convinced, that you’ll succeed in this matter…”. The father somewhat cheekily replied, “But that’s how things are… Who? Other than I would take on this task with such a high mortality rate?.. Just think of the future that can be unlocked with this kind of temporary alliance?.. We might even be able to turn this bandit curse into a miracle? One that can sow everlasting seeds of peace between the Talcan’s and Blaises”.

The lord longingly looked out the window towards the Talcan territory. He couldn’t see it with his eyes but with his heart. It was a place where memorable bonds once resided. Ones he loved and prayed for every night.

He truly wished that they could find peace once again in these times. And yet, the remnants of that damned event would always resurface on his mind and destroy these affectionate thoughts. It was those horrible events stemming from the Spirit Stone mine, that had corrupted their former friendship...

Lord Blaise exhaled and said with a rare softness to his words; “For Joan…”.

He took a short glance to the decorated ceiling, before commanding this worthless ‘knight’ to, “Come by my chambers at dusk… I’ll have the seal. Along with an appropriate offering of good will, to gift the Talcans, ready for you… And this time sir Castonale. You cannot afford to fail me!”.

****

After the duo of father and son left, squads of knights reported sightings of bandit camps nearby. Sadly they were always empty. It was clear from these signs that a traitor was definitely on the loose! One who could warn the bandits in time; making their escape easy and effortless! So a ban on sending letters, accompanied with a checkpoint for entering and leaving the island, was established. Using these methods, they were going to stop this traitor the hard way…

Unfortunately these tricks yielded no results. Again and again, any camp they stumbled upon would appear empty… But how could this be? The people asked. Was there really a traitor then, If the bandits could function just fine without a squeak coming from the island and the knights harbored within?..

Some even speculated, that the bandits might have someone as powerful as a seer on their side? These questions that were left unanswered, filled the villagers with dread. With each successful kidnapping, the gossip grew more twisted and became ridicules rumours instead.

Two girls walked together along the outer wall. They were both carrying some laundry that was to be hung up to dry. As they walked a few *clunk* sounds could be heard. These noises were caused by William, who held a long stick in his hand. It was this stick that leisurely engraved a dotted line on the earth they walked.

Amidst the happy noises that his pet stick was making, he noticed that every time they went past an indent in the wall, Remony would get tense and lower her pace. He found this behavior rather odd and so he asked her, “What’s wrong Remony?.. You seem to be sagging behind quite a bit. Just why do you do that?”.

She glanced strangely at William. When she decided to answer his question, her voice came out weak and disturbed; “I just… I can’t help thinking that a bandit might lurk in those dark corners… My father told me, that he has heard of children getting snatched near the walls... People believe that they hide in the shadows… And I’m… I’m really scared Mirabelle!”.

William clenched his stick before swinging it in the air as if it was a sharp blade; “Don’t worry Remony!”, he said with great confidence. “I’ll protect you if something should happen!.. Besides, soon enough I’ll have saved enough money to buy a sword. When that happens, I’ll really be able to do some damage and-”. Remony interrupted William’s upbeat talk of hope and dreams. With cold realism she reminded him; “That’s only if… If he returns...”.

They successfully reached their destination and began hanging up fine clothes mixed in with daily rags.

To keep both their hearts at peace, they would stand in front of each other as they hanged the clothes. Always keeping an eye out for the other. Cream coloured sheets became alive with the wind; dancing with glee through its thin webs. In between the folds of clothes, William could spot Remony who tried to smile. Her lips and cheeks were in on the plan but her eyes couldn’t betray what she truly felt… They were glittering, on the verge of tears.

Within seconds she was down on the grass crying into her palms.

William went over to comfort her in his arms. He asked her softly, “Are you okay?”. She nodded with shaking shoulders, as her wailing continued; “There are no news… *hick*, No letters… What if? *sniffle* What if Joss is lying dead somewhere, right now?.. And Harvick? We haven’t heard from him in such a long time!.. Hngh… I dread that his enemies have gotten the best of him and how could they not? His still just a child!.. A child! *hick*... It frustrates me so, Mirabelle! Not knowing anything!.. We can sit here all day and I’ll never know!.. I’ll really never know!..”.

William felt the same way…

He too, was very concerned for Joss and Harvick. To him, they were both his good brothers. So of course it was frustrating not knowing if they were well or not. You could even call it mental torture!..

That’s what it was like to remain on this island, not knowing if their dear friends laid cold somewhere, never to be seen nor heard from again…