Elaina recognized the man that stood waiting for them down at the bridge. He had only two other soldiers with him, one holding the horn that had been sounded earlier while he stood relaxed with hands clasped together. It was the same mage that they had fought at Maho’s. It seemed so long ago that they had been there, but she could tell by the look on his face as they approached that he had not forgotten her either. His bright green eyes remained fixed on her until the landgraf stepped forward to speak. Elaina remained silent.

“Identify yourself and state your intentions,” Elsebeth demanded, the soldiers that had accompanied her down to the bridge standing at the ready only feet behind her.

“I am Lieutenant Oskar Veidt,” the man said in a calm silky voice, “I come on behalf of Captain Karl Steinbach, head of the Orbonne Company. Good evening.”

The landgraf appeared surprised at how well-spoken the man was but didn’t let it phase her, “These are my lands by government charter, by birthright. You have no business here.”

“On the contrary,” Veidt argued, “The business we have here is of grave concern. It is of the utmost importance that you hear me out in the interest of sparing the lives of your men.”

Elsebeth’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side, her eyes smoldering with fury. Despite being one of the paranoble class, the landgraf was passionate about the lives of her men and their well-being. She had not gotten this far by being callous with them and casting them aside when it suited her interests. Veidt had the landgraf’s full attention.

“Regardless of whatever birthright you think you have over Willowridge, I assure you that the strength of our arms far surpasses such claims, as you have already seen.” Veidt motioned vaguely to the holes in the curtain wall, “You have had but a taste of our guns and what they can do to you. But, be advised, this was merely a warning. A means to get your attention.”

Elaina swallowed hard. Every word that oozed from Veidt’s mouth was like poisoned honey. He had a certain bearing to him, too, that unsettled her. It was familiar to her somehow, but she couldn’t say precisely how. It was something she recalled feeling recently but couldn’t focus on it long enough to remember.

“Taking Willowridge by such force would leave you with little but rubble. You would forfeit your prize in the process of taking it,” Elsebeth answered confidently. She was almost certain they hadn’t dragged all their heavy weapons out here, only to come away with nothing.

“Ah, that’s true,” Veidt admitted holding up one finger, “Only, we’re not here for Willowridge. Rather, we’re here for what Willowridge contains. I assure you that if we’re forced to dig such treasures out from beneath the rubble rather than carry them out on wagons, we will do so. Make no mistake.”

The landgraf didn’t seem convinced, so Elaina extended a hand slowly to place it on her arm. Elsebeth looked at her quickly, reading her expression that said this man meant what he was saying. He was deadly serious. They would gladly kill them all and raze Willowridge to the ground if that’s what they needed to do.

“Under normal circumstances,” Veidt began, “I would not recommend heeding the advice of such a creature as her, as poorly considered as it typically is. But in this instance, I would be willing to make an exception. She is right to caution you.”

Elsebeth considered this quietly for a moment, taking the opportunity to compose herself before finally speaking, “What are your terms?”

Veidt spread his hands slowly, “Our terms are simple. We are loathe to waste the ammunition on bombarding your position and scouring the range for survivors. It’s expensive, it’s messy, and it’s time-consuming. So in the interests of saving us the effort, we are willing to simply let you walk away.”

“Just walk away?” Elsebeth repeated skeptically, “Just like that?”

“With the stipulation that you do so within the next two days, yes. Take whatever you came with that you can carry, leave the contents of Willowridge untouched, and you will be allowed to pass completely unharmed. None under your command will be harmed. You will be guaranteed safe passage, with one exception.” Veidt held up a single finger to emphasize this final condition.

“What exception?” Elsebeth asked curiously. The deal sounded good to Elaina, too good, really. Elsebeth wouldn’t be able to reclaim the lands that were hers, but the remaining lives under her command would all be saved.

“Her,” Veidt pointed at the swordmage, “She stays with us.”

There it was. The deal had been too good, at least for Elaina. She was too good of an opportunity for the Captain of the Orbonne company to pass up. He wanted her head on a platter and wasn’t about to let her saunter out of there.

“For what purpose?” the landgraf demanded, unconsciously leaning a little to one side to obscure the man’s line of sight with Elaina, if only slightly. The swordmage felt a swell of emotion at the subtle gesture of protectiveness.

“Justice,” Veidt responded blithely.

“What crime has she committed that should concern you so greatly?” Elsebeth asked. Elaina could tell there was a great deal of effort on the landgraf’s part to remain calm.

“Murder, of course,” Veidt lied, “specifically the murder of Captain Steinbach’s last living son. Cut him down in cold blood.”

“Bullshit!” Elaina spat, stepping out from behind the landgraf, “It was him and a squad of you idiots against me in a ridiculously unfair fight. So now you’ve got an ax to grind because I somehow managed to win!?”

“It’s for a tribunal to decide, not me,” Veidt said dismissively with the vaguest of shrugs. “You’ll be allowed to plead your case. But the fact remains, you must be taken in to stand trial.”

There wasn’t going to be a trial. They would take her out back of some tree and slit her throat and be done with it. She imagined they’d leave her cold body lying in some ditch, not even affording her the small dignity of a shallow grave. They’d come all this way and done all of this; there was no way they were looking to give her a fair shot to prove anything, much less her innocence.

“I don’t believe you,” the landgraf stated. Evidently, Elaina was not the only one who wasn’t buying the story about her standing trial. Elsebeth was not some naive noble who lacked experience dealing with unsavory individuals like Veidt.

Veidt shrugged, “Be that as it may, the offer remains thusly: you surrender her to us by sunset of the second day, and you will be allowed to leave, free and clear. After that, we will consider the whole matter closed, and all parties concerned can move on with their lives.”

“Except for Miss Woodlock, of course,” Elsebeth corrected him with a chill in her voice.

“Of course,” the man agreed, an unsettling smirk beginning to curl at the corners of his mouth. The strange presence that Elaina felt emanating from him somehow grew worse with that simple gesture.

A moment of silence passed between them as the landgraf appeared to consider, eventually shaking her head, “No. I won’t sacrifice this woman’s life to save my own. None of the men under my command would ask her to sacrifice herself, either.”

“Then you sacrifice the lives of all your men instead.” Veidt intoned rather carefully, making sure that the soldiers with the landgraf heard every word. If the landgraf wouldn’t hand Elaina over, perhaps someone within the castle walls would once word spread of what was on the line. At least, that was his ploy.

“If your so-called captain had any balls, was truly concerned with the rule of law, fair fights, and all that shit,” Elaina chided, “he’d come down here and fight me like a man of honor. One on one.”

“A duel to the death?” Veidt scoffed incredulously, “You must be joking. Have you any idea how experienced a warrior Captain Steinbach is? You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Serious as a fucking heart attack,” Elaina growled defiantly as she stepped forward, shrugging off the landgraf’s attempt to grab her and reign her in. “Him and me, one on one, right here on the bridge at dawn. No one else has to get involved. No one else needs to be hurt. If he wins, he gets his precious revenge, and Lady Amberdeen takes her people and leaves.”

“And if you win?” Veidt raised a thin brow, his curiosity piqued.

“Then you fuck off, all of you, without another shot fired or blade drawn.” Elaina snapped, “At that point, your captain will be dead anyway, right?”

Veidt’s expression turned thoughtful as he rubbed his chin, considering her proposition. Elaina took a few more steps forward, the strange feeling she got from him growing the closer she got to him, “You’ll get to save all those precious resources of yours. The whole matter settled one way or the other without either side having to fire another shot. Even if you lose, you’ll keep what you came with and be able to use it for whatever else you jackasses get up to. So long as it’s not here.”

“Very well,” Veidt conceded as he extended one pale hand, “By the power vested in me by the Orbonne company and in the name of Captain Karl Steinbach, I accept your terms.”

“Sure. Great,” Elaina scoffed as she took his hand to shake it. Even if the sudden searing fire running through her veins up her arm had not been such a surprise, it still would have caused her to fall to one knee. Veidt slowly leaned down at the waist as she slumped, holding her hand firmly in what felt like a furnace.

“Should you break your word,” Veidt warned, “should you try to flee, perform an ambush, or engage in any other form of deception to weasel your way out of this duel, the consequences will be dire.”

Elaina was having difficulty breathing, the agony of the fire in her blood coursing up her arm and into her chest, invading her mind so that all that was left was pain. The flesh on the back of her hand began to sizzle and burn in the shape of a sigil of some kind. The swordmage kicked her legs at the stone under her, but the pain was so intense that she couldn’t get her footing or pull away.

“Do you understand me, faeling?” Fiendish wickedness glowed like coals in his eyes. His power, which she had been feeling, was fiendish in nature. That’s where she recognized it from; it had been similar to the oppressive aura that the sarglagon had emitted. It didn’t add extra physical weight to her but imparted a sense of intimidating hopelessness.

“Yes, yes!” Elaina screamed, pulling against his grip with futile jerking and tugging, “I understand. Let go! Let go!”

“Release her at once!” Elsebeth demanded as she stepped forward and drew her sword, the point level with the man’s neck, “Now!”

Veidt glanced briefly at the landgraf, giving her a fleeting glimpse of what was in his eyes before turning his attention to Elaina. He released her hand, making a show of the gesture as he held it up and stepped back away from the swordmage, “Just ensuring that we understand our accord, my lady.”

Once he was a few more steps back, he gave the landgraf a courteous bow, “Dawn, then. Right here on the bridge.”

“Dawn,” Elsebeth confirmed bitterly as she knelt next to Elaina. The swordmage couldn’t stop staring at her hand, which still quivered with the echoes of agony she had experienced just a moment before. Yet, despite how much pain she had been in, the only mark left was the burn on the back of her hand.

Veidt turned, motioning to the two mercenaries that had accompanied him, and the three of them made their way briskly back across the bridge to rejoin the rest of their people. Elaina told herself she had to get up, but her body wouldn’t respond. Instead, all she could think of was how much pain the man had inflicted on her with nothing more than a handshake. The last time she had encountered him, it had been some kind of explosion of sound.

“What did he do to me?” Elaina whimpered, feeling like she may burst into tears at any moment.

“It’s an infernal brand,” Elsebeth explained softly as she gently helped the swordmage get to her feet, “it ensures that you adhere to the terms of your deal. He can track you wherever you are if he wishes to find you, inflict pain at great distances, or cause the brand to explode in hellfire.”

“Oh,” Elaina coughed, “Is that all?”

The landgraf held Elaina close as she helped her back up the path to the damaged gatehouse. The curves of her body and the softness of her felt distantly familiar to Elaina. “Remind me, if you survive this foolish stunt, to punish you for your recklessness.”

“Yeah, sure.” Elaina said with a delirious chuckle, “Can’t threaten me with a good time.”

Elsebeth looked down at the swordmage’s face in confusion, “What?”

“Hm?” Elaina responded, looking up at her lightheaded.

“Oh, yeah,” One of the men walking with them to her right added, “She’s going to die for sure.”