In his study in the castle, Noah was going through heaps of documents together with William. For the six months he had been absent, there had been a ton of things happening in Norden, and a lot of them were worrying. The winter had been extremely long and hard. The game had been scarce and there had been a few small clashes between some of the nomadic binshi clans and a couple of farmers. This was not an unusual occurrence and William had managed to smoothen things out well even in his absence. On his order, the storehouses had been opened and food rations distributed so the people would survive till the first harvest this year. Unfortunately, not all of the barons had followed his order and there were many hunger victims in the lands of baron Rowell. Many had thus left his domain, despite fear of punishment for entering another territory without permission, and were now flocking towards Yalda, seeking asylum. Since the land ruled directly by the duke of Norden was neutral territory, independent of the five baronies, there had been many homeless families camping outside the city, creating a whole new slum in their hope for protection.

Noah didn’t like the sound of this. These new arrivals presented not only a financial burden to his coffers with the additional mouths to feed. They were also a security risk for Yalda and the rest of the territory. Without home or means of living, driven by hunger and necessity, it would be understandable for them to turn to banditry. Indeed, amidst the chaos and the fleeting people, there had been several bandit attacks already. And it was getting worse. According to William’s report, it had started around the winter solstice. For the last three months or so, many smaller villages and binshi hunting camps, including some in the Ducal domain, had been raided. This, on the other hand, had further increased the number of refugees coming to Yalda. Noah was furious. Someone had dared to harm his subjects! Even more so, they shamelessly dared to do that even in the lands under the duke’s direct supervision. And the worst thing was that the marauders had also killed and kidnapped people. They were seeking death.

“Are we talking slave traders?” Noah’s voice was dark.

There were no slaves in Norden. This was the first law he had enforced after ascending to the ducal throne. Even though slavery was accepted and practiced in the Limerian empire, in Norden the people were free men or, rarely, serfs at most. This was especially the case for the binshi, most of whom lived a nomadic life unbound by the borders of the five baronies. But even if they were serfs, the people of Norden had rights. No one could sell or buy another person in the territories; no one could destroy their settlements or evict them from their land without valid reason and permission from the duke’s administration; just like with free men, no one could take the life of serfs without a proper trial, not even their lord. Plundering and kidnapping people away from their homes was a grave crime. No amount of hunger could excuse such actions. This was intentional!

“I do believe so,” William solemnly agreed. “The raids were very well organized and to add to that, someone is hiding and supporting them. Someone powerful, at that. Our own men, father’s troops from Blue-Harbor, and even the people baroness de Vindur dispatched on her side couldn’t follow their trace for long.”

“Lady Sigurd got involved?” That rather surprised Noah. “But as far as I understand, the raids happened at the north-east where the borders of our lands meet the territories of de Mar and Rowell.”

“That is true. Father is furious. Elgar Rowell and his lazy bunch are doing next to nothing to improve security and help catch the bandits, using the harsh winter conditions and their reduced manpower due to prince Lionel’s campaign as an excuse. Honestly, who would believe such crappy excuse?! He was the one who provided the least amount of men for the campaign! Since he has been acting extremely suspicious, I have assigned a few Shadows to observe him.” William lowered his voice and his face became even colder. “The recent reports are pretty concerning. That is also part of the reason why I have informed Lady de Vindur about the incidents. I thought that she might have personal interest to help us in the matter. There are indications that… Red Hands have been involved, at least in some of the abductions, and that they are indeed most likely working together with baron Rowell. Our spies suspect that they are operating from his territory or the Wild Lands close by but were unable to find the exact location.”

“The Cult of Pure Blood must have forgotten what awaits them, if they ever decide to re-surface!” Noah’s words carried unmistakable viciousness as his fist slammed on the table.

It was now clear why lady Sigurd de Vindur was assisting them, even though her lands lay in the Black fjord to the west of Yalda and were over six hundred kilometers from baron Rowell’s territory. Six years ago, her only son and heir and his soon-to be wife were killed by the Pure Blood. Ever since then the widowed baroness had been tracking and rooting out members of the Cult even more fervently than Noah himself. If there were rumors of Red Hands anywhere in Norden, baroness de Vindur would send her fastest riders to assist in the extermination.

The young man’s fists clenched tightly. If those fanatics were starting to act up again, it could only mean more trouble for the territory. Additionally, these events gave new importance to the newly-formed slum in the outskirts of Yalda. What better place to hide their members than amongst a bunch of unknown vagrants?

“Will, send birds to your father and the baroness. I want them to increase patrols as much as possible. Inform also baron Argente about the developments. He should make sure there are always fresh horses in all the relay-stations from the de Vindur territories to us. I hope our relays and the ones in your father’s barony are up to par.”

“Of course!” William sounded almost offended. “Don’t forget that I was the one who planned the routes and rotations. Ever since the snow started melting, I have ordered the dog sleds to be put on standby. Currently, the horses in the stations are in peak shape and ready to run at any given moment. The condition of the roads is also good, so fast travel is not a problem. I can guarantee that right now an experienced rider can manage six hundred kilometers in under four days.”

“Excellent.” Noah nodded still deep in thought. “Also, send a warning to baron Rowell. He has neglected his duties one too many times. If he does not wish to be punished, he should clear the mess in his territory. Otherwise I’ll personally go and advise him how to do his job. And keep the Shadows on him. I want irrefutable evidence that he is involved in all this.”

“I’ll get to it immediately.”

“Good. I intend to go to Yalda this afternoon and check on the security and the situation of the vagrants.”

“I hope Duncan and Gregor will accompany you.” Raising an eyebrow, William fixated his lord with a strict look.

“Do not worry, Will. How could I possibly leave Ildemar without my nannies? Still, I believe Gregor needs at least another week before he is completely fit again, so Duncan alone will have to do.”

“No. In that case you should take Aiden or Lucas with you, even better, take them both. One person is not enough.”

“But…”

“No.” William was resolute. “The Red Hands want nothing more than to kill you, Noah. Two additional meat-shields are better than just one.”

“If only your friends could hear what you are saying about them.”

“They would agree with me.” The other man turned around and limped towards the door. “If I could, I would take their place gladly.”

“You know very well, Will, you are a thinker, not a fighter.” Noah looked at his friend with regret.

“True.” William paused at the door. “Still, even a cripple’s body can stop an arrow from reaching its target.”

Without saying anything else, he went out of the room, leaving his lord and friend deeply in thought. Noah brushed his hair back from his eyes and sighed. By the Gods, why couldn’t William be content with his current duties, without trying to get himself killed for glory and honor!? That’s what Duncan and Gregor’s stupid bragging brought about. He was his personal steward and the head running half of Norden’s affairs, for crying out loud! If anything were to happen to Noah, William was supposed to be the one taking the reins until the Duchy was stabilized. That big brain of his was so full of knowledge that it was leaking out of his ears, but, in the end, he was still blabbing stupidities like wanting to be his “meat-shield”! This behavior of his was just so frustrating!!

Fuming, Noah closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. He doubted that any other master would allow his subordinates to act so cocky around him. Well, he was not any other master, and Will was not a servant but family. Still, he had to find some way to fix his suicidal tendencies. And speaking of family… He chuckled, taken off guard by his sudden mood swing. Right about now, Lorelei should be experiencing her first visit in Yalda. Was she enjoying it?

Just as fast as it came, however, his happy mood quickly gave way to dread. She was in Yalda only with Jessup and Rish! But she was wearing binshi clothing and her face was unknown to the Red Hands, right? The only time she was in public was during the mourning ceremony and in full ducal attire at that. It shouldn’t have been enough for them to remember her features, right?

Without a delay, Noah ran out of the room.