Trials within the holy city are conducted in a very mechanical manner. First the accused had a blood trial taken, or the results of one earlier are provided. After that, representatives from the sect of cloth and steel are both sent to arbitrate and determine the person’s innocence with a tribunal. Should they be found guilty, a day of further deliberation is performed by the tribunal after the accused is sent to his or her cell. If they are innocent, they are returned to their home country with paper’s proving such. If they are guilty, however, they are immediately executed by beheading.

The day rose without much consequence compared to the drama of the night. Gwindon sat inside the room he’d been broken out of, stripped of his armor again and chained to the chair itself. The light fell on his sleeping body, but the warmth didn’t manage to rouse him. Only when the door opened did he jump some in his seat, looking around with narrowed eyes. He found Daylon towering in the entrance with a pair of chains in one hand, giving the night and firm nod.

“Can’t imagine you had a very peaceful rest like that. Are you fit to walk on your own, knight?” He asked him, stepping into the room.

“I slept fine enough. After you’ve slept on wooden floor and the dirt for a few nights, you tend grow a tolerance for stiff beds. Can’t imagine you’ll have summoned much a procession on such short notice. Are we supposed to walk there?”

“I’ve got the cart I came to town with. Though it was sent with the intent of having to capture your wife, it looks like we won’t have to do that anymore.” Daylon responded before pausing to look down in thought. “You really intend on being a martyr? There’s something more to this whole thing and I plan on finding it out once we get to the holy city. For now though, I’m tired of this secular state.”

“What about Icara? Are you going to pursue her as well now?”

Daylon moved behind the knight and began to undo the chains that bound him in place to the floor. “The claim of demonhood came from Koshchei and officially ends with him as well. It stink of collusion and I hate everything about it. Bastard has too much political power for us to challenge him directly, not with our mission services stretched thin to the border disputes.”

The metal rattled as it pooled onto the floor and Daylon helped lift the knight up to bring him out of the room. Unlike Gwindon expected, his movements weren’t harsh or aggravated as he guided him out to the front of the building. The knight felt some sense of disappoint for the lack of harshness, but it passed quickly. As he climbed into the back of the gated carriage, melancholy claimed him. Daylon mounted the front beside a driver wearing a church symbol on one sleeve. With one gesture, they started for the closest gate and exited the city.

For a long time after, there was nothing but the bumpy sounds of travel as they moved to the east. Not only would it have been inconvenient to speak to one another, but they lacked a piece for conversation. Gwindon’s stomach gently grumbled in the back, but he paid it no heed. His hunger did remind him of Icara, and he tossed his eyes back to the city as it retreated down the road. It seemed monolithic in appearance from the outside, towering walls with turrets that rolled over the lands around it. He realized it reminded him of some forts he had seen, but the walls of the city were somehow more solidly built than ones meant for continuous defense.

Before its mass could completely slip from view, the vehicle stopped abruptly and he nearly fell onto the base of the cart. Moving forward some, he peered through a small slit blocked by bars. In the road was a lone figure, holding her arms up in the air in surrender. Daylon stood up and blocked his view, but Gwindon closed his eyes as he knew full well who had stopped them.

“Lilith, was it?” Daylon asked, drawing his warhammer immediately. “We don’t have need of you anymore, at least not for now, so get out of the road.”

“Listen, I need to talk to you and Gwindon about something really important. I... kind of froze up last night after he confessed to all that stuff. He’s my husband, alright? Just let me speak to him, you can even watch me the whole time. Take my swords if you’d like!” She said, holding out one of her blades.

Daylon stepped off of the cart and peered around the area cautiously. The road was raised and packed into the dirt, something to keep wheels from sticking into moist soil of Alastair as they exited. Still, there were no trees or outcroppings for a long ways, meaning no easy place to hide others. He approached her with his weapon at the ready and nodded for her to put them down on the ground. Kneeling over, she placed her swords on the ground and kicked them over at the paladin before putting her hands on her hips.

“There! Now will you let me speak to him already?” Lilith asked in an impatient tone.

Daylon bent over and picked up the weapons before moving back to the guard and handing them to the driver. He turned back towards her and eyed her carefully. Not relaxing his hammer, nodded for her to come closer. She approached the cart with confidence until she got to the point where she’d be passing into view of the back entrance. She looked to the thick wooden side and put a hand gently on it before continuing.

Gwindon’s eyes were glued to the opposite wall, not turning to look at her even as she came into view. Lilith cleared her throat but he only moved his eyes down to the floor of the cart. She grit her teeth a bit and sighed. Silence swallowed the scene while she waited on her husband’s acknowledgement. Daylon moved beside them and waited for the conversation to strike, keeping himself ready to fight if either made a motion to escape or break out.

“Will you please look at me? I know you might be angry I did this, but I really had to get something off of my chest, Gwindon...” Lilith finally said, gripping the iron bars and making Daylon flex his grip.

“Then say it and get out of here. You’ve already done enough damage by trying to break me out of there last night...” His voice was harsh but he never wavered in his expression.

“I was trying to save you from this! Of course you have to go and try to play the savior for this whole thing... I never asked you to even do that, you know!”

He finally looked up, glaring at Lilith and moving closer, lifting his chained hands. “It’s because you never asked that all of this even happened in the first place! You just had to stick your nose into all of this and complicate things.”

“Would you rather I have just let you fail the trial and get carted off in secret to be put to death?”

“I spent a lot of time looking for you, Lilith. For the longest time I thought I’d have to kill you myself, thought you’d be a menace. I found out you became a mercenary leader and my heart sank. That was all that was left of our nation? If I’d just been a little stronger, I could’ve prevented that?” Lilith tried to speak but Gwindon cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Enough, there’s nothing either of us can do at this point. I can’t even defend myself or what I’ve done. Why’d you even both coming here?”

“Because I know that you’re not actually affected by that curse and everything. We got all swept up in the heat of the moment last night and I never... got to apologize. I don’t know why I lashed out at you like that when I saw you. Maybe it was me that was driven mad, maybe both of us were.” Lilith paused and letting go of the cage and wiping her nose with a sniff.

Gwindon closed his eyes for a few seconds and looked to her once more. The daylight showed her features better than he could see last night. Her face was scarred from where he’d cut it, and there was clear signs of age elsewhere. Even if he didn’t know all of the details, he knew her life had been anything but easy in their time apart. A chill ran along his heart and he sighed. One hand slipped out of the bars towards her. He couldn’t reach out very far because of the chains, but it was enough for Lilith to squeeze between both of her own hands.

Daylon moved beside them and put one hand on Lilith’s shoulder, pulling her back a little and inspecting her hands. Once he’d made her let go, he turned over Gwindon’s hand and made sure she didn’t slip him anything. Satisfied at the lack of deceit, he moved back away and shook his head.

“You really came out all this way just to have a conversation with him? It’s odd to see such sentimentality coming from a mercenary band leader. Strange as it is, I’m not one to let you stay and cause problems for me. If you don’t have any more business with your husband, say your goodbyes and get on with it.”

Lilith shot the paladin a glare before looking back to Gwindon. “I’ve caused you a lot of trouble in the time we’ve spent together, I know that. Gave you hell when you first trained me, ruined a few fancy dinners, and... well, all of the other stuff. Can you forgive me for all of that?”

“Well of course I did, you saw me confess right? You’re the one that should get an apology, dammit. When we first met, when the kingdom fell, and last night, I keep acting on blind impulse with you. My emotions take control of me and I just act on impulse, and you’re always the one to take the hits. You deserve better than that, Lilith.” Gwindon said before letting out a single laugh. “Old age must be sitting in, I’m getting all sentimental just because I’m back to being near death. That, or I’m just mad at the fact I’m only saying this stuff right before I’m executed.”

“Oh, well, about that—” Lilith said and moved closer. “Can you actually forgive me for one more thing? It’s kind of why I asked in the first place.”

“Lilith?” Gwindon asked, his eyes narrowed onto hers.

His wife sighed and moved back, putting two fingers into her mouth. With a mighty blow, she let loose a high-pitched whistle that rolled over the surrounding area. Daylon moved back at the sudden sound and fumbled in his grip of the warhammer. In the instant he wasn’t ready, a dozen men rose from mossy coverings beside the road. They all held weapons of their own.

All of them were clearly mercenaries, judging from the patchwork assemblage of gear. They approached the cart and Daylon turned to face them with his weapon at the ready and a glare. Rather than continue to approach him, they stood by with their swords and maces casually hanging from their sides. Gwindon watches their hesitation and turns back to Lilith with a glare.

“You planned to break me out from the beginning? Again?!”

“Look, it’s different this time! Before we just broke you out because we didn’t know what to do, me or Icara. But there’s something weird going on, I can tell from that church ordeal. I don’t care if the guy is the one that decrees the stuff that gets me paid, I liked Icara and he slit her neck without any hesitation! Don’t you think its weird all of this stuff happened around her?”

“What are you even talking about? You met yesterday! I only met her two days ago in a storm, all of this is a rush at best, and I’m not willing to have the church hunting me just for some hunch you’ve got!”

“But it’s more than that! Look, all this talk of demons and casually waving it off isn’t right. Of course I’m not exactly speaking from a altruistic point of view or anything, but I want to do something about this. The guy who was supposed to do your blood trial found me and explained everything about Icara and Koshchei.”

“But who would—” Gwindon started before sighing. “Cherno. Fine, but you barely know the girl as well, are you really going to go along with her plan just because you feel some passing sympathy for her?”

Lilith hesitated and looked to the men standing by around them. Where she looked, they smiled warmly at her and she returned it with a serious look. None of them minded her expression, but resumed their own determined appearance once she looked to someone else. Finally she moved back to Gwindon and gripped the bars of his cage confidently.

“Because I want you to be a knight again. I want you to feel like you’re doing something good instead of just fixing your old mistakes or trying to hunt me down. I know we’ve got a bit of a messed up situation between the both of us, but I want to be by your side again...” Lilith says, drifting off as she gets closer to him.

Daylon moves his hammer and all the men flinch, drawing Lilith’s attention. The paladin glares at their quick motion but says nothing to them. Instead, he focuses his gaze on Lilith directly.

“Has this man gotten any evidence of demon work? Proof that Koshchei has been lying to us, or at least did so last night?”

“Why do you ask?”

Daylon had up a set of iron keys. “Because I think we can strike a deal if that’s the case. If you’re willing, obviously.”