The dinner Elscer had been invited to had been a quiet one. No one spoke to him, and Elscer spoke to no one in return. It was only at the end, when Julia began to clean the table, that she finally broke the silence.

“So, what did you speak to the Father about?”

Elscer grunted. “Nothing you need to worry yourself over.”

“If this has to do with Arthur-“

“It doesn’t have to do with your son,” the Ronin cut her off, “I talked to him about the incident with the bear, but he was irrelevant. He is safe now. That’s what matters. Make sure he stays that way.”

Julia paused for a moment as the Ronin cut her off. Amoze stared daggers at the Vagabond from across the table. She resumed clearing the table, taking Arthur’s half-eaten gruel from in front of him, as he had stopped eating it halfway through the meal.

“I’m glad you saved Arthur,” Julia said, “and we can never fully repay you for that. But I worry for my child, and if you weren’t around-“

“I won’t be around next time,” Elscer said. “Make sure he stays out the woods. It’s no place for boys to be playing around these days.”

“Don’t talk to my wife like that in this house!” Amoze said, finally breaking his silence as he stood, pushing his chair back with a force that almost sent it crashing to the ground. “This is my house, do not insult my family under its roof.”

Elscer turned his gaze back to Amoze slowly, burying his eyes in the man’s stern gaze, refusing to be overpowered. It nearly broke Amoze’ nerve, but he held fast.

“I’m not insulting anyone,” Elscer spoke slowly and clearly, that gravel returning to his hoarse whisper. “I’m ensuring your son stays alive. You’d do well to heed my advice; I’ve seen more of what this world holds than you have.”

Amoze almost burst out a string of curse-filled rants towards the Ronin, but Julia spoke first.

“And we would like to thank you for it. Now, I’m sure you wouldn’t like to stay here for the rest of the night, I’m sure you’ve already made other arrangements. But let me send you off with some food for the next few days. Amoze, dear, can you please get Arthur ready for bed?”

The poor child had been sitting at the table, mouth nearly agape for the entire exchange. Amoze just now noticed the boy, and after a moment of contemplation, finally backed down and walked the boy to his room.

Julia very quickly assembled a backpack, filled with provisions that would last a while. She quickly walked up to Elscer, and whispered to him.

“We need to speak quickly, while Amoze is away. We have a daughter, one that I still love very dearly. She’s been… banished from the village. She lives out in the woods, on her own. She can forage well enough, but I’ve been bringing her food regularly.

“My husband, though, has stopped me from going. He says that it ‘brings dishonor to our family’ to continue to associate with her. But… I’m sure you’ve guessed; the woods have been getting dangerous. I’m worried for her safety. I know you’ve already done so much for us, but…”

By now, tears had nearly begun to roll down her face, and her breathing became shallow with worry. Elscer placed his hand on the pack Julia was holding.

“Tell me where she is. I’ll ensure she’s safe, at least for tonight.”

Julia breathed a deep sigh of relief. “She’s south of here, living in an old ranger’s cabin. The thing’s dilapidated, but it’s shelter enough. It’s in a grove of alder trees, you should be able to find it. It’s close to the old riverbed, and-“

“I’ll find it,” he said.

As Eslcer finished his sentence, Amoze walked back into the room.

“What are you two going on about?” He said, a venom tinging his voice.

“I was just, uh, explaining what was in the pack I gave him. I wasn’t sure how familiar he was with-“

“With salted beef and bread?” Amoze asked.

Julia gave a worried laugh. “You know I worry, dear. Now, I’m sure he has places to be-“

“I do,” Elscer said, “Thank you for your hospitality, but I have duties elsewhere. Yours is not the only family in danger.”

Elscer swung the pack over his arm and left the house.

As night fell, Elscer wandered into the southern woods. The trees were old here, blocking what little light was left. He found his way easily through the forest regardless.

True to his word, he did find the alder grove with the abandoned ranger’s house. A meagre fire smoldered near the dilapidated structure, with a small figure crouched by it.

The Ronin approached, making nearly no sound.

As he neared, he saw the figure the was tending to the fire. It was a girl, barely in her teenaged years. Her face and hands were dirty, her brown hair was a tangled mess, and her clothes were in even worse shape than the Ronin’s.

Her back was turned, and her eyes focused on the fire. The Ronin stood there behind her for a moment, before looking at the ground to find a branch to step on.

The snap of the branch sent the young girl spinning around to face him, her hands quickly clutching at an old kitchen knife. She held out of the blade towards him, trying to ward him off. It would have done little good against him, but her spirited defense almost made the Ronin smile.

“Calm down, girl,” Elscer said. “What’s a one-armed man going to do to you?”

He pulled his poncho aside, showing where his right arm used to be. The girl didn’t waver in her defense. He sighed and crouched down to her level.

“You’re smart to be wary. Your mother sent me, to bring you food.”

He slung the backpack off his shoulder, placing it in front of her. He unlatched the backpack, taking a slice of salted beef out and tossing it to her, then taking one out for himself.

She managed to catch it, eyeing the slice of meat, and then the stranger in front of her.

“I already ate,” she said. Her voice was hoarse from dehydration, the words weak in her throat.

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Elscer looked at her for a moment and chuckled. “No, you haven’t. At least not enough. Go on, if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t do it with a piece of beef.”

Elscer moved from a crouch to sitting down, leaning against the foundation of the old cabin. The girl slowly moved down to a sitting position, continuing to clutch the knife in one hand. She did, however, reluctantly take a bite out of the beef.

“That knife will also do you no good,” Elscer said, reaching towards the back of his belt with his left arm, “It’d barely cut butter now.” He unlatched the knife at his back and tossed it to her. “Here, this is castle steel. It’ll serve you well for a long time.”

She continued her eye contact with the Ronin as she set down the old kitchen knife and picked up the sheathed one Elscer tossed to her. She carefully held the beef in her mouth as she slid the blade out of the sheath.

It was well maintained. She could see herself in the blade, and it was leagues sharper than the dull thing she had been holding. She looked back to Elscer.

“Who are you?”

Elscer gave a slight smile. “I’m just a ronin. And you?”

“Lanya,” she answered. “What’s a… ro… nin?”

Elscer gave a slight chuckle, realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve spent time with people like you.”

Lanya furrowed her brow at the remark. “What do you mean ‘people like me’?”

Elscer shrugged “Just... Normal people.”

He kept speaking before Lanya could respond, answering her original question.

“You know of lords, yes? And Knights? And that there is a world beyond Eilswhire and Ulthuar?”

“Of course,” Lanya asked, nearly offended.

The Ronin nodded. “Well, far to the north, past Ledewein, even past Khrazheim, and beyond, there are the Northern Lands. Their culture is very different to ours in many respects, though in many it is also the same. They also have sorts of lords. They also have their own sorts of knights, sworn to their lords just as ours.”

“However,” Elscer said, shifting, “There is a type of northern knights who are not sworn to any lord. They are called ronin, wandering swordsmen who seek to perfect their craft, and help anyone they can. That is why I call myself Ronin, I do the same.”

“But you say ‘we’ when you talk of here, and ‘they’ when you talk of them. Are you… not from the Northern lands?”

Elscer chuckled again. “No. But the master who trained me was. It’s how I honor him.”

He once again shifted, turning more fully towards Lanya. “But enough about me. I want to hear about you. Why is it that you find yourself out here, having to have a stranger come bring you food, your own mother too scared to look after you herself?”

Lanya looked down at the fire again and didn’t speak. Only looking at her now did Elscer finally notice. She had been huddled into herself before, and Elscer had never been one to gaze at peoples’ stomachs, but now that her looked at her… He noticed a bulge in her stomach, rotund, extending a hands-length outward.

“By the stars…” Elscer whispered, despair in his voice, like none had heard since he wandered into Eilswhire. “You’re… With child…”

Lanya’s hand moved towards her pregnant belly, cradling the child inside of her. She didn’t verbally verify the Ronin’s suspicions, but her silence was confirmation enough. Elscer shifted closer to her.

“How did this happen? Who did this to you?”

Lanya continued to look down, tears nearly swelling in her eyes from the shame she felt. Elscer took her chin in his hand and angled it towards his eyes, making eye contact with her.

“Who did this to you.” It was more statement than question. “If it is needed…” He took his hand from her chin, gripping his sword’s hilt, sliding it an inch out of its sheath.

“No, no, no…” Lanya buried her face in her hands, her tears flowing freely now. “It… It wasn’t his fault…”

Elscer placed his hand on Lanya’s shoulder, comforting her as best he knew how. “Lanya,” he said, using her name for the first time. “I know this is hard for you, but it’s important to me. If someone… Did something to you, I can help.”

Lanya slowly breathed in, her body still shuddering from the sobbing. Elscer’s reassuring hand never left her shoulder, and it brought a strange sort of comfort to her. It felt as if Eslcer wasn’t a man at all, but some mystical being sent to her from the woods, to guard her and bring comfort.

“There’s a lord that lives a half a day’s walk up the road,” Lanya finally started. She could see Elscer physically depress with her words. “Count Argath. He rules over the surrounding land, including Eilswhire.”

“I’m familiar,” Elscer said.

Lanya leaned forward. “You’ve met him?”

Elscer chuckled. “Sorry, I should have been more specific. I’m familiar with him, and most of the noble houses across Ulthuar. Argath, sigil of a green trident on a yellow field.”

Lanya leaned back slightly in shock. “Y-yes, that’s correct. Are you familiar with his son?”

Elscer shook his head. “I’m just familiar with the noble houses’ names and sigils.”

“He has a son, Talen Argath. My mother somehow managed to get me a job in the castle. I had no right working so close to nobility... But my mother managed to get me an apprenticeship to the Lord’s stablemaster. She told them I was good with animals. You see, I’ve always been able to calm down the neighbor's cows...”

Lanya continued to speak, and Elscer continued to listen. He continued to listen to all the trivial details, because though they were trivial to him, they were extremely important to her.

“...So, the Lord’s stablemaster accepted me as an apprentice. I’ve always wanted to work with riding horses, the draft horses we have in town are so boring. I was given the honor of working with Talen’s horse, a beautiful white gelding named Archer. Me and Talen started to spend a lot of time together, because he loved taking care of his horse, and so did I...”

Elscer began to see where it was going. He could feel the pain in her voice, like every word she spoke wrapped another string around her, slowly beginning to suffocate her. Though he didn’t let on, it hurt him to watch her suffer through her words. But, as he found in his own life, it was better for her than suffering in silence. He supposed he was the only one she had talked to about this in such depth since the pregnancy happened.

“...It all happened so quickly, we were scrubbing down Archer, and the moonlight was perfect, and I... I...”

Tears had begun to stream down her cheek. Elscer reached over, pulling her into a comforting embrace, putting her head in his chest.

“You don’t need to say anymore, child. It’s ok to cry, it’s natural. What is not ok is blaming yourself for where you are right now.”

She pulled away enough to be able to look at Elscer’s face. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t exile yourself from Eilswhire. The people’s hate did that. You aren’t to blame for their reactions.”

Lanya pulled fully away from the Ronin, gesturing towards her pregnant belly. “But I am to blame for this. The shame is entirely mine-”

“Your ‘prince’ isn’t exactly innocent either. Is he exiled? Is he living in the woods? Or is he still in his castle, oblivious to everything happening? How old is he anyways? How old are you?”

Lanya looked down once more in shame, but a different kind of shame this time. “He’s... four years older. I’m only fourteen...”

“You sweet thing...” Elscer whispered. “You still think it’s love, don’t you?”

Lanya looked back at the Ronin. “It was- is!”

Elscer looked deeply into her eyes. He saw the defiance she was showing right now, and weariness. But below all of it, touching at the corners, tugging her eyes to look away, he saw fear. The fear that she was wrong. The fear that led her to accept the easier lie she gave to herself.

“I know his type,” Elscer said quietly, softly. “It was never love for him. He’s probably already betrothed to some other lord’s daughter halfway across the countryside. Did you think you were going to marry him? He never, for a second, thought he was going to marry you. It was about the excitement of it.”

Lanya buried her face in her hands, crying at Elscer’s words. Every word he spoke was a hammer, shattering the comforting lie she built for herself with every stroke. Had she really been naïve enough to believe that after she had her child, everything would go back to normal? That she would be able to run back to Talen’s arms? She knew, at her core, that it had always been a falsity. But what else did she have to look forward to? Years in the wilderness, with a child at her hip?

She felt a single arm wrap around her, pulling her once again into an embrace.

“I don’t say these things to hurt you,” Elscer whispered, “But the truth is often unpleasant. I surrounded myself with lies for years, thinking it would make my life better. All your lies come crumbling down eventually. It is best to not lash yourselves to them, lest you come crumbling down too.”

Lanya continued to cry into Elscer’s chest, oblivious to the world outside of her. Suddenly Elscer’s hand clasped Lanya’s shoulder, pulling her away.

“Listen, child,” He said, his voice now a rushed whisper, “Get into the cabin, right now.”

She looked at the Ronin through he tear-soaked eyes, his face barely more than a smear. “What-”

He stood, pulling Lanya to her feet as well. “Go- now!”

He pushed Lanya towards the cabin, and with lightning-strike speed pulled his sword out halfway from its sheath. He turned his back towards the cabin, and began pacing sideways around the door, forming a sort of defensive circle with himself.

Lanya managed to find her way into the remains of the cabin, crouching down to watch from behind dilapidated wall.