The minutes passed painfully slow as Noah and Lorelei waited for Gregor’s arrival. Arms crossed on his chest, Noah leaned on the windowsill, his mind going through all the clues they had gathered. Missing and dead girls; a brothel spreading a new and dangerous drug; the Red Hands being involved in human trafficking and a dhrowghost taking the likeness of a little girl. Was there a chance it was all just a coincidence? Or was there something hiding in plain sight; something much sinister than the bilge of society draining to a single place at once? The more he thought, the more he was convinced. There was merit to Lorelei’s theory.

After what felt like ages, a brisk knock on the door announced Gregor’s arrival. The moment the young knight entered, he choked and started rubbing his eyes.

“W-what’s going on? Are we on fire?”

“You can say that again,” grumbled Noah. “We might be facing some big trouble.”

Plagued by a hacking cough, Gregor lifted an eyebrow at his lord's grumpy remark. Without delay, Noah started explaining, stopping from time to time to consult with his wife on some of the more elusive details about her alchemy tests and their results. As the story progressed, the young shaman’s face grew more and more rigid, but he didn’t say or ask anything. Only his cough became more persistent. Engulfed in their narration, Noah and Lorelei belatedly realized that something was very wrong with their friend. And when they did, it was already too late.

Without a warning, the Binshi swayed and hit the table hard, his hands making a vague attempt to grab on. Then, his body crashed on the floor where he remained laying with twitching limbs.

“Gerash!” shouted Noah and lurched forward.

“Get him out of here!” Lorelei ran to the door and held it so that her husband could drag the limp man out into the anteroom where their arrival was met by Milly’s shriek.

They ignored the maid. Lorelei rushed to the closest window and ripped it open, letting moist, cold air inside. Pulling him into the oriel and kneeling on the ground, Noah tried to support Gregor’s body in a somewhat upright position while his hand patted the young man on the cheek. The Binshi didn’t move. Only two frightened blue eyes stared unblinking at the Duke of Norden.

“What’s wrong with him?” Despite trying to keep calm, some panic crept into Noah’s voice.

“I have no idea.” Lorelei bit her lip and held Gregor’s wrist. “His heart is racing. I can feel his muscles twitching under the skin and his pupils have shrunk.”

“I can tell you this myself! Why isn’t he moving? Why is he unconscious?”

“Oh, he is conscious,” Lorelei jumped up and ran towards her lab, shouting over her shoulder, “and very much in pain! Keep him close to the window and don’t move him much! Call me immediately if he gets worse.”

“Lorelei, wait!”

And then she was gone. The wind blew rain splatters into Noah’s face through the open window and ruffled his hair, but he paid no heed to it. He clenched his jaw and concentrated on the young man in his arms. Was this an attack from another shaman? Or some unknown aftereffects from his fight with the dhrowghost? Was this a sign that Gregor’s soul was dangerously exhausted? Was he going to be alright? He had to! No matter what, he was not going to lose another friend.

An almost inaudible sniffle attracted Noah’s attention and pulled him away from the dread gripping his heart. He looked up and spotted Milly, who was standing to the side and shaking from head to toe, her eyes – peeled on the Binshi’s rigid body. This gave Noah an idea.

“Milly.”

The maid didn’t respond.

“Milly!” the sharper tone made her flinch and she finally pulled her gaze away to meet her master’s.

“M-my l-lord…”

“Don’t worry, Milly. Everything is under control.” He spat the lie with more confidence than he felt. “Go fetch elder Tikotse and elder Marishka.”

“B-but…”

“Go!”

The maid scurried away and the door banged shut behind her. And again, Noah was alone. His right hand squeezed Gregor’s palm. The young shaman’s fingers were ice-cold as if the life was draining out of them... No!

“Lorelei!”

Noah shouted and started rubbing his friend’s chest and shoulders in a desperate attempt to warm him up. His eyes darted around the room and fell on a cloak carelessly thrown over one of the chairs. Leaning Gregor’s body against the wall of the oriel, he jumped and snatched the cloak, wrapping it tightly around the young Binshi’s body. Then he continued rubbing. Just like Gerash had done for him all those years ago on the icy planes of the Wild Lands. He rubbed until he felt his own palms burning but didn’t dare close the window or move the shaman away. She had said to keep him there.

“Damn it. Lorelei!” he shouted a second time and finally got a response.

The door of the adjacent room sprang open and his wife ran to them with a bundle of smoking herbs and a copper kettle with a long thin spout in her hands.

“Take these and hold them close to his nose, then count to twenty and remove them,” she ordered, putting the smoking bundle into her husband’s hand before he even had a chance to ask her questions.

Without hesitation, Noah did as instructed, his eyes never going down from Gregor’s face, looking for the smallest signs of change. For a moment he thought he saw a twitch, but the features of the young Binshi remained deathly rigid. At the same time, Lorelei put a finger on her patient’s neck, taking his pulse.

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“His heartbeat is slowing down,” she sighed in relief and put the spout in the corner of Gregor’s mouth. A bit of brown liquid trickled down his jaw as he struggled to swallow.

“What are you giving him now?” Noah asked, putting the smoking herbs away.

“It is a mild painkiller and relaxant. It should bring him some relief without reacting with whatever is making him sick… I hope.”

“Will…” Noah hesitated, not wanting to even say the words. “Will he be alright?”

Lorelei shook her head and her fingers wrapped around the small kettle. Her answer was almost inaudible.

“I don’t know.”

“No w’rry. I‘m n’t dead… yet,” a weak, slurring voice attracted their attention, making them almost jump from their seats and shout in unison.

“Gerash! Sir Gregor!”

The young knight coughed and moaned in response, his head weakly leaning on his friend’s shoulder. Lorelei hurried to give him some more medicine while Noah supported his body as best as he could to help him drink easier. Under their watchful stares, the Binshi started regaining control over his limbs little by little. After a few more minutes and a few more sips from the copper pot, he was able to sit straight on his own, albeit still a bit shaky.

“That… was awful!” Gregor’s face scrunched up as he shivered under the cloak. “Really, really awful!”

“What happened to you?” seeing his friend recovering, Noah regained his calm.

“Hell if I know!” the young man coughed and swayed. “I think… it was that smoke. It was like I was trying to breathe under water. My whole body felt like bursting and then… Then my spirit was trapped.”

“Your spirit? Trapped?” Noah’s eyes squinted.

“Yes. It… it was so strange. Like something was trying to rip my soul out but at the same time preventing me from taking spirit-form. It was like my soul was stuffed into a stone casket, but the casket was my body. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream or hex. And both my body and soul hurt like nothing I’ve felt before.”

“I’ve never heard of such reaction to the Holy Root,” mused Lorelei and gave him to drink some more. “Are you sure it was the smoke? Maybe we should do some more tests to be on the safe side?”

“No!” The Binshi shrank back. “Sorry, my lady. I would rather face a dral than go through this again!”

“No one is going to make any such attempts,” stated Noah, and, by his tone, the decision was final.

Lorelei nodded and looked down ashamed. Beside her, Gregor closed his eyes and exhaled with relief. His lips started moving silently and a deep crease appeared between his brows. All of a sudden, the air in the room felt heavy and Noah’s ears popped. Judging by Lorelei’s gasp and startled look, she was experiencing the same. The strange occurrence didn’t faze Noah. He had witnessed this many times before with both Gregor and Yanosh and recognized it for what it was – the signs of shaman trying to recuperate their depleted spirit-power.

Gregor’s long hair danced in the air, but it was not the wind from the opened window that was affecting it. The snaking strands made the shaman look like he was diving underwater. His breathing became deeper and deeper. Noah knew that if he had used the Binshi’s scryer balm, he would now be seeing the tiny specks of soul-dust entering his friend’s body. The cheerful voice of Yanosh popped in his head.

‘No need to worry about me hexing, little brother. We Star-children are blessed by the Mother Above and can somewhat recover minor soul-injuries. How, you ask? You know, you are one unusually curious Limerian prince. Alright, don’t be grumpy, I’ll answer. I’ve told you that the Mother rules over the Spirit Plane where our souls reside after death. I don’t know what happens to human souls but every other living creature, from berry to bear, has the same fate. They remain here in the Mortal Plane where they slowly turn to dust and nourish the land. We can absorb some of the soul-dust and, if not completely heal, at least replenish some of our lost strength. For those gifted with true sight, our bodies then look like they are enveloped by…’

“Silver snow.”

The last two words came not from memory but from the real world. Noah blinked confused and realized that Lorelei was staring intently at the young shaman. His heart skipped a beat.

“My lady, what did you just say?”

“S-sorry, my lord.” She rubbed her eyes and pinched the base of her nose. “It seems the effects of the Holy Root are wearing off. In my tardiness, my eyes are playing tricks on me.”

“But…”

“Please, stay with Sir Gregor for a bit until I prepare some more medicine. It seems that acori tea is working on him.”

Saying that, she quickly ran away. Noah looked after her but then feverish fingers grabbed his sleeve.

“She saw me!” Gregor’s words came out as a whisper. “She really saw me, didn’t she? This shouldn’t be possible!”

“It seems so,” Noah replied and frowned. “And… she also saw the shape of the dhrowghost. What is more, that cursed creature’s powers behaved strangely around her.”

“What!? And you are telling me this now? You know it is impossible for a normal human to see such things without a scryer balm!” In his anger and agitation, the young Binshi overexerted himself and was forced to lean on Noah’s shoulder panting.

“Believe me, I had enough other problems on my head. One of them being my best shaman lying unconscious and bed-ridden for days.”

“But this might be an indication that she still carries the dhrowghost’s curse! Or worse, that the Red Hands did something to her!”

“I thought you healed and purified her.”

“I…” Gregor stiffened and hesitated. “I know that everyone says I healed the duchess. But… my memory of the whole thing is quite hazy… to say nonexistent.”

“And you are telling me all this now!?”

The two men stared at each other for some time without saying a word, then, Noah broke the silence.

“Keep quiet about this. Observe the duchess carefully and report to me if there is anything suspicious.”

“Should I involve my father and the Shadows?”

“No. The danger will be greater the more people know. Not a word to anyone, especially to William. Try gathering as much information as possible from the elders without attracting much attention. Maybe there are some similar cases described in the old legends.”

“Easier said than done.” Gregor sighed and huddled in the cloak. “Should we also question the duchess? In the end, she might be the only one with the right answers.”

For a moment Noah hesitated. His fingers went through his hair as Lorelei’s words echoed in his mind: ‘If there are things involving me, please, don’t keep them a secret.’ He had given her a promise, and now he was about to break it. No, it was more bending instead of breaking.

“I don’t think she is completely aware of her abilities. Besides, she went through a lot lately. I don’t want her to think we are accusing her of something. I will talk to her about it at a later time.”

“She might be in danger you know,” said Gregor quietly. “Or a danger to others.”

“I am aware. But she has me, Rish, and you as a shield. Up to now, her abilities have shown no malice and she got a new guardian amulet recently. The risks should be minimal.”

“Still, it might be a good idea to-“

Gregor’s words were interrupted by the opening of the anteroom door and the arrival of the panting elder Tikotse.