The night’s chilly wind blew in the city of Whitewood as the winter months grew closer. It was a clear sky, not a cloud to be seen. The full moon illuminated the city streets in a dim light, as the countless stars around it tried doing the same in a fraction of the amount.

From a rustic house in the city, nestled between others of similar presentation, a single lantern was still lit in a bedroom on the higher floor. Inside, Gus and his father Rallen sat on a bed.

It was late in the night now, but after everyone else had gone off to bed, the father and son had not said enough yet to sleep peacefully.

After the initial shock of seeing his father had finally wore off of Gus, he now felt a large amount of love for the old man he ran away from. It was only matched by the amount of guilt he felt not seeing him sooner. Gus had blocked out all feelings he had for his family, to the point where if Marin hadn’t made him do this, he might not have ever seen them again.

“I’m really sorry, dad. I’m sorry for who I was… I’m sorry for what I did,” Gus tried saying, feeling remorse for his actions.

His father, who was sitting on the bed besides him, brought his hand to his son’s shoulder.

“There’s no need to apologize, Gus. You did what you had to do to straighten yourself out. If that meant leaving my care and carving your own path, then of course that’s what you should have done,” his father tried consoling him.

“I just feel like… I could’ve done it better. Maybe not ignore you for all those years. The problem was, I was living my new life out of spite. I know I was a bad kid. I remember the trouble I got myself into. And even now, I don’t think I would have seen you on my own if it wasn’t for King Marin. Maybe even now I still have more growing up to do.”

“You’ll never stop growing up, son. No one ever does. Everyday you try to become a better person than the day before. What I can say now though, is that I’m proud of you. You left me as a boy and have returned as a man.

I always knew deep down you were destined for greatness, and it took some important events to bring you to this point.” Rallen responded with his own words of wisdom.

It was silent for a moment as Gus reflected on his dad’s words. All this time, what kept him away more than anything, was the fear of his dad being furious with him for his past actions. That hadn’t been the case at all. If anything, his father had more respect for him now than ever before.

Gus held back his tears.

“I love you. I’m glad I’m seeing you again,” Gus said to his father.

“I love you too. Welcome back.”

They hugged once again.

Before it got too soppy, Rallen stood up, wiped his glistening eye, and suggested they finally go to bed. He assured Gus that tomorrow they would talk more.

The final light in the house went out as Rallen extinguished the lantern flame.

The morning came quick, and to one’s surprise, Marin was sitting in a dining room chair at the crack of dawn, praising God that the new day had started.

“An early riser, eh?” Rallen asked Marin. Rallen had believed he would be up before anyone else, but was shocked to see the King already beat him to the punch.

“You have no idea,” Marin responded, coming off another long night of nothing but plaguing thoughts.

“Breakfast?” Rallen asked.

“Only something small. I don’t eat much these days.”

In the following hour, one by one, a new person made their way to the dining room table. Eisen woke up next, then Geralt, and Gus last, who was aggravated that he was the last to rise. Everyone was already at the table, conversing and enjoying breakfast without him.

Eisen chewed a mouthful of meat with crooked glasses on, and Geralt was already scarfing down the same. It was boar that he had brought back from the butchery a few days ago.

“Morning, son!” Rallen exclaimed to Gus.

“Good morning. How’s everyone?” Gus asked in a voice that was not fully awake yet.

“Sit down, Gus!” The doctor declared. “You’ve got try this meat from your brother’s butcher job. Most tender boar I’ve ever eaten. Hey Geralt, where do you work again?”

“Morton’s!” Geralt bellowed out behind a mouthful of food.

“I’ve got to pay this Morton a visit,” Eisen declared while jabbing more of his breakfast with the fork.

Rallen brought a plate of food to Gus as he sat down.

“One of the perks for working at Morton’s butchery, is that Geralt gets all his meat there at a fraction of the price you’d usually pay for it,” Rallen explained. “We’ve been eating well here ever since he got hired there.”

“And what do you do?” Eisen asked Rallen.

“I’ve laid pipe for the city for the last thirty years. I’ve been apart of most of the sewer projects here in Whitewood. Though I am close to retirement. Finally. I’ll be happy to be done when I am.”

Eisen nodded. Rallen was a working man. He had been most of his life.

“I can’t tell you what a nightmare it was to get our piping system back online in Nocturne,” Marin added, the only one not eating food. “So much had to be replaced… rerouted… Eh, it’s an old castle now. I suppose it couldn’t be helped.”

“If I had known, I could’ve taken a look at it for you,” Rallen said, finally sitting down as well and eating.

“We just hired whoever we could. I never really looked in detail for specific people like yourself. You’ve been doing sewer work for thirty years?” Marin asked.

“Someone had to do it,” Rallen grinned.

They all sat and continued to talk while finishing up breakfast. Afterwards, the horses were fed and brought out. In the front yard of the house, they were hooked back up to the cart, and Gus, Marin, and Eisen prepared to head out, finishing their journey up the mountains of Murok, and back to Nocturne Castle.

“The offer will always be on the table for you and your son,” Marin stated while adjusting the gloves on his hands. Last night, he had extended an invitation for Rallen to join his kingdom if he so desired.

“Thanks, but I don’t plan on leaving the city. I’ve been here all my life,” Rallen responded. “I plan to visit, though. Especially to see Gus.”

“That sounds good. And here, I want to give you something.” Marin produced several silver coins stamped with numbers.

“What’s this for?” Rallen asked as Marin held his palm open to give the currency to him.

“It’s for your hospitality. Letting us stay the night, taking care of the horses, and eating your food.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m more than happy to help out the king-”

Marin didn’t want to hear it. “I insist. Please take it.” He extended his arm further to Rallen, a desperate attempt to give him the coins.

Rallen accepted them.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

In the cart, Gus had climbed up near the front. Eisen had already been in the cart waiting.

“C’mon Marin. Let’s finish this travel!” The doctor impatiently requested while sitting in the back.

“Take good care of him,” Rallen said quietly to Marin.

“He’s in good hands,” Marin responded.

I hope.

After saying their farewells, Marin finally climbed into the cart. Gus grabbed his King’s hand to help him into the front seat.

“Visit soon!” Gus yelled to his father.

“I plan to! Be good!” Rallen waved back.

After Marin secured the reigns of the horses, he gave the leather strips a firm snap, signaling for the horses to begin moving.

Rallen and Geralt waved goodbye as they watched the cart head down the road. Gus continued to wave back until they were out of sight.

They were now back on the road, and weaving through the city to reach the road that would take up into the Murok Mountains.

After many minutes of silence, and the horses pulling the cart, Marin finally spoke up.

“Well, was that so bad, Gus?” Marin asked.

“Alright, alright, I concede,” Gus said, knowing Marin was trying to make a point. “I should have done that a while ago. I thank you for making me see him.”

“I didn’t make you do it. You had a choice.”

“Yeah right, you practically did with that deal. Learning the ice element from a master as great as you, Marin? No offer could be too much.”

Marin wasn’t sure if Gus was being sarcastic or if he truly saw him as such a powerful entity. Regardless, he thanked him for the compliment.

“Rallen might change his mind once he retires, coming to the castle,” the doctor stated. “Retirement is quite the lifestyle change. He might eventually live with you, Gus.”

“What would you know about retirement?” Gus asked, knowing that the doctor spent almost all his time researching and conducting experiments.

“Nothing, I suppose. But I’m sure it would give you a lot more time on your hands. Time… that I wouldn’t know what to do with,” Eisen responded.

The three of them continued small talk throughout the transit back to the castle. Eventually, they reached the city gates that would leave Whitewood and continue north. Every moment they got closer back to the castle, Marin’s mind worried.

Loid had ran an inn but never a castle. Granted he was a captain from Neo, and definitely had leadership experience. Plus, Helva and Harrel would help him out. Everything should be fine. He really had nothing to worry about. What was the worst thing that could happen? The citizens revolt and leave the castle? That was nonsense. He was sure everything would be fine.

“Hey Marin?” Gus asked.

Marin jolted from exiting the daydreaming.

“Yes?” He responded.

“I thought I saw a figure in the woods,” Gus notified.

Both Marin and Eisen’s head jerked around. “Where?” Marin asked.

Gus pointed in a direction. It was in an area cluttered with trees. The area had been so shaded from the leaves, practically anything could be seen if you squinted hard enough.

“I didn’t detect anyone,” the Doctor said, subtly reminding Marin he had a detect life skill with the way he could read vitals from a distance.

Gus was sure he saw the silhouette of a large knight, but dismissed it when both Eisen and Marin hadn’t noticed a thing.

“Okay, maybe it was nothing. It was there, and gone within me blinking. I must be tired,” Gus admitted.

“You are still healing from that wound. I’d keep an eye on it,” the doctor suggested. “Hallucinations from the poison wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities.”

The entire event was a reminder that Marin should not be taking too much time to day dream. They had been attacked before in the rocky fields of Tresdor, and that could have been much worse if Marin wasn’t paying close attention.

Having another situation like that was not something Marin was okay with handling. As bad enough as it had been before, what were the chances that yet another malicious force was eyeing them once again?

It was unlikely Gus had seen anything. He was still recovering, and the doctor noted that nothing was out of the ordinary. In the slight chance that there actually was someone stalking them from a safe distance, though, he needed to be ready for a new encounter.

As they continued on, the landscape began changing. The trees of White Forest became sparse, and the soil around them became rocky as they started climbing in elevation.

Marin knew they would have to pass Heroca Town again, and it was a reminder to him and Gus what had happened there. He might take the advice to get the whole village demolished. It might be a good idea, seeing that an abandoned town with a few intact houses would be a welcoming condition for bandits or raiders.

“Beautiful mountains,” Eisen commented as they headed into them.

“When’s the last time you’ve been in some pretty mountain ranges?” Gus asked the doctor.

“Never!”

“Ah, you’re in for a treat then,” Gus said with excitement, ready to see how the mountain atmosphere would treat him. “It’s the best landscape you could live in. That’s my opinion, anyways.”

The roads were smooth and newly paved all the way from Whitewood City to Nocturne. A project funded by his Kingdom to ease the travel of all commerce. Despite the uphill incline of the roads, the horses had no hard time with pulling a cart that was nearly gliding on fresh roads.

Up ahead in the mountainous distance, snow could be seen. It wouldn’t be much longer before they would be around it again. While the climate would be getting colder for both Eisen and Gus, Marin wouldn’t be feeling a thing.

The roads were perfectly free from snow as they traveled higher into Murok. Due to the amount of carts coming and going from the kingdom, the logistic network required workers who kept the roads shoveled at all times, especially after a snow storm. They passed carts every once in a while that came down from the mountain. No one passing them even knew it was the King that was heading back up there.

Finally, they reached Heroca Town. Gus felt familiar feelings as he eyed the wreckage of the town. Doctor Eisen made several comments as they passed the ruins on a brand new road. It was a sad fate for the village, but from it came something much greater, Marin told himself.

Before they got through the town, Gus saw the silhouette of the knight again.

“LOOK, RIGHT THERE!” Gus shouted out as he pointed to a tall house in the far distance.

Both Marin and Eisen quickly glanced in that direction.

Indeed, there was a tall figure standing on the roof of one house that had been spared the fate of the destruction from earlier.

It was dark, almost shadowy in appearance. A grand cape rippled in the wind that hung from the figure’s shoulders.

Marin halted the cart. All three of them stared for a moment, wondering what was happening.

The figure didn’t move. It stood on the roof, away from them, staring out into the world from the height it was at.

“What should we do?” Gus asked.

Many ideas ran through Marin’s mind. He had half a mind to ignore it and continue on with their business, but after the encounter with Oscar, and knowing some people might have it out for him, he knew this had to be addressed.

“I’m going to investigate,” Marin said in a serious voice. “Doctor, stay with Gus and protect the cart. I will be back soon,” he ordered.

Marin stood up, and hopped off the cart. Eisen and Gus watched King Marin walk towards the house which the shadowy knight stood upon.

It took him a few minutes, battling the snow and reaching the destination far in the distance. As he got closer, he made out more details of this intimidating figure.

He seemed to stand a whopping seven feet tall. Maybe taller. He was clad in stunning armor colored in a deep, dark purple. Purple smoke slowly radiated off the armor, similarly to when Loid was ready to utilize his shadow element.

The cloak was blood red, a large cape that would reach to his feet if it wasn’t gently rippling in the mountain air. In his right arm was a great and long blade. Marin figured it to be about five feet in length, which was a ridiculous size. He had it pointing down into the roof which he stood on, leaning on it as if it was a walking staff.

Whoever this was, it was clear that they were a great warrior, if not for the size alone.

Marin grew closer, and the figure still did not turn to see him. He wondered if this great shadowy knight even knew he was there.

Finally, when Marin was at the bottom of the house, he yelled out.

“What are you doing up there?” Marin shouted.

“Sullivan Marin, I presume?” The knight said, in a voice more spectral than human.

Marin paused. Great. Someone else who knew him. Was this knight from Oscar’s group, or a new person entirely? Regardless, this would probably spell trouble.

“Who’s asking?” Marin responded defensively.

The knight turned to face him, then in one clean movement, jumped from the top of the two story house, down to the ground. It shook the earth beneath him, Marin even felt it. The landing didn’t seem to effect the knight in the slightest, however.

“Yes, that’s definitely you,” the knight’s deep voice echoed ethereally in the wind. “I am disappointed though, that you do not seem to recognize me.”