A Midnight Encounter and a Web of Deceit

Under a cloudless sky, where the moon hung like a silver hook amidst a canopy of countless stars, a group of people and their horses rested on a flat expanse of the wilderness.

They had lit a bonfire to ward off ill-intentioned beasts, but with the first half of the night already past, the fire was nearly spent.

The embers of the dying bonfire glowed a pale grey, yet still, with an occasional crackle, a spark would burst forth.

Wiz, tasked with the latter half of the night watch, sat with his arms crossed and legs folded, his chin resting against his chest. A faint, rhythmic snore escaped his nostrils.

“Crack!”

The sudden loud pop from the firewood startled the secretly dozing Wiz awake.

Wiz lifted his head, rubbing his chin, which had grown sore pressed against his chest. His mouth felt parched and dry.

“Smack, smack…” He smacked his lips, then scratched his lower back, before glancing at the nearly extinguished bonfire. He rose, saying, “I’d better go gather some more kindling.”

Yawning, he ambled towards the distant dense forest. What Wiz failed to notice, however, was that uninvited guests had already infiltrated the camp.

‘Damn it, that scared the living daylights out of me.’ Underneath a wagon, a small dwarf swallowed hard, pressing a hand to his furiously pounding chest as he watched Wiz depart the camp, still trembling from the fright.

‘He’s gone, so I need to act quickly. There won’t be another chance once he returns.’ The dwarf moved on all fours, crawling beneath the wagon, his elbows and knees propelling his body forward.

‘I’ve already searched three wagons. Two held large wine barrels, and one contained a few small wild animals. Their food must be in the last wagon.’

The dwarf struggled to crawl, weaving his way beneath the wagons.

‘One row of wheels, two rows of wheels, three rows of wheels… I’m here!’

The dwarf slowly emerged from beneath the wagon, but before he could even stand up and catch his breath, a pair of boots appeared silently before him.

A sudden jolt struck the dwarf’s heart. He stiffened, slowly raising his head inch by inch, his gaze tracing upwards from the boots.

First, a pair of straight, slender calves, then a set of perfectly proportioned, shapely thighs, and further up, the hem of a linen gambeson skirt. That was all he could discern from his prone position.

“Stand up,” a clear, calm female voice commanded. The dwarf knew immediately who owned those beautiful legs.

“M-My Lady…” The dwarf scrambled to his feet, trembling.

Standing, the dwarf had to crane his neck to fully behold the person before him: a blonde maiden gazing at him with utter astonishment.

“It’s you?” The maiden’s voice was filled with surprise and confusion.

The dwarf—or rather, the gnome, as he should be called—forced a smile. “My beautiful, noble blonde lady, I…”

“Has Sir Černý pardoned your transgressions?” Noren asked, tapping the blade she held onto his shoulder. The sword slid horizontally across the gnome’s shoulder, its tip finally resting against his neck.

“S-S-Sir Černý, h-h-he…” The gnome’s eyes darted to the sword. He felt as though it were a venomous snake coiled around his throat, ready to strike at any moment.

The gnome’s terrified reaction instantly clarified the situation for Noren.

“Heh, so you ran away on your own,” Noren chuckled softly, her dimples gradually fading as her beautiful face grew cold. “Tell me! What are you doing lurking in my camp?”

“I…” The gnome opened his mouth to speak, but Noren immediately cut him off.

“Think carefully before you answer, now~” Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the sword, a chilling murderous intent flickering in the maiden’s green eyes.

“Gulp~” The gnome swallowed, but as his Adam’s apple bobbed, the blade inadvertently grazed his neck, leaving a faint bloody scratch. A bead of blood welled up from the mark and dripped down.

Frightened, the gnome tilted his head away from the sword. His body trembled like a sieve, sweat pouring down and soaking the chest of his coarse linen tunic.

“Please, spare him!”

“?”

A sudden shout echoed from the distance. Noren turned towards the source of the cry, seeing two dark figures running closer. The moonlight was dim, allowing her only to discern their human silhouettes, not their features, but the voice sounded like a woman’s.

‘Who is it? Friend or foe?’ Noren’s attention was momentarily diverted, and her grip on the sword at the gnome’s throat subtly loosened.

‘A chance!’ Feeling the pressure of the cold blade on his neck lessen, the gnome realized the blonde maiden was distracted by the shouts. He instantly recognized this as a golden opportunity to escape.

He slapped the blade away and bolted, running for his life.

“Trying to run?” Noren’s eyes narrowed. She swung the blade forcefully, flicking off the blood bead, then unhurriedly sheathed her sword.

There was no rush; she’d let him run for a bit.

Noren bent down and picked up a mud-caked stone, weighing it in her hand. “It’s quite light; probably won’t kill him.”

She raised the stone behind her head, ready to throw it, but then recalled the knight she had accidentally killed. Instead, she brought the stone before her, relaxing her arm and exerting only a tenth of her full strength.

“Bullseye!” With a flick of her wrist, the stone, scattering bits of mud, vanished into the night sky.

A few moments later, the gnome, still running in Noren’s sight, stumbled, then pitched forward and fell.

“Drag him back,” Noren instructed the caravan members, who had just been roused by the shouts.

“Who?” A sleepy Hafdan scratched his messy blonde hair, while Tolke stared at her with clear, bewildered eyes. As for Henry and the other coachmen, they were still fast asleep.

“Never mind, I’ll go myself.” In that moment, Noren suddenly felt that the Northmen weren’t entirely reliable. She needed a squad of more vigilant warriors.

****

“Slurp, slurp~”

A mud-stained maid and a diminutive gnome were ravenously devouring oat porridge, while several Northmen sat nearby, watching them eat.

“Osbrück Manor is truly gone?”

Noren inquired again, incredulous. Even after repeated confirmations, she still found it hard to believe that a grand knight’s manor had been reduced to ashes so completely.

The maid paused, her spoon hovering, and placed her bowl flat on her tightly pressed thighs.

With a downcast expression, she nodded. “Yes…”

Noren frowned in confusion. “According to you, a mayor named Kunar ordered the ‘Giant’ and the ‘Hunchback’ to slaughter the manor’s guards and kill the noble knight and his lady. But was it necessary for them to burn the manor and the winery? After all, these nobles are always motivated by profit; burning the estate would leave him with nothing but ruins.”

“It was those commoners,” the gnome, who now had only one ear, said indignantly, touching his bare earlobe. “It was those commoners from the village who looted the manor.”

“Oh?” The maiden raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “How do you know it was definitely the villagers who burned the manor?”

The gnome gritted his teeth, staring at the empty grassland, the hatred and resentment in his eyes seemingly solidifying. “It must have been, it must have been. No one understands the commoners better than I do. They are despicable, greedy, lazy, and only pick on the weak. They only absolve their own sins by judging others’, never repenting devoutly to God!”

Noren didn’t care about the gnome’s past; such was the era, and she couldn’t travel back in time to offer him humanitarian aid.

She said, “From what I know, you’re no more noble than your so-called ‘commoners.’ At the very least, you’ve certainly spilled far more human blood than any ordinary farmer.”

Upon hearing “human blood,” Tolke’s heart suddenly stirred, as if he had perceived something significant.

Tolke leaned in and whispered, “Noren, do you remember the bandits we encountered in the nearby forest?”

She nodded, confirming she did.

Tolke continued, “Perhaps those bandits are connected to this gnome.”

Noren was perplexed: ‘Bandits, gnome, connected? Why would they be connected? Bandits. Gnome. Connection? Hmm?!!!’

The words were a sudden awakening. In an instant, she understood everything!

The unimpeded journey from Hradec to Osbrück, save for a few scattered bandits; Sir Černý’s dismissal and the ambush in the dense forest; Igor’s peculiar demeanor in Kroměříž; and finally, the drastic shift in Igor’s attitude towards her upon reaching Olomouc Castle… In a flash, Noren understood everything.

It turned out those bandits had been targeting Igor and Claude all along; she had merely been an unwitting pawn, a shield, a mercenary hired for their protection! Once they reached Olomouc Castle and no longer needed her protection, Igor had become silent when she openly challenged the verdict. These nobles truly were…

Lost in thought, Noren shook her head. From now on, she would focus on managing her own affairs. As for befriending nobles? Let whoever wished to pursue such connections do so. If her own power grew, people would naturally come seeking her favor.

With everything clear in her mind, Noren sneered, “So, you were part of the group that ambushed us!”

The gnome looked up, wearing an expression of utter disbelief. “Bandits? Ambush?”

The gnome was also a shrewd individual; he instantly guessed that his boss, Reken, and his men must have ambushed this group. Seeing the deep-seated murderous intent in the maiden’s green eyes, he realized that if he didn’t confess everything, he would surely lose his life.

The gnome spilled everything, holding nothing back, revealing all he knew to the gathered group.

“…………”

After a long moment, Noren pondered, then said, “So you were sent by the mayor of Kroměříž to steal a treasure from the manor, and you know nothing else besides that?”

“Yes, yes!” The gnome nodded vigorously.

“Hmm…” Noren twirled a strand of her blonde braid around her finger.

The dwarf had revealed his boss’s name, appearance, and the number of bandits, but he didn’t recognize the “Giant” or the “Hunchback,” nor did he know about the bandit ambush on her group. It seemed this gnome was just a minor figure.

Noren looked at Tolke. “Tolke, what do you think?”

Tolke replied, “There’s definitely something fishy going on here!”

She turned to Hafdan. “And you?”

Hafdan yawned, feeling Noren was overly concerned with trivial matters. He casually said, “I agree with Tolke.”

She then looked at Wiz.

Wiz wasn’t particularly interested in the matter either. The bandits were already dead; they couldn’t just pop out of the ground to be killed again. So, he perfunctorily added:

“Me too.”

Seeing that no one was keen on digging deeper, Noren also lost interest. The past was the past, and they were about to return to Opava. The matters of Olomouc were no longer important.

She took several silver coins from her waist pouch and selected a short dagger from the loot taken from the bandits she had killed earlier. She placed the coins and the dagger into the maid’s hands.

“You said earlier that you wanted to go with this dwarf to find Igor. I cannot escort you to him, so I’m giving you this dagger and these silver coins.”

The maid wished to decline, but upon remembering the several days’ journey to Unichov and the potential for encountering bandits on the way, she tightened her grip on the short dagger.

“And you, little dwarf,” Noren warned sternly, her brows furrowed. “Since you intend to escort her to find Igor and seek the Osbrück family’s forgiveness through this act, I must remind you that you have already offended one mayor. If you offend a bishop as well, there will be no place left for you on this land. So, do not entertain any ill intentions.”

The gnome nodded with a solemn expression.

After finishing their porridge, the maid and the gnome left together, intending to travel north under the cover of night.

Before their departure, the maid shed a tear of gratitude. “My kind lady, thank you for your help. My name is Riva, and may God bless you!”

Noren watched them disappear into the night, then softly murmured, “And bless you too, fortunate maid.”