Arrival

Redwater.

...

"Do we have an agreement?"

"Yes." With a sigh, Aden nodded.

Aboard a single-masted merchant ship, gazing out into the distance he stood solemnly

At the ship's bow, he watched as Redwater harbour grew larger in his vision.

"Don't look so depressed, you are making it seem like I am taking advantage of you." Giggling softly, Vaiu who stood beside him said.

Aden turned to look at her, his left brow crooked upwards in a questioning gesture.

"Ok, maybe a little." The woman laughed to herself.

Turning back, Aden shook his head in self-depreciation.

'When have I since my ascension been forced to suffer such disgrace, Ai... Whatever, anything for our safety.' With a sigh, he muttered to himself.

Glancing sideways at the beauty disguised as a peasant woman by his side, Aden's resentment grew when he noticed the self-satisfied smirk forming at the corner of her eyes.

Annoyed, he grew quiet and watched as the ship was skillfully docked at a pier.

Disembarking under the discreet supervision of the faceless men, Aden walked off the ship and looked around the harbour.

Ever since Vaiu captured him she had supervised him and made sure that he didn't leave her sights for the period they were together. Frustrated he took a look around the harbour

"Huh?"

Aden was quick to notice the scarcity of the patrol guards that usually monitored the harbour area.

"What's wrong?" Vaiu who was trailing behind him asked noticing his change in demeanour.

"Something is not right here," Aden whispered quickly returning to normal to avoid attracting attention. "The patrols are usually more than this and the harbour seems too scanty."

Vaiu looked around and also noticed that despite there being about four ships currently docked, asides from the occasional sailors tending to their vessels and one patrol dosing off in the corner there was nobody else there.

She noticed that asides from the people mentioned earlier, themselves and the few members of the faceless that were disguised as merchants there was nobody else at the harbour.

But although it was odd neither Aden nor Viau placed much attention on this little detail. The harbour might just simply be empty today and the remaining patrol returned to the tavern in town for a quick drink.

Just as he was starting to feel he was overreacting he noticed three burly men walking in the distance towards them, pulling a wagon behind them.

The three men were all dressed in ragged clothes and had several hemp sacks strapped on their backs. They approached the harbour with menacing expressions on their faces.

*Hmm* *Hmm*

Walking past the men Aden heard faint squeals from the covered wagon, much unlike that of livestock.

Glancing at the wagon covered with a hemp tarp, he grew suspicious but sighed and looked away when he noticed the menacing expressions being directed to him.

Being an experienced man he suspected foul play and had the urge to do something about it.

Not out of pity but to maintain order. The duke could tolerate many things but he was very much against slaving the townsfolk that was meant to serve him.

Despite this though, he watched on with apathetic eyes as that poor soul got smuggled out to be sold like livestock.

Priorities existed. It was paramount he returned to greenfields without making too much of fuzz so as to protect his sons, Leonard's family and just as importantly himself from prying eyes.

No peasant life was worth this hardwon secrecy that many of his fellow knights died for at the capital.

Putting that thought aside he led Vaiu, with the faceless in the distance towards Redwater as normal peasants would, rather than stopping to rent a horse as nobles normally would upon arrival to a new town.

But a few minutes later Aden stood shell-shocked amongst the dilapidated buildings as he stared at the scorched walls surrounded what used to be Redwater.

Turning around he was overwhelmed by the impulse to run all the way to Greenfields, but as if reading his mind Vaiu grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"Calm down, I did know you to be such an impulsive person. Let's find out what happened first before anything else." She let go of his arm, reprimanding him.

Aden calmed down but didn't respond.

"Wait!" Ignoring the lady he jogged into the town in search of life.

Soon he came across two serfs slowly hauling what looked to be sacks of rocks.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here? Weren't you listening when the Young Lord instructed nobody should approach this place, are you begging to be punished?" The older peasant pf the two scolded urgently with a hint of concern, he looked at the disguised Aden and despite finding him somewhat familiar he couldn't discern his identity.

Just as Aden was about to ask what was going on he felt a soft arm pinch him in the waist.

"Sorry, my husband and I just returned from our travels so he was agitated when he saw the town in ruins. What happened?" Vaiu asked apologetically.

"You used to live here?" The middle-aged man asked doubtfully looking from Aden to Vaiu.

"Hmm." She nodded

"Too late." The man shook his in pity.

"Too late?" Aden asked confused.

"Yes, you are too late. The young Lord burnt down this town weeks ago and has almost finished constructing the new town. I am not sure but you might not be able to find accommodations in town anytime soon, I suggest you return to wherever you came from if you don't want to freeze to death when winter arrives."

"Burnt down, why? Young Lord? Are you referring to young master Sean? Why would he burn down Redwater?" Aden asked in doubt and concern after putting a few clues together from the middle-aged man's words.

"What young master Sean, that piece of shit ran away long ago." The peasant revealed a disdainful expression.

"I was referring to young Lord Levi. He was the one who burnt down those rebellious Heras and mercifully took in the people of Redwater and built a home for them when they had nowhere to stay."

"Levi? You mean Levi von Greifenberg."

"Yes." The man nodded in affirmation.

Aden turned to face Vaiu.

He saw the shock and disbelief in her eyes and he himself began to question the validity of this serf's tale.

...

Aboard the ship that was preparing to disembark the three burly men pushed their wagon aboard and wheeled it to a corner.

A short while later the captain of the ship walked up to them.

"What's in the wagon." the captain asked with a shrewd glint in his eyes

"Just some goods." the leader of the trio said

"Let me see." the captain said stretching his arm to lift the hemp cover.

"I said it just some goods." the burly man growled pressing down the tarp.

The captain retracted his arm and said with a glint in his eyes.

"Either you show me or you get lost. The next ship won't arrive until a day later but are you sure you want to wait that long."

The leader of the three tried to stare down the captain but the experienced sailor just smiled lightly.

"Fine."

Lifting the tarp the captain saw a frail blond man with stubble on his face laying within. He was naked and his delicate frame looked weak while his pale skin was bruised and covered in signs of violation.

But despite this, the captain just smiled and stretched out his open palm towards the leader.

"You gentlemen have quite peculiar tastes. Pay up and stop with these childish games, you know the rules."

With an unwilling grunt, the leader pulled out some bronze tehs and stuffed them in the captain's palm.

Ignoring Sean's weak despairing squeals, the captain turned indifferently as they sealed the wagon, returning to his chambers at the stern of the ship.