When the trees finally sprouted after a cold winter and the icicles on the stream thawed, the Slavs left their camp.

Everyone had been looking forward to the day, so all the words had long since been said when they said goodbye. Lidija hugged her warmly. Radek gave her a golden bracelet. And Jaro explained to her which route the Slavs were taking in case she changed her mind and wanted to move on with them. Gisel waved to them until the troop disappeared behind the trees. The last thing she saw was the brown horse's tail, on which Radek was sitting.

Gisel stood in the abandoned camp and looked around. Steam was still rising from the puddle in the fireplace by the stream. The doors of the huts were open, the inside empty. Gisel was calm. The day had come. It was time for her to leave too.

Back to the village, she had decided. She had been grateful for the hospitality of the Slavs. But their rites, especially when they paid homage to their pagan gods, had remained alien to her and she had often felt excluded because she didn't speak the language. Now she longed with every fiber of her being to see them again. What had become of Katharina and Jakob, of Curt and Elias?

She packed up the few things she had. The hunting knife. Sewing kit. The bag with the fire utensils. She became very excited. Who had survived the plague? What would await them in the village? How would the villagers greet them? Even the thought that Hartmut and the priest might have returned did not deter her from her plan.

With every step she took closer to the village, the current decreased and the sound of the stream became quieter. But she could hear her heart beating all the louder. Her tension grew unbearable. She hardly dared to breathe. She looked around several times or peeked around the corner from behind a tree so as not to be unpleasantly surprised. In the end, the carelessness of a moment could have

cost her life. So she cautiously approached the Aigen. When she arrived at the foot of the hill on which the Aigen lay, she sat down in the bushes by the Saußbach stream and waited. She had placed her bundle of belongings next to her. Gisel watched the path she had always taken to do her laundry. A short time later, a figure came down the hill. Gisel trembled. The moment had come!

She squinted her eyes. Katharina! Gisel jumped out of the bushes so hard that the branches scratched her skin. She stumbled over a root, picked herself up and started to run. Weeping with joy, she fell into her old friend's arms.

"Gisel! You survived! Where have you been?" Katharina exclaimed, hugging her so tightly that Gisel couldn't breathe. The scar hurt under her chest. "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!"

"Katharina! At last!" Tears of joy ran down her cheeks. How good it felt to be able to touch her friend! But Katharina had become frighteningly thin! She was just skin and bones! Gisel was overcome with worry. "What about the priest? And Hartmut?"

Katharina looked pale. Worry lines had dug into her forehead that hadn't been there before. And wasn't that a strand of gray hair? But Katharina laughed and waved it away. "You don't need to worry about them anymore. When the plague broke out in the village, they ran away like scaredy-cats and never came back! Jacob heard from one of the count's servants that Father Albus had been transferred. Our village was too small and remote for him!"

Katharina looked at Gisel. "But you look like you could do with a bath and some fresh laundry! And then you tell me in turn what happened to you in the meantime!"

Gisel walked through the house with Katharina. It looked like a battlefield. All the supplies and the livestock had been stolen, the jars and bowls were broken. Her mother's tin was lying broken in two on the shelf. The sight broke Gisel's heart. Only the bed was as she had left it.

The blanket was pushed to one side, the sheets rumpled as if she had only been lying in them yesterday. However, a mouse had bitten a hole through the side of the mattress. She stood there in silence, remembering how the priest had pulled her out of bed.

Gisel groaned. "It will be very difficult without Lorenz."

Katharina put her arm around Gisel's shoulder. It weighed heavily on her.

"Gisel, I have something to tell you." She motioned for Gisel to sit on the bed. Katharina took a seat next to her and took her hand. "Lorenz is dead. A messenger brought us the news. He died of the plague in Passau. It has killed half the population there."

Tears welled up in Gisel's eyes. Lorenz was dead? He didn't deserve that! She sniffled and her body trembled.

Katharina took her in her arms. "We'll help you, don't worry!" she said gently.

Gisel remained in her friend's embrace for a moment and sobbed. When she had calmed down, she broke away and wiped her face with her hand. "Lorenz will be missed. His carpentry skills alone were worth their weight in gold."

"Christian has lost his wife. Maybe you could get together?"

Gisel shook her head vigorously. She didn't like the idea at all. Submitting to a man again was far from her mind.

"Who else has survived?" she asked, playing with a straw she had pulled out of the hole in the mattress.

"My Jacob is fine. After the locator and the priest left the village, Hartmut also fled. Stephan was the first to contract the disease. He and Agnes were immediately isolated. They didn't make it. And neither did Curt. He toiled day and night for everyone. And then he died of the disease himself."

"Curt didn't make it?" Gisel stared at Katharina.

"Count Johann himself has already come by to see what's going on," Katharina continued, taking Gisel's mind off things again. "He's left one of his men there to take care of things in the Aigen. We get on well with him. He's already taking care of finding successors for the abandoned hooves. Let's see what happens next."

Gisel looked at her friend from the side. Despite the bad news, she could hardly contain her joy. How good it felt to talk to Katharina again! How she had missed her friendship, closeness and support!

Together they inspected the herb garden. It was overgrown and overgrown with weeds, but Gisel would soon be able to fix it up. For the first time in a long time, she was full of optimism. Now there was only one direction - upwards!

She had been back in the village for a few days when a lone wanderer came up the road over the hill to the village. It was a gray day. The sky was overcast and the mist lingered in the valleys. Gisel watched the approaching man curiously. Who could it be? A merchant? The new priest? Then an icy shiver ran through her. She recognized this figure, this walk! It was Hartmut! She stood rooted to the spot and put her hand over her mouth.

"Greetings, Gisel!" Hartmut grinned mockingly at her as he approached. His eyes stabbed her like daggers.

Gisel swallowed. The scar on her body began to burn again. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Hartmut, what are you doing here!" She had to control herself not to lose her composure.

"What do you think? After all, I'm the owner of a hoof in Aigen!" He acted astonished and raised his eyebrows. "Well, are you happy to see me?"

"No!" Gisel hurled at him. "I'm not doing that!"

Hartmut's eyes narrowed. He took a step towards her and came very close to her with his face. She could even see the veins

I could see a smile in his pupils. "I'd be careful if I were you!"

Before she could say anything back, he turned away and walked off without a greeting. Gisel stared after him. Her stomach clenched. That didn't bode well! Gisel gathered up her skirts and hurried over to Katharina to confer with her.

During the night, Gisel woke up to a rumbling in the hallway. She listened. What had that been? The memory of the priest flashed through her mind. Was he coming back to get her? Every fiber in her body burned with tension.

"Gisel! Where are you, you poisoner! Show yourself! You have my wife on your conscience!"

For God's sake! Hartmut! Gisel froze in bed. She should have listened to Katharina and spent the night at their house. It was too late now. No one would come to her aid at this late hour.

The floor crunched under Hartmut's footsteps. In the darkness, he stumbled against the table. It rumbled loudly.

Gisel jumped up. She wasn't going to wait in bed for him to pounce on her. There was just enough moonlight shining through the open window in the living room for her to make out Hartmut dimly. It was a mild but still fresh spring night.

"What are you doing here?" She tried to make her voice sound firm and suppress the trembling in it with all her might.

"I want justice!" Hartmut shouted at her. "You have my wife on your conscience! And you sent the plague too!"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her onto the bed. Was he going to torture her like the priest? Gisel pushed her lower lip forward. Suddenly a great calmness came over her, the likes of which she had never known. 'Let him,' she thought. She could bear a lot now. In any case, she was no longer afraid, as often as she had been close to death.

Hartmut tied Gisel to the bed with the sheets. She resisted, but even if Hartmut didn't look like it, he had the strength of an ox and was able to overpower her effortlessly. He took her chin in his hand. A whiff of alcohol hit Gisel. Gisel flinched and closed her eyes. He ran his fingers over her neck.

"You seductive little bitch. Compared to you, my Maria was pale. All the men were at your feet. But you? You spat on them, no one was good enough for you. Except the locator. You had it in for him!"

Gisel squirmed, trying to escape his hands. "I've always tried to help you and Maria. Why do you hate me so much? Why do you want to destroy me?"

Hartmut grabbed Gisel by the shoulders. He shook her. "You always thought you were something better! The townie! The miracle healer! I grew up here. Wrested food from the land with my ten siblings. Our mother died young and our father always beat us with his crop if we didn't milk the cows early enough or spill the grain."

"But Hartmut!" cried Gisel. "I was just a slave in the convent!"

Hartmut stared at Gisel. He froze as he moved. He abruptly let go of her, turned away and sat on the edge of the bed.

Gisel was trembling with excitement. Now it was coming! She was expecting the worst, like the vicar with the poker. Disappointed men could be cruel! But then she heard a sob. Confused, she opened her eyelids again. She saw the outline of Hartmut, his head buried in his hands, his wiry body slumped over.

The man who wanted her life was sitting in front of her. And she lay there, defenceless and powerless. But she was not afraid. Instead, she was overcome by an infinite sadness. No matter how promising the future was, the past never let go. She almost felt for Hartmut and would have liked to put a hand on his back.

Hartmut stopped sobbing. He stood up silently and left the house.

Gisel shook his head. Again and again. Why did she suddenly feel sorry for Hartmut? Her thoughts carried her away to the dean. Should she have shown her more understanding and looked behind the nun's façade instead of indulging in self-pity? "You have every freedom to shape the community in mutual love and respect," Sister Hildegard had said. Was that what she meant? That wise woman! I wonder what had become of her?

At dawn, the cow in the barn complained loudly because she wanted to be milked. Jakob had given her to Gisel. But Gisel lay tied up in bed, staring at the wall and waiting.

Meanwhile, Elias had once again found himself in Count Johann von Hals' hunting room. He looked at the scene on the tapestry. Why did he feel like the wolf himself, being chased by riders and hounds?

"You left your people alone!" The count poured some wine into a cup and set the jug back down on the table next to him with a clatter. He did not look at Elias. There was a reproachful tone in his deep voice.

Elias wrung his hands. "I stayed at my father's castle. He is already old and won't live much longer. I knew nothing about the plague! And then there was no getting back to Aigen. There were road barricades everywhere and everyone was sent back to where they came from for no good reason."

The count did not accept Elias' arguments. "You are known throughout the Bohemian Forest! You have influence! You would have been let through."

Elias lowered his eyes.

"You have cowardly evaded responsibility!" said the count sharply.

Now Elias tightened his body. "I've put Curt in charge of the Aigen! He's a very capable man."

"Curt is dead!" the count rumbled. "You put your freedom above the lives of your charges! Until recently, I thought you were a righteous man. You have disappointed me!"

Elias swallowed hard. Count Johann was right. Elias had shirked his responsibility. He had let his people down. The weight of guilt pressed him down.

But the count had no sympathy for him. Instead, he put even more pressure on Elias. "How many times have you run away? Have you built a settlement and then torn down your tents again? Even though the count would have given you everything - a double hoof, jurisdiction, liquor rights, I don't know what. He would have begged you on his knees to stay. But then you moved on to the next settlement to start all over again! Does that satisfy you? Well, tell me!"

"No, it doesn't satisfy me," Elias confessed quietly.

"So pack up your things now and go to your people, or to the little heap that's left. I, Count Johann von Hals, will not let you get away so easily! And don't you dare make a run for it. Then I'll send my dogs after you!"

Shortly after his arrival in Aigen, Elias walked over to Gisel's house. The air smelled fresh and the dew glistened on the blades of grass. Gisel was probably already awake. He took a quick look at the herb garden. It looked dilapidated. Brown stalks peeked out of the ground and hardly any of the few plants that had survived the harsh winter had sprouted new shoots or buds. Elias' heart was pounding. I wonder what had become of Gisel?

The door was ajar. "Hello, is anyone here?" He took a look inside. Everything was in a mess in the hallway.

"Elias!" That was Gisel's voice. But it sounded strange. Something was wrong!

Elias rushed into the living room. He found Gisel tied to the bed. She looked shattered. Her face was red from crying.

Elias rushed to her. "Gisel! What's happened? How long have you been lying here?" He quickly undid her bonds, pulled her up and pressed her against him. Her body shook and trembled. He sought her lips and wanted to kiss her, but Gisel pushed him away.

"Hartmut has tied me to the bed. Where is he?" she asked coldly.

Elias stared at her. He caught himself and nodded. He was lucky that Gisel was still alive. She wouldn't forgive him any time soon, he suddenly realized. What had he hoped for?

He stood up. "I'll go and find him," he said devotedly.

"Wait!" Gisel called out in a firm voice.

Elias turned around and raised an eyebrow.

She slipped a string over her head, stretched out her arm and let a wooden figure dangle from her hand. Elias recognized it. It was the figurine of the Slavic god Perun that he had given Gisel. Elias searched her eyes. They had a depth and maturity that had not been there before.

"I still have it!" whispered Gisel.