As quick as possible you climbed the ladder up to the second floor of the stable and hid between the mountains of hay.

Carefully, you pulled the letter out of your pocket, while your eyes checked if anybody had seen you. Your hands were shaking as you cracked the seal open and unfolded the letter. Surprisingly, the paper was a lot bigger than you had expected it to be. Instead of unfolding into a normal sized piece of paper it reached to the size of a map.

Shocked, you lay it on the floor before you to be able to see everything that was drawn on it. It was a detailed map, picturing all the way from the mansion to a marked point that was title the hounds scar. You had hear that phrase before. Soldiers were calling a canyon in the east of Nilfgaard like this. The location was famous for causing bloody battles that had often been lost by the empire.

Why did he send you this?

What did you need a map for?

Judging by the soldier that had delivered it to you, it must have been important. After all, he did not use the communicator. Maybe he had no other choice.

Looking for an explanation, you turned the map to the other side. There was a text written on in. It wasn't a lot of text but it was enough to make you believe that Morvran was still alive.

"My dearest stray.", the text began. "I don't know if this is the last you will ever hear from me. As I write, I am being followed by soldiers of Redania. They don't let me rest a single day, I must be on the run at all times. My battalion has been destroyed. I am the last survivor. The war is coming to an end and as it seems, Nilfgaard is loosing. Normally, I would have died for my emperor and fought till the very last breath has left my lips. But as my men lost the battle I saw my life rush before my eyes. I saw you. And I remembered what I was truly fighting for. In the end, I realised that I was fighting for your safety. But there is no safety to win in this war. My death would have changed nothing. All it would have changed would be that we will never see each other again. Now read closely, my stray and hear my request. The boy that I have send to you doesn't know anything about my plan, at least not if the wax seal was untouched. I want you to come to me. Meet me at the hounds scar so we can leave this war behind. I have friends in Toussaint, they will take good care of us. Maybe we will be able to create an own life for the two of us. I don't know how you will answer, I even doubt that you will want this. But I need to let you know that I am waiting for you. I will let one month pass. If you haven't arrived until then, I will take your silent as a goodbye. Until then, my stray, be safe."

With shaking hands, you stared at the text, read the words over and over again. Tears were filling your eyes. They fell onto the paper, marking the spots with salt and a dark mark.

So it was true. Nilfgaard was loosing this war and not even Morvran was able to prevent it.

With a heart full of fear and pain, you let yourself sink into the stack of hay and began to cry bitter tears. If it was true what he was saying, then hell was waiting at the empires doorstep. It would be a lot worse when there were no soldiers anymore that could protect the innocent. War on the land of Nilfgaard, the entire empire, was pure madness. Soon, everything would go down in flames.
But you couldn't leave. You couldn't leave Herman behind.

What a misery.

Crying, you pressed the mag against your chest, while shaking all over.

The untidy handwriting told you that it wasn't a lie. He had been in a hurry as he had written the words. His hands must have shook from fear.

Was Morvran well?

Hopefully he had found a safe hideout.

Was the mere still with him?

Or had she died?

For a long time, the tears did not want to stop flowing. And you let them flow. They covered your face, causing a sticky sensation to spread. The salt was covering your lips like a bigger sweet promise. Those tears were only the beginning. You would cry many more if you would make the wrong decision.

But what was the wrong decision?

Hastily, you wiped the remaining tears away and folded the map into its original size. Then, you put it into your pocket and rushed back to the mansion.

You needed to check on Herman.

And the boy. He had made a nice impression, calm but a little scared. He had feared for his life, you had seen it in his eyes. But now he was quite helpful. He had taken on the task to keep an eye on the old man as long as you needed some free time. It was better if somebody had an eye on him at all times.

But somehow... it was strange.

The boy was a little too helpful. A little too generous and thankful. He had not even asked for food once, even though he was as thin as a piece of paper. His arms looked weak and he had trouble walking for too long.

You wondered how it had been possible for him to get drafted into the army.

He seemed like a big misfit. An even bigger misfit than you had been back in the day.

"Hm, maybe I'm just thinking too much.", you mumbled and walked through the kitchen into the dining hall.

All of a sudden, a sound ripped through the silence. Abrupt, you stopped in your tracks and listened.

Something had fallen to the ground. And there was more.
It sounded like a fight. No, not a fight. Somebody was fighting for his life.

Alarmed, you reached to your belt and pulled out the knife. As quick as you could, you jumped up the stairs, ran down the hallway and busted through the door of Herman's chambers.