So it was just the two of them when they arrived to the baron's castle. It was an impressive building, at least three floors high and made entirely of solid rock, in the middle of a large town. The town in question was strangely quiet, though. There were people, but they didn't look like they wanted to remain on the streets any longer than they had to. There was no lively chatter between neighbors either, no merchants selling their wares as they rode through town.

Saska's hand fell to one of his knife-pockets. "I don't like this," he murmured.

"They're afraid of something." Raviel slowly surveyed their surroundings. "But what?"

"I don't sense anything dangerous. But still..."

Raviel urged their horse to walk a little faster. "Let's hurry."

The entrance to the castle was guarded by a single soldier in worn armor. "What is your business here?" he asked, his grip on his spear tightening slightly.

"We wish to see the baron," Raviel replied calmly.

Now they were met with a very suspicious stare. "Why?"

"It is a little complicated."

The soldier sighed. "Well, if you're sure..."

He pushed one half of the gate open. It hadn't even been locked. "Hey!" he called inside.

Two other soldiers engaged in a game of dice grudgingly abandoned their pastime and approached them.

"Those ruffians will take care of your weapons while you visit the baron. And that lazy excuse for a stable boy should be somewhere too." Then he closed the gate as soon as Raviel and Saska were inside.

Raviel surrendered his sword without a fuss. Saska "forgot" to mention his throwing knives. The soldiers didn't even bother to search them. Maybe they didn't really care.

A timid-looking male servant led them inside the castle. He stopped in front of the door to the baron's personal quarters, inhaled deeply and knocked.

There was no reply.

Looking to all appearances ready to bolt, the servant opened the door slowly. "My lord?"

The baron was an old, unnaturally gaunt man. What remained of his graying hair clung to his scalp in a sweaty mess. His skin was pale, like he had been sick for a long time. He was sitting in a plush chair near a large stained glass window, staring out of it. Whether he actually saw whatever he was looking at was debatable. At least to Raviel he looked like a man long gone.

He roused suddenly at the servant's words and quickly corrected his posture. "Did you bring guests? Go on, show them in!"

"Please try not to upset him," the servant whispered as he ushered Raviel in.

Saska followed at the elf's heels. He was once again invisible in comparison.

Raviel bowed deeply in greeting. "My name is Raviel and-"

"Hold on," the baron interrupted him. "Who is that with you? Come closer, boy."

Saska slowly moved to the elf's side. Could this old man somehow know he was an Outcast just by looking at him?

"Thomas?" the baron breathed out, torn between hope and disbelief, and pushed himself to stand up with the assistance of his cane. Why hadn't the servants told him that his son had returned home?

Saska took a cautious step back as the almost wraith-like man approached him with unsteady gait.

The baron did not stop until he was right in front of the boy. He slowly caressed his face. "Finally...finally you came home...I wish your mother would still be here to see you..."

"I don't..."

He frowned as his fingers met the bandages. "Are you hurt? Let me see, my boy."

Before Saska could stop him, the baron had torn them off and recoiled in horror. "No...NO!!! Not you!" he screamed like a madman. "What do you want?! You took Elena and Thomas already! You took my wife! What else do you want?!"

"Wait, what-"

Raviel quickly pushed Saska back as the old man raised his cane as an improvised weapon. Then he grabbed the human's forearm to stop him. "Cease this now, my lord," he spoke calmly. "This boy is not whatever you think he is."

The baron jerked his arm back with surprising strength for someone his age. "Guards! Guards! Kill this changeling!"

"There are no guards. Please calm down," Raviel continued. The servant who had brought them in remained frozen to the spot where he was standing near the door. Nobody else was coming. They must have all known that their lord had lost his mind at some point.

The baron abruptly turned and hobbled to the large window. He pushed it open, letting bright sunlight in to the room. "Old Man of the Mountain!" he called out. "Why are you punishing me?!"

Raviel sighed. Just how were they supposed to contact the Dark Lord if the only person he spoke to was insane?

The shouts slowly turned into broken sobs as there was no answer. "My son...my grandson...all dead...My line has ended...And now you too forsake me..."

"My lord," Saska spoke. The baron was without a doubt far gone from this world, but something in his words made the boy hesitate. Sasha had accused him of the same things. You took everything from me. "Please tell me. Do you...know me?"

Suddenly the old man's eyes filled with hatred as he stared at Saska like looks could kill. "You are a monster."

"I am not a monster!" Now Saska was screaming.

"You will not get me!" the baron announced, whatever moment of lucidity there might have been gone again. "I will see them again! I will!"

Then he stepped on the window frame with his good leg and pushed away with all his strength. Out to the sunlight and away from the monster. And for a moment he was flying.

Saska fell to his knees on the floor. Raviel quickly moved over to him and wrapped his arms around the boy.

The servant tried to make a discreet getaway, but the elf noticed him.

"If you think of calling soldiers, I will personally kill them before letting them touch him," he warned. "Saska is not a monster, no matter what your liege thought."

"U-understood. May I go now?"

Raviel nodded. "Go on. I imagine you have a funeral to organize."

Saska let Raviel hold him for a while. "You don't need to coddle me," he then stated. "I'm fine. Just surprised."

"You always say you're fine," Raviel murmured and pressed his lips softly against Saska's hair. "You're lying."

"I'm not. I'm already used to people dying around me." His voice was flat, emotionless.

"Then you have been through far too much." Slight movement passed through the elf's vision. "And you have pests in your hair again."

"Eh?" Saska was stunned for a second. Then he chuckled. "Way to change the topic."

At least he had gotten Saska to laugh. Raviel crushed one of the bugs between his thumb and forefinger and showed it to Saska. "See?"

"Got it, got it. I'm a dirty stray dog that needs a bath."

Raviel ruffled his hair briefly, stood up and held out his hand to the boy. "You're not. Not a dog, not a monster. But I agree on the latter. A bath would be very nice."

"I'll consider it once you tell me what we're going to do now."

Footsteps. Lots of hurried footsteps. "Stay behind me." Raviel pushed Saska back, for the second time in this brief period of time. He didn't have his sword, but -anybody- trying to lay a hand on his young companion would be met with magic aimed to kill.

The door was slammed open and an old man - healthier but probably older than the now-deceased baron - stepped into the room. He was lean, his white hair reaching to his chin, his features almost like a hawk's, and dressed simply in gray robes. Several other people crowded the hallway right behind him.

"Please do not make me harm you," Raviel said. "We only wish to leave in peace."

"I wish you no harm either," the man replied. "If you would only let me exchange a few words with his grace."

Saska knew this man was staring straight at him. "His...grace?"

He slowly moved closer to Saska and dropped to one knee. "My name is Veska. I have served the barons for decades as a physician. And I was there on the day the young master ordered you, a newborn baby, taken to the forest to die."

Raviel firmly closed the door as the remaining servants only watched the scene unfold without making any move to come in. He had a feeling Saska was about to freak out badly.

"...Why? Because my brother was stillborn? Because of this stupid mark?"

"That I, unfortunately, do not know. Master Thomas was convinced that the baby was a changeling, an evil spirit sent to destroy his family."

"Hold on," Raviel cut in. "How do you know Saska is indeed that baby?"

"That mark on his face is the same." Then he smiled at Saska. "And there is quite a resemblance to your father. Your mother's eyes, without a doubt, too." He held out a thick golden bracelet with red and black pieces of crystal embedded on it. "If you still cannot believe, this bracelet will prove it. It is proof of the pact your ancestors made with the Old Man of the Mountain. Only a true heir to the barony can wear it."

"And why would I want it?" Saska asked quietly. Then he continued, angry. "Why would I want a barony from people who threw me away?! To serve yet another lord?!"

"But young master-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Saska jerked the door open so forcefully that the hinges protested such brutality and stormed past the servants still gathered in the hallway.

Veska sighed deeply and stood up. Then he shooed the servants away. "No use gaping here. Back to work, everyone."

"What is your agenda?" Raviel asked once it was just the two of them. "Why do you want Saska to be the baron's heir so much?"

"Without a baron to fulfill the Old Man's wishes this land will fall to ruin. The southern lands are already seeking his favor on their own. After master Thomas took his own life and his father...lost his mind more and more have followed their example. Yet none of them can speak to him. They can only guess what he might want."

"And what is your investment in this? Your name doesn't sound like you're native to this region."

"I came here with master Thomas's mother, lady Katrina. I have lived here long enough to call this castle my home. And, being half-elven, I expect to live several decades more."

"I see...I can't tell you the details, but the situation is...complicated. He might not be able to stay even if he wanted to."

"If he pledges his life to the Old Man, that bond is far stronger than any mortal commitments."

Indeed...Unfortunately the same most likely applied to bonds forged by other Dark Lords. But it was useless to ponder that now. First Saska needed to make his own decision. Once he had cooled down a little. With the kind of emotional rollercoaster their journey together had been from the start, it had been only a matter of time before something would boil over.