Chapter 25: The Master Behind the Bandits
Hollow Creek had no proper healer’s house.
That was the first thing Kael learned after entering the village.
The second was that Walter’s information had been only partly correct.
A healer did live near Hollow Creek, but not inside it. Mistress Anwen occupied a small cottage nearly a mile beyond the southern fields, where she treated villagers from three surrounding settlements using herbs, basic Light-infused salves, and whatever medicines passing merchants happened to carry.
By the time Elias reached her cottage, the old merchant had lost enough blood that even Lily stopped arguing with Kael about his own injuries.
For the next hour, nobody spoke of bandits.
Nobody discussed tax records.
Nobody cared about Hollow Creek’s broken fences, dry irrigation channels, or the strange absence of children from its central road.
They waited.
Kael sat outside Anwen’s cottage on an overturned barrel with his bruised side aching beneath his tunic. Garrick leaned against the wall several paces away while Bram remained near the road, watching the trees more often than seemed necessary.
Jory, the young bandit they had captured, sat beneath another tree with his wrists tied loosely in front of him.
Walter had insisted on that.
He’s surrendered, Walter had said. If he wanted to run, tying him until his hands turn purple isn’t going to make him more honest.
Kael had agreed.
Jory had barely spoken since leaving the forest.
Every few minutes his eyes shifted toward the road behind them.
Not toward freedom.
Toward the woods.
Kael noticed.
When Mistress Anwen finally stepped outside, Mara nearly rushed past her.
My father?
Alive
Mara’s shoulders collapsed with relief.
Anwen continued before anyone could celebrate.
The wound missed anything immediately fatal, but he lost a great deal of blood. He should not travel again today, perhaps not tomorrow either
Mara pressed both hands over her mouth.
Thank you
Thank the fact that somebody brought medicine back with him
Anwen glanced toward the stolen medical supplies recovered from Rusk’s camp.
Then her eyes moved to Kael.
You the prince?
Kael stood.
Kael Asterion
Sit down
He blinked.
What?
You’re holding your side like it belongs to somebody else. Sit
Walter laughed.
Kael looked toward Lily.
Don’t
I didn’t say anything
You were about to
Anwen pointed toward the barrel.
Sit
Kael obeyed.
Apparently Imperial authority had limits.
The injury was mostly bruising.
Anwen found a shallow cut along Kael’s shoulder he had not noticed during the retreat and cleaned it while criticizing every person involved in the fight.
Three men went into a forest where merchants had been disappearing, she muttered. Brilliant
We rescued two people
And nearly brought me five patients
Four, Kael corrected.
Anwen tightened the bandage.
He stopped talking.
Good
Bram smiled from near the road.
I like her
You would
Once Kael had been released from Anwen’s attention, he walked toward Jory.
The young man’s posture stiffened.
Kael sat on a fallen log across from him.
You’re afraid of the forest
Jory looked away.
No
You’re a terrible liar
Silence.
Kael waited.
He had learned quickly that people often filled silence when given enough room.
Jory did.
Rusk’s going to come after me
Why?
Because I talked
You barely told me anything
Jory gave him a nervous laugh.
Enough
Kael folded his hands.
Then tell me what enough means
Jory stared toward Hollow Creek.
The village road remained quiet.
Mara had gone inside with Elias.
Garrick was helping one of the merchants inspect a damaged axle.
Rowan was somewhere nearby insulting Hollow Creek’s main footbridge.
Nobody crowded around Jory.
Kael wanted him to feel questioned, not surrounded.
You said Rusk received wagons at night
Jory nodded reluctantly.
Food. Coin sometimes. Arrows
Who brought them?
Different men
Merchants?
Looked like them
Actual merchants?
Jory hesitated.
No
How do you know?
Too clean
Kael raised an eyebrow.
Jory continued.
Real wagon men complain about roads. These ones never did. They knew where they were going
That was oddly convincing.
Kael leaned forward.
Did they carry a crest?
Never saw one
Uniform?
No
Names?
Jory shook his head.
Rusk handled them
And Bren?
Sometimes
Kael remembered the name from the previous conversation.
Rusk’s second?
Yes
Where is Bren now?
Jory’s eyes returned to the forest.
Probably with Rusk
Kael studied him.
He had one larger question.
Why were the bandits being supplied?
A group living through robbery could obtain food and weapons from what they stole. Outside resupply suggested someone wanted them to remain operational.
That did not automatically mean a noble patron.
It could be smugglers.
A black-market merchant.
Another criminal organization.
Someone paying for stolen cargo.
Kael refused to choose the most dramatic explanation simply because it fit his growing distrust of Halwen’s administration.
What did Rusk give them in return?
Jory’s face changed.
Kael caught it.
There
What?
You know
Jory looked down at his tied hands.
Sometimes cargo
Stolen goods?
Yes
What kind?
Whatever was valuable
That’s not everything
Jory’s jaw tightened.
Kael waited.
Finally Jory spoke.
Information
Kael became still.
What information?
Which roads were being watched. Which caravans were coming. Which villages had people complaining about taxes
Kael’s expression hardened.
How would Rusk know that?
Jory shook his head.
Sometimes the wagon men told him
That was different.
They weren’t simply buying stolen goods.
They were feeding targets into the camp.
Kael kept his voice even.
What kinds of targets?
Merchants carrying records
What records?
Don’t know
Tax documents?
Sometimes
Jory swallowed.
One time there was a clerk from Blackwood Hollow. Rusk knew his wagon before it came through
What happened to him?
Jory didn’t answer.
Kael already knew he would not like it.
Jory finally whispered.
Never saw him leave
The air between them changed.
Kael thought about the financial ledgers at Blackwood Manor.
Missing records.
Misplaced records.
Halwen’s favorable reports.
Bandits positioned near trade routes.
Merchants abandoning settlements.
There were pieces.
Still not enough to build the whole picture.
Who told Rusk which people to target?
I don’t know his name
You saw him?
Twice
Describe him
Jory took longer with this answer.
Older than you. Not old. Maybe forty. Thin. Always wore gray gloves even when it wasn’t cold
Garrick, who had moved close enough to listen, looked toward Kael.
Gray gloves
Kael nodded.
Anything else?
Jory thought.
Didn’t carry a sword
That means nothing
I know
Jory frowned.
People listened when he spoke anyway
Kael understood why Jory remembered that.
Not everyone needed a weapon to make armed men obey.
What did Rusk call him?
Never his real name
What did he call him?
Jory looked toward the ground.
Steward
Edwin was not there.
That irritated Kael immediately.
He needed somebody who understood Halwen’s household structure.
Walter, however, had heard enough.
His face hardened.
Halwen has a senior administrator
Kael looked toward him.
Name?
Walter shook his head.
Not someone villagers deal with directly. I’ve heard tax clerks mention him
Jory looked up.
I heard another name once
Kael’s attention returned to him.
What name?
Corven
Walter frowned.
That meant nothing to him.
Kael repeated it.
Corven
Jory nodded.
One of the wagon men called him Master Corven. Rusk got angry afterward
Interesting.
Kael reached for his notebook.
He wrote the name.
Corven.
Not guilt.
Not certainty.
A lead.
The System appeared briefly.
[Investigation lead recorded]
Possible intermediary: Corven
Relationship to House Halwen: unknown
Role in bandit supply network: unverified
Kael dismissed it.
Exactly where the matter belonged.
Unverified.
By late afternoon, Elias was sleeping.
Mistress Anwen refused to allow him onto the road again, so the merchant caravan agreed to remain near Hollow Creek until morning.
That created another problem.
Where to secure Jory.
Hollow Creek had no jail.
No proper watch post.
No local guard barracks.
Kael stared at Walter.
Does any village in Blackwood have the thing it needs?
Walter thought.
Oakridge has Garrick
That’s not infrastructure
Depends how angry he is
Garrick laughed.
A storage building near the healer’s cottage had a lock strong enough to serve temporarily. Jory was given food, water, and blankets before being placed inside.
Bram volunteered to take first watch.
Kael declined.
You fought too
So did you
I’m younger
That argument again?
It remains accurate
Bram gave him a long look.
Then he smiled faintly.
You still think age determines which of us is more dangerous
Kael looked at him.
I didn’t say dangerous
Wise decision
There it was again.
Bram’s past.
Kael filed the question away.
Later.
He had enough secrets today.
Night came quietly over Hollow Creek.
The village lacked Oakridge’s growing energy.
Few lamps burned after dark.
Most families closed their shutters early, and there was no tavern loud enough to fill the road with conversation.
Kael sat beneath the small awning outside Anwen’s cottage with a cup of bitter herbal tea.
Lily joined him.
You hate that
It’s medicine
That’s not what I said
Kael took another reluctant drink.
It’s terrible
Better
She sat beside him.
You think the bandits are connected to Halwen
Kael stared toward the road.
I think people connected to Blackwood’s administrative problems may be connected to them
That’s a very careful answer
Because I don’t know enough
Lily looked toward the storage shed where Jory was being held.
He gave you a name
He gave me part of one
Corven
Yes
What if he works for Halwen?
Then I want proof
What if he doesn’t?
Then accusing Halwen only warns the actual person we’re getting close
Lily nodded slowly.
Kael looked toward Hollow Creek.
This is what bothers me
What?
Every problem keeps touching another one
He began counting on his fingers.
Bad roads reduce trade. Bandits make the roads worse. Missing healers make attacks more dangerous. Tax pressure makes families poorer. Poor villages can’t repair bridges. Broken bridges reduce merchants. Fewer merchants mean fewer supplies and higher prices
Lily watched him.
And somebody may be using the bandits to target people carrying tax records
Exactly
Kael exhaled.
At some point, coincidence stops being a satisfying explanation
Lily looked toward him.
You sound like Edwin
Don’t insult me while I’m injured
She smiled.
Then a whistle cut through the night.
Short.
Sharp.
Bram.
Kael was on his feet immediately.
The tea hit the ground.
Movement came from behind the storage building.
Kael drew his sword.
Garrick emerged from another house carrying his hammer.
Walter appeared with an old hunting bow that Kael had not known he possessed.
Lily moved toward Anwen’s cottage.
Bram shouted from the darkness.
Down!
Kael dropped.
A crossbow bolt passed through the space where his chest had been and buried itself in a wooden post.
A second struck the side of the storage shed.
Then came a third sound.
Wood.
Impact.
Inside the shed.
Kael’s stomach dropped.
Jory
He ran.
Bram moved toward the trees instead.
Garrick raised his hammer, prepared for anyone coming through the darkness.
Kael threw open the storage door.
Jory was on the floor.
A crossbow bolt had punched through a narrow gap between two wall boards and buried itself high in his chest.
Blood spread quickly across his tunic.
No
Kael dropped beside him.
Lily arrived behind him.
Anwen!
She turned and shouted.
Kael pressed his hand around the wound without touching the bolt.
Jory’s eyes fluttered open.
Prince
Don’t talk
He laughed weakly.
Everyone says that when they want you to talk
Kael looked toward the wall.
The shot had been precise.
Too precise.
Whoever fired knew exactly where Jory had been sitting.
Had someone observed them place him here?
Had the attacker followed them from the forest?
Had someone in Hollow Creek reported it?
Kael forced the questions away.
Stay with me
Jory coughed.
Blood touched his lips.
Kael’s expression changed.
The wound was bad.
Jory knew it too.
Corven, Kael said. Who is he?
Jory’s breathing became shallower.
Gray gloves
I know
Kael leaned closer.
What else?
Jory’s eyes drifted toward him.
Ledger
What ledger?
He swallowed.
Rusk kept one
Kael went still.
Where?
Camp
Bram returned through the doorway.
Gone
Kael looked up.
Whoever fired already ran. Two, maybe three people. Horses waiting beyond the south field
Anwen pushed past him.
Move
Kael did.
She dropped beside Jory.
One glance at the bolt was enough to change her expression.
Jory saw it.
He smiled weakly.
Bad?
Nobody answered.
His eyes returned to Kael.
Rusk’s ledger
What is in it?
Payments
Jory struggled for breath.
Wagons
Names
Which names?
Jory’s face tightened with pain.
Don’t know all
Kael gripped his shoulder.
Corven?
A tiny nod.
Then Jory whispered something else.
Tax men
Kael leaned closer.
What?
Some... wore the wolf
House Halwen.
Perhaps.
Or stolen equipment.
Or household soldiers acting outside orders.
Still not proof.
Jory coughed again.
The movement broke whatever strength remained.
His body slackened.
Anwen pressed two fingers beneath his jaw.
Wait
Lily stood in the doorway.
Nobody spoke.
Anwen slowly withdrew her hand.
He’s gone
Kael stared at the young man.
Twenty years old.
Farm failed.
Joined bandits.
Surrendered.
Talked.
Died because someone had been afraid enough of what he knew to send crossbowmen into Hollow Creek.
Kael closed Jory’s eyes.
Garrick stood behind him.
His voice was low.
Somebody wanted him quiet
Yes
You still think Halwen might be innocent?
Kael stood.
I think guessing is how we lose
Garrick’s jaw tightened.
Kael pointed toward the bolt.
Take that out carefully. Don’t damage it
Garrick looked surprised.
Why?
Blacksmith marks
Understanding crossed Garrick’s face.
Bolts sometimes carried workshop stamps.
Not always.
But perhaps this one did.
Kael turned toward Bram.
Can you follow them?
Yes
Should you?
Bram looked toward the darkness.
Not alone, not at night, and not when they probably expect pursuit
Kael nodded.
Good
Garrick looked at him.
You’re letting them go?
Tonight
That single word answered him.
Kael picked up Jory’s bound hands and removed the rope.
He hated seeing it there now.
Lily watched.
What do we do?
At first light, we search the road they used. We examine every bolt. Then we go back to that camp
Bram’s eyebrows rose.
Rusk will have moved
Probably
Then why go?
Because Jory says there’s a ledger
Kael looked toward the darkness beyond Hollow Creek.
If Rusk took it, we find where he went. If he left it, we find the ledger
Walter stepped into the doorway.
And if Corven really works for Halwen?
Kael’s crimson eyes hardened.
Then Cedric Halwen’s visit to Blackwood Manor just became much more interesting
They buried Jory the following morning.
Not because he deserved to be remembered as a hero.
He wasn’t one.
He had robbed people.
Helped ambush merchants.
Possibly stood by while others were hurt.
But Kael refused to pretend death erased the difference between judgment and disposal.
Mistress Anwen knew a small plot near Hollow Creek where travelers without family had been buried before.
Walter made a simple marker.
Jory — Twenty Years
Nothing more.
Kael stood beside it after everyone else had begun preparing the wagons.
Lily remained nearby.
You barely knew him
Kael nodded.
Does that matter?
I don’t know
Neither do I
He looked toward the marker.
He surrendered before the others did
Lily said nothing.
Maybe that should have earned him a chance to answer for what he’d done instead of dying in a locked shed
The System appeared.
Kael expected another quest notification.
Instead, only a short message formed.
[Investigation status updated]
Outside supply network confirmed
Captured witness eliminated
New leads: Rusk’s ledger, Corven, crossbow bolts
No confirmed link to Baron Cedric Halwen
Kael read the final line twice.
Good.
The System wasn’t going to solve the case for him.
Neither would anger.
He dismissed the window.
Far east of Hollow Creek, a rider arrived at a modest administrative residence used by one of Baron Halwen’s senior clerks.
The building was not luxurious.
That was intentional.
Nothing about Silas Corven invited attention.
He was a thin man in his early forties who dressed carefully without dressing richly. He carried no visible weapon and rarely raised his voice. The gray gloves covering his hands were the only unusual part of his appearance.
A mud-streaked courier entered his office shortly after sunrise.
Corven did not look up immediately.
Well?
The witness is dead
Which one?
The young bandit the prince captured
Corven’s pen stopped.
Only then did he raise his eyes.
Rusk?
Still alive
That answer displeased him more.
Corven closed the ledger he had been working on.
Did the prince pursue?
No. His people held position through the night
Smart
The courier shifted.
Should we inform Baron Halwen?
Corven looked toward him.
Of what?
That the prince questioned the boy
Does the Baron know the boy existed?
I don’t know
Then don’t create information he doesn’t need
The courier hesitated.
My lord—
I’m not a lord
Corven’s voice remained quiet.
The correction somehow carried more weight than anger.
He stood and walked toward the window.
Cedric Halwen was due at Blackwood Manor in only a few days.
That schedule had become inconvenient.
Corven looked back.
Did the boy say anything before he died?
We couldn’t hear
Then assume he said everything
The courier’s expression tightened.
Everything?
That is how you survive mistakes
Corven returned to his desk.
Move every route connected to the western camps. No more supply wagons through the old road. Burn any collection notes that mention Rusk by name
The courier nodded.
And the camp?
Corven’s fingers rested against the closed ledger.
If Rusk is intelligent, it no longer exists
If he isn’t?
Then Prince Kael will find him
The courier bowed and left.
Corven remained alone.
He did not smile.
He did not move chess pieces across a board or congratulate himself for manipulating an Imperial Prince.
There was nothing enjoyable about the situation.
Kael Asterion had arrived in Blackwood less than two weeks ago.
Already he was comparing tax ledgers, rebuilding local infrastructure, drawing village representatives toward the manor, and now asking questions about men Corven had spent years ensuring nobody noticed.
That was not a game.
Games could be abandoned.
This could not.
Corven opened another ledger.
For the first time in years, he began calculating what might have to disappear before Baron Cedric Halwen reached Blackwood Manor.