[-Sentinel-]

Pieter cut through the thornbushes with his sword to free the unfortunate horse. His gaze could not leave the dead man, taking in the horrendous wound in his back.

Why? he wondered in horror and incomprehension. He was fleeing for his life. Why did the knight see fit to murder him, like that, from behind? He was no threat to it or to whoever commands it.

That did simplify their choices, though. If the knight found them, surrender was not an option. The knight did not reason; it only killed. Was it even capable of free will?

"How far do you think we still have to run?" asked Leopold.

"Don't ask me. I was eighteen the first time I set foot on an unpaved road."