It was the very next day that his punishment was given. He was given 10 lashes along with his companion and they were locked in the stockade side by side. I noticed a commotion at the far end of the crowd. I saw that people were lining up rotten produce to throw. I got over it and shut it down. "The first person to launch something from this cart will lose an arm." I declared. When Len yelped in pain, I saw he was bleeding from his face. Someone had thrown a rock. I unsheathed my blade. "Alright. Which one of you did it? Step up for your punishment. Drawing it out is only going to make me more angry." I said to the crowd. A young man stepped forward. "I did it. So what though? I am in the right here." he said with no shame. "I don't think so." I said cooly. "What are you going to do about it? He's a dirty halfbreed that needs to be taught a real lesson, damn it!" he retorted. I hummed before knocking him out with a roundhouse kick. "Is there anyone else that wants to be put to the ground like this idiot?" I challenged. Noone wanted to act out after that shit. I watched over him all night.
Pursuing the path to knighthood was no longer possible for Len. None of the smiths wanted him as an apprentice either. The only thing he would be able to do is work in the saunas. Even then, people in Mansfield would not want to come if he was going to be there. Only one option remained. Len would work in the sauna at Huntston. He could live in the old guest house. It was where he lived for his childhood. Holly would go back to Huntston too. It was the perfect cover. She could live in the main building. Maybe she could be the court mage in Huntston with Fabien in charge of the town. The first thing we did was get him treated at home. Lyari and the girls had some healing spells memorized. That got most of it taken care of. I hoped he would not need to carry scars from this. Physical ones. The mental ones might remain for quite some time. During the next day, a second round of magic made things as good as new. I was relieved for him. I gathered Holly and Len. I told them what they would be doing in Huntston. Neither looked happy. Neither fought me on it, however.
Questioning me was not going to change my mind. Holly needed to get employed. Len could only be employed in a business that I had ownership off. If Fabien did not want or need the services of a court mage, she could work there too. There were to leave immediately. That was when Len whined and looked at me. "Do you want me to go away because I'm not a good boy anymore?" I could not believe that he would ask me that. I pulled him closer to me and hugged him before smushing his face in my hands. "I know things are scary right now. People don't like what happened and they want to hurt you over it. I want you to be safe, so you need to go back to Huntston for a bit. I don't know how long it will take until the forget about it. Until that point in time, you just have to wait and work at the sauna there." I told him. He did not look like he believed me. They left 2 days later, gathering their things for the trip. Even if Len could not be a knight, he was still martially trained. Holly was trained in magic. They could share the horse and make their trip. I got a letter from them a week later.
