"Then you really found them?" Ian asked.
"No, the men we sent to operate near White Wall City found nothing," Veld shook his head. "Instead, my son Roger stumbled upon an unexpected lead."
"That happened about ten days ago. He was returning from Silent Isle with four men. He had gone to the island to repent." Ser Veld paused and did not elaborate on the matter of repentance.
Ian knew of Silent Isle. It was said that two thousand years ago, a holy man had found the island and settled there, performing many miracles. People often made special trips there to repent or pray.
"Anyway," Ser Veld continued, "Roger rowed back from Silent Isle and arrived at that Abandoned Fishing Village. After going ashore, he encountered a group of men in the village, led by a knight."
"Roger passed them by without either side interacting. But the instant he walked past that knight, he noticed the man's right forearm was missing."
"I remember that when you fought the Ghost of White Wall City, you cut off his right forearm, didn't you?" Ian immediately recalled the incident.
"That's right! Uh... wait, when did I ever tell you about that?" Veld asked in surprise.
"That isn't important." Ian shook his head and urged him on. "Go on. Keep going."
"Roger became suspicious, but he did not dare act rashly. He was not wearing armor, and there were seven men on their side. He did not think he stood a chance."
"After Roger left the Abandoned Fishing Village, he left two men to watch the area and hurried straight to Viri's Manor. As I said before, the Abandoned Fishing Village is only six leagues from here. I was here at the time, and when I heard Roger's report, we immediately gathered more than