Isabelle and Nevalle left a couple hours after their conversation with Zhjaeve. The ride to Crossroad keep, would take them two days. They had to take a ship towards Highcliff and from there they would be able to reach Crossroad keep in a couple of hours.

Isabelle, who was horrified by water and ships, first refused to enter "The Enterprise". Nevalle however was able to persuade her and finally the ship left the harbour.

"Why are you so afraid of water, Isabelle?" Nevalle asked curious, while he went with her towards their room. "I know you didn't like swimming when you were little, but now you seem horrified by travelling over water."

Isabelle, reluctantly, told him the reason why. When she had fled from Neverwinter, she had sneaked upon one of the boats. The boat, however, got caught in a storm, and half of the crew had gone overboard before anyone could do anything about it. Isabelle had been trapped by the water and she had almost drowned. The captain of the ship however had been able to save her, but the fear of drowning had made her fear ships as well. Since then she had never travelled by boat again. Until she had decided to go back to Neverwinter that was.

"How did you get to Neverwinter then?" Nevalle asked, while he tried not to laugh.

"By boat as well, maybe?" Isabelle replied, sarcastic. "Since there is water between the two continents I don't think you can travel any different way."

Nevalle grinned, which got him an angry look from Isabelle.

"In case you haven't noticed, Nevalle," Isabelle continued with the same sarcastic tone, "but death seems to follow me wherever I go."

Nevalle's smile faded.

"That's not my fault," he replied hastily.

Isabelle shook her head in disbelief and looked through the cabin. There were two beds and a small table with two chairs. The table and the beds were nailed down to the floor, which made movement of them impossible.

"It'll take them one day to reach Highcliff," Nevalle continued with an academic voice, "I hope Zhjaeve," Nevalle stumbled with the word, "had some valuable information."

Isabelle nodded in agreement and sat down on the bed. She could smell the scent of the sea and felt the anxiety inside her. She wouldn't be able to eat anything while they were on sea. With a sigh, she laid down at the bed and watched as Nevalle went through his stuff.

"What happened to your father, Nevalle?" Isabelle asked curious.

Nevalle froze in his movements and a frown appeared upon his face. His gaze shifted towards her and she could see that he was trying to determine whether she was mocking him or whether she was truly interested in the fate of his father.

Eventually he decided that she probably had already heard what had occurred and that his story would only help to reveal the truth.

He sat down on his bed, which was on the other side of the cabin, and laid his hands upon his knees.

"There was an orc ambush when he had travelled towards Old Owl Well. The problems there with orcs are not resolved because of your interference, but long before Callum and Casavir where there the orcs had ruled the Well," Nevalle paused to see what effect the story had upon Isabelle, yet here face remained the same, "He was one of the first to go there. Everyone knew the value of the Well, yet few tried to reclaim it. My father wanted to show that he was still one of the most loyal knights of Neverwinter. He went there with a couple of greycloaks, yet no one survived. We only heard of his death weeks later and although it was a shock to me, I…" Nevalle stopped again, but Isabelle knew that this time he was struggling with his words.

"Your father trained you hard, didn't he?" Isabelle asked careful. "I remember him very well. He always was strict and followed the rules by the letter."

Nevalle nodded softly.

"I never really cried for him. Although he had tried to save your life, he never spoke friendly about you. Whenever I thought or talked about you, he became angry. I learned to keep my thoughts to myself and to be as strict as him. Perhaps that was not the way to solve things and maybe the truth was hidden more by it, but it made my life easier," the knight confessed.

"I can believe that, Nevalle and I never blamed you," Isabelle smiled softly and walked to Nevalle. She sat down next to him and grabbed his hand.

"I'm proud of you. You have became a knight, a soldier of Neverwinter. You are able to protect those you care about and you defend the weak and innocent ones. You are truly the man you wanted to be," Isabelle said, while she looked deep inside his brown eyes.

Nevalle smiled softly.

"And what of you, Isabelle? What have you become?" he asked. His hand went to her face and he touched it tenderly. Isabelle closed her eyes, enjoying every moment of his sweet touch. Something she had longed for every day of her life.

"I have become a warrior, a sorcerer," she smiled softly, "but for the moment, I think I'm just a mentor for Randar."

Nevalle smiled and his hand went away. The both looked at each other and both suddenly realised how close they sat towards each other. However, no one of them seemed to dislike this. She saw how his gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes. She slowly came closer to him and so did he. She closed her eyes when they almost touched each other and waited for his lips to touch hers.

Suddenly, someone knocked upon the door and immediately, Nevalle stood up. Isabelle cursed inarticulately and looked away from both Nevalle and the one who had knocked at the door.

"I hope I'm not disturbing," the man started. It seemed to be the captain of the ship. Isabelle's curiosity won from her pride and she stood up and walked to the door as well.

"There's a chance we might get into a storm in a couple of hours," the captain continued.

When he saw how pale Isabelle looked, he continued on a soothing tone:

"No worries, milady, this is one of the best ships of Neverwinter. We will be alright."

"Yeah right," Isabelle mumbled, while she took a seat on one of the chairs. "Well, at least I'm not stuck with the cargo this time."

They arrived in Highcliff safely. Though the storm had been rough, everyone had survived it. Isabelle her fear had only grown more, instead of weakened, but thanks to Nevalle, she had been able to face the storm more bravely than before.

In Highcliff they bought a couple of horses and travelled at crossroad keep. Arriving there, they saw that Randar and his companions had already arrived.

They were all waiting by the entrance of the keep and when Isabelle saw the look on Randar's face she knew how curious he was about this mission of Nevalle. The right hand of Nasher, however, had told her nothing about Crossroad Keep. Isabelle's guess was as good as Randar's.

Looking around, she noticed how many workers they were. For some reason the keep seemed to be rebuild. Isabelle wanted to ask Nevalle about it, but the knight dismounted his horse and walked towards Randar.

"It's seen better days… and will again," Nevalle started. He looked around and Isabelle saw how he had travelled back in time, when the keep had been one of the prides of the country.

"This keep was destroyed during the war with the King of Shadows. It was a dark time for Neverwinter, but we persevered, as you have this day," Nevalle continued, with just a hint of smile.

"Sir, why have you brought us back here?" Randar asked curious.

"I have brought you back here under orders, Randar. For Lord Nasher has a new task for you," the knight answered. His gaze shifted to Zhjaeve. "And perhaps our… guest can see what it is you'll be fighting for in the coming days."

Nevalle paused for a moment and pointed in the direction of the keep.

"These people you see around you, they are now yours to command as you see fit. You are their Captain in Neverwinter's service. Make this keep ready for war, gather troops to your banner, and be prepared to strike when this enemy reveals itself," Nevalle ordered, "To help you manage the keep, Lord Nasher had assigned you an officer, Kana. And Master Veedle has been contracted to help you rebuild the keep and the surrounding area."

Randar hadn't spoken a word and Isabelle could see how the young man was taking a back by the enormity of the task that Lord Nasher had given him. The keep was in a disastrous state. To rebuild it and to make it as strong as before seemed almost impossible.

"You are the master of this keep now- you have earned it through service and blood, and you have earned my trust," Nevalle stated, his tone more soft than normal, "and that of Lord Nasher. This is your land. Defend it, for the sake of your people, and the sake of Neverwinter."

Nevalle walked away from Randar and the others, back to his horse and Isabelle decided to follow him.

"This is a giant task, Nevalle. I'm not sure he can handle such a thing," Isabelle said, while she stared in disbelief at the castle.

"But Lord Nasher and I are sure, Isabelle and that's all that matters, is it not?" Nevalle answered, while he grabbed the wrings of his horse.

"We will travel back to Neverwinter and we let him be. In a couple of weeks, we will probably return and then you will be surprised of the progress your young friend has made," he continued.

Isabelle sighed, looked one last time at Randar and the others and walked towards her horse as well. She laid her head against that of the horse and closed her eyes for a while. So, she wouldn't be able to see Randar and the others for a while. Casavir, as well, would not be able to visit her. It was her alone against Neverwinter and his Lord.

"No, Casavir, Isabelle has to come with me," Isabelle heard Nevalle's voice and opened her eyes to see what the commotion was about.

Nevalle stood next to her horse and in front of the knight stood Casavir, with a worried expression upon his face.

"Randar needs her, sir Nevalle. She has been his mentor for quite a while now. Without her…," the paladin stated.

"Are you saying that Randar is not up to this task?" Nevalle interjected, surprised, "He is your leader, Casavir and it would be best for you to remember this. I have faith in him and so does Nasher."

The paladin struggled with his words and his gaze shifted towards Isabelle. His blue eyes met her brown ones and she suddenly felt very confused. His love for her was sincere and somewhere deep inside her, she wanted to respond that love. Nevalle seemed to notice this and his gaze darkened.

"If you need some time alone, please tell me. I don't mean to disturb anything," the knight stated harsh and with a sarcastic tone.

Isabelle blushed and stared to the ground. Casavir's gaze shifted to the knight and the paladin answered:

"You are a fool, Nevalle. This beautiful woman has travelled the world for you. Everything she had done in this life was for you. She did it all because she loved you. And now you treat her like this? Love is truly blind, because I for one would never love someone who treats me like a prisoner."

"I suggest you hold your tongue, Casavir," Nevalle replied, his hand upon his sword, "The council has not placed a verdict upon you, but such things can change."

"Is that a threat, milord?" Casavir asked, with a sarcastic tone. He as well, placed his hand upon his sword.

"Time to intervene!" Isabelle thought.

She walked to the two men and placed herself between them.

"Stop it you two! There's a war coming and we need everyone on the same side to win this."

Nevalle looked at her and in his gaze she saw his hatred and jealousy for the paladin.

"You speak wisely, Isabelle and that is the reason why you will come with me to Neverwinter. You are Lord Nasher's prisoner still and you are placed under my guard. If the paladin can't understand that, then he never was a true knight of Neverwinter," Nevalle answered.

Casavir wanted to say something but Isabelle was faster.

"I think he understand this, Nevalle. But he has seen the truth and as such knows that my imprisonment is not right. He fights for the innocent and as such he fights for me. Don't you do the same?" she asked.

"What do you mean? He didn't even know you," Nevalle answered surprised.

"I had seen her on the night of the execution and as such I know why she left Neverwinter," Casavir replied, "It was your father who wanted to kill her. He trapped her in an alley, but she was smarter and was able to escape. Your father got injured, but his men got killed. Not because of thugs, sir, but because of Isabelle who had to defend herself with her magic."

Nevalle went pale.

"You speak lies!" he whispered, but Isabelle could hear the doubt in his words. Casavir wasn't able to lie. He was a paladin and he had to speak the truth.

"I do not, sir Nevalle. Isabelle knows this as do others as well. Perhaps it is time for you to see the truth of Neverwinter instead of the lies of your father."

Nevalle looked at the half elf and he saw the truth in her eyes.

"It can not be," he mumbled, "My father…"

"I am sorry, Nevalle," Isabelle answered, "But Casavir is right. Your father tried to kill me that night and he is the reason why I had to leave Neverwinter."

She saw how his whole world came crashing down with this new knowledge and she wanted to comfort him. He, however, took a step back and hatred burned in his eyes:

"Why have you come back, Isabelle ConDoin? Not only have you lied to me, you have destroyed my beliefs, my faith. I will never forgive you this!"

The knight turned around and walked away from the half elf.

"Please, no..." Isabelle pleaded, with tears in her eyes, "I love you…."

But the words were lost together with the lies…