Frigid-Cloud Province was located in the northernmost reaches of the Emperor's Realm. There a solemn mountain range rose out of the ground and dominated the horizon for many hundreds of miles, and to those who were bound for it it promised to make their lives difficult in some as of yet unknown manner. As he and his company of men traveled further into these mountains, they felt the air get thinner and colder with every mile, and the sky was soon filled up with mist as though they had wandered into a vast shelf of clouds. Now this province had been established in recent times, and few people lived there, but almost all of them were there either to escape the crowded regions of the south or to stake their fortunes on the mountains, for they were rumored to contain gold and other esteemed metals in great quantities. But the semi-wilderness of this land also made it the home of bandits and criminal gangs of all sorts. Armed to the teeth, these harassed his entourage night and day but were no match for the ardent warriors who served him. Iron-Hill stood out as an extremely cultivated warrior, skilled with both a sword and a bow. Guarding Fair-Gale's person, he could catch arrows mid-flight and fight off more than five men at a time.
The journey to the provincial capital took almost three weeks, and due to the chilly air and lack of sunlight, Fair-Gale passed those weeks quite forlornly. When he and his entourage reached the capital, he took up residence in the mansion of the previous Lord. Since the previous Lord had just disappeared into the wilderness, he left behind his entire household staff, and the pantries and cellars were still well-stocked. However, the mansion only had six or seven halls and two courtyards, and they were of relatively simple construction, while the chambers and corridors were lacking in any ostentatious decorations, draperies, works of fine art and so on. It hardly looked like it had been purchased with stolen funds. He arranged for lodges to be constructed on the palace grounds to house Iron-Hill and his men, while the two companies of Hunter and Redwood were to take over the local barracks which were abandoned. The barracks were large enough to accommodate almost two thousand men, but shortly after entering the city, a fire suddenly broke out which destroyed half of it. Hunter reported this to Fair-Gale, then said: "I wanted to build a new barracks anyway. The one that partially burned down was so far from the Lord's Palace that I was afraid for Your Lordship's safety. Why not build a new one in that field across the street. Currently it is only being used as a sporting ground." Fair-Gale sighed, but could only agree.
The search for the fugitive began immediately. It was several weeks before the men finally discovered a small patch of cultivated land half adumbrated by an overhanging cliff. A small complex of houses was next to it. They were made of nothing but unbarked timber frames with bases of pebbles and roofs of thatch. A thin trail of smoke was rising out of the main house, and a tiny well stood in its shadow. The house was surrounded by a grass fence. The men reported all of this to Fair-Gale, who then said: "This is the hideout of the fugitive. Stay here, I will arrest him myself." His commanders surrounded the homestead while he went to the front gate and called for the master of the house to show himself.
A voice came from inside: "You must be the new Lord, sent out here to arrest me, are you not?" Fair-Gale replied: "Yes, I am." Again from inside: "What is your surname?" And Fair-Gale: "I have no surname, for I am of the Imperial House." "Oh, what a travesty! An Imperial relative dispatched to the very edge of the Earth. What a sad era we live in, when even the flesh and blood of the Emperor is not safe from such abuse. Before you arrest me, why don't you come inside for a talk, although I won't pretend to be worthy of receiving you in such a shabby home as this." Hand on his sword, Fair-Gale entered the house and had a seat at the table with the former Lord.
Smiling, Fair-Gale asked him: "Former Lord, what on earth has driven you and your family out here in the wild mountains where you live beyond the grace of His Majesty's Law?" The former Lord replied: "If that Law had any grace for me, I would not be here. Rather than rot away in a prison cell while my family suffers in poverty, I decided to submit directly to the Law of Heaven by moving out here and living at the mercy of the elements." And Fair-Gale: "But the Emperor's Law is infallible as the Law of Heaven. If you come with me back to the Capital, I will throw my weight behind you and your innocence can be proven. Then you will receive a pardon from His Majesty. Wouldn't that be better than struggling for your life out here in the wild?" "Your Excellency, who is it that issues pardons these days? Is it His Majesty, or the Grand Magistrate? And besides, you may be an Imperial Prince, but if someone managed to banish you this far from the Capital, that only goes to show how little weight you have. If I go back to the Capital, I can never hope for a pardon, I can only expect to be thrown in jail, to have my property carted off and split among the wolves like the spoils of war won from a vanquished state." Fair-Gale thought at length upon the former Lord's words, and at last he understood everything. After that they talked about many other things and became close friends. Rather than arresting him, Fair-Gale became a guest at his house. He sent a message back to the men that he would be spending the night there, and that they should set up camp.
He found out that the former Lord's household also included his wife and his only daughter, who was about the same age as him. That night when he was about to go to sleep in the guest room, he heard the sound of a young woman sobbing quietly, and no matter what he could not fall asleep, for his heart was moved to pity. A little after the third watch, he stole away from his chamber and went to the outside of the room where the sobbing was coming from. He said softly: "Young lady, why are you crying in the middle of the night like this?" The crying stopped and the door to the lady's room opened ajar, causing the lamplight from inside to spill onto the patio and into an area just beyond the house which appeared to be a little garden whose perimeter was traced by stones of irregular sizes. She said: "What reason have I not to sob, whether it is day or night? Just look! The camellias in the garden remind me of everything I have lost. Of all the elegant and beautiful flowers I brought with me from the Capital where I was born and raised, only the camellias can survive in this barren wasteland!" At last Fair-Gale got a good look at her face and the waterfall of midnight hair spilling over it, and saw that she was extremely good looking. He said: "Why does the sight of the camellias make you so sad? Is it not a testament to their spirited beauty that Heaven allows them to bloom even in a despairing country like this one?" She said: "I never thought about it that way." And he: "Really, do you know how distressing it is to hear of a girl saddened by a flower so lovely?" "The flower itself does not sadden me--to the contrary, I adore camellias. But seeing them here all alone in a garden they once shared with peonies and chrysanthemums only reminds me of how lonely I am, and I can't help but sigh." "I know exactly what you mean. True elegance lies in the harmony of what is various, like the zither and the flute." Fair-Gale's words soothed her heart, even if just a little, and the two of them stayed up till dawn chatting. The next day, Fair-Gale took leave of the former Lord's homestead, promising to petition the Emperor to pardon him.
When he returned, he told Iron-Hill, Hunter and Redwood about his plan to send a letter asking the Emperor to pardon the former Lord, and that no one was to arrest him until he heard a reply. Hunter was enraged, he said: "If you do not arrest the fugitive now, he will run away and you will never see him again. What if His Majesty says no? Then it will be reported that a fugitive escaped on your watch, and you will likely be executed." Fair-Gale saw some sense in what he said, so he went back to the homestead and asked the former Lord if he and his family would move into the Lord's Palace temporarily. He agreed, but though he didn't say so, his outlook was very gloomy, for he was not confident that Fair-Gale could secure a pardon like he claimed. Knowing how sad the young lady would be to part from the camellias that were so dear to her, Fair-Gale ordered a team of men to move the flowers into pots and take them along. They all went back to the provincial capital, and the former Lord and his family were given a suite in the palace. The flowers were replanted in a small green area just outside the young lady's room.
The next day he drafted the letter. He included his own report on the modest state of the Lord's Palace, the testimonies of the household staff, and even got a few local men of influence to put in good words for the former Lord. When the letter was done he fixed his seal to it. Since he already suspected that Hunter or Red-Wood would try to intercept the envoy, he wanted Iron-Hill to personally deliver it. But Iron-Hill's absence from the provincial capital would put him at considerable risk of assassination, so Fair-Gale told him to put on the clothes of an ordinary soldier and lead the envoy, while one of his distinguished retainers would wear his clothes and remain in the capital. Iron-Hill agreed to this plan, changed clothes, and picked five of his best fighters to accompany him. They set out. Just a couple miles outside the city, they were ambushed by what must have been a couple dozen men planted there by Hunter. The fighting on the thin, pebbly mountain pass was intense and its clamor echoed off the precipices for more than half an hour. Hunter's men, seeing that their opponents were dressed as common soldiers, expected to make quick work of them, but were caught off guard by their advanced martial cultivation. Iron-Hill and his men killed more than half of them before the rest fled in the direction of the capital, then they resumed their journey. It was dark at the time of the encounter, so Iron-Hill's identity had not been exposed, and since Fair-Gale kept the man disguised as Iron-Hill by his side at all times, no attempts were made on his life.
A couple weeks later, the envoy made it to the Capital. The ordinary procedure was to submit all incoming letters to the Imperial Household Office, but since that office was packed by members of clans aligned with the Empress, Iron-Hill knew the letter would not go through. Fortunately, there was a certain woman in the palace called Wisteria, the older sister of Fair-Gale by the same mother, whom he had gotten to know closely over his years of friendship with her brother. Since they were practically sweethearts, he used to come and go in her wing of the palace as he pleased, so he went to the side gate and asked the guards to let him in. The guards did not recognize him in his disguise, and they refused, but a maid who was passing by recognized him, so she went and got the lady's permission, and he was admitted. She met him in the garden, but when he intimated to her that his visit involved her brother, they took the conversation somewhere more private. He gave her the letter and asked her to deliver it to the Emperor by any means necessary, then took his leave with haste and departed the Capital. The next day, Wisteria managed to get the letter into the stack of documents the Emperor was to go through, but her deeds were brought to the attention of the Empress. She could not very well steal the letter right in front of the Emperor, so she acted quickly to notify the Grand Magistrate, who then ordered the Board of Punishments to issue a writ of execution for the former Lord and dispatch it to Fair-Gale. The fastest horses in the Realm were mobilized to expedite the delivery. By the time the Emperor got to the letter, it had already been three or four hours since the writ went out. Reading the letter, he smiled, then said: "Hear my edict: The former Lord of Frigid-Cloud Province is guilty of no crime and is hereby released from his obligation to appear in court. His rank and title restored, he is ordered to return to the Capital to receive a new enfeoffment." The edict was written down and the Emperor fixed his seal to it. An envoy was then dispatched to deliver it to Fair-Gale.
When the writ of execution made it to the desk of Fair-Gale, his heart sank. Because it stressed that the execution was to be carried out immediately, he had no choice but to make preparations. But Iron-Hill, putting all his faith in Wisteria, whispered to Fair-Gale that the writ was likely inauthentic and they came up with a plan to stall the execution until the true edict arrived. Hunter and Redwood, however, wanted to carry it out right away, they took it upon themselves to have a gallows set up in the street and asked Fair-Gale to hand over the former Lord. At that time the sobs of his wife and daughter were piercing the thin walls of the palace, so Fair-Gale told Hunter: "They are about to see him off to the other world. Grant them some time to say their farewells." Hunter acquiesced, but after a couple hours he asked to proceed with the execution. Fair-Gale said: "The former Lord is anxious about the fate of his soul, so I have called in a priest from a local temple to converse with him on spiritual matters before he takes his final breath. Wait a couple more hours." The priest came in at that moment, and Hunter had to agree. It was getting close to dusk when the priest left, but the true edict had still yet to arrive. Fair-Gale told Hunter: "In this Realm it is customary that a man, when on the threshold of death, compose a death poem in order to entrust his final sighs to the care of the eternal winds. Since the former Lord has still not done so, we need to give him a few more hours. I have already sent ink, a brush and writing paper into his room." A couple hours later when Hunter again asked for the former Lord, Fair-Gale said: "The former Lord's mind is clouded so much by the pain of parting from his family and the anxiety as to the fate of his soul that he has yet to seize a moment of inspiration to write his poem." Before he could say more, Hunter shouted: "If we wait any longer, it will appear we are going against His Majesty's wishes, and then we shall be the ones hanging!" And Fair-Gale: "I am aware of that. Give him till dawn. At dawn, we will execute him whether he has finished his poem or not." And they retired for the night.
That night, well past the third watch, Iron-Hill sent a few men under the cover of the darkness and the region's impenetrable mists to sabotage the ropes by thinning them at the top so that they would snap with the introduction of any significant weight. The next morning, before dawn had broken, the former Lord was led from his chamber in a somber mood, his finished poem in hand, which he gave to Fair-Gale before surrendering his arms to the shackles that were to take him to the gallows. Fair-Gale read the poem out loud:
"They say no first there was to death
Nor last there'll ever be
The blood of good and evil waters
The same eternal tree
This verse alone proves his innocence." And he sighed.
At the place of execution, a few companies of soldiers had already been assembled by Hunter and Redwood to witness the proceedings. Standing beside the two commanders was another man, dressed in gaudy court attire. Fair-Gale arrived with Iron-Hill and all sixty of his men. When he saw the newcomer, he said: "Who is this?" Hunter answered: "This is an Imperial Censor assigned to the northern circuit, who just happened to be passing through our province in order to inspect the local officials and make sure no crimes or insubordination are taking place." And Fair-Gale: "Very well. Let him watch." And he went to the platform where the former Lord was silently praying. Fair-Gale said to him: "Sir, I am truly sorry. I believed that word of your acquittal would arrive at any moment, so I did everything I could, but I'm afraid I have come to the end of my rope." The former Lord said: "My Lord, your efforts to save my life have won my admiration, but it rather looks like I am the one who will be at the end of a rope soon. I only ask that you look after my family. After I am gone, all our property will be confiscated--not that we have that much, but they will at least need a place to stay and something to eat. And my daughter especially is in need of someone to take care of her. Well, if she has caught your fancy, a dead man can't put in a word of objection." Hearing these words, Fair-Gale stepped down from the platform with moist eyes. When the trapdoor opened, sure enough, the rope snapped immediately. A new rope was brought out and the former Lord was taken back to the platform, but that rope snapped too. Thus a full five ropes were set up and snapped in succession. But the countenances of the commanders and the censor were not disturbed. Fair-Gale was about to call the execution off, when suddenly Redwood stepped forward with a metal chain in his hand, he said: "You can never trust an old rope. But this one won't snap, for it is made of steel." The steel rope was set in place and the former Lord taken back to the platform. But before the trapdoor opened, Fair-Gale stood up and declared that the execution was canceled. He said: "The rope snapped five times. That is a sign Heaven wants him to live. Sir Censor, you have witnessed this, make note of it and inform the court of our decision." And Hunter, brows knit, said: "My Lord, you cannot do this." And he: "Why not? I am the Lord of Frigid-Cloud Province. The ancient Law states that all Lords of all five ranks wield absolute power over their domains barring only the Emperor. Is any one of you an Emperor? No? Then you shall do as I say." Hunter said: "But the writ of execution was issued by an office invested with the authority of His Majesty, it is the same as if His Majesty himself issued it." Next the Censor spoke, he said: "Be careful, Your Lordship. If you are found to act in contradiction to His Majesty's government, there will be a bounty placed on your head, along with all of your retainers!" Then Fair-Gale flourished his sword and said: "If His Majesty has any qualms with my conduct, I will answer for them myself, but I don't care about the estimation of the government. You may place as many bounties on my head as you wish, but in the eye of Heaven my pure soul will shine forevermore, and my name shall go down untarnished in history." He ordered Iron-Hill to secure the former Lord and his family.
The Censor said to Hunter and Redwood: "This is rebellion! If you are still loyal to the government, you will renounce him as lord and arrest him." Hunter replied: "I have looked forward to doing so for months." And he ordered the troops to attack. For the rest of the morning the fighting boiled and the dreary streets could hardly contain it, strewn as they soon were with corpses and painted with blood. It quickly became apparent that with only sixty men Fair-Gale and Iron-Hill would not be able to hold the city, so they gathered what little of their belongings they could carry and withdrew. Before withdrawing, Fair-Gale had a mind to fetch a few of the camellias from the palace in hopes of brightening the young lady's spirits, but since everyone was fighting tooth and nail he could not find anyone willing to go on this mission, so he himself went back to the palace, which in the confusion had been set on fire along with half of the town, and personally saved a few of the flowers. By the time they made it onto the highway, heading south, they only had around forty men left. That was when they ran into an Imperial envoy heading north and, as expected, carrying the edict of acquittal. Fair-Gale shook his head, he said: "For God's sake, you couldn't have gotten here a couple hours earlier? Now that we have already broken with the government, it is too late for you." He took the edict and stowed it in his breast pocket, then forced the envoy to follow him. After going south for almost a hundred miles, they took the westerly highway which when followed to the end--almost six hundred miles in total--sets one at the entrance to the high grasslands that unfold over the northwestern corner of the Realm.