Under the cover of the night, a small group of people move stealthly in the shadows.
These people were Van Vernau, his family and his handful of retainers he trusted without reservation.
Their number is less than twenty. For a man of his status, it was almost laughable.
However, this is the best Van could do.
Too many people, and their movement would attract the eyes of guards, informants, or worse, Ryntum's advance scouts.
Someone like him was undoubtedly a key figure for close observation.
Too few, and he would arrive in a foreign land stripped of influence, reduced to a beggar with a famous name, and unable to establish himself.
This number was the balance between survival and dignity.
Although the Cerdeauxia extends its invitation, generous, polite, and carefully worded, Van trusted none of it.
To place his fate entirely in another nation's hands, even one hostile to Ryntum, would make him no different from a captive dressed in courtesy.
