Prince of Thorns

On the Lichway, the rain falters and the other spirits disperse. Jorg and Makin fish some of the brothers out of the marsh. Jorg releases Father Gomst and takes him with them.

After hearing Jorg’s confession, Gomst proclaims him a “devil” and an “abomination.” When Gomst asks what Jorg wants with him, Jorg tells him that he needs a priest to give him his blessing.

Instead of continuing to the Horse Coast as planned, Jorg directs the brothers towards the Tall Castle, ostensibly to return Father Gomst. As they set off, Jorg is surprised to discover that he is still afraid of his father, whom they will soon see at the Tall Castle.

The party comes to the village of Norwood, which has just been burnt by Count Renar’s men. The bodies have all been taken elsewhere, and Makin notes that Renar burns prisoners together with the dead.

Jorg asks Gomst how he was captured, and Gomst says that he was in the village of Jessop. Jorg intuits that Gomst is hiding something and forces Gomst to admit that he was in Jessop on the orders of Jorg’s father, King Olidan, to see if Jorg’s corpse had washed ashore there.