Gareth, without a doubt, shook at Walden's rough touch, but he chuckled nevertheless. "Thank you, sir." Before he had even picked up his wine and taken a sip, Walden had already downed an entire cup. Harker, feeling the onset of inebriation, finished his own goblet, and inwardly remarked that he was done drinking for the night, otherwise he would end up blubbering drunk. He would need to gather his things from his home at some point, as well as notify the tax collector of his move and new employment. Gareth giggled again, becoming a little more bubbly and calmed. After all, he could let go of Karl and Thomas, and he hardly knew them for long, though he still reserved some respect for them, as he believed all men deserved.

"Nonsense! Tonight is a night for you to celebrate, sir!" Walden boomed, noticing Gareth's lack of initiative to pour another glass , pouring Gareth another glass, "Drink til you forget that you're now a very important squire!" Walden's laughing was only cut short by a long gulp from his cup, downing another entire drink in one go, and vigorously pouring himself another full cup. "Tomorrow, you'll have to be serious about your job like all the other sods around here, but tonight you ware young and free! Drink!" Walden said, lifting his cup, preparing to toast with Gareth.

As Jezin approached the now overly-drunk Payton, she took another long swig from her glass. Her head danced slightly, to a imagined spin, and she hiccuped slightly. When Jezin took his seat, Payton's glazed face was replaced by one of that of excitement, "Sir Jezin! You've decided to come back to me." She teased, slightly, "No worries, I know the duties of bodyguards are demanding, and oft leave those unlucky enough to not demand a bodyguard wanting for our own attention." She went on, her speech slightly slurred, but otherwise was doing a good job of keeping up with her words, and speech, "I'm a lot tougher than I let on, Sir Jezin. I might even be able to take you." She said, with a slight giggle as she precariously sipped once more from her glass.

Jezin laughed, taking another gulp from his goblet. Payton seemed to accept his apology for abandoning her, though if this acceptance was a product of her current state was impossible to determine. She seemed quite drunk by now, but she was managing to hold herself together somehow. Jezin smirked at Payton's boast, leaning forward in his chair. "Is that so? I'm quite intimidated." his voice dripped with sarcasm as he sipped his drink. It still was having little effect on him. "Had a bit too much to drink, have we?" The bodyguard looked slyly over the top of his goblet.

Sophia smiled as Walden insisted they celebrate Gareth's new position. She took a long drink from her glass before speaking up. "Yes, Gareth! We should celebrate!" In the back of her mind, she was still worried about everything that had happened. She welcomed anything to take her mind off of the despair. She reached her arm out, clacking her glass against Walden's with a grin. The alcohol was beginning to effect her. With her slight size, it was surprising she had drank as much as she had without feeling the effects of the wine. "To Gareth!" She said, her intoxication showing slightly.

"Ah, thank you..." Toasting with the others, Gareth tentatively drank a small portion of the beverage, as he wanted the drink to go down a little more before he consumed more of it. If he let it settle for a while, he could avoid becoming drunk. Goodness, he felt he was on the verge of becoming drunk, which didn't sit right with him. Wine had never inebriated him before, and although he had consumed it since the tender age of 16, almost a year or so now, Gareth never experienced intoxication. He'd rather avoid drinking to his limits, and instead opted to drink to a decent level that would keep him from acting a fool in public, before he ended up intoxicated like Walden and Sophia were already seeming to become. Harker, per afterthought, wondered if the job he was going to do was exactly as important as Walden made it out to be. Probably not, he thought. Tomorrow he would have many chores ahead of him.

Walden downed his glass, seemingly unaffected by the wine he had already drank. No doubt a man of his size could put away a lot of drink before becoming drunk. Walden took the liberty of taking Jezin's old sit, sitting down carefully, the sit slightly creaking as he sat down, causing the behemoth of a man to bear a sheepish grin, "So, how are you two enjoying the Palace? I hope the recent string of events haven't put a damper on your moods! Celebration is still to be had! And if I have any say about it, both of you will be going to be tonight with a belly full of wine, and a uplifting mood that makes you eager for the morrow!" Walden grinned, as he poured himself yet another glass of wine, "I'm jealous of your youth and inexperience. I remember back when I was best at cracking skulls and downing wine and going home drunk as a I possibly could be. Now I'm too old to crack skulls, and too old to and fat for the wine to make much a dent!" His laughter once again coming full force, and his hand banging on the table in his fit, causing the pitcher and glasses to shake.

"As you should be, good sir Jezin. I am often told that I am a force to be reckoned with, in more way than one." Payton replied, to Jezin's sarcasm with a drunkish grin. She sipped on her wine once more, and donned a particularly serious visage at Jezin's reasonable accusation. "I have not! I am a grown woman. Grown women don't get drunk!" She replied, obviously far too intoxicated to reply coherently to Jezin's tease. Under all the giggly and drunkenness, Payton was still thinking somewhat clearly, although it was severely hampered. She was doing well, for this must've been the most she had ever cut loose, "You're not as tough as you think you are, sir." She said, coyly, reaching out with her finger and poking Jezin on the end of his nose, giggling as she did the teasing act.

Jon Easten sat with a large group of people, who were noticeably more high born than himself, but he did a good job of keeping to himself, drinking slightly from a goblet of warm water that he had managed to acquire. Jon was still very much sore, and wounded, from his fight with the knight known as Jezin, but he didn't let it show at all. He looked across the guests sitting in the Great Hall, noticing Jezin off the bat, conversing with some girl or another. Jon seemed to be the only one who realized that a death had occurred earlier, and that things seemed bad enough for people to grim. But here sat all these people, carrying on with their own small parties and cliques, content to drink away all the worry. Jon scoffed to himself, as he took another drink from his goblet.

Jezin smirked. "I'm sure you're quite fearsome, milady." He took another sip of his drink, the same sarcastic smirk holding on his face. He looked around the room, being surprised to notice his opponent in the tournament sitting across the room. He hadn't seen the man since their fight earlier. He had half a mind to go and speak with the man, but was interrupted by a finger poking him in the nose. He looked across the table with a blank stare. Despite her arguments to the contrary, Payton seemed quite drunk, still, he had no intention of being rude to the woman. He'd play along, at least for the moment. "Is that so? How tough do you suppose I am, then?" Something about being so playful in such times made him uncomfortable. Blood had been spilled, after all.

Sophia laughed, taking another drink. She felt slightly dizzy. She placed the goblet on the table and spoke up. "The capitol has treated us rather well, all things considered..." The wine had calmed her nerves, but it was making it hard to think. Maybe that's why people drank so much, it made them forget. She frowned for a moment. She looked up at Sir Walden with a bright smile. "Sir Walden, thank you for being so kind. It means a lot." The princess struggled to pronounce her words correctly. She looked over, noticing that Gareth was trying to pace himself to avoid intoxication. Maybe she should have tried the same. Sophia shook her head when Walden spoke about hie envy of their youth. "You seem to still have quite a bit of vigor, Sir Walden! I wouldn't get envious just yet."

Harker, sitting between Sophia and Walden, found himself laughing at his new superior's comments. Yes, perhaps the sharp downturn, though fresh in the minds of all, was cushioned for the crowd by some merrymaking; while the knights of the Order were hastily carrying out orders and going about the night with a new tone of seriousness, the crowd of civilians simply tried to make the best of the night, even given their dark circumstances. Gareth simply nodded along with the large man next him. "I find the accommodations here quite nice..." He plucked a few raspberries from the table and consumed them. "Good food and good wine. But sir, you do have quite the strength on you." He agreed with Sophia; Walden had quite the arm, having made the table and Gareth shake with Walden's pure brawn.

Payton smirked at Jezin's first comment caused Payton to giggle, but Jezin's blank stare cause her to come back to her senses slightly, "As tough as a sponge cake." She replied, her playfulness coming back to her, "Lighten up, Jezin." Payton teased, with a small, playful, slightly flirty smile, "All you warriors are the same. All business all the time." She poked, once more, finding much fun in poking and teasing Jezin, "Jezin, fearsome bodyguard of the Lyokian people, stalwart defender of all things serious and dry!" She mocked, ending herself with a giggling fit. Once her fit was through, Payton took the wine pitcher, and filled her glass to the top, despite the fact her cup was not nearly empty yet.

Walden's uproarious expression was replaced with that of warmth at Sophia's thanks for his kindness, "You do not have to thank me, my lady. I am simply a man who doesn't wish to see such young people wallow in the problems of the old and cruel." He replied, as he took a deep drink from his goblet. Walden burst into laughter at Sophia's and Gareth's comments, "If you think I'm full of vigor now, you should of seen me 20 years ago!" He boomed, filled with thoughts of his younger days, "Slept 2 hours a night, woke up at dawn, and was bursting at the seams with energy until the wee hours of the morning." He explained, laughing as he did so, "You should of seen me in my prime. God, I was strong as ten ox. I used to spend my days guarding caravans from bandits to earn my keep. One day, these brave ol' bandits thought themselves brave enough to challenge our caravan. This one, no older than 25, came charging at me. Back then, I was neat pile of muscle! Using a great war hammer in one hand, and a short sword in the other. Well, this man came up to me, and swung his sword at my chest. Even back then, I was far to big for any armor, so I was wearing simply boiled leather as armor. Well, when he struck, I stood there like a mountain before him. I just dropped my weapons and picked the ol' lad up by the waist. I must've hurled that poor boy nearly 20 yards!" He laughed as he finished his story, having quite a time remembering his older glory days, "They called me Walden the Wild. I was just as soon to down a entire pitcher of wine, as I was to turn around and make a man into a walking pretzel!"

Jezin looked mildly exasperated for a moment. "Sponge cake, right..." He looked across the table at Payton, who continued playfully mocking him. He finished his drink and put on a smile. "Maybe you're right. How would you propose I go about 'lightening up', milady? I'm afraid most of my life has been all business." He leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Most. But not all." He winked, but left his goblet sitting on the table. He had drunk enough, at least for the moment. He glanced around the room. Despite the events of the day, most of the surrounding people seemed to be holding themselves together rather well. Perhaps Payton was right, perhaps he was taking things too seriously. No, after what he had seen earlier such a thing was impossible.

Sophia crossed her hands, listening to Sir Walden's story. It sounded like he used to be quite the warrior in his past, though the princess imagined he could still fight quite well if the situation called for it. The man's words of encouragement carried an almost sage-like wisdom. It was clear, despite his rough-and-tumble attitude, that he was also a smart man, at least in the ways of the world. The princess laughed as Sir Walden finished his story, imagining him literally twisting a man into a walking pretzel. She quietly wondered when they would be allowed to return to their rooms. She felt a bit of drowsiness creeping up on her, though she was uncertain if the terror she had faced earlier would return if she closed her eyes.

Payton smirked, playful, leaning in as if going in to whisper a dark secret to Jezin, but then placed a hand on the man's cheek, and kissed the man. It was no peck on the lips, and it was definitely a kiss of a drunken woman. After a couple of moments, Payton pulled back, smirking, satisfied as she did so, "Do they not know how to have parties and have fun in Lyok?" She asked, leaning forward, still with her playful smirk, "Or are women as rare as playful bodyguards?" She teased, once more, wrapping her fingers around her goblet, taking yet another sip from the beverage. It was delicious, but Payton knew that would be her last sip from the wine. She had drank far too much as it was, and had no more want to drink further.

Gareth patiently listened to Walden's story, a broad smile on his face directed at Walden. Even though he was a little rough and brash, Walden's speech belied the true strength he was probably still capable of, and Gareth knew it. He laughed at the story, when it was done, the idiomatic expressions being so farfetched and exaggerated. Absentmindedly, Harker tapped the table with his fingertips rhythmically as he wondered about the time. He was tired, and he felt like he could pass out at the table if he didn't focus on staying awake. The half-elf gauged himself and took another sip of wine, staying clear of intoxication. "Um..." He thought aloud. "Hm... what's to talk about..." Gareth didn't want the conversation to go dull, and he didn't want to fall asleep then and there.

Walden downed his entire drink as he finished his story, and went to pour himself another glass, taking in his companies dispositions, "It looks as if you two are ready to hit the beds." Walden said with a smile, standing up from his seat as he did, then went to rummaging around in his pockets, before producing a small silver key, and placing it in front of Gareth, "You are far too drunk to head home tonight, and since you're a squire, you'll be sleeping in some better lodgings!" Walden laughed "The key is too a room, not far from the Tower of the Thistle. It's not huge, but has everything you need, and more, including a big comfy bed!" He laughed, as he turned his attention to Sophia, "As for the Princess, I'll escort you to your lodgings, if your bodyguard is too preoccupied with his lady-friend." He said jabbing his thumb over his back towards Jezin, chuckling as he did.

Sophia nodded to Sir Walden, yawning slightly as she did so. "Yes, it's been a long night." She stood up from the table, her knees feeling somewhat wobbly. She glanced over to her bodyguard when Sir Walden mentioned his preoccupation, just in time to see the woman kiss Jezin across the table. She giggled. "Yes, Sir Walden, if you wouldn't mind that would be wonderful, it does seem he's a bit busy." She laughed. While Jezin's current activities were likely against some rule or other, he had been through a lot that night, even if he didn't show it. The princess resigned to leave him where he was and hopefully let him get his mind off of everything. After all, Sir Walden would likely be able to get her to the room just fine. She smiled at Gareth. "Good night, Gareth." The princess wobbled a few feet. "I'm ready when you are, Sir Walden."

Jezin froze for a moment when the woman kissed him, a bit shocked at the sudden act. He blinked a few times as she pulled back, before regaining his composure and returning to the same playful smirk. "I promise, if you'd ever been to a Lyoki celebration you wouldn't think that." The country may have been more well known for it's wealth and military might, but it's hospitality was not something to be overlooked. He chuckled. His mind told him that he should head back to the room. It was his duty as a bodyguard. The rest of him, however, disagreed with this notion entirely. It'd been too long since he'd felt the touch of a woman. He leaned forward in his seat. "I think you'd find Lyok to have just as many women as anywhere else... As far as 'playful' bodyguards go though, I think you're just lucky to have found one at such short notice." He spoke with a certain bravado, watching as the woman took her last sip of wine.

Payton smirked, going back on her promise of making her last sip the last of the night, by taking the goblet, and downing the rest of the drink in one gulp. Payton's heading was spinnning, and it was obviously she was more than just normally drunk. "Oh, so I'm the lucky one?" She mocked acted offended. It was impressive how well the girl could hold her wine without passing out, seeming tired, or getting sick. In fact, she felt fantastic, and knew she could drink more wine if she wanted, but she knew that would even be a worse idea. "It looks like your charge has found someone to help her, so you can keep having your own fun." She pointed out, pointing across the room to Sophia, and a massive fat man. She leaned a little forward, crossing her arms as she did. "Maybe you'll have to show me how to party like a Lyoki some day." She said, smirking with her same flirty smile she had patented by this point.

Jezin glanced back across the room, seeing Sophia leaving with Sir Walden. Again, his mind screamed for him to follow her, but the warning went unheeded. Sir Walden would escort her back to her quarters, and all would be fine. He had a hard time making himself believe the idea, but a mixture of alcohol and lust had brought down better men than himself. He turned back to Payton. "It seems so." He put on a smirk, but it seemed less genuine as his sense of honor and duty rebelled quietly within him. Against his better judgement, he poured another half glass of wine. Sipping on the drink, he leaned forward. "Hmm, maybe I will, my lady." The bodyguard's eyes glimmered slightly in the torch light as he brushed his hair from his face.

Payton stood up from her sit, swaying slightly as she did so. "Well, good sir Jezin, why don't you show me right now?" She poked, once again nearly tripping over her own feet trying to keep herself upright. "I don't imagine it would suit a lady such as myself to stay here with such a large group, while so intoxicated." Payton smirked at her own comment, trying not to trip and fall while she stood. Any common sense that once was with the young lady was no gone, and replaced instead with a strong desire to keep having fun. She privately wondered what Kol was up to, but that though was soon pushed out of her head when she saw that most other people in the Great Hall had been allowed to leave to their own quarters. "Looks like most people have taken themselves to their beds." She pointed out, which was already painfully obvious to anyone with a set of eyes.