[h3]The Duchy of Zerul, by a road in southwest[/h3]
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u79/SharpshooterJack/markerJaelnec_zps53b7aa37.png[/IMG]
Whether the horses stayed where they were or not did not really figure at the top of Jaelnec's list of priorities at that point, nor did retaining his own ability to immediately defend himself should these strangers decide to betray them after all for whatever reason. Freagon would have scolded him for leaving himself so vulnerable at a time where he had no reliable backup - unless one counted a giant, grumpy, wounded monster from foreign lands as backup - but in the end there was no way he was not going to help Aemoten. Let Domhnall assault him while his hands were occupied and the Sekalyn's weight hampered his mobility, if he wanted to; Freagon might have been able to turn a blind eye - or a missing one, in his case - to a companion in distress if it meant jeopardizing something of a greater scale, but Jaelnec could not - [I]would[/I] not - abstain from helping his friend.
Perhaps that was another way he would end up changing the Knighthood of the Will if he really was to attempt a restoration of the order? Though the purpose of the knighthood had always officially been to defend the people of their kingdoms and those of its allied nations, the Knights of the Will had always protected their allies by destroying whoever threatened them. Their order had always been very offensively oriented, and while the weapon of choice and techniques taught by Freagon were not universal to the knights they still embodied the general philosophy of the old knighthood: kill the enemy before it can kill anyone else.
That was probably also one of the reasons the knighthood had faced its slow extinction, as any failure by a Knight of the Will usually meant ultimate defeat and doom for those it was trying to protect. In the face of the more organized and sustainable national might of various militaries and guard corps to defend countries from mundane threats, and with similarly more organized and generally more reliable organizations like the deo'iel to take care of monsters and otherworldly hazards, the Knighthood of the Will - so inexorably stuck in its old ways - was fated to die out as it lost the support of the lands. The world had changed much over the past centuries - had gotten a lot bigger, with everyone joined together more closely - but they had not. Ironically, the knights of the old times would have been right at home in Rodoria as it was today, with the kingdom divided and everyone guarding their resources as to not leave themselves vulnerable when surrounded by enemies, and indeed Freagon had had more business over the past decade than he had for half his life... or so he had claimed. There had certainly been plenty of work, but Jaelnec had never seen a coin for any of it, since his master was more than happy to spend it all on himself.
They would have been right at home in this time, indeed... which made it all the more vital that they were not forgotten. This was the time for their resurrection, but if it were up to Jaelnec, they would return better than before, not the same; realize their mistakes and correct them, and learn to face the future instead of clinging to the past.
A momentous task, to be sure... which made helping a weakened man off a horse seem insignificant in comparison.

Once he had gotten Aemoten safely situated on the ground some distance from the horses - and with the animals between him and the large black-furred creature - he heard Domhnall express his hopes that their current condition at least entailed a nice story to be told. Did it, though? Even though Jaelnec had figured most of what had happened out by now through what he had been told and what he had seen, even he was not entirely sure he understood what had happened to them today. Thaler had received the Black Thorn, Aemoten had tried convincing her to give the relic up to another god, Rilon had found out and turned on them, they had fled, been attacked by crows and yths, the latter of which they killed, and ended up trading the relic for protection. Then a member of the Zerulic Ducal Guard had turned out to be a member of the Death Clan, had tried to kill them, and died in the process...
"Even if we could tell it well," he told the stranger with a wry smile, "I doubt that you'd believe us."

When Aemoten addressed him the last time before seemingly succumbing to exhaustion Jaelnec responded with a resolute nod, a stern determination upon his face that seemed to exaggerate the responsibility placed upon him quite a bit; as though the leader of their group had left him a quest to save the world to undertake alone, rather than a minor errand to get Thaler and Olan in here with the rest of them.
He stood once he was sure that the Sekalyn was not going to say anything else, turned to survey the area and then looked at Domhnall, hesitating. "Could you look after him for a moment?" he asked, inwardly hoping that Etakar would hear and understand this request as well, since the beast had much more reason to keep Aemoten safe than this unknown character. "I will only be gone for a moment; the others are not far."