[IC] When the Flames Die

[Epsir]

As Thomas was brought up before the court, Wallace stirred in his chair, bringing a few papers closer to him on the desk before standing to address the man before him. The other members of the court mostly chattered off to the side, he'd used the few moments between Thomas being called and arriving to talk things over and put his plan to them. Few were prepared, and he suspected little resistance especially while he was regent. Assassination attempts were one thing but Cole bringing up misconduct charges was another. "Following the absence of the prosecuting party, Sir Redwyne Cole, in this chamber before the royal court of Keilaudrin, charges against Sir Thomas Morgan, Knight of the Order of the Thistle, of misconduct in the line of duty and conspiracy against the crown and royal family of Keilaudrin will be dropped." A silence cut across the room, killing conversation at the tables and setting the guards at the exits fidgeting. A few members of the court seemed mildly disconcerted with the bold move, and the worry on their faces grew as Wallace continued. "Instead, this trial will be conducted as an open investigation following an attempt on our king's life by members of a foreign military. Sir Thomas, your pardon, and then, if you would, your account of last night." He motioned broadly to one of the guards at the end of the table, who produced from under a cloth a garishly decorated writ of pardon and the sword Harmony in its scabbard. Canti sat down as the soldier marched forward, unfastening Thomas' manacles and presenting his 'gift' from the court on one knee.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin sat behind Sophia for a while, listening to her song, when she suddenly stopped. After a brief silence, the girl spoke. "Jezin, we aren't going home, are we?" The bodyguard frowned, scratching his chin. "No, milady, not for a while at least." The princess remained silent for a few more moments, staring out into the ocean, before speaking again. "But you do think we will go home, eventually." Jezin looked a bit surprised at the princess' certain dark state of mind. "Yes, of course Princess. I will see to it that you return to Lyok safe and sound." Sophia sat quietly for a few more seconds, kicking her feet absentmindedly at the edge of the cliff. "We should probably go back." She stood, and the bodyguard nodded in agreement.

The pair returned to the great hall, as they entered, Jezin noticed a bit of commotion. He was unsure of it's cause until he saw a shackled Thomas at the end of the hall. So they were continuing with the trial. He felt a lurch in his stomach when all charges were dropped without investigation. He looked a bit dumbfounded, his arms hanging by his sides. Redwyne had been the prosecutor, without him there, Thomas was free to go. Suddenly the bodyguard's eyes widened. Could Thomas have been involved? It didn't seem possible, he'd been in a cell the entire time from the looks of things, but still. It seemed a bit too convenient... The Lyoki duo stood in the back of the room, with Jezin almost falling into a leaning position. His eyes shifted between Wallace and Thomas, waiting on the man's account of the night before.

[Sightles]

Thomas frowned slightly as Wallace's mention of the absence of Sir Redwyne. Thomas was able to quickly make the connection that Redwyne was likely dead, at this point, otherwise the charges wouldn't of been dropped. Thomas rubbed his wrists gently, before taking Harmony with one hand, and letting it hang to his side, "I arrived at the midnight feast with Jezin Tremora, Sophia Octavia, and Gareth Harker, after spending time at the party, I was approached by one Lexine Tristan. After a little bit of conversation, I determined she was likely hiding something. I was able to conduct a quick search for weapons in a guise of a dance. She was in fact armed at our King's midnight feast. I did the responsible thing and convinced her to come with me to the interrogation room, under the pretense that we would enter unarmed and simply converse about her being in Mullen, " Thomas started, standing attentively, his only working eye locked onto Wallace Canti, "After some talking, she revealed to me she was a killer sent to kill someone else, and wouldn't give me the name of her employers or target. I expressed concern and mentioned I would have to detain her. She began to reach for something in her boot in a very quick fashion. Determining that she had not honored our agreement to stay unarmed, I tackled her, and we began our scuffle. I was quick enough, and lucky enough, that I prevented her drawing her weapon the entire debacle. Simply restraining her soon proved very difficult, as it soon became obvious that she was a skilled fighter. It eventually came to the point where we were standing on opposite side's of the room, with me being the closest to the door. I charged her in order to attempt one last try at restraining her, which prompted her to take my eye from me by grabbing a burning cloth off a nearby torch, and shoving it into my face. In my quick retaliation, and I rashly grabbed her head and tried to slam it against the wall, hoping the blow would knock her out. I was wrong, as I grossly underestimated my strength, and the hardness of the wall. In that moment of my face being burned, I killed Lexine Tristan in retaliation. Jezin Tremora then knocked on the door, to which I opened and attempted to explain the situation. Jezin impromptu arrested me to take me before Sir Redwyne, who immediately placed me under investigation, and threw me into a cell. Hardly a treatment fair to a knight who has served nearly 10 faithful years to the Urien line, and any man who lives here in the Palace can attest to my honor, faithfulness, and reliability in service to my King." Thomas finished, his voice level through the entire retelling, and through his complaint. He looked at Wallace, expectedly, as he awaited in questions that there might be.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth took his head up from the table and stared straight at the front of the room; he covered his mouth with his hand as he watched Thomas give testimony through dampened sea-colored eyes. Part of the testimony Thomas contained what sounded like folly and contrived details. A grown man of Thomas' stature couldn't simply think that slamming someone's head against a wall with full force would just knock a person out, no, for something of that animalistic instinct to fight couldn't be that harmless. Furthermore, in Gareth's focus of that particular detail, he wouldn't think someone could die from one hit to the wall. There had to be more damage done. Harker shuddered in his chair. In the midst of his sorrow, Thomas took the path of arrogance. If the man sought her interrogation while he was off-duty, Gareth believed Sir Morgan should've talked to Sir Redwyne about it, but it seemed Thomas was too trustworthy of Lexine and too cocky to follow what was standard practice among every respectable knighthood. Even someone without any kind of expertise could deduce that. But Gareth knew he had to restrain himself and hold back his tears. If the teary-eyed boy shouted anything about what he surmised to be true, then he would be getting out of line.

[Epsir]

Wallace listened to the man's story with an idle look, occasionally looking aside to his papers and trying to piece things together. He had known about Lexine's death, but the actual details were more disconcerting. Then Thomas mentioned that she'd gone for a weapon in her boot, and a faint smile crossed his face. Not disconcerting, promising. Silence fell as Thomas finished his recounting, and Wallace was content to sit in it for a few moments as he mulled over the information he now held. What a coincidence, that Harker was among the list of names Thomas remembered meeting, why, he'd met one himself just after the festivities came to an end. Wallace stood up once more, done thinking. "Sir Jezin Tremora, before the court if you would." He saw the Lyoki delegation entering the hall, and deeply hoped he was correct in identifying the bodyguard. Things needed to get moving quickly. He reached along the table, taking up a handful of papers and a certain controversial billfold in one hand and sliding them over to his spot. "And you, Sir Thomas. Tell me about Tristan. She was carrying some peculiar information on her, what did you learn from your search of the body?"

[Sightles]

Thomas saw as Wallace produced the very same billfold he had found on Lexine, "After accidentally killing Lexine Tristan, due to my rash and fatal action, I searched her body, stripping her to her undergarments in order to find what all she hid, I found three knives, and a billfold containing the names of 5 people. After being arrested by Jezin Tremora, I handed the billfold over to him, to which he promptly handed it over to Sir Redwyne Cole, who, upon inspection, revealed to us that my suspicion had been correct, as these people were captains of companies in the Royal Arcarti Scouts, and revealed that I had most likely stopped some kind of plot against the crown of King Bard II." Thomas explained, still standing at rigid attention as he spoke to Wallace. Thomas tone then went from serious and level, to slightly more personal, "Sir Redwyne Cole taught me for the 10 years he was my Commander on how to spot an enemy of the state, and how to deal with them. I regret my action of killing Lexine Tristan, and wish that I had been able to restrain her so we might of gained information, but I defend my action on the basis that no one thinks entirely clearly during a fight, especially when one person is armed, and the other is not. I did not have my armor, nor Harmony, which turned me more violent, so as that I might preserve my own life. Due to my violent and rash actions, I was able to remained unharmed through the entirety of the fight, and managed to land several disabling blows, that she expertly managed to recover from, which then prompted my overzealous attempt at rendering her unconscious, which proved a bad course of action in more way than one." Thomas added, his tone stiffening back to it's normal level tone near the end of his explanation.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin's eyes flashed to Wallace Canti as he called his name. It seemed he would be appearing before the court after all. He nodded to Sophia and took a step forward. He walked down the aisle to the front of the Great Hall, his eyes staying locked on Wallace. He already felt the entire procession was descending into a farce, but if he was asked to speak, he would speak, whatever difference it might make. He came to a stop beside Thomas, who he didn't even glance at as he stopped, looking up towards Wallace with a blank stare. He gave a quick bow and nodded towards Canti, his face remaining blank. "Jezin Tremora, Sir."

[Epsir]

Wallace nodded along as Thomas spoke, shooting glances back and forth between the speaker and the court secretary rapidly scrawling ink over record parchment at the end of the table. He knew, more than most, that the record contained some degree of fiction, but there were only so many accounts to be had when only one living man had been there. Regardless, he felt there wasn't much more to ask the man, not when he had all the answers on the table before him. Five Arcarti officers, Schelt, Hill, Bruner, Trinan, and Piper. Strange, that all of their stubs were being carried by one person, but no one was asking questions but him, yet. "Thank you Sir Thomas. Your account will be essential in determining the nature of this attack... and conducting our retaliation. Be at ease but remain before the court," Wallace said, and looked away from Thomas over to Jezin, who had made himself present as asked. "The last order of business for today. Your account of the night's events, Sir Jezin. What did you see inside that chamber?" It had to be asked, for what credibility they had left. It would have been so much easier if a knight of the realm had made the arrest, but, as Wallace thought, he had done the things foreigners were apt to do. Hopefully, the differences in their accounts would be superficial enough to overlook.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin looked up towards Wallace, remaining silent for a moment. He had the creeping suspicion that nothing he said would have even the slightest effect on how things turned out, but the fact that he was in front of a room full of people might make an impact. His arms hung by his sides as he began to speak. "When I arrived at the door of the interrogation chamber I noticed a number of weapons outside the door. I recognized Thomas' sword and requested that he open the door, as I was trying to get Princess Sophia to safety as quickly as I possibly could. After a moment, he opened the door, and I was surprised to see him injured. I saw signs of a struggle, and Lexine Tristan's corpse lying across the room. It appeared she had been dashed to death against the far wall. In my opinion, the situation seemed off. Having seen Thomas fight earlier that day, I found it surprising that he would be unable to subdue a woman of Miss Tristan's size. In addition, if she was as skilled as Thomas implies, I seriously doubt she would've been unable to draw a weapon. None of the three knives that I saw showed any signs of use, and Thomas bore no wounds other than the burn on his eye. I question if Sir Morgan's motives were nearly as clear-cut as he claims. In addition... I find it a bit suspicious that his only prosecutor was found dead shortly before his trial." Jezin's voice remained flat and noninflected for most of his recount, but the last statement seemed to carry a bit of emphasis. "Regardless, as his charges have been dropped, I will refrain from any more conjecture. I am a foreigner in this country, and it is not my place to pass judgement." He kept his eyes locked on Wallace throughout the entirety of the tale, not breaking to glance at the knight by his side for the entirety of his recounting.

Sophia quietly made her way across the room, taking a seat by Gareth and watching the remainder of the situation play out before them. She glanced towards her friend, noticing he seemed to be holding something back. She remained relatively straight-faced, despite the images from the night before playing out in her memory. She softly nudged the boy at her side, her eyes remaining locked on the procession. "So, do you believe him?" It was clear she was talking about Thomas' story. Frankly, she didn't know who to believe. For all she knew the man was telling the truth and Jezin was just too prideful to accept that. Still, with Redwyne dying she couldn't help but wonder. Fear lurked in the back of her mind, even now. She once again heard the mention of Arcarti Scouts. She knew about Arcartus. They had traded with Lyok for some time, but her mother and other higher-ups in Lyok had some distrust for the foreign empire.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth listened intently as the conversation continued, his crying having stopped but his grief still raging on. He remained skeptical of Thomas's retelling of events, but impartial nevertheless. By this point, he was unsure of how he felt about Thomas—whether he felt a fleeting infatuation or a burning disapproval—, for the knight in question behaved so rashly and conceited that it threw Gareth. Jezin, being a secondary witness, painted a picture different from the one Thomas envisioned; from the Lyoki bodyguard's deductions, Harker drew his conclusions: That Thomas, though engaged in a physical struggle with the woman named Lexine, overpowered his opponent and left her in cold blood. The half-elf didn't want to own up to the idea that Thomas committed murder, for at least to some degree self-defense appealed as an explanation, but he could not excuse the killing of someone who could've provided vital information related to likely not only one, but also two deaths, and the premeditated assassinations that Gareth believed would follow. A gentle touch behind him alerted him to another's presence, and he perked up and listened to the disembodied, silvery voice he heard. Sophia. Harker delivered a simple response, succinct enough to convey his inner conflict. "Partly."

[Sightles]

Thomas cleared his throat, once Jezin had finished making his wide-sweeping guesses, and accusations, "I would like you to remember my service to the King, Acting Regent Wallace. I have served the crown for 10 years, and while Jezin Tremora's accusations might make some sense to standard person, I must ask the council why I would lie, after serving the crown for so long. I have already admitted I made a terrible mistake, and a rash desicison, but Jezin's accusations are based on his own thoughts and opinions, rather than actual factual evidence. I have done nothing but present evidence, and recount my telling of my side, and it is challenged for unfounded reasons." Thomas started, still staring straight ahead at Wallace, "A challenge of my honor as a knight and servant of my King Bard II is a great affront, and I protest that if Jezin should continue with these unbased accusations, I would like to prove my honor in a duel to the death." Thomas added, keeping his one eye on Wallace, "The implication that I might of had something to do with Sir Redwyne's death also greatly offends me. I wish to prove my honor on the field, unless Jezin Tremora would be so nice as to withdraw his heavy-handed statements."

[Epsir]

"Gentlemen, this is a court," Wallace's voice rose to an unnecessary boom over the relatively quiet great hall. "Sir Tremora, you will not only refrain from further conjecture you will refrain from presenting conjecture itself before the court. Sir Redwyne's death is not yet the subject of this investigation, and I understand it that particular situation is still being dealt with. Sir Thomas was detained during the time of his death, regardless." His agitation slowly subsided as he turned ever slightly to stare at Thomas. "And you, Sir Thomas, will refrain from placing yourself in harm's way as you are a crucial witness of the realm, of crimes committed by Arcartus. With respect to your reputation as a knight, I ask of you to consider the safety of our country before your personal honor." He sat back down, returning to the papers on the table for a moment as he formulated his closing statement. The five cards on the table caught his eye one last time, and he held one up as he leaned back. Maria Trinan, graduated Erschald Military Academy, Captain. No doubt, that was their specter Lexine. A thin smile crossed his lips and he stood back up. "This investigation has concluded hearing testimony. Our current findings are that the nation of Arcartus has conducted a deliberate military action within the borders of Keilaudrin that involved an attempt on our king's life. As acting regent, I am placing the capital guard on war footing and calling for continued investigation into the nature of scale of these attacks." He looked over the crowd, searching for some feeling among them. He doubted the people of Keilaudrin would take such news sitting down, now with what was tantamount to their rival on the continent painted as the villain here. He wouldn't start the fire himself, though, someone else would take care of that. His eyes clicked back over to Thomas and Jezin. He needed at least one of them, he decided then and there. "Sirs, you are released and this court will close its public session. Thank you for your cooperation." He smiled toothily to them, and then began to pack his things along with the rest of the court. They would soon depart from the great hall, searching for more suitable, closed places to compare interpretations of the notes.

[DrowsyPangolin]

A faint smirk crossed Jezin's face when Thomas challenged him to a duel. Court proceedings be damned, cold steel had a way of dealing out justice. His smirk disappeared when Wallace proceeded to strike both knights' pride to the ground. He glanced up at the man, gritting his teeth behind his lips. "As you wish, sir." He glanced over to Thomas for the first time. He'd have to avoid conflict, something that didn't sit right with him. The bodyguard remained quiet, listening to Wallace. His conclusion was that Arcartus had conducted a 'deliberate military action' against Keilaudrin. He had been in the military long enough to know exactly what those words meant. They were usually the preamble to outright warfare. If that were to be the case, Keilaudrin wouldn't be safe for long. They needed to leave, as soon as possible. They'd return to Lyok and forget the entire episode as quickly as possible. When Wallace adjourned the court the man turned on a heel, walking towards the back of the room. It seemed Sophia was no longer there.

Sophia nodded at Gareth's statement. She felt the same. There was no way to be sure that Thomas was lying, and he had not been proven guilty. She concluded that whatever her opinion of the man, he was innocent as far as the law was concerned. She gripped the edge of the table when Thomas challenged Jezin, ready to stand up and deny Jezin his right to fight if necessary. He was her bodyguard, and it wasn't his place to be throwing himself into risky situations. Thankfully, Wallace managed to diffuse things effectively, at least for the moment. He then proceeded to conclude with the statement that Arcartus had attacked Keilaudrin. She sensed conflict coming, something that only served to increase the fear building in the back of her mind. She looked back to Gareth. "What do you think all of this means?" Her eyes showed a glimmer of fear. She knew all too well the losses a war could inflict on people. The princess remembered her brother. His body had been returned to Veranthium missing an arm and riddled with arrows. That was what war did to people.

[Sightles]

"Of course, sir." Thomas said, honoring Wallace's decision to deny Thomas his right to defend his honor. Thomas waited until Wallace had stood and began his exit, before relaxing his posture, and turned around. Jezin was walking to the back of the room, surprising Thomas that he had nothing to say to Thomas after Wallace had left. Thomas righted his clothing, and made a way to the the exit of the Great Hall. He was going to make his way to his own lodgings, and change into clothes, or even his armor. The clothes he wore were not nearly presentable, and he had no intention of staying in the clothes all day. As Thomas walked on he gripped Harmony tighter in his hand. Things were not looking good around the capital, especially with Wallace declaring the recent actions to be a military action by Arcartus, which would no doubt spark a war between the two nations.

[ravenDivinity]

"I cannot give utterance." Gareth said as he rotated in his chair to face Sophia. To what it all coalesced was a mystery. The sum of all events pointed to a proliferation of military advances on Arcartus at least, but the fate of Keilaudrin beyond that was unknown. His focus at that particular fragment of time was on what his fate at hand was. Harker hoped that few suspicions were placed on him—if there were a great multitude suggesting he killed Redwyne, he'd be convicted despite his innocence. Hopefully the tribune didn't believe in killing the messenger. He did no wrong, and certainly afterwards Gareth knew he had to do his best as a squire in Redwyne's honor. It was the right thing to do, for Gareth to be honorable and offer up Sir Cole as an inspiration. His glossy blue eyes panned the room around him once more before bringing them back to Sophia's yellows.

[Epsir]

"I can. That guy's a damn loon," A voice piped up across the table from Gareth and Sophia. The strawberry haired girl in the red coat, Feril Tatchet, finally found it fit to speak now that court had closed. The remaining guests in the room seemed to share her sentiment, as for what few there were there was apparently heated discussion going on around the room. "War footing means they're gonna close the ports soon and I'm gonna lose my job. Half of these people are going to be stuck here for weeks." It didn't seem to bother her, venting to absolute strangers. That said, she hadn't slept a wink and the constant stream of provisions left in the main hall, a fair quantity of which were alcoholic, were doing little to help her state. There were few guards left in the room after Wallace's declaration, the majority of them had cleared out to spread the word through the rest of the capital guard. It was easy to say 'war footing' but it meant exponentially more work and paper for the actual soldiers.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin scanned the crowd, quickly finding Sophia. He wanted to set up their exit from the country as soon as possible. The Princess' life was his top priority, and every second she spent in Keilaudrin was a danger. He walked swiftly towards her tapping her on the shoulder and speaking quickly. "Princess, I am going to find Jorun and Alia, and then I will be heading to the docks to arrange our return trip. The way things are looking it will be better if we leave as soon as possible." He noted the girl across the table's words. "It seems we'll need to hurry then." He gave little chance to reply, turning quickly and walking back towards the room. A new vigor hastened his steps. He felt doom looming over them at every turn, and he had no intention of getting trapped in the squabbles of foreigners. He finally reached the room and opened it. He had intended to ask Eva if she had heard anything about the location of the other two servants, but was surprised to find them waiting inside.

The Tauran woman looked up and was the first to speak. "Ah, Jezin, back so soon? Where is the princess?" Jezin shook his head. "We're leaving as soon as possible. It seems Keilaudrin has an international incident on their hands, one I have no intention of getting us involved in. I was going to ask you if you knew where Jorun and Alia were, but it seems you two have finally appeared." He motioned towards the round bearded man and the slim woman standing on either side of Eva. Jorun spoke up. "I apologize for our absence, Jezin. We were both out in the town, but they held us at the gates after whatever happened last night." Alia nodded to confirm the man's story. "Ah, that would make sense I suppose. You two come with me, we're heading for the docks, I'll give you a moment to prepare. Eva, if you would, please stay here and keep a watch on everything." Jezin spoke with an authoritative tone now, something like a military commander's voice. All three servants nodded. The bodyguard made his way to his room.

Once inside, Jezin flung off his coat and doublet, and donned his armor. Common courtesy had been thrown out the window. He had no reason to trust anyone in Keilaudrin at this point. He still didn't have his sword, a shame, but he could get another. He fastened his belt, affixing the dagger at his right hip. He fastened his shield to his back and flung his bright red cloak over his armor. He left his helmet behind, but grabbed the polished spear that lay leaning against the wall. He hoped he'd have no use for the weapon, but if the need arose he wouldn't be left defenseless. He walked out of his room. "Alright, Jorun, Alia, let's go." The two servants nodded, following Jezin outside. Eva watched them as they left, a look of concern in her eyes.

Sophia frowned. It seemed even the natives had no idea what was going on. She sat for a moment in silence, which was quickly shattered by a woman across the table. She began to ask a question, but was interrupted by Jezin. She looked surprised by the bodyguard's sudden decision, but was unable to reply before he left. She couldn't disagree with the man's thought process. She did long for home. She looked towards Feril. "I'm sorry Miss, that sounds terrible." She couldn't help but think she very well could be one of the people stuck there, if Jezin didn't hurry. "Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" She figured she might as well make some conversation while Jezin made plans to leave.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth remained still and taciturn after Feril had entered the chatter between Sophia and him, a little too bashful to be the first to introduce himself or speak up. In that type of situation of course, he looked towards whomever he was with to take charge of introductions. The woman across the table seemed exhausted and outspoken, using a curse outright before a princess and pervading Sophia and Gareth's dialogue with a crass remark, and though Gareth could remain composed and unjudging in demeanor, he couldn't refrain from analyzing Feril's mannerisms. In that same moment, he idly thought to himself about the whereabouts of Sir Walden and wondered of the hour when he would be fetched by a knight or some other—the knights told him to stay in the great hall for no other reason, and he did so with reluctance to the torture he experienced through the trial, so surely it wasn't for naught.

[Epsir]

She stopped, churning over the girl's words for a moment before doubling back from her tirade to remember her introductions. What a gaff she'd made, her shortly forgotten professionalism as a courier now burned again in the back of her mind. Tempered, of course, by the knowledge that her title was bound for a short future no matter how conditions changed. if word got out about her botched delivery... she decided to refocus on the conversation. "Oh, I'm Feril, Feril Tatchet. Sharpe & Millsworth's Courier Co." She smiled brightly and indicated the patch on her jacket. "For now at least." She looked between the fair two she'd ended up talking to, a young man and a more lavishly dressed girl. The girl clearly wasn't from around these parts, but she couldn't quite place the male which was almost a shock considering how much she'd been back and forth through the south delivering letters. "So... who are you two, if you don't mind me asking back?" She was curious, at the very least, for their names.

[Sightles]

Thomas had made it to his lodgings, and successfully donned his armor. As the last Champion of the Order of the Thistle, and Sir Walden under investigation, Thomas would be Acting Commander of the Order of the Thistle until a voting could occur to name the next Commander. Thomas' snow white armor, along with the white cloak, and white eye wrap around the left side of his head, seemed to match fairly nicely. Thomas turned his attention to a mirror, and gently reached his hand up, and touched the eye wrap. The doctor had to remove the eye, leaving nothing but a black void. While it did not severely hamper Thomas' ability to fight, it definitely did not help it. After a moment, a knight of the Order knocked, and entered Thomas' room, seeming somewhat winded, "They are attempting to make a quick exodus before the ports close." The knight spoke, still panting. Thomas sighed, as he picked Harmony up from the side of his bed, and fastened it around his waist, "Gather Sir Bull, Sir Sven, and Sir Lucas. Have the horses readied at the rear of the Palace." Thomas commanded. The knight dutifully nodded, and left the Acting Commander of the Order. Thomas took one more long stare into the mirror, before turning to leave his room.

---

A knight of the Order of the Thistle entered the Great Hall, his head scanning the room, seemingly looking for someone. After a moment, he spied the person he was looking for. Gareth Harker. The knight made a bee-line for the young squire, ignoring the conversation he was apparently sitting out of. Without preamble, or pretense, the knight approached Gareth from behind, leaning down to make his mouth ear level with Gareth, "Sir Walden has cleared you of any suspicion, but he requests your presence whenever you can manage. He is in his small study, in the West wing of the Palace." The knight whispered, before darting off as quickly as he had shown up. The way the knight hurriedly left, without any response from Gareth, left the intentions of Walden needing to talk to Gareth up in the air.