The King's Court was crowded with petitioners and ambassadors, nobles and knights, each present to hear the wisdom of their Lord on matters of the realm. Some hoped to hear his response to word of attacks in the north. Rumor had spread throughout the castle of a battle at Starguard and within a day it has seemed to have infected the city. But the topic on everyone's mind was whether or not the king would announce an heir soon. Of course the title would go to the eldest but succession would only be made clear with the declaration of such. Without such an announcement, were his Majesty to pass suddenly any of his children could lay claim to the throne of Farendar.
One such noble was Lord Cambden of Demit, a small region in the hinterlands. Lord Cambden was rather insignificant in terms of influence. He played The Game rather passively, tending to his lands mostly and only involving himself of matters that would directly affect his territory.
"My King, I speak for many of us when I inquire as to whom you may choose as heir to your throne? Tis only fair we your subjects may know who we shall swear fealty to in the far future", Cambden bowed deeply, hoping he'd not offended his Lord though Gregor was not known to be easily offended. Another example as to Cambden's outcast solitary lifestyle.
"The passing of my son, Aundair, has left me at a wonder of the remains of my time on this world. Since their births I've watched my children grow to be the noble lords and ladies that they are. Such a decision is not made easily and I do so with the utmost care and forethought. I know that whomever I so choose, the others will not question as they are kin and honorable in not only birth but in stature. And so I've decided to announce my successor on Ancestors Night, that we may celebrate to honor our past and our future!", the court cheered in response to Gregor's speech but among them Evelyn stood as stoic as ever, watching the crowds for anything suspicious. Her eyes darting from nobleman to nobleman she scanned for anyone she might suspect to be involved in this conspiracy. As she examined the Lords and Ladies of the court, Evelyn couldn't help but think of her own family. To her disappointment they were not present but then again why should they? The nobles here were those eager to kiss the boot of the king, hoping to gain land and greater prestige. House Sunderland had no interest in this, their house oversaw the care of South Farendar, which was enough power.
As the crowds began to calm and quiet, Evelyn stepped forward, ready to bring her concerns to his Majesty.
"My Lord, I apologize for bringing such news to you but I've something urgent to inform you of", the crowd went silent as they'd learnt at this point in the day of Evelyn and her Templars. They all were anxious to hear what news from the north she may have brought to the capital. As for King Gregor, his eyes grew serious as he knew Evelyn not to be a woman who spoke of trivial things.
"By all means, Lady Sunderland, your words are most welcome in my court", King Gregor's words made what Evelyn had to say even harder to voice.
"Forgive me, Your Grace, but I believe what I have to say is meant for your ears alone. If we may-""Say no more, I understand", Gregor gestured to those in attendance to exit and with some low grumbling they obeyed, shuffling out of the court with envious eyes aimed at the Knight-Captain.
"Now, Evelyn, what is it you wish to tell me?", Gregor's children were the only others in the room besides the king and Evelyn. Vanessa looked on with worry in her eyes as she feared her suspicions may be true. Aedan merely looked on in curiosity,
"She must have quite some influence to have our father empty the court for her...she may prove useful in the future". As for Rodrick and Davon, they were more than irritated at the nerve of this woman to dare demand a private audience. Who was she other than a mere Knight-Captain? Highborn or no, she was in no place to demand from the king, their father.
"Thank you, my lord. It has been brought to my attention that you've fallen ill as of late, yes?, Gregor was puzzled by such a question. Was this what she requested privacy for?
"I must admit that I've grown out of sorts recently but what does that-""Forgive my interruption, my lord, but do you remember coming into contact with anything or anyone that may have given you such an affliction?""Despite being King I'm barely allowed to leave the inner castle. All the food is cooked in the royal kitchens, my clothes and linen are washed within these walls with our own water source, and all who serve here are given quarter here?...why do you ask?""My Lord before attending this court I had your personal doctor bring me a list detailing your symptoms. With such I paid a visit to the royal alchemist, with this list we deduced that these were the symptoms of something more than disease. This was created with the intent to render you into such a state. A poison.", upon hearing this Vanessa began to sob. Her worst fears were made reality, now she could only hope that the culprit was not amongst them.
"Evelyn...do you mean to tell me-""With deep regret, yes, my lord. Someone works to end your life""...Do you have some suspicion as to whom it may be?""Not at the moment, my lord. My assumption is that whomever is conspiring against you aims to place another on the throne. Seeing as your children are still in good health their goal does not seem to end the bloodline. Whomever is behind this hopes to place one of your children on the throne, possibly to manipulate them or their hope is that their rule will leave the realm weak to the invasion""This is the work of the Dead God then?""It is a possibility-, at this point Prince Rodrick was furious. To hear that some whoresons planned to murder his father threw him into a rage. Rodrick bolted up from his seat and eyed Evelyn harshly.
"What do you mean 'it is a possibility'? Is it not clear enough who our enemy is?! What else would dare to do such a thing? The Elves?! Or is it those dirt eating dwarves in Uldgori-""The Merfolk have nothing to do with this!", Evelyn snapped back at Rodrick and he quickly sat back once he saw the anger in her eyes. The only reply came from Prince Davon who smugly answered,
"Then who?""...Before we ventured to Loringrad, two of my party were murdered. I believe it to be a former member of The Order. He's gone missing as of late and from what I've gathered he's gone to his true leader...former Templar Commander Ghislain. The leader of The Rebellion during my order's civil war"Prince Davon grew a sinister smile as he stood forth,
"So you mean to say, even the Templars are our enemy?""Davon you know damn well that's not what I mean. The traitor infiltrated our ranks years ago, he left the order the moment he sided with Ghislain!""Then how can you hope to restore your order? Gods know how many more of his kin work to sabotage it from within and with the coming threat in the north...The Templars seem to be reaching their final days"Evelyn glared at Davon who glared right back at her from across the room. The resulting silence of their stare down prompted King Gregor to speak before a fight broke out.
"Evelyn, if what you say is true. I bid you to further investigate this. You have free reign about the castle and the city guard will be alerted of your task", Gregor's eyes were sullen and tired as he looked to the Knight-Captain.
"For now I believe it is time I returned to my duties. I've many more voices to hear, more issues to be addressed", King Gregor gestured for the guards to open the hall doors and as the nobles began to flood back in Evelyn bowed before leaving.
"Fucking Davon.."
The hour had finally come, night fell over the land and with it came the promise of knowledge. Evelyn gathered Marcus before heading down into the catacombs of Loringrad Castle. The entrance was a large pair of doors, ornate and bearing the family crest of King Gregor and his children. Evelyn paused for a moment to check if they'd been followed before entering the tomb. Pushing against the old and heavy doors, Evelyn dreaded the loud creaking as the way was opened for them. A long set of steps descended into the dark, illuminated in segments by torches left lit by another. Down the three Templars went, into the home of the royal dead before reaching the end. The main chamber was large and provided a number of good hiding places.
"Be on your guard", the Knight-Captain ordered Marco but a voice from within the darkness countered.
"You've nothing to fear, I come as an ally", whoever it was that spoke owned a voice which was coarse and carried an air of suspicion about it.
Evelyn immediately reacted by preparing a lightning bolt in her hand. She scanned the room looking for where their informant was hiding. It did not take long before he revealed himself...and several others. Out of the darkness came several individuals wearing black cloaks, each with their faces hidden but it was clear they were all armed. It was clear now that coming here was a mistake, the two of them had fallen into a trap.
Just as their attackers began to approach, their apparent leader dropped to the floor. The others stepped back in surprise as they realized he was dead. Before anything could be done another had fallen, then another, and another, until ever last one lay dead on the floor with their blood pooling on the floor of the royal tomb. Evelyn watched carefully, her eyes going wild as she tried desperately to located the cause of this. It wasn't until a familiar voice echoed through the chamber did she realize who it was.
"It seems we meet again, Captain. Much like our prior encounter if I recall. Hopefully this time on better terms", the assassin Red revealed herself as her invisibility spell dissipated. Evelyn sheathed her sword but kept her hand on the hilt. Giving Marcus the signal to be at ease she spoke,
"I was told we'd meet again, though I did not expect this soon"Red did not give that familiar smile she once bore so often. Now she was dead serious as her face was just as stern as Evelyn's.
"Marcus' work I bet. I hope he did not speak too much. That'd be unfortunate for the both of us", Red said calmly as she walked over to one of the Dead bodies. Grabbing it by the head she revealed the body to have had its throat slit, rather slashed open, by a very precise blade. Evelyn remained where she stood, getting a good look at the assassin's handiwork.
"Why would that be unfortunate?", she asked
"We only stand to gain through mutual sharing of knowledge".
"Not true, captain. While you know nothing of us we know practically everything about you and your men. My leader, he values secrecy, believing that by working through the shadows we are more efficient. Should word of what we really are get loose, you, your men, and anyone involved with the leaking of such information will be killed. Including myself and Marcus", Red flipped the body over on its back before searching the contents of its clothing.
"That being said, I shall tell you of what we are in the hopes you have enough sense to grasp the severity of such information", Red pulled a strange object from the pocket of the cultist before putting it in a pouch of her own. Satisfied with her search she stood up and faced the three knights,
"My name is Tyr, and I am a member of The Watchers of Serenity. We are an order that was created from your own. Our goals are the same but our methods are different. While you lot fight the monsters who stalk the wilderness, we hunt the monsters who prowl the royal courts. Our influence stretches from the nalrokar islands to the western forests and we ensure the sphered of influence are kept under ""Why have I never heard of you? Surely someone must have discovered your existence""A good number have over the years. They're all dead because of it. However none of this is important, what is important is what you plan to do in the following days. I've been watching you during your investigation, good work in discovering the poison by the way. However you may have set yourself back by bringing it to the king""His children can't possibly be responsible, that's insane, he's their father!""And you believe that to be enough? This is the throne of Farendar, whomever sits upon that throne controls half of the world. His children are just as, if not more likely to be the culprits for their succession won't be questioned.Evelyn became sullen at the thought of one of her childhood friends plotting to murder the king.
"What do your propose then?", she asked, letting her hand off of her sword.
"To put it bluntly we find out who and deal with them. More specifically we shadow their activity, discover what backing they have if any, and work the chain until we have considerable evidence to bring to the king", Tyr walked back to where one of the bodies lay still leaking blood. Unsheathing her sword she cleaved the head clean off of the body before bagging it and tossing it towards Evelyn.
"Bring it to his Majesty, tell him what happened here but leave me out of it. I don't need to retell the consequences should you do so", Tyr ripped a part of the cloak off from the dead cultist to clean her blade of the blood before sheathing it.
"In the meantime I must get to work, hopefully I will find something to hurry this investigation before our enemy's plan comes to fruition". Tyr began casting her invisibility spell, in truth it did not take much effort as a single hand sign activated the magic.
"Wait! You haven't told me how to contact you", at this point Tyr was gone but her voice could still be heard.
"I'll find you when the time is right", with that the Watcher was gone. Evelyn turned Marco with a look of worry and bewilderment.
"The King has gone to sleep already, what in the hell are we to do with this?", she said with annoyance as she held up the bagged head.
