A few days ago,
Sundown Hills bannorn
The Sundown Hills were many things, but prosperous they were not. The only reason the lands were recognised as a bannorn was the mines and a single keep, and even then they hardly put out anything of significance. Yet, Bann Tedryn Thire still lived, and ruled the Hills with some force. There is one thing of important to note about Sundown, one would have a rather hard time just trying to get themselves robbed or murdered, there is nary a bandit, or highwaymen in all the Hills. Which is most interesting considering just how many caravans pass on through the area. That can of course be explained by the company that a certain Bann keeps close at hand.
But that is hardly the kind of knowledge that you want in the open. Usually when someone hears 'Bann inline with Bandits', they assume that to mean most nefarious intentions. Not that he keeps them in line, and far away from his own domain. Having an seemingly endless amount of coffers, and contacts with even undesirable people can make fools do many a trick.
The Antivan Crows, or at least that's what Alexander Thire, second son of Tedryn's thought. They worked for everyone, and were most brutally efficient in there business, and it was no secret between the family that a certain father was fond of using the Crows.
This posed a small problem for Alexander, his wife was of child, and in a few short months his son would be born. This usually would not be a problem, if it weren't for the fact that Morin, Alexander's brother and the true prize son was meant to have fathered a child years ago. There are rumours about his 'inadequacy', which are seldom heards outside of closed doors.
"You're going to get yourself killed!" a woman shouted, Alex immediately stopped putting on his armour and turned to see what the commotion was.
"Eliza?" said Alexander, unsure as to why his wife had suddenly appeared
"Do you take me for some kind of fool, hmm?" Her Orlesian accent was slipping through, but the anger in her words was all to clear. "Think you could just cart me away, while you go gallivanting as a warrior to prove to daddy that your something?"
Alexander was a man of many talents, on one occasion he managed to diffuse a situation that would have ultimately ended in a war in the bannorn, but his wife? Everything he knew just did not work on Eliza, she was a different subject altogether. "I, uh, you know it's not like that." he said, the words bounding of her shield, "I want you to be safe, and I don't care what you think about it.-" Then he realised something, "You should be in Highever by now, how are you still here?"
"I was halfway along the Imperial Highway, when it dawned upon me why you'd sent me away. " Alexander had hoped his plan was foolproof, send Eliza away to Highever for a few weeks, she would be safe(r) up there, than in the Hills where his father's grasp was the strongest.
"So you decided to what? Come back and shout at me?"
She appeared to contemplate for a second, "Non, I came to do this." she said, walking up to the taller man and slapped him across the face. He was taken back by what had just happened. "That, and I wanted to see my 'ever-so-talented' husband do battle."
Still nursing the impact, Alexander was thoroughly confused by everything right now. "Something tells me there's no convincing you to leave this time, is there?"
"No, of course not. You should know that by now." He smirked, Eliza was a hard woman to understand at times, but that was the woman he had fallen in love with, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "What name are you fighting under?"
"I was thinking a Junior Knight from Redcliffe, how does Ser Henric sound?" Alexander had put a lot of work into coming up with his assumed identity. While he was going to be fighting with a full-metal helm covering his face, he still needed to maintain a cover story of sorts.
"I would have went with Highever, myself."she smiled, "that would just annoy your father to no end."