Sightles

When the Flames Die

Walden smiled at Gareth's excitement, almost bursting into another fit of joyous laughter when he was ecstatic for his new job, "Just imagine, one day you could even be Sir Gareth Harker the Morningstar!" He said, smiling. As if he had just remembered something very important, Walden pulled a a thick letter from his pocket, passing it Gareth. "That is meant for Sir Redwyne, if you don't mind delivering it to the Tower of the Thistle. It arrived this morning. The deliverer wished it to be given directly to Sir Redwyne, and what better way to finally kick off your duties?" Walden said, explaining the situation. The letter was a dark brown, almost leathery container, obviously from a very wealthy sender. It read simply on it's front 'To Sir Redwyne Cole the Morningstar, Knight of the Order of the Thistle. From Sir Duncan Lace.' Walden took a napkin and dabbed it across his face for a moment, before returning to speaking, "I trust you're up to the most dangerous mission of delivering a letter, eh Harker?" Walden almost couldn't contain himself with the laughter that followed.

When the Flames Die

"I let Redwyne know that a certain half-elf known as Gareth Harker was joining us as a Squire." Walden said with a smile, "He seemed to know that the bow belonged to you." Walden sat back in his seat, taking a bite out of the ham in front of him, while shutting the book in front. The title read 'Book of Thistles'. "And it is good to see you this morning, as well, Sir Gareth." Walden said, putting stress on the word Sir, "If you wish to continue down your employment as a squire of the Order of the Thistle, you might soon find yourself with a knightship." He smiled as he explained the ramifications of Gareth's new position meant.

When the Flames Die

Walden managed to pry himself away from his book for a moment, and scan the room, seeing if Gareth, the new squire, had awoken and made it to the Great Hall yet. Sure enough, he saw Gareth near the doorway. With a giant smile, the man boomed across the room, "Mister Harker!" Waving his hand as he did so. It seemed that Walden's jolliness was not bound by any limit, even if it was early morning. Walden pulled a bow out from under the table he was sitting by, along with a quiver, and held it also in the air for Gareth to see. Walden had acquired the squire's personal weapons late last night from the armory, where they stored most of the guests weapons.

When the Flames Die

The next day

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Bells rang across the grounds of the Palace, signifying the beginning of a new day. The gates had since be opened, and people moved in and out of the grounds, completely oblivious to the problems of yesterday. Every trace of last night's problems had been moved, and cleaned up, making it appear as if nothing wrong had ever occurred. Order of the Thistle knights, and the normal Palace guards walked across the many hallways of the Palace, trying to hide the fact that they were in constant patrol, making sure to prevent any kind of incident such as yesterdays. Many of the guests of the midnight feast were now waking up and gathering their things, not even bothering to attend the morning feast in the Great Hall. However, some still stayed behind, albeit a very small number. The King was still under tight security, not allowed to leave the confines of his room until the Order of the Thistle had declared the Palace safe, leaving his absence the only herald of the terrible things that had transpired.

Thomas still sat in his dark cell, exhausted and famished. He had not been able to grab a single actual second of sleep the entire long night, and he had not ate since the morning of the tournament. He sat still, despite all things, in his cell. Back against the wall, knees brought up to his chest, and his bound hands out in front of him. He wanted out of the cell. He wanted to change out of the clothes he was in, and he wanted something to eat. Once again, just as the night before, the thoughts of what others were doing polluted his head, giving him something to think about while he sat in his cell.

Sir Walden sat at a table in the Great Hall, a massive ham sat in front of him, most of it gone, and a empty plate of what appeared to once be pumpkin pie. Walden grabbed his glass of cider, and downed the entire glass. In front of the massive man, sat an equally massive book, which was opened. Walden, complete with a set of small reading glasses, was examining the book in great detail. The books title was not visible, but the contents of the book appeared to be a name for each page, along with a paragraph or two under the name. Once in a while, Walden would flip a page in the book.

When the Flames Die

Yeah. I'm working on the post right now.

When the Flames Die

Epsir is without power for a while, so I'll be taking over head GM duties while he's gone.

When the Flames Die

"Goodnight, Mister Harker. Be careful finding your way back, you have a very important day tomorrow!" Walden said, as he nodded to Sophia, and started a slow pace out of the Great Hall. The lockdown had already ended, and many people had already left for their rooms here in the Palace. Walden slowly made it towards Sophia's room, helping her when needed, and making sure not to walk to fast for her. Eventually, the pair made it to Sophia's room, and Walden pulled out a silver key, unlocking the room for Sophia, "I'll make sure that Redwyne will find a couple of knights to watch your door tonight, my lady. No royalty, even foreign royalty, should have to worry about their safety." He said, with his toothy smile. "I will see you tomorrow, if the God wills it." He added, as he took his leave from Sophia, leaving her to the privacy of her room.

When the Flames Die

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.

When the Flames Die

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!"

When the Flames Die

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.