Sightles

When the Flames Die

"That's not how this works. Everyone here must come with me to become questioned. Sophia and Eva will remain untouched, and unharassed." Thomas explained, switching his gaze between all three of them, "This is not up for debate. All three of you will be escorted by my Brothers and I to separate containment cells, until we can question all of you. If you are as innocent your friend here suggests, all of you will be free to go. I will personally acquire funding out of the nation to a separate port you can take back home." Thomas added, his grip on Harmony tightening, "One last time, in the name of King Bard II, come compliantly with us, and there will be no needless bloodshed or violence."

When the Flames Die

Thomas nodded thoughtfully at what Jorun suggested, "Then, if it is so clear cut that Jezin is innocent, he would acknowledge I have my duty as a knight of the King to take him in for questioning." Thomas said, then turning his attention Jezin, "I'm hurt, Jezin. Wounded, even. I am going to take you in for simple questioning, and release you. As for Sophia, she will be protected like the honored guest she is." Thomas explained, taking a good look at Jezin, and the servants. "To the normal person, this is how the situation looks; A snake native to Lyok was delivered to Sir Redwyne Cole, by Gareth Harker, a friend of Sophia. Once the snake killed Sir Redwyne, and it was brought to your attention that Redwyne had perished, you made it a desperate attempt to get out of Keilaudrin. Despite your reasoning, Jezin, I have to bring you in to question you." Thomas finished, flipping Harmony in his hands as he talked. "I don't want their to be bloodshed, Jezin. Despite your accusations, I am a man of the King, not a man of senseless violence." Thomas finished, awaiting Jezin's answer, patiently.

---

"I know you had nothing to do with Sir Redwyne's untimely death, and I know you might feel at fault for your actions, but there was nothing you could of done." Walden started, taking a pause to sip from his own glass of wine, "Sir Redwyne was a good man. An honorable man, but it's obvious that our enemy is not an honorable foe. Swords and armor will not win this fight, nor will we know who our enemy is until the end of this mess." Walden went on further, his attention now switched to his bookcases, which he stared at absentmindedly. "The Order and the King need you, Gareth. You're new to the game, and new to the Palace. You're the only person in this Palace I am absolutely certain had nothing to do with any of this debacle." Walden now turned his attention back to Gareth, whom seem engulfed in the massive leather chair, "I need you to report everything you see, that could be relevant to all of this ." Walden sipped from his wine glass, as he kept his attention on the young man in front of him, "I need you to kill the boy inside you, Gareth. I need you to become more than just a squire. I need you to be a hero for the Order, and save the King, and all his men, before there is no one else left to save. You and I are the only ones, I believe, that can stop this madness."

When the Flames Die

As Jezin and his entourage walked off the dock, the sound of several horses running could be heard well before they were seen. After a moment, the owners of the horses were visible. 4 members of the Order of the Thistle, led by a man with an eye wrap. The horses finally made it to Jezin, Alia, and Jorun, stopping roughly 15 feet from their group, "Jezin Tremora." Thomas started, as he unhorsed himself, along with the other three knights, "A snake that we now know to be native to Lyok killed Sir Redwyne Cole." He explained, his right hand on the hilt of Harmony, "I was going to ask you about the matter, and try to figure out how this snake could of made it here, but I was informed that you were desperately trying to get yourself, and Sophia, out of Mullen." Thomas looked from Jezin, to Alia, and Jorun, smirking, "As per procedure, I'm afraid we have to take you, and your servants, into custody as to launch an investigation." Thomas finished, now drawing Harmony, letting hang down to his side. He smirked, to himself. He had fought near docks before, the last time had resulted in the death of about 8 individuals, leaving him without a scratch. Thomas was waiting to see how Jezin reacted, secretly hoping the man chose to fight his arrest, as it would only work out for Thomas down the line, "No one has to get hurt here, Jezin. Just allow the investigation to carry out, and you'll be released once we come to a conclusion." Thomas added, the other knights flanking him drawing their own swords.

---

Sir Walden was busy placing a massive book back on a shelf, when Gareth entered the room, rapping on the wall to signal his arrival. The room wasn't very big, bookshelves lining the sides of the wall, with a desk in the back of the room, a even bigger leather chair behind it, "Ah, Mister Harker." Walden started, as he turned around to face Gareth, "Please, sit down." He pointed towards the massive leather chair, as no other chair populated the room. A pitcher of wine, now becoming somewhat customary to see Walden with one, along with four glasses sat on the table. Walden graciously poured two, passing one to Gareth, "I needed to talk to you about how important your service will become, shortly."

When the Flames Die

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.

When the Flames Die

"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.

When the Flames Die

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."

When the Flames Die

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.

When the Flames Die

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.

When the Flames Die

Thomas allowed the guards to lift him, and guide him to the Great Hall, finally somewhat happy that he was able to walk around a little bit. Thomas knew that holding a trial this soon, and this abruptly could only mean a few things, none of them particularly good. Thomas knew the King wouldn't be presiding in the tribunal, as the Order of the Thistle probably hadn't declared the situation safe enough for the King to leave his quarters. Thomas looked down at his clothes, grime now covering various bits of his clothing from the dirt of the cell, along with the dried blood of Lexine Tristan stilling caking his hands and spots on his clothing. He smiled to himself as the guards continued to push him along. What a fine show he must look like. Eventually, the guards and Thomas made it to the Great Hall, which Thomas was less than surprised to find it lacking any guests. Thomas' visage turned to that of a more serious look as he was being brought forward.

When the Flames Die

The three knights were absolutely stunned. The lead knight who had addressed Gareth turned back to the other, too, and began barking out orders, "You! Go to the Tower of the Thistle and find Sir Redwyne's body," Deducing quickly that the incident must of happened where Redwyne spends most of his time, "You! Go to Sir Walden's office and secure him for questioning." The other two knights left in a clanging of armor, running off to their respective places. The lead knight turned back to Gareth, looking down at the anxiety-ridden mess of a man, "Do not leave this area. Stay here." The knight commanded, in a very serious tone, as he ran off in his own direction, sword now fully drawn.