Beyond the main doors of the throne room and amidst the echoes and bustle of the crowd filling the palace, a distinct clattering of boots on the freshly cleaned stone floors could be heard growing closer. In an even, measured step, a broad, round faced man in an even broader fur collared greatcoat entered, looking around the throne room with a mixture of pleasure and arrogance playing itself on his face in the form of a small, contented smile. A figure of mild prominence, Karl Leid was a deposed diplomat with a history of failure in several nations across southern Estovet, but wasn't ashamed of taking advantage of Keilaudrin's hospitality for a few nights. He didn't mind hearing the new rumors about himself, either. Flanking him as he made his entrance, a young woman followed behind and beside him only to stop and stand next to the entrance, adjusting the blue tie around her neck and watching the room tiredly. Both newcomers immediately noted the apparent emptiness of the throne room. A lone member of the lifeguard, equipped fully, and a cloaked stranger who looked young and seemed a hair apart from the usual crowd at the palace. Leid advanced slowly, stopping where he felt suitable in the aisle and nodding towards Gareth. "Admiring the masonry? I love the sight of an empty throne myself. There is nothing as inspiring in the world as the bizarre absence of royalty, don't you think?."