Humans. There were so many! There were other kinds of people as well, but the sea of human faces Rilana passed on her way to the stables in the Corsillus Quarter was almost overwhelming. Frigmount was far less populous.

People watched her as she passed, and Rilana felt more than a little self-conscious, especially without her armour on. Finally, she reached the stables and sent one of the stable boys to fetch Lord Kharik.

Bruin stood stoically, smart tail swishing as the pair waited in the shade. Rilana patted his neck, steeling herself to say goodbye, recalling their time together in the cold and windswept north. It would have been so easy to form the Bond, but she had to remain professional. didn't she?

A squire turned up shortly, led by the stable boy. He was a gangly young man with a mop of curly black hair and green eyes that stared up at her with wonder and surprise. Rilana eyed his livery as he eyed her dress and pale hair and pointed ears.

[b]"What business do you have with Lord Kharik?"[/b] he finally asked, a hand resting haughtily on his hip where he would eventually wear a sword instead of a long knife. He was attempting to impart some aura of importance, but Rilana simply blinked slowly, one of her eyebrows lifting a touch towards her hair.

[color=00aeef]"I have been traveling since early Crimsia to bring Lord Kharik one of our best Fjord horses, and he sends a squire to meet me?"[/color] She let the question hang, and the Squire's cheeks flamed. 

[b]"Lord Kharik is a busy man,"[/b] he squeaked, half apologetic, half affronted, seeming to deflate slightly under the strain. He seemed to have difficulty deciding whether to look at her hair or her chest.

[color=00aeef]"I'm sure he is,"[/color] Rilana replied, her tone softening to win the boy over. She even smiled gently, her pale lips curving upwards as she laid a pale hand on his arm. She wasn't any less disappointed that she wouldn't get to meet this Lord herself, but knew a lost cause when she saw one. [color=00aeef]"Just let him know that his horse has arrived. I'll be here for a few days before I return to Frigmount."[/color]

The squire's brow creased and he looked between Rilana's face and her hand on his arm. [i][b]"Frigmount?"[/b][/i] His tone was dubious. She may as well have said she was from the moon itself. But he eventually nodded and scurried away, leaving Rilana free to explore Ebonfort as she liked. 

A few days later, the squire returned with her money and documents to bring the Lady Myra back in Frigmount. She left tears in Bruin's mane, but the way the Lord's men arrived and treated the beast like a precious commodity put her mind at ease. Yet when Rilana left the dark-walled capital she headed west towards Green Falls. She had heard about the Tournament and the grand fair, and didn't want to miss it. Only this time, she flew on the wind in the white and black shape of a gyrfalcon, listening to Khona sing joyously in her head.