[center][h1][color=000222]Sir Khyssoun Maerdrym[/color][/h1][/center]

It was rather unfortunate that the esteemed Castle Clandstein was so dreadfully far away from Haverford. Given, the trip took only a short amount of time, it was quite troublesome when he had business to take care of. As of late, there had been more meetings of the Kingsguard, requiring his attention at the Castle more frequently, but it also made it incredibly hard to keep up the business he had going on. But the meetings were understandable, with the times they lived in and the impending threat to the country and all that. Normally Khyssoun would be at the Castle full time, but as tensions were rising all over the Kingdom, he found that he had some business to take care of back at his old dwellings. It seemed there was a disrupt of the market, some unexpected suppliers were trying to set foot into his territory, and he certainly couldn't have that.

After taking some steps to eliminate the threats back in Haverford, Khyssoun decided to take a quick detour before returning to the Castle. There had been a... Delivery scheduled in the outskirts Merandin, and its contents were much to important to send some grunts to do the dirty work. He simply wanted to check up on the quality, and when he deemed it satisfactory, he arranged for several of his more trusted advisers to handle the transportation. But now with that out of the way, he began his final trip back to the Castle. 

Usually, Khyssoun would insist on traveling with a party of at least his eight closest men, as a matter of principle, but he was in a bit of a rush, and decided against it. Instead, only two other men rode their horses beside him as they made the trip to the castle. They had left from Meandin a few days before, resting only when the night was too dark to travel through safely. And as the sun rose softly upon the horizon, Khyssoun knew their trip would soon come to an end.

Suddenly, a burning smell filled the air and tar black smoke came into view. The horses gave whinny and Khyssoun tightened his grip on the reigns, reaching up to calm it down. It seemed the King would have to wait. 

[color=000222]"Forward."[/color] he commanded, looking back at his men only to receive a confirmation that they understood, [color=000222]"Spread out and find out what you can. Meet at the location of the smoke in thirty minutes."[/color] And upon his word, they parted, one dashing off into the brush and the other riding with him toward the smoke.

The town was utterly destroyed, the fields burned to a crisp and the ground littered with what he could only assume to be bodies. Looking over the damage, he dropped from his horse and handed his reigns to Cedric, the young knight was had followed him to the wreckage. He walked through the town, surveying the damage as he carefully sidestepped the charred remains of, well, of everything, he supposed. It seemed like the place was a farming village, though a small one, it would definitely make the surrounding counties take a hit. Whoever it was that committed such a crime wanted to make a lasting impression on the Kingdom.

Houses burned, some of them half standing, and other already piles of ash being swept away by the wind. Nothing and no one was spared, as far as the eye could tell. The sight was rather gruesome. Every body that wasn't burnt was ripped apart and the entrails were spread over the ground. Like some sort of demonic ritual, he couldn't help but note. But that wouldn't be all too surprising, there were far too many demons in the Kingdom than he would have liked.

Khyssoun frowned, clasping his hands behind his back. The land would be out of use for a long time. Not only would the soil be infertile, but people would be driven away for fear of another attack. And if one farming village was the victim of slaughter, it could easily be assumed that more farms would be under attack as well. The sound of hooves beating against the ground grabbed his attention, and he turned to find Brom galloping towards him. [color=a7a7a7]"My Lord" [/color] he wheezed, almost tumbling off his horse to get down on one knee, [color=a7a7a7]"The surrounding area is clear, the attackers are no where in sight."[/color]

Khyssoun nodded his thanks and motioned for his reigns from Cedric. He climbed upon his horse and turned it back upon the path, motioning them to follow his lead. [color=000222]"Come."[/color] he called, [color=000222] "The King would surely like to hear of this."[/color]