The palace guard flew into a short lived frenzy in response to the alarm bell, those in transition to and from posts sprinting to take their assigned positions and wait for the call. The palace itself quickly seemed empty as men disappeared from corridors and halls to defensive positions. They were few in number, and instructed specifically to hold the walls in the event of an alarm. The Order were intended to protect the king himself and whatever inhabitants of the palace they deemed important. A source of disarray in the ranks, however, was that this was no ordinary alarm and one entirely alien to many members of the guard. His own, loyal, men were suspiciously scarce and not a single familiar face passed him on the way. Wallace took note with displeasure as he marched down hallways, heading for his own study and not the room currently usurped by the provisional court. Whatever his duties as regent were, something far more important had just taken precedence, and he decided to wait for it in the only room bearing his name. The second letter had no doubt been opened, and he wondered what the summation of his guesswork would be and, for that matter, whether or not someone was waiting for him. His study was a messy place, dominated primarily by bookshelves and shoddy wooden tables supporting legions of open books, tossed over one another and covered in loose sheets of notes.