Gnarl waited for the rag-tag squad he had summoned, nodding at them all as they walked up to the gatehouse. The gatehouse itself was gigantic, and a fall from the top would likely break all the bones in your body and spell a gruesome ending to your life. None of that seemed to matter. Gnarl waved away Rand's suggestion -- they were simply too far ahead and by the time Rand had saddled up they'd be long gone past the Terian river, which ran wild and bucked wildly like a steed who had been slapped on the ass. [b]„Captain Gregor, you are excused. Please tell a serf to ready a set of horses.”[/b] The fat guards' captain nodded and hurried down the stairs, his head obviously still heavy from the night before. Gnarl oversaw the group of mercenaries, missing one person. [b]„Where the hell is Guinan? Theodore, you oaf, you were the last one up. You go back down and fetch that would-be marksman. Meet me at the queens chambers in an hour or so, you and Guinan are her personal guards today. Consider it punishment for being late. Now go!”[/b] he'd yell as he waved him away, commanding a certain respect from Theodore and the others. As he'd watch Theodore do his bidding he'd turn his attention to the rest. [b]„We just saw three riders of the king outside, testing our mettle. Now, they probably know by now that the queen has hired us to be her new guard, so I estimate they're here for that. Never the less..”[/b] Gnarl turned around and faced the forests that were so plentiful in these regions. He leaned on the stone short wall that edged the gatehouses' roof, taking a look at the area. [b]„Today you will go to the local village and ask for any rumors or such about a local enemy warband. I doubt there's any here because the villagers would've come here for protection, but go anyway. Take the horses, cross the Terian river and follow the road eastbound, until you cross onto a large hill. From there you will see the village. These villagers are that of the queen, so make sure you treat them with the required respect. They are not our enemies.”[/b] He turned around and directed his eyes towards Atl. [b]„No fighting.”[/b] he said sternly, looking deep into Atl's eyes. The savage would likely ignore the orders anyway but he couldn't say nobody told him not to fight. He dismissed the band of soldiers, and headed down the stairs to look for Guinan and Theodore. While the soldiers would no doubt leave right away, Guinan and Theodore had other matters to attend to with Gnarl. His boots sounded heavy on the stone steps leading up to the keep, several guards passing by Gnarl to reinforce the walls. They seemed somewhat excited to finally 'see some action' although Gnarl knew they wouldn't see action today. Passing through the thronehall, he headed for the gigantic circular stairs and headed up towards the floor which held the queens room, expecting to find Guinan and Theodore both outside it waiting for him. [b]„There you are, you lazy rats. Come on.”[/b] he said, his heavy voice no doubt resounding to within the queens chambers. He walked closer and gave some firm knocks onto the queens chambers' doors, before walking in. He would bow before the queen, expecting the fellow royal guards to do so as well. [b]„My lady, we have spotted several of your brothers' spies, no doubt scouting the premises of your castle after finding out you hired us. They carried the kings emblem on their cloaks and rode the white steeds that are that of his advanced riders. If I may be so free, I'd suggest you allow my two companions here to track them down, to at the very least see what they are up to. What are your orders, m'lady?”[/b] he'd say, his voice suddenly shrinking and befitting that of speaking to a royalty. He'd look over at Guinan and Theodore for a moment, attempting to see their reactions, but he was sure they'd retain their composure as that would befit the mercenaries. After that he'd look over to the queen, bowing slightly and bending his knees a little bit as he'd receive her orders. --- Joachim was surprised to hear Wren say words, let alone [i]kind[/i] words of sorts. He glanced over to his right as he stepped over an exceptionally large puddle of rainwater. [b]„I guess this morning is as good as any other. Any idea why we were summoned?”[/b] he'd ask for the sake of making small talk. No doubt they were being sent off to collect firewood, a task he had completed many times before as a newcomer to the Company. Behind them trudged the savage and the northernling, Atl and Sikarthis. They were interesting individuals, and Joachim, being one of the few in the company that was able to write, had taken to [i]attempting[/i] to learn Atl to write. Not that he was any good at it, the feather being squished to an unworking state almost instantly. Sikarthis was also quite extraordinary, though he fit in better with the Arlonians, his wish to always undress himself was always quite funny to Joachim. He seemed to suffer from an unrelenting heatstroke, or so it appeared. They arrived at the top of the gatehouse, overviewing the forests ahead. Joachim listened closely to the Bear, not wishing to offend him in any way. Apparently, three of the kings riders had passed by. This could mean a few things, most likely that they were scouting ahead for an attack or to see what the queen was up to. But they weren't to give chase. Gnarl was probably right in that aspect, by the time they had saddled up now they'd be long gone past the river and towards their encampment, which was no doubt well concealed. Besides, they had no reason to do anything about the riders. The queen and her brother were not at war -- not yet. And riding in these lands wasn't an offense to the queen. This made the situation delicate, because everyone knew why the riders were there, but there was not much they could do about it. Joachim watched Gnarl walk off before he walked over to the edge of the gatehouses' roof, leaning on the same short wall that Gnarl had leaned on, overlooking the treeline. He couldn't see much, except the rustling of the trees. He smiled, however, and turned around to face Sikarthis. [b]„Northernling, you will be delighted. Cold is in the air, can you feel it? It will be a period of crossing beforehand, but the snow will soon settle onto the lands. Give it a few months.”[/b] He smiled at Sikarthis before walking down the stairs of the gatehouse, raising his hand at the guardsman that was on duty to control the gates. Two of the queens' slaves were sitting in the corner of the gatehouse, their linnen clothes stained with dirt and other dirty substances, waiting for orders to raise the portcullis and to open the heavy wooden gate. Joachim looked at them closely, their eyes spelling defeat and sadness, but at the same time a certain gratitude to be alive still. Their lives weren't bad, and to be frank they had it better than some of the Iron Companies' slaves, who mostly spent their days cleaning shoes, swords and armor. Barely got anything to eat, either. As Joachims boots felt the dirt under them again, instead of heading for the stables, where three serfs held onto the horses for the band, he headed for the barracks once again. If they were riding, he'd need a lance. Not a flimsy, uncomfortable jousting lance, but one that would last more than a second in a real fight. He opened the doors and looked around, finding a lance resting onto the wall in a corner. He slowly jogged over, grabbing the lance and jogged back outside the doors, headed for the serfs. No doubt the others had saddled up by now. [b]„My apologies for having you wait.”[/b] he'd say as he approached the rest, eyeing the skill with which some mounted their horses. He wondered how the northernling and the savage would fare with their horses. Joachim himself took to the saddle with a proper level of skill, easily managing to get onto the horse with no troubles while holding onto the lance. He'd let his horse trot up to the portcullis which was slowly being opened by the two slaves which would've jumped into action by now. As soon as he could, Joachim would ride underneath the portcullis and through the large wooden gates, greeting the guard that was outside with a simple nod and smile as he trotted his horse past him. The man seemed unimpressed. Or rather, seemed to be asleep, leaning on his glaive, eyes closed. Joachim couldn't help but feel some pity for the man, being stationed outside all day, forced to deal with every peasant requesting an audience with the queen. He'd look behind him and beckon for Wren to ride next to him. There was some sort of unspoken understanding that Wren would have to lead the group in some parts due to being the daughter of the Bear, and Joachim made sure to heed this understanding. Rudolfo, however, was also a proper candidate for these kind of tasks, so naturally Joachim expected there to be some confusion as to whom should lead the band during their travels. However, Rudolfo was an old rot and wasn't fit for battle anymore, much more befitting a tactical oversight type of role. Some form of commander would suit him, though he was quite sure Rudolfo would disagree. Joachim looked to his lower left, and put his lances' end into a pouch that was sewn into all the saddles, so that he didn't have to lift it all the time. Somehow the lance, the armor and the brown horse made him look like a proper rider of the queen, though the others also looked the part. Well, except for barely naked Atl, but he looked like a slave of sorts so it'd fit the image quite well. And it would cause some laughs when someone dared call Atl a slave. [b]„Have you ever been to these lands, Wren? When my lord was still alive and held his keep, he had sent me here once. These lands are bountiful, which is why the Queen most likely took to these lands herself. To the east, where we are headed, lies the land of the Ewain family. They have proper iron mines, though not as many as that of the Blackwood estate. However, the Ewains' have their own personal army and used to support the queen. They were amongst the last to give in to the king to swear the oath, holding true to their oath of support to the queen. But naturally, they had to give in or face an army.”[/b] He'd look at Wren to see if she even cared at all, but regardless he'd continue, finding himself remembering small details that didn't really matter but were enjoyable to him none the less. He'd look around over his shoulder to direct the story more towards the entire group. [b]„Directly to the west, however, is the Howel family, led by the famous Jaufre Howel himself. They say he was the one to build the castle, brick by brick. I doubt he actually did that, but that's how the story goes. Their castle is big, built on a hill like Stags' rest, but a much steeper hill. It is quite a genius construction if you ask me, as the edges of the hill are so steep that you cannot possible use siege equipment. It is the perfect location for a fortress. The only way in is to use a battering ram, push it all the way up the road leading up to the gate. I can tell you the tales of the sieges of the Wolfs' Castle, as they call it, but you'd find yourself bored. Just know that many men have died pushing battering rams up that hill.”[/b] He laughed as he said the words, the politics of this region were by far the most interesting, atleast in regards to the capital city. [b]„The person that owned Stags' Rest before the queen used to gain an advantage through the everlasting wars between the Howels and the Ewains, and demanded payment for every army of theirs that had to march through their lands. Well, there is only one other way and that is to take a one month journey around these lands. Needless to say, Ewain and Haufre were unhappy with this constant request of payment, so they stopped their wars and decided to rather end the man that owned th-”[/b] Joachim was cut short by the sight of black smoke in the distance, where the village was supposed to be. He looked over to Wren, then Rudolfo, and then everyone else. [b]„M-maybe it's not the kings men, maybe it's just bandits raiding the village for slaves.”[/b] It was obvious that he was unsure of what to do, after all they were sent here to ask for rumors about any of the kings warband, not to fight off the kings men. And if they were really just bandits or ruffians, they would be allowed, no, expected to help. But slaying a soldier of the king would be a declaration of war.. well, burning a village would be too, but they had no orders to attack and there's no saying what Gnarl would expect them to do. It was up to the rest of them to decide what to do, ride forth and deal with the attackers, or ride back to bring a report.