[b][u][center] Adjutor Insula[/center][/u][/b]

[center][b]Good and Evil. Honour and Ambition[/b][/center]

Gombas awoke to the crash of lightning in his legs and a blazing fever in his mind. His eyes forced themselves to open through a thick layer of sleep dust, and watery shapes floated across his vision. The bed he was laying on, although comfortable, jolted with every second. He quickly realised he was still in his carraige, but before he could ask what was happening, a damp cloth smothered his face. 

"Blurgh," he spat, using arms full of lead to beat off his attacker.

"Captain, the Templar awakens," comes the stern voice of a woman.

"Move aside," it is the Captain to whom Gombas entrusted his life. "Templar, can you hear me?" 

"Yes," Gombas said with a cracked tongue. "Water." 

There was some comotion before the cold clay of a water jug reached his lips, and a pair of mailed gloves hoisted him upright. It was at that moment, this his hip ignited in a blazing array of pain and damnation. 

"Faran's bowels," Gombas shot, wincing with the intense burn of a fractured hip. "Am I dying?" 

"Perhaps," the woman said, moving in to bat his face with the wet cloth once more. "Your hip is fractured, along with your knees and shins. If your blood does not suffer the taint, then you may live, but will never walk again." She said matter-of-factly. 

Gombas was an old man on a divine mission. He needed no legs where he was going. "Where are we?" He asked. 

"Approaching Love's dockyard, where the King is mustering his army," the Captain replied.

"You are turning me in, Captain?" Gombas asked with a sigh of sadness. 

"No," the Captain replied. He stood from the bench of the carraige, and waved a hand over a wooden rail. Templar Gombas could not see what was being pointed at, but he suddenly became aware of a thousand beating feet upon crafted concrete. "We're going to war, Templar, to end this madness once and for all." 

"We must not drive our country into civil war," Gombas said, sitting himself further upright despite the pain. He fixed the Captain's blue eyes through his visor. "I will speak to the King, before the soldiers. He must allow me that much. I will show them [i]what[/i] he is, and they will no longer follow."

The Captain shook his head; a patronising yet hysterical grin hidden behind his helm. "It is too late for words I'm afraid. Even if the King were a mass child rapist, fear has swept our country like a plague. Everyone looks to Marcus for their safety; vows have been forgotten, lessons burned. Holy men now reach for the sword, and the less savoury, reach for a sceptre. Our country is ended, Templar, lest we can stop the King here and now."

A single tear rolled from Gombas' left eye. "That I should live, to see this come to pass. How can so much happen in such little time? Centuries of institutions, charity, love and preaching smashed by an evil man's lust for power." 

"All should fear evil men, Templar Gombas, for they oft cause the end of many things," the Captain said, but then he leaned forwards. "But there is a greater evil, that we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men." 

"I have little love for philosophy now, Captain," Gombas muttered. "My people will murder themselves, and the carrion will pick the remains. Dump me from this carriage, so that I may die like the broken fool I am." 

The Captain shook his head. "I cannot. You have stirred the last of the Insula's [i]true[/i] guardians to action, Templar. I have spread the word of Lady Aticus' condition quickly, and many are outraged. Furthermore, the King was unwise to disband the order. Thousands flock to your banner, and Faran willing, I will lead them to victory in your stead."

"No," Gombas sobbed, suddenly losing control of his emotions. "No one dies on my behalf. No one. Kill me. Pursue your own designs for death and destruction, but do not use me as an excuse. Faran guide me!" 

"War is happening, whether you like it or not, Templar. I will save this land, and it pains me that your mind, like your body, has broken. Rest easy, Templar, for I understand your suffering," the Captain said with finality. He turned to dismount the carriage. 

"Wait!" Gombas cried, and the Captain turned his head to the side. "Take me to the King. If I cannot end this travesty with words, then you may end it with the sword." 

The Captain sighed.