Gregar turned his head when he heard his name, or rather a shorter version of it, being called out from somewhere in the pine forest. The snow was picking up, and Amber urged him to continue. He complied, but kept his head turned to the direction of the sound while riding his horse onwards slowly. Then, suddenly as if the gods had loaned their divine favor to him, a figure came from the forest, riding at a near-battle speed. Thinking the worst, he reached for his swords before seeing a distinctly familiar face, brown flailing hair trailing behind it with specks of white snow stuck in it. [b]“Kitty!”[/b] he yelled, slightly uneasy in his saddle as it was quite hard to react with his body while riding a horse. An embrace was out of the question, after all not even the most skilled riders could pull such antics off while on a horse. 

[b]“What takes you so far north? And where is earl Kevin?”[/b] Gregar had known earl Kevin to have sided with the crown, a loyalist if anything. But he didn't know of his death as of yet, and to see Brier without a guard or the earl nearby was quite strange. [b]“Amber! It's Brier! Surely you remember her, my sister, right?”[/b] Gregar was unsure of the relation between the two - he had never been there to see them together, so he was unsure if they got along. Atleast they had common grounds in their.. less feminine skills. [b]“Have you come to mourn father, Brier?”[/b] Regardless of what turn that conversation would've took, they rode on for the Wintershouse, since Amber was right, and they didn't know who was on their trail, or who was sent after them. While riding however, Gregar would tell Brier about the situation in the Forklands and the war in the Ironhills as he experienced it.

[hr]

Joakim turned to Gavin, and nodded slightly. [b]“That's a good idea Gavin, make ready a room of suitable..”[/b] His eyes glanced at the man, and although Kaz was dressed like a warrior, nothing denoted a particular status. [b]“.. stature.”[/b] Not that it mattered much, the Wintershouse had plenty of rooms but they all looked a like - stone, with a single window covered with a simple linen cloth, a chest and armoire, a desk and chair and a bed. Maybe Gavin could throw in a few extra furs, for warmth in the bed. Joakim turned to the warrior man and smiled in a friendly way. 

Rather than invite the man in for [i]just[/i] friendly chatter, there was a certain interest present for an alliance, given the fact that the Wintershouse would soon be set upon by the Harrighfields of the Ironhills, although not many men knew of this as of yet. The man looked capable, and his men, while looking a bit primitive, had characteristics of proper warriors, although they couldn't exactly be called 'soldiers'.. and any man on the walls, was a body that prevented the Harrighfields from winning. Who knew how many more men this warrior had behind him.

As soon as Joakim would've received an answer, he'd leave the scene and leave the guards to make sure the lot stayed organized. Besides, the soldiers standing behind him would no doubt take care of any problems this group could give them. As he walked back, he made sure Gavin was with him. Removing the sword from his belt, he'd hand it back to him, as well as the shield. In a hushed voice he'd talk to him, [b]“Feed his men proper, and make sure they have plenty of wine. Drunk men talk, so make sure you find out why they are here, or where they are from. And keep them outside the palisades, I'm sure there will be trouble if they mess with the soldiers who are already drunk and pissed.”[/b] Atleast Joakim had picked up some knowledge from his brother, and the drunken soldiers had also given him plenty of clues as to the availability of info from drunks. Heading back into the keep, he went to his room to get prepared for meeting this warrior. And since he was a warrior, Joakim figured he'd best wear some proper attire - a ceremonial dagger, a longsword on his side and a lightweight leather jerkin. Atleast then he could win some martial respect, if everything went according to plan. When leaving the room he'd whistle softly, calling to him his dog, named Bravery, a young white haired husky that he'd bought off of the smith for a small sum. The other dogs were all in the kennels, but Bravery was special to Joakim. His footsteps echoed down the hallways approaching the main hall, where a fire had been lit in order to meet proper with this warrior - who should, by now, be ready to talk with Joakim.

[hr]

Gidja eyed the man up and down again, but without the proper time to assess the 'black knight' as they had come to be called, she decided that getting out of the blizzard was the main priority now. [b]“Aye, fine. Just make sure you stay close to me, I need to see you if something happens.”[/b] The black armor was usually a pretty good indication that someone was either a poor knight, or just some lowlife who had robbed a fancy nobleman or something - it was commonly known that the paint served against rust, but only the poor used this method, as normal knights could afford the upkeep of their armor and weaponry.

Turning the horse round and leading the way, she turned her face towards his. [b]“I've not heard of this 'Lily.' I can guess her occupation from her name, however. How did a man with such come up end up in a black suit of armor?”[/b] It was an innocent question, as she had no preconceived notions about black knights - truth be told she had never met any either. Although asking such questions in the south would probably raise an eyebrow, or two, and maybe sever the head of whoever asked it. [b]“Well, regardless you'll find yourself sticking out. The last black knight that travelled here took a wrong turn in the Forklands, and he hurried away as soon as he saw snow.”[/b] Bunch of cowards, she thought, but she'd hold her tongue in fear of the man not appreciating the insult. Riding on slowly, the snow getting thicker by the second, they caught up with the caravan eventually. [b]“Well, I can tell you, if you're hunting bounties, you must be strapped for coin. If that's the case, there's a reason all the bannermen are here - I'm not sure what, but I think it involves fighting. You look like you can fight. Speak to young lord regent Joakim Weade, although I estimate he will want to speak to you when he hears theres' a black knight in the Wintershouse.”[/b] The last words fell as the caravan pulled into the castle, into the courtyard. The caravan master thanked Eirik and Gidja, who rode off to put the horses in the stable. However before dissapearing from sight, she turned her head again. A smile curled onto her face as she spoke to him, [b]“.. actually, I'm not telling you you [i]should[/i] speak to the lord regent. That's an order from the guard - so you better do it, or I'll find you and forcibly summon you in front of the lord.”[/b] A joke, but a serious one at that. 

[hr]

After all the commotion surrounding the caravan, the black knight and the foreign warrior would be done, the group of three would slowly trot into the castle, and not a sound would be heard as they did so. It seemed they went mostly unnoticed after the earlier happenings. [b]“Eh, that's.. dissapointing. I had hoped more people were here to see the Oakheart, Kitty and the duchess of the Forklands. Such a shame.”[/b] He grinned at his companions as he dismounted and led his horse into the stables close to the keep, detaching his sword and shield from the saddle and attaching them to his belt. He unhooked the saddle and tossed it into a heap of hay on the side, before moving to help Brier with her saddle. [b]“It's a pretty horse. Where did you get it? It's well fit for a pretty girl like yourself.”[/b] Truth be told, Gregar was a bit too old to playfully compliment his sister like that, but he didn't really care. To him she was just as much his little sister if she were 20 than if she were 10. Although over the yeards, he did have a more joking attitude when surrounded with friends. [b]“It's awfully slow, though.”[/b] he grinned at her and Amber. Noticing that Amber wasn't exactly getting the saddle off either, he would walk over to her too and place his hand on her shoulder. [b]“Allow me, my lady.”[/b] He smiled at her, and did his best to surpress the grin he felt coming up as it always felt a bid strange to refer to Amber as my lady. However he pushed through and got her saddle off as well, putting it over a piece of wood that seperated the stable compartments. 

[b]“Shall we head inside?”[/b] He didn't wait for an answer and lead the way to the great hall, where he'd hope to find Joakim, but would run into others undoubtedly if they decided to go to the greathall as well. Whether Amber and Brier would follow was mostly up to them.