Alenius had passed Thale manor on many occasions during her time in here in Nyhem. However until now she had never paid it much mind; to her it was nothing more than the home of another rich man. As she walked up to the door six members of the city watch followed closely behind her. Most of them had witnessed Urd's magical prowess first hand last night and as a result were slightly on edge. Alenius knocked loudly on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer. Eventually a maid came to the door, evidently surprised by the appearance of seven armed guards at her door. 

"We have come for Urd Raudhfell" Alenius said firmly. "We have many questions for her regarding the events that transpired last night."

Mary, once she had wiped the shocked expression from her face, addressed the rather well armed group in front of the house. “My Lady.” She began - it was always safer to assume a lofty title and be corrected down than the other way around. “I’m sorry but Lady Raudhfell is not at the house right now. Accompanied by some of Lord Thale’s guards, she is collecting her things at the Inn she was previously staying at.” She looked to the left, down at the guard who was supposed to answer the door, but was currently asleep at his station. Again. He knew the name of the Inn.

She delivered a swift but relatively soft kick to his leg to wake him up. It was a terrible embarrassment to have such a thing witnessed by the City Guard, but she wanted to help them as much as possible too, lest they decide to enter and track dirt over the floors she had just cleaned. The guard was quickly awake again, leaping to attention, before realising it was only a maid waking him and not his Lord, leading him to slouch a little. When she motioned to the guests, he stood straighter still, seeing the uniform of the city guard. “Tell them the Inn Lady Raudhfell was going to.” She said impatiently. “The Plucked Hen Sirs, Ma’am.”

~|~

“Then we will head their at once.” Alenius said as she signalled to her men who turned on the spot and marched in the direction of The Plucked Hen. “Do let you Lord know that Lady Raudhfell may be, delayed” Alenius said before she too turned around and marched away.

~|~

Coming back to the [i]Plucked Hen[/i] was good. Urd did not really pay all that much attention to the two guards Lord Thale had sent along to help her carry things to the manor. She did not think she needed protecting, but would not at all mind not having to carry her things herself or otherwise arrange for the transport. When she stepped inside the tavern, the Innkeep, practically a friend of the family, smiled with relief to see her unharmed. She exchanged the usual greetings, informed him about her plans to move to the manor and made sure to pay him well. She made it very clear to him that his service was nothing to be complained about, but that the Thale Manor simply was more practically placed in relation to the court and that it was all part of the courtly politics. She would gladly stay with him in the future, should the need present itself. He in turn was polite back, especially upon seeing how well she paid him.

They were about to return to the manor when a sizable group of city watchmen accompanied an important-looking individual. One of the watchmen pointed at one of the two guards accompanying her (now also holding one end of a large chest), so Urd got a fairly clear idea that they wanted to talk with her. “Yes? Can I help you?” she asked the important-looking woman.

Alenius stood forward as the watchmen stood sheepishly behind her.
“My name is Alenius, personal bodyguard to the king.” Alenius’ voice filled the room as she spoke proudly of her new title. “Am I right in assuming you are Lady Raudhfell?”

“Your assumption is correct. Is there anything I can help you with?” Urd asked, having a fairly good theory about what it could be, but feeling that the formalities had to be covered.

“As you are aware a murder took place last night, a murder that you had first hand experience of. What you might not of been aware of is that the victim was a member of the High council; High Magister Aurelia Vyncetta. The king wishes to question you about the events that transpired that night”.

At first, Urd did not reply. She knew all about the various ranks at court, about how important a high magister was. When the name was mentioned, threads connected in her mind. “So that’s what was familiar about her…” she muttered. “I knew there was something vaguely familiar… It is quite unfortunate that she died.”

Directly after responding, she looked at the two House Thale guards. “You two, take that chest back to the manor. I have a feeling that this conversation may take time, and I do not wish to keep you from your regular duties longer than absolutely necessary. I am sure enough that these members of the City watch are more than skilled enough to protect against any martial threats. As for magical threats… Now that I know to be prepared, I should be able to handle those well.”

As they moved to depart, she then turned back to the the woman who claimed to be the king’s bodyguard. “Sorry about the delay. What do you need to know about yesterday’s events?”

A couple of the city guards nervously stepped back as Urd approached them, they had seen what she had done last night and they were sure to keep their distance from her. Though they quickly stepped back into line after receiving a venomous look from Alenius. 
“I am afraid I am unable to say. His grace wishes to ask you in person, I have merely been sent to escort you back to the keep. Please follow me.” Alenius said as she turned round and headed towards the door of the inn; she was eager to get back to the keep as soon as possible, her king was not in the mood to be kept waiting.

“Very well.” Urd said, moving to follow the bodyguard, not giving the two guards who momentarily stepped back any more attention than she gave the rest. Whether this was out of respect, ignorance or something else was not easy to tell. She kept her eyes open and had the commands to summon one of her shades ready on the entire hike to the keep, for though she did not doubt the guards’ skill, she preferred to be on the safe side.

*

Duncan had been pacing across his room for what felt like an hour. During times of stress he found that walking helped him to think. He had ordered Cawanor soldiers to be stationed outside his room at all times and had reinforced the keep with twice as many soldiers as usual. The threatening note and the Murder of Aurelia could not of been a coincidence, they had a assassin in their midst and Duncan would do everything in his power to expose the killer. The main question was who could he trust? A question he had been pondering over since this morning. A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought.

“It is Alenius your grace. I have brought Lady Urd Raudhfell.”

The castle was not at all the way Urd had expected. After seeing the manor of a minor noble family like Thale, she would have expected the castle to be even more opulently decorated. But this was not the case. In fact, she could clearly see places where paintings, tapestries and statuary had been removed, presumably for sale, as they were nowhere to be seen. Still, though very spartanly decorated, the castle complex was vast, far larger than any she had visited before. She did note that there were unusually many guards standing about in the familiar Cawanori livery in addition to the regular royal guards.

She was more than a little anxious at the thought of seeing the man who supposedly was her uncle and the high king. What would he be like? Would he see something familiar in her? Should she tell him? Or should she try to find her father before telling anyone? Was he even someone she would like to know? She knew next to nothing of him or the rest of that family. She’d heard some hearsay and such, but she knew not to trust sayings like those blindly.

Alenius was the first to enter the king’s chambers; she strategically placed herself between her king and Urd, hand on her weapon so that it could be drawn in an instant. Though the chances of Urd attacking Duncan were extremely low she was taking no chances. Behind Urd followed the two Cawanor guards that were previously guarding the door. Like Alenius they were watching Urd’s every move intensly. Duncan took a moment to examine Urd. Though her clothes were not particularly elaborate, they were still befitting for a lady of her status. Most of her face was hidden behind her hood, but despite that Duncan still found that there was strange familiarity to it.

“So you are Lady Raudfell.” Despite the anxiety and pain he was currently feeling, he talked to Urd in a friendly and gentle manner. The De Reimers were good friends with house Raudhfell and Duncan did not want Urd to feel unwelcome, “How long have you been here in Nyhem? and what is your reason for coming here?”

“I am.” She kept a polite smile on her face, not revealing the churning emotions underneath the surface. “I have only been here a few days. As for why? Family business. Certainly [i]not[/i] to witness assassinations.”

“I have no doubt of that,” Duncan said as he sat down at his desk “Please do take a seat.” Duncan said as he gestured to the seat opposite him. “I assume you know that the woman who was assassinated last night was High Magister Aurelia of the high council. I have called you here in the hopes that you may be able to shed some light on the events that transpired last night. Did the assassin’s give you any idea of who may have been behind the attack?”

“I gathered as much from various sources,” Urd said as she took the offered seat. “I can’t say I truly knew the High Magister, but I have seen her a few times before.” As she spoke, she studied the high king’s face. It was a stranger’s face, yet several traits were familiar. In particular, the ones that she had not inherited from her mother. But of course there were unfamiliar elements as well, for though they were supposed to be related, he was only her uncle, not her father. She wondered what her father was like. What he looked like.

“The assassins offered no hints as to their client. But one of them is slowly thawing out in a locked room in the Thale Manor. I have no idea if he is alive still, but his belongings and appearance might shed some light if he isn’t. Other than that, I doubt I can provide much information.” She kept on studying the high king, thinking even more on what her father could be like, feeling more than a little nervous about meeting him. She was not yet ready to bring it up, though.

“I was wondering what had happened to the assassin. My various sources told me that he had mysteriously disappeared despite being frozen in a block of ice. In which case I shall order the assassin be brought to the keep should he survive. Likewise his belongings will be brought here as well so as to be examined by a member of the alchemist guild. Hopefully they will be able to shed some light on who ordered the attack.” Once Duncan finished he noticed that Urd was staring quite intensively at his face, as if she were studying it. “Is something the matter Lady Raudfell?”

“Your spies cannot be very effective then. I have no idea how many saw me cross parts of Nyhem with that block of ice hovering behind me, but there were many of them. And even if they did not hear about that, they must’ve heard of the men carrying or carting it to the Thale manor, right? Do your spies even speak to the regular citizens of Nyhem? If not, how do they expect to uncover plots against you? If they do, how could they not get pertinent information like this? Are they all useless?” She stopped talking, perhaps realizing that her tone may have been a touch aggressive and wrong to use when speaking to a king. “No. Nothing is wrong.” she answered, after he asked his final question.

Duncan raised an eyebrow as he gave Urd a cold stare
“Careful girl. Your family may be close friends of the crown but I am still your king. I suggest talking more softly in future.” There was no hostility or aggressiveness in Duncan’s voice, but it was commanding enough to let Urd know that she had overstepped her boundaries when it came to addressing her king.

“My apologies, Sire. It is not often I am at court, let alone the high court.” Her tone upon saying this was perfectly chastised. She was decidedly [i]not[/i] ready to speak of her probable relation to him. She had by now memorized enough of his appearance to later be able to think it over.

Duncan’s face softened as Urd profusely apologised. Perhaps he had been a bit too harsh on her. But as king he had to make sure that people knew who was in charge.
“Apology accepted. Now if you excuse me I have a lot of work that I need to complete before the day is over. If you have no questions for me then I must ask for our conversation to come to an end,” Duncan paused for a moment as an idea came to mind, “Lady Urd, in light of certain events I can imagine that you may feel at risk. If you desire I could give you a room here in the keep. I would hate for a member of House Raudfell to come to harm.”

“I have no further questions for you, sire.” The purpose behind her momentary lapse in formality achieved, Urd had returned to her former propriety. “However kind the offer of a room is, I have already accepted residence within the Thale manor. It would not be proper to announce a change of mind so suddenly. Besides, if the looks of the corridors here are anything to go by, staying there should be more comfortable.”

She turned to leave and started walking towards the door before pausing and turning back momentarily, “Insofar as safety goes… Let’s just say that I can take care of myself...” With that said, she turned back towards the door, walking away and letting the high king think on her words.


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