The son of the Earl of Brennan averted his eyes in silence for a few moments. It was clear the subject of his father was making him grow increasingly uncomfortable, but why? What had happened? Fanilly frowned to herself. This wasn't normal. She had once met the Lord of Brennan, when she was younger. Edoric Achter was a large, serious man, highly intelligent and knowledgeable about military history, but also kind and fond of relaying said military history in the form of interesting stories to children. Well, until he partook of her father's finest spirits a little too much, and then his speech became rather slurred and he'd eventually nodded off in his seat. But Fanilly knew he was not the sort of man to balk at the defense of his own town, and at the same time he was in good health. The last she had heard of the Lord of Brennan was that he was well enough to lead the guards of the town in training exercises, and that had only been a few months ago. What had changed so quickly that it was only now anyone outside of the town had heard of it.

"Is your father well, Lord Achter?" she asked, stepping towards the young man. Once again, however, he averted his eyes uncomfortably.

"... Please, come with me, he will speak to you personally," he replied, turning to lead the knights into town. Concerned about the state of the Earl of Brennan, Fanilly swiftly followed.

Within the town, there were a fair number of injured men in the care of the local healers, both those with magical capabilities and those without. As they progressed further, it was soon clear that the townsfolk were leaving their homes, a number of them cheering as the knights proceeded past.

An assortment of children were following them through the town excitedly, but the fact that some of the townsfolk were showing such support...

There were some who did not. Some turning towards the walls of the town.

'[i]If they had gotten here earlier, then...[/i]'

The blonde knight couldn't hear their thoughts, but her mind created its own assumptions.

Soon enough, however, the knights had arrived at the home of the Earl of Brennan. Castle Achter was a stately structure, respectable and tall and made of dark stone. The great, dark wooden doors swung slowly open to permit their entrance, and what Fanilly saw ahead...

"Father, the Iron Rose knights have come to speak with you," the son of the Earl began.

Edoric Achter had changed little since Fanilly had last seen him. His hair had grayed, his face perhaps become more lined, but he still appeared in excellent health. And yet... something about his expression...

"... Ah, good!" the Earl said, "I wished to thank them for... for..."

His son averted his eyes.

"The town was under attack, Father. They helped repel the raiders."

"... Was it?" the Earl asked, confused, "No, it couldn't have been."

He chuckled.

"I know you are proud of your armor, my son, but there is no way you could have cleaned it so swiftly after a battle! And had there been such a threat, I would not simply be sitting here!"

Fanilly stared. But there were still specs of orcish blood splattered across the younger Achter's armor. There still was on her own armor. How could it be possible that the Earl of Brennan had no idea a battle had taken place?

[hr]

"Ah, I... yes, Sir Radistirin," Lyrie replied, swiftly, before returning her focus to the man's wounded leg. By now she had begun to wrap it, force the bone back into place. She had already cast a spell to dull feeling further, so Sir Avlin wouldn't feel anything from the realignment of the bone. She knew, of course, that such a sensation would undoubtedly be unpleasant if nothing else. As soon as the bone was realigned, she could begin mending it. Of course, the knight would still need some rest, ideally, but he would be able to walk again.

That was what was important.

[hr]

"Ah? She did bad things to your friends?!" cried Feeree.

"I knew she was bad, Feeree!" the other fairy said, folding her arms and nodding sagely, "I could just feel it!"

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Kopuro..." Feeree said, sagging, "It felt weird being around her but she didn't seem too bad! She didn't hurt anyone, did she? She didn't get anybody right?! She didn't-"

Feeree was cut off when Kopuro rapidly prodded her in the side with two of her figures.

"Uwaaaah! Waaah!" the fairy squirmed, nearly falling out of the air for a moment before catching herself. "Kopuroooo, why?!"

"They were asking you questions! If you feel bad for anything you should answer them!" responded the lighter-haired of the two.

"Um... um... Right! The dark lady had this black dress and really long hair and she was talking to one of those ugly orcs!" Feeree said, "And I thought that was weird and bad but then she saw me and I got a little scared! But she just smiled and asked me if I knew where a good view of the human town nearby was, so I told her right here!"