[hider= An unwelcome guest]
Lycaon sat upon his horse, surrounded by twenty of his mounted knights, ready to meet the rest of his escort outside of the city. Those outside numbered at a hundred knights and two-hundred footsoldiers. Lycaon departure had already become known, so many of the denizens of Nyhem there to see his farewell. There was cheering at his presence, and even a moans and cries at the fact that he was leaving them. Lycaon waved to them, but did not speak long to them, and walked towards the gate with his escort. 

“Ser Lycaon I assume” announced a man from behind. He was riding a regal white horse and wore attire typical of Sypius nobles. He looked around fifty with a wrinkled face, short white hair and a wispy moustache. Though despite this he was surprisingly muscular for his age with dark black eyes that looked like they belonged to a man in his twenties. He rode towards Lycaon followed closely by two Cawanor soldiers and a dozen or so of his own guards.

Lycaon’s knights crowded around their Grandmaster and would not allow anyone to get too close to him. Nonetheless, Lycaon turned around towards the voice, though with a nonchalant look on his face. From the look of him he was a noble, and Lycaon wondered whether or not this man had any doubts as to whether he was actually Lycaon. There was no one else that the people were crying for.

“You speak to Lycaon Issarot, Grandmaster of the Order of Saint Elenor and defender of the Church,” Lycaon said plainly. “What business has brought you here? . The man stopped abruptly, he stopped far enough away so as not to make Lycaon’s knights nervous, but close enough so that he could look down on Lycaon as he spoke.

“I am Ser Rendon Du Paraquette, second son of House Du Paraquette, knight of Nidanke and the newly appointed viceroy to the inquisition” Rendon said with a cold smile “Under orders of the emperor I am to work with you for the next few years, to ensure that the inquisition serves the interests of the empire in removing these heretics from our lands”.

So he was a du Paraquette. More important than that, his words seemed to catch Lycaon off-guard, though he did well not to show it. He did not yet know what purpose Rendon had, or what the Snake was expecting of him. Still, Lycaon had other things on his mind, and he was not thinking too much of Rendon at the moment. He hardly sounded threatening to Lycaon, though he knew that viceroy could be an important role if the Snake had willed it to be so. 

“Ser Rendon, it is a pleasure,” Lycaon began. “You, then, are His Imperial Majesty’s delegate? I shall be glad to receive your cooperation. What business has brought you to me, viceroy?”

“Why to travel with you of course. As Viceroy I am to be involved with all decisions that the inquisition might make. I shall serve under you and help you to…ensure you are acting in our emperors favour, after all as Viceroy I am a extension of the Emperor himself and as such my words carry his authority” Rendon replied enunciating himself as he did, smiling to himself in a sense of self worth. 

Suddenly Lycaon was highly annoyed by his words, and all that they meant, and it was accentuated by the fact that he was clearly not one of the better du Paraquettes. He still did not know this man’s purpose. Was he a simple spy, or did he mean to order him around? Lycaon would never allow it. He was guardian of the Church, protector of the faith and scourge of heretics, and he would not allow himself to be foiled so easily. For now he would have to bring this Rendon along. It would not be so easy for him to watch the Holy Order of Saint Elenor, even if he watched him. Oswyn was in the west, Sayer was in the east, and Daeleth was out of his reach. 

“Come then, Ser Rendon,” Lycaon said. “It would be best if you prepared yourself for departure quickly, as I am on my way out of Nyhem, and I do not know when I shall return. My men are waiting for me outside the gates. We head for Issaria. Perhaps you’ve been there before? Regardless, I’m sure you’ve met my father. He will give you a welcome befitting any true friend of the Issarots.”
Lycaon’s father was Duke Percival II, head of the Issarot dynasty, one of the strongest of the du Paraquettes vassals, who had ruled Issaria from Castle Issarot since the Remonnet conquest. Lycaon remembered that during his childhood there had been a few times when du Paraquettes had visited Castle Issarot itself, though usually when Lycaon and his father saw the du Paraquettes it was when they visited Scassia. Rendon must have met his father many times before.

“O course, who doesn’t know of Percival, one of my own father’s most loyal bannermen, and now bannerman to my nephew” Rendon said with slight annoyance in his voice upon mentioning his nephew “I met him a few times as a young man though since becoming a knight of Nidanke most of my time has been spent here in Nyhem. It shall be good to see him again, my servants have already packed my things for me and my men and I are ready to leave whenever you are”. As he was about to signal his men he stopped before adding “Oh I almost forgot, being the head of the Order, the knights of Nidanke will also be joining the inquisition. For now they shall travel with us, consider it my contribution to the inquisitions forces” Rendon said with a over exaggerated bow.

It seemed that the Snake had sent the most insufferable of the du Paraquettes to him. It seemed to Lycaon that he had just slighted the centuries-long loyalty of the Issorats to the du Paraquettes. Well, it was no matter. Lycaon hoped this viceroy and his knights would not cause any trouble. Rendon would be sorely mistaken if he thought either his birth or position would save him from the Church should he prove to be wayward. Nonetheless, even if he was not fond of him, Lycaon was far from eager to begin a fight with the du Paraquettes, the lords of his ancestors, and Lycaon’s lords as well.

“I am sure they shall serve faithfully,” Lycaon said. “The rest of my knights are waiting outside, and I think it is about time that I joined them.”

As Lycaon rode with his knights past the gates of Nyhem there were fifty mounted knights and a hundred foot soldiers outside waiting for him. There was a large horse-drawn wagon which was carrying Felise of Dagensbourg’s intricate golden coffin, and was guarded by two men on each of its four sides. Lycaon joined in with the rest of his host at the front, and began their ride to Issorat Castle, their castle. He was finally returning home, a place he had hoped he would never see again.
[/hider]


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