[hider=Nyhem, a day after the training session beneath the ruined tower.]
[b]Nyhem, a day after the training session beneath the ruined tower.[/b]
The grey clouds and snow mixed rain was effective in making everything slightly damp. Claus had made sure to oil his armour fully before setting out but that didn't stop the water from somehow reaching him inside the suit anyway.
He wore a woolen cloak to protect himself from the weather, had he not he would be shivering right now but with it he was just damp and annoyed.
The streets were a dull grey tone, few were out and those who were wore similar cloaks as Claus, hiding their frames just showing where they were going.
Claus himself wasn't sure where this was going to lead, but he had gotten a funny feeling after Katrina had been to her meeting with the emperor.
The emperor himself had written a message detailing that Katrina would be kept safe, away from field battles and other dangers.
Why did Alasdair care about Katrina's safety? Wasn't she just some blacksmiths daughter?
Claus didn't appreciate secrecy, sneaking around and performing acts in the dark all cloak and dagger, he didn't swing that way at all.
But this was about Katrina, someone who had turned out to be invaluable to the fist and someone he realized he actually cared about. Not many of those around.
Deciding to solve this mystery, he had ordered his men to ask around a bit and they had figured out that Katrina had lived with her uncle Roland.
She had been adopted by him following mysterious circumstances. They were unclear and riddled with fantastical rumors, some frankly unbelievable.
He moved past the renowned 'The pointed needle' and saw 'black iron smithy' across the street of the Bazaar, the place he had ordered his new suit of armour.
But he wasn't going there, he turned and went past the bazaar and into a smaller side street, approaching a smaller smithy. 'The Brass hammer.'
Katrina had told him this was a good place, but not where he wanted to go when he ordered the mace for Alasdairs coronation, when he thought about it she had seemed rushed about the place and he couldn't put his finger on it then.
Now it seemed it was the place where her uncle lived, perhaps he wasn't a deciding factor in Katrina joining up with the Steel Fist, perhaps she had even run away. Little rascal she was he thought.
It was just a few houses left, he wasn't unprepared and flicked his head signalling his two corpsmen who were nearby to await further orders.
He saw their cloak covered forms take cover beneath some roofs, trying to escape the rain.
With an initial stride in his step he aimed for the little shoppe and crossed an alleyway when his blood turned ice and his resolve shattered as he spotted something to his left at the corner of his eye.

Wearing a worn black cape, with tattered auburn hair and a rusted cuirass of the steel fist, the helmet concealing her face. A rotting pavise on her back. What made the warrior the most recognizeable was the battle-worn corseque bound with ragged cloth bands along its shaft, drenched in caked blood and fluttering in the wind.
She stared at Claus, that dark stygian void that should have been her eyes stared right into the core of his being and the only thing he could feel was horror and guilt.
His legs wanted to give way, but they didn't, he wanted to move but he was petrified.
With a slow, purposeful inevitability she lowered the corseque and pointed it at him.
-"You abandoned me... everyone..." Her voice stern and with a hint of anger.

Piercing through the panic his guilt took over, he quickly turned towards the alleyway but it was empty, a faint rolling thunder in the distance as he stared into an empty street curving out of sight.
He panted heavily for a moment, then he walked to the smithy.
Hallucinating during the day, he needed a drink. Something strong.
His men had noticed his distress and were looking at him curiously, he did a handwave ordering them to stand down, with a shrug they went back to covering from the rain, as best they could.

A small bell rang as he entered the smithy, it was warm and smelled of burning coals inside.
In the backroom a man could be heard and the unmistakable sound of rummaging through metal objects, grunting and a few small curses could be heard before the man began to move.
As he waited, Claus observed the things for sale.
It was mostly iron fittings, door handles, candle holders and loads of nails. A few blades were standing in a stand which had a rudimentary but sturdy lock so no one could steal them without at least making some sounds while doing it.
His eyes fell upon a wicked falchion, heavy and with a hint of rust, not a pretty blade at all, but for some reason it reminded him of himself.

The blacksmith rubbed his hands with a rag as he entered the room, greying hair and a slow gait betrayed his slight aging, but he was no older than fifty.
He was reciting a greeting spiel when he looked up and saw Claus and froze, just uttering.
-"You!...." A concoction of emotions were brewing inside the man before Claus, he on the other hand spoke.
-"Are you Roland, Katrina's uncle?"
-"Where is she?! You have some nerve coming here, i should....!" The smith had lost his temper and quickly walked up to Claus spitting accusations, but had stopped in his tracks when he noticed Claus empty ice cold stare combined with the fact he hadn't even moved when a muscly smith had approached him in anger.
-"You should be anwering my question, that's what you should. I'm imperial advisor of war after all." Claus made a quick tootless smile lacking emotion and looking completely fake.
-"Yes... of course ser.... i am Roland Nikos... Katrina's uncle." Claus eyed him up and down before speaking.
-"We should talk, got a place to sit?" Claus question was met with a nod and the smith showed the way to a hidden staircase.

The two men sat down over a heavy table roughened by age and Roland put down a bottle of decent cider and two cups, Claus opened it and pured two servings.
Roland sat down and had a tired guilty expression.
-"I'm sorry for my first response, it's just that i'm angry for Katrina and it felt like your fault." He wasn't looking at Claus during his apology and Claus sipped some cider before offering the other cup.
-"Look up gramps, just shows you care for the lass." Roland looked up and met eyes with a smirking Claus offering him cider, this lightened his heart and he took the offered cup and sipped as well.
-"So, how is she doing? I heard she's well off, some sort of officer or something." He was curious but spoke with sort of lost hope, almost sad.
-"She's lieutenant Katrina Nikos, head logistician of the Steel fist." Claus was trying to be comforting with his words. It worked to some extent as the man looked down and let out a relieved smile.
-"Young Katrina is getting somewhere after all. I feared she would end up on the streets when she ran off."
-"Ran off? You weren't taking care of her?" Claus voice had a hint of spite in them, he took a gulp of cider.
-"No no, don't get me wrong, i did my best, told her all i could think of. Did my best to take care of her. But she's always so stubborn... from her mother." Roland hurriedly answered to clear his name, to this Claus chuckled and said.
-"Oh that sounds like Katrina. No doubt about it. Please carry on."
-"Well she wanted to travel, do all these things, like going on a ship, see dragons and unicorns, meet a handsome prince and become something... all i wanted her to be was a safe blacksmith.... perhaps i was a bit overprotective..." Roland sighed as he contemplated his choices in life, Claus spoke up in response.
-"Ey, sounds like you did your best to raise her. Sounds better than my own father even... nevermind. So she felt trapped, that's what you are saying?"
Roland rotated his cup and looked into it before answering.
-"Yeah, when you put it like that i did trap her a bit. But my father had just died when her mother died, i didn't want to loose her too."
Claus nodded and looked to the side, he added a response.
-"Sounds like she was close, rough stuff." Roland was slightly annoyed at his expression, but realized that the man in front of him didn't talk ill of her but this was how he always expressed himself. Blunt and earnest.
He saw a certain charm to it, but was still annoyed with him, especially since he was already on his second cup.
-"Is it that good?" He pointed at Claus cup with a hint of sceptiscism to it, Claus understood the hint and looked at his cup which was almost empty and counted in his head which one it was.
-"You're right, it's not 'that' good." He gulped down the last of the cup and made a point of putting it out of reach. He asked.
-"So, i'm not one for speaking around subjects. I think you know why and now i ask. Why would the emperor ask me to keep Katrina away from fighting and keep her safe?" He looked Roland deadpan in the eyes, Roland was slightly taken aback by this and answered.
-"That's strange, but perhaps he likes her." Roland wasn't looking at Claus and Claus didn't believe him a single bit.
-"Yeah, the emperor meets her once and suddenly he feels responsible for her and want to keep her safe because he 'likes' her. Makes perfect sense." At likes Claus even made quotation marks and was letting know how ridiculous this sounded to him.
Roland had hoped Katrina and the emperor would have met several times and his lie would make some sense, but right now he was cornered.
He was raising his voice a bit and almost shouted.
-"I don't know, perhaps he'd like to bed her! What would i know!?" He met Claus gaze which didn't budge for a second, he wasn't believing any of this, he knew this smith knew something.
-"Cut the crap gramps. You know something and you are going to tell me!" With a surge of anger, Roland stood up and inhaled furiously, resting his hands on the table.
He then realized in front of him sat the imperial advisor of war, the legendary captain of the Steel Fist and it showed that he had fought most of his life.
Exhaling deeply through his nose Roland let his anger go and sat down.
-"Damn you, you oaf... there is no escaping it with you. Alright i'll tell you!" He took a moment to gather his wits, while Claus settled in more comfortably and took his hand from his dagger.
-"Her mother you see, Anna, was a handmaiden of Ruth... queen Ruth. And her father was Heylot Remonet..." Roland let the weight of this sink in, Claus was puzzling together the situation as best he could. After a pause he responded.
-"So... Katrina is a bastard of the mad king... that's..." Claus was surprised and confused, but then realized the weight of this as he said it out loud.
-"Yes, she's the bastard child of king Heylot." Roland confirmed Claus conclusion and kept on.
-"So that's why she's important, why she's being protected. I suppose the Snake is choosing his next move between marrying her or disposing of her. Ptwaa!" Roland spat at the end of his sentence, showing his disgust at the whole ordeal.

This did change everything, sure she was a bastard but even then she had a legitimate claim to the throne, unlike so many others including the current emperor.
Claus smirked at the situation and said.
-"Well, that means i'll have to make sure she's safe then." He seemed oblivious to the importance of the situation. Roland spoke up again.
-"Oh and one more thing, Katrina knows nothing of this. Far as she knows her father was a drunk who shared a single night with her mum in a tavern."
-"Then i won't tell her for now. Since we're going to Uzgob, she would be distracted." Claus said with an earnest tone.
-"Uzgob... to war... please keep her safe ser!" Roland was worried.
-"Don't worry gramps, it's in everyones interest she remains safe and sound. Plus she will be in my baggage train keeping track of things, i have no intention of letting any enemies close to them." Claus winked and smirked before settling into a more comfortable seat with his legs crossed over a chest. The two sat in silence for a while before Claus spoke up again.
-"You know i feel like i owe you one, for barging into your home and you raising such a great logistician. I'm gonna order fifty door mechanisms for inner doors. And that falchion downstairs, i'll buy it as well." Claus was completely no-nonsense about the whole thing while Roland almost choked on his cider.
-"That's... unexpected." He calmed when the suddenness of it had passed.
-"Also, that way i can have Katrina go here and pick them up, BUT!" Claus stood up as he said this but raised his finger and his voice at the end.
-"She does have to go with me on the campaign. I know you want her back but she's coming, and if you try anything i'll send in my vanguard to get her back." He said it in a joking mood, but was dead serious.
Roland shone up since he hadn't met Katrina since she ran away from home.
-"Don't worry ser, i'll just give her a telling to she deserves."
-"I'm sure you will." Claus said with a smirk as he left the room.
[/hider]