Warren had followed orders for the better part of the day. Go here, do this, listen to this, go there, do that... Warren wasn't exactly new to this lifestyle. As a mercenary, he'd done many things for the older, more experienced members.
He had entered the hallway alongside Terryn, Saewine, and Laurence, and took up his position along a pillar. It was boring work for the time, as nothing interesting was happening. A bunch of high and pompous nobles came in and conversed about things that seemed menial to Warren. Observing Saewine and Laurence from his post, Warren shook his head at them, letting them know he was already fed up with the nobles. The people who entered was somewhat recognizable, mostly the few who had arrived from places like the Barren Flats and Redsand. A few nobles Warren particularly liked, but most he didn't like. He had developed a sort of obvious dislike for nobles, wrongfully believing them to be pompous assholes. Except for the previous Queen, Lady Ella, and he daughter Anna - the current queen. Warren had developed a sort of keen loyalty for them, especially since it was King Tristain's lineage. Gregar wasn't a terrible man, but Warren would have felt more comfortable had Tristain's daughter, Anna, marry someone she wanted to marry.
Still. Gregar was the son-in-law of Ella and the King, so Warren wasn't about to disappoint him. He'd keep a good watch over Anna's children, for his loyalty and duty forced him to.
"Wyk? That you under that helmet?" Warren squinted and turned his head, seeing a man approach. It was Marcus Harloin, of Coedwin.
"Master Harloin," Warren said, somewhat surprised. "A pleasure to see you again. How did you know-"
Marcus grinned and laughed. "No one else with a hunched back like that would join the Black Shields. Soon as I heard you had left Redsand and joined up with the Black Shields, I sent search parties out to recover your carcass from the road," he joked.
"Pfft, come on now, I'm not that bad off," Warren said gleefully. "But if you don't mind Marcus, I should be watching out for Dorran and the rest of the royal family. Perhaps we can speak later."
"Oh of course," Marcus replied, "later then."
As if on cue, Dorran entered the room. With a sudden drop in volume, it was evident he was the more popular arrival of the entire feast. He went about carrying on with the nobles and daughters around the hall, as was usual for a prince. I'd expect Ella to be proud of her grandchildren, thought Warren. It wasn't long before Bjorn came in. Warren had a sort of higher respect for Bjorn, or at least more than he had for Dorran. Then the young Caterina appeared. Warren didn't notice her at first cause of her clothes, but grinned at her cheerfulness and freedom.
Hmmm, Warren began to think as he examined the room. There was a lot of chatter. A lot of people. Most unrecognizable. Maybe Dorran isn't the only one we should be watching out for. Warren casually left his post, as if he was meant to. Perhaps Terryn would be disappointed; he might even flog him for it later, but Warren was doing what he thought needed to be done. He strolled over to Saewine first, trying to look 'on guard' as best as he could so no one would notice anything was out of place. He didn't want to frighten anyone, so when he got close to Saewine he quietly said to him "keep an eye on the whole Royal Family. Dorran may be a prime target, but we shouldn't dismiss Caterina or Bjorn either.
Warren rounded the pillar Saewine was posted at and walked over to Laurence, still acting inconspicuous. "Watch out for Caterina and Bjorn too," he said to Laurence quietly.
Now there was only Terryn himself. Making his way around the hall, he passed by Terryn and also told him "don't lose sight of Caterina, sir. Dorran's not the only high priority target for would-be assassins."
It didn't take to long but Warren finally weaved his way back to his post. Most people saw him and moved out of the way, examining the garb of the Black Shields.
