Mini-Event: Unrest in the East - Now Active!

"This is not right", thought Theo. By the faces of Iskar and Cairngrove, and by his coming with empty hands, he could tell that the archers had fled. "Either the assassins are terrible, or they are very skilled professionals. If the second is true, then what happened here is no mistake, but part of something else. Until now, everything happened as they expected, apparently. Now, how can we surprise them...?".

The knights of the ebony gauntlet came as he was thinking, disrupting his reasoning with their stomping and shouting and pushing. After they mentioned they would take medical care of their wounds, he left the victims behind without a further word with the gauntlets.

He made his squad follow him to a less crowded alley and gave his orders:

"Men, there is nothing else we can do here. The duke is safe with those dozens of knights piled up upon him, the archers are gone and the streets are in chaos. I can see Iskar issuing orders to the rest of the band, but he's too far away and I can't afford the time to get there and ask him of his plans. This is what we will do:
Follow me to Quigfen's manor. There is a small possibility that someone will try to use the chaos to storm in and try to steal his wares "

The troops you send out return without much too report. Neither of the suspected “targets” were hit in any way. The parade, or rather the duke's armed escort slowly proceeds on to the city gates. No other incident occurs. But there is tension in the air. One can almost smell the fear of the people.

No one is in the mood for joyous ceremonies. The duke gazes with weary eyes on the gathered members of the Silvermist Rangers, including his own son, all mounted on horses and holding spare mounts at their reigns.

“Come back quickly,” he pleas. “And pray you come back with good news.”

Then he turns around. Heading back to the castle with his men.

Later that Evening, the nobles gather once more in the duke's hall. The faces are sullen and gloomy. Few words are exchanged.

The captain of the duke's men steps forward.

“We have found the men assigned to the rooftops from which the arrows were fired,” he says with a deep, distressed voice. “They are dead. Bludgeoned to death in a backyard near the main street. There is no sign of a struggle, but I believe they were killed before the parade. I have no proof for this, your Grace, and whatever the case, I have failed you and am prepared to bear the consequences.”

“What news from the city,” the duke asks, completely ignoring his captain's submission to his sentence. “how bleak are things?”

The grizzled guard captains sighs. “Grim, milord. Grim indeed. The people have been frightened before, but things have gotten worse. We have tried to inform your subjects that you are not responsible for what happened, but the rumour mill could not be stopped and blabbermouths have come up with ridiculous stories on how today's events have come to pass. And the people believe it, milord. They are frightened and confused, especially in the poorer parts of the city. I have no doubt that this was the desired effect of today's attack.”

“You believe someone wishes to turn my people against me? The assassins who failed to kill me directly?”

“Possible, milord. Maybe it is someone else. I fear I do not know.”

“And what do you suggest, captain?”

“With all due respect, your grace. We need to try to appease your subjects, as unjust as their anger and their fading trust might be. I was hoping that the bright minds that have gathered here would be able to aid us in this.”

The duke nods. “Very well.” He turns to the audience. “I am open for suggestions.”

Lucius steps forward.
"If noone else is gonna speak, then can I be honest, my lord?"
He continues without waiting for acknowledgment.
"The parade was a stupid idea. You went out trying to show the people that you can protect yourself, and all you did was show them that you can't protect them. No shopkeep's gonna give a damn whether you live or die, as long as he feels safe at night. If he don't, he's just gonna leave for somewhere else, and you won't have any people left to worry about."
Lucius nods to the guard captain in respect, before taking a breath and going on.
"Your captain's right, the people need to think that we are doing all we can for them, and you won't get that by locking everything away. Anyways, what good is a gated wall against flying horses, and as much as some wish to argue, the normal person hates and fears the elves, who can easily get past our defences. If you don't do something that the people can see, though, they'll remember it."
He quickly glances around, speeding up to finish before he is interrupted.
"In my reckoning, you want to send as many knights as you can spare to patrol the city, and show that you actually give a rat's arse about the place. They can look like they're doing something important, and try and get a handle on those fake archers, because mark my words, someone saw something, even if they don't remember it."
Lucius steps back into his place, staring straight ahead, and standing to attention.

(OOC: first RP post, can edit if i screwed something up )

OOC: Oh man I totally forgot about this.

Sir Kamos looked around while listening, the man was perhaps ill informed? He did not know but he felt it necessary to speak. He remained seated

"Extra patrols would be difficult as what you saw at that parade was damn near every man the Duke could spare as I understand. The Silvermist just sent a fair chunk of their men in the delegation and my men are sticking to this castle by orders of the King with the exception a few men. Unless you have a sudden surplus of troops I'm not sure that's a possibility."

He stood up still looking around the room.

"To me this seems all so strange. Someone doesn't just want the Duke dead they want to undermine this entire areas stability. Obviously people assume the Noldor but you should never just focus on one possibility. Who in all the lands of Pendor could have a stake in what goes on here? Aside from the Noldor who could benefit or profit from weakening the Duke?"

Continuing Sir Kamos' speech with his own opinion, Sir Azrael spoke.
"One possibility of anyone wanting to weaken the duke's position would be an usurper. To put this short, by tainting the honor of duke and perhaps even his family, while staying unknown, he or she could gather support among people and attempt to become the duke him- or herself by appearing as the saviour of common folk."
Sir Azrael left his thought hanging in the air, waiting for someone to continue from where he left.

A messenger in easily recognisable silvery armour stepped in, bowed to the duke and wordlessly handed a note to Sir Silnord, the Silvermist representative.
Silnord gave it a quick read, then addressed the assembled knights, nobles and officials.

Your serene highness, lords and knights of the realm, I have just been ordered to inform you of our order's latest measures to deal with the crisis. Our rangers and mounted rangers still patrol in and around the city, doing their best at giving the population a feeling of safety and making life hard for anyone trying to make trouble. Meanwhile several of our officers have started investigations at different points of the city. We have also contacted the merchants guild, who will hopefully use their influence to deprive the current situation of its tension. However, as it is late already, consultations with the guild won't be able to start before tomorrow. Our Constable will take care of this himself.

The duke nods exhaustedly at the knight's different arguments and questions, but fails in providing answers. He turns to Sir Silnord.

“Please tell your superiors that I am pleased about their initiative to involve the merchant guild in this. It seems, gentlemen, that we are always one step behind our enemies. We need to get ahead of this. I want answers. Bring them to me.”

Duke Alamar rises to his feet, his dull eyes roaming the faces present in the hall.

“I will retire for the night, now and I suggest you do the same. It was an exhausting day and tomorrow will be no different. I expect you to be ready.”

With that the duke departs, leaving behind a crowd of worried and shocked nobles. Never before had they seen Duke Alamar his gaunt or reticent. Nervous muttering fills the hall. You see Lord Fouchier, glaring at the crowd with unhidden contempt, before storming off to his private quarters.

[End of Day 1]

Sir Lucius, trailed by two knights of his order, approaches the Silvermist camp. They stop a short distance from the sentries, and he calls out to them.

"This is the commander of the detatchment of the Ebony Gauntlet. I want to speak to whoever's in charge here."

He steps back to join his knights, and waits for a reply.

A Silvermist ranger on the battlements above the gate, that led to the courtyard of the Clarion Hall, took note of the Gauntlet knights and gave a signal to someone in the courtyard whom the Gauntlet knights could not see. Soon after that a small door in the gate opened and out came another Silvermist ranger, his hand on his sword hilt. Coolly he addressed the Gauntlet knights:

My name is Sir Silnord, Watch-Sergeant of the Silvermist. What is your name and what is your business with the Lord Constable?

Lucius scowls at the guard's question, and replies with exaggerated politeness.

"My name is Aurelian, and I've got some information to share with your Lord, if he's not too busy. I would like to think we can trust a KING's order to help in a crisis?"

Sir Silnord just raised an eyebrow at Aurelian's stress of the word 'king'.

I shall notify the Lord Constable of your request.

With that he turned around and vanished back into the courtyard, the gate door closing behind him, while the ranger above the gate kept a watchful eye on the waiting knights. Some minutes later the door opened again and Sir Silnord stepped out.

The Lord Constable will receive you in the courtyard - if you please, that is, he added with an almost sarcastic smile.

He stepped aside and waited for the Gauntlet knights to enter.

Lucius walks quickly inside, shifting his warhammer round so he cannot easily reach it, and signals for his knights to wait just past the gate. He strides into the courtyard and waits patiently for the Silmermist commander.

Behind the gate lay a rectangular courtyard, bordered on three sides by the stately Clarion Hall. Some rangers and mounted rangers were practising with bows and swords, but most fights stopped when Lucius entered. Sir Silnord closed the door behind them.

Wait here, if you please, he said, and walked off to a large door opposite the gate that was obviously the main entrance to the Clarion Hall.

Some more minutes passed after Silnord had entered the Clarion Hall and finally the large door opened again, Silnord coming out first. Behind him came a relatively young man with long hair, clad into silvery half-plate armour, a silvery sword at his side. The rangers present jumped to attention and saluted. Iskar returned the salute and beckoned to the rangers to take up their practising again.

He then approached Lucius, hinting at a slight nod as greeting.

I bid you welcome to the Clarion Hall, Lucius Aurelianus, he said politely. What is it that you want to discuss with me?

Lucius briefly comes to attention, and returns the nod before speaking.

My Lord. In our patrols here, my men have found something quite interesting. It seems that some locals saw a chase break out with one of your rangers around district 11.

His face darkens as he chooses his next words, and he shifts slightly.

As much as I hate to admit it, you obviously have a step up in operations here, and it would probably be in all our interests if you told us what happened, seeing as it could help us all get this done a lot quicker.

In all our interests? Iskar raised an eyebrow. I'd say it is rather mainly in yours, Sir Knight, as you are the one who believes himself to be behind.
But very well, I shall indulge your curiosity and tell you about the matter in question: One of our rangers noticed a shady person last night when patrolling and chased him, but lost track of the person in district 11. We searched the district with some men this morning for clues, but found nothing noteworthy.

Now that we're speaking - have you already made some progress about the murder of Sir Robert Morbren?

We prefer forests to cities, as you may know. Furthermore the suspect could have entered any house in the slums of Laria in order to hide from his pursuer. Don't mistake a fast chase for a sneaky operation either.

As for your 'private matter' I doubt anything that might have even the slightest hint at a connection to the assault on the duke is to be considered a 'private matter' for now. I expect you not to hold back information about the assault should you gain any by investigating about Sir Robert Morbren's death.

Well, if that is everything you wanted to talk about, I have to ask you to excuse me - I have an order to lead.

He slightly nodded again, turned around and vanished back into the building, while Sir Silnord opened the gate door again.

This way, if you please.

Although some districts in the city of Laria were in turmoil by the recent events, the Pious Pilgrim was just as crowded as ever.
The Inn was full of worshippers of Eunomia Stabilitis and they looked suprisingly like fat owls or sterny old men that weighed less than the books they carried. In the drinking room, in this faithfull and law abiding part of town, a cloaked man didn't seem out of the ordinary.

There was only one person who noticed something different about this man, the Innkeeps son named Euron thought he heard chainmail rinkle underneath the man's cloak. Euron was a bold fellow and decided to sneak up to the man and lift up a part of his cloak when suddenly he was caught and was beckoned closer. ' I am new in town and need a letter to be delivered to the Order Hall of the Clarion' he said while his hand searched beneath his cloak, seemed to find what he was looking for and gave Euron a shiny denar, when he continued 'If you show me the way to that Hall, I'll give you another one.'

It was almost Dusk when Euron and the (still cloaked) man reached the Clarion Hall. The man removed his hooded cloak and showed his black chainmail armor with a bright yellow griffon on its front. He then approached the guard and spoke in a clear tone. ' I have come to aid the Clarion Call in the name of my Order, The Order of the Griffon '

when the guardsman went inside, the man gave Euron the promised denar and send him back to the 'Pious Pilgrim'

The Silvermist standing guard at the gate took an investigative look at the man's armour, then said:

Wait here, I shall notify my superior of your presence.

Some minutes later the guard returned and held open the gatedoor, indicating Aelos to enter the courtyard of the Clarion Hall.

The Lord Constable will receive you now, don't keep him waiting.

The gateway led to a spacious courtyard, surrounded on three sides by the Clarion Hall, a fortified three storey building with a high coloured window in the central tract, displaying the fleur-de-lys of the Silvermist and Clarion Call.

Accompanied by four halberdier guards a tall, slender man in silvery half-plate armour was waiting in front of the main entrance to the building.

Good Sir, Iskar said as Aelos approached, what can I do for you?

'honorable ranger' Aelos responded after taking a moment to wonder why a mere ranger is accompanied by four highly skilled guards.

He couldn't help thinking about Sir Roland, and how different his last moments would have been if he had four extra men that had protected him.. perhaps he would still be alive..

'I have come to aid the Duke and your respectable Order with the investigation..' he paused for a moment before he continued 'It seems that the Duke's protectors have done their job in keeping him alive, but your investigation clearly lacks...results.'

Aelos suddenly realising that he might not have been so tactful, quickly continues 'My name is Aelos, I am a squire within my Order and I came here because I fancy myself skilled in the art of investigation.'

regretting his foolishness he decided to wait till the ranger introduced himself.

Iskar raised an eyebrow at the remark at the allegedly doubtful success of the investigation but did not react to it any further. Finally he said:

I greet you, Squire Aelos. I am Iskar, Lord Constable of the Order of the Silvermist. Although I highly appreciate your offer to help us, I have to ask whether your superiors in the castle are informed about this? Have you been sent by Sir Kamos?

'No, I am afraid Sir Kamos is currently unaware of my presence in Laria' Aelos responded. wondering why the Lord Constable would rather meet him outside with armed guards than inside his Orders Hall.

'I wanted to get a head start and be fully updated before I report to my superiors. I heard rumors about a possible Usurper and would like to speak with the former Grandmaster of the Clarion Call and, him being the youngest son, thought I would sooner find him amongst his fellow rangers than in Deloria Castle.' he took a moment to look at the guards. 'But I think these kind of talks should be held in private.. . he paused for a moment before he added 'just like my reasons for being here'

he unfolded his cloak to make clear he would either leave the courtyard at once or enter through the main entrance, depending on the Lord Constable

The old grandmaster of the Clarion Call has retired some time ago, I'm afraid, and the duke's youngest son you speak of, Sir Quentin, is currently on a mission to Elacrai with some of my men. But let us continue this conversation indoor.

Turning aside to another ranger he said: Sir Silnord, ready the assembly room.

While the ranger hurried off, Iskar beckoned Aelos to accompany him. They entered the entrance hall and continued up some stairs to the officer's assembly room, furnished with a huge oaken table, a great stone embraced fireplace and several high-backed chairs around it.

Do have a seat, Iskar said. Wine?