It is surprising how easy it is to go unnoticed in a crowd. When I was younger I was scare one of my classmates by going unnoticed. I was listening into a conversation from outside the group and decided that I wanted a better spot. I walked all around the outside of the classroom until I had made a loop and was on the other side of the group. I then slipped into the center of the group and sat there listening for a while. It wasn’t until I had said something that I was noticed.

My part in this story began when I woke up on my feet and leaning against a wall. The room I was in had a was decorated in a very regal fashion. Which is to say the place was gaudy by any kind of modern definition. Once I had gained my bearings I decided that I had found myself in some sort of medieval themed LARP session.

Alex waited silently in the corner as the Princeling General. The young noble was surrounded by his commanders. The group was composed of childhood playmates turned rebels when it became clear the previous King had gone mad with power, waging war far beyond the scale his lands could sustain.

Prince Rupert had watched as his father sent his brothers to their deaths. When Rupert's time came he raised his banner against his father. Rupert was far from the first of the nobles to rise against the king, the realm was collapsing around him as his retinue marched on the capital. On his arrival Rupert was welcomed as a hero. With his father’s death the civil war as well as the wars abroad ended for a moment, no one had the will to fight for the moment.

“We must face the truth my friends. My father’s kingdom has died with him. I may wear the crown, for now, but my father has smothered the divine fire of majesty that resided in it. My only hope is to pick up the pieces.”

Rupert had the body of a warrior. His stark white, finely tailored shirt did little to hide his muscular arms and emphasized his stout chest. His neatly trimmed beard and hair ruined this image for Alex however. The current fashion among the nobility consisted of a mullet and handlebar mustache combined with a goatee.

“That will hardly be an issue Bert, with the combine might of the realm on our side we can easily remind the rebels of their place.”

Prince Rupert’s best friend and bodyguard Buckley wasn’t as mindful of his grooming and had a tendency to shave his face bare before letting his facial hair grow out into an unkempt patchy fuzz.

“If we had access to the combined might of the realm we wouldn’t have rebels to put down. Rebels are known for not paying taxes among other things Buck.”

Joseph Robert had a more scholarly appearance though he had a hardness about him that told Alex he was used to campaigning. As Prince Rupert’s court wizard he was responsible for organizing the various hedge mages who supported the Prince on his march to the capital.

Alex watched as the three men discussed strategy and ignored the servants who buzzed around them attending to their tankards and plates of snacks. The servants deftly refilled the tankards while dodging their masters’ arms and left without receiving any kind of thanks.

The irritation Alex felt for the three men before him grew with each refilled tankard. Right as he lost his temper Alex noticed a glassy eyed servant walking up to the Princeling with a knife in hand pointing at the mans neck.

Alex’s body moved faster than his mind could rationalize the situation. He tackled the glass eyed servant to the ground, knocking the knife away and toward the boot of the scholarly man. Without even struggling the servant began to claw his way toward the knife.

Rupert watched the scene for a moment trying to comprehend why the table servants had decided to wrestle while the on duty. It took him that moment to realize that one of one of the servants was a woman and the other was a man. The next moment was spent trying to figure out why the foolish couple had chosen that moment for a rendezvous. He was still trying to figure that one out when Joe Bob stepped on something.

“Guards, detain that woman. She’s an assassin. Judging by her actions she is under a compulsion.”

Rupert took a hearty drink from his tankard and looked at the man he had presumed to be the assassin’s lover. The man's clothes were vaguely absurd. He wore a shockingly white tunic that was both clearly inherited despite being made from a strangely well made cloth. The man's britches were made of a similarly expensive looking cloth but were both well stitched and poorly tailored. The style of his britches was simply foreign.

The three nobles and their strange guest watched as the poor woman was dragged out of the room by the a pair of guards.

The Princeling invited Alex to sit at the table.

“I owe you a blood debt for saving my life just now. As you know, with the current state of the realm, I can hardly repay that debt at the moment. Please, your name?”

The scholar, Joe Bob, cleared his threat. “The assassin knife is charmed against you Bert. It has both a killing hex keyed to you, and a charm of misdirection.” The scholar walked over to Alex and waved his hand in front of Alex. The scholar stumbled backwards and lowered himself to the floor. “This man… for lack of words… he comes from a realm beyond the Veil. No Buck,” Buckley must have decided that Alex was a threat and was moving to deal with him, “he is no more dangerous than a count’s favored advisor might be.