Once she made it into the party itself, Lana realized her troubles had only just begun. She clung to the arm of a brawny lesser lord. It had been easy enough to convince him that she was a country lady who had lost her escort to the party. Or he had been willing to put up with a flimsy excuse. She could see the way his watery eyes flicked over her tight bodice when he thought she was not looking. Either way, he gave her the opportunity that she needed.

It was easy to play the part of a lady new to the city. Everything she passed she wanted to stare at, only her escort’s none too gentle pulls kept her from stopping. The magnificent architecture and immaculately manicured plants were the least of the wonders waiting inside of the main gates. Everyone she passed was bedecked in extravagant jewels, gold, and silver. Their garments were brocaded silk or brightly dyed wool. Even the lowly men and women dressed in linens had intricate patterns in rich colors. Her dress suddenly seemed so very plain. She had not believed Galier when he had selected what she thought was beyond gaudy. By comparison, she was dull and obvious in her plainness. She shrunk back from the looks of those she passed, but they did not seem to even see her. One look at her dress and they moved on.

A regal woman who stood near the gates with a retinue of guards turned her nose up at Lana and her escort but did nothing to stop them entering. The reactions of everyone they passed were similar. The man she held onto did not seem to care. When she had first laid eyes on him, she had thought him to be someone of import, his fine wool jacket and oiled beard had caught her eye outside but now that she was among the others, the real lords and ladies, she saw just how lowly he was. He merely grunted as he shoved past anyone in his way.

Eventually, he stopped by a table laden with food of all sorts. Plates bearing entire roast pigs alongside deep dishes of soups and sauces. There were desserts and appetizers, fruits of every color Lana could name. Her stomach rumbled fiercely but she did not want to linger. As soon as lord Unferth --she had heard someone call him that on their way to the table-- let go of her arm, she slipped into the crowd. It was easy enough and he did now seem to care. There were wide enough gaps between roving couples and groups across the entrance hall. It was not entirely unlike weaving through a crowd in the palace square. Here there were less guards searching for her blood. Even fewer people cared to see her here too.

Occasionally someone would notice her and nod politely, never more than that, and they never attempted to talk. Always someone dressed as plainly as she, never one of those few bedecked in jewels and followed by a train of simpering men and women. It was for the best, Lana had a mission and she did not want to waste time. It bit only a little. Not even that.

Galier had described who to look for in great detail before but now that she was faced with the nearly infinite mass before her, she had little use for his descriptions. What good was looking for a “well mannered lady of the old blood” when every second person she laid eyes on fit the description? All she saw were nearly identical people, all done up to resemble each other, all wearing variations of the same dress, coat, or robe, all talking or laughing in the same practiced manner. She ran through the list of people Galier had told her to look for in her head though it did her little good.

The first was the lady Nycaeus, the hostess of the party. A dozen women she had seen so far matched the description though none were followed by the train of sycophants Galier had implied would attend her. Lana supposed the woman at the entrance fit the description as well, perhaps she was there to greet the guests though she had seemed to be judging more than greeting. Lana made a note to return to that search later.

The next name on the list was one lord Vaeor Kalagor, a strange name if she had ever heard one. Galier had said he was easily noticed but all she had to go on was a vague description of dark hair and olive skin that matched several men currently in her sight. Galier’s description of his supposedly unique personality was little help either, all nobles were stiff from her experience and it was difficult enough to tell one from another without Galier’s opinions of their fashion sense. He was meant to be in mourning though, maybe that would require some sort of display that Lana would notice.

The list was extensive and Lana already felt defeated. She would have to find someone to point her in the right direction and nobody around seemed at all interested in speaking to her.

Perhaps she should not have been so eager to get away from lord Unferth, he would know more than her at the very least. A quick look back towards the tables of food showed that he had moved on. Her one tenuous link to this strange world of silk and gold was gone without a trace.

Feeling disillusioned, Lana let herself be jostled about by the crowd. She had no destination in mind as she meadered about the hall wherever there was the least resistance to her going. She looked down to the floor, careful not to trip in her strange, tight shoes, but never glanced up for more than a second. Nobody seemed to care when they bumped into her. She eventually found herself at the edge of the room, leaning against a wall. The mass of people stopped a few paces away but she made no move to join them. She sagged against the wall and looked on despondently without much hope of finding anyone she was looking for.

But she did not have time to feel sorry for herself. She had been sent here with a mission. If Galier could brave these crowds well then so could she. She would simply have to find a better place to start. Mustering the wherewithal to do so was a task in and of itself. Each time she prepared to take that first step, there was always someone in the way. Someone who did not seem to notice her there. She cringed back further though she was already nearly flat against the wall. The sound of hard-shod boots and shoes was all that she heard, the flashes of bright cloth and painted skin was all that she could see. She wanted to be far away from it, to huddle on the floor or run out the wide doors. But she could not. She had a task to complete, it was no different from the streets, she knew how to manage it. She had to. And so, willing her pounding heart to calm, she began to walk a circuit around the wall of the room, always staying as far from the other as she could.

Around the edge of the entrance hall there was always a bit of a gap. All the guests gravitated towards the center, as if being pulled there by some invisible force, leaving the fringes clear for the most part. Occasionally Lana passed others, usually a pair speaking in lowered voices who eyed her suspiciously, but they did not block her path. She began to look around, finally noticing for the first time what a place she was in. Anything to keep her eyes away from the other people filling the hall.

The hall itself was enormous and seemed to all be made of pure marble from the fluted pillars to the checkered floor tiles. It was surprisingly uniform, it was no doubt expensive and to the taste of those who inhabited it but the dull, white stone was so unbroken that it looked unfinished and alien. Still, Lana could not help but stare even as she shivered from discomfort. The entrance hall was easily the largest room she had ever seen. It could have fit entire houses inside, she thought, and that massive crystal chandelier would still not touch the roofs. The marble may have been bland compared to the nobles’ clothes but it was still a dramatic shift from the exterior. Every building Lana had ever seen was made of the same brown-grey stone, every single one. Never before had she thought that perhaps they could have hidden such splendor within. Or such space.

Luckily nobody paid her any attention because she could not stop herself from gaping at the ceiling above, craning her neck so far that she nearly fell on more than one occasion. It was all arches and intricate carvings she had not seen before. She gazed wonderingly at the walls with their elegant lines, even at the floor where an unbroken and unbelievably even pattern of grey and black marble covered the whole hall as far as she could see. Even though night air flowed freely in from columned gaps up above, the hall had a feeling of immense weight. It was a wonder, she thought, that it did not fall in under its own mass. The ceiling seemed to be held up by little more than pillars of the same stone. It was overwhelming, this thing could not be the work of human hands, it was all too perfect, the angles were too precise, the carvings too realistic. The majesty of it pressed against her. Lana was not supposed to be there, she was out of place, like a fish in a puddle left from a flood. The nobles in the center were just as out of place as Lana, even in their colorful cloth and jewels, as if trying to offset the alien beauty of unchanging stone. None of them looked up, not that she could see. Perhaps they took it all for granted. She thought it may have been because they did not want to confront it.

She backed towards the wall, step by step, until her spine pressed against the cool stone once again. She could feel it through the cloth of her dress, unnaturally smooth, even more than streets polished by years of wear. She swallowed forcefully, realizing her throat had gone dry. She had to look away, to find something else to focus on, lest she become even more overwhelmed.

For a reason she could not quite understand, she found her eyes drawn to one woman in the crowd. She looked just as out of place as Lana felt. Among the crowd of black hair, both natural and otherwise, her orange blazed hideously bright but she took no action to hide it. Lana only saw her back but somehow she knew this woman bore herself with the same grace as the rest of the ladies even though her clothes differed drastically. She was clad in polished bronze from the tips of her boots to graceful tassets to the crested helm she held under one arm. Her armor looked plain compared to what Lana had seen, even on guards. There was no paint, no gilt, not even the patterns along the edges that even the lowliest soldiers liked. Still, under the bronze, she wore a jacket of pristine white with trousers to match. Keeping those garments clean meant a significant expense, and Lana had no doubt they were of the highest quality. It contrasted strangely with her plain armor. She stood talking with the other nobles, she had the same mannerisms, even that practiced laugh like the rest, but Lana could not fit her into the pattern of the hall, she did not fit with the flowing gowns and ornate coats.

Standing where she was, Lana had an uninterrupted view of this incongruent stranger. Occasionally someone would pass between them but it was rare and Lana never had any difficulty finding her again. She did not hide well in the crowd. She was unable to look away. The stretch of wall where Lana stood was nearly empty, there was nobody to see her staring but she felt embarrassed. She meant to look like a noblewoman new to the city but she would have seen soldiers before. She had to keep her persona, it was more important than her comfort. Even then, it was hard to look away, she was so alone with these nobles. Another person as amiss as she would have been reassuring.

Lana decided the best thing to do would be to find another room where she did not feel eyes watching from the stone walls. Somewhere with less people too would be welcome. She did not want to admit that her anxiety about the entrance hall was tied to the crowd tightly but it was difficult to overlook.

There were a pair of doors in the wall to her left, directly across from the main entrance, that stood open. People occasionally walked through them in either direction but never more than a few. Whatever room was beyond would suit Lana better, certainly, and the way was clear so long as she kept to the wall. It was the only plan she had.

What was through the doorway turned out to not be another room but the keep’s internal courtyard. In the middle of which was a sandy fenced off section with gathered men and women in armor and holding weapons. There were others outside as well to Lana’s relief. Significantly fewer than in the entrance hall, but enough that she had a plausible reason to be there. Most were gathered under a shaded walkway that circled the whole courtyard. In the evening darkness, it was shadowed heavily. It was important she did not draw attention to herself. If anyone noticed her for more than her pastoral wonder, it would be difficult to explain her presence, so she kept to the shadows.

Among the few groups scattered throughout the courtyard, she caught sight of a few individuals who fit descriptions of those she was looking for. As she stood in the doorway, looking out, one pair of nobles not far away caught her eye. One man matched perfectly the description for lord Kalagor and looked somber enough to befit a new widower. He leaned against a smooth marble pillar that divided the walkway from the open courtyard. He nodded curtly to the man who attended him who turned to leave while Lana watched, leaving the potential lord Kalagor alone, though he appeared willing to talk. It was enough for Lana, she did not relish the idea of butting into a conversation where she was unwelcome and he was alone.

As she approached, Lana could see just how weary the lord was. He leaned on the pillar more than would be strictly acceptable, as if he was unsure of his legs’ ability to hold him up without it. He was staring towards the fenced off dueling ring in the middle of the courtyard but his eyes did not focus on it. No movement within fazed him in the slightest. Closer to him, Lana could see the glassy sheen of those eyes, and the tightness around them that came from holding back tears. Anything else was deftly covered by understated makeup but the signs were still there. His mouth was set in a perfectly neutral line, there was no chance it was an easy feat for him. He wore a black jacket embroidered extensively in silver and carried a sword at his hip. One hand rested on the pommel and periodically he would stroke the richly inlaid metal with his thumb.

Lana hesitated only a few steps away, this looked to be the man from the list, he fit the description perfectly, down to that sword, but she was loath to interfere with a man clearly in the midst of grieving. She was about to leave and continue her search for another name on the list when he turned towards her. He did not seem to really see her, his eyes met hers but there was no recognition in them. Still, he smiled politely and propped himself back onto his feet which seemed more than steady enough now.

Lana hurriedly bowed in the manner Galier had shown her as to not damage her carefully styled hair.

“Begging your pardon m’lord, I didn't mean to disturb you, lord Kalagor.” She stammered, all too aware of how unladylike she sounded. She looked up at him anxiously, he did not seem to have seen through her disguise but his face was harder now, much more like the description she had been given.

“It is quite alright,” He said with so little warmth as to nearly negate the words but he acknowledged the name. That was good. “Do we have some business? You will have to forgive me, I have had a singularly taxing day.” It was surprising to hear him speak of his wife’s death so nonchalantly. Lana reminded herself it was the way of nobility. They were a callous lot, this one as much so as the next.

“No my lord, I only just arrived in the city from my family’s estates.” Lana responded, speaking slower to make sure she made no more mistakes. Her story was simple, it would not serve her well to forget it. “I was told you may be able to help me.” She could feel sweat beading on her palms. Now that she was actually telling the lie she had prepared, it sounded so much more flimsy. This man with his hard stare did not seem the kind to be easily duped. “You see, my family sent me here for a presence in the city, but I have to admit it is not so easy as they made it seem.” She did her best to sound overwhelmed and anxious. It was not hard.

“Then you have been given some faulty information.” He said. That voice brooked no argument. Lana cringed away at the direct dismissal. She badly wanted to leave, even the giggling groups scattered across the courtyard looked more inviting than this, now. But Galier had made it very clear that this man was one she must get some information from. She had to find some way to get him interested, even if just for a moment.

“Pardon my lord, but I do not think it was faulty. I need a particular kind of help.” Galier had said that lord Kalagor dealt in arms and other such services though always below a surface of simpler trading. It was not in the plan but she needed something to catch his attention and there was one thing guaranteed to get it. “ I did not arrive in the city alone, my lord. I am only here this way because…” She trailed off, straining her voice slightly then raised a hand to wipe at her eyes, hoping he would be fooled. “I am sorry my lord, it is still so fresh in my mind. I arrived here with my betrothed but last night we were attacked.” She shook her head and clasped her hands before her. Maybe he would take her anxiety for another kind of fear. “There was only one man but our guards could do nothing to slow him down. He killed my betrothed, my lord. Without him I have no standing here.”

The lord was visibly shaken, though Lana could only tell by comparison. His composure barely slipped at all. Only his voice sounded different and only marginally so. “I am sorry for your loss. Maerin is not so safe as it once was.” There was a hint of sorrow in his voice, nothing approaching what Lana would have expected from a recent widower but it was a significant departure from his unyielding tone. “But I am afraid I can offer little else tonight.” He turned to look over his shoulder, he made the move look innocent as could be, but those eyes searched for anyone nearby efficiently. “My holding is not far from here, perhaps I will have something more for you tomorrow.” He did not even lower his voice, he still seemed as composed as ever. “The guards will know your name, if you would be so kind as to tell me.”

“Oh,” Lana exclaimed, confused for a moment by his sudden shift. “Lana, Lana Tel, my lord.” She immediately regretted giving her actual name. At least he would not be able to get any real information from asking after her. In any case, it was a good lead. He only nodded in reply, then turned back towards the dueling ring. It was a clear message. She left in a hurry.

Unsure of what to do now, Lana wandered down the walkway that encircled the courtyard. There were even fewer people there. She was more than happy for it. Behind her she could still hear the sounds of conversation, laughter, the occasional angry shout. It all followed her much farther than it should have. With nearly the entire courtyard between her and the nearest group of chatting nobles, she thought she would be far enough away. And yet she still felt like she was being watched, measured, and judged. Not a single eye glanced her way, it was as Galier had said, she was invisible to these people. She had always thought it to be a freeing, until now. In the streets when being spotted meant the risk of death, it kept her safe but now, after going through the pains of looking exactly how they liked, it burned that they paid her no mind.

The lady in the mirror who she and Galier had so painstakingly built was nothing. Nothing in comparison to the crowds who did the same and did it so much better. To be taken seriously by even a grieving widower she had had to fabricate a lie to entice him. Even then, she got no more than a promise for future information. She was beginning to think her job would not be nearly as easy as Galier had made it seem. Nothing about the increasingly full courtyard helped to alleviate her anxiety.

As she had been talking to lord Kalgor, the empty spaces along the shaded walkway and into the tiled courtyard itself had begun to fill in earnest. The din of chatter was unavoidable now, even outside. For a moment Lana contemplated going back inside, perhaps it was less full now. But the memory of the oppressive room was enough to stop her. Besides, if everyone was outside now, that meant the entertainment was about to begin. She was actually excited to see Jormand fight in much the same way one might be to watch a warship sink just shy of harbor. The morbidity was enticing.

Around the dueling ring itself stood a cluster of men and women, no different from the rest in the courtyard except that occasionally Lana could catch the glint of coins changing hands. They made no effort to hide it and none of the others seemed to take issue with it. To think an inn with only a game of dice would be massacred by the monarch’s legion and here, under their noses, more coin changed hands than in any underground wrestling match Lana had seen.

Not far from the gamblers were the fighters themselves. All lithe, athletic men and women, standing proud in their ornate armor except for two. Off to one side a nervous looking man, barely older than a boy really, leaned more than he should have on a spear that looked too tall for him. His eyes glanced about furiously but never seemed to land on any of his fellow competitors. He stood just as far as he could from the others, he hardly seemed one of them. Only a little of it had to do with the distance.

And then there was Jormand. He towered over the others in his high crested helmet. The face of it was carved in a bestial snarl broken only by the T-shaped visor. His grimace underneath was even more blood curdling than the one etched in bronze. Side by side with the others, who were one and all, toned to the point of obscenity, Jormand looked every part the beast his helmet proclaimed him to be. He looked wide enough for two men, clad all in loose, dark green linen and broad, painted bronze plating. His armor bore little embellishment beyond the helmet but something about his posture made Lana think of a crow at the feast. His spear was a few hands longer than the others, his shield marginally wider, everything he carried was fashioned to make his opponents seem smaller, weaker. It worked excellently. The trained soldiers next to him looked like little more than children who had found their fathers’ old equipment and wore it to play soldier in the garden.

Lana realised that, to her astonishment, the figure who stood next to Jormand, deliberately facing away, was the fiery haired woman from before. With her face obscured by her helmet, Lana had not noticed but the burnished armor belted over immaculate white was quite unique among the contestants. She haughtily stared out into the courtyard full of bustling people, a picture of grace and poise but while half of her armor-coated figure reflected the extensive lantern light brilliantly, the other was rendered dull by the shadow of the hulking man beside her. Unbidden a thought wormed its way into Lana’s head as she looked on. Those clothes would stain easily. Lana winced at the image the blood that would no doubt be marring them soon. She jerked her gaze back to Jormand, she needed a clear head. Perhaps he would be able to point her towards one of her targets, she had wasted enough time as it was.

As it turned out, Jormand was less than pleased to see her. As he saw her crossing the courtyard towards him, he turned aside with a deepened frown and immediately engaged one of the nearby gamblers in conversation. But Lana would not be so easily redirected. She continued towards him. His conversation could not last the entire night. He would have to acknowledge her eventually. She would need an excuse though, were she to be questioned. She certainly had no coin for betting and was clearly not planning to fight either. However, an opportunity presented itself as she drew nearer. The flame haired woman, who had been previously speaking to another of the fighters, caught Lana’s eye and beckoned her over with an imperious gesture. She clearly expected to be obeyed and Lana was quick to do so though her heart began to beat faster at the thought of having to explain her presence there.

“So you’ve got your eye on the young lord Derran then, have you? I would suggest you give him a wide berth.” Now that she was standing so near to her, Lana had to tip her head back just to look this woman in the eye. She was easily as tall as most men, she would have stood just a few inches shorter than Galier. That made her head and shoulders taller than Lana.

Lana tried to perform a respectful bow while hiding her flush. Had she really been so obvious with her watching? She had thought herself more discreet than that. And she certainly had no interest in that bear of a man! She was still not sure if she trusted him not to try to kill her while her back was turned.

“Oh, thank you my lady, but I think you may have mistook my intentions.” Lana said as she recovered from her bow. The other woman was not so easily convinced. Behind the visor of her helmet was a disbelieving smirk.

“He’s more beast than man, he’d just as soon kill you as kiss you.” She shot a frown over her shoulder at Jormand’s back. “You’d do well to stay away from him and any friends of his.” She said with such heat that Lana nearly took a step back. Whatever history this woman had with Jormand, it was certainly not good. Though her estimation of him seemed to not be far from accurate. “I saw you inside earlier, cowering in the corner.” She grinned widely and Lana blushed again though she did not think this woman meant it to be an insult. Sill, she thought herself better at going unnoticed. “New to the city I assume? You have the look of a fisherman in a palace.”

“Yes my lady, I only just arrived actually.” Lana replied as she dipped another bow, forgetting she had done so already. That prompted an amused smile. “It is a beautiful city.” She smiled while she said it but it twisted her stomach. She knew the ugliness of Maerin all too well and all too personally. Likely this woman thought the whole city was all manors and palaces. She paid mind to keep her disgust from her face. Even her thick makeup would not hide it.

“Yes I suppose it is.” She said, as if thinking about it for the first time. “Usually it is not so dreary, times are changing quickly as of late. The tides are shifting.” She seemed to be looking right through Lana with unseeing eyes. “You’ve chosen a dangerous moment to visit I’m afraid.”

Lana had to keep from furrowing her brow at that comment. She had gathered from Galier and Jormand that the world of the nobility had been shaken by the assassinations they were investigating but this woman spoke as if it were more than that. Perhaps she knew more than they did.

“I am not here to visit, my family sent me to stay. I don’t plan to leave soon.” Lana said with as much naivete as she could muster. She wanted this woman to think her unconcerned, a bit oblivious. Perhaps she would reveal more about what she knew.

“You would do well to make some friends then, of the right sort. Now is not the time to be alone.” She gestured broadly to the courtyard. “They’re like a beehive when the bear is near, be careful you don’t get stung.” She turned her gaze back to Lana with an incongruous smile now. “I’m Rianne, by the way.” She leaned her spear against her shield arm and reached out to grasp Lana’s forearm firmly.

“I’m Lana.”

Rianne nodded and smiled. “A pleasure. Do you intend to stay and watch the duels?” She asked.

“Oh, yes I suppose so.” In truth it was the single part of the evening that Lana was most excited to see. She had seen guards fight for control over crowds and the rare pair hotheaded nobles dueling with daggers in the street but as well armored as they were, Lana found it hard to believe these fighters could possibly lose, at least not without making a serious misstep.

Rianne grinned and pointed to one of the other fighters with her spear, a man with his back turned dressed in much the same way as the others and clad in bronze like the others. According to her he was an easy opponent, though Lana could not tell what part of his bulging muscles or long spear was meant to be his weakness. Rianne continued on, naming each of the other fighters and how she planned to beat them. It seemed she had a plan for each and every one of them. Lana did notice however that she never mentioned a plan to defeat Jormand.

Eventually the conversation strayed and Rianne spoke of everything from how duels were conducted to how best to to avoid dancing with an unwanted nobleman. Even if she learned little of actual import, Lana gleaned more than a little useful information for her future attempts at acting the noble lady.

By the time that the duels began, and Lana realized she had missed her opportunity to ask about the other names on her list, she knew more about how to conduct herself in future parties than she thought was even possible and wagered that she could even hold her own in one of these duels, if it ever came to that. Once they did begin however, and the crowd began to thicken around the dueling ring, she shrank away back into the crowd and towards the edge of the courtyard. The people closed in behind her into a wall of silks and wool but she stood without, at the fringes with those who had no interest in the fighting. There were few such people. She perched herself on the base of a pillar and watched from afar. Nobody even looked her way. They were enthralled as was she by the beginnings of combat in the ring.