Belsain

The dining room was as good as ready, most of the hired help had already cleared the manor and only the more permanent staff remained. They were currently busy deciding which cutlery to use; Belsain was amused looking down on Hamod who strictly wanted to only give out wooden spoons. Alvina was almost about to beat up the old man with the spoons, when a rough hand on his shoulder made the magi look away from the spectacle. Taran An-Senlin the captain of the guard and had silently approached him, his dark eyes burning with a fire of passion and hate. Taran kneeled on one leg, took Belsain’s slim hand and gave it a soft kiss.

“My Lord, I have news.”

“I told you to stop calling me a lord; I have not a single drop of royal blood! Also we know each other way to well to be so formal.”

The captain stood up and leaned on the small balcony viewing into the dining room, looking away from Belsain.

“Bel, you know how the people here would react to it. As it stands now we have more important matters to discuss.”

Belsain face changed into a mask of dissatisfaction, the big beautiful eyes narrowed as if he was trying to stare daggers into Taran’s back.

“Well what is so important, that it needs my attention? And it better be good!”

Taran turned around a slight smile hidden behind the pointy beard that framed his face.“What if I told you we might actually have the situation you were looking for?”

He walked over to the jug of wine Belsain had brought up to the balcony, then picked it up, sniffed on the liquid and proceeded to pour himself a drink.

“Let us talk outside, no point in anyone else listening in.” Belsain followed the captain through a large glass door to the section of the balcony facing the gardens.

“I assume you very much remember the Sibalien soldiers from this morning? Well they did not set up camp were we told them to, instead those assholes decide to forcefully occupy a local tavern.”

The magi turned to Taran the dissatisfaction now changed into a mask of burning fury.

"What? And you tell this to me now! What were you thinking, the banquet is about to start!"

Taran raised an eyebrow at this display of anger, but instead of being afraid he only let out a dry chuckle. "What makes you think, I withheld information from you? I received the news just now, and the very first thing I did was coming to you. Didn't it strike you as odd how calm I am about this?" Belsain stopped mid-sentence of his ongoing triade and glared at the captain, before responding sourly.

"No. Why are you so calm?"

"Simple, as far as I know I still enforce the queens law in this city, and they just committed a crime. So are you coming with me or not?"

A winning grin made its way onto Bel's face as he took the captains hand. "There is no way it this world that I would miss this chance."

Only minutes later Belsain had settled up on one of the guard’s quar, the sturdy animal looked like a buff horse with long shaggy fur and two short curled horns. They were by far not the fastest animals but they were great climbers and could dish out quite the head butt. The Magi was accompanied by five men as well as captain Taran as they left the royal mansion.

The sun had risen almost to the zenith basking the small town in its warm light. On a few of the roofs where still small patches of snow from the winter, which would probably melt in the coming weeks, but now they were glistening like fish swarms in a clear mountain lake. The scene was almost serene had it not been for the grim faces of the royal guard.

A few of the passing by townspeople greeted them but once they saw the looks in their eyes they quickly hurried on. When they reached the towns center and with that the location of the inn they were greeted by a sparely scattered crowd of people that seemed keen on finding out the reason for the commotion. On seeing the guards, a person in the crowd, a thin but harsh looking woman in her late fifties, separated from one of the groups and made her way over to the quickly approaching men.

Belsain looked her over and promptly recognized the unfriendly hag face; it was Thora So-Lang, the headmistress of the local chapter of the Followers of Daragua. She was a common visitor in the royal mansion. Most of the books Belsain had needed for his studies had been acquired by the followers, and the headmistress herself tried to control what was researched on in his tower. As Belsain thought she was probably out to steal his findings and rise as a scholar herself but he had yet to prove it.The unloved woman stopped right before Belsain looking him straight in the eyes and addressed him almost spitting when talking.

“Magi! What is the nature of this commotion? The people are not respecting the quiet morning hours of our prayer!”

Cutting into the ramblings of the woman Belsain glared at her. “Be assured that none of this is of my or the Queens making. I will take care of this matter, now if you would please step aside.”

Taking the lead on the situation Taran rode his quar beside the magi and settled a hand on his sword.

“High Priestess Thora, I need you to step away from the Royal thaumaturge, please. We are on an important mission”

With a click of the tongue he guided his animal away from her and motioned the guards to follow him. Only after a few of his men shouted to clear the way and the present city guard intervened, the masses parted to let them pass. It almost seemed as if the civilians were as interested in what was about to happen as the city guard them self. The Flying Leech was easily found, as most folk stayed clear of the two imposing Sibalien Soldiers guarding the entrance. The two weren't wearing any head protection, so their half contained grins were openly visible to the approaching royal guard. A few of them had the intention of not letting this disrespect pass, but their lose mouths were quickly silenced by a warning glare from Taran. He rode forward and stopped only a few centimetres in front of the soldiers.

"By order of the Queen, I demand you to stand aside and let us pass! We have business with whoever is in charge of your unit." The two merely shot each other amused looks before one wryly addressed Taran.

"And who exactly is it that seeks entrance?"

"The Lady Belsain and commander Taran, accompanied by the gods damned royal guard that is! Now stand aside!" The soldier’s mouth curled into mischievous lopsided grin.

"Very well I was told to expect you, come in Sirs and Lady." In a mocking display of courtesy the man bowed and made a welcoming gesture.

The inside of the Tavern was so warm that Belsain almost became dizzy. Apparently the Sibaliens missed the hot air of their homelands, as a huge fire was burning inside the spacious fireplace. Several of the soldiers had started to discard pieces of their armour and were now gathered around two brawling figures in a lose half-circle. The atmosphere was happy and lively, no short thanks to the various beverages most of men and women were consuming in mass, but it almost immediately went sour when the city guard entered the room. Hands were place on the hilts of weapons and several fists clenched in the expectation of a fight.

Taran stepped forward in to the room and after a short look around the room climbed a nearby table to focus the attention on him.

"Listen up! By order of the queen, I demand the person in charge of the Sibalien soldiers to step forward; you are wanted in the questioning regarding your unlawful acquisition of this very tavern! Step forward so we can take care of this matter in a civilized manner or otherwise!"

The Sibaliens were now unitary facing Taran and the Royal Guard, well almost unitary. Belsain noticed how a single person was calmly wiping a thick layer of sweat and blood from her face; she was one of the brawlers from when they had entered the tavern. The woman seemed to take her merry time to make herself presentable, almost as if there weren't any guardsmen present in the tavern. When she finally stepped forward it became clear that she was the one Taran had been asking for. She was calm and composed and even though she wasn't wearing much more than wide pants and a short, tight fitting bustier, that left little of her well trained body to imagination; her short black hair and piercing eyes gave an aura of authority.

"Greetings, Commander, Milady." She performed a respectful gesture, more than a nod but less than a bow, before diverting her attention entirely towards Taran, who had now left the table.

"I am Paladin Quara of Greycastle. I believe you are looking for me? Well tell me were lays the problem?" Taran’s face darkened as he looked her over, due to her impressive size she could almost look down on the commander, which in turn made it more than awkward to threaten her.

"I believe you know very well why we are here. With your unlawful occupation of this tavern you have broken several Zembian laws. Because of this I have to ask you and your men to leave the building in an instance. Otherwise I will have to see this as an act of war against the people of Zembia!"

Quara looked at him for a short while, than a short chuckle escaped her and with a smile on her lips she answered him. "Oh, my, I fear you are terribly mistaken, we have not simply occupied this building. We have bought it!"

Taran’s eyes burned with hot fury as his fist crashed into the side of a nearby table. “You people did what now!”

It was at this point that things threatened to escalade. One of the Sibalien soldiers had drawn a dagger which in turn made the city guard ready their halberds at the opposing force. Fearing that Taran might to something rash in his anger, Belsain rushed forward and in between the two opposing commander. He regarded his furious companion with a silent stare and turned around to face Quara with a warm smile, which was in stark dissonance to his cold gaze.

"Now, let us not be hasty here! Miss Quara is it? I am . . . Lady Belsain court advisor and most renowned thaumaturge in the area. Please, do tell, how exactly did you and your,"

Bel made a rude gesture towards the gathered soldiers, ". . . posse acquire the Flying Leech?"

“Well, as I already said we bought the tavern as a local operating centre of our diplomatic mission.” A sly smile crept across Quara’s lips.

"But I assume you are looking for official documentation, isn't that right?" Noticing the subtle change in posture of the female paladin, Belsain answered only after a brief pause in which the room’s temperature slowly started to drop.

"Yes, I was indeed wondering if such a document existed. Not that I don't believe that this purchase was legit, it is simply standard procedure. I am sure you understand." Quara motioned towards a scrawny looking priest with mean eyes and a mangled nose, who after a few seconds procured a heavy folded sheet of paper. Smiling brightly at the magi Quara reached forward the sheet in hand.

"You will see everything is perfectly up to order."

"That is something I will decide for myself, thank you very much." Bel unfolded the parchment and began reading, with his face slowly changing from amusement, to surprise, over to full out dissatisfaction.

"How did you? I mean, he leased the tavern entirely?" The muttering ended in a single loud and frustrated yell: "Fine!" Belsain turned towards Taran with a look of defeat.

"Tell your men to stand down. The documentation is legit." With fury in his eyes Taran jumped forward and snatched the sheet out of the magi’s hands.

"No! This can't be! Sibaliens are murderous crooks, all of you are!" Defying the thaumaturge’s wishes he drew his sword and raised the steel to Quara’s throat.

"Men, stand at the ready!” Challenged by this obvious display of hostility the Sibaliens cracked their knuckles and drew short weapons like knives and daggers, one of their priests reached into his pocket and silently started a prayer. On seeing this Taran’s blade dug deeper into Quara’s skin, a thin line of red became visible and her eyes narrowed.

Before either party could act a sudden rush of wind blew out the roaring fire; the temperature dropped so fast that mist started to rise from the sweating soldiers. No one dared to move, as all eyes slowly turned toward Belsain, who was surrounded by a corona of blue and white crackling energy. His long black hair was floating in thick strands, while the silver eyes and white skin began glowing in a ghastly light.

When the magi finally spoke it sounded sharp and metallic, full of pain, not at all human anymore. "I said stand your men down! I will not say it a third time, or so the gods help me, I will blow this place to pieces!"

Taran carefully stuck his sword back in to its sheet and motioned his men to do the same, then Belsain brought his attention to Quara. "Now to you, for the moment you have acted according to the laws but if I ever catch you doing anything wrong!"

Bel snipped with his fingers and one of the tables next to the Paladin began vibrating and with a soft thump it fell to floor now nothing but fine saw dust. As quickly as the warmth had left it now came back into the room hitting the people almost like a brick wall. And with a low sigh Bel collapsed onto Taran’s shoulders. Giving one last angry look towards Quara he escorted the now weak magi out of the tavern. When he helped Bel onto his ride he noticed, thanks to the rather sensually cut dress the thaumaturge was wearing, that several new black lines and spots had formed on the magi’s skin, some of them oozing dark red blood.

Sophia

Sophia looked somewhat proud over the full tables and beautifully decorated hall. It was almost five years since the last time that a feast had been hold in Redwood Mansion and even though this one was overshadowed by the recent events, a small part of her was still happy and filled with joy. Maybe a little spark of her youth still remained within the old woman.

The Queen was taken out of her daydreams when a cold sensation ran down her spine.

Lady Greengarden stepped surprisingly light for a noble; a lot of them had to constantly present them self in a way so that all the attention was focused on them, she on the other hand was almost like a shadow. The way she just suddenly appeared next to Sophia made her wonder if this girl really was a noble or even entirely human.

“By the gods! I am an old woman you fool, don’t sneak up on me!” When Shahrzade answered she masked herself with an unreadable smile.

“Queen Mathir, my intention would never be to frighten you, as there is no fun to be found in scaring you to death.” The Queen turned around and looked her unwelcome guest over. The young woman was still dressed in her riding gear and when Sophia looked down she saw, much to her dismay the she had not gotten rid of her weapons.

“Well, if your intention was not to scare me, I have to ask what you hope to accomplish by approaching me at this moment.”

“I simply wanted to make sure that you know, what will happen in the next few days.”

The queen’s glare was icy when addressing Shar.

“Believe me when I say this, do not threaten me in my own home. You know my decision very well and now let us have a meal and discuss this at another time.”

Without saying another word, Lady Greengarden, shifted her attention to the gathering guests, and with a simple bow left the queen’s side. After the guests, local and not, had paid their respects they were to be seated by two young servants. Sharzade ignored both of them and under heavy protests, made her way down the stairs towards a place right next to the throne.