Authors rant: A short chapter this time. Hopefully it is as interesting as
the other one. Thank you all for your support and please continue to review
my work. My special thanks to Silveran for proof reading and K'arthur for
insightful inputs.
"Chris, we are about to leave," Hugo said as he walked into his hut that served as the guest room for the Zexen knights. He froze though when he saw the sight before him. With her back towards him, Chris wearing only a thin white shirt, sat leisurely in front of a large mirror, combing her hair. For a moment he just stared, transfixed by the sight as her pearl white hand guided the wooden comb through the silvery tresses, making it flow like a river. To Hugo, the scene seemed more like a painting than reality. Suddenly, he became aware of the state of undress she was in and quickly turned around, his face burning bright red.
"Ummm. Sorry for intruding. I thought Borus would be in and it's my hut so I am not used to knocking and I thought you were done and..." the young Karayan spluttered embarrassingly.
"It is alright Hugo," Chris said as she dressed herself, putting on a blue coat and the black pants that she had set aside. "You may turn around now Hugo, I am decent."
Hugo let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding and turned around, his face still burning from the embarrassment. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean it."
"Do not worry about it," Chris replied with a mischievous grin as she fastened her sword. "At least I had something on. If you came in a few seconds earlier though I might think you were trying to peek."
"What?! I would never...!" Hugo's face got even redder.
"Heh." Chris could not help but smile at Hugo's reaction. "You certainly are looking better today. Brooding doesn't suit you."
"I suppose not," Hugo shrugged. "You look well, Chris. You seem to be more relaxed."
"Am I?" Chris blinked and then shrugged slightly. "I suppose I do feel a lot better today."
"Where is Borus?" Hugo asked, looking around.
"He went outside to give me some privacy." Chris walked to the doorway where Hugo was standing. "I wish to talk to him before we leave."
"He is not coming?" Hugo asked, surprised that the blonde knight won't be accompanying them.
"No, he has to return to Brass castle to tell Salome what happened here and to find out what has been happening there," Chris said as they walked out of the hut toward the back. They found Borus standing there, looking out down the hills into the distance. He turned around as they walked near.
"Are you leaving now, milady?" Borus asked, walking forward to meet them.
"Yes, I assume you will leave soon as well?" Chris asked, absentmindedly brushing back a strand of hair.
"Later in the day, so that when I arrive I would have the cover of the night to sneak in." Borus turned to give Hugo a hard look. "I will hold you to your word, Sir Hugo."
Hugo nodded in reply, well aware of the fact that Borus was asking him to protect Chris while the knight was away.
Chris looked on the exchange in confusion, wondering what has happened between the two, but decided not to press the issue.
"May the Goddess watch over you and give you wings of light to speed you on your journey," she said, bowing her head and using one of the traditional farewells for good luck.
"May the Goddess watch over you and give you wings of light to speed you on your journey as well, milady," Borus replied bowing his head as well.
"May She watch over us both."
**************************************************************************** ***
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch7:
Glimpse of Darkness
**************************************************************************** ***
Anxiously Salome paced back and forth in his room. After the disaster at the meeting, he was escorted back and confined to his house by several knights. In some ways he would have to applaud Lorn's ingenuity. He never would have pictured himself being accused of such a crime. Moreover, he was still puzzled as how Lorn obtained such strong evidence in implicating him. The letter was, of course, a forgery, yet he himself believed that the letter was by his own hand. He let out a sigh and scooped up the glass of wine that was lying on the table. He needed to clear his thoughts and focus on the subject if he were to be of any help in his current situation. The sudden opening of the door caught his attention and he whirled around to face the one who dared to intrude his solitude. He had expected it to be his butler, or some maid trying to clean his room. What he found, however, was not what he expected.
"Geddoe?" he exclaimed, surprised by the true rune bearer. "How did you get here?"
"I climbed the back wall." The one-eyed man shrugged. "A few of your knights tried to stop me, but I convinced them otherwise. They should not have more than a slight headache when they wake up."
"I see," Salome nodded as if expecting that. "Then I suppose you have heard them."
"I did," Geddoe replied and sat down on a chair nearby. "Hard to imagine you committing such an act."
"I didn't," Salome replied calmly.
Geddoe nodded knowing that his old friend is too loyal to commit such an act. "So tell me what happened."
Quickly Salome related to his friend what had happened during the council meeting and his subsequent confinement. "With the current situation, I would not be surprised if the council declared war against Karaya this instant."
"If that is true, who will be in charge of the knights?" Geddoe asked, looking deep in thought.
Salome paused and thought for a moment. "They will choose Percival as the next captain of the knights."
"I know the man, but why him?"
"The captain of the knights must be someone whom the knights will follow. The obvious choice is from the mighty six," Salome explained locking gaze with the man in front of him. "As far as the council is concerned, Borus is on an extended vacation in Tinto. With no way to contact him, he won't be considered as a choice. Chris and I are definitely out for obvious reasons. Roland is an elf so his position is rather unique, whether or not the knights will follow him is in question. That leaves just Leo and Percival.
"Leo has strong ties in the merchant guild just like me. The only reason why I am not rotting away in a jail cell is because of my connections. Both my cousin and uncle are influential members of the guild; my father was a councilor himself. That is why I know the council will proceed carefully in laying the charge against me," Salome continued, shaking his head in disgust. "Percival, however, came from a commoner's family. He would be easy to get rid of if he tries to disobey the council. Furthermore, if something happened in the Karayan campaign they could just lay the blame on him and the public will accept it."
"Complex situation you have here," Geddoe remarked looking down at his right hand as if in thought. "I sent Ace and Queen to investigate this Councilor Lorn of yours already. If I find anything, I'll let you know."
"If you find anything, please go to Karaya and let Lady Chris know," Salome requested. "As it is, I could do little from where I am. If anything, she is in a better position to use the information that you have collected."
"The guards are down, you could always." Geddoe trailed off at the unspoken suggestion.
"No! I could not," Salome said, closing his eyes as he shook his head.
".Your honor and duty would not permit it." Geddoe nodded. "I understand, old friend. You are ever one to be old fashioned."
"We are who we are, after all," Salome sighed, "as an old friend of mine would always say."
"Very well." Geddoe stood up and walked to the door.
"May the Goddess protect you, Geddoe," Salome called out in farewell.
"If she hasn't forsaken a man like me already." the true lighting rune bearer called back grimly.
**************************************************************************** *******
"So where is this Councilor Loony that we are supposed to check on?" Ace asked in a low tone as he tried to look busy browsing the merchandise that was on display.
"Shush, Ace," Queen whispered back, her eyes darting around to see if anyone heard. Luckily, the street was fairly crowded and no one seemed to be paying attention. "Besides, it's Lorn, not Loony. I thought you lived here. Don't you know who runs your city?"
"What can I say?" Ace smiled as if finding it funny. "I'm just not into politics."
"Whatever. Just don't mess things up," Queen whispered back irritably. "Hey look! Is that him?"
From across the large square, a familiar councilman walked out of the council hall and started down one of the side streets. His quickened step showed a degree of agitation and urgency.
"Looks like it. Come on let's follow him."
**************************************************************************** *******
Lorn hurriedly walked down the street of Vinay del Zexay. It had taken a while, yet he had managed to convince the rest of the council to do as he suggested. It had been harder than he had expected, despite all the effort he had put in before the meeting. All the visits and sounding out the other councilors seemed to have helped little in terms of making the final decision, yet he had achieved what he set out to do and he was proud of the fact. If only he wasn't doing this for that annoying Damian, then things would have been perfect. After a short walk, he arrived at a finely furnished mansion with a large garden. He walked straight to the door and knocked. After a few moments of waiting, Damian's butler opened the door.
"I wish to speak to Damian," Lorn told the balding man in front of him. The butler nodded and led Lorn to a large well-lit room with many windows. In the center of the room, on a large red couch and behind an antique wooden table, Damian sat leisurely with his arms on the backrest. On a side couch sat two black-clad men, one idling toying with a dagger, the other sipping a glass of wine.
"Come in, come in, Councilor. I have been waiting for you," Damian greeted pleasantly, though his face held a smirk that irritated the councilor to no end.
"It's done, Damian," the councilor declared while pulling out several documents and putting them on the table, wasting no time on pleasantries. "The council has appointed you the ambassador in charge and Sir Percival Fraulein the new captain. You, however, will be in charge of demanding retribution from the Karayan for the murder of Lady Chris Lightfellow. You are to set out to Brass Castle immediately to take charge of the operation."
"Excellent," Damian said, picking up the documents to read them. Though he tried to stay calm, Lorn could tell that Damian was pleased and excited at this news.
"Now that you have what you wanted I suppose we are even," Lorn said, giving Damian a hard glare.
"Not that easy my dear councilor. You don't suppose the fee for the assassination of the Silver Maiden is that simple is it?" Damian inquired absentmindedly as he leafed through the documents.
"What more do you want, Damian?" the councilor snarled at the man.
"At the moment nothing, so you may as well go home. I'll contact you when you are required," Damian answered leisurely.
"Why you-?!" Lorn growled. For a moment he just stood there trembling with barely contained rage, then he stomped around and stormed out.
"Heh, he looks quite angry. I wonder how long it will take before he bursts a vein," Damian commented amusingly after Lorn left.
"With the way you have been working on him, no wonder he is so angry," a voice said idly from behind Damian.
Damian swung around quickly, a hand reaching for his sword. A few feet behind the couch stood a tall figure in a long black cloak. The face of the man was obscured by the shadows from the hood of the cloak.
"So it's you," Damian said tightly, his hand clutching tensely on the sword by his side. At the sight of the cloaked figure, the two black-clad men who were sitting on the other couch immediately bowed their heads and went down on one knee, their right fists thumping against their left breasts.
"Is it so surprising? I am merely here to check on how our plan is progressing," the cloaked figure said amusingly. "As well as checking to see if you mistreated the man."
"It is going fine. Salome Harras reacted just like you said he would," Damian said, his focus completely on the man in front of him.
"Of course, it was easy to predict what he would do since I know the way he thinks," the cloaked figure replied in the same amusing tone. "We studied military tactics together after all."
"The forged letter also worked well," Damian noted. "I assume the forgery of his handwriting is also a product because you two studied together?"
"That letter? It was not in Salome's hand writing." The cloaked figure shrugged.
"Oh?" Damian asked, puzzled.
"People see what they believe they are seeing even if what they are seeing may not necessary be the truth," the cloaked figure explained. "In this case, the letter was warded so that whoever looks at it will believe it to be written from Salome. As long as they believe that, it does not matter who wrote the letter."
"The power of your true rune. That is very clever of you," Damian remarked.
"Not so clever of you unfortunately," the cloaked man returned coldly. "I can see the ward around you fading. You have been using your true rune again, haven't you? If people found out you are not really Damian or that you are not Zexen at all then all you have worked for is for naught."
"Just fix it," Damian growled.
"As long as you don't focus the power on yourself, the ward should be fine. So it should provide no problem in our plan," the cloaked one said, holding out a glowing gloved hand toward Damian. "The Sovereign Rune is not a toy you know."
"I do not need you to tell me that!" Damian snapped.
"Temper, temper." mocked the cloaked figure.
"Hmm... Where is that help you said you are getting for me?" Damian asked tensely, ignoring his superior's sarcastic tone.
"I should not have any help convincing him, considering he will have his own reasons for helping. The last I heard, he is living with monsters in the ruins." All of a sudden the hooded figure's head snapped to one side as if listening for something. "It seemed that you did not do a good job of pest control. Two rats just left from where they were hiding outside of your window."
"I will take care of them," Damian promised.
"Do not bother, you still have to go to Brass Castle. Leave this to me. I may enjoy the.exercise." The cloaked figure lifted his right hand and motioned toward the two men kneeling on the ground. They sprung up at the gesture and left hurriedly by the door.
"Rest assured, Damian, all will be taken care of."
**************************************************************************** *******
"And then all of a sudden this freakish guy wearing a black cloak just popped out of nowhere!" Ace exclaimed, his hand making wild gestures for the dramatic effect.
"They mentioned several things. Apparently they both have true runes. One of them, Damian I believe his name was, has the rune. Sovereign rune I believe the other one called it," Queen added gravely.
"Two true runes? That sounds like big trouble, Geddoe," Joker stated calmly.
"Indeed." Geddoe replied, apparently deep in thought.
"These men clad in black," Jacques began quietly from where he was sitting by the window, did they have swords by their sides and were quite dangerous looking?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I think I spotted several groups matching your description outside the inn," Jacques replied, pointing outside of the window, "on the rooftops and below, hiding in the shadows. I estimate the number is about fifty."
The rest of the group hurriedly moved to the window to look outside. They could see several shapes scurrying across the shadows in the back alley and some shapes moving amongst the rooftops as well.
"Damn, we're screwed," Ace said grimly.
Up next: Zexens march grimly toward war. Surrounded by enemies, what will happen to Geddoe's party?
"Chris, we are about to leave," Hugo said as he walked into his hut that served as the guest room for the Zexen knights. He froze though when he saw the sight before him. With her back towards him, Chris wearing only a thin white shirt, sat leisurely in front of a large mirror, combing her hair. For a moment he just stared, transfixed by the sight as her pearl white hand guided the wooden comb through the silvery tresses, making it flow like a river. To Hugo, the scene seemed more like a painting than reality. Suddenly, he became aware of the state of undress she was in and quickly turned around, his face burning bright red.
"Ummm. Sorry for intruding. I thought Borus would be in and it's my hut so I am not used to knocking and I thought you were done and..." the young Karayan spluttered embarrassingly.
"It is alright Hugo," Chris said as she dressed herself, putting on a blue coat and the black pants that she had set aside. "You may turn around now Hugo, I am decent."
Hugo let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding and turned around, his face still burning from the embarrassment. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean it."
"Do not worry about it," Chris replied with a mischievous grin as she fastened her sword. "At least I had something on. If you came in a few seconds earlier though I might think you were trying to peek."
"What?! I would never...!" Hugo's face got even redder.
"Heh." Chris could not help but smile at Hugo's reaction. "You certainly are looking better today. Brooding doesn't suit you."
"I suppose not," Hugo shrugged. "You look well, Chris. You seem to be more relaxed."
"Am I?" Chris blinked and then shrugged slightly. "I suppose I do feel a lot better today."
"Where is Borus?" Hugo asked, looking around.
"He went outside to give me some privacy." Chris walked to the doorway where Hugo was standing. "I wish to talk to him before we leave."
"He is not coming?" Hugo asked, surprised that the blonde knight won't be accompanying them.
"No, he has to return to Brass castle to tell Salome what happened here and to find out what has been happening there," Chris said as they walked out of the hut toward the back. They found Borus standing there, looking out down the hills into the distance. He turned around as they walked near.
"Are you leaving now, milady?" Borus asked, walking forward to meet them.
"Yes, I assume you will leave soon as well?" Chris asked, absentmindedly brushing back a strand of hair.
"Later in the day, so that when I arrive I would have the cover of the night to sneak in." Borus turned to give Hugo a hard look. "I will hold you to your word, Sir Hugo."
Hugo nodded in reply, well aware of the fact that Borus was asking him to protect Chris while the knight was away.
Chris looked on the exchange in confusion, wondering what has happened between the two, but decided not to press the issue.
"May the Goddess watch over you and give you wings of light to speed you on your journey," she said, bowing her head and using one of the traditional farewells for good luck.
"May the Goddess watch over you and give you wings of light to speed you on your journey as well, milady," Borus replied bowing his head as well.
"May She watch over us both."
**************************************************************************** ***
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch7:
Glimpse of Darkness
**************************************************************************** ***
Anxiously Salome paced back and forth in his room. After the disaster at the meeting, he was escorted back and confined to his house by several knights. In some ways he would have to applaud Lorn's ingenuity. He never would have pictured himself being accused of such a crime. Moreover, he was still puzzled as how Lorn obtained such strong evidence in implicating him. The letter was, of course, a forgery, yet he himself believed that the letter was by his own hand. He let out a sigh and scooped up the glass of wine that was lying on the table. He needed to clear his thoughts and focus on the subject if he were to be of any help in his current situation. The sudden opening of the door caught his attention and he whirled around to face the one who dared to intrude his solitude. He had expected it to be his butler, or some maid trying to clean his room. What he found, however, was not what he expected.
"Geddoe?" he exclaimed, surprised by the true rune bearer. "How did you get here?"
"I climbed the back wall." The one-eyed man shrugged. "A few of your knights tried to stop me, but I convinced them otherwise. They should not have more than a slight headache when they wake up."
"I see," Salome nodded as if expecting that. "Then I suppose you have heard them."
"I did," Geddoe replied and sat down on a chair nearby. "Hard to imagine you committing such an act."
"I didn't," Salome replied calmly.
Geddoe nodded knowing that his old friend is too loyal to commit such an act. "So tell me what happened."
Quickly Salome related to his friend what had happened during the council meeting and his subsequent confinement. "With the current situation, I would not be surprised if the council declared war against Karaya this instant."
"If that is true, who will be in charge of the knights?" Geddoe asked, looking deep in thought.
Salome paused and thought for a moment. "They will choose Percival as the next captain of the knights."
"I know the man, but why him?"
"The captain of the knights must be someone whom the knights will follow. The obvious choice is from the mighty six," Salome explained locking gaze with the man in front of him. "As far as the council is concerned, Borus is on an extended vacation in Tinto. With no way to contact him, he won't be considered as a choice. Chris and I are definitely out for obvious reasons. Roland is an elf so his position is rather unique, whether or not the knights will follow him is in question. That leaves just Leo and Percival.
"Leo has strong ties in the merchant guild just like me. The only reason why I am not rotting away in a jail cell is because of my connections. Both my cousin and uncle are influential members of the guild; my father was a councilor himself. That is why I know the council will proceed carefully in laying the charge against me," Salome continued, shaking his head in disgust. "Percival, however, came from a commoner's family. He would be easy to get rid of if he tries to disobey the council. Furthermore, if something happened in the Karayan campaign they could just lay the blame on him and the public will accept it."
"Complex situation you have here," Geddoe remarked looking down at his right hand as if in thought. "I sent Ace and Queen to investigate this Councilor Lorn of yours already. If I find anything, I'll let you know."
"If you find anything, please go to Karaya and let Lady Chris know," Salome requested. "As it is, I could do little from where I am. If anything, she is in a better position to use the information that you have collected."
"The guards are down, you could always." Geddoe trailed off at the unspoken suggestion.
"No! I could not," Salome said, closing his eyes as he shook his head.
".Your honor and duty would not permit it." Geddoe nodded. "I understand, old friend. You are ever one to be old fashioned."
"We are who we are, after all," Salome sighed, "as an old friend of mine would always say."
"Very well." Geddoe stood up and walked to the door.
"May the Goddess protect you, Geddoe," Salome called out in farewell.
"If she hasn't forsaken a man like me already." the true lighting rune bearer called back grimly.
**************************************************************************** *******
"So where is this Councilor Loony that we are supposed to check on?" Ace asked in a low tone as he tried to look busy browsing the merchandise that was on display.
"Shush, Ace," Queen whispered back, her eyes darting around to see if anyone heard. Luckily, the street was fairly crowded and no one seemed to be paying attention. "Besides, it's Lorn, not Loony. I thought you lived here. Don't you know who runs your city?"
"What can I say?" Ace smiled as if finding it funny. "I'm just not into politics."
"Whatever. Just don't mess things up," Queen whispered back irritably. "Hey look! Is that him?"
From across the large square, a familiar councilman walked out of the council hall and started down one of the side streets. His quickened step showed a degree of agitation and urgency.
"Looks like it. Come on let's follow him."
**************************************************************************** *******
Lorn hurriedly walked down the street of Vinay del Zexay. It had taken a while, yet he had managed to convince the rest of the council to do as he suggested. It had been harder than he had expected, despite all the effort he had put in before the meeting. All the visits and sounding out the other councilors seemed to have helped little in terms of making the final decision, yet he had achieved what he set out to do and he was proud of the fact. If only he wasn't doing this for that annoying Damian, then things would have been perfect. After a short walk, he arrived at a finely furnished mansion with a large garden. He walked straight to the door and knocked. After a few moments of waiting, Damian's butler opened the door.
"I wish to speak to Damian," Lorn told the balding man in front of him. The butler nodded and led Lorn to a large well-lit room with many windows. In the center of the room, on a large red couch and behind an antique wooden table, Damian sat leisurely with his arms on the backrest. On a side couch sat two black-clad men, one idling toying with a dagger, the other sipping a glass of wine.
"Come in, come in, Councilor. I have been waiting for you," Damian greeted pleasantly, though his face held a smirk that irritated the councilor to no end.
"It's done, Damian," the councilor declared while pulling out several documents and putting them on the table, wasting no time on pleasantries. "The council has appointed you the ambassador in charge and Sir Percival Fraulein the new captain. You, however, will be in charge of demanding retribution from the Karayan for the murder of Lady Chris Lightfellow. You are to set out to Brass Castle immediately to take charge of the operation."
"Excellent," Damian said, picking up the documents to read them. Though he tried to stay calm, Lorn could tell that Damian was pleased and excited at this news.
"Now that you have what you wanted I suppose we are even," Lorn said, giving Damian a hard glare.
"Not that easy my dear councilor. You don't suppose the fee for the assassination of the Silver Maiden is that simple is it?" Damian inquired absentmindedly as he leafed through the documents.
"What more do you want, Damian?" the councilor snarled at the man.
"At the moment nothing, so you may as well go home. I'll contact you when you are required," Damian answered leisurely.
"Why you-?!" Lorn growled. For a moment he just stood there trembling with barely contained rage, then he stomped around and stormed out.
"Heh, he looks quite angry. I wonder how long it will take before he bursts a vein," Damian commented amusingly after Lorn left.
"With the way you have been working on him, no wonder he is so angry," a voice said idly from behind Damian.
Damian swung around quickly, a hand reaching for his sword. A few feet behind the couch stood a tall figure in a long black cloak. The face of the man was obscured by the shadows from the hood of the cloak.
"So it's you," Damian said tightly, his hand clutching tensely on the sword by his side. At the sight of the cloaked figure, the two black-clad men who were sitting on the other couch immediately bowed their heads and went down on one knee, their right fists thumping against their left breasts.
"Is it so surprising? I am merely here to check on how our plan is progressing," the cloaked figure said amusingly. "As well as checking to see if you mistreated the man."
"It is going fine. Salome Harras reacted just like you said he would," Damian said, his focus completely on the man in front of him.
"Of course, it was easy to predict what he would do since I know the way he thinks," the cloaked figure replied in the same amusing tone. "We studied military tactics together after all."
"The forged letter also worked well," Damian noted. "I assume the forgery of his handwriting is also a product because you two studied together?"
"That letter? It was not in Salome's hand writing." The cloaked figure shrugged.
"Oh?" Damian asked, puzzled.
"People see what they believe they are seeing even if what they are seeing may not necessary be the truth," the cloaked figure explained. "In this case, the letter was warded so that whoever looks at it will believe it to be written from Salome. As long as they believe that, it does not matter who wrote the letter."
"The power of your true rune. That is very clever of you," Damian remarked.
"Not so clever of you unfortunately," the cloaked man returned coldly. "I can see the ward around you fading. You have been using your true rune again, haven't you? If people found out you are not really Damian or that you are not Zexen at all then all you have worked for is for naught."
"Just fix it," Damian growled.
"As long as you don't focus the power on yourself, the ward should be fine. So it should provide no problem in our plan," the cloaked one said, holding out a glowing gloved hand toward Damian. "The Sovereign Rune is not a toy you know."
"I do not need you to tell me that!" Damian snapped.
"Temper, temper." mocked the cloaked figure.
"Hmm... Where is that help you said you are getting for me?" Damian asked tensely, ignoring his superior's sarcastic tone.
"I should not have any help convincing him, considering he will have his own reasons for helping. The last I heard, he is living with monsters in the ruins." All of a sudden the hooded figure's head snapped to one side as if listening for something. "It seemed that you did not do a good job of pest control. Two rats just left from where they were hiding outside of your window."
"I will take care of them," Damian promised.
"Do not bother, you still have to go to Brass Castle. Leave this to me. I may enjoy the.exercise." The cloaked figure lifted his right hand and motioned toward the two men kneeling on the ground. They sprung up at the gesture and left hurriedly by the door.
"Rest assured, Damian, all will be taken care of."
**************************************************************************** *******
"And then all of a sudden this freakish guy wearing a black cloak just popped out of nowhere!" Ace exclaimed, his hand making wild gestures for the dramatic effect.
"They mentioned several things. Apparently they both have true runes. One of them, Damian I believe his name was, has the rune. Sovereign rune I believe the other one called it," Queen added gravely.
"Two true runes? That sounds like big trouble, Geddoe," Joker stated calmly.
"Indeed." Geddoe replied, apparently deep in thought.
"These men clad in black," Jacques began quietly from where he was sitting by the window, did they have swords by their sides and were quite dangerous looking?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I think I spotted several groups matching your description outside the inn," Jacques replied, pointing outside of the window, "on the rooftops and below, hiding in the shadows. I estimate the number is about fifty."
The rest of the group hurriedly moved to the window to look outside. They could see several shapes scurrying across the shadows in the back alley and some shapes moving amongst the rooftops as well.
"Damn, we're screwed," Ace said grimly.
Up next: Zexens march grimly toward war. Surrounded by enemies, what will happen to Geddoe's party?