Aighty, I skipped past the trip cause I figured there's nothing important that would have to be there, so here's the next chapie!

When they arrived at Silverymoon, Rane paid off his debt to the mercenaries and they parted ways, the mercenaries heading back to the small village Rane had found them in and Rane, Araela, and a heavily clothed old woman headed for Silverymoon. As they walked, the old lady came up beside Rane and muttered angrily, "I'm gonna kill you when we get past these guards! I could have just climbed that wall and made it to the General's quarters completely unseen before you could get there walking down the main road! So why in the nine hells am I dressed like this?"

Rane muffled a laugh with his hand, then looked down at the hunched frame of Bane in disguise. "But where's the fun in that?"

Before Bane could manage a reply, they had reached the guardhouse and a pair of guards saluted Rane as he passed, casting a questioning eye over Bane – thought they thought he was just some old hag – but said nothing. Once inside, Bane turned down an alley, then came back out another just on the other side of the building a few moments later with all the thick blankets and the itchy wool dress gone. He cast a dangerous glare over his brother, then turned and headed down the road.

(Blah, blah, blah; they're walking, they're walking… ok, now they're there)

Upon reaching the audience chamber of Lady Alustriel, Rane, Bane, and Araela walked straight past the two guards positioned at the double doors and into the hall. The guards stared in black amazement and fear as 'The Scourge of the Silver Marches' walked past them, then, as if remembering who they were, jumped up to block his path, but he was already inside.

"My Lady," Rane called out when they entered, acknowledging his queen, "I have returned from Icewind Dale!" His step faltered a moment as he saw that he had just walked in on a conversation between Alustriel and General Cain. The General turned to him, a wide grin on his face, and Alustriel nodded her head to show she heard.

"Welcome home, Rane. You've arrived right on time, as you said you would," she said, standing from her throne.

General Cain ambled over, his heavy armor rattling as he moved, and came up to Rane. "Welcome back, boy!" he howled, grabbing Rane and picking him up in his arms.

"Good to see you too, father," Rane gasped, the tight grip his father held him in nearly suffocating him then and there. The General eased his grip and Rane continued. "I have completed my mission in good time, and have brought back someone you might know. Father, I present to you—"

Suddenly, the guards barged in and one of them shouted, "The Scourge! The Scourge of the Silver Marches is here!" As soon as they ran in, they spotted Bane standing off to the side and charged him with lances held up before them.

Before they had gone a step, Bane had his swords out and was fully prepared for the attack. As they came on, Bane slapped away one spear and almost got off a counterattack but the other lance came in too quickly and he was forced to jump aside to dodge it. The two guards came in slowly and carefully, moving in unison, and then were about to jump when a commanding voice filled the air.

"Stop now!" shouted the General, storming toward them. The guards were cowed by the General's anger, the size of the man enough to scare any soldier in itself, and backed off from Bane, careful as not to stay within range of his glimmering blades. Bane stopped as well, then sheathed his blades and slowly turned to face Cain. The furry in the man's eyes flickered for a moment, then died all together and he stopped moving. The two stood there for a long moment, the tense silence making the soldiers squirm a bit. Their armor rattled a bit and this brought the General out of his reverie and his anger returned. "Leave now! Back to your posts!" The two soldiers bowed quickly and scurried off back out of the audience chamber. Then the General turned back to Bane.

"Father," Bane muttered, still not moving.

The General paused a moment, then nodded to Bane and turned back to Alustriel. "I'm sorry for my actions, my Lady; it is not in my right to order your personal guard."

Alustriel simply shrugged. "I see no fault in that, I was about to say the same thing, though not with as much force or anger." She turned her head slightly and looked directly at Bane. "And you," she said kindly, though not without some hostility, "if I remember correctly, you were gone to some out skirting village, were you not? What happened there, and why are you back?"

Bane visibly flinched at the mention of the village, and so Rane stepped forward to speak. "My Lady, I brought him back here from Icewind Dale to help out in our current time of trouble. Despite his reputation, I believe he will be a valuable asset."

Alustriel nodded, then said, "And I recall you never believed the charges pressed on him either. Is this true?"

Rane nodded back. "He would never do such things."

Alustriel sighed and looked to Bane, then back to Rane. "Well, now that you are here, I guess I should explain the situation. Currently we are under attack by a great horde of orcs and goblins, but so far we haven't been able to track them down and take them out. Three villages have already fallen and each time we send out our Knights in Silver and show up to find them all gone. The good news about this, however, is that it gives us the chance to save the survivors, but if we cannot find these beasts they shall continue to take village after village until Silverymoon itself is the only one left standing. And then we shall have to take this force head on. Normally, I wouldn't be worried, but from their surprisingly clever tactics, and the sheer number of orcs and goblins, I am."

Rane nodded, glancing over to make sure Bane was paying attention, and then, seeing how Bane was fully engaged in the conversation, turned back to Alustriel. "Well why don't we send out platoons to each of the remaining villages, that way we can engage the enemy while the other troops are coming in?"

"We have tried that, and each time we did either our platoon went down quickly, or once another platoon left to reinforce the other, another part of the horde would take the now unprotected village. So you see that just wont work. We need someone to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold, which they shall have to find as well, and gather information on how many orcs the group consists of and who the leader is. And, if possible, that person would then engage and slay the leader."

Bane, who had been leaning back on the far wall, pushed away and turned away.

"Bane? Where are you going?" Rane called to him.

Bane stopped and turned back, simply stating, "To get ready," and then turned again and walked out the door.

Rane looked back to Alustriel and Cain, bowed, then took Araela's arm and followed Bane out of the chamber.