The road home was slower than the road out, even though it was more direct. The beast was large and slow, and would occasionally make breaks for freedom, though these lessened in frequency as the road went on, from tiredness and wounds. Alarant was glad it had enough sense of self to not mindlessly fight to its own death, or this journey would have been much harder. Eventually Calimdar grew on the horizon. The spires came first. The many keeps of the city had one each, each with a pale blue light at the summit. The same blue light suffused the rest of the city, casting the already-grey stone in even colder shades. He was reminded of how beautiful the cities had been before the Calamity, but that was in the past. When Auriga was safe once more, then the knight-lords could turn their gaze inwards and re-establish that glorious past. For now, they had more pressing concerns.
Gardt took the horn from his saddle and blew a series of notes. The regiment laughingly called it the Lereyne family anthem, since it had heralded Alarant and his regiment ever since his return, but it was simply the signal of his regiment. The Lereyne house was a shadow of its former self, and not much of it had survived the changes. Auriga willing, he could return it to glory. But there were more pressing matters. The gates were opened for his signal. The sentries on the walls and on patrol within the gatekeep stopped to look at the monstrosity they had brought back to the city, but no questions were asked. Alarant de Lereyne was a trusted captain, and many of these soldiers had served under or with him back in the capital.
Gardt rode up beside Alarant. "Sir, what should we do with the creature?"
"I would like to bring it to Vallaris, but a journey to the capital would not be a simple matter."
Alarant turned in his saddle to look at the creature. It was still following along, with occasional prods from his knights to guide it along.
"We must take it to the jail here in Calimdar and request that the Marquis handle the matter and relay the information to Vallaris."
"Do you think the Marquis de Suluzzo will do as you ask?" Gardt said. His thoughts on Calimdar's provincial ruler were clear in his tone.
"I think it has a greater chance of success if I go directly to him rather than through his toadie and retainer." Alarant said.
"Jace de Kirgaan." Gardt said. Alarant imagined that Gardt would have spat at the name if the knight still could. "The man should be ashamed. He is no knight."
"I am sure such words would wound him greatly."
Gardt looked at the monster. "Can the jail even hold such a creature?"
Alarant chuckled, the sound distorted by his helmet. "They will find a way."
An escort followed them from the keep, to ensure the creature would not endanger the populace on the street. The streets were wide and Alarant's knights could easily stay on their mounts as they navigated the city until the central keep and its spire was in sight.
"I trust you can handle proceedings from here, Gardt. I will inform the Marquis." Alarant said. The central street carried on straight to the keep, but Alarant himself was bound for a smaller street that went north away from the keep.
"Of course, captain. I will ensure this beast is put away." The knight said and put a fist to his chest in salute.
"Dependable as ever, Gardt." Alarant said and grasped Gardt's hand. The two knights shook hands and parted. The regiment continued towards the jail, while Alarant de Lereyne rode his mount along the city streets, returning various greetings as he went. Eventually he arrived at his destination; the city streets widened considerably, allowing for a wide-open square and the church that sat at the centre. There were no stables or tether poles, but the mounts used by the ryders of the Amber Plains were not unruly creatures and did only as bid. Alarant dismounted and strode up the steps. The church had been constructed before the Calamity as a place to honour the religions of the Amber Plains, but in its aftermath those self-same religions had fallen away, to be replaced with more pragmatic needs. The doors were open, for there was nothing within to take away, and not a soul that lived in the city would dare desecrate such a place.
He saw faces he recognised but kept his silence, respectful of the peace and sanctity of the space. A grand altar stood at the far end, an edifice to the history of the city and its occupants. The rest of the space would have been filled with pews in the past, but now rows and rows of plinths had taken their place. The footfalls of his boots were muffled by the thick carpet that adorned the central passageway. Quickly enough he found what he was looking for, where he knew it would be.
"My love." He said simply, laying his gloved hand on the shoulder of the knight standing at the plinth he had come to visit.
In the changes that came in the aftermath of the Calamity, every member of their people had gained a similar shape, that of a large suit of armour swirling with Dust in replacement of the physical body they once had. But each knight had traits and iconography to distinguish them, features that Alarant could recognise on his wife anywhere, anytime.
"Ah dear, you've returned." Said Lisabelle de Lereyne. The armoured mask that had taken the place of her face was as impassive as ever, but her voice carried all the love of over a decade spent together. They embraced and touched the brows of their masks together, in lieu of a kiss.
"How is she doing?" Alarant asked when they were stood shoulder to shoulder, hands interlocked.
Lisabelle gently caressed the glass sphere that rested on top of the plinth, her eyes fixed on the swirling Dust within. "The bishop said she's progressing. If all is well, she'll be with us before year's end."
"My dearest Anna. I can't wait to show you the cities we have constructed in your absence." Alarant said, his voice ringing with all the love of a father. After the Calamity, not all of their race had formed the solid armoured forms that Alarant and his wife sported. Some had been cast adrift on the winds, the Dust that made up their essence scattered. It could be collected, but it was a labour of years, with techniques only truly understood by the bishops of the Church.
The married couple stood for a few moments, taking pleasure in each other's quiet company and the imminent return of their beloved daughter.
"Did you have an eventful trip, dear?" Lisabelle asks, turning towards her husband.
Alarant took one last look at the plinth before turning to his wife. "We encountered another band of necrophages. They were terrorising a village down in the valley."
Lisabelle nodded. "The sentries on the walls have also reported sightings in the night."
The couple waved at the plinth and began walking down the central aisle towards the exit, continuing their conversation in hushed tones. Around them, other couples and families were clustered around their own plinths, quite possibly awaiting the return of a child like they themselves were.
"We encountered them in the past, but they were mindless animals. They certainly never approached our walls." Lisabelle said.
Alarant thought back to the attack on the village and the abnormal specimen they had captured. "Some change has come over them, both in their appearance and their behaviour. The pack we fought today had some kind of creature leading them."
"A leader would indeed explain the changes in their behaviour. The unruly pack is becoming an army." Lisabelle said.
Alarant nodded and thought back to his conversations with the townsfolk of Ariana's Bend.
"What happened to it? The leader, I mean." Lisabelle said.
They reached the doors of the cathedral. Alarant would wish to say he could taste the fresh air, but it made no sensation on his metal body. "We captured it. Gardt is bringing it to the keep as we speak."
"You trust Gardt still, after all this time."
He wished such questions would not apply, for it implied that you could not trust every knight in Calimdar. Alas, Alarant knew that such an implication was not untrue. "I do, I would trust him with my life."
His assurance satisfied Lisabelle and she asked no further questions as they walked, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, out of the plaza that held the cathedral.
"I would enjoy this a while longer," Alarant said and squeezed his wife's hand tighter, "But I have a pressing matter to present to the Marquis."
"The beasts' commander." Lisabelle said. It was no question. She had no doubt she was right.
"Indeed. I hope that if I present the matter directly to the Marquis, he at the very least cannot deny having heard it, which is a distinct possibility if I present it to Jace." Alarant said.
His wife considered his words but said nothing. The two of them had reached the edge of the plaza and were emerging onto the large street where Alarant and Gardt had parted. The Marquis' keep stood prominently at one end of the street, washing the flagstones in the pale blue light of its spires.
"I hope I will see you at home after your business in the keep is concluded, Alarant," Lisabelle said, "And if you see Lady Obarro, give her my regards."
"I will, my love," Alarant and Lisabelle touched foreheads again with a tink of metal, "I will see you tonight."
Alarant looked at his wife for a moment as she departed, then made his way towards the keep.
The central keep had been restored first of all the buildings of the city, before even the primary residences and the fortified walls. The city's administration worked from here, sending messengers and clerks out as required. While decisions in defence of the city were under the purview of garrison commander Duke Weybridge, military decisions ranging out beyond the city walls were also under the purview of the Central Administration. Alarant prayed that duty would never fall to Jace de Kirgaan, or directly under the Marquis. For now, it was safe with the cleric-knights that had come from the capital. The audience hall had been constructed in the keep's grand hall. Before the calamity and the resulting changes to their form, it had been a grand hall of feasting. Alarant himself had attended quite a few with Lisabelle at his side before they had been blessed with their daughter. But the reconstruction of the hall had brought with it some changes, the intention of which was not lost on Alarant.
The Marquis Martin de Ildan de Suluzzo sat in a high-backed chair at the far end of the hall, raised above the crowd on a tiered platform. The steps in front of him were wide and carpeted so that supplicants could kneel before him. A few members of his personal guard stood with their ceremonial halberds to keep the crowd seeking an audience from forcing their place in the line, and at the Marquis' side and a few steps down stood an armoured figure that Alarant knew well. Jace de Kirgaan, one of the Marquis' loyal retainers. Sir Kirgaan was not from a noble line, a fact that on its own would not trouble Alarant. His own retainer, Sir Gardt, had been a sergeant from the common folk before the calamity. But where Gardt had earned his knighthood through his valour and his bearing, Jace de Kirgaan had earned his crest by toadying to the powerful Marquis. Alarant had to concede that the man was capable in his own way, but he was not fitting as a knight.
Alarant was reassured to also see Raleigh de Brumlen working from a table off to the side of the raised throne. The clerk of the court had already created a pile of papers and would ensure that Alarant's report was noted down. Less chance that the Marquis could outright ignore it or twist the wording.
Just as Alarant moved to join the line, he noticed one more person in the court hall. They stood behind the throne, obscured by the shadows. All that Alarant could make out was an armoured form much like any other citizen of Calimdar and an eerie glow. All of their people had a glow about them now, a pale blue glow that shone from beneath their armour and through their eyes. The glow that looked out from the shadows behind the throne was not blue, but crimson.
Alarant joined at the rear of the line of audience seekers, but it was not long before Sir Kirgaan noticed him and beckoned him forward, a sneer carrying through into the tone of his voice. The palace guards escorted him to the front, where Alarant kneeled on the steps in front of the Marquis, as had all the other supplicants before him. The knight-captain had no wish to do so before anyone but his emperor, but if it would aid in his request, then so be it.
The Marquis had donned a flowing green robe to obscure the armour that was beneath. Intricate designs of golden thread flowed upwards from the robe's hem towards his mask. The fingers of his left hand slowly tapped on the armrest of the throne.
"Lord de Lereyne. A pleasure to see you at court, as always." Suluzzo said.
"Thank you, your Grace." Alarant replied and bowed his head.
"What brings you here today? I hear you have just returned from the field." Suluzzo said.
"It is as you hear. My men and I have been in valleys beyond the city, seeking signs and information on the necrophage plague that has festered while we slumbered."
The Marquis languished on the throne. "I trust you do not intend to make your full report to me directly. Commendable diligence, but I have matters of state to attend to."
"I will submit my report to the clerks of the keep as always, but we discovered something on this outing that I believe warrants a greater deal of attention." Alarant raised his head and looked directly at the Marquis. "Even the attention of the capital."
The Marquis' eyes narrowed. "What find could warrant thus?"
Alarant continued. "We encountered a pack of ghouls attacking a village of humans. That in itself is unremarkable, they are savage beasts with no mercy or compassion, but this pack had a creature leading them."
Jace de Kirgaan spoke up. "We have encountered their infectious monsters before. They are no leaders."
The Marquis looked down at his retainer as Jace spoke but said nothing.
"This was no such creature," Alarant said while pointedly keeping his gaze on the Marquis, "I have never seen its like, before or after the Calamity."
"And what happened to this creature?" The Marquis said.
"My men captured it and have taken it to the city jail. I believe it should be interrogated. It showed signs of intelligence, both on the field of battle and during our return trip. A savage beast would have torn at its chain until it escaped or died, but this creature must have recognised the futility of struggling."
Alarant noticed the slightest movement of the Marquis' eyes, glancing back towards the person behind the shadows of the throne before he replied. "Very well. Well done, Lord de Lereyne. If it is as you say, this will be a major boon to us in our cleansing of their kind."
"Sir Kirgaan." The Marquis continued.
Jace de Kirgaan knelt. "Your Grace."
"Oversee this interrogation. If this creature speaks, I want it to spill everything."
The Marquis looked down towards Alarant again. "We would not wish Sir Lereyne's efforts to be wasted."