"It's a matter of time before we are discovered, and I take it the current ruler of Celtica, King Cormic, does not take kindly to foreigners. The question we are faced with is where to go to," Evanlyn stated. Even as a queen of exiles, she was regal. Her advisors stood around her in the tent, all mulling over the problem they were faced with.
Will spoke first, his tone unsure in the beginning, but growing stronger. "I say Skandia. Erak would take us in, wouldn't he?"
Gilan was nodding his assent at the same time as Evanlyn shook her head. "Skandia is allied with Araluen, not with me. By taking us in, they could draw war from Horace. You know how devastating that would be, with the 200 archers stationed there,"
"How about Arrida?" Alyss suggested. Everyone knew she admired Selethen, the noble hawk-like warrior, and Will had established ties with Umar, leader of the Bedullins. Despite the intense heat, Arrida might be a good place to seek shelter at.
Evanlyn seemed to consider this. "Arrida would be a good choice, but do we have the money to rent a boat?" After a quick pause, Halt broke in.
"Actually, my lady, we do…"
She put her hands on her hips. "Is it illegal?" Halt bit his lip, and Will and Gilan tried to stifle smiles.
"Sort of…You know how me and Hor-" he realized his mistake. "You remember when I went through Gallica to find Will? Well, when we fought Deparnieux, I told his stewards they could keep everything, but I stole, well, a lot of money and deposited it with the Silasian Council….Sorry..."
Evanlyn took a few deep breaths, trying to curb her anger, and then realized she was being unreasonable. "Alright then. And you're prepared to withdraw this certain amount of money to buy us passage to Arrida?"
"Well…."
"It is illegal to hide money from conquests, I could have you flogged,"
"When you put it that way, the money is yours!" Halt answered quickly, and then resumed his normal nonchalant self, pulling up his cowl and crossing his arms.
"Great! Glad that's solved!" Gilan remarked cheerfully. "Now there's only one problem. Who do we send to get the money? Cause you know the Silasian Council only sets up base in the capital cities…"
"I'll go," Will said. "After all, I'm his adopted son; I can get his money out!"
Alyss nodded curtly. "And I'll go with him," Everybody left the tent one by one, all offering quick words of condolences to Evanlyn, who tried to stay strong. No one heard a cranky Halt.
"Thieves! The whole lot of them!"
XxXx
The hooded figure in the throne room was not familiar to Horace, but he couldn't, after all, see the face hidden underneath the cloak. When the man had walked in uncontested, Horace immediately knew it was the person sending him the notes, even though he had no evidence. And so, he was put on edge. This was the man who had ruined his life.
The man stood in front of Horace for a full two minutes in silence. Finally, he pulled something out from under his cloak. It was a cane…Horace almost recognized it, but could not remember where from.
The man pulled back his cowl and gave Horace a thin, cruel grin. "Remember me?