“Little did I know the consequences of the decision I made that evening.”

* From the Journal of Eratus Riverwood

Both of the men wore armor. Plate, fitted, and thin enough that it reminded me of those used by Alliance scouts. The creature emblazoned on their breastplates could be nothing other than a gryphon, with the head and wings of an eagle atop the body of a lion. Curious because I hadn’t seen a gryphon in sight since I arrived. Back home you couldn’t leave any major city without seeing their silhouettes flying in the sky, usually to avoid their droppings.

The older of the two sported a beard and moustache. His black hair tied back in a small ponytail. I could make out the weary expression of a veteran on his face, someone who had clearly seen people at their worst. The younger by contrast had his face clean-shaven, and his blonde hair cropped short. He had a smug expression, either from naivety or arrogance I could not tell. Probably both.

These had to be the Gray Wardens, and despite the veneration that everyone else placed upon them, the Lorekeeper hadn’t been wrong yet. As a paladin, part of my training was to recognize fel practitioners and anyone else the Church believed stood against the Light. I had categorized this “corruption” under the same kind, which meant I had to be prepared for anything.

For now, I chose not to escalate matters. This was hardly a good place to start a fight and I wasn’t well-equipped for one either. I faced straight ahead toward the opposite balcony to avoid drawing their attention, while observing them from the corner of my eye.

“Oh joy, another grand old party,” said the younger man. “Not that I miss all the ones at Redcliffe. And… it looks like all the young lordlings and their ilk are out here.”

“This won’t do.” The older man frowned. “We will have to find another way.”

“Why don’t we just walk through? It isn’t like any of them would want to get in our way anyway. Ooh… is that Tybolt? I’d love to see the look on his fat face when he sees me.”

“Because we do not want to draw attention to ourselves Alistair, and we will draw much unwanted attention if we expose ourselves. Fame is not always a boon.”

“I think our talk with the steward proved that, Duncan. You know, the way he looked at us, you’d be thinking he was talking to a couple of vagrants on the streets. Not that I wasn’t used to that before. Is that the Bryley twins? I could recognize their getup anywhere.”

“You will find that many people have many different opinions about us, and you musn’t let your past interfere with who you are now. The Steward has provided us with much needed information, much more so than if the Arl himself was present.”

“Right… A group of burly men dressed in black. About as helpful as telling us that they dug up a bunch of holes using shovels. That doesn’t exactly narrow things down for us.”

That part stoked my interest. Did they have something to do with the people that hired out Taoran? Then again, burly men dressed in black wasn’t exactly an uncommon thing out here.

“He has helped us in more than just that. Have patience Alistair.”

“Fine…Fine… Well since we can’t just stride our way through a crowd of the most coddled children in Ferelden, I guess we’ll have to find another way out. Maybe one of the locals here would know…”

The younger man waved in my direction.

“Excuse me good ser. I take it you are a bannerman of this household?”

I turned in their direction. Slowly, readying myself for anything.

“I’m afraid not,” I said. “I’m with the Blackstone Irregulars.”

“Really?” Alistair raised an eyebrow. “Since when did the Arl of Denerim hire out sellswords for his parties?”

“The Arl is good friends with the current Captain, Raelnor Hawkwind.” Duncan turned around. toward the hallway from where they came. “With all that you were privy to through Arl Eamon, you still have much to learn Alistair. Let us get going, we shouldn’t trouble these people any longer.”

“Right,” said Alistair. “Thank you again good se- Wait, I guess you aren’t really a ser. Actually, nevermind, just have a good evening.”

I nodded in return as the two men disappeared back through the hallway.

“Are you certain they were a threat?” I mouthed to the Lorekeeper.

“I was able to detect immense quantities of corruption in their midst.”

“Immense? There wasn’t anything about them that seemed odd. You’re sure of that?”

“Positive.”

I stared at the open doorway. My training taught me to pursue, but experience told me to withhold. If there was a confrontation, the best outcome would have wound up with me trying to explain to the local nobility why I instigated a conflict, which would only complicate my situation and draw further suspicion to me being here.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I didn’t know what relation these wardens had to the corruption, but it wasn’t my problem to solve, if there even was a problem to begin with. There didn’t seem to be anything off about them at first glance, although I was well aware that first appearances could be rather deceiving.

I turned my attention back to playing the role of the guard. Looking around, all the other guards on the second floor hung over the balcony, watching the processions below.

I did the same, not wanting to be the odd man out.

Looking over, the party was in full-swing judging by the rising volume and laughter from below. I could make out the layout of the court, and the first thing of note were two large tables running lengthwise along the edges, filled with fruits, pastries, and other foods. Much of it appeared uneaten, and with the trickle of people picking up plates, would remain uneaten for the evening. I thought of all the starving children in the alleys and the beggars outside. All of it was wasteful. Even during the occupation of Alterac City, we had halted any luxurious celebrations to make rations available for all people.

Everybody else strode about in groups in the center. I made out Ferghus and Aedan at the middle of the court. The older of the Cousland brothers appeared to be sharing a story to a group of other nobles, catching a few chuckles and laughs. He looked toward his younger brother every few moments, probably to prevent him from wandering off again.

Aedan just stood there tight-lipped. A look of misery if I could recognize one. I felt a bit bad for him, it really did seem like he wasn’t enjoying the festivities at all.

On the contrary, some young men seemed to be enjoying the festivities in the far corner. They cheered, gulping down goblets of wine. I recognized both Vaughn and Taoran among them. Good to see my employer fraternizing with the nobles. This attempt at showing off his connections may have worked with any other sellsword but I couldn’t give a wit about it.

Closer to the entrance, Habren Bryland flicked her hair and flaunted her dress to an audience of other young ladies. Delilah, stood to her side, watching her friend with cheer. Both of them seemed to be in better spirits than when they were upstairs. My eyes kept moving toward Delilah, so I decided to look away entirely. It had been ages since I’ve been infatuated with anyone, and I repressed the desire to the edges of my mind. I had someone back at home anyway.

I sighed. Compared to everything else I’ve been through; this wasn’t too difficult. It wasn’t like a celebration like this would go on all night. All I had to do was last the evening.

***

In my time in the Alliance military, I was surrounded by if-not friends then at least comrades in arms. I say this, because close quarters and the constant threat of life had a tendency to cause most people abandon any petty quarrels for the sake of survival. Also, because it helped stave off another malady, one which may have been as familiar to any warrior since the dawn of time. As familiar as the looming spectre of death and harm.

Boredom.

With nobody to talk to and nowhere to go, I was having a lot of difficulty staving that particular irritant off. I don’t know how many minutes or hours had passed, but I had remembered why I had a particular hatred of guard duty at the Cathedral.

The party-goers at least didn’t seem to suffer that. As the evening progressed, wine and spirits had taken their effect, causing a variety of rather interesting sights. However, I wasn’t the type to take much enjoyment in watching people make fools out of themselves, and so my interest in the crowd evaporated in a few moments.

All I had were my thoughts, which were consumed with how I wanted this all to end. That and the dense perfume lingering in the air. I walked away toward the open window to get a breath of fresh air for the eighth time.

“We’ve checked every other spot; this has to be it.”

“I can’t wait to see!”

“Girls please! We’re going to get in trouble.”

“Oh no Shianni, you’ve had your head in the clouds for the past three weeks. I think it is about time we see wh-“

Shianni? I also recognized her voice among the speakers, who were coming from the doorway left open by the Gray Wardens. What was she doing here? I moved towards the door, when a mass of brown-hair bumped into my chest.

There was a squeak, and I got a whiff of something floral.

“Oops!” The woman and based on the pointed ears, the elf, stumbled backward. She was dressed in the same plain beige attire worn by the other servants. “Apologies my…”

She looked straight into my eyes, and her voice stuttered. She looked away with a tinge of blush on her cheek.

Before I could ask, another elf with a familiar shade of red hair, appeared behind her.

“Oh, Eratus!” Shianni pushed past her friend and stepped in front of me. “Good to see you are here!”

“Wait.” The brown-haired elf looked at me and then back at Shianni. “That’s him?”

“Really!?” Another female elf with blonde hair appeared through the door. “I want to see! Oh my…”

“My… my… Indeed,” said the black-haired elf.

“Uh… Ladies.” I smoothed out my hair and dipped my head into a bow. “I didn’t expect to see you here Shianni.”

“Oh.” Shianni chuckled and scratched her head. “I may have forgotten to mention it. I work here as a laundress and seamstress.”

“Ladies.” The brown-haired elf raised an eyebrow at Shianni. “He addressed us as ladies. You were right about everything you’ve said, he is a mite peculiar one.”

“Nola…” Shianni frowned.

“Is it true you rescued our dear Shianni from being spirited away?” The black-haired elf looked at my shirt and then back at Shianni. “And those clothes… you picked it out for him didn’t you? After all that talking about shem.”

“I guess it is true what they say,” said her other friend. “Love and hate are opposite sides of the same coin and one can become the other at a whi-“

“Alright, enough of that!” Shianni grabbed both of her giggling friends, pushing them back through the hallway. “Eratus, sorry for causing you trouble. I’ll see you at the festival then?”

“I will.” I smiled.

Shianni looked away for a moment, as if she was trying to hide her face under her hair. I looked at her with a mix of confusion and concern.

Her friends giggled even harder, which caused Shianni to glare. Her face was red and she pushed them both back through the hallway.

“Okay!” Shianni waved at me. “I’ll see you then!”

I waved back, as she pushed her friends back through the hallway, and closed the door behind them.

What I didn’t tell her was that I almost forgot. My mind had been consumed with more important things such as trying to figure out a way home and more recent things like this guard post. Now that she brought it up, I was actually looking forward to the festival. I wasn’t expecting anything outlandish like the parties in Silvermoon City but I was curious to learn a bit more about the local customs of the elves here. This time as a participant than from a cage.

Or a guard for that matter.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

The voice came far too close for comfort. I turned, coming face to face with one of the other guards. A bannerman judging by the outfit, or more accurately a bannerwoman.