The King pulled his upper lip & pondered. "Ack, yes. Trade negotiations. Come, my friends." He lifted his hand & motioned them to follow. Even after ruling for so long, king Rageien still had firm hands. There were no outer veins visible, no scars or wrinkles. On his right pinky there was a golden ring with a crimson sigil placed in the middle. It was hard to make out but it resembled a vortex that, when you looked at it intently, seemed to swirl unendingly.

"I'll have you know that dealing with politics is not my main trait. Anyhow, i'll do my best to concede your wishes." The king fell silent as they headed into the large hallway that led into the throne room. The castle was silent, guards standing in rows upon rows leading into the main chambers. It almost seemed like overkill, having so much security. Or maybe it was not. A king needed to be protected and Rageien wasn't called "the wise" for being careless.

As the trio made their way through the large, long hallway, they walked past several large passages to the sides. Some of the passages led to big wooden doors. One such was half-way open, just a hundred feet from the throne room itself. Behind the door, one could catch a glimpse of what seemed to be several women, laughing & giggling. One such woman peeked outside of the door, dressed in what resembled a night gown, albeit completely transparent. She turned around half-way, stepping out with her right leg so that one could see the back of her leg & buttocks, she then peered with seducing eyes towards the scarred, battle-hardened dwarven brother. Then the door slammed shut, breaking the spell-like trance.

The daughter of Valyria were inside the castle stables. She were here to make her horse ready for the evening. She'll yet again bring back another man's head from a criminal, a murderer. She had decided that she would give the man the choice of mercy, to flee if need be. Neither would she or he tell anyone about this. This was her decision. During Valerie's missions she never showed her face, she always kept herself at a distance.

Valerie stroked the horse's nozzle with her hand and rest her head upon the horse's mane. Taking a steady breath she closed her eyes and collect her thoughts in silence. She always liked to be around horses, it bringed her back memories from her childhood and her family.

She walks outside of the stables, with her horse at her side. Holding the reins in her hand, she eyed the beautiful view of landscape, some parts of the lands have no form of plant life, it's after the fire and war. Valerie buckle her swords around her thighs, her rather large garment-bag onto the horse saddle, and jumps up on the back of the horse. She looked behind her where the big building of the castle was, and took off to the woods with a gallop.

The ride took her half an hour, until she stops by a place which are out in nowhere not to far awya from the woods, which she had been rinding through. The land here have an beautiful view over the landscape, you can see the castle from the distance. But here were no green lands and no colors. Everything is left in ashes and have been forgotten. Valerie jumps off from her horse back, she takes the reins and leads the way up to the small hill where a house should be.

After walking around the place, Valerie can now see that this have been a farmyard with a rather big courtyard with a family living in their small house. After seeing the ruins, she could puzzle it together. Life, joy and love had been here. This family also owned a few horses, which she could see they had a small stable for them. She can picture it and see the sun which shines down at the house and the courtyard. She can see the colors and feel the warmth and love from it. She remeber her childhood when she ran out in the summer time, with her mother, father and grandparents. Remebering when she ran down a hill just like this one, but with flowers and green soft gras. A house like this and how the sun would stirke down at the courtyard.

She almost fell back, but got her balance on her feet from falling. Was this really what she thought it was? It had been years since she was here, she never ever in her life time thought she would find it again. Her home. Here this place Valerie had been raised, she had a life here. Until when men had killed her father. She never knew who did it, or why. She dont even know that her father was a powerful wizard. By the time she was little, it was far too dangerous to speak about it out load.

Valerie was left alone in the world and the only one left, from the Valyria family. Years she had been alone, the girl lived her life and was caught by a man, who saw potential in her. He gived her somewhere to sleep, eat and trained her at a young age. She was not alone, it was plenty of more people the man trained. During the years she got a title, the youngest and skilled assassin out in the Kingdom. One day Valerie finds her escape, she dont want to work for others and she were old enough to take care of herself. She flees from the group and her trainer. But the day had come, the King had heard much about the young girls skills, and he wanted her to be his Assassin. He did find her and he made her a deal. In four years, she will do what ever he has to give for her. She will be free again, after those years. If she reject to this gift, her life would end there.

”Home.” She thought and eyed the farmyard again, which now gived her nothing but loss. Before she leaves and get herself into the village for the thing she has to do. She took a last walk around the house, which is in ashes and nothing left but dust. She found three skulls in the dust. One which should be her father, the other two her loved grandparents. A little gleam of light appered from the dusty ground, she bows down on her knee and finds a little metal ring in the mud.

Valerie study the ring and to her suprise and shock, it has the symbol of the Kings logo on it. But somehting was odd. Noone but Rageien wore those rings. It was broken, and she had no clue what it was doing out here. She could not stop thinking that the king she works for, had something to do with her father's death. Maybe she will have a small chat to her dear King, when she returns. The assassin placed the ring inside her pocket of her jacket and got back up on the horse. Ready to ride to the village, which would take her another hour.

((Hey, I've decided to try coloring the brothers speech, so its always known who is talking when. I figured almost always they will be together, and its important to distinquish. Dolgrin is [COLOR=#ff0000]Red[/COLOR], while Harsk will be [COLOR=#0000ff]Blue[/COLOR].))

Harsk smiled slightly while walking a step behind the king, to his left. [COLOR=#0000ff]"Well, your majesty, you will be glad to know that the High Merchant Caste does not wish to change anything about the trade negotiations. This meeting should be brief and easy for both parties. Just a simple, err, reiteration of each parties duties in accordance with the trade agreements, and of course a review of what goods your majesty wishes to be traded the most, if it has changed."[/COLOR]

Harsk kept his eyes straight ahead, not glancing around the hallway as they passed by the large, oak wood doors. Dolgrin eyes wandered endlessly however. Although his official duty was to guard his brother from danger, Dolgrin knew his brother could handle himself, so instead of scanning for dangers, he looked by curiously, wondering what could lie behind each door, until his eyes fell upon the partly open chamber. As the human woman waved her buttocks and looked at him seductively, Dolgrin gave a soft chuckle, and spoke in a low tone to his brother, in Dwarven. [COLOR=#ff0000]"Ain't that cute, Harsk; that wee human lass thinks she can handle a dwarf. To bad most human women are so ugly, eh?"[/COLOR]

Since things had gone so unexpected with the king, Harsk ignored the first part of Dolgrin's comment, hoping it would be a quick remark, but after Dolgrin finished what he had to say, Harsk stopped walking down the hall. [COLOR=#0000ff]"I apologize your majesty, may I and my escort speak for a moment?"[/COLOR]

Harsk pushed Dolgrin back from the king about four feet, barely waiting for approval. Dolgrin frowned, and let out a resounding "Hey!" in Dwarven as Harsk shoved him. Harsk looked back at the king, and then turned to Dolgrin before speaking in a low tone in common, but purposely loud enough the king could hear if he truly wished. [COLOR=#0000ff]"Dolgrin, I have asked you, no, ordered you, that you will not speak unless spoken to while in the castle, especially in Dwarven, and you will certainly not insult anyone. By Tivor, Dolgrin, I did not even realize that had to be a rule."[/COLOR]

Dolgrin smiled, glancing back at the doorway the woman had peered out of, then replied Dwarven. [COLOR=#ff0000]"But it's true."[/COLOR]

Harsk frowned, and spoke again in common.[COLOR=#0000ff]"No, what did I just say? No talking."[/COLOR]

Harsk turned from Dolgrin and walked back to the king, bowing his head, while Dolgrin muttered under his breath, probably a Dwarven curse, and followed behind.

[COLOR=#0000ff]"I apologize once again, your majesty. My escort knows he should not make wayward comments, above all in Dwarven. I have a great admiration for your eloquent language, and he knows it should be the only language spoken within the castle, so that we may always be understood. This mistake will not be made again."[/COLOR] Harsk said this after raising his head from the bow.

((OoC: I come up with a name for the human Kingdom, Terrassen. ))

Catherine Sardothien, the queen walked her way to where her daughter was. She knew Eliza was with her friend, Alma. Which the queen didnt really like that much. She could see that Alma was after something else, and that was not to be Elizabeth's friend. She wanted something more and Catherine didnt like it.

"Elizabeth, we need to get going. They are already here." Catherine spoke and eyed her blue daughters eyes. Alma was a bit suprised when the queen walked in to the room. Catherine were only speaking to her daughter and Alma could feel it. The tan skinned lady crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, "It's alright. I will see you later." Alma spoke and Elizabeth smiled to her friend and nodded her head to her mother. The two leaved the room and Alma, they walked the way down the long stairs and their way to the Throne room.

While walking their way to the throne room, Catherine wanted to tell Elizabeth to stay away from that girl. "Eliza, you know i want the best for you." The queen spoke and eyed her daughter, who sighed with irretation in her voice. "What?"

"Alma, the daughter of Arslan. She is not to be trusted. I have the gut feeling and can see it in her brown stinky eyes every time i see her, something just feels odd." The queen spoke and ended up to curse a few words. "Mom, just stop it! I trust her and you're a drama queen right now." Eliza raised her eyebrow at her mother, who rolled her eyes. "Well, well. I just have to poison her then."

The two opend the door and walked in the Throne room, where the king and the two guests already was.

The queen walked up to her husband's side and took his freed hand, eyeing the two dwarves she had never seen before. With her was Elizabeth, she had finsihed her meeting with Alma from before and greeted the two twin brothers. It was her first time to see a race other than humans.

"Welcome to Terrassen. We heard you have travelled far." The queen spoke with her eyes on the dwarven brothers. "You will get rooms to sleep to stay over the night." She spoke and gazed upon her husband who kept himself focused on the brothers. "Please make your self at home." Elizabeth spoke with a smile on her lips.

[B]CLINKCLANKCLINKCLANKCLINK![/B]

The sound of a metal pole repeatedly hitting the bars of his cell jolted Lorcan from a nice dream about home.

[I]"Blood and bloody ashes!"[/i] He shouted, the obscenities echoing off the walls, over the sounds of screams. He glared at the guard opening the cell door, who had a stupid grin on his face.

"Wakey Wakey outlander! Apparently yer working with us for the month! Ya won't last day one training with us!" The guard chuckled as he unlocked the shackles on his hands and feet. He looked Lorcan in the eyes. " 'Course, I bet 10 silver you wouldn't last five minutes. But others are giving you the benefit o' the doubt!"

Lorcan smiled, but his eyes were deathly cold. [I]"Say, how many Old Knights have you ever killed?"[/i] Lorcan asked, but the confused look on the guard's face made him laugh. [I]"Oh, right. You're just a greenhorn, judging from how clean and un-dented your armor is, and ya never been outside the walls! Old Knights are the elite forces of a long, long forgotten kingdom, and can be found in various ruins, run down castles and the likes. The stand about as tall as two men on each other's shoulders, and are about 4 men wide. I've seen them smash through unskilled soldiers such as yourself, like they were made of paper. They wield maces and swords that a normal man could never dream of lifting. One glancing blow would tear ya arm off."[/i]

Lorcan leaned in close, picking some fuzz off the guard's shoulder pads. [I]"I've killed several dozen of the big bastards. Trust me, I'll be alright training with you and the other babes."[/i]

Lorcan lead the way out, followed by the brooding guard. He stepped out into the courtyard, where the soldiers were forming up for the morning meeting and orders.

Lorcan stood in the back, arms crossed over his chest, waiting with the rest of the crowd for the meeting to begin.

((OOC: Happy new years everyone!))

Jason woke to the noise of metal bashing against metal. It seemed the guard the young man gave his shift to was terrorizing the mercenary. Jason decided it was best not to interrupt their little conversation, so he simply got up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Once the outlander was done intimidating the guard, Jason couldn't help but smirk at how baffled the guard was, before begrudgingly following the outlander to the courtyard. A servant scurried to Jason, whispering something in his ear. The young man sighed before dismissing the peon to her daily duties. He stretched once again before heading to the courtyard.

Jason stepped up to the raised platform of the training grounds to where many guards awaited anxiously for their training to begin. "Attention, whelps!" Jason shouted, grabbing the attention of all the guards who weren't paying attention in the first place. "It appears that lieutenant David shall not be training you today, due to a severe otic injury." Jason began, quickly glancing to the outlander, for known reasons. "In his stead I will train you while he recovers, despite my personal duties as a royal guard." To this, a knight in shining armor laughed, saying "So they sent a child in his place! You look no older than a common squire, boy!"

Jason gave the cocky knight a cold smile, "If you want to be sent home crying to mum that you got your ass beat by a 'boy', that's fine with me. Otherwise, each and every on of you shall call me Sir Jason Sov, or simply sir if that's too hard for you." The cocky guard was soon silenced as every other guard shouted "Yes, sir!" Jason nodded his head in approval. The young man proceeded to point to the Lorcan, saying, "Although I doubt you have not heard already, this is our new brother-in-arms. You shall treat him the same as any of your other brethren, however if any of you beat this man in our sparring matches later today, you will be awarded with an extra helping of rations when supper comes. Meanwhile, I want to see each of you run six laps around the training grounds." With that, each of the men began to run the makeshift track around the courtyard, the grass already reduced to nothing but dry dirt from previous years of training.

As the young officer pointed in his direction, acknowledging that he would be working with them, a few of the guard's turned around to look, and he cracked a smile, his teeth now dark red with drying blood. They turned back around quickly as they took off to run.

Lorcan weaved in and out of running men to the platform, grinning.

[I]"I hope ya aren't friends with whichever guards were at the gate last night, or that sorry lad who's ear I mistook for a treat!"[/i] He thrust a hand forward to shake. [I]"The name's Lorcan Al'Shineran. How many men do I have ta beat to get extra rations tonight? I'm awfully hungry, hadn't eaten in days! And if'n ya don't mind, I'd like ta get my gear back!" [/i]

Roselynn had made the mistake of sleeping in that morning... You can't really blame her, though, because all she'd known her whole life was what it felt like to sleep on the cold, hard floor of an unoccupied dungeon cell. When she woke, she was sprawled across the bed, wearing naught but a set of underclothes... she had fallen asleep in her nightgown, so waking up without it was rather jarring, especially if one considers the events of the night prior. She immediately feared the worst, and checked herself over. No signs of any....lewd happenings, which was good. She sighed, and walked over to the wardrobe, looking around for something to wear. When she opened it, she found absolutely nothing. Not even a discarded sock...then it occurred to her, that she'd always seen girls doing loads upon loads of laundry each morning. That must have been the laundry they were doing, which meant she was S.O.L until one of them came back because she was damn sure that she wasn't gonna go out there and risk getting caught in her underwear by a guest, or worse yet, the king. However, when she found that an hour had passed with no return of any kind, she sighed, crossed her fingers, and crept out the door, thinking that if nobody heard her leave that they wouldn't see her leave either. In hindsight that logic was complete cod-swaddle, but at the time she was desperate to be wearing something, and understandably so, taking into account the rather chilly day. She sneaks about the corridors of the castle, sneaking around like an idiot. Here's hoping nobody saw her

Jason watched as the men were halfway to completing their first lap. "Quit dragging your feet! Just because it's morning doesn't mean you're not a guard!" The young man shouted at the footsoldiers

Jason gingerly shook the man's hand before speaking, "No, the guard was just someone I ordered to keep watch while I slept. I could also care less about lieutenant David, considering he's only been outside the walls four times or so. As you already know, my name is Jason Sov, of the elite royal guard. You'll get your rations when everyone else does, although these men should be less contemptuous once they've got some sense knocked into them. Your gear is down the main corridor of the dungeon and to the left. The prisoner belongings should be there. Take anything that isn't yours and I'll hear about it."

OoC: Hey guys! Hope you all had great hollidays and new years eve! Me and had stressful weeks, with a lot of work and took care of things going on in real life. We will soon reply again, and keep the story moving as fast as we can.

[I]"Don't worry, Sir Sov. I may be a dungeon diver, but I'm no thief! Most of the time anyways!" [/i] He gave Jason a firm handshake, before heading back down into the dungeon.

He looked for the door the Officer spoke of, peeking into cells as he went. Most of these men and women didn't look like criminals, which called for an eyebrow to be raised. The prisoners reached for him as he walked by, but he skirted around them as he walked.

He found the massive store room, and proceeded to climb over mountains of stuff, shelves and boxes, looking for his shield and spear.

After some digging (somehow, overnight, his stuff was burried under new prisoner's stuff) he found his gear. He walked back outside, shield hanging on his side and spear on his back, and walked up to Jason.

[I]"So, when does the sparring start? There's one guy I'd like ta knock some sense into."[/I] He looked around for a bucket of water to wash his face and mouth with, spotting one nearby. He waited for his answer before he walked away, to not be rude.

(( , Hey, I'll smail you what that note says =P))

Although Dolgrin was brought along to protect his brother, Dolgrin knew Harsk could handle himself. Dolgrin was watching the room simply out of curiosity, not danger, and he was the first to notice the Queen and crown Princess enter the room. A smiles slipped over his lips, and he took great pleasure in jabbing a pointed elbow into his brother's side to get his attention. Harsk turned his head toward his brother, and spied the two women coming towards them. He bowed to them as they approached, and Dolgrin mimicked the bow, though more stiff. Harsk waited patiently for them to speak, and then replied. [COLOR=#0000ff]"Queen Catherine, the tales o' your generosity are only matched by the tales o' your beauty. We would be honored to stay within your home. I am Harsk, o' the clan Ironfist, and this is Dolgrin, also o' clan Ironfist."[/COLOR]

Harsk smiled, and then turn partway so that he was facing the princess, though he made sure he did not turn his back to the king. [COLOR=#0000ff]"And you must the crowned Princess, Elizabeth. It is very nice to meet you. Your Majesty,"[/COLOR] Here Harsk turned back toward the king.[COLOR=#0000ff]"I have from his Royal Highness, Rogar the Fast, a gift from the Dwarven kingdom to you, and to her majesty and the Crowned Princess. I believe the time to present those is now."[/COLOR]

Harsk took several steps back from the king and his family, and pulled the large leather pack from his back. He untied the long, thin leather bundle, and opened the pack flap to take from it two cloth wrapped packages.

[COLOR=#0000ff]"First, to your majesty; his royal highness, King Rogar the fast, wishes to present this gift, a bloodiron longsword, which was forged specifically for his majesty in the everburning forges."[/COLOR] Harsk revealed from the long leather package a longsword, careful not to touch it as he held it up to the king. The longsword's metal blade looked black, but as light reflected off its surface it shined a deep crimson red. The cross-guard and pommel were both made of the same metal, and red gems, rubies, were set into the cross-guard. The pommel contained the Kings house crest, a round circle containing a six pointed star. The circle had been adorned with gold, but the six pointed star was left showing the dark metal, which flashed red whenever the light struck it. The grip of the hilt was wrapped in a light colored leather, to offset the darkness of the metal.

[COLOR=#0000ff]"Bloodiron is a natural metal, but it carries many of the same properties as coldiron. Fiends and magical beasts are wounded even from a touch, and one will always find their aim true with this at their side. It is heavier than an average longsword, for the bloodiron is dense, but this sword will never dull, and it will never break."[/COLOR] Harsk waited for the sword to be taken, and then took both of the smaller packages to the Queen and Elizabeth. He handed one, which was larger, and tied with a simple silk red ribbon, to the queen, and the smaller package, tied similarly, to the princess.

[COLOR=#0000ff]"To her majesty and the crowned princess; His royal Highness, King Rogar the fast, wishes to present this gift, a set of gold earrings and necklace to her majesty, and a gold necklace to the crowned princess . Although we are not known for it, Dwarven jewelry crafters are the most talented in the realm, for who would know how to shape such delicate metal than those who pried it from the earth, and even the boxes themselves, carved marble Jewelry boxes, should show their skill."[/COLOR] The Queen's package contained a hefty carved marble box with gold plated hinges and latch. The outside was carved with a woodland scene, decorated with intricate trees and forest animals, well detailed. Inside the box was a pair of golden earrings and a matching necklace. Each earring hung down in a loop, with a ruby dangling in the center of the loop. The necklace was a gold chain, with a pendant in the middle. The pendant was the family crest, a golden circle, which where a six pointed star hung in the middle. The star was gold, but each arm of the star carried a small ruby, and a very large ruby adorned the middle of the star. The Princess's packaged contained a similar carved marble box, smaller than the Queens. Her box was carved with a sunrise on the front, accented by different shades of marble that were exposed in the carving. The sides were carved with decorative spirals and lines, each one curving into the next. Inside her box was a single golden necklace, much different from her mothers. The necklace chain was made of several golden chains woven together, though the chains were so thin, from a distance it would look like one. Interwoven in the chains were five gems encased in gold to hold them in place. In the middle was a large red ruby, almost as large as the one given to the Queen. The gems to the left and the right of the ruby were Sapphires, brilliantly blue, and to the left and right of those, were Emeralds, which were a deep shade of green. The gems got slightly smaller as they branched from the single ruby, but they were still very impressive. Under the necklace was a small note, tidily folded, its contents unknown.

[COLOR=#0000ff]" King Rogar wishes that the Dwarven and Human kingdoms always remain as strong allies as we have been in the past, and wishes that these gifts allow your majesty to see the sincerity he holds for that belief."[/COLOR]

"Let's hope so. For your sake." Jason said, eyeing the outlander as he left. When Lorcan was out of eyesight, the elite guard turned to the rest of the guards who had just completed their sixth lap.

Jason eyed every single guardsman in the ranks, as if counting to make sure they were all present. There was a long pause before he spoke again, taking a moment to nod a bit before saying "Good... Now do another one." Despite the groans of several men in the group, they complied without question. At this point Lorcan returned.

"Sparring starts once each of these men complete their final lap. During the match you all will be using wooden weapons, as to make sure any idiots do not manage to hurt themselves or their comrades." Jason said, seeing the older man eye the bucket of water, he finished by stating, "You are free to wash your face."

, Ooc: - Now i will wait for you hun to reply.

Catherine and Elizabeth both nodded when Harsk had introduced himself and his brother.

The queen was very flattered by the comment Harsk had given her, the gifts which was given were stunning. The queen loved the gold necklace and the matching golden earrings with it. It had many beautiful details on it, even with the Kingdom's symbol. She was honored and very thankful for the wonderful gifts.

She hold the box in her hands and smiled warmly to Harsh and his brother. "Your King are to kind. He is very generous. Tell your highness that i am very pleased. And you're more then welcome to visit Terrassen, when ever you want to." She smiled. "We will always stay allies." She eyed her husband and elbowed him a little in his side. "Are they not, dear?" She raised her eyebrow at Rageien.

Elizabeth opend the ribbon and lift up the lid of the box, to take a look at the golden necklace. Her eyes widened, she gasped with excitement. The crown princess was suprised to see such a gift, and the meaning behind it was very kind.

"Thank you, it's so beautiful." Elizabeth spoke and bowed to show respect. She saw a little letter with the golden necklace but, she didnt want to read it out here. She would read it more in private. She turned her attention back to guest again.

"I really appreciate it, thank King Rogar for this wonderful gift i appreciate it very much." Elizabeth spoke and smiled to Harsk and Dolgrin.

Elizabet realized she was getting late to her horse training and had to get going to be there in time. "I really look foward to see you all in the evning for the banquet." The crown princess bowed to the guests and her father and mother nodded before their daughter left the trone room.

"Well then, i should leave you and get back to work." The queen said with a sigh, of knowing how much work is already waiting for her. She bowed and said her goodybye for now and left the throne room.

The crown princess was not really going to the horse training, she walked out to the Green courtyard which had a ton of different colorful flowers, trees and other beautiful plants. She took a seat on a stone bench under a tree and took out the small note, from her gift and began to read it.

[I]"Well, of /course/ I'm gonna use woooden weapons! Don't wanna kill any more of your men!"[/i] He left with a wink, washing his face. Felt good to get the blood off his face and out of his mouth, felt like a new man!

As the men finished their lap, he pointed one out in particular "YOU. Sir place-a-bet! What is the pot up to?" He asked the guard, the one who rudely awakened him earlier. The man smiled, while the others chuckled and laughed. "300 gold, and 500 silver." He replied. Lorcan grinned, turning to Jason. [I]"Sir Sov, pick out six men. INCLUDING THAT ONE. I will spar all six. Follow me, you poor souls. I shall show you what is a 'kill' with my weapons before we begin!"[/i]

He walked over to some dummies, a cross stuck in the ground with armor thrown on it, to practice strikes and combinations on. He held up his spear.

[I]"Seven and a half feet of pure pokey anger, once meant to pierce dragon scales. Note how easy it goes through armour."[/i] He held the tip to it, looked around at the group of men, and applied slight pressure. The blade made a metallic rasp as it slid through the chest plate and clear through the back, sticking out several inches. He pulled it out, leaving a diamond shaped slit. He then took a step back, swung the blade wide (several of the guard's ducked as the blade whizzed over their heads) and over his head, slamming the blade down on the collar bone area, cleaving the armor and the crossbeams it was sitting on in two.

He held his spear out for the guard's to take and pass around, some sucking air through their teeth as they inspected the armor. He stepped over to the next one, shield on the other hand.

[I]"This is my shield. Forged iron, the edge sharpened to a blade, making it another weapon as well. Watch."[/i] He jabbed the sternum of the chest plate,an even angrier rasp scraped out, and pulled the tip back out. Were a man to be wearing that armour, he would now have a gaping crescent shaped wound in his chest.

When the spear got back around to him, he set it aside, along with his shield, and walked over to the training rack. He eyed the weapons, and picked out a bladeless lance, which matched the length of his spear, and a woooden shield, same shape as his.

[I]"If I beat all six of you, I get the pot. I place 200 gold on myself. Pick wisely, Sir Sov. Circle me when you have been chosen!"[/i] Lorcan spun on his heels, and strode to the center of the yard, twirling the spear and whistling.

As Elizabeth sits in the courtyard, she sees Rose sneaking through the hall in her underwear, looking rather on edge...of course, this would either look rather funny, or rather concerning.

Jason clicked his tongue in slight annoyance. That was one training pell gone for good. Although it was a good display of power, it didn't exactly display the man's skill in combat just showing off his toys. Once Lorcan equipped himself with training gear, the young man got to picking the combatants.

"You heard the man. Get in the ring. You too, shiny." Jason said, pointing out the guard from the cells and the previously cocky guard as well.

"Anyone else want to volunteer?" Jason said. Once previously bold and arrogant men were reduced to reluctant students, as if a teacher called for a presentation. It seemed no one raised their hands, Lorcan's very confidence seeming to deter them. The elite guard spotted an armored individual attempting to sneak away behind a building, too scared to even risk being called on at random. Well, today was his lucky day.

"You there, behind the outhouse. You're the third combatant. Congratulations." Jason's said casually. The man stopped dead in his tracks, his face scrunched into a cringe, however he complied, joining the two cocky men. At this point Jason simply closed his eyes and pointed at three other knights at random. They soon made their way to the training ring.

"I'd advise placing or regretting your bets now. If I hear any of you changing your previous bets I will find you." Jason said, gesturing to the crowd. At this point the six men surrounded Lorcan, ready for the young man's word.

"On guard... Ready... Spar."

Lorcan eyed each individual as they walked up, noting the weapons they had chosen. Some had wooden swords, others had 'Maces', which was just a wooden block on the end of a pole. The edges of his mouth turned up slightly, noting the one who woke him up earlier. He turned his back to the man, hoping that he would take the bait.

This was about to be real embarrassing.

"Spar."

The guard indeed took the bait, and lunged at Lorcan's back, and Lorcan whirled around while sidestepping, slamming the flat surface of the shield into the man's faceplate. The guard was bent halfway at his waist before his feet left the ground. Lorcan brought the pole up and jabbed twice, announcing "Kill, kill" as the tip connected with the chest of the two guards behind the first.

He whirled around on one foot, swinging the pole out wide, two loud [b]CLONKS! [/B] and two more "Kill"'s. He turned in time to block a mace coming down, and he swung his shield as the mace came down a second time, the momentum of the mace being diverted knocked the guard off balance. Lorcan kicked the inside of the man's thigh hard with his right foot, and the man dropped to one knee. Using that stance, with right foot forward to push off of his left foot for more power, Lorcan drove the point of the shield into the man's sternum, knocking him on his back. [I]"Kill. Was that everyone?"[/i]

He stood up, slinging the shield and spear away, counting the men on his fingers. [I]"Oh! The first man wasn't a kill yet..."[/i]

The man in question was coming back around from unconsciousness when Lorcan kneeled over him, grabbing him by his collar. Lorcan headbutted the man once, twice, thrice, before stopping. The man was out cold after the first strike, the second and third were just for good measure, the third broke the man's nose. Lorcan stood up, a savage grin on his face as blood dribbled down his forehead.

[I]"This is all you got?! Again! This time, I'll use a sword! Hell, I'll use my bare hands! I'll take my bloody money now. And if I hear one more person call me 'Outlander', it will be much, much worse for you. My name is Lorcan Al'Shineran. And you best call me 'Sir' as well."[/i] Lorcan kicked the rude awakener once more, before storming from the ring, grabbing a clean bucket of water to drink from.

Jason watched as the mercenary wiped the floor with the king's men, shaking his head almost the entire time. Once the round was over, the elite guard simply called out, "Halt. Bout. Zero to one. I'll be taking my end of the bet now." They young man collected proceeded to step down from his platform and collect his money. It seemed only he, Lorcan, and two other guards placed money on Lorcan winning, which was completely fine with the young man as he stepped back up onto the raised platform.

Jason cleared his throat before speaking, simply stating "Your footwork is terrible." He looked around the training field as he spoke, "Your swordplay is sloppy, your teamwork is horrid, hell, have any of you even learned how to correctly use a shield?"

The guardsmen looked around at each other, slightly embarassed at their berating. Jason sighed and shook his head once more. "Arm yourselves with a shield and spear and line up at the end of the field." At this, the soldiers immediately began walking over to the edge of the courtyard, grumbling as they lined up side-by-side.

"We're going to play a little game." Jason said, analyzing the group. "If you follow my commands correctly to the end of the courtyard, you'll be done with training for the day." This caused a small bit of chatter amongst the men, excited to get the day over with, but as the young man rose his hand, the group fell silent.

"There is a catch, however. If any of you fail to follow my directions clearly or are not in unison with your brothers, you will start back at the end of the courtyard. Do you understand?" Jason said, looking over the group. "Yes sir!" the guards said as one. Jason nodded. "Now, On guard!" Half the men knew to raise their shield and spear at the ready, while the other half seemed to just stand there, confused.

Jason jumped down from his platform and made his way to the line of guards. As he made his way down the line, the young man adjusted each and every guards' stance and guard, flicking them on the side of the head if their stance wasn't already on-point. Needless to say, each of the men had a quick strike to the head. Once it seemed like each of the guards were ready, their shields each in a straight line in front of themselves, the elite ushered his next command. "Advance!"

Jason expected to hear the sound of feet lifting and touching the ground in unison. What he got was an unorganized herd of buffalo. "What was that?! You call yourselves a squadron yet you can't take a single step together? Back to the start." Disgruntled at realizing how long this will actually take, the men warily retreated a single step backwards, returning to their original position.

"Now... Advance!"

Lorcan collected his money while Jason talked, smacking people and roughing them up while they begrudgingly handed his money over. He counted it up, satisfied with the amount he recieved, and continued to watch the men as they drilled. It was sad, really.

He had served for awhile, when he was called upon to fight for the nation next to Eire, the nation Brie, was having problems with Hraothga and needed back up. He learned how to fight in a phalanx in less than a day, and was good at it, but these men?

Lorcan eyed the ramparts, before finding the stairs to go up, noting the rising towers and battlements. He walked along the top of the wall, nodding to guards that he passed, the guards averting their eyes.

When he got his forward from the King, this is where he'd call his pet from. He turned around and watched the men drill some more, laughing each time they had to go back to the beginning. It was sad, that these were Royal soldiers, the Guard at that. Speaking of his forwarded money, he needed to talk to the King.