Chapter 1

Kyle had been watching the group and then he listened to the Lord. He knew most of the group by reputation and some because he had worked for them.

"My Lord!" Kyle says as he bows to the Lord.

"My question is directed to Murtana the guard."

"You said that the orc archers attacked you first. Could you tell me if the arrows were long bow or short bow types? Also, what weapons were the orcs wielding when they meleed the caravan?"

Silverthorn muses thoughtfully. "On the one hand, Orc archerers is unussual, it would imply some kind of combined forces. On the other hand, a mage using fire overcome by smoke sounds like it could have been a failure of his own magics. It hapens, even to the best of mages. The hiding is more problematic, if he is alive. Of course there are ways to dispose of a body so that it would never be found, even by the most tallented mages."

Sir Marduk Steps forward close to the guard .
"Wait! he states to all around him!" he walks over to the guard saying unto him.

"You will tell me all you know truthfully!"



he walks over and makes a hand gesture in front of the guards mouth,muttering something.




"What is your name?"

"Where do you reside?"

"How old are you?"

"What are the names of your parents?"

"Are you a member of the Merchant Guild?"

"What rank do you hold ,within the guild?"

"Were you Merchant Leader of a Caravan?"

"What Happend to that Caravan?"

"What Attacked the Caravan?"

"Are you certain there were Orcs?"

"How many Orcs?"

"What Symbols did they wear?"

"How did they attack?"

"What happend to the Mage?"

"Did you hear anything before the cloud of smoke appeared?"

"How did you survive?"

"Did you hide from the attack?"

"Did you know the attack was coming?"

"Were you part of the attack?"

"Have you been lying? I know will know if you have been lying?"

"The Orcs used short bows and short swords," Murtana says facing Kyle.

With a surprised look, Murtana takes a step back at the assault of questions from the First Sword and says, "I have nothing to hide and will answer your questions."

"My name is Murtana."
"I do not have a permanent residence, when I am not on the road I stay in local inns."
"I have been alive for 20 winters."
"No I am not a member of the merchant guild, I am just a guard they employ."
"I am not a merchant or have any interest in becoming one."
"My horse was dead, so I rode the first wagon into town to alert the guild what had happened. I left the other wagons behind."
"The caravan was attacked by orcs on both sides. I am not sure how many there were, but I saw atleast 12 orcs bodies when i awoke.
"Yes I am certain they were orcs especailly when one got close enough to stick a blade into my shoulder."
"The Orcs wore a symbol I have never seen before, I think it was a black sun"
"The Orcs were organised, they were using tactics."
"The mage was engulfed in thick smoke. It may not have been smoke, I do not know how else to describe it."
"It is a miracle I survived, my ancestors are watching over me. I was badly hurt and must have blacked out.
"No I didn't hide, there is no honor in cowardice."
"There was no way to know the attack was coming, as I have said they were hidden and ambushed us."
"No I haven't been lying, what would be the point?"

Merchant Guild Members
.

Tal looks around. "Has anyone heard of this black sun insignia before?"

Silverthorn shakes his head. "What is the point of insignias, when your race seperates you from your opponents? Does anyone know anything about Orc religions?"

Gath shakes his great, scarred head, still apparently confused. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he begins, clearly getting the title completely wrong. He then takes a knee, uncertainly, and bows his head, to try to cover all his bases. "I am just a simple lumberjack; I thought you were sending for me to meet your foreman, to interview for a job. I'm afraid I don't know anything about mercenary work..."

Like how much they get paid. I'm surprised nobody has asked about pay. Perhaps it isn't done, in the presence of royalty.

Gil looks around a bit confused about all the questioning. Why do you need a huntsman for this? "All these intriguing questions seem to be lacking an important factor. Why do we need a group such as this? Are we to simply recover the mage or are we to investigate further? What would be the compensation for such a task? I honestly find the promise to meet a few orcs interesting enough in itself, perhaps this is not so for the others."

Tal nods in assent. What did they need him for?.

Turning to speak to Gil, Xaviien doesn't even try to hide the distaste in his voice, "Oh you'd like to meet these orcs, would you? Well, I tend to try and stay away from their hordes, if I can avoid it. Now I'm no coward, and I'll not shy away from a fight, but if you're expecting this to be a social visit, I daresay you'll be disappointed."
Of Marduk and Lord Alwin, Xaviien asks "Not to be rude, but I also would like to know how we will be paid, should we return? Is there a set reward for the safe return of this "Gideon" fellow, which will be shared amongst the survivors, do we each receive fair payment for the skills and effort we apply to the investigation, or have we been conscripted?"
Like most men, Xaviien hoped to be paid fairly for his work, but this situation was beginning to sound less like a job, and a lot more like a mission.
"I must say, we don't look like much of an army, but I willingly offer myself, and my abilities" he drops to one knee, "to the service of the Kingdom." bowing his head, with a slight flourish of his hand before taking his feet once again, Xaviien hopes he is making a good impression, not with the Lord, but with the Hand. This man would be sure to have known of my father, and I'll likely never get a chance to make his acquaintance if I mess this up.