Successful Mission

[Bjorn]

Bjorn sighs.  "No," he says, "I forgot.  I should probably do that now."  He grimaces.

[Brian]

"I'll wait here," she says, going into her private room, and muffling another yawn.

[Bjorn]

"All right," Bjorn says, and then hesitates.  "I'd suggest barring your door," he adds.  "I'll let you know when I return."

[Brian]

She nods, and shuts the door.

The guards say nothing when you leave.

[Brian]

As you're plodding through the quiet corridors in your nearly-silent armor, you catch the sounds of footsteps in an adjacent corridor.  It sounds like more than one person walking towards you, though you haven't drawn up to the corridor yet.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn frowns slightly, but continues to walk on, not changing his pace -- but shortening his stride, so that he is moving much, much slower than his footsteps and habits might indicate.   An ambush is an ambush, until the victim knows -- at which case, it's somebody else's ambush.

[Brian]

Standing at the ready, you're in good position to attack your opponents before they realize who you are -- assuming you want to attack Linsdey and two of her vassals; she seems pretty surprised to see you, and her vassals don't look like they're ready for a fight.

[Bjorn]

"Mistress Lindsey," Bjorn says, in polite greeting.  "Have you been counselling the troops, then?"

[Brian]

"No," she says, frowning.  "I was looking for you."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn raises an eyebrow in surprise.  "Well, I am at your service," he says.  "What may I do for you?"

[Brian]

"I had hoped to speak to you of your past," she explains.  "It's troubled, and may cause trouble here, as well.  I feel that it would be best for you to unburden yourself of what has gone before, and focus instead on what you can do for the future."

[Bjorn]

"My past?" Bjorn says, in confusion.  "Mistress, I am a vassal of Hammar.  That is my past, my present, and my future.  What do I have to be troubled about?"

[Brian]

"Your home lands," she clarifies.  "Which I gleaned from the tale your bardic friend tells in the hall."

[Bjorn]

Durant, what the fuck did you do?

"Bardic tales," Bjorn says drily, "should generally be taken with a grain of salt, Mistress.  I've heard Master Durant's version of what I supposedly did in Hadrick's pass, and I can assure you that I've never even seen a three-headed firing-breathing dragon, let alone killing fourteen of them.  What tales has he been telling now?"

[Brian]

"Now, there's a turn of phrase that I've never heard before," she says, smiling slightly.  "'Grain of salt'," she repeats.  "He told many stories, but I'm interested in one he did not tell.  A story about a time you were imprisoned, in a land to the west.  A place that was consumed in a pillar of flame that reached the heavens.  And in the service of a little girl with a pocket full of lies."