Arcaea/Dining Hall/Richter Receives a Reprimand
It had been days sense Richter's confrontation with his father, and the torturous ride to Nocaneb that fallowed. The healers had been at work, reversing the damage where they could, and easing the pain where they couldn't.
They had finished their work the other day, declaring they had done all they could, and left Richter alone within his small family estate in Nocaneb.
Nights of deep blackout sleep had given Richter his first fit less sleep in a long time. And it was such a sleep that Richter now awoke from, squinting as his singular eye adjusted to the darkness. Slowly he dragged himself from the confines of his bed, and stumbled about in the dark towards his desk, after all he still had much work to do.
For the longest time, Richter had taken a sort of self destructive pride in his isolation, but now, alone, in the dark, with memories of his childhood flashing through his head, he would have given his remaining eye for another human presence.
He pushed such fears to the side rationalizing them away, as he had learned to do a lifetime ago, as he sat in his desk, and fumble about for a match to light his lamp with. A moments worth of groping about rewarded Richter with a match, and soon his chambers were brighten by the soft yellow glow of the fire. That done Richter retrieve his pen, and some paper, from his desk, and put them to use.
It was his after action report, made directly to the king, quite possibly the last one he would fill out upon retrospect, as Richter guessed he was likely to be court marshaled shortly after the married couple's honeymoon was over. Still it was his duty, and Richter at least had the professionalism to maintain that much despite baring the King's ill will.
Hours passed away as Richter's pen danced across the paper, weaving Richter's encounter with his father in its wake. He made sure to leave no detail out, devolving into each blow, and the subsequent damage of that blow, as best as he could remember. Light from the afternoon sun outlined the curtains drawn closed about Richter's window by the time he was finished. Richter went over the report, three times, checking for any errors, spelling or otherwise.
Realization struck a few moments later, causing Richter to pull the document back from his embroidered folder, and flop it back down onto the desk. Quickly he turned to the last page of the report, using the last half of the page to write a quick personal plee to the King not to inform Goffrey of his father's survival for free of him doing something 'Suicidally Heroic,' clarifying that Goffrey was to be told that Richter had lost his eye in a training accident.
His work finished, and thoroughly exhausted Richter packed the pages back into his messaging case. His personal messenger stopped by later that day, delivering the days messages, and left with the letter in two, with explicate orders that they were for the King's only, upon pain of death.
His duty done, and sleep still calling Richter collapsed into his bed, praying to whoever was listening that the nightmares would go away, if only for one night.
Richter Massey Marshal of the Tribute Collecting Army
After Jenred stripped off his filthy gear, bathed, and more appropriately dressed, he glanced at his correspondence. More diplomatic nonsense...A few interesting bits in the Council...And...WHAT?!!?!?
Jenred snapped two quills before calling for a scribe to pen the letter to Richter, demanding that the man meet him in Nocaneb castle by sunrise. Another letter was sent to Lady Madelena, requesting her presence for a matter touching on her official office.
It was just as well Jenred had just killed someone already.
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
Richter awoke in the middle of the night to his messenger pounding on his door, with an urgent summons form the king. Richter had seen this coming, it was always a likely outcome upon failure, but he hadn't expected it so soon, and he had only removed the bandages around his missing eye the other day.
Still, he had no choice in the matter, it was just another ugly thing life forced him to do. So wearily he pulled himself from his bed, grabbed the cane he had been told to use by the healers, and marched out into the streets of Nocaneb at the crack of dawn.
The streets were deserted at this hour of the day, as the cold air of winter forced even the stanches of workers into their homes until the heat of the sun made itself known. Alone in the still slumbering city Richter hobbled his way toward the castle, a cane in one hand, a small black chest in the other, and a look of grim resignation in his single eye.
He arrived at the castle at the time indicated on the message, the guards merely opening the door and indicating where he was expected to wait for word from the king. With nothing left before him, but the inevitable Richter settled into a chair against the far wall of the room, and waited.
Richter Massey Marshal of the Tribute Collecting Army
Jenred remained sitting in his chair as Richter entered. The servant who summoned him was dismissed, and Jenred sat, staring at Richter for several moments before speaking.
"Allow me to summarize. You kept vital knowledge regarding a murderer who has already disrupted Arcaea on several occasions from me. You then hid even more precious knowledge when you discovered his whereabouts. You lost the element of surprise for us with your bungled raid, which might have succeeded, had you taken more men with you. You managed to severely wound Siegfried, which is the one good thing out of this whole disaster."
Jenred's eyes suddenly blazed.
"You pig-headed incompetent fool! I don't know what to do with your family. You do amazing things...And then follow them up with the most nonsensical acts of tomfoolery. You seem to think your vendetta against your father precludes any other hatreds. You and your brother are still alive. Others are not. You think they're kin don't burn for justice and revenge just like you do? Do you think that maybe, just maybe, a man with the resources of an entire realm, squads of specially trained agents, known discretion, and experience as an infiltrator and adventurer could help you? Or are you so wrapped up in your own twisted world that you can't see that your actions have outcomes that affect others? Do you perhaps think that your legacy gives you more brains? Or that it allows you to dodge hundreds of arrows?"
Jenred jumped to his feet and kicked the chair hard enough that it splintered behind him.
"Damn your heroics! This is what kept Siegfried alive last time! Do you think I am unable to keep secrets? Want to know what I would have done if you'd told me? I would have announced that the Duchess Edara and I were making our pilgrimage to Sasat as is needed for our wedding ceremony. I would have requested that all the nobles in Arcaea who could accompany us as an honour guard and pre-wedding celebration. You know as well as I do that most of the realm would have come. And once we got to the proper area, we could have deployed an entire army to trap your bastard of a father!"
Jenred's fists clenched at his sides and when he spoke next, it was through gritted teeth.
"Now, Siegfried is warned, and you have broken his arrogance. He will be more cautious, and therefore harder to deal with, even with only one hand. Have I missed anything?"
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
Madelena arrived in Nocaneb feeling certain that she and the King had struck upon the right thing to do to and for Sir Richter Massey. She went immediately to the Ducal palace and asked if the King was within. She was then ushered inside and led to a small, but comfortable parlor where she waiting to see Jenred, and possibly Richter as well.
Lady Madelena Rossini Imperial Magistrate of Arcaea, Countess of Orbeh
Still glaring at Richter, Jenred gestured for the servant to bring Madelena in. Given the nature of this particular visit, he bowed to her at her entrance, and used her relevant title.
"Imperial Magistrate Madelena, my apologies for dragging you away on such short notice, but...The matter is dire. Are there any questions you'd like to ask, points to clarify, or anything of that nature?"
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
Richter stood his ground, leaning heavily on his cane, as he weathered the verbal lashings of the angry king, his only reaction being the ever so subtle raise of his rights eyebrow as the king kicked the chair into the wall.
Noticing that Jenred had indicated that he was done yelling, Richter looked about for something to sit down on.
"Healers said I shouldn't remain on my feet for too long, you'll understand I hope," he said, as he collapsed into a nearby chair, slouched forward in a thinking position.
He was just about to respond, when Imperial Magistrate Madelena made her appearance. Richter sighed lightly and withdrew his flask always had on him now a days, and took a single quick swing, before replacing it back inside the pocket inside his cloak.
'I'm gonna be here all day,'he thought dryly as he waited for the formalities to end.
Richter Massey Marshal of the Tribute Collecting Army
Madelena entered into the King's presence to find Sir Richter with him. She curtsied to the King and then turned to Sir Richter, still speaking to his majesty.
"I think you have explained this man's crimes to me perfectly adequately through your correspondence, your majesty. Now all I can do is pass judgment upon him."
She looked Richter square in the eyes.
"You are aware that your pathetic attempts at personal and stupid heroics are resulted in you perverting the course of justice in allowing a treasonous murderer to go free?"
Richter meekly nodded.
"This is a seriously crime indeed. Prison is not sufficient for you as I have it on good understanding that this is what your father did to you. Equally fining you does not fit the crime you have done. No, Sir Richter, it is high time that the Massey family learn not to enter into single-minded and pointless exercises, but also that you do not fall prey to your propensity to self loathing and pity. I therefore order that you be placed under house arrest at the home of the Apothecary named Scar, in the region of Orbeh, until such time as he sees fit to release you, and until you learn a new way of behaving which is more becoming of a gentleman. Guards!" she called out and had Richter escorted immediately to a carriage where he was born away to Orbeh.
Madelena then turned to the King.
"I believe I should make an official announcement Jenred, and then I have work to do for Dren for the wedding," she added with a smile. "So if you will excuse me I must take my leave."
She curtsied and waiting for the King's response before leaving the room.
Lady Madelena Rossini Imperial Magistrate of Arcaea, Countess of Orbeh
Jenred laughed, bowing to Madelena.
"Oh, excellent! I believe that was the perfect way to handle him...Well done. And yes, of course, we both have a great deal to do...I shall see you at the wedding, if not before."
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
Richter, pushed himself to his feet, slightly ticked that he didn't even get the chance to defend himself or his actions. He sighed in a resigned slightly annoyed manner, as he produced his flask from the lining of his cloak. 'But,' he lamented as he took another swig from his flask, 'Such is the manner in which justice is carried out now a days.'
The guards arrived by the time his internal dialogue was over, leading him out of the room into a hall that would the lead to a chariot, that would take him Orbeh, where it didn't a genius to figure out what an apothecary named "scars" intended to do to him.
Suddenly Richter stopped in mid step, confusing the guards leading down the halls.
"Wait," he said, in his authoritative voice, "Just give me a moment."
The guards looked confused, unsure of what to do, they stood where they were puzzling for a moment before one of them shrugged their indifference. Nodding his head Richter turned back to the room, pushing open the door and standing in the door way, the guards at ethier side him.
"I just wanted to say something," he said in way of explanation, "The fact of the matter is, I took a calculated, and thought out risk, that payed off 2 out of 3 times. I could of told you where my father was, and thusly wasted time, time we didn't have, waiting for reinforcements you would have demanded I take with me. I had the means to capture my father, and I was ready to move at right then and there, and so I did, and it cost me my eye and my father his hand. The point being, if that final risk had paid off, if I had rode into town with my father's head in my hands, as I nearly did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation now would we."
With that Richter shook his head in disappointment and turned to leave saying nothing in his departure save "I've said what I wanted to say, I'm done here."
As Richter rode in the rickety carriage to Orbeh, with little doubt in his mind what lay ahead, the thing that comforted was the knowledge that someone much scarier had already done much worse.
Richter Massey Marshal of the Tribute Collecting Army
...29...
Richter pulled upward, straining his arms as he began to wind down his nightly workout.
...30...
He was in the room he was required to spend the night in after sunset, he had the bed propped up on its back, doing pull ups on its leg posts. After all just because he was trapped in this Gods forsaken house didn't mean he should lax off on his training.
...31...
After all Richter had gone through an entire childhood of hell to reach his level of physical prowess, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let a little thing like house arrest throw that all away.
...32...
Sweat stained his body from a long day of hard work, and he felt that he was just about ready to call it a night when he heard a knocking on his door, which was not entirely unexpected.
Dropping down from his jerry-rigged gymnasium, Richter grabbed a towel from his closet to wipe the worse spots of stain off before answering the door.
He was both surprised, and yet not that surprised to find a messenger from Lady Madelena at the door. Apparently his house arrest had been suspended due to the looming war, and his services were needed at the front line, leading the TCA to victory.
Richter, absorbed the information, quickly enough, then nodded his understanding back to the messenger, who summoned the guards to escort them out to the stables. Richter was at his bed when they arrived, pulling at the wooden boards on the underside of the frame, until a compartment pulled away reveling his sword.
"Didn't we take that away from you," said the first, genuinely shocked that the Knight had been able to retrieve his weapon.
"Well," said Richter as he twirled the still sheathed sword about in one hand before sliding it into its loop on his belt, "I took it back."
A few moments, and reveled secret compartments, later and Richter was on his way back to Remton, ready to get back to work on the one thing he was good at, and the one thing that gave him freedom...war...
Richter Massey Marshal of the Tribute Collecting Army
