"Stop and listen, everyone. When we get near the gates, I will conjure a carriage. All of the supplies and saddle bags can go in there and you will look much better without that on parade. Arawyn and I will move through the route not being a part of the parade. We will look for anyone or anything out of place or suspicious. We will make certain the Golden Knight is clear and secure and wait for you there."
"What? You could have suggested that yesterday. Also we try to use as little fake stuff as possible. I don't want to sit on a pumpkin when the clock strikes noon."
"Also you riding in the parade looks much more impressive than only having foot soldiers."
"As you wish. When this is done, you and I need to have a security discussion....at length." Menan turns his horse and takes his place behind the duke.
When he and Arawyn are in place he tells her "Eyes wide. Ready for anything. I doubt there are any true threats so early on."
The parade moves towards Abadon and soon the wall of the city comes into sight. But it still is a long way.
As the parade finally arrives at the gate it is open, as it should be and the city watch guards just stand at the side, taking notice, but no action. The parade can cross through.
The road to the center of town is wide and mostly free. The few walking there move out of the way as the parade moves in a hustle past them. As the parade reaches the central place it has to slow down. The market is set up and many people are still there offering goods and buying them. They move out of the way, but with all the stands it gets narrow in places. And of course such an entrance turns heads.
"Who's that? Why are they here?" everywhere questions are raised and people wonder what is going on. One really old man with bad hearing calls out for all around him to hear "That's the coat of arms of Seacrest! The good old times!"
As the troupe comes to an halt in front of the Golden Knight, the attendants of the establishment come out to greet the guests and offer their service. Wooden stairs to get off the horses, stable boys to take over the horses, concierges to carry luggage if there were some. On the way in stand rows of maids offering moist towels for refreshment if desired.
The butler stands at the end of the line. "Welcome Sir. It is a pleasure to welcome you in our establishment." he tells with a deep bow.
"I will lead you to your quarters. Please let me know if you need anything. I will see that your wishes are impelmented with utmost urgency."
"If there is nothing right away, then please follow me."
The four companions from the temple form a lane for the duke to pass and once he, Menan, Arawyn, Faerveren and Persephone walked in, they do a little formation march to close the lane and follow in.
Dearil let's Menan or Arawyn walk first to check everything out as they please.
To the butler he replies "I need William Fioravanti here, for some new clothes, that is most urgent. For tomorrow I can receive a carpenter and a mason to plan the rebuilding of my castle."
"Tonight I will take a light dinner on my room. But tomorrow I intend to dine properly. For a dozen guests."
"Of course sir. I will see to it." The butler replies. He leads to the first floor. From the stairs it is a long corridor towards a large set of double doors. It is two doors to the left and two to the right.
The Butler opens the double doors to lead in. A large room with two levels lies behind. Heavy carpets adorn the floor and the walls. Different living room suites are spread over the elevated back of the room. The butler opens all doors inside. One leads to the sleeping room with a large bed with a canopy. From there one leads to a bath. One door leads to a maidens room which has also an entrance from the corridor. Everything is pompous.
"If there is nothing else for now, I'll leave you to yourself and take care of your requests." On the duke's nod he leaves.
Menan and Arawyn move to the top floor. They make sure each room is clear. They note how many ways there are to access the floor. Menan suggests a guard be place at the top of the stairwell to only admit those who are expected. He tells Margaret that royal security will be vetting everyone who enters. If she can get the name and home address of everyone who rents a room, the visitors will not need to be approached.
"Wonderful. I see your tea party took the bait. And I guess we'll be the talk of town for a while. What do you say?"
Menan smiles at Dearil. "Oh, you will be. And the most eligible bachelor. Expect dinner parties."
"Is the carnival over now?" Persephone inquires while looking out of one of the many windows.
"I mean for us. I know you'll have to play for the rest of your life."
"I think I'm going to enjoy that for a while. I hope we don't get too much intrigue."
Daeril chuckles at Persephone's comment. "Only the role changed. And the audience. But I'd like to discuss how it will go the next days. You can play the guard as long as you want, but I assume that there will be more important tasks for you. So far no one volunteered to become my personal assistant and bodyguard for example."
Menan moves over to Margaret and places a gold piece on the counter. "I know the three ladies at the table. Beside them is a man I believe rented prior to us. What can you tell me of him?"
Arawyn steps over to the the three ladies. "How wonderful that you are here. Did you see the parade? How was it?"
"Persephone would fill that position well, Dearil. Would you like a proper introduction to our ladies at the table? I believe they are eager to meet you."
"I don't know what I shall think of that. First he moves around town incognito and then this entrance. And he travels light. Not a single suitcase. I couldn't live a day this way. But he is good looking! And he chose the best place for lodging." Eleanor comments. She is torn between gossiping an fawning over a potential candidate to marry their daughter.
"The horse he rode was splendid." Lady Adelaide jokes. "His little army is impressive. I've seen no need for such things here though. But if you have money to burn, why not."
"What is he going to do here though? Is he here to stay?"
"Our guests expect some privacy, and if you want to ge tto know him, I suggest you introduce yourself to him and ask if he'd interested in a chat."
"But please respect that our guests expect the best treatment, and rightfully so. Don't bother them."
Swiping the coin the adds "That's Lemuel Gulliver, a merchant, who comes here twice a year for a week."
Arawyn smiles at Eleanor's comment. "There is a method to his apparent madness. I have found him to be charming and man who can make things happen when he so desires." She turns to Adelaide and says "The stallion is a wonderful creature and perfect for a duke. Thank you so much. Dearil, I mean Duke Dearil handled him quite well. It appears he is here to stay. He has already begun the process of restoring the castle."
Menan smiles and says "Thank you. With a duke present all must be vetted and I will do my best to not bother any of them."
"Persephone would fill that position well, Dearil. "
"Yeah, right. The girl with the limp and no proper training in etiquette is the good choice. But if the money is right, I'll take that job."
"Maybe I see something in you, that you don't see yet. And I can offer you even something better than money. I'm your easiest way into the circles of high society. Whatever you plan to do, that is where the real money is."
"And talking about high society, let's meet the ladies downstairs."
Dearil walks down and voices his desire for some coffee and some sweets and asks for a seat at a table of his own. Basically setting up the same scene as at Burston's restaurant.
Menan joins the duke and waits to see how things transpire. What is he up to?
Arawyn takes a seat at the ladies' table.
A short time later his coffee is served and he enjoys it. He winks at Arawyn.
Seeing Menan with that questioning look, he whispers "I'm not going to invite myself over. Let's check them out."
At the ladies table it gets silent. You don't gossip about the guy at the next table.
Especially Lady Eleanore is ogling the duke. She's trying to be discreet but it's hard, when he isn't. "So, you got any plans for next Sunday? I was pondering if I should throw another dinner party." she asks the ladies.
Lady Adelaide rolls her eyes. "I think it's someone else's turn. And we had one last week. What are we going to do? How about we meet for a horse race instead. Some do the riding, all others wear ridiculously large hats. That could become a nice new tradition."
"A horse race would be nice. I enjoy the dinners but a race would be a breath of fresh air. You know I have a surefooted fast one. Her name is Dasher by the way. Menan's is named Dancer for good reason. The stallion you sold yesterday looks like he could outrun the wind."
"How do you like that feisty stallion, Duke? Do you have a name for him?"
"It is a nice looking horse. A little nervous for my taste. But I'm no expert on horses."
"Ever thought about a sailing ship? You could do some serious entertaining on it and you could do supply runs. You could arm it."
"Are you suggesting piracy? Or what would I need an armed ship for?"
"Lady Margaret, you sure are quite over there. How has life been treating you?"
"Let us see how we do financially once the castle is restored." Dearil comments.
"Entertainment. You could get quite popular quickly with a fancy one."
"Oh, I'm good." Lady Margaret replies. "This duke of yours has stirred up some dust, but things are going their way."
"Yes, he seems to have that effect. I look forward to seeing how all of this plays out. He seems to be a good man."
"Can you ask him what kind of event he'd enjoy?" Lady Eleanore asks Arawyn.
"Certainly. I will do that. Lady Adelaide, who would the racers be in this race of yours?"
"Yes. That does makes sense. The other girl, Faerveren could be useful in security as well. She is a sneaky thing and would most likely catch something odd long before anyone else. She was quite useful at locating and unlocking the treasure in your castle. The rest of us were of no help in that endeavor."
"You seem to worry about security a lot. Why is that?"
"Because I have done it and know a bit about it. In Kyonin Arawyn and I were on a security detail for a high noble. It was very professionally done. One portion would scout ahead and secure routes and destinations. The other was there as a last resort in case something got through the secured area. They had longbows and lookouts on the rooves, people blending in and vetting the crowd. They called what they did making bubbles of safe zones. You don't need all of that by any means. Your sudden appearance and the parade brought all that back to my memory. In fact, I know of no reason anyone would want to harm you at all. At this time. I will gather intelligence and keep an eye on things just in case. I can't help myself." Menan smiles at the Duke.
"I see you have the knack of it. Don't worry too much. But keep an eye on whose toes we step in the process. I don't believe there is anyone in town who would dare to make an attempt on my life. But I wouldn't put it past some to try to kill my reputation, or try ruining me financially."
Dearil takes up his cup and toasts by gesture to Lady Eleanore.
Arawyn addresses the next table over. "You two are welcome to join us when you are finished with your man talk."
Dearil finishes his coffee. "Might as well."
He gets up, walks over and with a slight bow greets them "M'ladies. May I introduce myself? I'm Dearil Duke of Seacrest, scion of Fallon Duke of Seacrest, the last duke to rule over this beautiful little town."
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you officially."
Lady Eleanor gets up and holds out her hand palm down for the duke to take, "I'm Lady Eleanor of House Vanderbuilt. The pleasure is all mine."
With a little less enthusiasm Lady Adelaide introduces herself too.
Lady Margaret keeps seated. "I'm Lady Margaret of House Corg. My husband is Duke Allister, the Mayor of Abadon." She takes a sip of her tea.
"After all I have heard the last days, it's nice that you show yourself, so one can inquire about your intentions."
Dearil takes Lady Eleanor's hand and performs a hand kiss - insinuated, a gesture. After releasing Lady Eleanor's hand he answers Lady Margaret.
"There will be time for that. I'm have not decided yet what it will be. I'd like to get to know you and your peers, to see what my role might be in this wonderful town."