An Orderly Interrogation

Friday 17^th December 356 AC

At 6 am my slumber was disturbed by a knock at my door. No cleric this time but a servant sent to inform me that my presence, along with my travelling companions, would be required in the main court one hour thence. Upon arrival we found a large table set with a meagre breakfast platter for each of us and one extra place set, I have yet to discover the intended occupant of that seat.

As we began to break our fast we were joined by three ranking knights and a guard of Crown knights. Sir Richard of the Crown, Sir Andrew of the Sword and Sir Timothy of the Rose joined us at the table and once their guard were situated around the periphery the door was locked.

Our eminent superiors began proceedings by thanking Sir Dominic & party for joining them, explaining that this was simply protocol. This meeting reeked of many things but from the first I knew standard protocol was not one of them. Growing up at the heels of a Grand Duke one learns a thing or two of politics. Sir Timothy continued by reciting an account of Sir Dominic's heroic act (the primary requirement for advancement to the Order of the Sword). Rather unusually Sir Dominic & his party all claimed ignorance with regard to the act in question, this being the defence of the innocent on November 22^nd as witnessed & signed by the red mage Horstman. Though I was not party to the details, there were murmurs amongst the group of missing weeks and, if you would believe it, time travel. Whatever the cause of the confusion it was clear that the details would not easily be reconciled. On one thing Sirs Timothy, Andrew & Richard were clear – Sir Dominic was to hand over the sword of Sir Thomas Pinchin, a pre-cataclysm relic that Sir Dominic recovered while on his knightly quest. I could not understand the reasoning but Sir Dominic appeared reluctant to give over the sword, claiming some moral quandary. At that the Knights Superior left us to discuss matters, leaving the guard in place about the room & the door locked behind them.

As the bolt clicked into place the familiar look of Kender triumph settled across Nedlog's features and she drew from her sleeve a scroll that had been shown to Sir Dominic by Sir Andrew and then withdrawn. I considered admonishing her but I must confess curiosity won the day as I recognised this to be the scroll Horstman had charged me with delivery to Sir Dominic just prior to his death. At the time it had been sealed but now I could see that it contained only the letters 'NMTFMHPCMCWTTRA' which meant nothing to Sir Dominic or anyone else at the table. Similarly the others could provide no more information on the supposed heroic act, beyond the fact that they had all thought themselves dead before waking in Palanthas weeks later with no memory of what had transpired. We also noticed for the first time that there was an inscription of some sort on the blade of the sword Sir Dominic guarded so zealously, though the writing could be recognised by neither mage nor scholar among us.

Realising that only further confusion lay ahead of us Sir Dominic requested that Sir Timothy & the others rejoin the group. At length a commotion could be heard outside the locked doors. A mage of the Order of Law finally burst in demanding that Azshauna return to the Tower of High Sorcery immediately to report to with Par-salian, Master of the Conclave of Wizards, with the three furious knights following swiftly behind him. Once Lady Azshauna was on her way I apologised for the swift & nimble fingers of the kender & returned the scroll to Sir Timothy. By this time Sir Dominic had also remembered his place and offered up Sir Thomas Pinchin's sword to Sir Andrew with his most humble apologies.

Although neither Sir Dominic nor any other could honestly attest the accuracy of the statement provided, he agreed to sign it as truth. Between his party's previous dealings with Horstman & my own we judged him to be an honourable soul, true to his word. Indeed is it not in the nature of the red mage & his ilk to be neutral in all things?

With the sword returned & the act of heroism confirmed Sir Andrew was the first to welcome Sir Dominic into the Order of the Sword. Drinks were served, toasts made & congratulations offered.