The Immortal Flames had been scouting the southern ends of Silvertear Falls for any remnants of the pirate threat. Kale had supervision of the operation, and at this particular moment, found himself overlooking the Lake from an unremarkable knoll. A sergeant stood with him, neither engaged in conversation, and both seemingly content to remain in silence for the timebeing.Â
It was a disruption of this contentment that made Kale at least partially irritated, as a courier had arrived from elsewhere. A little out of breath, the young woman slowed down from her jog to thrust out a rolled parchment towards the sipahi.
"Message f'you, sahr," she said, one hand on her thigh to aid in her recovery.
With a very noticeable inhale and exhale from his nostrils (if only to communicate his annoyance to the courier), Kale accepted the parchment, breaking the seal and unfurling it. Kale was illiterate, which had kept him from the officer ranks for so long before his performance was enough to overcome such a handicap. Nonetheless, out of appearances, his copper eyes scanned each line, and even gave a gander at sounding out loud the name signed at the bottom.
"Read it," Kale replied, sternly but not rudely, as he offered the parchment back to the woman.Â
Still breathless, the courier went wide-eyed for a moment, gingerly accepting the parchment and feeling a sudden weight of pressure placed upon her. Thrusting her shoulders back and standing upright, the woman began to read. Given her low rank, she was not a proficient reader, but was competent enough. The message was from Sarnai Kha, the dark knight that Kale had attempted to overpower just over on the north side of the Lake.
When the reading was complete, Kale and his sergeant exchanged a pair of wordless sideglances with one another, communicating their mutual bemusement with what they had just heard.Â
"What are you going to do, ser?" asked the sergeant to his superior, who had began pacing pensively in the general direction of the water.
The principles of justice and fairness, that held up so dutifully by the Sultanate's paladins, began appealing to the Highlander, who was now staring out towards the wreckage of the Agrius with his hands on his hips. So did the uncompromising nature of law and order appeal as well, that which was held in so much contempt by these dark knights. He first reckoned that their power or the source of it was irrelevant, and that it was their reckless arbitration of some twisted form of justice that was the real threat. But then he reckoned that the uncontrollable nature of the former only exacerbated the latter.
Feeling that blind zealotry was beneath him, Kale reluctantly conceded, leaning his head back and sighing out in front of him.
"Fine, fine...we'll meet with 'er..." said Kale, the reply eliciting some looks shared between the sergeant and courier, "Out 'ere, safe from anyone else"
Kale was compelled to add more to his response, but ultimately ended up saying naught else, finding nothing that would prove satisfactory. The courier saluted to the man after he had nodded to her, and a written reply would reach Sarnai Kha in the following suns.
It was a disruption of this contentment that made Kale at least partially irritated, as a courier had arrived from elsewhere. A little out of breath, the young woman slowed down from her jog to thrust out a rolled parchment towards the sipahi.
"Message f'you, sahr," she said, one hand on her thigh to aid in her recovery.
With a very noticeable inhale and exhale from his nostrils (if only to communicate his annoyance to the courier), Kale accepted the parchment, breaking the seal and unfurling it. Kale was illiterate, which had kept him from the officer ranks for so long before his performance was enough to overcome such a handicap. Nonetheless, out of appearances, his copper eyes scanned each line, and even gave a gander at sounding out loud the name signed at the bottom.
"Read it," Kale replied, sternly but not rudely, as he offered the parchment back to the woman.Â
Still breathless, the courier went wide-eyed for a moment, gingerly accepting the parchment and feeling a sudden weight of pressure placed upon her. Thrusting her shoulders back and standing upright, the woman began to read. Given her low rank, she was not a proficient reader, but was competent enough. The message was from Sarnai Kha, the dark knight that Kale had attempted to overpower just over on the north side of the Lake.
When the reading was complete, Kale and his sergeant exchanged a pair of wordless sideglances with one another, communicating their mutual bemusement with what they had just heard.Â
"What are you going to do, ser?" asked the sergeant to his superior, who had began pacing pensively in the general direction of the water.
The principles of justice and fairness, that held up so dutifully by the Sultanate's paladins, began appealing to the Highlander, who was now staring out towards the wreckage of the Agrius with his hands on his hips. So did the uncompromising nature of law and order appeal as well, that which was held in so much contempt by these dark knights. He first reckoned that their power or the source of it was irrelevant, and that it was their reckless arbitration of some twisted form of justice that was the real threat. But then he reckoned that the uncontrollable nature of the former only exacerbated the latter.
Feeling that blind zealotry was beneath him, Kale reluctantly conceded, leaning his head back and sighing out in front of him.
"Fine, fine...we'll meet with 'er..." said Kale, the reply eliciting some looks shared between the sergeant and courier, "Out 'ere, safe from anyone else"
Kale was compelled to add more to his response, but ultimately ended up saying naught else, finding nothing that would prove satisfactory. The courier saluted to the man after he had nodded to her, and a written reply would reach Sarnai Kha in the following suns.
