It was only the next morning that the Seneschal felt brave enough to make the long hike up the stairs to his master's rooms. There were times during the night that he had been worried for the very stability of the tower as magic and fire raged at its tip. However it was built of strong stuff and it would take more than a wizard's anger to bring it down. It had all started around dusk when the master had returned, slightly bent over and obviously angry. He had ignored most of the servants, the girl and the kobold and had merely ordered the staff to leave him alone, for their own safety. Then the fire and noise had begun. However the smoke had, by now, cleared from around the top of the tower and the Seneschal felt it would be a good idea to see if his master still lived.
He knocked gently on the door, "Lord Hogel?"
The answer came quickly, "Yes, yes, I am here and alive. I am busy, bring me lunch in two hours, thankyou."
The Seneschal turned around and started back down the stairs, muttering something about nobles being strange. Inside the room Jan cleared away his desk and pulled the large red book towards him once again. He looked briefly around his room, glad that most of his anger had caused damage outside, not inside, the floor was a bit scorched, but most of his equipment and books were protected against this sort of thing. He sighed and settled into a comfortable position, he was nowhere near as angry now as he had been, but he had to regain total calm somehow and writing was the easiest way. Once again he picked up his nib and opened the book...
Not good, well, some good, some bad. I suppose the good is quite good, but the bad is without doubt very, very bad. Let us deal with the definitely good parts first, I met Dolores Hillsbury, now Lady Dolores, Countess of Hillsbury. Things could not be better. The sex is wonderful, the conversation engaging. We are both fully aware that we are both using each other, but it is not harming either of us so we both go along with it. She has the beginnings of a plan to reclaim High Sonden and I am introducing her to all the people she needs to know and pointing out those that she needs to avoid. She is far more interesting than Rowena and I am sure that she would not run away from me over something like Aslaa. Anyway, she has probably already heard what happened there and she is still around. It would be better if she was of the House of Linden, and there is still the question of Vanserie's heiress, but for the moment I think myself and Dolores can get along just fine.
That is really the best part. Yes, I suppose I have been gaining more influence in parliament and I have been gaining more power, but it is very, very slow. No more dominions are being awarded until after the war, so it would appear I am stuck out in Oxhill until then. So the most important questions are how long the conflict will continue for and how many nobles will die before it is over? While Oxhill is a good place to start from, it is not really the kind of place I wish to spend more than a year or two. High Sonden would be my first choice, but failing that I would, in the short term, settle for somewhere else. I suppose the ultimate goal is a principality, but they are hard to come by, even these days. We shall see what happens in that regard, it is, for the moment, the only thing I can do.
So, that brings us to the bad bits, even though there are slightly good bits mixed in. These are the bits which caused me to nearly raze my tower to the ground last night, the bits which made me far angrier than I have been in a very, very long time. That Drianna was murdered was bad enough, for, despite her poetry, she was an innocent, that the murderer was Faeyelor was even worse. By killing her he broke his word, he broke our agreement, he interfered in our business and he made himself an enemy. That Drianna was Alonzo's love worries me little, but to a certain extent that one fact has made all the difference. That one fact is possibly the only thing that stopped her death being a total waste. The murder did two things to Alonzo, it made him sad and it made him angry. It introduced the Elf into a part of life he had not seen before, the part which deals with revenge. All of us looked for Faeyelor, Alonzo looked with fire in his heart. I wished to deal with him for breaking his word, Alonzo wished to settle a blood debt, a debt which can only be repaid in one way. I saw a side of Alonzo that I did not think I would see, a side which forced me to change my opinions of him, to rewrite his entry, to notice him again. He became strong, purposeful, bent on revenge. However things did not remain that simple.
Alonzo found Faeyelor and I found both of them. I thought it would be easy, I imagined Faeyelor as another simple Elf, he was far more than that. Bolts practically bounced off him and normal weapons had absolutely no effect. He ignored Alonzo, probably not a bad idea, and concentrated on me. I lost. I nearly died. Maybe if I had been better prepared, maybe if I'd known what he could do, maybe if I had been lucky or maybe if I had better support I might have won, but I did not win, I lost. I bled, I nearly died and it was Alonzo who saved me. He stood against someone far more powerful than he and he did not bend. He showed that he could make the right decision, he showed that he could fight, he showed that he knew who to fight for. It is strange how much one event can change a man, how much it can improve him. His feelings of revenge and the way he saved me earned him a second chance, earned him a reentry into my world. He has stepped back up into the ranks of those who are worthy to change this world, to fight against the darkness. Once again the three of us might step forth.
It is strange. I do not think that either Moskva or Alonzo fully trust me, I sometimes feel that they think me too dangerous, too ready to destroy any not on my side. They might well be right, but they are on my side, the three of us are destined to fight together, there is something we must do before the end, even Alonzo could not fight that bond. Life and the universe forced us together, sometimes I do not think that anything any of us do could alter that. Moskva has always had my respect, Alonzo has regained some of what he lost. We are not friends, we are comrades, we must fight, against Faeyelor, against Alphatia, against others yet to appear and maybe some from the past. This fight will not be an easy one, it is one that needs all of our strength, all of our energy and all of our will. It will be a long fight, but if Alonzo does not bend, and if Moskva does not die it is a fight that we can win, then we will win.
The book was closed with a flick of the wizard's mind as he stood up. As he walked across the room there came a knock on the door. He smiled, "Come in, come in, now I am ready for lunch."