43
It was the end of a long day of feasting to welcome Prince Jarand back to Tormadell after several months’ absence. The last of the guests had finally left amid florid gestures of gratitude and fealty. The vaulted ceiling of the great banqueting hall still seemed to ring with the laughter and chatter of a hundred voices.
Slowly the quiet returned and only the discreet footsteps and quiet murmuring of the servants clearing away the remains of the repast intruded on the silence.
The two brothers sat at the end of the long central table, one at the head and the other on his right hand side. The auburn of their hair matched perfectly as their heads bent together in quiet discussion. They both had their hands wrapped around heavy pewter goblets that were girded with a raised pattern of lea
