When he was walking in the square Gordan noticed that the festival had gone into overdrive and all of the people were lining the streets in anticipation for something or other which Gordan didn't really feel like participating in at the moment. So he tried to make his way back to the inn where the group was staying, but along the way he ran into Sig who was still alittle salty about Gordan showing up so late at night without warning. When he saw Gordan he convinced him to walk around with him, since he had been separated from the rest of the group any way, and having no reason to refuse spending time with his rather violence prone subordinate he accepted easily. Sig had always been a bit of a wreak ever since Gordan had first met him when Sig was still a child and since then Sig had always been rather worried for his well being, given Gordans lack of self preservation when it came to most situations, because if he was going to be honest at that point as long as his men survived and the mission was complete he didn't really care what happened to him.
The two of them walked on the edge of the crowd following it along the way until someone in the crowd suddenly recognized Sig and came over to the both of them.
"If I am not mistaken you are part of the Gold kingdom correct?"
Sig nodded his head not feeling like responding with words. The man in front of them was of a rather high class, so it was odd that he would be in this area during this time since most others of his standing would be getting ready for the closing ceremony of the festival.
"I would like to formally invite you and your friend to the banquet which will be held in an hour. And if you are wondering what I am doing our in this crowd, it is a bit of a custom in this country to pick several random individuals to be able to attend the meal, to help strengthen the relationship between the nobility and subjects."
The man handed over two invitations and without waiting for their response, walked away from them like something had just caught his attention. The two of them looked at each other and then at the invitations which they had just received, which detailed the directions to the event which they were now expected to attend. And while he had no problem with doing that Gordan still felt like he would prefer to spend his time sleeping instead. Sig who seemed to be Slightly interested in the event kept glancing back and forth between the invitation and Gordan until he shook his head and began following the directions out of the square where the closing ceremony was just about to start.
"Sure, it's not like we are busy at the moment anyway, we still have another day or two before the roads are clear enough for our group to travel safely."
When they arrived at the gates of the palace where the event was going to take place in half an hour they held up their invitations and were emediatly granted passage which was a bit troubling, but as long as nothing came of it, who cared if they acted slightly suspicious. The two of them were escorted through the palace until they reached an empty banquet hall where they were directed to find a seat and wait for the rest of the guests to arrive. After waiting for nearly half an hour the first group of people walked through the doors and Gordan's eyebrow went up slightly as he saw that the child who he had been speaking to was among the numbers.
"So a noble huh..."
Gordan decided not to pursue the issue and just focus on getting through the experience without dealing with too many inconsistencies. And just as he was thinking that he felt several strange presences enter into the room using some kind of cloaking magic. He could tell that at least one of the guards who were stationed at the door had sensed the presence but was making no move to stop the individuals or alert the other guards so his suspicions were rising even further than before. He could tell that Sig had also noticed the intruders but Gordan shook his head slightly to signal him to not take any unnecessary actions. As long as they didn't try to pull anything there was no reason to kill them.
As soon as the hall began to fill with guests, the servants began to set out the plates of food for everyone. The food itself looked like it would be delicious to eat but before they could try any of it they would have to wait for the host of the gathering to make a toast and which would start the feast. But even when all of the other people sat down and were waiting for the toast to be made, the room remained completely quiet, the seats at the head of the table were empty and after several minutes the people became restless.
The intruders seemed to have gotten into position because they stopped moving and he could feel a spell being cast silently, he looked around the room but the only other people who seemed to notice were, Sig and the child who he had met in the garden. Gordans face stayed completely frozen without any particular expression as he waited for the scene to unfold around him. Absently he picked up his cup and took a sip of his water which was perfectly appropriate in this situation and didn't go against the etiquette of the court. All of the other people were beginning whisper amongst themselves when the doors were suddenly flung open and a rather proud looking character stepped into the room with his weapon drawn waving it around like an idiot. Behind him were several other soilder looking people and one mage who was trying to fade into the background.
"Good day lady's and gentlemen, I am honored that you have decided to attend this banquet. Unfortunately the duke will not be able to attend the ceremony due to his sudden decline in health, but in his honor I have decided to help out with the banquet instead."
The person spoke with a confadance which made Gordan turn his head slightly to the side with a board expression. All of the other attendees had turned away from the person as soon as he entered the room but Gordan watched him closely to see what his intentions were. He saw that the person nodded their head and the guard who Gordan had been keeping an eye on suddenly made a shrill whistling sound which made the intruders suddenly come out of hiding to show that the guests would not easily leave the area without a fight.
"I know all of you must be curious as to why the abandoned son of the duke would be taking his place at this event, and if that is your first question then you are quite foolish. Because as many have probably guessed, the duke is now dead, and all of you will follow him shortly after. The only question now is who will be the first victim?"
Gordan watched in silence as the man suddenly rushed forward aiming for one of the peasants who had come to the banquet on invitation with killing intent. But before he was able to give the killing blow the sword was suddenly knocked out of his hand making everyone catch their breath and freeze in fear. A small stream of smoke floated up into the sky from a strange device in Sig's hand. It was supposedly an item which had been left behind by a hero centuries before. Gordan had come upon two such items and had given them to Sig because of his aim capabilities. Gordan had found the items to be quote interesting and had added his own modification to the gun which allowed the user to use their magic power in place of bullets.
The entire room turned toward the person who was holding out the strange weapon with a scowl on his face.
"Could you have at least waited until we finished eating? I was looking forward to a good meal, and now you have to go and try to mess it up with pointless bloodshed."
The abandoned dukes son stared at him confused for a bit while trying to process what had just happened.