"A massacre during the commoner festivities, marauding and raping in the streets in broad daylight, half of the Beaver District burned to the ground, all on your watch!" a hunched man dressed in all black rattled off and pointed in accusation at the skinny nineteen-year-old captain who listened to it all on one knee before her lord's council.
Wearing even more eyeliner and eyeshadow than usual, captain Flavna did a piss-poor job of hiding her contempt for lord Belmot's trusted advisor, Alfred. On his knee next to Flavna, Gamesh fared much better. Showing neither a hint of anger nor disdain, Gamesh appeared as if he was listening to a sage's wise advice, taking every word to heart.
"We have not even completed a full accounting of all the brave men and women we lost in the last few days!" Alfred continued, some spit escaping his mouth as he spoke with anger and self-importance. "And now, a captain is dead!"
"May Gods welcome him!" lord Belmot said with closed eyes, lowered his head, and kissed his closed right hand's knuckles.
"May Gods welcome him!" the others present in their lord's throne room followed suit and did the same. Some said it louder, some barely uttered the words. Captains Flavna and Gamesh paid their respects to their fellow comrade. The pink hair teenager that sat next to lord Belmot crossed her arms and blatantly ignored the common courtesy.
"And what a captain he was!" Alfred said as he turned to lord Belmot's council. "A brave man, never hesitating to put his life on the line for both his men as well as the good people of this city. And he died doing the job that Flavna and her cowardly sidekick failed to do!"
Flavna twitched at the word "cowardly".
"Oh, Alfred, I've never known good captain Gamesh to be a coward," lord Belmot said as he nervously wiped the sweat off his forehead with a stained handkerchief. "What brought you to such accusations?"
"The testimony of the very men under his command, as well as the few lucky souls that managed to survive the fire," Alfred said. "Captain Gamesh, knowing how dangerous the villains are, convinced the brave and noble captain Rivaldo to stay and face the threat alone with a handful of soldiers while he took the main bulk of his forces for his own protection and fled under the guise of delivering suspects for interrogation!"
"Captain Gamesh, is this true?" lord Belmot asked with anger in his voice and disappointment on his face.
"My lord, we were given second-hand information," Gamesh explained slowly and calmly. "Even if the information was true, we thought it was unlikely that the target would return to such an obvious location.
"The only soldiers I took with myself to guide our suspect were those that needed rest after a whole day of dealing with those pesky marauders that good advisor Alfred told you about. They were exhausted and would have only embarrassed the capes they wore and needlessly added to the sad list of casualties. And none of the information that we had on these disturbers of peace indicated that they could even stand a chance against one of our captains. And for that miscalculation I do humbly apologize and ask for your forgiveness."
"W-well, it can't be helped!" lord Belmot fidgeted and adjusted his arms that he rested on his big belly. "It has been some time since anyone dared attack the Purple Capes so boldly. I remember when you joined our ranks under my father. Oh, if only I'd have even half of your good genes! I am sure you will not underestimate these 'disturbers of peace' next time."
"Thank you, my Lo—"
"DADDY!" Ophelia jumped up. "You can't just forgive him like that! The other soldiers will think we're going soft! Mistakes must be punished!"
"Oh, but how could he have known that one of our fearsome captains would be bested?" Belmot asked. "Even I'm shocked! And he wasn't the one that lost the fight—"
"Daddyyy!!"
"Oh!" Belmot sighed as if after a long workout he obviously never had and wiped more sweat off his forehead. "Captain Gamesh, what about the fires? I trust that has been dealt with, surely? And the suspects?"
"We put good lieutenant Mimi to the task, and she dealt with the fires successfully," Gamesh reported. "She is currently performing final inspections and will later inform you in detail of the damage and casualties of the fire. And the suspects were delivered without incident and are being questioned even as we speak."
"See, my princess?" Belmot smiled at his daughter. "Our trusted captain has everything under control!"
"URGH!!" Ophelia groaned and plopped back into her chair. She crossed her arms and turned away from her father while puffing up her cheeks.
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