The slightest movement of Vol's neck, and Earl Hellan's blade came with it, like a dog following food. He inserted himself into the path of two of his men without even knowing what he was doing. Those same men stiffened in anger. It was the reaction one should have to their Earl, a man that they ought to have been treating with reverence. It was just another sign of the rot that had built up over the years.
As those two Second Boundary men were blocked off, hungrily, the other Second Boundary men came forward. Another sign of the rot. They had heard the Earl's order to leave Vol's head for him – and they intended to ignore it. They didn't have the respect, or the loyalty to the Hellan house. They placed their own want for success above the Earl's own.
Hungrily those swords came, and now it was their turn to step in Earl Hellan's path. Reaching, reaching, all those swords came… And then Vol's axe flashed.
