Lord Alain Aubet stared at the rough amber pendant in Kenric's hand. He looked between it and Kenric a few times.
"…Already?"
"Yes," Kenric said, "It was a creature with a strange form, but it has been defeated now. I will send a few of my own troops to help escort the food, if you wish."
Alain took the amber pendant, setting it aside, "But it's only been a few hours! How could you possibly have slain it already?"
"You called me 'the renowned Lord Wulf' before," Kenric said, "Do you have so little faith in my abilities?"
"No, no!" Alain said in almost a panicked manner, "But… what was it? What did you kill?"
"A creature of magic," Kenric said, "I cannot describe it, but you may imagine a hulking warrior. You may send your people to check to see if I am lying. If the creature remains, I will return to slay it."
"I… please rest for now, it's getting late," Alain said finally, "You will be shown to your rooms."
A servant was called, and he led Kenric, Noodle, and Elizabeth through the halls to where they would be spending the night. All three of them had received a room, and they looked comfortable.
Once the servant left, bidding them to call for him if they needed anything, Kenric had Elizabeth and Noodle join him in his room.
"You did well to omit any information about Gordon, but you shouldn't speak so directly, my lord," Elizabeth said, "When you said he could send his troops to check whether you were lying, it must have sounded to him like you were challenging him."
"He doubted me. I pointed out that there was a way for him to make sure," Kenric said.
"Yes, but you should not have phrased it so harshly," Elizabeth said, "Nobles have a lower tolerance to being spoken in such a way. You could have caused a diplomatic incident. We are lucky Lord Aubet seems to understand that you mean no harm."
Kenric narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but he couldn't deny that what she said had merit. No matter how troublesome he found it, the reality of the world was as she said, and he had to play by its rules to navigate it.
"… I will keep that in mind." He turned to Noodle, "Now, moving on, I have a task for you, Noodle."
Noodle pointed at himself, "Me? Now?"
"Yes, now," Kenric said, "You have a talent for sneaking around, I have need of that talent now."
Noodle's eyes shifted, "I, er—I don't know what you mean."
"Do you think I don't know about how you hide whenever something needs to be done in the manor?" Kenric asked, raising an eyebrow, "But, good for you, that skill of yours will come in handy now. Lord Aubet claimed that he's currently in conflict with a bandit lord, but he won't tell us which one; I need you to find the identity of that bandit lord."
"That sounds really dangerous," Noodle said weakly.
"It is, but it's something I need done anyway," Kenric said, "And make sure not to let anyone know what you're looking for. I imagine Lord Aubet must have reports mentioning this bandit lord on his desk, perhaps you could wait until he leaves to check there."
"Yep, sounds real easy," Noodle said sarcastically.
"Good," Kenric's voice was dry, "Get to it then."
Noodle gave a defeated wave and left the room. Elizabeth muttered thoughtfully, "A bandit lord…"
"Do you know of them?" Kenric asked.
Elizabeth nodded, "When I was a student in the Royal Academy, we used to go on these trips to different cities. One time, we were attacked by one of the bandit lords: the Mare. He wanted to kidnap us and ransom us back to our families."
"What happened to him?"
"He was repelled by Prince Albert, and his friends, and…" she trailed off. The slightly dark expression on her face gave Kenric the inkling that the last person in that group had been the girl with whom she had feuded with, and had ultimately led to her disgrace. Elizabeth shook her head slightly, "Anyway, the Mare escaped, and Prince Albert was lauded as a hero."
"I see," Kenric said simply.
"Why do you want to know which bandit lord Lord Aubet is fighting with?" Elizabeth asked, "Surely you don't mean to try and recruit a bandit lord as well, do you?"
Kenric shrugged, "Depends on the bandit lord."
*
Noodle walked along the hallways of the castle, faking a calm he definitely did not feel. Lord Wulf got a kick out of asking him to do things he absolutely hated, he just knew it. There weren't even any nooks or crannies to sneak here! This castle was as basic as it got.
His first obstacle had come in the form of the servant who had led them to their rooms. He had been waiting just a short distance away, and Noodle barely had a moment to think of the excuse that he was searching for the privy. The servant had tried tagging along to show him the way, but Noodle had insisted that he remain behind in case Lord Wulf wanted him for something.
The devoted subject act had worked, because here he was, all by his lonesome. He made his way back to where the lord's hall was, and waited behind a corner. After some time, he heard the doors open, and he took a peek to see Lord Aubet yawning as he disappeared down another corridor.
Stifling a curse underneath his breath, he steeled his nerves and crept into the lord's hall. Thankfully, it was empty, and he rushed to Lord Aubet's desk. He looked over all the parchment on top, making sure not to touch a single one.
'Tax Report', 'Tax Report', 'Quarry Maintenance', 'Construction Project', 'Battle Report—'
Noodle stopped, reading through the battle report more closely. The bandit lord in question had attacked one of Lord Aubet's villages yesterday, and a skirmish had taken place between them and the guards stationed there.
And… there it was! The bandit lord's name, clear as day.
Now done with his mission, Noodle hurried back to the doors, but before he could push them open, to Noodle's terrible surprise, they suddenly opened on their own.