"Come in."
With a creak, the great doors of the study swung open, and there in the doorway stood the stable master of the estate.
Bearing plain features and chestnut hair, the man stammered a polite greeting to Joshua, then proceeded to explain the reason for his visit, a reproachful expression upon his face. Stuttering and stumbling with his hands gesturing animatedly, it took him several minutes to get his point across. Apparently, for some unknown reason, Joshua's dragon-blooded warhorse Black had suddenly refused to eat, and then drove everyone from the stable with its tantrum.
"My liege, well, the situation, you see, is as I've said, more or less."
The stable master was covered in mud and also some hoof prints. For Joshua and Ying, one could easily tell by their faces that listening to him speak was sheer torture.
