Ailios peered at Zix for a moment.
"I understand the concept of free will. So do I wish for you to understand the concept of respect; Your summons will respect me as the commander of this party, and so will you. If you cannot comply, then you can stay in Eachann, and we will proceed without your aid. What I will not stand for is idiotic tomfoolery when the lives of thousands are at stake. And on that note, never summon again lest it is requested, or we are in combat. Do I make myself clear?"
Regardless of the man's answer, the carriage reaches its destination. Ailios waves the party off, beckoning to Silef in particular afterwards. "Come. We will move immediately to meet the Duke. "
And so the party splits. After all party members are out of the carriage and so are their belongings, Ailios waves the driver off and immediately she and Silef begin their stride towards Byrne's Hold.
After crossing a short forest path leading up to the Hold, it comes into view. It is comprised of two buildings linked together by a small tunnel-like pathway in the eastern wall of the main building.
The smaller building - Clearly identified as the main building of the Hold as the path leads to two massive stone doors at it's sides - is made of grey stone bricks, and has three main entrances. The first two are the aforementioned, positioned in either side of the building. The third is at it's middle, placed after a set of stairs and seemingly leading to a different room than the ones before.
The bigger building has no doors or entrances to speak of. It is a large rectangle, easily twice the main house in both height and length, with twin tower-like structures at each of it's top corners. From these, Silef would notice archers poised and peering at them and at the woods around. Where she to pay attention to where the archers looked, she'd notice that several watchtowers were build in the surrounding forest, and each of them was staffed by at least three archers.
There are plenty of sounds coming from the larger building, ranging from laughter to steel clashing to the woes of the near-dead. It is easy to surmise this is a house for troops - An indoor training ground, hospital, caferia, dormitories... Likely, by it's size, it could easily house a few thousand men. Impressive, for a city the size of Eachann. But then, one would expect as much from the leader of the King's army.
Ailios immediately heads for the middle door, gesturing to Silef to follow. "Have you been here before?" She asks in a half-amused tone as they make their way towards it. "Have you met the Duke?"
((Dobby, Fink and Hukuna -> If you wish, write one more post with your reaction to the last part of the carriage ride. You will receive a PM with further instructions shortly.
Murdoc -> Continue as normal. ))