The Old Gods are not gone? A priestess of Althene among the pirates? The Morlac's thought were a whirl of questions with no answers. When they arrived back at the dock, the Morlac got off first and began walking quickly to the Examiner's Hall without saying a word. Admiral Lord Aernoud watched the Chief Examiner go.
"My Lord," asked his aide, "what do you suppose that was about? The Old Gods? Althene? I have never heard of them but they seemed to put a fright into the Chief Examiner."
"They did, didn't they. I don't know what that was about either but I think I would like to know." Thinking for a moment, Lord Aernoud said, "Come with me." As he walked swiftly towards the palace, Aernoud considered what he knew. The king is under some kind or compulsion. We all see that. The Chief Examiner is more dangerous that anyone I have ever met, yet is frightened by a girl wearing a necklace. She mentions something called 'the Old Gods' and he forgets about my death, the loss of our fleet and goes running back to his hall? What is going on?
When they arrived back at the palace, the Admiral called for a meeting with his senior officers. Once they were there, he closed and locked the door, then asked his aide to relate the events onboard the ship. When his aide was done, he looked around the table at his five senior officers. "One of you will be made Admiral in my place as soon as Geinn remembers me. What I am about to say makes me a traitor, so feel free to report me if you must. The king is insane or under Geinn's control somehow. The Examiner has some kind of power that we cannot stop - and believe me, some have tried - and we cannot match. Whoever this Althene is, whatever these Old Gods are, this priestess is the first person I have seen that scares Geinn. You must seek her aid. You must find a way to ask our enemy for help or the Kingdom is lost already. I will not ask you to promise me, as any of you that choose this will become traitors too. I simply tell you that we must stop Geinn."
His words were met with silence. Then, Lord Aeron stood. "My Lord, can you not flee the city and save yourself at least?"
Aernoud shook his head. "I would be condemning my family to death. I cannot."
All of the officers stood and bowed. "My Lord," Aeron continued, "I will go. None of these others need sacrifice their honour or their loyalty. I will leave tonight and I promise I will find a way to seek the help we need."
Aernoud walked around the table and placed his hands on the younger man's shoulders. "May you find what we need to save our beloved land. Go with my blessing, Aeron." Turning to the others he said, "I cannot order you but I plead with you to say nothing of Aeron's choice. If he finds what we need, it may well be our salvation. If not, he can do no harm to the Kingdom." With that, Aernoud sat back down in his chair. He looked tired.
The men slowly filed out, with Aeron leading the way. As Aeron walked towards the palace gates, the Admiral's aide ran after him, calling his name. "Lord Aeron!"
Aeron stood and waited. "Lord Aeron, the Lord Admiral asked if you could stop briefly by his house tonight. He is on his way there himself and asked if you could meet him there before you depart." Curious, Aeron asked, "Do you know why?" The man shook his head.
Aeron's carriage was waiting at the palace gate. He ordered the driver to take him home and wait. Moving quickly, he changed into travelling gear and packed enough, including money to pay for his journey, and locked the door behind him. Within an hour he had arrived at Lord Aernoud's estate house. Knocking on the door, it was answered by Aernoud himself! "Get your gear and let the carriage leave. I will provide you horses." Aernoud said simply.
At the back of the estate were seven horses, packed and ready. "These six of my personal guard will go with you. A larger number would attract attention. Smaller and you would be an easy target. I have pulled what funds I can but I beg you, go now." It was dark and Aeron couldn't see the faces of the men but he trusted Aernoud. They mounted up and servants opened up the back gate.
As the gate opened they came face to face with three palace guards. "What's this? The king has ordered Lord Aernoud's arrest!" Seeing Aernoud standing behind the mounted men, the guard's drew their swords. "Stop!" yelled Aernoud. "This is Lord Aeron and his guard. You are here to arrest me? Here I am. Unless you have a warrant for Lord Aeron, you must let him leave."
For a moment the guards looked as though they might argue that but then considered the two to one odds. "Very well. We have no reason to hold you Lord Aeron." Aeron commanded, "Let's go." and the seven of them rode off, leaving Lord Aernoud to face his arrest alone. Aeron could hear more than one of Aernoud's loyal guards weeping softly.
