Adventure of Brandon Dubois

High Point rises ahead at last, its gates sharp against the winter sky. Brandon Dubois reaches the ford road in the same breath as a riderless courier team, and the castle guards tense when they see the sealed scroll in his hand.

Valerius stands close at Brandon's side, hood frosted, one hand resting near the map they carried through the storm. Beyond them, the road forks toward the gatehouse and the inner bridge, where horns are beginning to sound.

The seal on the scroll is still unbroken.

A line of armored guards forms at the gate, uncertain whether to bar Brandon or admit him. Inside the walls, banners stir in the cold wind, and the path to the king waits beyond their steel.

Brandon Dubois stands at the threshold of High Point with the scroll, the guards, and Valerius all pressing for his next move. The castle breathes with waiting, and the choice is his.

Brandon Dubois catches the scent of fresh ink and expensive Iskan wax drifting from the gatehouse, confirming the presence of the false treaty within. A guard captain emerges from the inner courtyard, his armor bearing the distinct, hurried gait of a man who has just received orders from Hadrin himself.

Brandon Dubois plants his boots and drives forward, shoulder first, the scroll pinned hard against his chest as he crosses the threshold.

The line of Castle Guards breaks just enough to make room, spears tightening to either side as he pushes into the gatehouse without losing the seal.

Valerius slips in behind the guard line, lifting the waxed map high for a heartbeat, drawing the guards' eyes away from Brandon's chest.

He is through the gatehouse at last, with the inner courtyard open before him and the lie at his back, while the guards hesitate on the stone behind him.