Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

day.'
    'Theatricals,' sniffed Argent. 'Never knew one that was worth the breath it took to damn him. Gypsies, tramps and thieves, the lot of them. Never done an honest day's work in their lives.'
    'Be that as it may,' said Roderik, diplomatically, 'the fact is that we need him, Robert, and most of all we need his willing co-operation. Try not to upset him, for the time being at least. I get the feeling he could do something really creative in the way of sulking, if he put his mind to it.'
    Argent sniffed again, but said nothing. Roderik looked at him, started to say something, hesitated, and then started again.
    'Robert, how long have we known each other?'
    'Ten, twelve years. Something like that.' Argent smiled slightly. 'Most of it seemed to make sense, at the time. Why?'
    'Because the only time you get this touchy is when something's troubling you. We've been involved in quite a few schemes over the years. Some came off, some didn't. There's no reason to get yourself worked up, Robert; it's just another scheme, that's all.'
    'I know, Rod. Just another scheme.'
    'Then why are you so tense?'
    'I am not tense!'
    'You want to shout that again, Robert? I don't think they caught all of it at Castle Midnight.'
    'I'm fine,' said Argent, more quietly. 'There's nothing wrong with me.'
    'Bull. I've seen men on their way to the headman's axe who looked more relaxed than you do. You're not really worried about the actor, are you? He'll do his job, and do it well. He's already so like Viktor it frightens me.'
    'I'm not worried about the actor,' said Argent. 'I can't stand the man, but he seems competent enough.'
    'Then what is it? What's the problem?'
    'Nothing! I'm fine. Now go away and leave me be, Rod. I'm tired, and I'm wet, and I think I'm starting a cold. I'm really not in the mood for conversation.'
    He turned away from Roderik, and began brushing his horse down with great energy and concentration.
    Roderik sighed, and decided he'd try again later. He knew from long experience that when Argent decided he wasn't going to talk, a team of wild horses wouldn't be able to drag one word past his lips.
    Jordan was busy helping Gawaine get a fire started. The early morning was still bitterly cold, despite the bright sunshine. Unfortunately, like everything else on the moor, the heather was soaking wet, and so far it had stubbornly resisted all the knights efforts to set it alight with flint and steel. Jordan watched silently for a while, and then crouched down beside Gawaine. He palmed a fire pellet from his sleeve, cracked the coating deftly with his fingernail, and then dropped the pellet into the piled heather with a quick mystical gesture. The heather immediately burst into flames, and thick smoke curled up as the fire took hold. Jordan and Gawaine straightened up, and held out their hands to the leaping flames. Gawaine looked sideways at Jordan.
    'That was very impressive. Mind telling me how you did it?'
    Jordan smiled. 'Professional secret, I'm afraid. The quickness of the hand deceives the eye, and all that.
    It's really quite simple, when you know how.'
    Gawaine nodded. 'It seems Count Roderik was right in choosing you. If that wasn't fire magic, it's the nearest thing I've seen to it outside Castle Midnight.'
    Jordan bit his lip, and looked seriously at Gawaine. The knight seemed in a companion able enough mood, and there were a few questions Jordan very much wanted answered . . . 'Tell me about Castle Midnight, Gawaine. Some of the stories I've heard about it have been . . . pretty damned strange. Are there really ghosts and monsters walking through the corridors at all hours of the day and night? Is there
    really a dungeon that
    eats people? Is it true that anyone can work magic in the Castle, just as long as they've spent the night there?'
    'Yes and no,' said Gawaine, smiling slightly. 'There are all sorts of stories about Castle Midnight, but most of them have got rather confused in the retelling. Magic, elemental magic that is, is very common at the Castle, but that's only because so many of the aristocracy have some ties to the royal Bloodline. In fact, status among the Castles High Society is largely determined by the power of your magic, as that demonstrates the relative purity of your Blood. As for ghosts and monsters . . . that's a little more complicated. You have to understand that what is Real and Unreal can easily become rather confused at the Castle. It's always been that way. Some say there'd High Magic