Directly in front of Sergeant Ebonshield was a Royal Guard lieutenant in his service dress, seated at a desk. Beside him, a young corporal, likewise in his service uniform, was seated at a typewriter. Another ten guardsponies were at station in their armor, spears at the ready. Two of them were flanking the doors through which their group had just entered. Two more were guarding a door at the far end of the room, where the back wall was not but the bare mountain face. One of them was on station beside his lieutenant's desk. The final five appeared to have been seated at a low table in front of the apple barrels, playing cards. They must have scrambled for their weapons in a hurry, because one of the chairs was knocked over, and several of the cards were on the floor, too. Every single one of them -- the ten armored guards and the two desk ponies in service uniform -- were wearing a broad, white-painted gorget around their neck, above their ordinary armor. Written in solid black characters was 'MP' in a large print, with 'RUC' in smaller characters underneath.