Christina
Lord Mallsrek Skagerlly
Outside Castle Barrmount

He let the comment slide from the young girl, she had the guts to speak which showed courage and he wasn't one to punish courage. "I have no idea whether it is the gods at work, or if she has been lucky, but do with her as you will, she is of no use to me if she can't fight in our battle-lines. She can hold the candle while you work." He turned around and surveyed his surroundings before saying in a loud clear voice. "Men get back to work before I make you. This siege won't last long and we'll be rejoicing before long." He then turned and eyed his brother before saying quietly. "What now brother?"
Ramiro
Sir Shaydrin Skagerlly
Outside Castle Barrmount

Shaydrin pursed his lips at Mallsrek. Looking around them, he answered, "We wait until our liege is finished with the Lady Barrmount. Then we can 'rejoice' all we want." He took a step closer to his half-brother, his expression severe, and in furtive tones said, "Until then, be careful what you're heard saying so close to Nathaniel's men. We're entering a stage in this campaign where the question of loyalty will be very bloody important. If, because of you, people start questioning our devotion, you'll have Nathaniel *And* Father to worry about."
Christina
Lord Mallsrek Skagerlly
Outside Castle Barrmount

"First of all, what exactly do you mean about our liege finished with the Lady Barrmount? Are we talking about diplomacy here or something else, because if that is the case then ..." He lets the words hang in the air, heeding his brother's advice for once. He grips the hilt of his great axe, looking around suspiciously at Nathaniel's men before saying quietly. "Don't worry about them, they'll throw us under the bridge once they have no need for our army. We do all the dirty deeds for them. I will remain loyal as long as Father is on the throne. No guarantees later on. Now can we get this bloody siege finished, or at least let me attack."
Stephen
Maren
Outside Castle Barrmount

When she was pushed forward by Shaydrin, she timidly turned her head away, reaching up and grabbing at Shaydrin's hand on her collar as Mallsrek looked down at her and spoke about how little she truly mattered. She bowed her head and spun around, afterward, walking right back into Shaydrin and hugging onto him in a very sad attempt to hide from everyone. 

She was impressed by the soft warmth of the expensive cloth that made up Shaydrin's appearance, sighing a little. Even if for a tiny moment, she didn't mind protecting herself against someone who scared her a little, too.
Ramiro
Sir Shaydrin Skagerlly
Outside Castle Barrmount

Shaydrin felt the rising wave of tension in his brother's voice, and as Mallsrek gripped the handle of his axe, Shaydrin fingered the hilt of his sword. *Careful, Mallsrek. For the sake of our house.* Thankfully, a cool air seemed to descend on his half-brother's mind, though Mallsrek's disdainful words did nothing to soothe Shaydrin's wider concerns.

"Well," He said, "It ain't us who'll be finishing the siege." He tried to shift his legs, but met with an encircling resistance. Glaring down, he noticed only then that the girl was embracing his waist; the confrontation with Mallsrek had been too heated for him to notice. He sighed, and looked once more into his half-brother's eyes. "It's them, the Barrmounts. They need to surrender." He looked off to the castle walls. "For all intents and purposes, they already have. We're *In* The castle now. We could burn this place to the ground and scatter them to the hills." He fixed a stern eye on Mallsrek. "But only if our liege lord says to. 

"And come here," He continued, taking Mallsrek's arm and trying to turn him away from his men. Shaydrin threw a glance over his shoulder, then whispered, "There's an army on the way. Blacktombs and Wrencrests. Shouldn't be enough to match us even one-to-two, so if you see them standing at the edge of the forest, do *Not* Let your hounds loose on them, and do *Not* Incite anyone else to attack. They're only coming to posture. I've heard no reports of any other vassals coming to their lords' aid."
Christina
Lord Mallsrek Skagerlly
Outside Castle Barrmount

"Good, I want to get this waiting game done. You may enjoy sitting around doing nothing but we need something to. If it's not done soon I'm storming into that keep and taking the castle for our alliance." He says sneeringly, knowing full well that no one would be able to stop him doing so.

"You're right about one thing, even one-to-two our army would make mincemeat of them, I wouldn't even have to commit my hearthtroop to rout those curs all the way back to their mothers. So I should just order our army to stand down from a fight? Surely we can take the opportunity to wipe them off the face of the map, then we wouldn't need to worry about them in the future, instead of allowing them to live another day and possibly pose a threat to us later on. But I trust you on this brother, I'll double the patrols and post more sentries. Also I've already given the order for our camp to be even further fortified."

Turning around he motioned to one of his soldiers who kicked his horse forward and stopped in front of Mallsrek. Even atop his horse the soldier was tiny in comparison to his lord. "Ride back to camp, double the range and number of patrols. Double the sentries, and increase the speed of fortifications. Also if there are any signs of an enemy force on the horizon, your orders are not to engage, instead send runners to find me immediately. Go now." The messenger rode off quickly to follow his orders.

"There little brother, that issue is sorted."
Stephen
Maren
Outside Castle Barrmount

While Mallsrek detached from the conversation to bark orders, Maren looked up at Shaydrin, pulling a part of his cloak over her body.

"What's a Vivayn?" She asked quietly, her little brow furrowing. "Are they kings?"