The raiders bayed and cursed, hammering their weapons into the study metal of the portcullis and roaring in their barbaric, guttural tongue. Gobbets of spit and filth pattered on the ground where the bloodlust-taken men sought to show their utter contempt for the foe. A few of the knights idly looked at them, turning their high-borne noses up at the foe. Hadrian's eyes fell on Elizabeth as she appeared, nodding courteously and bowing low in the saddle while his eyes covertly looked her up and down. A slight well of excitement rose up in his stomach as he registered her beauty - it was a rare thing indeed for a knight to live out the tales of chivalry he was raised on and truly come to the rescue of a damsel in distress. And a damsel she was - he'd seen few examples of the feminine aspect as graceful as what he now saw standing across the courtyard from him. There was relish in his expression as he replied, his voice perhaps a little deeper than it would be ordinarily. Some of the closest knights sniggered beneath their visors when they heard it.<br/><br/>"I am Sir Hadrian, Knight-Banneret of Irongarden. I am here because a man by the name of Arthur invoked an oath of honour owed by my family." His expression went cold, and his voice turned to a murmur as his gaze fell upon some of the old faces watching him with curiosity from the shadows. "You - and you alone - are to be brought back to lands still held by the king. We are honour-bound to bring you to Hammersreik Bastion - or die in the attempt." The sentiment was finished with a stoic note of bravery. As he addressed her, the a great crash sounded from the portcullis gate - the barbarians had brought up a primitive battering ram that was little more than a discarded tree trunk, and were hammering it into the reinforced steel frame barring them from entering the castle and massacring the inhabitants. They'd need more than that to breach the stonework, but it was worrying nonetheless. The stream of alien expletives and rude gestures only grew more ferocious.