<div class="floatright">(http://odstatic.com/todoseries.com/marcus-glaber.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Laverius Dulaine<br/><strong>Role:</strong>Royal Armorer<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Alongside Queen Essaline.<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Essaline<br/><br/>The city was in sight, the rather impressive silhouette of Theiri castle in the distance.  "We've arrived!"  The announcement failed to elicit any cheers or smiles.<br/><br/>"About time we got there" said one of the guards, and Laverius had to agree.  The ride had felt like a long one.  Suspicions of ambushes had been voiced from the beginning of the trip, which had begun days before the royal family had set out.  As planned, the royal family had caught up and, in fact, passed them, not weighed down by carts full of gifts, supplies, equipment, and men on foot.  It had begun cheerily enough.  After all, no one expected an ambush would take place before the royal family left the safety of Aserit's borders.  Even once outside Aserit, the idea of ambush seemed follish.  After all, if the caravan were attacked, the royals would see the attack ahead of them and retreat.  As soon as they'd come even, though, the mood had become decidely grim.  Even as prime spots for ambushes had been passed, Laverius had heard cautions that it meant nothing, that the only reason they hadn't been attacked was that break downs had put them too far behind schedule.<br/><br/>Even now, with the city of Theiri before them, the rumbles continued.  "We're well within their borders now.  They could have sent half an army behind us to cut us off from Aserit, and we wouldn't even know," said one of the footmen guarding the supplies.  "Yeah?  Well, that happens, I say we all head straight to the pleasure house up ahead and raid us some Theiri whores.  They're softer here" came the response from another.<br/><br/>"Well, look on the bright side.  If they have sent half their army away, then we could sack the castle and just wait out our own army's arrival in luxury."  A few cheers erupted from that.  "Given that we'll already be in the castle it shouldn't be too hard.  They have to be either desperate for peace or outright fools to let so many armed Aserit into their own castle.  Or maybe they are just being very patient on that ambush."  He turned to one of the guards.<br/><br/>"I'm going to ride ahead and let them know we've arrived."  Breaking his horse into a gallop, Laverius quickly made up the significant ground between the royal family and the small army of guards, porters, lesser handwomen, and knights, galloping through the city.  Soon he caught up to Queen Essaline, riding proudly rather than sitting in a carriage.  Laverius slowed to a trot and sat up straight as he brought his mount alongside the queen's.  "My queen, the rest of the Aserit delegation have arrived as well, and are less than a mile from the gates."  He left off that he knew this was later than intended, as carts had broken several times over, and many stops had been made to verify ambush spots were unclaimed.