Julian smirked at Gabriel as he took the blanket from Marcus.  "I'll tell you in the morning.  In the end I think I still had more fun than you though."  He grinned wryly, paused, and then answered Marcus.

"Good to hear everything's okay.  When do we leave this place?  If the local constabulary keeps taking my clothes and try to stab my friends and family I'm going to run out of money, clothes, friends, cousins and dates pretty quick.  And the only way that could get worse is if they somehow ran off all the bartenders and bards, which I'm sure they have some kind of masterplan to do.  Look, I'm going back to bed.  In the morning, come on by and I'll give you some measurements and you can get me some clothes and I can step outside again.  Sound good?"

He was still naked beneath the illusion and it felt a little weird to be out in the hall talking - so, he took the blanket and returned to his room to sleep on the floor.

And to think the night had started out so promising.

"I can help you with the money, but I have to report to Lord Brightblade for duty in the morning. I will be unable to leave the stall for many hours. You will have to ask one of the others to help you out with finding clothes." He then bids Julian good evening and returns to bed, first offering Dove a look to see if she is still awake. "What was all the laughter for?" he asks Dove in an amused voice. Although usually fairly serious, he is struck by the absurdity and humour inherent in Julian's situation.

"You asked how he had ended up naked," Dove said. "I thought that was pretty obvious."

"I wasn't sure if he had taken his clothes off, his lady friend had taken his clothes off, or a hostile Knight of Takhisis had taken his clothes off. Each of the possibilities would have said much about what he was doing at the time, though I must admit that at least one of the three leads somewhere I would rather not contemplate." Marcus makes himself comfortable back on the floor, and as he tries to go back to sleep he realises that Julian probably thinks he is doing much the same thing that Julian was probably doing.

Satisfied that someone was going to find him clothes but unsure of exactly how that mechanic was going to play out, he told Marcus before he left:

"Well, if you can't help out, please send over someone who can.  I don't want to be wandering the halls naked knocking on doors asking for clothes.  Its unseemly."

He went back to his room with the blanket to try and salvage some sleep.

As Regan awkwardly walked the corridors of the inn, he bumped into a strangely dressed Julian carrying a blanket.

"Well, at least I managed to find someone," he commented.  "After we split up from the alleyway, I had to guess which inn you were all staying at and the third one seems to have come up trumps!  Did the rest make it here ok?"

Marcus leans up on his elbows for a moment as he considers, then says to Dove, "Perhaps it would be best if you go and purchase Julian some clothing in the morning. I am sure you could guess his size, and as a local you will know the best places to go."

"I can do that," Dove said.

4 Frostkolt 404AC

For the first time on this journey, you got the chance to sleep in real beds, though Marcus and Julian, to a lesser degree, spent the night on the floor. Having learned what had happened to his cousin, Gabriel had lent Julian some clothes (Traveler’s Outfit).

As Marcus and Dove left his room, they ran into Lord Brightblade and both of them could see the contempt in his eyes.

“I thought better of you Valarian,” Lord Brightblade said. “But this I will certainly bring to the council. And seeing Julian and Blythe exiting Julian’s room, only worsened his mood. “You are a squire Valarian. You should set a good example. I didn’t expect any better from these,” he continued pointing at the three cousins with a clearly disdainful tone. “But you have your honor to think of.”

[You’re all in the hallway, listening to Lord Brightblade lecturing Marcus for the second morning in a row. What do you do?]

Julian looked hurt and recoiled from the knight's long-distance and ostensibly private chastising, before nodding slowly with a look of understanding.

Apologetically, to Blythe, he let her in on Brightblade's secret.  "Gay."

Having just finished his morning communion with Paladine, there is nothing that can be said to Marcus that will break his calm serenity. In an even, gentle tone he replies, "Good morning, My Lord. I understand what you think to have happened. On my honour, it did not." With the simple statement, he put Lord Brightblade into an awkward situation. To offer doubts would be to question the honour of the young Knight, something not lightly done. And to have slept with a prostitute would be very much out of character for Marcus, his prestly medallion glowing with a soothing silver light. So Marcus stands in polite silence, as he waits for his Lord to either challenge his word or to apologise.

“I don’t want to hear your justifications Valarian,” Lord Brightblade said. “His Highness thought this would be a good experience for you and you bring shame upon him for trusting you. You will spend the rest of the day in prayer and supplication. I don’t expect to see you again until we leave in the morning. Is that clear?”

Gabriel had stumbled out of his room after hearing the forceful conversation. He approached Julian quietly "What did he do wrong?" He said to his brother.

Regan exited his room after a decent night's sleep.  He was keen to find the others to see what todays' plans were but before he knew it, the druid stumbled the scene in the corridor where Marcus was apparently being given a dressing down.  Not wishing to intrude, Regan waited a polite distance away and waited for the conversation to end before speaking to his companions.

"Well, I think his officer thinks that he slept with a prostitute."

Julian checked her out appreciatively.

"You'd think he'd acknowledge his good taste.  It's either that or he didn't give the right secret handshake greeting or something.  Perhaps he slept the night through and didn't wake up cranky enough to satisfy the Code?  Who knows?  Knights are crazy."

Marcus inclines his head in acknowledgement, a full bow being difficult in such close quarters. He doesn't bother to argue, his sense of discipline being strong enough to allow him to refrain from arguing with a superior. "As you will, My Lord," he says in a calm and neutral voice. He makes no mention of the fact that Lord Brightblade's command constitutes a slight on his honour. He will not speak up out of turn in order to defend himself, but if the High Clerist questions him due to Lord Brightblade's report, then he would answer honestly. For now, he is content that he acted honourably, and that Paladine knows that his words are true.

Moving with grace and dignity, he re-enters his room, and removes his pack. He decides that he will pray while wearing full armour, both to help accustomise himself to the weight, and so that the discomfort will help focus his mind. He quietly tells Dove, "Accompany my companions, if you will. Your local knowledge will help them, and I will be occupied here all day. If you wish to return tonight then you may continue to share this room with me." His gaze doesn't waver from the young woman, though he can sense the nearby presence of the Lord Knight still out in the hall somewhere. As he has done nothing worthy of shame, he defiantly decides that he will not prevent Dove from remaining with him during the period of her employment. He raises an eyebrow and adds, "Of course, if you would prefer to remain here and learn to pray to the gods then I will teach you." Marcus kneels down and commences to pray to Paladine.

"He never said that you had to pray here," Dove said. "He only said that you had to pray all day and that he didn't want to see you. But if we are going to get Julian's stuff back from the knights, they're going to need you. Besides, a man in your position needs to be able to fight and pray at the same time, right? Wouldn't this be the perfect time to practice?"

Marcus offers Dove a wry glance, and answers, "Spending time in prayer and supplication has its own meaning among the Knighthood. I must devote myself entirely to my prayers and contemplation. And I will remain here. I have done nothing to bring dishonour to myself, but going away would be considered a disregard for my orders, which is a serious offence." He gives Dove a quick wink and adds, "But if I am here then everyone will know where to find me in case of emergency. If a member of our party is in life threatening danger then I would be honourbound to leave here and help. I may even be able to gather other Knights to help out if necessary."

Lord Brightblade left, went downstairs for breakfast.

[What about the rest of you. Do you remain in the hallway, go downstairs for breakfast, or do something else?]

"If we get his gear, we will be in a life threatening situation. We won't be able to come here and ask for your help. It will be an emergency."

And after a pause.

"You can teach me how to pray on the way."

The man who appeared to be Marcus' superior left the scene after Marcus entered his room and walked away in the opposite direction to Regan.  Now that all was quiet again, the druid waited for a few more seconds to be sure that the man wouldn't return before approaching the door to Marcus' room and knocking upon it.

Gabriel turned and watched the knight head downstairs and then he looked at Julian. "What happeded to you and where are your clothes? You wouldn't be caught dead in my things." He said with a slight laugh.

Julian looked down at his outfit.  Gabe was right: the man had terrible taste in clothes.  "The Knights of Takhisis decided to bite my impeccable sense of style last night.  They busted in on me while I was in a fit of pious devotion to Sirrion with that gymnast... I decided to leave rather than get in a fight."

He grinned.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter.  Not at least much of one when its four-to-one and I'm naked.  In fact, that's primetime to be a lover as long as the company's right.  But four guys in armor with weapons?  Or five?  No, hard to concentrate on the matters at hand.  So we left."

He tugged at his clothes.

"And as soon as I can come up with a way to get something a little more suited to me, well... then it looks like I'm biting your style for the foreseeable future.  Care to wander the local tailors with me?"

Gabriel nodded noticing how the smaller man looked to be swimming in his duds. "The sooner the better." He said.

Marcus allows himself to reveal his frustration at the command, but Lord Brightblade didn't leave much room for interpretation of his order. "I cannot come with you. My Lord was very clear on his intent, and to ignore his order or be creative with my interpretation of it would be dishonourable. My commander, Lord Brightblade's superior, is the Knight I am really squired to. If I disobey Lord Brightblade it would disgrace him as well as myself and my family. My situation is... slightly unusual. And I must uphold my honour above all else, for their sake."

At the knock on the door, Marcus calls out, "Come in."