Too Late

"I'm afraid not, Father," Brother Stephen replied. "The Palace Guard got there before us, and took them into custody. We were just in time to get a glimpse of the two as they were hustled away. They had regained consciousness by then. They both looked human enough, as far as we could tell. They both appeared quite young, perhaps in their early to mid twenties. The man is quite tall and well-built. He was wearing a full suit of knight's armour, of a very strange design. From the way he was stretching his arms out in front of him, as if he was feeling his way, we formed the impression that he might be blind. Brother Richard, who has the keenest eyes of the three of us, thinks that his eyebrows showed signs of having been burnt, so perhaps he had been in a fire."

"Or had come from the flames of Hell itself!" interjected Brother Thomas.

Brother Stephen glared at him, not appreciating being interrupted, and went on: "The woman is very beautiful, though her hair looked rather frizzy, as if it had been scorched. She had a cloak from one of the guards wrapped around her, but we could see that her arms and legs were bare, which would tie in with what the boy said about her having been naked. The remains of chains were attached to her wrists.

"From questioning the crowd, we learnt that the man had only recently calmed down. Before that, he had been ranting and waving his sword about, so that they feared for their lives. One onlooker claimed that he had been heard to say: 'Have at thee, vile scum! I'll cut your heart out, you insidious serpent!' Others said that they had heard him mention a dragon. Apparently, although he spoke Allarian, his accent was strange, and they could not recognise one or two of the words that he used."

"Thank you," Father Benedict said. "Though it is unfortunate that you could not get there in time to speak to the man and woman yourselves, you have done well. No doubt they will be held in the palace dungeon, whilst the Guard decides what is to be done with them. I shall speak to their captain, and ask if I may be allowed to interrogate them."

1. Father Benedict was allowed to have a brief session with Fred and Irena.
2. The White Hand was too distrusted for Father Benedict's request to be acceded to.
3. Father Benedict was allowed to see the newcomers, but only in the presence of the guard captain.

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