Stoic: That was when we heard the announcement. Volrath was dead.
(long pause)
Stoic: Truth be told, our knighthood was holding its own. The combination of combat skills, magic and our diverse membership was just as potent as we had hoped. We might have won that battle…but without him, we just…gave up. I looked around and saw my companions drop their weapons. The Solendians looked quite relieved.
(pause)
Stoic: I had written off our conversation the night before as just nervousness. But he knew…somehow.
(pause)
Stoic: For all the things we had said about the Solendians, they were not total barbarians. Once we surrendered, they brought the fight to an end. They knew enough to realize that this conflict had done enough damage to their reputation, they weren’t about to make it worse by striking unarmed soldiers. Our weapons were taken from us, and we were dismissed like children who had misbehaved. Completely humiliating, but we had more to worry about than pride.
(pause)
Stoic: Something inside all of us died that day. We believed that if we just trusted in the inherent strength of our ideals, that would be enough to get us past all the obstacles in our way. Now we all knew how foolish that was. All of the virtue in the world didn’t change the fact that Volrath was dead…that too many of our allies had joined him…and that we had failed.
(Back to the present. They’re in front of the castle. Shroud is looking away from the others)
Stoic: And it all happened right here in this castle.
Baron: Damn…your eye! That must have hurt like crazy!
Stoic: To be honest, I forgot it had even happened once I heard the news.
(Baron looks at Shroud)
Baron: Shroud, are you crying?
(Shroud jumps)
Shroud: No!
Baron: But how did Volrath die? You made him sound like a one-man army!
Stoic: It was his advisor, Sandrahar.
Laurel: He had manipulated Volrath from the beginning. Saw his anger at Arcadius and fanned those flames in order to suit his own purpose.
Stoic: I see Dasani made sure you were well-read. Yes, that was the situation. Sandrahar convinced Volrath that if they combined their skills, they could cast a powerful spell that would draw upon Perditia’s dark strength. He promised Volrath this power would give him the strength to crush the Solendians for good.
(pause)
Stoic: He had been inside the castle the entire battle…fighting off a group of warriors who had teamed with the knighthood. One of them was a childhood friend…in that way, it was almost exactly like Enkur and me. But they didn’t want him dead, they just wanted to stop him from casting that spell.
Shroud: Did they cast it?
Stoic: They did…just as it was complete, Sandrahar turned on Volrath. He wanted the power for himself. Somehow the others in the castle were able to defeat him.
(pause)
Stoic: I didn’t even find any of this out until almost a year after the battle.
Baron: It goes to show….pick your friends carefully!
Shroud: Is the necromancer we’re after trying to get his hands on whatever power that elf found?
Stoic: ….Believe it or not, I hope that’s what he’s doing. But if it’s what I fear, then it’s much worse.