InsaneJournal

Thread: Guarding Silence
Who: Declan Gallagher, Emil Asmundr
Where: Vigil's Keep
When: 1 Solis
Summary: Dec is keeping watch in a quiet, uneventful corner of the Keep when one of the new Warden transfers stumbles upon him.
Rating: PG

Declan enjoyed being a guard at Vigil's Keep. He'd been honored to spend the last five years in the service of the Warden Commander, protecting those who lived and worked within the Keep while still granting aid to the nearby city of Amaranthine. After all, that was still his home. He enjoyed the quiet patrols at night, the training sessions during the day with the other guards. Sometimes the Warden Commander or one of the other Wardens would be present. Sometimes he would get to test his mettle against those who were warriors of legend. He felt honored for the mere chance to serve. He often wondered what it would be like to be a member of the Order, to be enfolded within an privileged brotherhood of fighters.

Today he was assigned to the battlements for his first watch, or more particularly a tower near the southeast wall. A boring job it could be, since this particular tower overlooked the cliffs below, that no fool would dare to scale in an assault. Still, it was important that it be patrolled the same as any other part of the Keep. And so Declan would spent a good amount of time pacing the top of the tower, scanning from the high windows and to the Keep down below. In the distance the tournament was going on, but he couldn't see any of the action from here. He heard the occasional cheer, the faint sound of metal ringing as sword struck.

After pacing the large room at the top he'd take the winding staircase down, patrol the outer perimeter of the tower and then go back up the steps to begin again. It was a boring and repetitive job, and Dec much preferred the days when he walked the battlements near the front gate or patrolled the grounds to mingle with the workers and visitors. He almost, almost preferred the days he was stuck in the Keep's throne room, the place where the Seneschal and the Warden Commander would hear complaints from all the nobles who paid tribute to Amaranthine. He had a hard time not rolling his eyes every time one of those stuffed shirts whined about where their money was being spent, or demanded something from the Warden Commander. As if he did not have enough to contend with. That was insufferable, but at least it wasn't boring.

When Dec alighted the last step to the top once more he sighed and leaned his forearms against the edge of one of the open windows, staring out at the city beyond the Keep's walls.