Piers nodded slightly, his vague expression of kindly interest undisturbed by more inauspicious thoughts. "His loss, I should think," he mused, his brow quirking as though sharing a joke with the knight. Indeed the news was unsurprising, but still provided a certain amount of insight.
"And you are welcome, of course Ser. You and all of the lads who stood fast in the siege... you deserved the recognition. It is a shame that those who fell saw no such reward." A flicker of blue eyes accompanied the bitter thought of that forsaken memorial now looming before the doors of the Orlesian embassy. The Queen might in all other respects be a remarkable politician, but if she'd had any sense at all... ah, well, how could he truly fault her the decision? Piers knew well enough how the love of one's family could make one shortsighted.
"Perhaps a different topic. I am told that your company arrived in Denerim only yesterday, but perhaps you've heard as I have rumors that there was a disturbance in the alienage?" Piers' genial smile grew, sly, knowing.
"It hardly seems that it could be real, such a tale of daring-do. Apparently, so the story goes, a group of vigilantes arrived out of nowhere and broke up a ring of slave traffickers in a single day. Perhaps you might know something about the matter, Ser knight? Mere speculation?"