Alvon appeared on the scene looking as though he'd just run from the west shore of the world, heaving with red-faced annoyance and anger and... sadness. It lingered in his eyes, where Skandra thought he could see it for a moment. Then it was gone. The only thing it left behind were questions. Clearly Alvon had not enjoyed his duty. Clearly it was also his duty. But he clapped one of the pikemen on the shoulder with alacrity, and spoke in that barrel-chested bass which probably served a company commander well.
"Stand down," said Alvon, his voice ragged now from exertion instead of simple age. "Back to your posts, men. All of you."
They did not hesitate in following the order. Skandra didn't think he would either, not after a prince challenged him to run aforementioned prince through the belly with a spear. Not the sort of thing you thought soldiering was all about. Then again, Skandra did not know what kind of concept these men had of soldiering aside from the obvious. Maybe it was normal to wrestle with princes in the hallway. None of this made any damn sense. Pathacles was a traitor, but his brother loved him fiercely enough to fight the entire damn castle. Skandra let go of Ithacles' boot with a thousand-yard stare. If Ithacles attacked there was nothing much to be done about it save try to trip him up again, but Skandra still had to spit a mouthful of blood onto stone. Alvon gave him a hideously judgmental glare before his eyes went back to Ithacles. That old face softened, if such a thing were possible.
"His Majesty Ithunvel does not believe it any more than you, my Prince," and Alvon took a knee before Ithacles. "But before we said anything to you, we wanted to be sure. We tried so very hard to be sure. Either way, my Lord, but we did not... we could not... I would never utter Prince Pathacles' name in vain, my Prince. If you want my life for any insult that I've offered, I will give it to you on the instant. But before you ask, my Prince, hear what ... what I must tell you. Please, my Lord."
Skandra thought he'd been about to say 'what Lethe should have told you'. A dirty trick from the oldest of them. Because she couldn't name Pathacles a traitor - or suspected traitor - to Ithacles' face, or because she'd known that her brother would react this way? Alvon had efficiency and energy as his allies, but not the silver tongue that could keep things like this from happening. It should have been Lethe, and he could not help but think of her as coward no matter what her reasons were. Alvon must have known it too, but judging by the lengths to which he appeared to be willing to go it was also a duty that he threw himself into wholeheartedly - regardless of the talents that he might have lacked.
And given Ithacles' temper, Skandra could not know if he would want the poor man's head or not.
Instead the Immortal stayed where he was, and said nothing. Ithacles wouldn't want sympathy, or see anything else if Skandra tried to give it. So instead he stayed quiet.