To Alderic's relief, the elf remained surprisingly upbeat and agreeable about all this suspicion and hassle. It as good of her to be so polite under the circumstances, and Alderic found himself immensely grateful that she was bearing this unpleasant business with grace. If she truly weren't a mage, he hoped she would understand the necessity of pursuing the matter. If she was... Maker bless it, wouldn't it be nice, just once, if the whole mess could be handled civilly? If they could sit down and discuss what must be done like rational adults, instead of slinging spells and blades? He wouldn't hold his breath, but it was such a nice thought.
The unnamed Dwarf's muttering following the elf's response escaped Alderic, his attention diverted by the stern human woman. "Well met," he supplied politely in return, mulling over Nilas' comments about her lady's temper with wry amusement. As of the last couple of days, he supposed he could sympathize with what it was like to have an irritable noble on your case. "Please," he added, directing this as much to the pair of strangers at the bar as well as this Ranger, "this way."
He threaded his way across the room, doing his consciously polite best not to be conspicuous about keeping an eye on the elf lest she try to slip out the door rather than follow. As important as it was for him to understand what had happened, neither did he wish to make her feel persecuted. In this effort, he looked down at Rhocanth as he walked and commented idly, "I haven't been up yet, have you? I don't even know which rooms are supposed to be ours." If the Ledaals were up there already, and the Enchanter, surely they must know. Constans had been the one assigned to procure their rooms in the first place. Alderic just hesitated to risk the Bann's ire by, say, asking the Tranquil a simple question. Maker forbid.
He tromped up the stairs (wooden, and didn't he always feel a little nervous when stairs like this creaked under the weight of his armor) and across the landing, entering a dimly lit hallway. His pace faltered a second later as he realized what he was looking at. In the center of the hall, just outside the closest door on the right-hand side, the unmoving bodies of two men lay piled haphazardly, one atop the other.