Passing through the noble gate Chronos found that the inner city was just as he had seen from the sky. Medium sized mansions with well-kept gardens surrounded by steel spear fences that gave you a good view of the yards.
As the carriage went down the boulevard Chronos was surprised to see bushes shaped like various animals giving the yards some flair. The most common bush animals they saw were horses, but he also saw rabbits, birds and even a fat creature with a long snout that he didn't recognize.
Then they passed by a mansion with a wolf shaped bush in front of it. Looking up he saw a flag flying from its peak with his family's emblem on it. Servants were coming and going from the front door cleaning the mansion to receive a new resident.
"That's a surprise. I didn't think Earl Malric would warn my family's servants that we were here."
"It's not that surprising. Your family is pretty high ranking after all," Gregory responded.
Sariah and Lyla gave them a curious look.
"I know I've lived in Gra Ulv for my entire life, but I've never heard about the Ulv family's rank. They don't care to talk about it much since rank doesn't matter when they're fighting the once a decade beast tides all the time. What rank does the Ulv family have?"
Gregory looked at Chronos who just smiled and shook his head.
"I won't tell."
He didn't want to risk having his friends grow distant once they knew his actual rank. Which greatly annoyed Sariah but Lyla seemed to understand.
The carriage came to a stop in front of a mansion close enough to the assembly hall that it was clear it had influence there but far enough away that it didn't stand out.
It was built with a long central section with two wings, one on each end, and a large back garden that they could partially see from the front of the mansion.
The servants were rushing about; having been told they would be serving an important guest only two hours ago and they still had many preparations to make.
Stepping out of the carriage they were greeted by the head maid standing on the top step. She had tied her graying hair up in a bun, wore bronze spectacles, and had her lips drawn together so tightly that she looked like she was trying to bite her own jaw.
"I do not appreciate sudden drop-ins Young Master Ulv, it stresses out my maids," She said in a no-nonsense tone of voice.
"To be fair, Head Maid Beth, I wasn't planning on coming here without warning, but the earl demanded to see me today," Chronos tentatively said.
"I know, I've already scolded him. Follow me."
Breathing a sigh of relief as the head maid turned around, they followed her into the building.
"Are you really that scared of a head maid?" Lyla teased him.
"Normally no but that woman trained my mother in manners back when she married father. She scares my whole family."
They laughed as they entered the building. They admired the halls and paintings along the way to a plain door on the second floor.
Knock. Knock.
"Enter," the Earl's tired voice echoed from the other side.
Opening the door the head maid gestured for them to enter the room, then bowed and backed out closing the door behind her. The inside of the room was an office with shelves filled with documents, books, and agreements that nobles and merchants had made with the earl.
A weathered desk sat in front of a large window with a short man crouched over it reading the latest reports on the price of grains and trade in the territory. He signed his name to the bottom of the paper before passing it off to a middle-aged butler standing on his right.
"Hello Chronos, it has been a while since we last had a chance to meet."
Earl Malric leaned back into his seat.
"Indeed, if I recall it's been five years since I was last in Malark and there hasn't been a reason for me to return Earl Malric," Chronos said with a smile.
Earl Malric chuckled, "True, I hope Beth didn't give you too much trouble. I still remember when she chased you around threatening to beat the tail off of you for stealing some sweets from the kitchen."
Lyla immediately looked at Chronos with sparkling eyes while Sariah stared at him in shock. Both of them felt like they had been given permission to tease Chronos with this.
Chronos scowled, "I was trying not to remember embarrassing stories."
"My apologies," Earl Malric said as his voice took on a more somber tone. "Now I called you here because I want to hear about what happened with my son."
"Did the Dragon Church not send you a message?"
"They did but I want to hear about it firsthand. I know that you and he never met and not many people had a good opinion of him, but I didn't think that he would be foolish enough to get himself killed like this. Please sit and tell me about it."
The earl gestured at the chairs and couches across from his desk and waited for them.
"I understand."
Taking a seat Chronos began telling the earl about the first time they had met Roland and the resulting beating he had taken. Then the second time they had met and how he had seemed different at that time, but Chronos hesitated to continue when it came to Roland acting like he had been possessed.
Even if he had long since grown up and left the house it couldn't be easy for a father to find out about his son's misdeeds or hear about his end.
Earl Malric let out a long sigh, "Haaah, then he lost control to the drug and went on a rampage where he had to be stopped, right?"
"Yes, I'm sorry for your loss."
Silence descended on the room as Earl Malric became lost in his memories.
Finally, he spoke again, "Then how do you think we should tell others about my son's death? You know how the nobility likes to gossip."
He was oddly calm when talking about his own child's death, but when you were a part of the nobility it wasn't strange for your loved ones to get caught up in shady matters.
The most important thing in cases like this was to spin the tale so that it wouldn't bring shame to your family or put those still alive at risk.
"I think we can tell others that Roland was given the drug against his will and lost control. I was the only one there at the time so other than me only the priests of order would even know that we're lying. And I doubt they will do anything about it."
"That should work but we'll need to confirm the details before we go to the luncheon I've prepared."
"Of course, now..."
For the next hour until they were called for lunch, they worked on the details and answers to possible questions they would be asked.