"Seamus Gavin! I thought I heard you out here. We'd almost given up on you," Lady Meredith Turningdale chuckled as she helped the elderly merchant from Palanthas to rise.
He patted her arm and sighed. "There never is enough time in the day, Lady Meredith. If it's not one thing, it's another. I don't know how I manage. Thank you. You are so very kind," he said as she gathered his papers and books and carried them in a stack into the library. "Just set that anywhere. I'll sort it out after I catch my breath."
As he entered, some of the other Knights in the library greeted him cordially, and he smiled and nodded to each in turn. Quintayne Fogorner poured him a glass of brandy, while Liam Ehrling offered him the largest and most comfortable chair nearest the fire. Meanwhile, Lady Meredith introduced him to the other Knights, the ones he didn't know. These men and women were not Knights of Solamnia. They wore the dreaded symbols of the Knights of Takhisis. He shook hands with Lord Tohr Malen and Alya Starblade, and with the queer-looking dark elven Knight, Sir Valian Escu. Last of all, he met a Knight robed all in gray; Trevalyn Kesper was his name, but this man declined to offer his hand in greeting. Instead, he shot Seamus a look of appalled indignation and returned his attention to the book in his lap. With an icy glare at the Knight, Meredith pulled Seamus away and settled him into a chair by the fire.
"We were just discussing what the Knighthood should be called, now that our two grand orders are to be joined," Lady Meredith said to Seamus.
"Is that so?" Seamus said pleasantly. "And what have you decided?"
"Nothing as yet. Sir Quintayne and many others believe it should remain the Knights of Solamnia, but Lord Tohr is against this. He believes Gunthar's intention was that the two orders of Knighthood should merge, not that one should absorb the other," Meredith said.
"Yes, but as the new Knights of Solamnia. Greater, stronger, more powerful than before," Quintayne said.
"Then why not call it the Knights of Takhisis?" Alya asked as she smiled over the rim of her wine glass. "What difference would it make?"
"For one thing, Takhisis abandoned Krynn, along with all the other gods, during the Chaos War," Quintayne answered. "For another, she is anathema to our order."
This was followed by tense silence.
"How can we be called the Knights of Solamnia if we represent all the peoples of Krynn?" Alya argued smoothly.
"We were named not after a land, but after the founder of our order, Vinus Solamnus," Quintayne said.
"Our founder was Lord Ariakan. Perhaps we should call ourselves the Knights of Ariakan," she countered.
"Perhaps Lord Gunthar had some ideas about what we should call ourselves," Lord Tohr said.
"Sir Liam would know," Meredith said.
Liam sat in his chair and stared into the fire, looking very tired. The others had noticed the dark circles under his eyes; they hadn't been there before Lord Gunthar's death. It seemed some terrible burden was wearing him down. In the days since the hunt, he had hardly touched his food. No one had even seen him until the day of the funeral, and since then his every attempt to be sociable ended in weary sighs. His voice seemed strained, when he bothered to speak at all.
" I… " he began, then sighed.
"Sir Liam will know shortly," Seamus interrupted. "Lord Gunthar left a scroll with me, which he directed be given to Sir Liam, should the unexpected occur. Well, as we all know, and to our everlasting sorrow, the unexpected has occurred, and that is why I have called you together this evening. Thank you all for coming."
He stood and moved behind the table where Meredith had laid his papers and books. "Lord Gunthar left his will and other important documents with me, the executor of his estate," he said as he shuffled through the papers. "He was not survived by any blood relatives, so he directed that you all be present at the reading of his will. Ah, here it is! Now what did I do with that-ah, there. Now then. Where was I? Oh yes! The scroll for Liam." He shuffled through all the papers again, then searched his portfolio. With a worried look, he patted his pockets, then with a triumphant smile he produced the scroll and handed it to Liam. Liam unrolled it and scanned its contents while Seamus moved on.
Seamus returned to his chair and from a case at his belt removed a quill and a small bottle of ink. He spread a sheet of parchment across his knee, dipped the quill in the ink bottle, and said, "Now then, so everything is nice and legal, let's see…" He squinted and began to write, slowly voicing each word he penned. "Gunthar uth Wistan, Knight of Solamnia, Grand Master. Of Sancrist Isle, Castle uth Wistan." Satisfied, he leaned back and dipped his quill in the ink.
"We must write it all down for the ages. Cause of death?"
"Wounds suffered in battle with a wild boar, exposure, and old age in general," Meredith answered wearily. "He shouldn't have been out there in the first place, at his age," she mumbled.
"Yes, but could you have stopped him?" Quintayne asked.
"Death by misadventure," Seamus wrote aloud. "Now then, I assume the body was examined in the usual manner-by a cleric recognized and acknowledged by the Order of the Sword?"
"As Lord High Clerist, I speak for them," Meredith said. "There were no clerics available, other than the Lady Crysania, and she could hardly be expected to pronounce the cause of death."
"There were witnesses to the tragedy then?" Seamus asked.
"There were no witnesses," Meredith answered.
"Then who… ?" Seamus asked.
"I determined the cause of death!" came the answer from the corner. Trevalyn Kesper rose from his seat and crossed to the fireplace.
"You?" Seamus exclaimed. He turned an incredulous glance upon Lady Meredith. She shrugged.
"Sir Trevalyn was a cleric of Takhisis before he joined the Order of the Thorn. His investiture is still recognized by the Knights of the Skull," Tohr said.
"But this… this is irregular," Seamus stammered. "There is no precedent."
"There is no precedent for any of this, Seamus," Meredith said. "We live in unprecedented times. But the Knights of the Sword have agreed to recognize Sir Trevalyn's authority in this matter."
Seamus scratched his head. "Well, I suppose it will have to do," he muttered, "if Sir Trevalyn will sign his name here."
With indifference, the gray-robed Thorn Knight placed his mark on Seamus's document. "And Lady Meredith, sign here to signify your acceptance of his judgment." She signed where he indicated.
"Now two witnesses," he said.
With a heavy heart, Liam also signed his name at the bottom of the paper. Seamus sprinkled sand on the ink, then turned to await the final witness. No one seemed willing to volunteer. It was as though by not signing the death certificate, they might prolong the day when they must finally accept the reality of Gunthar's death. When no one else seemed ready to step forward, Valian Escu rose from his seat.
"I'll witness it," he said.
Seamus did not at first seem willing to hand over the quill. Then Meredith whispered, "We are all one Knighthood now, Seamus." With obvious reluctance, he finally allowed Valian to sign. That accomplished, Valian returned to his seat and drank deeply of a glass of pale white wine. Seamus spread the document on a side table to allow the ink to dry thoroughly.
"Well, now we can begin with the will," he said as he shuffled more papers and set them aside, holding out one and spreading it on his lap. "Are we ready?"
"Yes," Meredith answered.
"I, Gunthar uth Wistan, being of sound mind and body, do hereby acknowledge and authorize Seamus Gavin of Palanthas to execute my wishes in regards to my estate and properties, as described below."
"To the Knights of Solamnia, all properties and treasures in my holding shall be returned according to those amounts set forth in the Measure, except for the following as noted below."