He wore a thick, heavy cloak, knitted from Frostwolf pelts, it was pure white, and shimmered faintly under the firelight.
Across his back laid a longbow carved from darkwood.
But it was the Vyrestone short sword that hung at his hip that always caught everyone's attention.
From what Thalos was told, the sword was one of the last relics from before Frosthelm, forged by the dwarves.
The sword's bluish metallic surface reflected the light around it. And as the light caught Thalos's eye a shiver ran down his spine.
As soon as Marta saw him, her smile came back.
"Good! You're here," Her voice was sharp, and it snapped everyone back to the moment.
She turned to the others in the hall and pointed her cane at them.
"I told you! I told you all this would happen! If we leave troublemakers unpunished it will get worse! It's stealing now, are you all going to wait until they put us all in danger!?"
She took a breath in, but she wasn't done. "We should have been harsher on them months ago! But no, they are just kids. They will grow up. Let them have fun!"
She mocked Jorren's and Haldor's voices.
Jorren gave a long sigh and put his face into his palm. Haldor didn't move, but he also didn't say anything.
"So what? Now that Eryndor is here, you both look a lot less amused!" Marta was turning on everyone.
Eryndor hadn't moved. He didn't look at Marta, she was still going on, wanting him to take her side. But he didn't.
Instead His eyes scanned everyone in the Great Hall. He saw Thalos, Orin, and Elara, further in, Brynn and Garrick, he clearly interrupted something.
He took a step closer to Thalos.
Thalos didn't move. He didn't want to move. He was looking at the ground ever since Eryndor entered, and he could see from the corner of his eye that Orin and Elara were avoiding him too.
Elara was usually stubborn and proud, She never backed down from an adult and she would usually look them right in their eyes.
But when it came to Eryndor she dared not even look in his direction.
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and his hands grew colder from a cold sweat that was forming under his gloves.
"Again?" A single word, that was all, and it made Thalos's whole body flinch.
He didn't sound angry, just disappointed. Orin and Elara didn't move either. All three of them stayed silent, trying to avoid looking at him.
Eryndor's eyes narrowed at the group letting the silence linger for a moment longer.
"Tell me, What happened this time?"
Brynn and Garrick exchanged a glance, but they didn't dare step in.
Thalos bit his lip softly, debating if he should explain everything or stay silent. No one spoke for what felt like minutes.
"Come now, Eryndor," Haldor said, stepping forward "It's not as though they burned down the village."
He was talking slowly, being very cautious with every word.
"Children often cause trouble, that's what they do, It's all harmless fun. I recall a certain hunter who wasn't exactly a saint when he was younger."
Eryndor looked down at Haldor "This isn't about harmless trouble"
Eryndor paused for a moment, looking back at Thalos. "Would you be saying the same, If one day their 'harmless' fun got someone hurt?"
Haldor stepped back slowly, he wasn't scared or afraid, but he wasn't going to fight either. Marta nodded in agreement with Eryndor.
"Exactly, being reckless puts everyone at risk, we have rules for a reason, and if we don't punish them now it will only get worse."
Marta started to tap her cane on the floor. "Maybe a night alone in the forest would do them go…"
She never finished her sentence, for the first time since he entered, he looked at her. It wasn't a look of agreement, he didn't look happy.
She shut her mouth mid sentence and took a step back. Eryndor turned back to Thalos.
"So, Thalos, Tell me what happened."
Thalos clenched his hands into fists. There was no way out of this, everyone was watching, and they wanted an answer.
"We were just playing around, we weren't going to steal anything." His voice came soft and shaky, he knew the moment he said it… It did not sound believable.
"Th.. The blacksmith left early and we were just goi…"
Eryndor lifted his brow. "Going to what? Take his stuff?"
Thalos Flinched, but he kept talking. "No, it wasn't like that, we were just bored, and we wanted to see if we could get inside."
Thalos looked back down, there was no reply, but he could feel Eryndor's eyes judging him. He waited for him to talk, for a scolding, but it was just silence.
Then the doors to the Great Hall swung open again. Thalos snapped his head up.
The man who stepped inside did not announce himself. He was broad shouldered, his hands blistered and calloused from years of leatherworking, his face was stern and serious.
He didn't look at anyone in the room. His gaze looked over the hunters, over Thalos, and stopped directly on Garrick.
The moment his eyes met Garrick's, Thalos saw him shrink, his hands dug deep into his cloak, his back slouched, and saw his knees wobble. It was the only time he had ever seen Garrick look so small.
Thalos had never liked Hendrick and always seeing Garrick this way only deepened that feeling.
Hendrick walked into the Hall, he didn't talk to the elders, didn't greet the hunters, he walked straight to Eryndor, They exchanged a quick word.
Whatever was said, it was brief, Eryndor gave him a small nod. And Hendrick grabbed Garrick by the collar and dragged him out.
Garrick let out a groan, but he didn't resist, he didn't try to make excuses, or to plead with his father. That wasn't how things were with Hendrick.
And just as fast as the man came, he was gone.
Eryndor softly shook his head in disappointment, then looked through the Great Hall, until he saw Brynn.
She was still leaning casually against the wall, but when she met his gaze she straightened up ever so slightly.
Thalos could see the shift in her stance, The way she started twirling her hair in her fingers.
Brynn watched as he slowly walked over to where she was, She tried her best to ignore him. To stay casual. But the truth was, that Eryndor was the only adult Brynn didn't want to go up against.
He stood there in front of her for a moment. Then he finally spoke.
"This was your idea again? Wasn't it?"
She could have lied, could have denied it. Played innocent like she has so many times before.
But she wasn't stupid. She knew he wasn't actually asking her. She took a deep breath, and smiled.
"Well someone has to keep things fun around here"
Eryndor looked at her for another moment and turned back toward Thalos.
Brynn wasn't sure, but she always felt Eryndor respected her for not backing down.
She wasn't afraid of him. Never tried to avoid him, but she did respect him.
"Come" were the last words Eryndor said to Thalos before he started leaving.
He took a few steps toward the door and turned back.
Orin was still standing there almost motionless.
Elara was still standing next to him. She had an annoyed look on her face, she was getting inpatient. She wanted to leave just as much as Thalos did.
Thalos paused for a moment longer before turning back toward the entrance.
"Coming, Father"