OPENING CRAWL

When the High Priest came to the crypt, his hands covered in blood, you knew.

"Is it Lionel?" you ask.

High Priest Willow nods, distracted, still in shock from what he has seen.  "Not Lionel.  Hadrien is King."

You had pictured the day when Lionel would take the iron fist for himself.  You close your eyes, contemplating how much more distant that day has become.

"What brings you to the crypt?" asks the Priest.

"Honoring the fallen," you respond, indicating the tomb of your mother.

Before the priest is the inset where Hadrien's statue will stand.  Here, his tomb awaits with an open top.  When Hadrien is dead, he will come here.  Lionel's tomb sits next to it.

The priest wavers in front of Hadrien's tomb.  He pulls a bloody hand from the stained folds of his robe, and gingerly deposits it in the tomb.

"The succession ceremony is gruesome, isn't it?" asks Lionel's voice.  Willow jumps as Lionel emerges from the shadows.

"Your Highness…" High Priest Willow sputters, fear in his voice.

"There you are, High Priest," says Lionel.  "I have finally found you."

"Found me?" he says, confused.  "You are a wanted man, Highness, not me."

Lionel rests his hand on the hilt of his sword.  "Whose hand was removed first?  My brother Hadrien's?  Or the iron fist of my father?"

"I… I took Hadrien's hand," says the High Priest.  "In full view of the court."

"Where is the iron fist?" demands Lionel.

"The iron fist rests in the Reliquary, where my acolytes had the tools to remove it from your father.  Hadrien's footmen have been sent to retrieve--"

Lionel draws his sword and runs Willow through.  The High Priest lets out a surprised gurgle.

Lionel turns to you.  "We cannot let Hadrien take my father's iron fist.  If he rules, he would tear down everything my family has built."  Lionel cleans his sword on the priest's robes.

"Then we must go to the Reliquary," you tell him.

"No," responds Lionel, sheathing his blade.  "I will go to the Reliquary.  I know the passages of the palace better than my brother.  I can evade his patrols.  You must leave now, through the front gates.  With luck, he will not have you apprehended."

"And what happens after I leave the city?"

"Return to your keep and muster as many soldiers as you can," Lionel says grimly.  "I will explain more when I can.  Wait there for further instructions." He hands you an amulet through which he may communicate with you, and runs off toward the Reliquary.