As he marched into the city of Narsis Alandauron took note that he had no greeting from the guard, they simply allowed him to pass and informed him of where he could find General Talbor. He was puzzled about the greeting, no one treated him with disrespect or gave him sneers, nor did they give him any honors the way a Councilor of one of the Great Houses of Morrowind should be greeted. He shrugged it off thinking that his appearance merely made them more relaxed with their tone toward him. It had been several hard days that they had traveled, from the edge of Cyrodil all the way to the seat of Great House Hlaalu in Narsis. The weather had turned foul on the day prior and without proper gear or extra clothes Alandauron looked and smelled quite foul, he needed to get himself cleaned up before he went before the General.
As Alandauron finished dressing himself following a bath and a shave he searched through the drawers for proper clothing, the only thing that had been provided him in the room was traveling gear, leather and cloth, and a set of rags, this had to be a mistake. He did the best as he could and dressed himself in the traveling gear before heading toward the door. He stepped through the door, closed it behind him and turned to move toward the General's office when he saw General Talbor sitting in the hallway a few paces away.
"General, my apologies if I kept you waiting, serjo." Alandauron gave a slight bow of his head before Idas held up his hand signaling him to relax.
"Walk with me Alandauron."
They walked silently for awhile, Alandauron could tell that Idas was considering how to approach the coming conversation, he had seen this look from the General on many occasions. "General, how have things been since Fort Farragut?"
The General didn't answer immediately and just kept walking for a moment before stopping and turning to Alandauron, "It has been a difficult time for us, my friend. I had to make some...tough decisions for the good of our Great House."
"The trials of a great leader, I'm sure you made the best decisions you were able to." Aladauron smiled slightly hoping to get a smile in return, or anything other than the General's business look. Idas started walking again, remaining quiet until they were outside and no longer in the hallway.
"The Grand Council has decided that my command is going to be changing, no longer will I be leading the same group of Councilors and House members, I am being reassigned. They have also informed me that some of my Councilors have not performed according to Hlaalu standards, specifically in reference to you."
Alandauron stopped in his tracks, what was this he was saying, the Grand Council was saying he was not performing acceptably, it had to be a mistake. Alandauron had been sure to make friends in places to protect his assets and position in the House, surely they had spoke on his behalf.
The General paused for a moment and Alandauron could tell that he made a decision. The General's voice took on the commanding tone it normally had when addressing his Councilors and he turned and looked Alandauron in the eyes, "You have been stripped of your titles and position, your assets have been seized by House Hlaalu, you are no longer affiliated with my command. Should you wish you may remain a member of Hlaalu, but you will hold the title Retainer until you have earned a position within the House again."
Alandauron struggled for a moment to swallow a lump that had suddenly caught in his throat, was this a joke...no the General didn't joke about such matters. He had lost everything, what of his--"Serjo Talbor, what of my holdings, what of the lodge?"
"You have no holdings, everything that you gained through Hlaalu has been stripped and returned to the House." General Talbor leaned in slightly closer and lowered his voice almost to a whisper, "I have done what I can to provide you with enough supplies and funding to live off, someone will meet you later and take you to what I salvaged for you." He raised his voice again before repeating, "You have no holdings!"
Alandauron was still shocked, he had heard the General in regards to doing what he could but still couldn't believe that just like that everything he had worked for, all the power and wealth he had achieved, it was just gone. Alandauron bowed his head slightly and then turned and walked away, not waiting to be dismissed. He had to reach his contacts in Hlaalu and see what they could do for him.
