The events of the 18th of Granite, 1069
Neo woke with a start, breathing hard. The sudden motion caused a pain to run down through his still-mangled arm, and he moaned softly, adjusting to take the pressure off his shoulder. A scuffing of chair-legs on stone in the darkness of his room caused Neo's blood to turn to ice. Someone cleared their throat.
"Are you awake yet, son?"
Neo relaxed some, moping at his brow with his good hand. "Good grief, Duke Bomrek, what are doing in here at this time of night?"
"Mmm, good, you're up," The Duke said, ignoring the question. A candle was lit, a quick spark from a piece of flint, and in the growing light Neo could see The Duke's face. It was drawn, and sallow, dark bags under his eyes. His beard was more gray than before, the hair hanging limply down to his belly. "We... need to talk, you and I."
"Talk? Talk about what? Can't this wait?"
"You're the cause of a production order violation," The Duke said, his voice grave.
"...What?"
"No flutes were made last season. None at all, can you believe that? Of course you can believe that, you're the cause for it."
Neo stared at him in growing disbelief, struggling to sit up straighter in the bed. The covers had wrapped around him in the night, making movement difficult. With a scraping of the chair, The Duke rose, ambling over to his bedside.
"Guardsmen Kib, Roaroak, Sulari, Archin, Rice, Kuli, they all went out of their way to sell my flutes, but you, much worse, you refused to even make them."
"I'm a soldier, sir. I'm not bothered with the fortress crafts."
"Normally you'd be given a hundred seventy six days in prison to think about your deeds, but...no, can't do that now."
The Duke reached out, and Neo grunted as he fell back, his down pillow yanked out from under him. He heard Duke Bomrek mutter, "No Hammerer, must administer justice myself," before the pillow was pressed over his face.
Minutes passed, with Neo struggling with his one good arm. Eventually he got it free, and beat it against The Duke's arm, his voice muffled, "What are you trying to accomplish? I can breath alright... but this is getting annoying."
"Grrr, just pass away!"
"You're not even covering my mouth, just my eyes and nose!"
The Duke strained to hear something in the hallway, his voice hoarse, "What was that?" The pillow lifted as the door to Neo's room opened, and a mason peeked her head inside. "Elves were spotted coming up the road, we need to get the depot ready for trade."
"Goodness, the last of my flutes... Neo, I'll be back to continue this discussion."
As The Duke swept out, Neo gestured to the mason with his good hand. "Would you find Dojango and Lucy, please? I think I need to talk to them about keeping this door locked."