Stephen and his friends sat around a fire and tasted some of the rum that was stashed away in the main house. The stories were detailed and not meant for the faint of heart as they recounted their adventures of the past few years. The tenor of the moment changed when one of the men mentioned staying in the Castle of a dead knight. Stephen quickly stated, "My father is not dead, so get that through your thick skull!" Almost in unison they chimed back, "Come on that song is a bit old." Stephen glared as he continued. "A body .. where? A grave .. where? That man was a wizard at escaping and besides who in their right mind believed 3 men could down him so easily? So until I have proof he isn't dead!" The other men just nodded knowing the futility of their words against this man's head.
Stephen spent the rest of the night brooding over that simple question. "Is he dead or alive?" He had spent the last year retracing the so called final days of his father and not one person could definitely say they saw he fall. Most were surprised that he was thought of as dead. So until then Stephen would not believe.
The rest of the night passed as the jug's journey was mostly circular around the fire. Stephan passed out about midnight and his companions weren't far behind.
The morning sun found the men fast asleep on the ground and their mouths drier than the dirt they ate in their stupor. Stephan finally stood to his feet and staggered to the well where he took a bath with his clothes still on. The coldness of the water revived him quickly and he finished his little escapade by just sitting there with his arms on the trough sides and his head resting on the back end. His final act was to wash the sword slowly examining every inch of it as he did. "Stephan, there is too much blood on that sword to ever come clean! One of the men hollered." Stephan looked at him and then returned to finish the task he started.
After getting out of the trough he managed to create quite a muddy spot as he waited for the water to fall off. His long locks of hair were all askew but quickly returned to their place as he swiped his hand through them. The morning sun quickly dried the tunic and his hair. Stretching, Stephan announced that tomorrow they would start their business here. One of the men sitting there sharpening his dagger smiled at the thought of action.