Audric didn't really care much for drills and for training, but he understood the necessity of it. In the two years he had been back in Allar, Audric had stepped up the training regiment for the palace guards, demanding the men become the best soldiers in the country -- at least, better than most palace guards. The men, without exception, were accustomed to the drills now -- and they knew Audric would make it up to them later while off-duty.
Audric had a fairly good rapport with the men under his command. They respected his experience and leadership, and, although the Connlaothian borders were, by and large, quiet these days, Audric had been in his fair share of scrapes -- both in and out of uniform. On duty, he expected his men to disciplined and to behave as professionals, and off-duty, well -- they were off-duty, and soldiers would be soldiers...and Audric was usually among them. Just as he was the first to leap into the fray should the Duke's personal guards be needed, he was also the first to jump into trouble outside the palace. In other words, he was human -- and that was something the other guards appreciated.
Well, today was no exception. Audric watched the drills with half an eye as the men were put through the paces. Today, they were having a friendly match -- but, ultimately, it came down to seeing who had improved and who had not, who could deliver a killing blow and who could stop one.
Taking a bite of the red apple he had scrounged from the kitchen, Audric turned his head slightly at the sound of hooves entering the courtyard. Guests of all sorts came and went frequently, but Audric had been a soldier too long not to study every man, woman, and child who passed through the gates.
The one thing he was not expecting to see was, of course, a Mordecai. It was bound to mean trouble.
He strode away from the fence post he had been leaning against, moving out into the courtyard to meet the representative of the most elite branch of their nation's military. "Can I help you?" The question was delivered with all the wariness of an on-duty soldier.