I reported back to King Helseth with the information. Strangely, he didn't seem that surprised.

"Yes, I expected you would find out as much." he said, stroking his chin. "Other sources of mine indicate the same thing, and that the attempt will be made tomorrow night. Our mother must be protected at all costs, but I do not wish to tip my hand to these assassins. Here is how we will protect Barenziah: It would be unwise to station more guards outside her doors, as that would alert the killers to our knowledge. Better to catch them in the act. One of our Royal Guards could be involved in this attempt, so they will be kept occupied elsewhere. You will stay in the antechamber outside our mother's chambers tomorrow evening, and deal with these assassins when they arrive. Close the door behind you, and hide behind the screens, so as not to alert them to your presence. Meantime, find out whatever else you can.

After acknowledging the king's instructions, I went for the queen's quarters and reported the information to her.

She was saddened by the news, but was grateful that I was going to be the one to protect her.

I asked other people in Mournhold about any rumors they might know about, but there was nothing to be had concerning an attempt on the queen's life.

I took the rest of the evening off, and slept late into the day. I would be up all night, and wanted to be as alert as possible.

I had some eggs for dinner, then headed back to the palace for 'guard duty'.

I arrived at the place and headed straight for the queen's antechamber. I stuck my head in to her room to let her know I was here. She thanked me for personally taking care of her safety.

It was 9 PM. There was a chair behind the screen, so I sat down and waited for the assassins to arrive.

It was 2 or 3 AM when I finally heard a door creaking open. Quickly, I jumped out of the chair, and into attack position. There, I found one of the assassins half-way into the room, and two more just inside the doorway.

"Ha!" shouted the closest one, "Now, you die!"

Grabbing a sword, he charged to attack me.     

He tried swinging at me with his sword, but he hadn't counted upon the Ring of Leaches that I hit him with.

He began dying immediately.

His two companions, seeing that I had the upper hand, decided to come to his aid.

As each of them struck me with poisoned daggers, I responded with yet another hit from the Rings of Leaches, and finally, Dracula's Ring, restoring my own heath with their own.

Within moments, the battle was over, and I was the victor over 3 assassins.

I called to the queen, letting her know I had won, and that everything was ok now. Of course, she was happy to hear that piece of news.

Helseth was happy to hear that the queen had been protected so well.

"You were able to hold off the assassins. Interesting." he said, stroking his chin again. "Perhaps the threat was not as great as it seemed. We commend you. Take this as a show of our appreciation. We are impressed with your efforts so far."

He gave me an artifact called "Helseth's Collar". I would check it out later to see what enchantment it contained.

"By your actions so far, you have proven yourself to be both strong and loyal to our throne. It is now time for you to prove yourself to me. Personally. I have plans for you, Eldorf Dragonmeal, and it is almost time they were put into motion."

"I was under the impression that this is what I had been doing all this time." I said, in a half-joking tone. I don't know if the got the joke or not.

"I require all those close to me to be powerful, able to defend me from any adversary." he replied. He pointed to one of his guards nearby. "Perhaps you have met my personal bodyguard, Karrod? He is a perfect example: The finest fighter I have met in all my travels, and loyal to me to the death."

"I have not met him personally, but I have seen him here constantly." I replied.

Helseth seemed proud of this champion, walking over to him, patting him on the shoulder, gaining a smile from Karrod's silent form in reply. "I met him many years ago, a deaf and dumb child wandering the streets of Wayrest. The boy actually had the audacity to try and rob my stepsister, Elysana. I marveled at his courage, and took him into my employ. When a dog has been beaten, Eldorf, it will lick the hand of one who feeds it even the most meager of scraps. Now, he is my most loyal of servants, and one of my most deadly."

Helseth came back to me, looked me directly in the eye, and continued, "I wish for you to fight my champion."

"Fight him?" I asked.

"That is correct." he replied. "I have come to know you a bit, Eldorf the Wise. I believe you can be of some use to me. But the plans I have will require someone of great strength or wit. Perhaps both. The time has come for you to prove this to me. You will return here tomorrow, and you will duel Karrod. If you are able to defeat him, we will discuss my plans for you."

Naturally, Helseth didn't say what would happen if I wasn't able to defeat Karrod.

Helseth sent me home to rest of for tomorrow's duel.

I thought of several spells that should be used, but I wouldn't want any of the other guards or the king to be affected by their blast radius.

I considered using the Ring of Weapons, but didn't know if that would be enough.

Decisions, decisions. I would have to sleep on it and hope I had the correct answer in the morning.