Ser Arlan was dead. And Duncan? Well, he was screwed. The man knelt beside the newly dug grave, throwing handfuls of earth over the body of what had once been his greatest companion in life. Arlan had given him a decent life – as much as possible – teachings – as much as possible – and... Well, that was it. That was enough.

He cautiously examined all his possessions: the clothes he was already wearing, the simple shield, the three horses – if he sold them he would eat well, but he liked their company – and Arlan's old sword. The math was easy in his mind; a shield, a sword... and damn, he was a huge man. So he would participate and win the next tournament! Duncan laughed like a court jester alone in the middle of that dense forest.

-- Just imagine! – he said to the horses. – I can be a knight in King's Landing when they notice my talent, don't you think? – The animals snorted in unison, making the man roll his eyes. – Right. I should have sold you guys.

From where he was to the tournament camp it would take some days of riding, and he was genuinely tired of sleeping under trees, getting rained on, and being bitten by annoying mosquitoes. So he decided he deserved to sleep at least one night in some inn, even if it meant spending the rest of the money he had. He found the perfect establishment a few hours later, the sun was already setting painting the skies in shades of orange. Duncan was greeted by a cheeky bald little boy who swore to take good care of the horses – and he trusted, handing over the reins of the animals to him, entering the establishment soon after. And... empty? The man thought he was hallucinating, until the corpulent woman appeared with that maternal tone that every innkeeper has.

"Don't worry big boy, everyone disappeared for the tournament, silly youngsters playing knight's. Will you stay the night?"

Duncan's blue eyes stared intently at her as he tried to come up with any answer that would sound less... embarrassing given his situation as a young man who also wanted to play the knight.

-- I... Well. Yeah. Yes, yes. One night.

The woman mumbled something in agreement and called out for her daughter.

"Alright, alright. I need to take care of some business, but rest assured you'll be well taken care of. And don't let the bald kid try to win you over with his smooth talk."

She simply disappeared through the door. Duncan's lips moved in a "What the hell?" way, but the sound of footsteps descending the stairs completely stole his focus, making him turn to face whoever was going to attend to him and... He froze. Spending a good part of his life with a grumpy knight definitely hadn't prepared him to deal with girls.

-- Good evening, I'm...Dunk.

He blinked a few times, shaking his head in disagreement with himself; true knight's don't use nicknames.

-- Ser Duncan. – he corrected.