Early morning in Caerleon was the perfect time to catch the market.
A farmer who had only recently entered the city, hoping to take the opportunity to sell the produce he had grown, suddenly remembered something and asked his two companions:
"Did you see the notice posted in the city yesterday?"
"What notice?"
One companion looked puzzled.
"The one in the upper-left corner of the notice board by the gate we just passed."
"No idea."
But the other companion was better informed:
"Oh, I know. It's about the Ninth Round Table, right? Palamedes, I think his name was."
"Palamedes? Wasn't that knight always independent? How did he suddenly become one of the king's Round Table knights?"
More and more people arrived for the morning market, and passersby grew interested when they overheard the conversation.
"No idea. Hopefully he didn't get in through family connections."
"How could he? With the Black Dog Duke around, useless freeloaders can't sneak into the Round Table."
For some reason, "Black Dog Duke," a derogatory title first used among the nobility to mock Sovell for keeping company with a monster like Barghest, had gradually become a complimentary nickname among the common people.
"True. Lord Sovell is every bit as capable as the other Round Table knights, and His Majesty has given him an extraordinary amount of authority, yet he holds the very last seat, the fourteenth. It really is strange."
As they talked, the conversation drifted from Palamedes to Sovell.
For instance...
"He's talented, but His Majesty dislikes him."
Or...
"His Majesty favors him, but can't spoil him too much out of consideration for the other Round Table knights."
Or even...
"The other Round Table knights are shutting him out."
Everyone freely offered guesses along those lines.
Eventually, someone even said:
"Did the Black Dog Duke