Tombstone of Flames (1)

The nobles cheer the Band of the Falcon, with only Griffith's few enemies staying quiet: the resentful lords, Owen and Laban, and the Queen of Midland, who privately reflects that his death is near at hand. In a far corner, Minister Foss stands with two fellow plotters, plainly nervous but insisting he is fine when they ask. As servants pass out wine, one carries a tray bearing a single goblet, discreetly laces it with poison, and hands it to Griffith, who accepts. The King toasts the Band, everyone drinks, and moments later Griffith crumples as though dead.

The hall erupts. Casca and the other members rush to his body, Charlotte's legs give out beneath her, and Owen and Laban order every exit sealed. Guts, already outside the banquet, has slipped away entirely. The poisoner has also fled the building, riding off on horseback until he crosses paths with a cloaked swordsman in a large feathered hat, who takes the assassin's head with one swing of his broad blade. Adjusting the hat, the swordsman is revealed to be Guts.

Later that night, freed from the sealed hall, the Queen, Foss and their accomplices gather in a tall, narrow tower in Wyndham to celebrate their success. Foss remains visibly agitated, which the Queen notices, though he brushes off her suspicion. He reports that his underlings have disposed of the assassin so no names will ever surface, then excuses himself to survey the fruits of their work. With him gone, the Queen thanks the others for their part in the deed.

Their triumph is cut short as thin threads of smoke seep up through the floorboards. Deciding to flee, they find the door barred, and several conspirators seize the table to batter it down. Just after the first blow, an explosion tears the door from its hinges and incinerates everyone but the Queen and a couple of others. She rushes to the window to signal for help, but the only figure waiting outside to see her is Griffith.

The Queen of Midland and Minister Foss poison Griffith at the banquet, and he collapses seemingly dead. Guts intercepts and beheads the fleeing assassin. Griffith turns the tables by setting the conspirators' tower ablaze, killing nearly all of them and leaving the Queen face to face with him.

The twenty-two page chapter belongs to the Golden Age Arc and was first published in Young Animal issue 5 of 1994. It is the opening half of the two-part Tombstone of Flames and centers on the failed assassination plot and Griffith's ruthless counterstroke.