RedMageCole

Arthur seemed... a bit shocked indeed to hear Reiko's idea that she was the one who had her sword taken from Ruslan. His expression mellowed out into thought, speaking after about a half of a minute of thinking. “...As far as I know, he fully conspired to take it himself. He didn't do it himself, of course; the fucking coward... but I imagine he would have used his own troops to take it by force. I don't know specifics, but I imagine they'd have to be someone who could pass as a mercenary. Even he's not dense enough to have something as suspicious as men from his army barge into someone's home." His eyes opened, now done with thinking. "I want my father as dead as much as you probably want him dead too. He slaughters those who get in his way, those who oppose his plans... he doesn't give a fuck who he kills as long as he gets what he wants in the end. I don't know what Virtuous' plan is for these royals if we need to get past them to get their Relics, but... Ruslan is already dead."

Simeon looked toward Mim with a sort of curious look, giving a hearty chuckle. "Well, ain't ye a generous lass? To be honest, I haven't really been makin' em... I'd probably just bugger up the formula, to be honest. I just carry a supply that I manage to stock up on, but the prices for these things nowadays, I tell ye... but if ye're willin' to help make 'em, I most certainly would accept yer help, would certainly help cut costs quite a bit as well."

Reiko found Arthur not too far off; it was clear he just wanted to leave the room and not much else. He had been pacing the hallways at a slow pace, clearly trying to get his mind off of everything... stopping himself once Reiko had stopped him. He slowly turned, his face trying to look as neutral as possible, without showing anger or regret. “...Do you need something?"

Stella looked significantly more relieved to hear Kane and Lysander, alongside Lenore's change of opinion. She breathes a tiny sigh of relief, one that is barely noticeable... then gives a smile. "...Well... it's not as if you have to decide now. I will ask that you please stay the night, at the least. There are secure lodgings for all of you, I'm sure you deserve at least that much..." Kane pauses, mulling it over... before nodding. “Very well. We will stay the night... but I do hope you realize the trust I put in you by accepting your offers. Do I have your word that we won't have jailers knocking on our doors?" Stella begins to clearly nod, but Arthur cut the gentleness of the air Stella created by whipping his head toward Kane with a look of annoyance. "Do you realize who you're with? I am the goddamn prince, and I have been the sole reason Ruslan hasn't been at Stella's door, if you don't trust Stella when I'm around, then you can kiss my-" Kane met Arthur's sharp gaze with his own calm, yet stern one. He took his mask off to fully emphasize this. "...I trust Queen Stella. But I also have a great deal of care toward my team. If anyone's safety is compromised... it is my burden alone to bear for not making absolute sure that we are safe. We have given reason for Queen Stella to trust us, and I have reason to trust her. That is why I asked; to affirm the trust that we have in each other." Arthur scoffed, but Stella shook her head. "Arthur... There's no reason to be angry. You have my word, Phoenix... and my promise that Virtuous will be protected tonight. You may sleep soundly and safely... as Arthur said, you are with him, and that gave me reason enough alone to trust you. You have done what I was unable to do..." Kane raised an eyebrow. “...What you were unable to do...?" Stella looked to Arthur, who was now suddenly extremely interested in his dinner... not exactly eating it, though. "...Arthur caught onto his father for who he was, and he had been planning to flee the country before his arrest. He told me as such in his last letter before his arrest... I wanted to aid him in some way... but before I could find a way to help him, he had been arrested... hm... Arthur, I'm curious... I know why you ran away when you did, but... why did you plan to run away before that...? Certainly you couldn't have known...?" Arthur grits his teeth as he breathed through his nostrils. “...That bow you have... Sloth, correct...? Ruslan had something similar... a flaming axe he called Wrath. It was always his prized weapon... but one day, months ago... he suddenly claimed a sword that he treasured as much as he did Wrath. I could tell that something was up... it clearly wasn’t bought in some run-down shop, it was an elegant and beautiful blade with the power to ward off enemy attacks, and Wrath was powerful on its own… And then I learned... where he got it. He told me… that miserable man told me that as king, it is your right to take what you want from the people. That those peasants should respect their king and give to him whatever they want, and strike them down if they refuse! I told him exactly what I thought! Why the fuck would you take a sword from a family when you already have your stupid fucking axe!? The motherfucker told me that I would learn someday! So I’m to just allow myself to be consumed by my own selfishness!? I hated the bastard, but this was beyond saving! I thought I could make a deal with him! But no; it was clear to me that he really didn’t give a fuck about anyone that wasn’t himself! I was already ready to leave at that point! We made it to the border, but then he... h-he found us, a-and he... he..." It's clear that Arthur had gotten to a point that he really, really did not want to keep talking. As well, he looked up from his food to realize from everyone's faces that he had begun ranting, as if he was in some sort of trance. His misty-eyed anger subsided quite quickly, turning to shame... and then he stood up. “....please excuse me." Arthur left the dining room in quite a hurry. Stella looked rather worried as he left... "...Please... don't be intimidated by Arthur. He... may have a tendency to vent like that... but he's been through quite a lot... and he's aware of his anger, he just doesn't know how to control it. He's really quite a sweet young man..." Stella paused, before getting up herself. "...I'm going to go to my room for a little while... I'll be there if any of you need me, Albert should be patrolling the downstairs hallway if you need any help looking around the castle... um... before I do, though... there was something... oh, yes." Stella went to Lysander's chair, presenting a magical tome to him. "Young man... I had the pleasure of witnessing your magic, and I believe this might be of use to you... I wished to reward you all directly somehow, and I think this might be something nice. Please, use this well." Lysander obtained Blizzard! With that, Stella excused herself with a nod. Kane continued to sit in his chair, mulling things over... Simeon groaned as he had finished his dinner before anyone else, deciding to relax in his chair for a little while himself.

Stella had quite the roller coaster of emotions of her face, despite her mild expression throughout; her anxiety seemed to clear up on Tabitha's speech, then sink back down, making her look a bit more nervous yet understanding as Baldur, Lizaveta and Lenore spoke... then she seemed to mellow out once Mim and Justine spoke. At the same time, she looked quite astonished to see so many of Virtuous taking off their masks. At the same time, Kane did not take his mask off, and remained in thought, though he seemed to slightly nod in response to Tabitha, Mim and Justine when they spoke. At the same time, he gave a short peer at Baldur, clearly watchful of him knowing his past behavior, but settled down quickly back into thought. Stella seemed to have a bit of a invigoration of energy after Mim and Justine spoke, and tried to speak up despite her quiet voice. First, however, she gave the Relic a slight nudge of movement to Mim. "...If you wish to touch it, that's fine... forgive me, I may have been a bit overprotective myself of my belongings." She gave a gentle smile to Mim, before looking over everyone at the table with a slightly more determined face. "...You misunderstand me. I do not ask any of you to surrender our lands to the Gods. I myself... do not agree with the Bear's inaction. However, going back to what... Snowbird, right...? Back to what you said about crested royals..." Stella rolled up her sleeve again, revealing the faintly glowing crest in the outline of a bear on her shoulder. "All royals are branded with these symbols of the Gods... but why? Why are we forced to wear these? Why do we wear them as a mark of shame and not have honor within these crests? It's as if... the Gods believe we are destined to fail as humanity. And... I do not agree with that. The Relics still have power, it reacts to my crest, as you can see..." She touches the Relic once more; as it glows, her crest glows slightly brighter as well. "See...? There's still power within them... I believe there is truth to being able to see the Gods. The book, though warped as it is, has truth to it. There are old history books, ones that many neglect to read to embrace the current, that tell of these old policies. The Relics still should work. They must work... but I can't get them myself. I have seen the castles of each country besides Perus on my own, before tensions increased... though my stays would be brief, I know a little bit of intelligence that would help... I know King Darcy in particular seldom allows anyone but some guards into his castle at night for reasons unknown... if you invaded him at night, you might even be able to obtain the Relic without a confrontation..." Stella pauses. As she pauses, Kane clears his throat slightly, and Stella looks towards him. Kane remains to be looking in thought, but he is at some attention. "...You understand what you ask of us, Queen Stella. You are asking us to infiltrate the greatest strongholds in Purgus, one said stronghold we don't even know where to start with, for a shot at taming the Gods... Gods that may not take kindly to our infiltration of their territory, especially. Even if their presence is weakened, and by extension, they themselves might be weakened... we're ordinary people going up against royalty, trained armies, and deities." Stella slowly nods, her expression grave yet still determined. Kane puts a hand down on the table. "...Nobody said Virtuous was going to be an easy endeavor, but this is crazy... Crazy enough to work. If you believe that this is our best chance... then I will go forth with it. However... though I am leader of Virtuous... I am not going to command my team to do this if they are unwilling. There are plenty of small tasks I can think of in the meantime if any of you wish to say with Virtuous, and I'll make sure we keep the base in shape as much as we can... but I dedicated myself to doing what was right for the people. I do not fear the Gods. They have failed all of us as Gods, deities who are meant to protect us and keep us safe... instead, they allow our world to be divided like this, on the verge of war, unable to agree on a religion, even right now, as we speak, they have thrown us into a turmoil over what we are to do when we meet them. If it takes getting past a couple of kings, a couple of queens, a couple of armies... then I am willing to do what it takes. If what Gul threw at us was an intent to fight off the army of Ceda... then I have faith that we can take on a few more of those. But, as I said... this will be an extremely dangerous task that may even end in failure, even after we've accomplished all we needed to do. Therefore, I ask as your leader to make your own decisions... but know this. This may be the best chance we'll ever get, maybe even the only chance, to change the world. To weaken the resolve of the corrupt nobility. To open the minds of society to help them realize that what we have... is not a life that anyone deserves. Everyone deserves a brighter future... and that is what I believe."

Stella looked quite surprised by Mim's proposal, at somewhat of a loss for words. Kane mulled over Mim's words, then gave a slight nod. “Snowbird has a point. If we are to work with you, we should establish a sense of trust with each other. Either way, you already know Arthur... however, before we can feel comfortable revealing ourselves, we should know exactly what we are doing here. Why you called upon us despite our reputation." Stella closed her eyes for a short bit, then gave a nod. She looked over to Albert. "...Very well... I'll explain before we eat. Albert... if you will, it's just-..." Albert gave a salute, his posture becoming as stiff as a board. "Behind the throne, yes. I will be right back." Albert left the dining room, leaving Virtuous alone with the quite troubled Stella. She folded her hands over her mouth, elbows on the table... not exactly the most ideal position for someone who has a habit of falling asleep at random, but she seemed to be anxious enough to not want to fall asleep. "...I assume that you are all aware of the Gods that govern each kingdom... and I'm certain many of you have been told that the God from where you have hailed from is the only God, with the rest either being minor Gods or false deities... I myself have always been told the Bear was the only God... but isn't it such a strange fallacy? That we all believe our own respective Gods are the only true Gods...?" Arthur scoffed, crossing his arms. "Ruslan always told me the Horse was the only God, but I firmly believe that because he says it, it's false." If Stella noticed how irrational Arthur sounded, she didn't say anything. Regardless, she gave a slow nod. "...Right now, Albert is bringing me two things. A jewel, and a book. The book is another book full of fallacies... it's supposedly a book passed down from each generation of rulers in each kingdom... it's supposedly a rite of passage, to cement yourself as the king or queen. It reads similar to a history book, but... it's twisted. Not only twisted, but... strange..." Stella trails off slightly, as if she was about to fall asleep as a result of her being deep in thought. Kane noticed this and quickly got her back on track. "...Twisted? Strange?" Thanks to Kane, Stella managed to perk up and keep talking. "It's hard to explain, which is why I'm having Albert bring it..." Almost as if on cue, Albert entered the room. In one hand, he holds a tattered book with a brown cover, showing clear signs of age and wear, with no title on the front. In his other hand, a beautifully shimmering green octahedron. He places the book and octahedron in front of Stella, showing extra care to the octahedron. Stella nods to him, and he leaves the room. She daintily picks up the octahedron, showing it to everyone. As Stella picked it up, it seemed to shimmer even brighter; the lighting of the dining room reflected off of it. "I'm very certain... that this is what Gul was after. This is a Relic... one of five in Purgus. The only kingdoms that don't have Relics are Vini and Gul... and they don't have Relics for a simple reason... that the two kingdoms were not meant to be." Stella opens the book, flipping through the pages. For an odd reason, a chill runs down your spines as she flips past what looks to be a couple of pages torn out of the page. Stella finished, smoothing out the pages she wanted to see, and turned the book around to push it gently forward. Those sitting farthest away from Stella might have a harder time reading the text, but a picture of Purgus is clearly visible... For those in the back, Kane reads aloud as he leans in. The noble continent of Purgus was not always split into seven kingdoms, but as fate would have it, the continent realized the true potential of what they held. War broke out for the treasured Relics, war that many missionaries believed was done for the good of their one, true God. Though many believed five kingdoms should exist, one for each Relic, they all refused to cooperate and share a God. The war ended in the seven noble kingdoms of the current day, with Gul and Vini emerging as failures. "...Purgus was a unified continent? No kingdom, no borders, no... anything?" Stella gently nodded. "I can't pretend to know why they would split the continent up all of those years ago... the Relics were special, but having one is useless. Look at this passage..." Stella flips backwards a couple of pages, and lands on a set of pages with a picture of five of the Relics shaped together in a star-like pattern, all seemingly resting on a circle of stone. Kane once more reads aloud... The Relics are the sacred treasures of Purgus. Each one contains a small, yet vital piece of the seven Gods, when they all held power. When taken to the Zenith Temple, in the center of Purgus, a Relic holds the power to communicate with the land of the Gods. When all five are taken to the Zenith Temple, placed within the Fire Emblem by a crested member of royalty, they hold the power to bring anyone to the land of the Gods, though at their own risk. The coveted ability to access the Gods would be the downfall of Purgus. Kane was silent for a moment. Stella looked rather serious now. "I have tried to use my Relic to communicate with the Gods. Any God, even... you notice how it mentions 'when they all held power'? The book claims that the seven Gods did all exist, but it simultaneously claims that only the Bear holds power in this world anymore... I just wanted to talk to one of them. To find out why there was so much turmoil. How they could leave a continent that was once in such harmony... why everyone believes their God is the correct God... but I didn't receive an answer. I tried... and tried... I didn't leave that temple for hours." Stella takes a small breath of air in, and exhales slowly. It's evident on her face that she knows she is going to be asking a lot of everyone. "The Gods chose not to answer me... but with the five Relics, then we could go straight to them and find out... why they're not responding. Why they let the world get into this state... why we royals have fallen so far. But... the Relic I held was behind the throne... and to my knowledge..." Stella looked down at the shimmering prism. "...The other four Relics... are within the same locations... at least in Ulux, Vaa and Ria. Arthur's confirmed that it is the case with Ria... and each kingdom guards their Relic jealously. There's no way a queen, who has to maintain a public face, can simply go to a castle and rob them of their Relic..." "...Virtuous... I don't know why you do what you do, but regardless of why you fight... I'm asking for you to steal not only one, but four of Purgus' greatest, and most well-guarded treasures. I want you to find the Relics... I want us to see the Gods. And see... why we can't talk to them. Why they don't answer our prayers at night. Why they allowed corruption across the land... Please. I need your help." Arthur already looks set, and it's evident on his face that he already knows his answer, while Simeon seems to be a bit laid back on the choice. Kane, however, is deep in thought. Even to Lysander who had just joined, this is clearly the best chance Virtuous has to reforming the world, and Kane knows that. But even so... At their own risk...

Fuefuki's comment seemed to make Nil just... feel neutral. They wanted to feel annoyed at being told to keep silent when they have been nothing but silent for as long as they could remember, but they didn't really have the motivation to feel any sort of emotion at that. That carried over to Ivoh'to's request, making Nil tilt their head slightly as they looked toward Fuefuki on the branch. They traced their words to Ivoh'to, trying not to make them so large as to let Fuefuki notice. "..." Why? He's not doing anything wrong.

Stella tried to wipe away her tears, giving tiny nods in response to Justine. "...thank you... I'll... I'll hopefully feel better soon... I just..." As Stella looked over to Justine, now properly getting a look at her, she realized the fatal flaw Justine herself noticed. "...o-oh... some of you have masks over your mouths... I'm sorry, I should have noticed earlier... should I close my eyes for the time being? I wouldn't mind... Albert, you wouldn't mind closing your eyes until everyone was done eating, right?" Albert looked particularly aghast at this absolutely silly solution. He looked towards Fey with a quick "see what I mean?" expression, before sighing slightly and looking back to Stella. If nothing else, the ridiculous request seemed to snap him out of his stupor for a brief moment. "...er... yes, my queen, I will gladly close my eyes for the time being if it is wished for our... full-masked friends. Er... or perhaps we can just deliver their food to their rooms later?" Stella didn't seem to hear Albert's last suggestion, making him look briefly exhausted once more.

Well, Nil certainly had to admit... it did suck. Not having a voice while everyone else was able to freely speak among themselves... while Nil could still communicate just fine with their words, it was sometimes hard for people to notice unless they were directly in conversation with them. Especially when their words sometimes blended in with their appearance once the letters faded out into black. Either way... the ability to write down their thoughts was an enormous blessing, Nil had to agree as they gave a slight nod. Nil gave a slight wince of pain as the cat had leaped onto their shoulder, especially considering Nil didn't expect anything of the sort. They managed to calm down their brief recoiling as Ivoh'to rested on their shoulders, finding them warm despite their icy prowess. Thankfully, Nil did not have to reorient their words when writing, their magic managed to face towards the one they were speaking to. It was a bit messy whenever they talked to multiple people as the words would often try to find a middle ground, but it worked out quite nicely one on one. Before they wrote, however, they gave a slight pause. What did they like to do?... All of the things they could do were... squandered. And now they don't really know how to do anything. Their powers, however... "..." I can create magical effects using my words. If I had to fight, that would be how I fight, I think. I don't know what else I can do that I like doing.

Before long, Albert makes his way throughout the castle, informing everyone individually of the news... "...Queen Stella will be out shortly... dinner is ready. Please follow me to the dining room..." ... Everyone is taken to a rather fanciful and extravagant dining room, the sort of dining room you would fantasize about that would be in a castle. It clearly did not see that much use, as dust littered the occasional corner, but it was set up quite nicely, with a large round table allowing plenty of seating for everyone in Virtuous, as well as Stella. Albert stood off to the side leaving an empty chair, having decided that he was not hungry. Indeed, Stella didn't look very hungry either as she picked at her dinner; a very large roast with vegetables, mashed potatoes, and various other side dishes... a meal fit for a queen. She did, however, look up at everyone to make sure everyone else was at least trying to enjoy themselves, trying to give a smile despite her clearly puffy eyes. Simeon certainly looked like he was enjoying himself, while Arthur ate his food in silence. Kane didn't eat very much, though he did eat a fair bit. The thief did not get to make it to the dinner, still in bed. Before long, Stella gently pushed her meal forward and rested a hand on her cheek, elbow on the table. "...Not hungry... I'm trying to think about... how to tell you all about why I brought you here..." Kane looked over to Stella with a concerned look. "Your Highness, if you are still in grieving, do not feel rushed to tell us-" "No... this is important. I can't let myself be weak... I-I don't know why I'm so sad, anyway... T-Tobias wasn't... that splendid of a husband... we were arranged, w-we didn't kiss much, or... a-anything intimate... I-I had wished for a little more, but now... I-I don't know what to do... m-maybe I did love him, I..." Stella couldn't stop herself from tearing up some more, and beginning to cry again. Arthur, having sat close to her, looked hurried as he was about to reach a hand over to try to comfort her, but she gently brushed his hand away. For once, Arthur didn't look annoyed as he sat down. "...sorry, I... I'll be good... please, everyone finish your dinner, I'll be fine..." Stella said, gently wiping the sides of her eyes and cheeks with her napkin.

Before Nil could try to correct their form, Ivoh'to had begun eating. They looked back and saw Yoriie, who looked... a bit softened. At least, that was what Nil thought. They wondered why that was the case... but before they could try to wonder that, Ivoh'to had asked them a question. A question that... felt pretty awkward to explain, to say the least. One they expected to have to explain, but it was still an awkward one, nonetheless. Preparing their hand, they scribbled out more words that shimmered and darkened in the same way the previous words did, this time taking a little bit longer to appear. "..." I can't talk. My voice was taken from me. I can try all I want, but no noise will come out.

Nil could see the expression of disappointment on Ivoh'to's face... Nil had a tendency to do that, make people feel disappointed when they expected something out of them. They had forgotten what it was like to do just about... anything related to a human normally, except a few select things that would probably be just about useless at this point. On the other hand, it was nice seeing someone not recoil in fear when looking at their face. They tried to rack their brains at all for how they were supposed to pet them back. Just a faint vision... did they have anything like Ivoh'to when they were still a human?... If they even were at one point? No, they had to have been... but what were they supposed to do? ...Petting... Petting... ...After about half of a minute of being in deep thought, something briefly came to their mind. They bent their legs, then attempted to stroke Ivoh'to's fur as gently as he did for them. They still looked somewhat confused, as if still wondering if they were doing it right. "..." In a rare occasion, Nil brandished their free hand, and waved it gently, creating words made of shimmering yellow light in stark contrast to Nil's dark exterior... Like this? They shimmered for a brief moment upon finishing their writing, then solidified in midair in a black encasing, showing the true nature of Nil's magical prowess; darkness that consumes a once powerful light. Almost immediately after Ivoh'to finished reading, the words disappeared into a puff of black smoke.

Unfortunately, Ivoh'to picked the only yokai who has absolutely no idea of what to do when confronted with a cat. Though Nil certainly stopped in place to look down at Ivoh'to, even underneath their hood (which was not hard for Ivoh'to to see up as they looked down) and past their grisly, daunting face their expression of confusion was apparent. They stood there awkwardly as he continued to rub against their leg, just... completely unsure of what to do, especially considering Ivoh'to looked as if he wanted something. Nil continued to stand there with complete uncertainty. "...?"

Did Nil need something?... No, nothing they could really think of. At the moment, they just wanted to know what was going on that everyone was in such a fuss about that Nil couldn't feel... maybe they just weren't good at reading the room. To be honest, they wanted to know exactly what the white stuff on the ground was... they knew what it was, but they couldn't put their finger on it. Even just the word of what it was would help... but it clearly wasn't what was on everyone's mind. A simple shake of Nil's head was all they needed to convey to Yoriie as they stepped back a little bit, not wanting to get into Yoriie's space more. "..."

The thief was caught in the middle of putting back the medication bottles, and thankfully finished by the time Mim had come over. "Dang, that was fast... but yeah, thanks." The thief watched as Mim mixed the potion, and he graciously took and drank it without hesitation. Once he had taken a short drink and finished listening to Mim, he looked considerably in more of a mood to talk. "Yeah, I suppose another staff dose wouldn't have hurt... but the guy seemed like he was in kind of a rush. Seemed like he was onto somethin' with my info... not like I had that much, though. I really only had a brief description of who King Tobias' murderers were, barely enough to go on minus being a group of four with the leader having green hair. Thanks for this, by the way, it's really helpin'."

If there was any sort of change in the forest, Nil did not notice it by its atmosphere... but just looking at what was going on in the physical sense. To them, the atmosphere surrounding them was always bleak, unchanging... they had no sense of what was wrong or right with the atmosphere. They only could see that the forest was changing, and it was alarming... what was all of the white stuff covering the forest? It was soft, yet cold to the touch... something was definitely wrong with the forest. They felt they had to get all of this white stuff off of the trees before... ...until they realized what Yoriie said. Season. That word rung a bell in their head... Season. A season would be... something changing. The environment... changing. They vaguely remember what it was like... but they hadn't a clue what really happened within them. But they figured that... the snow had something to do with it. They scooped up a small ball of snow in their gloved hand, examining it. It was a normal part of life... another one they had missed. Another one they had forgotten. Unable to read the atmosphere properly, Nil sulked back over to the group, letting the snow fall to the ground. They hadn't removed their hood ever since the newest one had come to join... they didn't like removing their hood. They knew what they looked like underneath... they didn't want to scare the new person. They didn't want to scare anyone, really. Unless they had to... but Nil hoped that time would never come. "..."

Arthur paused. "...Well duh, I am the Pri-... yes, I know about what happened to King Cyrus. Which means this is obviously not an isolated incident, the methods of murder were the exact same, and the suspects fit the four that the thief described. Someone obviously wants some of the kings dead. The question is why there was such a large gap in time frame between the murders, why exactly they're doing it... "...and why they haven't targeted Ruslan, for fucks sake..." "...But we should probably tell that to the rest of the team. No sense in keeping secrets, especially if we might meet those assholes later on. This isn't a coincidence; how many royalty-killing bands of four with the leader being an expert marksman can there be on this continent?"

Though Rosanne's words made Mercia know she wasn't going crazy when it came to thinking Lancelot was not quite the man he was, she still needed time to recuperate. And thus, when she was dismissed, she made a beeline straight to her room and decided to stay there for a little while, closing the door and even forgetting to lock it. She looked around the room... it was fancy, and felt like a bedroom straight out of a fairy tale book, living in a castle... though she wondered if she should have left behind the old bedroom she had before. It wasn't like she complained about it before... and should she really feel happy about being able to live in the lap of luxury? What would happen if Nicolos managed to win and she had to say goodbye to this bedroom? She laid down on her bed, just trying not to think about such anxiety-inducing thoughts. She had this bedroom now, and if she was going to keep it, she'd have to fight. But at the same time... it was difficult to find the motivation at times. Thankfully she had a little break... and right now, she was going to keep a hold on that break. "..." She lay there, not really falling asleep. Just resting... hoping to start thinking about other things.

Though Albert looked troubled, he did listen to Baldur particularly well once his shoulder was patted. He nodded at the end of his talk. "...very well. Thank you." He continued walking through the corridors, and Arthur took a deep breath as he continued with Baldur. "...Any more leads, then? Once more, we're not talking to Stella until she's ready."

Albert looked a bit shocked, giving a short gasp as he was broken out of his stupor so suddenly. The more Baldur talked, the more apparent it looked on Albert's face that he just wanted to get back to patrolling, giving a troubled look as his eyes started darting around the hallway. When Baldur finished, Albert tried to talk quickly. "It... It didn't look touched. Window was closed and so was the door. Window has a long fall from it, it's not an ideal escape route... and yes, King... King Tobias was found with poison from the arrow... a-and I don't know what item they were referring to... may I please resume patrolling, now?"

The thief seemed satisfied, until Baldur chastised him. He groaned as he pulled the bottles out from under his cape and put them back on the table. "Give me a break, it's hard to kick habits... and by hard I mean damn near impossible." Arthur seemed satisfied with that, even if he looked rather skeptical of the thief being... well, a thief. "Alright." Arthur followed along, hoping they'd find Albert rather quickly. Albert patrolled the hallways looking deep in thought and feeling rather anxious, barely even noticing the two as they walked by.

Arthur was skeptical, but he did lead Baldur to the infirmary rather quickly. The thief was mostly just laying there, looking at the ceiling. A small detail, just a tiny detail that Baldur might have picked out, was that there was just a little less amount of medicine bottles on the table next to him compared to the rest. "..." Arthur felt like this wasn't a good idea, but the thief seemed a bit receptive. "Urgh... about time someone came to talk to me. I heard from the infirmary... it seems his mission was completed, huh...? That asshole, he probably only cared to get it done... fuck him, I'm going to tell you everything." Arthur raised an eyebrow, and the thief continued. "We wouldn't have launched an attack if not for him, you know. The green haired man... I don't really have specific details, but apparently he met with King Jasper a few days before the attack was launched. The mission was clear... we were two different sides working together. See... King Jasper wanted somethin' from this place, somethin' belongin' to Gul that Ceda had... I tried to ask Hulbert what it was, but he kept tellin' me it was none of my business and that my job was to just grab less important loot. The green haired man, though... he specifically wanted King Tobias dead. Not Queen Stella... just King Tobias. I think he said something about Queen Stella not mattering, that she'd lose her nerve once King Tobias died. Not sure, he didn't tell me, he told one of his buddies that when he kept whining about how confused he was that they were only killing King Tobias. Two different goals... one place. I don't even know if the guy was Gul... he sounded and acted more Perusian, but... heh, that's an insult to Perusians. Guy was a fuckin' prick. Kept yellin' at us to keep up despite him being the one goin' too fast, and he yelled a lot at his own companions. He brought three for the job, but it was clear he was callin' the shots... I don't know how those three put up with him, I didn't see them too much, but all I know is that one somehow could just ignore him, then one, definitely a woman, could tell him to his face to calm down... which he'd always brush off without fail. That poor third one, though... looked like... she? He? Not sure... but they really looked like they wanted nothing more than to slow down and take a break... but whenever they'd stumble or stop, the green haired asshole would kick them and tell them to move it... but I'm ramblin' now." The thief turned over. "Told ya all I could... fuck, that was a bit more exhausting on my lungs than I thought... urgh... can ya get that potion girl...? The one in the adorable hat? I just need something to drink, she'll probably have somethin'..." Arthur noticeably turned his head to the side, giving a little sigh.

Arthur didn't seem the keenest on leaving his comfortable spot by the wall, nor did he seem to be very happy to be pulled out of his thoughts, but regardless he got away from the wall with a small sigh. "We'll be damn lucky if the assassins haven't gotten away by now. If they hadn't, we probably would have heard about it... but regardless we can try to find something. However, Stella's room is off limits, we're not gonna bother her while she's grieving. Personally, I'd love if they'd fucking kill Ruslan already, but that's just not how my luck works..." Arthur puts a hand on his chin, trying to get his mind off of wherever it was, and to focus on the mystery at hand. "Where do you suggest we look first, then?"

As Shin, Lizaveta and Mim headed downstairs, Kane passed by them looking extremely grim. "...I'm sorry, but I need you three upstairs... I'm calling an emergency meeting." Without another word, Kane headed upstairs... ... Stella still looked in high spirits as Kane appeared, though she started to mellow out once she had seen Kane's grave expression. "Phoenix, is it? I was wondering if you would all stay for the night, but... what's wrong...?" Kane took a deep breath, opening his eyes to a normal level and trying to keep eye contact with Stella. "...There's... really no easy way for me to tell you this, Queen Stella. I'm sorry... King Tobias is dead. Shot in the neck by an arrow... instantly fatal." Stella seemed to freeze up almost instantly, looking at Kane, who now looked more solemn than grim. A couple of tears fell down Stella's cheeks as she tried to keep her composure, but... to no avail. Arthur looked somewhat shocked as well, but kept his composure a little better, putting a single hand on Stella's shoulder as she stay seated, lost deep in thought. Albert arrived in the room, trying to find the words, but he could see from her expression that it had already been done. He hurried off to the front to try to make sure the troops returned safely and quickly before any more damage was done. Before long, Stella stood up as Arthur's hand fell off of her. "...It's... i-it's not... your faults. You did all you could... b-but... I... I need some time... I-I'll meet you all at dinner... i-it should be ready in a couple of hours..." Kane slowly nodded as Stella walked off to her room. A few guards entered the throne room on Albert's behalf, and accompanied her. Kane looked to the rest of Virtuous. "...Knight is currently alone as well, please try to give him some space unless absolutely necessary. We are still guests here, so please be on your best behaviors, all of you. Do not cause trouble. As well, if any of you see a green haired man, possibly with a bow, accompanied by..." Kane paused for a brief moment, counting in his head... "...potentially upwards of three people, get everyone together as quickly as you can and we'll see if we can hold them off. I doubt they've wanted to stick around for any longer, but do not take any chances. As well, do not leave this castle; whatever you need is most likely in here, but try not to talk to the guards while they're on duty, they'll probably question our presence here and we don't want to give Queen Stella any more trouble. You're all dismissed." Kane retreated upstairs, potentially to the rooftop to keep a lookout. Arthur quietly stayed in the throne room, carefully watching the throne, sighing and simply leaning against the wall, contemplating. Simeon went downstairs hoping to look for a place to not bother anyone while he worked. Stella stayed in her room, Tobias' body carried out with two guards in her room and two guards guarding her room. Albert patrolled the corridors of the downstairs outside of Stella's room, and the thief lay recovering in the infirmary. Intermission

Stella brightened up slightly at Justine's comments. "In that case... won't you all stay the night? I have much to tell you all, once we've confirmed everyone's safety... but I would like to extend some hospitality to you all for your gracious acts before you're all sent on your way. There are many guest rooms that you can all stay in... though you may have to go two to a room... I hope Arthur doesn't mind?" Arthur looked briefly alarmed, but closed his eyes and shook his head. ... Kane briefly stayed there by Ferdiad's sigh, but eventually nodded and stepped away. "...I will respect your wishes. But please... come back when you can. We will get this sorted out... and we will avenge the king. For now... take your time. We won't be going anywhere until the morning at the very least." Kane gently patted Ferdiad on the shoulder as he began to move away. "...We're all in this together. Anything that ails you ails me as well. I may not know the scope... but I will make sure we both emerge from this stronger than ever." Kane began to make his way back to the throne room...