"I'll be counting on you, as your captain, then!" declared Fanilly.

The blonde knight wasn't exactly equipped to take on a stone golem, and so there was no real way for her to argue with the assertion that the others would handle it. A parrying dagger and an ordinary, if extremely finely-crafted, longsword were hardly enough to pierce solid rock. Given a moment to observe the fight, however, she realized just how strange the words the Drider had spoken were. If the 'Dark Lady' was her mentor, why did she hate the orcs? Why did she think that her Master had done nothing wrong?

They could question her once the golem was destroyed.

"Agh?!" the drider yelped with surprise when the golem suddenly staggered. The lower portion of its leg, first cracked, was suddenly crumbling apart from Indrau's sword, destabilizing the magic that kept the stones together. The half-spider girl frantically latched onto her golem's head and shoulder with her arms and legs as it teetered sideways. But rather then pushing it to write itself, or to attack again, she instead had it spread its arms wide, lodging its rocky bulk in place as if to block the stairway.

"F... fine! If that's how it's going to be, I just won't let you pass!" she cried, "Even if you destroy my golem, it'll block the staircase!"

Driders were an uncommon sight to begin with. There were a large number of superstitions about them, that they ate children and had a propensity for witchcraft, but anyone who ever did any research into the species would discover that there was simply nothing to support the assertion that they ate the flesh of other sapient races. It was likely their rarity that had lead to such unpleasant assertions.

Tyaethe paused at that, not attacking the golem--the drider had a point, this thing would definitely block the stairway up if it were to be cut down in place. Hauling it out of the way was also rather out of the question... just hacking their way through wasn't going to work and they had to get through one way or another. Therefore, the paladin placed her sword firmly in the earth.

And then latched onto the golem's rocky surface, finding a handhold and beginning to climb up. Either she would get up to its controller and be able to solve it that way, or it would have to lose its ability to seal off the stairway to stop that. One would hurt a bit more than the other, but either way they were going to get past this.

---

"She wouldn't be the first captain who's been exploited like this, nor if we were to fail--or the mages to fail in their duty--would it stop the knights from doing their duty. Whatever the plan is, there is more to it than merely trying to remove our order's leader," Lilianna answered, "The best we can do is to keep a watchful eye and not shirk our own duties. Go find the dog, if you wish."

Seeing that Tyaethe had decided to scale the golem rather than figure out an alternative method to deal with the golem, Tiral took a step back and, after a moment of pause, lowered his weapon. It wasn't as necessary for him to press the attack when their biggest problem solver was already on the job, and it would do them all a disservice if his own spells were to misfire during this situation.

With the fact that their enemy was now occupied with a knight shimmying up to (probably) take their head, however, the mage-knight took a moment to reflect on what the drider had said. After all, simultaneously declaring that the one who had attacked the Captain was free of guilt but also declaring that the orcs dying was nothing that mattered...

The two statements seemed contradictory in the strangest of ways, and it seemed everyone else was too wrapped up in the fighting to think about the situation for the moment. While he wasn't going to simply wave off the situation and believe their enemy without a second thought, something like this did warrant some attention.

"Captain, have you noticed the contradiction in that girl's words and what has happened thus far?" he asked, taking a step back as he examined the situation a bit more. "While I wouldn't doubt a dislike for those creatures we slaughtered earlier, it does seem odd that such an action wouldn't throw a wrench in our enemy's plans. You'd think that they would be more aggravated that things hadn't gone according to plan, correct?"

"O-oh, one of the knights!" the little girl exclaimed, turning towards Klaus as she did. "Um... you really... want to help find Ennifer?"

Mae shifted awkwardly, blushing nervously as she did. It became quite clear that the experience of speaking directly to one of the knights who had rescued the town was a little overwhelming for a child. She fidgeted nervously, averting her eyes, as if she didn't know what to do in the face of the knight. As if she thought she was being a burden on the knight's schedule, or something like that. But after a few moments of fidgeting, she finally managed to properly respond to Klaus's question.

"U-um... she was running around here," answered Mae, "But then I think she got scared and hid, I can't find her at all..."

@Noodles

Fleuri Jodeau

"Yes sir," Fleuri spoke, a bit relieved that he was being sent to help find the puppy. The knight turned and headed to the town square, intent on helping to find that puppy. There wasn't much else to do while the Captain and her handpicked team dealt with whatever was at the ruins. I wonder how Tyaethe and the Captain will react when they find out we've been searching for puppies and entertaining children while they've been likely risking their lives against orcs and whatever else is out there.

When Fleuri stepped into the town square, he observed Klaus speaking with a child, no doubt the first girl's aforementioned friend. The knight approached the two from behind, not stealthily, but not particularly noisily either.

"So, Klaus, have you found anything about the puppy from our little friend? Lilianna sent me to help out."

@Noodles

He lowered his blade until the tip rested on the ground, looking on with a slightly sour expression as Tyeathe climbed the golem. He wasn’t exactly in any kind of shape to follow, leaving her without any support. He stuck the tip of the blade into the ground any used it to take the weight off of his leg.

"We should be able to have that answered once we have them both in chains."

Fanilly nodded. She had just been thinking the same thing, the behavior of the drider didn't really make any sense. There wasn't really any reason for her to lie, at the moment, but it wasn't intelligent to rule out the possibility either. They could find out once they got the drider down from on top of the golem. It almost seemed as if the Drider didn't actually know why the orcs were there... but regardless, nothing was certain at the moment.

"I'm not certain why, but the Drider hasn't acted as we would have expected," she replied. Still, she was ready for something to go wrong, for the situation to change abruptly. The Drider was evidently a good enough mage to animate a stone golem, after all, even if she had seemed to panic quickly. "It's almost... as if she doesn't know what's going on, but..."

Speaking of panicking, that was a good way to describe what the drider was currently doing.

"H-hey?!" she called to Tyaethe, stepping back as she remained perched on the fallen golem, "S-stop that! Get down! Stop! Y-you're not supposed to do that, go away!"

"Ahh... Do you remember where she'd last gone to?" Klaus let out a deep breath. "Or did she just vanish?" Just like that pointy hat witch... She irked upon knowing that she'd addressed a dog too formally.

"Sir Jodeau," She straightened the folds of her brown cloak before turning to face Fleuri, "Nothing so far that I can find from the puppy Ennifer, same name as the Hero of Orodagor. I don't like it, stuffs that are supposed to be just legends resurfacing like that."

"I tried to follow the other girl, and she was gone right when I stepped out of the Lord's Hall. I'll need to send a few lookouts along various street corners, I wouldn't want to see if the myth of goblins emerging from the shadows turns out to be true."

@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR

Tyaethe didn't respond to the drider, steadying herself and clambering across the golem's shoulders to move in closer. Not supposed to do that? That was one strong thing for someone blocking their way to say. Would she rather that they fired arrows and the like at her until she fell down?

With the mage having little room to manoeuvre on the golem's back, there was nothing for her to do as the paladin got in closer and closer, heavily armoured and leaning forward... lifting the spider-legged figure up with some difficulty due to the... awkward body shape and struggling. but she was a pretty small drider, with nowhere to run to--fighting Tyaethe off just wasn't going to happen.

And then she jumped off.

"Let us through."

"O-oh, another knight!" exclaimed Mae. It was obvious the little girl had never expected the assistance of a pair of Iron Rose knights to assist her in her search for a lost puppy. "U-um, sir knights, th-thank you!"

She stammered weakly, trembling with wide eyes as she looked up at both knights. It was overwhelming for the little girl, for two people she could only view as heroes to show up and help her find Ennifer. It was nothing she had ever expected, when she asked her friend to find some adults to help her find her puppy. Her parents were off helping rebuild the defenses, too... She didn't want to bother them... or anyone, really.

"Um... Um... w-well, she was around here... Um..." Mae looked around nervously, "I... I think she was by the tavern..."

She paused for a moment. They were talking about another girl... was that...?

"... A-are you talking about Rissia?" she asked, tilting her head, "Um, she w-was the one with the pointy hat who told you a-about Ennifer, right?"

After a few moments he grunted and looked sharply up at the obstinate Driders. His brow creased and he looked over at the captain and mage.

“We should spare her, she may be afflicted by the same malign enchantment as the Lord of Brennan.”

He turned his attention back to the tower and tried to smile like his kindly uncle that was so unlike his own father.

“Why don’t you leave your golem there and come down, I’d like to speak with you”

"Why... why should I?!" declared the Drider, attempting to be defiant even though she had now been strongarmed off of her golem and rather unceremoniously carried down.

Fanilly stepped forward, facing the drider with her eyes narrowed.

"The one you are protecting sent a band of orcs to slaughter a nearby town. Is she truly worth it, knowing that?" she asked. The blonde knight girl didn't understand any of this. The Drider seemed adamant that her teacher had done nothing wrong... if she had to guess, she suspected that the Drider had been educated in magic outside of the normal circles. That, of course, would make her a witch. Witchcraft, of course, being the practice of magic through methods outside of normal education. Tutors and mage academies were freely accepted in most countries, but the practice of magic in wild places with unknown teachers certainly was not. In Thaln, practioners of witchcraft were not persecuted, but it was technically illegal, and those who pursued such endeavors were often shunned in rural areas. The Drider was likely no exception to this.

Perhaps she adamantly believed the 'dark lady's' innocence because she had been treated well by her?

"What?" the Drider looked shocked, "There's no way that could be true! Orcs... orcs are evil, but my teacher was using a spell to control them! She even showed me! They shouldn't be able to attack innocent people..."

"I saw it with my own eyes," Fanilly asserted. She didn't understand what was going on here. Using orcs, but hiding it all from her student? Just what was going on here? The drider seemed to be innocent of any actual crimes beyond witchcraft, at least, but... what was happening? Ah, it was just too confusing!

And then...

At the top of the stairs, there was a woman. She was beautiful, with long, black hair, pale skin, clad in a black dress with a furred collar...

"... Oh, dear me, what terrible ruffians," she commented, placing a hand to her cheek, "What are you doing to my student?"

The drider immediately brightened on seeing her.

Fanilly raised her sword carefully, eyes fixed on the woman. There was almost no chance this wasn't the dark lady they had been told about.

"Now she can explain!" declared the drider, confidently.

@TheFake@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y

Once Tyaethe had managed to apprehend the drider and remove the golem from their path, Tiral let out a bit of a sigh and crossed his arms. Their opponent had been carried over to the Captain like one might a sack of flour, and given her current position, the likelihood of her actually pulling any surprise attacks was almost nonexistent. That didn't mean that he was simply going to let his guard down, though.

The girl's vehement denial of what had transpired caused the mage-knight to stare silently, a mix of disbelief and irritation clear on his face. The battlefield was no place for naivety or stupidity, and it was clear to see that one or the other was clearly in play.

"There was no such—" he began to say before the person they had been seeking finally made their way out of the shadows. Without missing a beat, Tiral gripped the dagger in his hand and began to prepare a counter-spell. On the off-chance that another attempt was made for the Captain's life—or any of theirs, for that matter—he would be ready.

"For some reason, I doubt that simple testimony would be reliable after all of the subterfuge and assassination attempts that have occurred today. Call it intuition," he remarked, staring coldly at the woman looking down on the group.

In this little group, though, it was Tyaethe that had all the subtlety of a sinking ship, taking a step forwards and anchoring her shield against the ground in a manner that showed exactly how much trust the paladin had for this strange magic user. "What are you doing with the orcs?"

"Nope, that's nothing of importance, we aren't people who would put their concerns on less than trivial matters like your friend's name," Klaus lied with a disconcerted look. She wasn't so good at bandying words unlike the other knights, but that would be enough to convince a naive child. She hoped.

"But..." Klaus walked off for the tavern in gliding steps, not before asking with a harmless tone, "Does your friend Rissia happen to know Magic? If so I want to learn a few tricks from her after I find Ennifer ~"

Fleuri Jodeau

On the child's advice, Fleuri headed to the tavern. If he wasn't on duty, he might consider getting a drink; it had been quite a day. But the day wasn't up and the culprit had not been caught, thus it'd be wisest to keep his wits.

If it's a tavern, there are no doubt plenty of people who may have seen the puppy. On the other hand, with the lifting of the siege, most of them are probably drunk, celebrating the defeat of their assailants. I suppose the first person to ask should be the tavern keeper.

As he and Klaus walked off, the other knight asked a curious question. One about whether the first child, the one with the pointed hat, knew any magic. He wasn't sure if Klaus was serious or joking, he ought to ask Klaus about it later.

For a few moments, Mae stared in blank confusion at the knight.

"... Magic...?" she asked, tilting her head. If that wasn't enough of an indication that, to her knowledge, her friend had never exhibited any capacity to do magic, then the following most likely was. "I don't think so, um... don't you need to go to a big school or get a teacher to learn magic? She's not doing any of that..."

She trailed off a little.

"Um... she's really nice though... she was trying to help me find Ennifer! But then she said there was something she had to do all of the sudden and that she'd get somebody else to help... and then you showed up! The Iron Roses really are the best..."

Mae had so much faith in the knights that even though they hadn't found the puppy yet, she seemed certain that they would.

@Noodles@Crimson Paladin

Klaus
So that was just a friendly question, and the girl was quite taken aback. The was she answered was very suspicious, not that hers is the kind that would bring doubts. What the kid had reacted was that not the kind for her to arrest her at the spot, but , she wasn't assured to trust her completely. There is too much of that girl wanting the knights to go to the tavern. A tavern wasn't really a good place to hang around. And hired blades are easy to get by in such places.

"Ohh? Is that so, she looked like a student to me... There are also naturals that didn't go through formal trainings." She replied with a disconcerted wave, walking off immediately in her striding steps to walk away from the town centre, not caring about what the young child had wanted to reply to her. For now, as far as she can, get away from that girl, and not to meet that Rissia. "They are of the same lot! Damned them!"

Without a concern, Klaus headed for the tavern, she was not going to bingle words with any more children. Its much as she felt the place being a trap in one way or another, but there weren't other clues that she could find other than the two girls. Despite being tempted to storm the tavern with an army behind her, she doubted the approach will work with the Rissia that can disappear at will. Invisibility? She doubted so, but it might be the same spell that transported an army of goblins from thin air.

But magicians are more evasive than the orcs and goblins, her old title of the Eater of Orcs are for naught, not that she cares about that anyhow. "This better be a trap," she was not going to let this matter go unscatched. If there is nothing at the place like that, she will get reinforcements to storm the entire area for a puppy. And she wasn't joking about it. If that damned witch wanted to play games with them, she will play along.

Concealed behind her brown draping cloak, her hand is close to the sword and ready to be flung at any moment from the first step into the tavern.

Fanilly paused for a moment, warily eyeing the Dark Lady with her sword raised. There was something about her... No, everything about her was sending a tingling sensation up her spine. She was beautiful, but that smug, relaxed expression on her face, and... even if Fanilly had no capability to detect magical energy, she absolutely felt as if it was pouring off of this woman. The Dark Lady cocked her head to one side with a smirk.

"I second Sir Tyaethe's question," Fanilly said, blade glinting as she pointed it towards the woman, "Just what are you doing with all these orcs?"

"Tell them, Master!" declared the drider, brightly, "You're deceiving those orcs and using them as guar-er... you were doing that... they're all dead now..."

"How cute, Esette," commented the Dark Lady, "It's adorable that you trusted me so much... I almost feel guilty."

The drider stared at the Dark Lady for several moments, in confusion.

"... Master? Er, that's what you told me, isn't it?" she asked.

Fanilly's grip tightened on her sword. The truth was becoming quite obvious at this point. The Dark Lady had never told her student the real reason she was using all these orcs, and likely due to the fact that the spider girl had been treated well by her teacher, she had trusted the Dark Lady's word completely.

"Indeed, but I was attempting to avoid any... mistakes," continued the woman, her smirk growing into a grin as she shut one eye, "My true goal was a simple one: To slaughter every last man, woman, and child in the town of Brennan, draw the attention of the Iron Rose Knights, and destroy them~"

It was almost shocking, how bluntly, cheerfully, the woman had explained herself. The drider's eyes widened in shock, and she was left completely speechless by the revelation.

Fanilly stepped forward, her sword raising to point directly towards the woman.

"In the name of the Throne and the Iron Rose, I am placing you under arrest," she said, blue eyes narrowing, "If you do not come quietly, your life is forfeit."

The Dark Lady's grin twitched, and she let off a peal of laughter, hugging herself and bending double as she did. This continued for a moment, before she straightened. A vicious grin was on her face, now, as she placed her left hand above her left eye.

"Come and kill me, then, Iron Roses! Slay the Witch of Wild Thorns, Beatrice!"

@PKMNB0Y@Crimson Paladin

... mad. This woman was mad. A sane person wouldn't try to kill an entire town just to get attention, wouldn't want to destroy an order of knights. But more than that, a sane person wouldn't dare to make that threat; wouldn't be so blind as history as to miss everything that had tried to do so before and failed.

Wouldn't have forgotten how extremely hard to kill all of the knights it was.

And you didn't negotiate with people like that. Or try to take them alive. Someone that couldn't be taken as a prisoner...

Tyaethe ignored the drider, breaking ranks with the others and being the first to run forwards with her blade held in both hands, invisibly biting down on her lip. Don't give her time to cast spells, don't give her time to target the captain, let the magic types think of how to cover that. When she was in close--then she'd just cut the woman in two. Unarmoured mages couldn't take much punishment.