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The next evening was Bonfire Night - a tradition from long before the Castle's memory. Everyone would be out that evening, setting fire to heaps of wood and dwelling in spaces normally confined to those who enjoyed the cover of darkness - criminals, witches, and delinquent teenagers alike. This couldn't wait for Bonfire Night. He had done his research, identifying Margrave Terricus as the culprit behind a brutal murder in the Port. Terricus had killed a widow in front of her children, orphaning them all for a family heirloom worth a pretty pence on the black market.

Warpaint covering his face, designed to look like a skull, he put his hood up. He spotted his mark - Terricus - emerge from one of the homes on Snake Slipway. Putting a hand to his head, the vigilante took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the mind of Terricus. It was a filthy and disgusting place, filled with violence, lust, and gluttony. Grimacing a bit, he placed a simple command into his mind.

Stop breathing, Antonije Magnisky ordered. He opened his eyes again, observing that there was no one in the street. It was nearing midnight, the witching hour. He emerged from his hiding spot in the alley, walking up towards Terricus, seeing the pathetic and slug like man gasping for air. However, Terricus could not fight off Antonije's hold on his mind.

"Margrave Terricus, you have failed your city," he told him calmly. He stared straight into his eyes, feeling no remorse or mercy. Terricus' veins were bulging slightly and he reached out, trying to grab Antonije to free himself but Antonije adjusted the command slightly. Don't move. The silver haired boy watched as Terricus, unable to budge, fell unconscious. Retaining a hold on his mind, Antonije waited a few minutes, before checking for a pulse.

There was none.

Antonije smirked, admiring his handiwork for just a moment, but he knew he couldn't stay very long. He needed to get home before anyone noticed he had been gone. Putting his hood back up, Antonije walked down the street, heading towards his place in the Ramblings. He'd continue his work soon enough - with Bonfire Night happening the next evening, his target would have to be one that remained indoors. There could be no witnesses.

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For the past six months, Mona has been experiencing an unusual dream. There is nothing inherently strange to it, aside from the fact that it is the only thing she can dream about and each time, the dream is exactly the same. Her dream consists of her walking into a chamber lined with green fire, the unusual color of the flames giving an eerie glow to her surroundings. No natural light comes inside and there are no windows. The quality of the air suggests that she is underground. At the end of the chamber, this man sits on a grandiose throne. "How long until the troops are ready?" the man asks. Each night before, Mona would wake up before anyone could respond. The previous night, however, she heard a voice answer: "At the end of the week, Lord Hellfire."

As for Amarantha, everything has been going more or less as she wished it to. She has been put in charge of security for the Saecular Games, as well as given a lot of input as to what sort of challenges should be featured for this historic event. The opening day for the Games is at the end of the week of Bonfire Night, meaning that residents of the Castle have plenty to look forward to. There hasn't been another appearance of Apollodora just yet, but Amarantha and Mona have continued to more or less work together. And hey, Amarantha's favorite weapons designer returned to the Castle about a month ago, meaning she is once more able to get whatever she needs from Antonije.

With the Royal Family, things have not been as great as they could have been. Queen Valda has a lot on her plate, with the Eastern SnowPlains kidnapping sailors from the Port and forcing them to join their naval forces in the fight against the Land of Long Nights. The Land of Long Nights has threatened to stop trading with the Castle, if the Small Wet Country Across the Sea does not join the war efforts against the Eastern SnowPlains. Add onto this the mysterious murders in the Castle and well... She is going to need the help of her family and advisors to sort everything out. Luna's mental illness is just getting worse and worse, and while Myrus' mental state has stabilized, he still needs a lot of work with his powers.

The Palace Courtyard...

Myrus was smiling for once as he stood outside in the courtyard, breathing in the crisp autumn air. The sun had set about an hour ago, but there was plenty light from the large bonfire set up in the courtyard. Various residents of the Castle had come here and were sipping hot cider that was being provided by the Palace cooking staff. There were little kids running around happily, carrying little dolls that they then tossed into the flames. Antonije Magnisky was getting himself a cup of cider to drink, his hands shaking slightly from the cold.

Myrus drew his red cloak a little tighter around him, letting himself enjoy this moment. He had been so stressed about Fleur and tonight was supposed to be a night of celebration. Bonfire Night was about burning away those who once threatened the Castle - as well as those who might seek to do so. The dolls represented criminals that people wished gone - Myrus had a doll in his hand he made to resemble Fleur and he tossed it into the flames, feeling a weight be lifted from his chest.

"...Oh, Mavis, hi," Myrus greeted, spotting his ex-girlfriend as she came face to face with him. He looked a bit sheepish, putting his hand behind his head.

"Myrus," she greeted with a smile, wearing the black robes of the Senior Alchemie Apprentice. "Selesia's sorry she couldn't make it... It's too hard on her, the first Bonfire Night without Arya," she explained to him, referring to her master and the mother of the late ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Arya Rincewind.

"It's alright... I noticed Rowland isn't here either," he said softly.

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Bernice had managed to successfully infiltrate the Palace Barracks as a wet nurse, having sent word to Fleur that she anticipated she would have Baby Dawn delivered to the One True Coven before the end of the year. She didn't want to rush this, as that would enhance her chances of getting caught. Fleur's training with Acantha was long and hard, but it was what she needed in order to defeat the Witch Queen. Things had finally fallen into line for Fleur to challenge her in late October, with the decision being made for her to fight the Witch Queen on the evening of November Fifth.

"My grandmother will meet you there," Acantha said, as they finished climbing up a steep and difficult mountain. There was a clearing within sight, but according to the law of the Witch Country, only Fleur and the Witch Queen could enter the clearing itself for the fight. "...Good luck," Acantha told her softly, her spirit having been broken by Fleur long ago. She didn't even know if she wanted Fleur to win or die at this point.

Acantha's grandmother, Agatha, looked like a stereotypical old witch - white hair, bright blue eyes, and a crone's nose. "You must be Fleur," she said, her voice nasally as she came forward. She was wearing a black cloak and a black witch's hat. "Choose your weapon," Agatha said, gesturing to her right. There was a table with just about every weapon imaginable laid out.

"The rules are simple. Kill me and the crown is yours."

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Since Myth and Bruce's wedding, Cuyler and Arnora were trained extensively in their abilities. Arnora's mother, Skadi, taught her to control her abilities over ice and tracking, while Runa tutored her in Asgardian magic. Cuyler, of course, learned from Klara as to how to manipulate water to his betterment. After a few months of training, they were then allowed to go with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three to other realms, in order to help reestablish peace in waring regions. However, it was more than clear that turmoil was spreading across the Nine Realms.

Of course, Myth and Bruce had been living on Asgard quite happily. Klara had gotten them a rather nice home near the Palace, all for themselves. It wasn't too far from where Bruce's parents lived, as well as his parents' closest friends, which was an ideal situation for babysitting. Some people on Asgard treated Myth a bit cruelly given that she was Midgardian, but they had largely come to begrudgingly accept her, just as they had done with Lance.

The Palace Lounge...

"Cuyler, Arnora, we have a situation," Halley greeted, wearing traditional Asgardian garb for a sorceress as she came into the room. They were in what was more or less a rec room at the Palace. She had a sort of device in her hand and she pressed it, projecting an image of a blue cube. "This was stolen from the vault - the Tesseract, the jewel of Odin's treasure," Halley explained to the pair of them.

"Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are currently on Svartalfheim, investigating the possibility that the Dark Elves are responsible. My sisters went to Nidavellir, to see if the dwarves know anything. The All-Mother has asked that the three of us go to Midgard and see if the thief has brought the Tesseract there."

She then smirked slightly at them, ending the holographic projection from the device. "I need hardly tell you who we believe the thief to be - Loki."

Myth and Bruce's Home...

It had been a while since Antonije moved back to Midgard, wanting to be more or less independent. The twins had turned fifteen while on Asgard and had more or less adjusted to life there. They too had faced some discrimination, but given that they had superhuman speed and knew some Magyk, it helped them to more or less avoid anyone who was being rude to them. "Majko... When is Antonije going to come back?" Marya asked Myth, appearing next to her with a gust of wind all of the sudden. She looked a little sad. She only recently had started using Myde English with Myth as well.

Little Halden had been taking a nap, since it was rather late in the evening, and apparently decided that now was the perfect time to wake up screaming and crying. The smell in the air would instantly tip Myth off to the fact that he had woken up, went in his diaper, and was now crying since he was uncomfortable (but really, who could blame him?)

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Life on Asgard had become exceptional to Cuyler. He thrived here, learning more about his ability from his mother and a more intimate understanding of the history. His family history. With his growing ability there came a growing confidence within himself and Cuyler had grown into quite the fighter. He protected and served Asgard with his life and although most missions tended to be more training, Cuyler handled everything seriously when it came down to it. He liked going on missions and helping Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. It was a whole other world fighting and learning alongside them.
Today however was a reprieve from all that learning and training. Cuyler stood with his back to the dart board, showing off a bit and turned around at the last second and threw his last dart, aiming for the bullseye. He came up short however and cursed himself. This game of darts was a bit advanced though, for there were obstacles in the way and one could also use their power to aid them in achieving their ends. It was a far more entertaining game this way.
Halley walked into the room, interrupting Cuyler and Arnora’s fun. Cuyler and Halley had become, tolerant of each other but that was about it. Cuyler felt like she still didn’t trust him or his ability. Whatever the problem was, it seemed she would have to put her feelings aside for she needed their help. Cuyler would have to thank his mother for the mission. He looked at the projected image, having seen the thing before. At the very least it looked familiar. Cuyler’s eyes shone when Halley announced that Loki had been the one to take the object. Excellent. Ever since Loki had made an appearance at Myth and Bruce’s wedding, he had wanted to get his hands on the trickster. Sure he had been a sort of role model and teacher for his mother but he was also a problem and disrupted the balance. Not to mention making his mother uneasy. The only problem Cuyler had with this mission was the idea of returning to Midgard. Much had changed and Cuyler had pretty much moved past Arya, immersing himself in his studies but he still wasn’t seeing anyone else.
The hologram faded and Cuyler met Halley’s eyes. ”Do you have an idea where on Midgard he could be?”

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Children’s laughter and screaming filled the Palace courtyard. Bonfire night was one of those nights that everyone was allowed beyond the Palace walls and could mingle freely with the royals. Which meant a bigger headache for the commander of the Palace Guard. Amarantha stalked around the fire, watching as dolls were thrown in and then people moved off to drink their cider. Crime had spiked within the Castle and unrest was growing outside the Castle walls with two of the Castle’s enemies doing whatever they could to cause headaches. Of course most of the information was privileged and with Fleur still not showing her face, the unrest there had died down some. However, Amarantha made sure to still have eyes and ears open for any movement on that front.
Her eyes scanned the perimeter, watching for her men and woman’s positions before she went back to her own. Myrus found an old companion and so Amarantha attached herself to Antonije. Her green cloak billowed around her as she moved to stand beside the white haired man. When he reappeared Amarantha nearly cried with delight. She still had no idea what they would be fighting but she knew who and so she knew what she would need from him.
”How is the progress going on my latest request?” She wanted Fleur disorientated when it finally came to the fight they were all expecting and so she required some sort of sensory deprivation tool in order to achieve these means.

Titan was guarding Princess Luna still, Lennox was several paces behind Prince Myrus in the Palace Courtyard and Phoenix and Alcott are guarding Queen Valda, wherever she is.

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For months Ahote had been combing through papers on his down time from tutoring the Prince. Any information on the ring or witch defense was everything that he was looking for. Although recently he had started looking up fire and the control of that. There was a baby, Dawn was her name. She had developed a nasty habit of setting things on fire and with his advanced ability, Amarantha seemed to think that problem was right up his alley as well. Thing was, Ahote never dealt with baby’s who had a power before. His people developed their power when they were much older and were trained for years before that in order to handle their power. Trying to tell a baby no you can’t burn that, was like telling glue to not dry. It wasn’t exactly a science. Mostly Ahote just ran around putting things on fire out and keeping the little thing as calm as possible.
For the moment, Ahote was getting some more information on old ruins and symbols in his head while he got ready for the bonfire. Everyone was excited for this night. Including Myrus. Ahote had helped build up the various bonfires as well and was eager to get his hands on some hot cider and converse with people throughout the Castle. He had made various friends but stuck mostly with the royal family and Palace Guard. He had created a sort of family here and with the Prince’s progress in his emotion and now power, everyone seemed to be a little more accepting of the True North native. Ahote finally decided to call it a night with research and put his papers away before he dressed in warmer clothing and headed out of his room.

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The last several months had been really hard on her, her mental health had declined a lot more now and she was hearing the voice constantly inside of her head now. She had spent most of her days now in her room, in fear of losing control over herself which had happened three times now. Luna looked outside of the window, it was suppose to be the Bonfire Night, which she always did enjoy going out and seeing the others in the Castle having fun. Luna feared having to go out in public and talking to people, she hadn't made to many appearances outside of the Castle either.

Luna slowly sat up as she made her way over towards the mirror in her room and looked at herself for a moment, she hadn't been taking to much care of herself. All the while the voice in her head was singing a very annoying song in her head which she couldn't get it out of either. And not to mention Fleur still was very quiet as well which she didn't like and she was exteremly paranoid about the witches all coming out as well, and the war between the Eastern SnowPlains and Land of Long Nights wasn't good either. Luna closed her eyes and sighed a little bit and decided to get some fresh air, and headed out of her room.

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Arnora was enjoying all the time she had been in Asgard learning a lot from both her mother and Runa, she felt like she was pretty confident with her magical abilities now that she had picked up from Runa. Also learning from her mother she felt good enough to track as well as her ice abilities. Arnora also liked going out into the other realms helping out with keeping the peace with Lady Sif and the Warrior's Three. She was laying down on a couch reading through some books that she had found, Arnora would occasionally look up at Cuyler as he played darts when she heard Halley speaking up.

Arnora stood up setting the book down as she looked at the little device that she had with her seeing the glowing blue cube there, she had heard of it once before. And of course Loki had it, most likely as she thought about it and looked over at Cuyler for a moment if he was on Midgard he wouldn't be to hard to find. "If he's somewhere on Midgard I think I could find him." Arnora said looking over at Halley and smiled at her. "When do we leave and any kind of leads or do you have something of his as well?"

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Myth had been hustling as she prepared the home for her family. She had never considered herself much of a homemaker, and truth be told she still didn't, but it was important that Halden grow up in a household that showed they cared. Plus, she had her other "children" to tend to as well and her husband. So most days were filled up with taking care of her son, cleaning, cooking. It got a bit boring. She wished for some freedom, somewhere to go to let off steam.

Halden began crying at the point where Marya showed up. Judging by the smell, Myth knew why too. She picked up her crying son and brought him over to the table and began to change and clean him as she answered the girl. "Truth being told, I don't know. I have my hands full most days and I trust you and your siblings to take care of yourselves. Once I see him though, you can bet I'll be asking." She quickly got Halden all nice and clean and picked him up and held him close to her. Gently rubbing his back.

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Myth had trained and prepared. From what she gathered, her Coven was handling things with relative ease in her absence. And this was important work anyway. Acantha had trained her more out of fear than anything else and that suited her just fine. It ensured that she wouldn't hide things from her. Fleur had flourished well and was now ready to take on the old crone.

She didn't look too intimidating, but looks could be deceiving after all. She scanned the weapons on the woman's right. "I've no need for weapons. Take one if you must but I intend to beat you with Magyk alone." She trusted her skill enough to know she was powerful enough to take on the woman.

"Simple enough rules. Shall we begin or are we going to talk more?" It was more of an incentive to get the woman to make the first move so she could easily retaliate.

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Bruce was glad to be on Asgard more of full time as opposed to jumping back and forth between there and Midgard. Sure, he didn't have the best of memories from his childhood or anything, what with people fearing him and his sisters, but it always was going to be his true home. He felt out of place on Midgard and only had been there because of the twins and Antonije, having wanting to try and be a better parent of sorts for them given how bad things had gone previously. Though things likely were going to be not the best all things considering, after all, most Asgardians tend to be a bit full of themselves and look down at anyone who wasn't from Asgard, or even those who were born there and were part Asgardian. It definitely made things a bit interesting to say the least.

Hearing Marya's question as well, and noticing that Myth was dealing with the baby, he looked over at Marya, "Antonije lives on Midgard, it's his home you know, as it also is kind of yours too. I don't think he really wants to come back to Asgard or anything like that, but that doesn't mean we can't see about going back there to see him anytime you want to. There isn't exactly too much to do around here once you've been here a few years, so I don't really blame him for wanting to go back. So if you and Medea want to visit Midgard and see Antonije, then I'll take you there, okay?"

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Valda was currently by herself at the moment, but she was contemplating leaving her room to go check on her sister. Her mind going back to all of the different problems that they were caught up in because of the two warring countries around them. There wasn't much that she could do about it, odds were that the Castle would be dragged into the war one way or the other no matter how hard she tried to prevent it. Not to mention one nation was kidnapping sailors from the Port and the other was threatening to cut off trade if they didn't join their side. It gave her a bit of a headache, so she walked out of her room and started down the hallway to see about finding Luna.

It didn't take her long to reach her sister's room, and she saw that her sister was walking out of it. She was glad that Luna was walking around and not just staying off by herself all of the time, that likely wouldn't be a good thing if she did. "Hey there Luna, how are you doing?" she asked her sister with a bit of a smile. Valda wasn't too sure what else to say to start the conversation, but decided to just go with it.

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Sylvi always did prefer nights like this one, nights of celebration of sorts when they'd be able to just forget about any sort of worries that were troubling them and just move on with life. The one thing that did concern her was the fact that she knew that Antonije was keeping things from her, and it was bugging her to no end. She knew that maybe she could use her bardic magyk on him again to try and get him to tell her, but she didn't want for that to happen at all. Sylvi trusted him, and she didn't like using her powers to control others either, so she wasn't going to until she saw a reason that she should.

She walked around, not sure what to do, or who to really talk to, but she did eventually find her way over to where Antonije and Amarantha were. It still puzzled her slightly what it is that Amarantha had Tate building for her, but she figured it was none of her concern. "Hey there Tate, how are you doing?" she asked him somewhat softly, sort of hoping that she wasn't really interrupting what it was that Amarantha was saying or something.

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How many times had she awoken from this dream with shivers running not only through her spine but through her soul? How many times had she seen the unchanging face of that man? How many times had she seen his throne and the darkness that seemed to seep off of him? All those times things had not changed. She could describe the dream in acute detail now. She could count the number of whiskers upon his face and rings upon his fingers. Today she awoke feeling dread for the dream had changed. There was new information and what it meant... Well, she had never been the sort able to decipher dreams. She would have taken this to one of the grandmothers back in her tribe.

Mona went through the process of self-care, bathing, combing out her wild curls and rubbing a finger over her teeth to clean them. She dressed warmly for the day, not forgetting to bring along her usual belt of stones and supplies strapped firmly about her hips. Mona had almost forgotten about the celebration today. It was something new and foreign to her but she did love a chance to drink and dance and be merry! How sad the day should start out with such anxiety.

It was hours and hours before she finally found the only person she had spoken about these dreams with. Amarantha was with a young man and woman. The pair seemed to be at the latter end of their teens and she knew she had met them before. However, Mona was despicable at remembering names and could not recall either. The rock witch hesitated, which was a rare thing for her to do as she was the type to charge forward stupidly and blindly. Finally, she decided to approach them. The young male held a cup of cider and the scent of it wafted toward her. It made her mouth water and she remembered she had not eaten all day. "G' den," she greeted with a tone of optimism she did not feel. By now her curls had dried and were a comparatively tame halo about her lightly tanned face. Her wide lips were drawn back in a smile which showed a few too many of her teeth.

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Antoninje glanced at Amarantha, before pulling out some items from the pocket of his cloak. One of them looked like a simple rod with a button at the end. The rest were more or less glorified ear plugs made out of wax. "Induced paralysis will occur in those who hear this sound - the plugs are for your protection. Just press the button," he explained. He knew it wasn't exactly sensory deprivation, but it had been what he had come up with and he figured Amarantha would have a use for it.

"If you'd like, I can do a demonstration," he offered. He didn't mind not hiding this part of his life from Sylvi. She knew that he designed weapons and other items for Amarantha - and others. He waited to see what Amarantha's answer would be, figuring that they could get some member of the Palace Guard to serve as a volunteer and find an area away from civilians for him to show it off to her. He did need to get paid, as he had to pay his and Sylvi's rent after all. He then gave Sylvi a grin as she came over and kissed her. "I'm fine, how are you?" he asked.

Mona would feel something brush up against her mind, as if there was some sort of person with mind reading abilities nearby. Antonije looked at her, tilting his head slightly and frowning. He didn't really remember seeing her before, so he figured that she was one of Amarantha's friends. "Is she with you?" he asked Amarantha.

Inside of the Palace, Ahote would stumble upon Luna and Valda in the corridors. He would also notice that there seemed to be more individuals inside than he would anticipate - and servants he had never seen before. If he focuses on their auras, he'll be able to tell that they have murderous intent. They have abilities too. He will be able to tell that these creatures are the Children of the Night... Vampires.

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Agatha selected her weapons from the table - twin torches. They were symbols of an ancient goddess of magic. While most had forgotten the old ways and traditions, Agatha knew better than to sweep those goddesses under the rug. She held Hecate as her patron. She lit the torches with Magyk, producing a purple Fyre that would not be extinguished by water or lack of air. "Age before beauty," Agatha quipped.

It took the old witch a moment, but Agatha was the Witch Queen for a reason - her Magyk was advanced and dangerous, even perhaps Darke as well. There was a blaze of blinding light that would force Fleur to close her eyes for a moment - if she didn't, she would be seeing spots for a few minutes - and once it resolved, there were thirteen Agathas, surrounding Fleur in a circle. Their voices all spoke in unison, with a strange distortion that would make it impossible to identify the real one.

"I hope you are prepared, child," the Agathas said, as they turned the twin torches in their hands on Fleur and shot fire at her.

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The Palace Lounge...

Halley picked up on Cuyler's interest in this and she rolled her eyes disapprovingly. He seemed too keen on adventure and mythical fights, that he forgot that heroics rarely paid off. Those who put their lives on the line ended up dying a horrible death. Her siblings had been spared from that fate due to Nova's abilities and the fact that they were stronger than the average demigod, but she had met hundreds of demigods over the course of her lifetime. They rarely died of old age. "My mother performed a tracking ritual and believes that Loki was in the Isles of the Shining Sea - south of the Big Wild Land Over the Ocean," Halley explained.

"However he had doubtlessly moved from now..." She then nodded at Arnora, pulling a dagger from her belt and she handed it over to her. "This belonged to him, though he has not used it in some time," she explained. Halley didn't know much about Arnora's tracking, but she hoped that the scent had not gone cold, so to speak. She wanted to leave with them for Midgard before her father found out what she and her sisters were doing on the All-Mother's behalf. He was monstrous when he was angry. "We leave for Midgard as soon as you two are ready."

Myth and Bruce's Home...

Marya huffed slightly, not exactly satisfied with Myth's answer. Her brother was on a completely different planet than her and she wasn't exactly certain where on Asgard her twin was at the moment. Besides, the baby got all of Myth and Bruce's attention as far as Marya was concerned. It just wasn't fair - the baby was the last one to show up. Why did Halden get all the attention? "Глупа беба," Marya muttered. There was a gust of wind and Marya flipped a table over in frustration.

She didn't seem to be particularly calmed down by Bruce promising to take them to Earth to visit their brother. Marya was bored of Asgard and she reached out to her twin, poking her telepathically. "Где си?" Marya asked her sister. Twins seemed to have a telepathic link and that was certainly true in her case. The baby seemed to have calmed down and stopped crying, but there was a knock at the door. If someone went to go and answer it, Bruce's mother Runa would be standing outside, looking a bit worried.

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Cuyler frowned a little. Loki would never stay in one place too long and he had a habit of disappearing at the last minute too. He watched Halley hand over a knife and prayed Arnora would be able to find him.
”Why don’t you work on tracking him Arnora and I’ll go gather up some supplies and our usual weapons,” Cuyler offered. He wanted to split off while Arnora did the tracking. The sooner they had everything they needed, the sooner they could get down to Midgard. Time was the only thing they had. It was a little hard to trick a trickster.
He ran a hand over his freshly shaved face and looked at both girls before he walked off. He would make quick work of gathering spare clothes, weapons, a bit of food and some water. They would need to travel light if they were to make ample time. They could travel to Midgard quickly but once they were there, they would have to track and hunt and run in order to reach their goal.

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Amarantha looked at the little device curiously. This tiny thing could render a person paralyzed? She looked at Antonije with a bit of disbelief but then also appraisal as she took the device and ear plugs from him. He had yet to let her down and his inventions were always exciting.
”I would love a demonstration,” she cooed. Her eyes sparkled mischievously even while she looked at Sylvi. Amarantha didn’t mind her barging in. She seemed good for Antonije and he still got his work done even when she was around. Mona then joined them a short while after and she sighed a little. Why was it when one was busy, that was when everyone decided to show up.
”Yes, she’s with me,” Amarantha answered Antonije. She eyed Mona and her freshly cleaned form. ”Did you just wake up?”
With the dreams she had been getting and the lack of sleep, Amarantha wouldn’t be surprised. Perhaps she had another dream. The same reoccurring one. They had gotten no further on what it could mean, who this person was or what they could possibly have to do with Mona or the Castle. It was all rather annoying and time consuming. Things seemed to keep popping up around the Castle that led to nowhere fast and Amarantha had enough to deal with. There was the elusive Fleur and then Luna's increasing problem with the voice in her head. Nothing was working for her friend anymore. Not the writing, the tonics or talking about it. Luna was in her room most of the time and Amarantha hated it but it was the best option. Luna was unpredictable. She looked back at her partner in beautiful, witch, fighting crime.
”Shall we have this demonstration now while everyone is preoccupied with the fire?”

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As Ahote left his room, he saw extra guards then flaming red hair and smiled a bit. He felt he had grown a bit closer to each member of the royal family and enjoyed being in their company. He walked over to them, nodding to Valda and Luna’s guards as they all exchanged looks and nods. Ahote bumped into a servant as he passed and took pause. There was a lot of foot traffic in this hallway today, which wasn’t normal. He would think everyone would be out at the fire tonight too, not inside… Ahote’s eyes wandered over the people and colours began to shift and appear around each one. A certain shade followed several people which was rather unusual. Another was more obvious as he had seen this aura on several occasions here. Wickedness and murderous intent. It seemed a common theme at the Castle to have those things. Amarantha on occasion showed one or both of those auras. But the other strange aura was something he hadn’t seen before but had knowledge of. Being at the Castle he learned many things about this land and the various creatures it housed. Things he had that were similar back home but very different here. With his increase in knowledge, Ahote was able to pick up on this different aura and what it meant. His eyes widened and he took two long strides until he was up behind Valda. The guards looked at him curiously but they trusted Ahote as they had all sparred and practiced in the barracks weekly.
”I think it best if we step inside… The hallways are a little crowded.” How did you tell someone there were murderous creatures inside their home without alerting said creatures?
Ahote looked at Valda pointedly before darting his eyes over to one of the creatures. He didn't move his head though, hoping the subtle hint would be enough to get Valda to trust him enough to listen. Once behind closed doors, he would be able to explain and then they might be able to come up with a quick plan. As Ahote waited for Valda he quickly ran through what he remembered about vampires and how to dispatch them.

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Luna was just about to continue her way down the hallway, she jumped slightly as she turned around to see that it was just her sister Valda letting out a quiet sigh as she started to calm herself down. "I'm doing alright I guess.." Luna said softly as she ran a hand through her hair as she tried to relax, she was incredibly paranoid still with everything going on. "How about you, how have things been?"] Luna asked Valda turning to face her sister for a moment, she knew the news going on with the war between the two countries weren't good at all either.

She then looked over to see Ahote coming up to them she had started to trust him more for everything that he had been doing with her brother, but she still wanted to keep her declining mental health a secret as well. She had noticed that there were a lot more servants in the hallways recently as well. She figured that all the activity was due to the nights events as well, but she got the feeling that he was worried. "We can go in my room." Luna said softly as she waved both Valda, Ahote as well as her personal guard and sister's into her room in case they wanted to go in there.

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Arnora accepted the knife and looked over towards Halley and smiled towards her, and nodded. "It shouldn't take to long." Arnora said as she looked down at the knife while Cuyler started to go and gather their things. While she used her tracking and a basic spell that she had picked up from Runa as well which helped. As she started to pick up his location and then looked over towards Halley as soon as Cuyler left the room to grab their things to leave.

"Well, I got the general area where Loki is right now but you or Cuyler well most likely he might not like it." Arnora said as she handed the knife back over towards Halley. "His current location is in the Small Wet Country Across the Sea's Castle right now." Arnora said figuring that since they had left there months ago and the situation with Arya wasn't that good either.

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As the young man looked her over she felt something touch at her mind. It was foreign, this feeling of a presence touching what could be considered the innermost part of her. It was disgusting and violating. She felt the need to perhaps boil everything she was wearing as well as her own flesh to get rid of the feeling of an unwelcome intrusion. Instinctually, her mind hardened against the brush, like a wall of rock to attempt to keep the offender from touching anything thing else. It was by no means a practiced reaction, just one borne of a natural need to protect one's self.

Feeling a bit dazed and vulnerable, Mona pulled her multi-colored and patchwork cloak more tightly about her curvy frame. She wore a sour expression on her face while the boy spoke. It was nothing to do with the way he spoke or looked at her. It was merely from the brush of a foreign mind and a lack of food. A small, grumpy feeling had fleetingly taken a hold of her.

"Aye, ma'am. A couple o' hours ago. When you be havin' dah time, I be needed to hold yer ear for a breath." Her features lightened, not being the sort of person who let the bad things of the world weight down on her for very long. She offered the pair Amarantha stood with a quick smile. "I t'ink I first be needed some o' that grog." She used her chin to gesture toward the mug. "Find me later, I'll be about." She pushed a hand through her cloak to wave her goodbyes as she merrily made her way toward delicious smells. Amarantha was currently busy and it was merely a dream... right?

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Myth still held Halden close, but she also wanted to bring in the girl too. She would let the table flip go, especially since Bruce seemed fine. "Listen, honey. I'm doing my best here. Motherhood is new for me. I got this little guy here who needs me A LOT more than you or your siblings. Mainly because I trust you all to be able to handle yourselves. But I will tell you what. I'll come visit too. We can make a day out of it. How about that?"

Before she could continue her speech, there was a knock on their door and she went to go answer it. Opening it up, she was faced with Runa. "Oh Runa. Hello. Please, come in. Is something wrong?" Judging by the woman's appearance, there was something to be worried about. Given all that has occurred, she was dreading the news.

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Fleur shut her eyes as the old witch attempted to blind her or disorient her. But no, upon opening them she saw her true intention. Each clone was identical, Fleur could see that. It would be near impossible to guess the right one. She could only smile though. She had expected this fight to be fun. "Have to admit, did not expect that. But as I said, I need nothing more than my wits to handle you." Soon, Agatha launched fire at her and she dodged quickly. She took out her only "weapon" of sorts. The Time Stone. She closed her hand around it, summoning its power. At the center, she could feel some warmth as time moved around her. She couldn't control the speed though, it had always been a struggle, so Agatha aged back considerably, appearing 20 years younger. Fleur let out a laugh. "Well, seems your clones are gone and I made you younger! You should thank me considering you are about to die."

As quick as she sped time back, she lifted up a hand and gazed intently into Agatha's eyes, entering into her mind. Concillium was a newly acquired skill due to her recent adventure, she had been aching for a chance to use it. "Now, listen close. I want you to take one of those lovely blades you have lined up there. And I want you to cut off your own dominant hand." Agatha would have no choice, her will now belonging to Fleur.

Once the woman's hand was chopped and she relished in the screams. She continued. "You bit off more than you can chew, worm." She sent forth a dark mass of Darke Magyk, entering into the woman. From the inside, Agatha would feel her body on fire as her blood slowly boiled her from the inside out. It would be a slow process of death. One Fleur would relish watching.

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"I've been alright, wish things would calm down just a little bit, but that's too much to ask for..." she said with a slight shrug, looking at Luna. Valda turned her head over and saw Ahote there, and she was wondering what it is that he was up to. Hearing his words, she was a bit confused as to what it was that he was going on about. The halls being crowded? That made absolutely no sense, especially given how a lot of people were outside for Bonfire Night.

"Of course, let's go in," she responded, nodding her head slightly before she walked inside of Luna's room. After a few moments, she turned back around, and looked right at Ahote, "So, mind explaining what is going on? Did you see something?" she asked him a bit softly, unsure of what was really going on. This was a really strange situation, did this have something to do with Fleur and her eventual attack? Or was it someone else?

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Sylvi gave him a smile, returning his kiss. "I'm doing alright, might see about doing some sort of performance later maybe, see about earning a little bit of money or something," she said with a slight shrug. Hearing him talk to Amarantha though, made her realize that perhaps she might have been interrupting some conversation about what he's been working on. Another thing that she did know, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to be around during a demonstration for whatever device that he was giving to the woman. Sylvi didn't know who it was that was with Amarantha, and didn't really know what to think of her.

"Sounds like you have your hands full here... I might see about wandering around a little bit or something..." she said simply, giving him a bit of a smile. It was fine with her, though she did notice that he didn't exactly seem to be around too much, and she stopped wondering what it was that he was doing. Well, more of just pushed her curiosity into the back of her mind, using the slight excuse that it might be him helping out Amarantha or something. Though a little voice in the back of her mind kept saying he was hiding something from her, she just wasn't sure what it was. She gave him another smile, "Well, I'll see you in a little bit then," she added as she wandered away from him, Amarantha and Mona.

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Bruce let out a sigh, going over to Marya, "Hey, it's okay Marya... We can see about going to Midgard right now if you want to, how does that sound?" he said softly, giving her a bit of a smile. He was used to people throwing tantrums of any sort, he did have two younger sisters, and one in particular who always was getting into trouble. This was pretty common in his family, that was for sure.

Hearing the door and seeing Myth get up to go see who it was, he followed along behind her, and was a bit surprised to see his mother standing there. However the look on her face made him a bit nervous. "Mother? What's wrong? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I can definitely tell that something is going on... What is it?" he asked her, he had a worried expression of his own on his face now.

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The Palace Courtyard...

Antonije nodded, giving Amarantha a slight smile. He always got a sense of pride out of demonstrating his work. So many people in the Castle believed that Magyk was the ultimate answer to every question, the solution to every problem - but he preferred machines. To him, Magyk was hardly a science. It wasn't exact. Even as wizards claimed that their work had patterns and rules, it was little more than organized chaos. He stared at Mona for a moment, having sensed the slight rock of a mental wall she had put up. He always did love a challenge. It was a shame that she was heading off. There was something about her that was unusual.

"If you get a member of the Palace Guard to volunteer, then we can begin the demonstration," Antonije mused. He knew that he could use his powers to compel someone to cooperate for this, but he figured that Amarantha would prefer to do things her way and that was fine by him - as long as he was getting paid.

Meanwhile as Mona made her way to go get something to drink and Sylvi wandered off, there were numerous options available to them. There was hot cider, as well as tea - and then something a bit stronger for those that were old enough to consume spirits. For food, there was mostly what could be called dessert bread - loaves of freshly made bread with bits of fruit and nuts mixed into the dough. The entire design of it was quite exquisite, meant to resemble a model of the Castle itself, and the bread pulled apart at the touch, making it ideal for serving.

Myrus was continuing to converse with Mavis Moll, the conversation less awkward than it could have been. The two of them had dated for a while and Myrus had pined after her, but it just hadn't been meant to be. By this point, he had realized that Mavis had been right all along - they were better off as friends. "I've missed this," he told her with a smile.

"I have too, My," Mavis told him with a smile.

"Maybe we could go boating together, like old times?" he suggested. However, Mavis didn't respond, instead starting to cough. "Mavis...?" Myrus asked, getting worried as Mavis fell to her knees. Her skin was pale and blood trickled out of her mouth as Mavis fell to the side, revealing the assassin. She was dead and Myrus' eyes started to water, as the air around his hands seemed to flicker, turning a dark shade of red.

"MURDERER!" Myrus screamed, before tackling the assassin to the ground. The assassin used the momentum and rolled, ending up on top of Myrus and he bared his teeth at the young prince, revealing a set of fangs. There was a dagger in his hand, stained with Mavis' blood and he stabbed Myrus, the young prince letting out a scream and managing to grab onto the assassin's tunic, charging it and priming it to explode.

The Palace Proper...

Poor Ahote, it seems that although he was able to recognize the vampires, he doesn't know too much about them - namely, he doesn't know how to kill them. All he can come up with is that they have enhanced speed, stamina, strength, agility, and senses. Of the rooms at the Palace however, arguably the Queen's Room is the most secure, as in order to enter, you need to be holding hands with a blood relative of the Queen. It makes it an ideal secure position, whereas Luna's room can easily be entered just by kicking down the door. None of the vampires had followed them yet though.

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Agatha knew enough about the инфинити стонес to recognize the immense power that Fleur had. She hadn't heard of a mortal possessing one of the инфинити стонес in centuries, so just that very fact ended up breaking her concentration slightly. Combined with the forced severing of her own hand from the Concilium, the de-aging by twenty years, and the boiling blood... Her focus was shattered. Her spirit was not yet broken.

"If I am a worm, then you are the corpse I shall feed from," Agatha spat. She tried to Reverse the Magyk that was causing her blood to boil, but she couldn't shake the enchantment. Experience told her then that her best bet would be to cause the witch responsible to falter, to cause the Magyk to cease as Fleur's concentration was broken. She tried to send solid discs of Magyk at Fleur to sever her vocal chords, but it was to no avail. Her body was so battered and beaten that it was difficult for her to produce much Magyk.

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The Palace Lounge...

Halley gave Cuyler a nod as he left to go fetch weapons and supplies. She was able to manipulate Chaos Magyk at will, meaning that she could essentially materialize into reality anything she needed - but that wasn't the case this time. She had already packed a bag of supplies for herself and it was slung over her shoulder. She was dressed in Asgardian armor and had a scarlet cloak on as well, with her hair braided to one side. Taking the knife back from Arnora, she grimaced slightly. "Typical. In my father's time, there was speculation that beings from other worlds had an obsession with a land called London... It is not too far from where the Castle of the Small Wet Country resides. I suspect this may be some joke on Loki's part," she mused.

"Though with his theft of the Tesseract..." Halley bit her lip. In her father's time, a being of enormous power had gathered the инфинити стонес and used them to nearly wipe out life in the universe. Although she knew that Loki most likely desired simply a throne, she didn't want to see a universe living underneath Loki's thumb. "We'll need to be discrete and effective whilst on Midgard. Our primary concern would be Fleur, the Witch Messiah... Heimdall informed me that she has the тиме стоне in her possession. Loki will go for her eventually I expect in order to collect it."

Myth and Bruce's Home...

Medea then zipped into the room and more or less appeared next to her sister. "Ја сам овде," she informed her twin. Marya was still frustrated with Myth and Bruce. They were making promises that she doubted they would keep. She wasn't biologically related to either of them - Medea was her only biological family here and the rest of her family, Antonije, was down on Midgard. What if he was in trouble and needed their help? What if they weren't fast enough to get to him? As Runa showed up, Marya looked at her sister, more or less asking Medea nonverbally if she wanted to just run out of there with her and blow off some steam.

Runa entered the household, the look of apprehension and worry on her face diminished slightly by seeing her grandson safe and sound. Halden helped to put things into perspective. "The Tesseract was stolen from Odin's treasure room," she told them, deciding to be blunt about it. "The All-Mother and I were unable to determine the thief, but... Well..." she then paused, her face paling even more as she Felt something.

"The time stone was just used... This... This is not good, Brucey. The last time multiple stones were being dealt with... We nearly did not survive it." She took a slight breath, seeming more and more panicked by the second.

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Luna started to move over towards her bed as she looked over towards her sister and nodded slightly at her for a moment, though that's what happens when you end up becoming a queen of your country you don't really get any time to rest. "I guess that's what happens when you are the queen you don't have to much rest." Luna said jokingly as she looked down as she tried to ignore the loud voice in her head which was still singing just a really loud and annoying song which she tried to stop. Luna looked over towards her sister and Ahote, she hadn't really seen her brother to much today. "How is Myrus doing anyway?" Luna finally asked softly.

Luna was also curious what was wrong with Ahote and why he suddenly wanted them to get out of the hallways as well. "Is everything okay as well?" Luna asked Ahote figuring that he knew something was wrong. Luna did want to get out for some fresh air as well, and she didn't want to e cooped up in her room anymore either and she just wanted to get out of the room.

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Arnora listened to Halley as she told her a little bit more about Loki, knowing him in the legends back home and growing up that he really wasn't anyone to be trusted and was always known to be a trickster as well. "I never really liked him in the stories growing up anyway." Arnora said, and knowing that he was in the Castle was pretty good at least. She didn't know much about the Time Stone that Halley mentioned but if Loki was there and he was probably after that as well.

"So, whats the game plan when we get back to Midgard then? Should we go after Fleur or Loki first?" She asked, seeing as Loki was in the Castle she knew that was his exact location currently, but not so much Fleur though aside from what had happened at the end of Myth and Bruce's first wedding that didn't really go to plan either.

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"Myrus is doing alright from what I can tell, think he went down to the courtyard where everyone else is, but that's just me..." she said simply to Luna, nodding her head slightly at her sister. Though what could be going on at the Palace right now? If Ahote said that they needed to get out of the hallway, then where could they go to get away from any danger? The thought then occurred to her of a place that would be better for them to go to at the moment that could potentially be better defense wise if the need arose.

"...Might I make the suggestion of going to my room? Since it sounds like there might be someone here or something based on your tone of voice nearby... Luna and I can easily get you into the room," she said to them quietly, adding the last part as sort of an after thought in case he worried about that or something. Since it was common knowledge that only blood relatives of the Queen could enter the room, but they could lead him into the room.

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"...The Tesseract?" he said, the worry in his voice was obvious at the moment all things considering. The Tesseract was a powerful object, and before he was born Loki had tried to use the device to invade Midgard, and that in itself was no easy task. He'd heard stories about how powerful of an artifact it was, and the fact that it was stolen well. That definitely was a major concern no matter what. The other part about the time stone being used, well... It made him really wish he had gone toe to toe with that witch to try and take it from her.

"We'll figure out a way to deal with it mother, don't worry... Damn... Now I wish I had managed to get my hands on that stone... Mother, I know who holds the time stone, and she... Well, she definitely would use it for more nefarious means..." he said, shaking his head. "If she's using the stone right now, well, that definitely is worrisome... The Tesseract is dangerous, that I do know, and based on how things in the past have been with it, I have a guess as to who stole it... But a Midgardian witch has the time one, and that's not going to end well..."

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She didn't think too much about Tate not really acknowledging her words, he was working at the moment it seemed, as opposed to just enjoying the celebration, so she decided she'd likely be better off catching up with him a little later. Sylvi started wandering around the area, smiling slightly at the fact that it was nice to just wander around, enjoying the sort of festival. There wasn't too much like this really back where she was from. The thought of her home land made her think about the problems between the Land of Long Nights and the Eastern Snow Plains. She laughed at the thought considering the fact that she was dating someone from the Snow Plains, and she was the Princess of the Land of Long Nights.

Then she heard the Prince yell out, something about a murderer, and she wasn't too far away from where he was. Sylvi generally wasn't much of one to sword fight, but she was trained in how to use one and carried her rapier around wherever she went, and she charged over that direction, drawing her sword and reaching the prince in time to see him get stabbed by someone. "Get away from him!" she yelled out at the thing, before she slashed at the assassin. However, when she stabbed the creature, it didn't seem to phase him at all, and this was definitely not something that she could easily explain in her mind.

Pulling her rapier back, this time she decided to aim for a body part a bit more important, namely his head. She stabbed at him again, this time managing to hit him in the eye, blinding him. The problem is, she had expected to do a bit more damage to the creature then that, considering most people would die fairly easily from being stabbed in the eye. "Prince Myrus, I would suggest you get out of here!" she said, looking over at him, he really needed to get away from this thing quickly.

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Cuyler made quick work of getting to the little armoury Asgard had but little it was anything but. He grabbed a couple of bags before he started grabbing weapons. He grabbed Arnora’s usual sword and set it aside before he grabbed his new bow and a quiver of arrows. After that Cuyler made quick work of changing into his Asgardian armour. He strapped his sword, Borghild or Hildy to his side before he pulled a shining Egil and slid the handle of the axe into the side of his belt. When he was all decked out like this Cuyler was highly impressive. Not necessarily to the other Asgardians who looked like this on a daily but to the others that he encountered on missions.
He grabbed Arnora’s sword and the bags before he headed off to the kitchens to grab some food and canteens for water. He smiled and nodded at people as he went about his business. When Cuyler first arrived there were many people who looked like him going about their lives and doing what he was doing now. It was a normal thing but for Cuyler he constantly asked where they were going or what they would be doing. They obliged him for the first while but then it got rather annoying and they would just ignore him or do something more damaging. Cuyler eventually learned when to ask questions and when to keep his mouth shut.
While he was in the kitchen he heard a familiar sniffling and tink of nails against the floor. There was a push against the back of his legs as Thia nudged into him and sat down beside Cuyler's left leg. She gave a small bark and her tongue lolled to the side. Thia came to the kitchens often looking for scraps, today was no different. Cuyler looked down affectionately at her and chuckled before tossing her some meat.
"Eat up quick, we're going on another adventure," he informed her. Thia was a comfort on most of his missions and was an important assent in scouting ahead. Thia barked and stood, wagging her tail as she ate up quickly. Cuyler left the kitchens before Thia once he had the supplies gathered but she quickly caught up.
Cuyler entered the Palace Lounge with Thia on his heels and tossed Arnora her sword.
”So, where are we going?”

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Amarantha frowned at Mona. She had spent enough time with the rock witch though that she understood how she spoke and could get around the accent fairly easily. Still, there were some days were it was highly annoying. She waved Mona off when she said to come look for her later. Yes, they probably did have some things to discuss. Amarantha had been busy with war council meetings, planning out ways to defend the Castle against more than just witches. Everyone was out to get the Castle now and it was causing Amarantha more and more headaches trying to keep up with some of them.
She looked back at Antonije and compiled by looking over the various wandering guards. There were a couple that she thought of but she simply waved the closet one over.
”Will he do?” Amarantha crossed her arms, eager to get this demonstration on with. She had high hopes for whatever he had come up with. They needed a win. There was a sudden scream and worded cry that sounded of the Prince. Amarantha turned her entire body to face the sound of the scream and dropped her arms so they hung loosely at her sides. She turned in time to see Mavis Moll fall to her knees with an man standing behind her, a dagger covered in her blood. Mryus then tackled the man but of course he was overpowered but his hands started to glow and she knew the man had no chance but Myrus would probably be seriously hurt as well. It was never that simple though as Amarantha noticed a set of fangs as the man, well Vampire bare his teeth at Mryus. Excellent.
”Actually Antonije, would you mind trying your new toy out on this young man? Seems he doesn’t know how to let people have a good time without a little blood. Try to leave the Prince unharmed but if you can’t, you won’t be penalized,” Amarantha assured him. It seemed there were other people who wanted to play hero though and Sylvi charged the Vampire and Mryus. Amarantha gave an annoyed sort of noise before she pulled out her dagger and nodded at the guard she had pulled over to act as her third. Antonije had more skill and the toy so she would rely on him being her second and not need much instruction.
”Oi, I think playtime is over,” Amarantha said to the Vampire and pointed her dagger at him and beckoned for him to join her.

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Ahote felt a little more relaxed, allowing Luna’s guard into the room with them but asked Valda’s to remain outside and act as a further guard. Surprisingly they complied with him. He looked at the two woman once they were inside.
”There are Vampires in the hallways, multiples of them. I confess I don’t know how to kill them but I might be able to fend off a few of them. They are hungry with the intent to attack and kill. I’m not sure how long we have,” Ahote said and looked to the door. He felt bad asking Valda’s guards to remain outside but they would act as a buffer if the vampires did attack and come after them inside Luna’s room.

Titan frowned. “Vampires? How do you know? They hardly ever come to the Castle. I’ve heard maybe two stories of them coming?”
”I saw their auras. They are rather distinctive and with all the research I’ve been doing of late, I came across some of their information. Unfortunately there was nothing on how to kill them properly. I’m sure I could dispatch some of them but not kill them.” He looked back at Queen Valda and nodded. Perhaps her room would be better. ”Is there a way to get to your room besides going back out into the hallway?”

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Myth would deal with the twins later (seriously, motherhood was hard!). As she rocked Halden back and forth, she followed Runa in as she relayed what was wrong. Myth didn't understand anything being discussed. Tesseract? Time stone? She imagined this was all old news to Asgardians but she stood there, a confused look on her face much like when she played peek-a-boo with Halden.

"So I'll speak up for those in the room not in the know, but perhaps you can tell me what exactly the Tesseract is and why it is important? Granted, I imagine it is important if it was held here in Asgard. Also time stone? Like a stone that can alter time? And is the witch who I think it is?" She had only met one witch and that was Fleur. She had helped her, but she knew the others were fearful of her. If she held a stone of time, then that was not good.

"What do we need to do? And yes, I said we. I'm not staying home like some housewife."

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Fleur snickered as Agatha, in her last vain attempts, tried to insult her person. "Old woman, you bore me. Your time is up and you should have accepted that long ago. I will admit, your trick before gave me pause. A handy tool I intend to use at some point. But for now, what's yours is mine. All I need is some aid." Fleur strode forward, as she approached the woman, she couldl see her damage. She placed a hand on Agatha's cheek, sucking what life force she needed. Topping herself off. The old woman was not dead yet though.

"May you burn in whatever hell is deemed necessary for you." With a quick motion, Fleur grabbed the woman's head and snapped it, feeling the life force exit out of her. She laid on the ground now. Fleur merely stared for a moment before she turned to leave. She would have to find her new force and tell them of the news that she was their new leader. She would not expect loyalty from them at the start, but she would ensure they new she was not to be messed with.

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Mona took little time to set about getting a cup of the cider as well as a delicious apple based snack to munch on as she wandered the courtyard. She was feeling less cranky now that she had some food in her system. Delicious, delightful food. Unfortunately, her consumption of delicacies was put to a short end when yelling broke out. That was the way of things, wasn't it? Always yelling. Always trouble. Something had to happen, didn't it?

She walked as quickly as not spilling her cider would allow toward the noise. It seemed that Sylvi, Amarantha, and Some Guy were all attempting to subdue some other guy. She watched a moment, taking one last bite of her pastry before tossing it aside. Mona knew she wouldn't be much help, combat skills weren't exactly what she was known for. From one of her many belt pouches, she pulled out a small red marble and held it in her hand. It was warm to the touch, imbued with Magyk so that when it impacted against something that something would burst into flames. She had no desire to set everyone on fire though so she watched, waiting for a good opening should it be required, and sipped her cider. She had not yet noticed the dead body on the ground.

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The Palace Courtyard...

Myrus had let go of the assassin, thanks to Sylvi's attack on the creature, and the assassin's red leather cloak exploded. Burn marks were all over the attacker, but it hardly phased him, just as Sylvi's strikes hadn't done much more beyond blind him. "It's not... not human!" Myrus shouted at Sylvi, hoping that she would get away from the creature before it was too late and she got hurt. Nothing human had fangs like that. He would have said the thing was a werewolf, but he had never seen one partially transform so what was it?

"No, I don't think he will, Princess Ragna, Alvis' daughter," the creature taunted, staring at Sylvi with its one eye. There was no blood coming from the eye she had stabbed, but it seemed to have scabbed over in a matter of seconds. Apparently, Sylvi was much more interesting to the vampire than Amarantha was, even as she called out and baited him. "You're awfully far from home, aren't you?" he jeered.

Antonije, meanwhile, had nodded at Amarantha. "Sounds like a plan," he said, putting in the protective ear equipment and giving a pause, waiting for anyone else to put them in as he ran over towards the creature, Myrus, and Sylvi. He didn't have a chance to give Sylvi protection, so he decided to use his telepathy to get the thing away from her first. "You will leave her alone and walk away NOW!" Antonije instructed. His will won out and the creature started to walk away from Sylvi, creating the ideal opening that Mona had been looking for.

With the creature gone, Myrus tried to scramble to his feet, tears flowing from his eyes as Mavis had been murdered in front of him. The knife wound was worse than he had initially expected though, the very movement making him dizzy and the world seemed to spin for him. For a moment, he could have sworn that he saw the old ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Arya, in the crowd at Bonfire Night. "Please... Help Mavis..." he pleaded.

Unfortunately, the creature hadn't been along. More and more were coming out of the shadows. There were at least eight outside and people had started to scream in panic, attempting to evacuate. More people were injured as they fell and were trampled than were by the attacking creatures, though the attacks themselves were strange. Rather than going for kill shots, these things seemed intent on biting people. Another one was coming dangerously close to Myrus and he tried his best to move, to protect himself, but he was too weak.

The Palace Proper...

As far as Valda would know, the only way to get to her room without going into the hallway would be through Magyk. In theory, a simple Transport should be enough to get the group from point A to point B, but there was no written record on whether or not the enchantment protecting the Queen's Room would allow that. If people could just Transport inside, then it wasn't too much of a protective barrier - of course, Nera had gotten in and killed Queen Meliscente, so how safe was it really? Outside of the room, there are some faint sounds of a scuffle - seems that someone has gotten into a fight, so it's probably a good idea to get a move on now...

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Fleur had defeated the Witch Queen. One of Agatha's final acts of Magyk came to an end, with her crown appearing on top of Fleur's head (add this to your possessions). It was the symbol of authority in the Witch Country, meaning that any witch she encountered was expected to bend the knee to her or be put to death - the only other option would be to challenge the Witch Queen for the title. And while she had been alone during this, a dark skinned figure emerged from behind a large boulder, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"The crown suits you, Witch Queen," Asha the Magykal, sister of Emperor Taj of the Big Wild Land Over the Ocean, greeted. Her hair was done in traditional braids and there was a glowing amethyst necklace around her neck. Asha had been there when Queen Valda took over the Castle. Malekith had foolishly tried to attack her, resulting in his own death. "You have come a long way from Port Witch Mother," she complimented.

As to why she was there, well, Fleur wouldn't have a clue. Asha wasn't a witch. She was a wizard. Why would she go all the way to the Witch Country and why just after Fleur defeated Agatha? It didn't seem that Asha was there for a fight, as her guard looked to be down and she was not obviously armed.

---

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The Palace Lounge...

Halley chuckled slightly as Arnora explained she never liked Loki in the stories. "I do enjoy the story where he turned into a mare and impregnated himself - it gives me a good laugh," she admitted. Her eyes lingered on Arnora for a moment before she looked away, back to strict business. She had her sword, Alfina, with her - it helped her to channel her powers, returned to her hand, and could shift form to be the weapon must suited to her purposes. It was more or less always a sword, though.

"Our mission is to recover the Tesseract and bring the thief to Asgard to face justice," Halley clarified. "Fleur isn't our concern." She then glanced at Cuyler as he came in, tossing a sword to Arnora and his dog, Thea, was following after him. She smiled a bit at the dog, remembering all of the pets her sister, Astrid, kept. It had driven their parents nuts. "We're going to the Castle," she told Cuyler. There was little sense in waiting around, so she started to walk from the Palace Lounge to the BiFrost, hoping that Heimdall would be ready to send them to Midgard.

Myth and Bruce's Home...

Runa nodded, looking at Myth and there was a slight blush to her cheeks. "Forgive me, it has been a while since I lived on Midgard," she apologized. Some things were common knowledge to Asgardians but had more or less faded into obscurity on Midgard. Waving her hand slightly, a holographic image of a blue cube appeared in front of them. "The Tesseract refers to one of the six infinity stones - I believe they are called the инфинити стонес on Midgard now. Each of these stones represents an element of existence: time, reality, space, power, mind, and soul. When used in harmony, the user becomes omnipotent... and all powerful, rivaling the power of a billion suns."

She paused for a moment, letting all of this sink in. "The Tesseract is just another name for what the Midgardians call the спаце стоне - the Space Stone. As you can surmise, the Tesseract allows the user to alter space at will. Now as for the Time Stone, yes, it allows the user to control time, violating key laws of reality and physics..." She trailed off, glancing at her son with the mention of the witch. Runa didn't know about Fleur having control over the stone. Bruce would have to answer that question.

"You two do not have to help. The information on this witch would be appreciated. But... I already know better than to talk you out of anything, Myth," Runa commented with an amused smile. "If you head to the BiFrost, you should be able to meet up with Arnora, Cuyler, and Halley - they are going to Midgard in an attempt to locate the Tesseract. Perhaps you can reclaim the Time Stone as well... I can watch my grandson."