That could've gone worse. I suppose, however, it also could've gone better.

The woman retreated upon hearing the horn, leaving Ethelred with a maimed, badly frozen bandit. Any hope of questioning them seemed moot now- the bandit was so deeply frozen that he probably wouldn't recover, and it'd be unlikely he could catch Cecilia even if he chased her on horseback.

According to Lugh, the young Tuatha squire, the battle was over, and the knights were being summoned in the strategy hall. Ethelred would guess that it had to do with the bandit attack, and how they'd be responding.

"Thank you, but, I don't need any help," Ethelred replied, placing his hand over his damaged pauldron, simultaneously relieved to be uninjured and disappointed that the blow wasn't enough to temporarily free a part of him from his crystalline carapace. "I'll be heading back now, but first, I have one other matter to attend," Ethelred stated, looking down at the frostbitten bandit.

"I'm afraid your ice burns are likely too far deep" he grimly told the bandit. "If you are spared, you'd probably suffer quite painfully before passing, so I promise to make it quick." Ethelred readied his lance. "When you're brought before Rifelshka, I wonder if she'll commend you for your loyalty, or punish you for your sins of banditry." With that, he plunged his weapon into the man's heart. Finishing off a downed, defeated foe was a rather unpleasant ordeal for Ethelred, but it was his responsibility to ensure his powers did not cause undue suffering to his foes.

With the bandit dealt with, the knight returned to his horse, which was no worse for wear, which was more than could be said for the bandit lying nearby, with a hoof-shaped mark on his forehead. Ethelred was in a merciful mood, and decided not to check if the fallen man was still breathing. Besides, surely the other knights had managed to take someone alive, right?

His business in the forest concluded, Ethelred rode back to the town. He'd normally offer the small Tuatha squire a ride, but he was still quite cold.

Od

It was somewhat satisfying to have her blade finally leave a lasting mark upon the beast, severing it's trunk as it pierced through before slicing free through the side with a draw cut. She looked down upon the creature despite their size disparity as it was brought low by the efforts of her comrades. Her icy stare lingered upon the beast before immediately snapping over to the queen as she spoke.

Od's reaction was immediate, dropping to a kneel and bringing an arm across as she listened with her head bowed. This might not of been the standard the queen operated on with others but Od had been raised to act as such with the king she last served. Old habits were hard to break.

While she would have pressed the attack it seemed the queen had other plans, talking Luna down to keep her from pursuing her foes no less. While it stung to know that the mammoth rider still drew breath, leaving her words unfulfilled, the queen had offered them the privilege to flee which they had accepted. Od would not dare contravene her queen's wishes, purging the very thought from her mind. With a flourish she sheathed her blade, it's sheath being the only thing the blade welcomed. She did not need to even clean her blade for it abhorred letting anything touch it, cutting away at the world in every sense of the term.

During the queen's congratulations of her knights she seemed to express gladness towards Od being in one piece in particular. This seemed to befuddle her, her head tilting to one side with a quizzical expression as she blinked several times in confusion. Had the queen been particularly concerned regarding the possibility of her dismemberment? Od was hardly even aware of the deep slice in the side of her neck. It hurt, yes, and it made her breathing raspy, her voice hoarse as her vocal cords were still recovering alongside the rest of her neck. None of that really impacted her tremendously. On top of knowing that she'd be good as new as early as five minutes from then such wounds were things she had grown accustomed to living with. The Fomorians were always doing far worse to her before and even after she was freed from their cruel grip she knew nothing but war. Wounds were just a facet of living, a sight no less common than trees in a forest or bodies in a battlefield.

_
After all was said and done the knights seemed to part for the time being, returning to town where they returned to their various concerns. Od's concerns were with the health of the soldiers who guarded the walls. She went over them to confirm that none were harmed during the arrow fire the walls sustained during their battle. Seeing as most if not all the soldiers were fine this led her back to Luna who seemed to have born the brunt of the damage from this battle. Out of all the knights she was the one who seemed to have had received the most lasting wounds, the others either not taking any or simply recovering from them.

Upon approaching Luna she only slightly unsheathed her blade, lightly placing her palm upon the glassy metal which left a long fine yellowish line upon the skin of her hand. She extended this hand towards Luna in a silent offer of healing, sap-like blood oozing from the cut down onto her fingers. She didn't trespass Luna's personal space for this, staying a respectful distance back until her fellow knight consented to her treatment.

No words were exchanged at this time. Od was never much of a talker, the lingua franca of this land still being her second language with her native tongue being fomorian. She can hold her own in a conversation but the intricacies of this language and her own accent often tripped her up. Such was the reason she was so laconic.

_
@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

Luna's wounds were closing and Healing at a steady rate with her own healing power. She stood in thought for a minute, wondering if she'll be punished later for her small outburst. Likely not. She shook her head in attempt to rid her mind of such things before she caught Od out of the corner of her eye. Luna didn't see what had happened after she started her multi-man brawl, but she did remember Od had herself catapulted towards the mammoth at one point.

The Knightess started to speak and ask Od about how her fight had gone, but before she had the chance, Od had cut her hand to release some of her sap-like body fluid with highly regenerative properties. She winced at the sight of it. Did she feel no pain? Luna had scarce talked to the girl and the thought had never crossed her mind.

Lunalel looked between Od's face and sappy wound before giving a small frown. The girl was offering to heal her own wounds by wounding herself. The thought didn't sit too well with Lunalel as her vision landed back on the thick blood that came from Od's palm. "Thank you Od but, I'll be fine. You're not the only one here that can heal you know." Luna said, taking a step toward her companion to show her basically healed wound on her neck, the only real indicator was the remnant blood.

That wasn't the same story for her back. It was a bit more damaged but that would heal with her constant attention. "I'm just thinking while I fix myself up." Luna giggled to herself as she smiled at Od.

Fio lowered her sword.

"... What a bunch of fools," commented the Sword Witch, a derisive glance directed at what little could still be seen of the fleeing bandits. Even with that beast, a bandit rabble like that assaulting them was doomed from the very start.

Nodding quietly to her queen's words, the girl turned on her heel and quietly stepped off the wall, the wind whipping past her as she fell. Before she hit the ground, a blue platform of light spread beneath her feet, and she lightly bounced in the air for a moment before descending a far more harmless drop, bending her knees only slightly as she landed.

Her hat, however, nearly departed from her head, and had to be held on with her free hand.

She would allow her most well-behaved doll to accompany her to hear the Queen's words. The rest would have to stay home. If all three of them behaved well...

That was categorically unlikely. There'd only be one. But in the off chance they all behaved, she would take all three.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@A Lowly Wretch@Pyromania99

Reinhardt's iron grip on the ropes finally released the massive beast's body fell limp. With a gentle huff, the knight leapt to the ground with hefty thud, dusting himself off idly as the glow from his chest would slowly fade. He eyed the battlefield calmly, his left hand reaching about his side to dislodge a pair of arrows that had embedded themselves between a gap in his plates of armor. Wrapping his fingers tightly around the pair of shafts and jerked his wrist sharply; the two projectiles falling to the ground, their heads coated in a thin layer of crimson.

Before the Knight would return to the keep as his Queen had ordered, he browsed the selection of weapons that had been left behind by the slaughtered bandits, quickly selecting a sword and sheathing it on his hip before turning toward the gate-- only stopping for a moment as he'd turn his attention to Od. "You might be able to regenerate from any injury..." he spoke coldly; his voice held in a stoic monotone, "I'd advise you stop hurling yourself at the enemy that recklessly. You expose yourself to unnecessarily taking blows that reduce your combat effectiveness to land attacks you should be able to manage regardless. It's unbefitting of a knight."

Without waiting for a response, he'd continue on toward the keep.

Location:
Airedale
Mid-morning
Airedale Fields

---

@A Lowly Wretch@Guy0fV4lor@Pyromania99

---

"...mhm, good. They suffered a crushing defeat here, Luna. They know our strength and will have time to rethink their spared life." The Queen responded to the knight, eyes studying her carefully though whatever was on her mind would quickly be turned to Fio as the young mage approached the scene of battle as the rest of the Knights dispersed to their various duties...

Reinhardt would be the first to arrive back in town, greeted by Vyrell as he'd pass by the gates. The slender youth would greet him with a usual friendly, if somewhat stern smile.

"Reinhardt. Good work out there. I'm continually impressed by your physical ability." He'd say with a chuckle, walking with the man back towards the keep. "If nothing else, I'm sure you could have fought that beast single handedly." Thankfully it seemed like most of the townspeople were quickly resuming their lives and routine as the sun had made its way over the sky, and many of the townsfolk were quick to thank the knights, and the Militia were quickly readying to start forming a few patrols around the town to make sure there weren't any stragglers.

"I don't suppose you've heard from Lady Elnith?" Vyrell asked as they'd reach the keep, stopping on the steps to the main door. "She's been out on a request from the Queen for over a fortnight now and we've not heard so much of a grumble out of her." That was...odd. It wasn't unusual for Elnith to disappear a few days at a time, but to be gone so long and to also not write or something was perhaps, a bit concerning.

---

@Crimson Paladin

---

"Ok. Got it. Ethelred can fight fifty bandits on his own." Lugh replied quickly, bouncing once before running off back to the city. As brief as the youth ever was, it seemed, and just as fanciful it seemed. There definitely hadn't been just fifty bandits but no doubt the boy was going to run off and tell them he had in fact, fought fifty bandits or the equivalent of it. He would be gone by the time Ethelred dealt the death blow to the bandit, thus ending his life. Cold, and terrified. Not an unusual fate, all things considered for those who braved the wilderness and such a rough life carelessly.

The man only struggled briefly, before dying. No doubt the queen would at least see to giving them some form of burial, or rite of passing as undeserving as they were.

On his way back to the town, he'd notice the Queen and Fio heading away from the village...right alongside a massive blue and white furred mammoth, with a trunk that seemed like it was missing a good chunk of it but also was seemingly starting to form a large sickle of ice on the end of it.

He'd just barely see Reinhardt and Vyrell heading back into the village proper, though what they were discussing was to hard to tell from this far out...what he did see though, was not something good at all. Nearby one of the villages walls, Ethelred would just barely make out a A small, diminutive humanoid with gold wings flit over it, near one of the watch towers. Didn't seem like anyone else had noticed it yet, though it didn't seem like it was honestly trying very hard to go unseen.Well...that couldn't have been anything good. A fairy? No doubt if it was here it was likely trying to get up to no good.

---

@VitaVitaAR

---

"Ah, Fio! Ahaha, good work restraining this beast." She'd offer the mage a smile and friendly chuckle as the mage walked over. "Kind of disappointed I didn't get to go toe-to-toe with it myself...but alas, I doubt this peaceable beast would ever seek fighting on its own." Her expression turned to a sigh as she'd reach out and place a hand on one of its tusks.

"Tch...can't believe that boy. Whoever raised him was far too lenient...Alright, on your feet big girl. I'm sure your not that out of it. Lift the restraints Fio." Sorcha would say to the beast. Assuming Fio's restraints would be lifted as asked, she would remove her hand from the beasts tusks, who would then proceed to slowly get to its feet. A few startled gasps and shouts came from the Militia that had started to filter out to secure the surrounding area, but the Queen paid them no heed.

"Coming along then?" She'd ask, starting to walk, grabbing one of 'Shabbis' tusks again and starting to walk. The beast, surprisingly seemed to follow without too much fuss on its part. "If you wanted some alone time you can always join me in my room at night." The queen said with a quiet, teasing laugh.

Od

"Thank you Od but, I'll be fine. You're not the only one here that can heal you know. I'm just thinking while I fix myself up."

Od's expression was inscrutable. Like a mask it moved little, showing none of the feeling that went on behind it. Inside she was a labyrinth of deep running thoughts and feelings. While she felt that Luna could just be speaking true of what's on the surface there was the possibility that she was simply being polite, shouldering the burden of her own care to not take advantage of her. Perhaps this reluctance to accept Od's help could be born from a distance between the two of them, rejecting Od's offer not out of kindness but out of a desire to not keep in her company.

Od didn't know what to make of it. This wasn't something she was good at, reading people that is. She always felt a distance between herself and those who were cultural natives to this region. As a result of her minimal levels of socialization it made it hard for her to know in truth what one's words meant beneath the surface. It was hard for her not to read too deeply or even not deep enough sometimes.

_
Od had been standing there stiffly with her hand out, lost in deep thought when Reinhardt passed her by.

"You might be able to regenerate from any injury... I'd advise you stop hurling yourself at the enemy that recklessly. You expose yourself to unnecessarily taking blows that reduce your combat effectiveness to land attacks you should be able to manage regardless. It's unbefitting of a knight."

She was stirred from her thoughts, turning to face him but he was already on his way past. Her flat distant stare was broken, giving way to a more perplexed expression. She didn't really know what to make from what he said.

But the only injury I sustained was from ambush fire???

She wanted to say but the moment had passed and it felt like it would be awkward to stammer her thoughts towards his back. Instead she simply looked on as he left before turning to the castle proper. In truth she had felt somewhat useless in the battle against the elder beast but not because she was injured. Her left eye had already grown back for the most part and the cut on her neck was little more than a sliver now. What stung most however was how useless she was against the beast. Reinhardt had managed to all but fell the beast on his own for the most part and what had she contributed? A shallow poke and a cut on it's trunk. The bloody trunk hadn't even gotten severed in full, it was embarrassing just how poorly she'd performed against it. She felt like she had spent more time being tossed about than she had been in the fight proper. The queen should not have needed to intervene on their behalf and it was a failing on all the knight's parts for letting the battle last that long.

In her doldrums she had failed to notice she was already at the castle, ready to proceed in towards the strategy room where their queen needed them. She would obey her queens command and obey without fail, there was no doubt of that. Even still, she cast her gaze briefly to the cursed blade, wondering to herself how truly needed she was in all this. In the end was she just holding back everyone by trying to join the battle instead of just letting them use her blood as the fomorians did? What was her purpose, truly?

In the end, as it always was, silence was the only answer.

So that's what was making that rumbling, Ethelred thought as he passed the massive elder beast. It was unlike any creature he had ever seen before. He had heard tales of massive beasts that formerly inhabited Albion long ago, but this was the first he had ever seen of such an animal.

The beast looked like its snout had been cut off in the battle, and curved formation of ice was now protruding from what remained. Perhaps it was regenerating, similar to how Ethelred's armor regrew. In any case, it suggested the Elder Beast had a connection to ice, something that intrigued the frozen knight. He wondered why it was involved with the bandits at all. It wasn't unheard of for Elder Beasts to menace human settlements, but why would one do so alongside pillagers?

Ethelred was about to ride over to the queen and ask about the fallen beast, but something caught his attention. A fairy flew over the walls into the town. He needed to track the fey down before it could get into trouble. If it was an Unseelie, it'd be no doubt plotting how to inflict pain and suffering upon others. Even if it was a less malevolent variant of fae, it could still get into a lot of trouble. The knight rode into the town, determined to not lose the fairy's trail.

This town seems to be attracting all sort of troublemakers today.

---

@Rune_Alchemist

Reinhardt removed his helm; tucking it neatly under his arm as he'd walk alongside Vyrell through the town, his face held firmly in his usual cold neutrality. "Spare me the hollow praise Vyrell. I simply performed as required in the situation. Nothing more." the knight responded bluntly as his gaze swept over the hustle and bustle of the townsfolk as they gradually returned to their usual routines, "While I likely could've handled the beast myself, our fortifications or more importantly; the settlement itself, would've sustained an unacceptable level of damage from the engagement... Fortunately the others; despite any shortcomings of temperament or otherwise, have proven adequate thus far in dispatching any threats that come our way."

From there the two continued in silence until arriving upon the steps of the keep, where Vyrell would speak once more-- causing Reinhardt's deliberate gait to abruptly halt. "No-" the knight replied; his jaw tightly clenched as his gaze fell to the ground, "I have not heard from her."

Elias' head turned slighty; just enough to keep the half-elf in his periphery as he'd then ask a question of his own, "And what of your own assessment? Do you think she's in danger? Or..." the man paused, almost hesitating to even entertain the idea he was about to mention, "Has her Curse claimed her sanity?"

"Yes, a pleasure to see you too Reinhardt." Luna had mentioned as the man swiftly made his exit with little regard to her presence. Well, whatever. Just because they worked together as such didn't mean she needed to make fast friends with them, she supposed. And then Od just kind of... absentmindedly left. Well, whatever. Her queen had gotten together quite the... personable people. Well, that would be rude to at least Ethelred. Fio was someone you could talk to... but... Well, those dolls were a little on the creepy side. Oh well.

For now, she was considerable healed at least. Everything was mended at least. She could focus on recovering the rest of her injuries while at the meeting later. For now, perhaps she'd check on the state of the town. Make sure no one had drank a little too much and started causing mayhem during the fighting. Not that she thought such a thing had happened, of course. The people of this town tended to act decently at least. Better than anything you could find out in the wilderness by a far margin. It made her want to check on the good people of this town. They deserved it. With that in mind, she kept her usual, confident demeanor and walked around town with a smile, greeting the people on the street that she saw. She had... A little time before she needed to be at the meeting, right?

"As you wish, your highness."

With a flourish of her sword, the blades of light restraining the mammoth disappeared into drifting sparks, which floated into the air. While she was uncertain of the nature of the self-proclaimed Queen, Fio didn't doubt her when she seemed certain that the beast would not attack when roused. If it had, she was prepared to immediately put one of her most powerful attack spells through its skull and end its life as swiftly as she could.

Thankfully, such things were not necessary, just as she thought. It seemed that it would be a little time before she could return to her dolls, though she had no doubt they were watching her from somewhere... Really now. They were such troublemakers, she sometimes wondered why she put so much effort into making the three of them.

The Queen's next words, however, caught her attention immediately.

"Y-you...!" cheeks flushed at the embarrassing implication of her words, the petite witch immediately turned away, even as she walked, "I-I'm not sure what you're insinuating, y-your highness, but it's definitely not wh-what I meant! I just thought you may want to speak after the defense of the town, and that's it!"

@Rune_Alchemist

Location:
Airedale
Mid-morning
Airedale Fields

---

@A Lowly Wretch@Guy0fV4lor

---

Vyrell would merely respond with a quiet chuckle in response to Reinhardt’s request, not seeming intent on saying otherwise. Made things simpler between them, at least if nothing else. Besides, there was a far more important matter at hand.

“Possible,” Vyrell responded as he’d walk into the keep. The silver haired youth’s expression didn’t change from one of quiet thoughtfulness as he’d respond, a sliver of a smile on his mouth. “But I doubt it from what I’ve observed. Something tells me that if the curse had, we’d have…felt something by now.” The inside of the keep had been mostly cleaned out by the militia of the civilians that were being safeguarded there by now, the large central gathering hall now empty save for the few soldiers standing guard.

“As for if she’s in danger…well, that could be likely. The Queen tasked her to look into a Fomorian that has been pillaging villages,” He’d pause a moment only to hand a written message off to a nearby soldier with instructions to deliver it to a blacksmith in town as he’d turn to finish speaking to Reinhardt. “Near the Harzelslack border. A simple fomorian wouldn’t pose a threat to her, but if some of Harzels knights found her, considering her reputation…” His voice would trail off, walking into the strategy room. The implication could easily be understood without needing to be said. Considering Elnith’s reputation in the wider world of Albion…

“Ah, Od, you are here too.” Vyrell would greet Od, who would walk in not shortly after they would. The strategy room was fairly simple - a large map of Albion spread out over a circular table, chairs around it. Just enough for the Knights, Lugh, Fio, and the Queen. A few bookshelves lined the walls against the far wall, though aside from Vyrell and perhaps Fio, they typically remained where they were. A chandelier hung overhead, lighting the room as well as it could. “Good to see you in one piece as always. Question for you, Od. You’ve not seen or heard from lady Elnith, have you?”

---

@Pyromania99

---

The town had quickly returned to its normal lively state, the people having started their day to day routine. The hammering of the blacksmith away at the forge. The gentle murmur of everyday conversation, children now out playing in the streets…the sound of Luna being followed by a curious group of onlookers and fans. It was no secret at least, that most of the knights were fairly popular…with Luna and Vyrell, perhaps, being the most of the group for their more affable seeming natures.

“Lady Luna!” A village girl would shout. “Are you hurt? I know some herbal remedies!”

“Lady Luna! Don’t listen to her, my herbal remedies are much better!”

“You dimwits! A Knight like her can’t be healed with just average medicines…I…I know some exotic Tuatha healing techniques!” Honestly it was probably nothing new for Luna having to deal with a small fan club of admirers in the village. There was someone just a bit more familiar there this time, though.

“Luna.” Lugh’s familiar voice would catch her ears. “Good work. Saw everything. You killed a hundred-bandits singlehandedly.”

“A-a Hundred! Goodness there were that many, Lugh?”

“Mhm. Luna fought all of them. By herself.” The young Tuatha responded, looking up at the knight with admiration. She was starting to be surrounded slightly by a group of onlookers. Probably best if she ditched them somewhere before she got completely surrounded.

---

@Crimson Paladin

---

Tracking a small fairy was well, not exactly easy. The only trail Ethelred had to follow, was a faint trail of gold light that it seemed to leave behind as it would move from place to place, seemingly sticking near the edge of the village wall, not having made any obvious moves to cause trouble…yet. Everything seemed mostly peaceful as far as he could tell.

“Heeeeeelp!” A sudden shout for help from nearby, shouting for help. Supposing Ethelred would go and see who was shouting, he would be perhaps, surprised to find two militia men watching a cat…bat around the fairy he was tracking like some sort of toy. “This dumb cat again-I’m not-chew toy! Lemme goooo~!”

“...I’m not touching it. I’ll get cursed!” One of the militia men would say.

“Well I’m not! I’m not gonna let myself get charmed or something!”

“Well what do we do? We can’t just leave it here!”

“...well…I mean the cat looks like its having fun-Ah! Sir Ethelred!” The two would turn to salute the knight. “We uh, have bravely cornered this fey here with our expertly trained attack cat, sir!”

“Hey! Hey! Icicle pants! Help me and I’ll give ya something-gwuh!” The cat proceeded to pounce on the fairy, shoving her face first into the ground and then decided she’d make a comfortable seat.

---

@VitaVitaAR

---

“Hm? Was I insinuating something?” Sorcha replied, a slight smirk forming on her lips as she’d walk. “I was simply thinking we could spend some time over drink or something when we’re not busy, and I could tell you a bit about the Old King. I certainly wouldn’t mind the excuse to push some administrative work onto Vyrell.” A laugh, that she seemed a bit too happy about pushing more work onto Vyrell.

The Queen walked as she spoke and as Fio would make whatever reply it was she was going to make. The beast, Shabbi seemed perfectly happy not to bother them, letting herself be led away from the town and towards the forest on the western side of it. Considering the danger Elder Beasts posed, perhaps it was a bit odd that one would let itself be led by humans so easily.

“What do you think about Elder Beasts?” The Queen would ask suddenly, as the two of them would find themselves just inside the edge of the treeline. Shabbi was having some difficulty moving between the trees, but was docile all the same. If anything she was behaving in a friendly manner, her severed trunk gently resting on the Queens hand as hers rested on its tusk. “You’ve seen them yourself on occasion, and I'm sure you know of that one that lives out in the northern fields, feeding and collecting the souls of the dead, or the one worshiped on the coast?”

Od

It would seem that Reinhardt and Vyrell had arrived ahead of her. Alas, the other knights and the queen herself were yet to show. Until the queen arrives though it was no issue. She would not show the queen disrespect by appearing late to a summon such as this and she expected much the same out of the other knights.

“Ah, Od, you are here too.”

Nod simply gave a short nod to Vyrell's greeting, her expression distant and thoughtful as always. She briefly wondered if the queen had sent summons for him as well to this meeting. There wasn't a chair set aside for him, was there? Did it matter?

“Good to see you in one piece as always. Question for you, Od. You’ve not seen or heard from lady Elnith, have you?”

The greeting, much like always, went over her head. A simple pleasantry, no reason to think deeply into it's nuances. The question however got her attention as her eyes locked on his.

"No. Is the queen asking for her?"

Her question for him was not unusual for her train of thought. If there was an issue her first and main concern was how it mattered to the queen first. Naturally she didn't find a reason for Lady Elnith to be absent as her first assumption, hence her path of thought leading her to believe that they were trying to find her at the queen's behest. If her absence were to cause the queen disquiet then it would be under Od's prerogative to immediately rectify this. She hoped it wouldn't come to that since her strengths were not in searching out missing personnel. That would be something better suited to others such as Lady Luna or Lady Fio.

Nonetheless Od would not hesitate to undertake such a task if she so much as even suspected that the queen would desire it so.

"Y-you-...!"

The Queen had to know exactly how she'd sounded, and exactly how embarrassing the implication was! Not to mention how utterly inappropriate it was! Not to mention any of the other issues with the idea!

Regardless of her actual intent, there was no way that was an accident. She'd almost certainly sought to get an embarrassed reaction.

Unfortunately, Fio couldn't exactly help that.

With a huff, she looked away again, thankful that her Highness at least decided to change the subject to a more suitable topic.

The witch's eyes drifted to the injured elder beast for a few moments, travelling over its bulky form. It was strange to see it so docile after the fight, but perhaps that wasn't entirely surprising.

"Elder Beasts, hm?" Fio responded as she walked along with the Queen, "Well..."

She considered the question for a few moments. Elder Beasts...

They weren't exactly an entirely straightforward matter, were they? Not really.

"... They're a part of this world, I suppose," she began, "Some are like spirits of nature, who just want to safeguard their lands. Some just care about themselves and their own kind. Some are our enemies, who want to kill as many people as they can. So, we should respond to them accordingly. Antagonizing the ones who can be reasoned with something only a complete idiot would do, but the same goes for trying to talk to the ones who just want to kill us."

@Rune_Alchemist

---

@Rune_Alchemist@A Lowly Wretch

Reinhardt followed behind Vyrell silently; his left canines firmly clenched on the soft flesh of his inner lip as he'd mull over the half-elf's intuitions. Nodding in acknowledgement of Vyrell's assertions, the Knight of House Reinhardt took his place at the strategy room's table; setting his helm down at the table's edge. The knight leaned forward over the map, his eyes scanning across it's varied details; his usual stoic expression betraying little of what was on his mind, as his plated fingertips rapped softly against the wooden surface.

Even as Od spoke with Vyrell, Reinhardt payed the two no mind; making only a single click of his tongue as he noted that the aforementioned villages that Elnith had been dispatched in aid of had yet to be marked.

The knight at last settled into his chair; his arms crossed and eyes drifting toward the ceiling. While it was certainly annoying that nothing had been marked ahead of the meeting, it was likely intentional; the Queen likely wanting to brief the entire Cadre of her elite knights all at once... Or she'd just been drinking too much and forgot.

Whatever the case, it didn't make much difference now.

Reinhardt sighed quietly as he stared up at the ceiling; his eyes closing as his hand idly seeking the gap in his armor once more. Armored fingers probed carefully between the plates; gently appraising the damage to the Aketon beneath. The Knight's tongue clicked once again-- assuming the next assignment would be related to Elnith's recent lack of communication, he would more than likely need to have the garment repaired before departing...

But for now?

He was content to await the meeting's start, the Aketon's repair would come later.

Luna wouldn't admit to it, but she was rather people with the people here. At home, everyone was just very friendly and got along but... Here, well, it felt somewhat different. The people that crowded her felt a little more obssessed in a way. It wasn't bad, per se... But still. "Ladies, ladies. I'm doing just fine! See?" She flexed a small bit to show she wasn't hurting. Well, she was, but she didn't show it. But then, someone spoke up about her fighting a hundred bandits. "L-lugh! That's not quite right. It was more like twenty at the upper end..." Twenty was still a lot but she didn't want people to think she fought one hundred at once! It was impressive but Reinhardt and Od had fought the beast and it's rider, not to mention Ethelred who rode to meet the bowmen in the forest. All she did was distract the weak ones with a bit of support from Fio.

"It wasn't just me, however. The other knights fought valiantly as well. You could say I had the easy part, fighting the rabble that would dare attack our beloved city. I didn't have to fight the large beast that was to assail our gates, nor the archers that rained down upon our walls. Not to mention the support I did receive from our very own Sword Witch." Luna said, singing the praise of her comrades. Truly, she had no intention to hog glory for her lonesome. "If you see any of the other knights, please give them the same praise you all have shown me, I'm sure it would brighten their day as much as it did mine." Luna gave all the people that surrounded her. Now, she should make it for the castle... but...

First, she took the hand from the first girl that had offered her medical treatment and gave her a small kiss on the back of the hand. "Thank you for the first offer of medical aid, miss." After that, she gave her a smile before looking around to everyone. "Now, I need to go to the castle soon, but I might as well ask how things are. Any concerns from anyone that the queen might desire to hear?" It was good to know the thoughts of the people and... with all these people gathered up... Now would be a good time.

This turn of events was quite amusing for Ethelred, and he couldn't help but crack a smile beneath his helmet. It appeared he wasn't the only one who had taken an interest in the fairy, whom he could clearly see had the inhuman features of an Unseelie- a cat had managed to catch her and her cries for help had alerted a few guards.

An unseelie crying to humans for help? Irony abound. Scourges of humans, bringers of many vile curses, and prey to common cats.
The guards weren't sure what to do, not wanting to get involved with a malevolent fey- after all, they were cruel enough that even helping them might not discourage them afflicting their helper with a curse. Of course, earning one's ire by standing by might just incite even crueler acts. That was assuming, of course, that the fairy wasn't so cruel that her acts ingratitude would be of the same rock-bottom depravity as acts of revenge.

There was little doubt that the fairy probably deserved this...yet it wasn't Ethelred's duty to judge who is worthy of saving and who isn't. He had good personal reasons to dislike the Unseelie, but the fact remained that this was not the one that had cursed him. As distasteful as it was, this little fey was crying for help, and he felt it was a knight's duty to help. Not for a reward, but because helping others in need was the right thing to do. Besides, he didn't have to worry too much about curses, as he was already cursed.

"I'll take it from here, men," Ethelred spoke to the guards as he dismounted. He approached the fairy, knelt down and gently shooed the cat off of the fairy, not wanting to hurt this very good feline.

"Are you hurt?" he asked the fey. "Are your wings intact enough to fly?"

Location:
Airedale
Mid-morning
Airedale Keep

---

@A Lowly Wretch@Guy0fV4lor

---

“Hmm…not exactly. The Queen asked her to look into a fomorian causing trouble near the Harzelslack border, and she has yet to return even after a fortnight.” Vyrell would respond, leaning over the table, observing the map below as he spoke, reaching for a few pieces of carved wood and slowly placing them on the map. “I’m sure you are aware, that is unusual for her at least not to write or otherwise send word. If not to the Queen, then to me.” He’d look up from his position, fixing Od with a narrow gaze. “Thoughts, on the situation, Od? Do you believe her curse to have taken hold or would you surmise she has been having some other difficulty?”

Reinhardt and Od, if they cared to look, would see that Vyrell had placed markers on several villages. Had they been the ones Elnith had been dispatched too? Perhaps, though they almost covered a wide range of area from Southern Albion all the way to its north while a lot of villages near the central regions weren’t marked.

---

@Pyromania99

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The crowd didn’t seem entirely impressed by Luna’s talk of the other knights. Shouts of her just being modest, shouts of her clearly doing better than the other knights, as well as generally just saying it was nonsense that she didn’t deserve the praise. Lugh wasn’t helping either, though the boy seemed to be doing it entirely unintentionally.

“O-oh…” The girl Luna’s hand had taken, blushed…and the entire crowd fell a bit silent. “...are you single?” That was promptly followed by a torrent of other questions, entirely unrelated to the queen and entirely related to Lunas relationship status, questions of how she remained so pretty despite being so good with a blade, if it was true she killed a giant with her bare hands, and other general somewhat, nonsensical questions.

Ah…she had been completely surrounded by a crowd now.

“Luna.” Lugh would bounce in place. “Castle. Meeting the Queen!” Making sure she wasn’t going to forget.

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@Crimson Paladin

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“S-sir Ethelred! Are you sure that’s safe?” Ethelred would reach down towards the friendly feline, who’d meow a bit in complaint as it would be shooed away from the fairy. It would make a valiant attempt to bat at Ethelred’s hand, only to realize that was a bad idea, for Ethelred was very cold. It’d run off some distance, out of the shade and watching the fey from a distance as she’d get up.

“Guh.” The fey in question would stand to her feet, barely a few inches tall and stretch her back and give her wings a test flutter. After making sure everything was in working order, she’d turn to Ethelred…and then promptly start laughing. “Pfft, ahaha, what kinda dumb human are you helping a Fairy?” She’d flutter up to Ethelred’s eye level. “I’d give ya fun present, but looks like you already got one. Boy whoever did that on you was a nasty little bug, huh?”

“It’s talking…”

“Don’t listen! It might charm you!”

The fey’s eyes would slowly turn towards the two Militia.

“...Boo!” She’d shout, while sticking out her hands. The two militia promptly screamed and ran off shouting something about a fairy. “Ahaha, man you humans are dumb…still…” Her gaze would fix back on Ethelred, studying him for a second. “...hmm…you know, I’m feeling generous. Here.” She’d pass Ethelred a small, silver colored token about the size of a button. “Lose it and I’ll turn you into a proper icicle.”

It was…definitely magical of some sort, and Ethelred would be aware that refusing such a gift would probably be seen as both a sign of rudeness and likely give the fey some easy motive for doing something. The small silver button itself seemed somewhat unremarkable, save for a simple engraving on it of some sort of small plant like sigil. It didn’t seem…outwardly malicious. Might be a good idea to have someone look at it though, just to make sure.

“What’s it for? I have no idea!” She’d continue with a laugh before he could ask. “Dunno, just something I found in the Laughing Wood! Your problem now though, frosty butt.”

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@VitaVitaAR

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“Hm…” The queen would raise an eyebrow. A small smile as she’d lead the three of them through the forest, hand still gently resting on the beasts tusk. “A far more measured take than most others would have, you know. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected less.” She’d respond with a light chuckle. “Personally…I’m rather fond of the beasts…I know most can never truly exist with humans, but…”
They had arrived and a small grove, not far within the forest. A gentle falling of snow that the sun had yet to melt, hidden under some shade. She’d release her grip on the Beasts tusk - its trunk was already starting to regenerate and was mostly healed by now.

“...hm, no, its nothing.” She’d turn to ‘Shabbi’. “And you, I know can understand me…so go on, get out of here before someone else sees you. Or stay here, if you want. Just don’t cause trouble or I’ll have to be the one to give a beating next time, got it?” The beast would trumpet in response, looking back for a moment before taking a more deliberate, route with its slow, careful steps north.

“...mhm? Oh is it just the two of us now, Fio?” She’d smile at the smaller mage. “Well now that I have you alone, maybe you’d want to ask me a question? Its only fair. Yes, I am free tonight if that’s what you were going to ask.”

Od

“I’m sure you are aware, that is unusual for her at least not to write or otherwise send word. If not to the Queen, then to me. Thoughts, on the situation, Od? Do you believe her curse to have taken hold or would you surmise she has been having some other difficulty?”

He fixed her with his narrow gaze and her eyes fixed back on him with their brilliant green hue. Furthermore the pupils of her eyes, unlike her countrymen, were white instead of black making her eyes up until the irides look like the interior of a fresh kiwi fruit. Unless such a fruit were native to this isle then none would draw the connection. Still, much like herself they were quite unnatural despite brimming with natural potency. Just one more thing marking her as different from the others.

She stood and looked back into his eyes for what was likely an uncomfortably long moment, her face still locked in a distant expression. Before he could interrupt the silence however she spoke first.

"Cause, does matter not."

She turned from him after her laconic reply, turning her gaze back over to the tactical map they had laid out.

"The queen's will be done. If asked I shall retrieve her."

Her eyes scanned over the pieces set out upon the table, her mind dwelling on their purpose and how they tie into the queen's greater plan. In truth if Elneth was victim to her curse then it simply meant she would need to be subdued and taken back to the queen. If not then something else has happened and Od would aid her nonetheless. So long as the queen believed in Elneth then Od would believe in her too. The biggest issue that faced them in this case was their strained relations with the local monarch. Their men would not necessarily respect the authority of the queen's knights. This could lead to potential conflict, one that might put the queen's soldiers in harms way. It would be tricky to defuse if Elneth did anything to strain this already tenuous peace. Concerning indeed.

As for the board it offered much potential, her mind could only wonder... Perhaps even wander.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@A Lowly Wretch

The soft clatter of wood upon wood drew Reinhardt's attention once more to the map upon the strategy room's table. Leaning forward in his seat, the Knight carefully scrutinizing the locations Vyrell had marked thus far. Reinhardt's eyes narrowed slightly; a finger roughly tracing a path in the air, his head tilting slightly as the edge of his lips would curl into a stiff frown. Looking up from the map he glanced toward Od, his mouth opening as if to say something-- but he shook his head, seeming to dismiss whatever thought had come to mind.

Instead, his attention turned to Vyrell, "Do you have dates of when the Fomorian attacked each settlement? Evidence it was targeting anything specific in each attack? Information whether the more central areas that were seemingly untouched ever spotted it's movements?"

Reinhardt slowly grit his teeth as he looked back down at the map, awaiting Vyrell's answer. Though he had yet to voice his thoughts, this fomorian's attack pattern reeked of suspicion.

But before he'd voice his own thoughts, he needed to be sure he'd gotten the bigger picture-- lest his initial presumptions taint any future inquiries.