Matilda made her way over to the stables, only making brief greetings and small talk with the people in the village. Told the commoners that she wanted her to fix their mess, she would get a guard to help them. She did not have the time to try and solve every petty squabble in the city. She had much more important matters to attend to. Not wanting to waste any more time, she jogged over toward the stables. Quickly arriving at the stables, speaking with the owner about where her steed was located. She knew where the hunting grounds were, she had been there multiple times with the prince and others in the court. Having gone many times as a child with her adopted father. As she headed inside the stables to retrieve her horse, she noticed an older man petting her steed. At first, she was hesitant, thinking that this man was going to steal her horse. But on closer inspection, it was her adopted father. “[color=00a651][b]Papa? I thought you were working at the bakery today?[/b][/color]” 

The older man smiled walking over towards Matilda, “[b]I have Janus taking over the shop, I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck.” The sentiment was greatly appreciated by the orc.[/b]" “[color=00a651][b]Thank you, papa. Although I should have joined the prince during the hunt, then none of this would have happened.[/b][/color]” This expression of doubt was met by her adopted father rubbing her back. 

“[b]Mattie, you should not doubt yourself for such things. You will be able to find the prince, you have friends who are willing to help you.[/b]” Motioning with a nod towards Cedar, Henri, and Solomon.  Matilda nodded her head with a smile. “[color=00a651][b]Your right, I believe that Qunmir will bless our group with good luck to find the prince.[/b][/color]” Once again her adopted father patted her on the back, “[b]That’s the spirit. Now go and may Qunmir bless you.[/b]” Hugged her adopted father before quickly letting go.

And with that Matilda left the stables with her horse. Looking over at the group assuming the others were ready to leave. “[color=00a651][b]Let’s go.[/b][/color]” She said getting on her horse and started riding off towards the hunting grounds.  There was not a lot of conversation between the four of them, Matilda was mostly silent during the trip. The group soon arrived at the royal hunting ground, the surrounding area was eerily quiet. There was a dense forest surrounding them, with thick tall grass leading into the forest. There were a few openings among the trees of the forest, leading to the eerie darkness of the forest. The wind was chilling to the bone, something that Matilda and perhaps Cedar could feel.  

The site in the forest was a semi-permanent camp in a slight clearing where sunlight fell for a good part of the day, banishing much of the murky gloom. There several guards in light armor and Kindeance’s emblem awaited, generally resting and taking a break. A man jogged out as the party approached, saluting in recognition at Matilda’s figure.

[b]”Hail, Dame Matilda! I’ve been expecting your arrival.”[/b]

The young man is Squire Anderson, Matilda’s own squire that she picked a few years ago. Matilda got off her horse with a loud thud, that shook the ground around her. “[color=00a651][b]Anderson, do you have anything to report about your findings?[/b][/color]” She had hoped that Anderson and the other guards may have found something that was missed in the initial investigation. 

[b]” Unfortunately not much, ma’am. It’s evident that the perpetrators went off in one direction at first, but they scattered at some point and much later some of the trails just faded. Intentionally erased. My trackers are making progress, but there’s only so many of them but a lot of ground to cover.”[/b] 

Looking annoyed at both Anderson and the guards around him, she had hoped that would have found some useful information. “[color=00a651][b]I need you to guide us to the site of the kidnapping, I assume my team members want to know more about what happened as well.[/b][/color]” She turned her head towards the others, assuming they wanted to know as much as Matilda on what was going on. 

Anderson took a glance at the motley crew, nodding without any unnecessary comment. [b]”Very well. How much am I allowed to disclose?”[/b] The crew on site was on a need-to-know basis, and they weren’t informed of what exactly transpired. Matching the story would be prudent to avoid unnecessary rumours from spreading.

“[color=00a651][b]You are allowed to fully disclose the information, these men can be trusted.[/b][/color]” Matilda shook her head. 

[b]”Understood.”[/b] Confirmed the squire, before turning his full attention to the investigation party. [b]”I shall lead you to the site. In the meantime, ask away gentlemen.”[/b]