He listened, but not to understand. To him, their words were discordant noises, rambled by criminals either to rat out their partner-in-crime or to vaunt their innocence. Be it a plea, confession, or reason, he ignored it all as he toss them into the Rascade dungeon. And today, he expected it to not be any different.

But the first person to speak had brought a certain irregularity, and it started to get on his nerve. How dare they come to this place, deceived his men, and then stated, right in front of his face that they hold the information he was unworthy to hear?
His anger reached its peak when a certain former noblewoman spoke up and reinforce what the first trespasser said. Even more so when she brought up the name Matilda. Too long that she-orc had been the thorn in his side. So what? His Highness trusted her and now she acted like she owned Rascade.

"Be silent!" he rebuked, harsh and efficient. "I am not here to bandy words with an ungrateful daughter who ran away. How is Rosenving now? Did you crawl back to His Majesty's feet asking for His favor while your family begged for table scraps?"

Yvonne strode a pace forward, but suddenly Jazdia's clutched her by the shoulder, and she halted, glancing at the elf with clear disdain.

"Greetings, Constable Delving. I wholeheartedly acknowledged that the timing was less than ideal. But my friend was right, we are here on Fredricus' order." Jazdia opened her bag and reached for a transparent tube, which contained a piece of document, neatly rolled and tied with a red ribbon. She unknotted the ribbon and presented the paper so he can read it himself.

But the man furiously struck the elf's palm, causing the contract to be released from her grip and flutter away before landing on the grass.

The captain whirled at Keito, before continuing his admonishment loudly.

"Listen here, you cheap idiots! I asked a question, plain and simple and all of you made a fucking song and dance about it! I don't care who ordered you. I ask a fuckin question and you fuckin answer. Now is there any of you, in this sorry group who can answer, in plain Common? Please? Thank you!?"

As he speaks, a dozen of guards had made their position around them. All were armed, and they only waited for the Constable's order.

"Or maybe I should just haul all of you to Rascade Dungeon myself!"

Chōnan snapped from both for stroking the Captain's man strength on the lady's palm and desecrating an important paper that had been sealed by the King himself.

"Mind if I put something first?" He said and pulled something from his bag and it was his mask during his prime on Knight's career. As he did a knight salute, an overwhelming ferocious aura has been released and those who caught feel flinches and recognize his prime status as a knight before. "Ex-Knight of cavalry unit, Kagetane Chōnan...

Late Sergeant, definitely going to haunt you down as you stroke that paper with the King's sealed into the ground. A yelling that pierce into your soul. Whole day of running around until your feet give up" He walked toward the place where the contract fell off. The surrounding guards that were meant to block him started to shaken and Chōnan felt disappointed. "These guards are not ready... yet... Their postures are weak and shaking. Even less trained Mechean surely fill vacant spots here." He picked up the contracted and handed back to Jazdia instead. He felt that the Captain himself can't be trusted to hand the contract. "It is classified from the top and I'm overseeing our guests for their work under Madame Matilda Ironsword. We had a business here and also I visited my late units and my superiors." Yes. He paid them a vist before he catch up with his party on the investigation area.

"As Milady's suggestion, go send a runner if you are not satisfied enough."

"These guards are not ready... yet... Their postures are weak and shaking. Even less trained Mechean surely fill vacant spots here."

"As Milady's suggestion, go send a runner if you are not satisfied enough."

Few recognized that mask, but their number was insignificant compared to those who feared the wrath of the Delving.

The Constable had his mouth agaped slightly, both in anger and bewilderment. Though he could find the gist of whatever this Ex-Knight Cavalry was saying, he still heard it as a slightly clear gibberish. An impudent one. One that does not respect his authority. In a fit of newfound anger, he brandished his pike and thwacked the Ex-Knight Cavalry at the back of his knee, immediately ending his dramatic posturings and forcing him to kneel. And soon it was apparent that the soldier was not trembling in fear, but instead waiting for an order, and they just got one.

Two soldiers joined the fray, then one more, probably annoyed by the warrior's condescending remark, or they wanted to prove him wrong, all working in unison to pin Chounan to the ground and had him cuffed. The contract escaped the Samurai's grip and stretched out again on the grass.

"No, Junior. I dont think I will." Well ain't today just going real real bad. Yvonne sported a lopsided grin, something her brothers in arms would've recognized as the prelude to violence, but this far off her hunting grounds there's no one capable of noticing the threat. "What make you think I care about my family, daddy's boy? Looks like you still have no brains between that ears of yours - crown business. Maybe try listening sometimes. I'd say if you hurry you can run to father dearest to beg his majesty for some breadcrumbs before the day ends."

And the damned foreigner just went and spouted some convulted nonsense. Then he got taken down by surprise. Good fucking job man. Yvonne ain't letting that happen though, dude's about a third of their fighting strength by her estimate. The mercenary took one step forward, twice, swing her leg back, tap into her inner strength, and kicked the dumb schmuck trying to cuff her coworker. Not a big boost, she's not planning to kill the footman, but enough to lift him a foot into the air. Catching the idiot by his cuirass strap, she utilized the man as a bludgeon to knock away the other two before tossing him toward Aaron - who saw it coming and stepped aside, but all it achieved was the improvised projectile crashing into the gathering rank of the guards.

That should do for warm up.

"Up you go." She grabbed the downed adventurer by the scruff of his neck, pulling him to a standing position before retreating out of the pike's range. Yvonne escalated alright, but no steel were drawn on her part. Who knows? Maybe the show of force will get the other side to reconsider their stance. She didn't fancy the thought of fighting through the entire garrison of Rascade.

Matilda walked off in the direction of the footprints, the kidnappers thought themself pretty clever that there could try to cover their tracks. But she was a much more skilled hunter than Anderson and the others. She thought this was now turning into a hunt, she was the predator searching for her prey. Standing in between some trees, she stopped and stood there for a moment. She was placing her hand on the tree, wanting to know what they saw during the incident. Getting quick flashes of what happened, seeing the kidnappers waiting for the right time to strike. Gets into a skirmish with the guards, and during the confusion stole the prince. Having to run on foot northwest. “Where did they go? Is there a safe house they ran off to with the prince?” Communicating with the trees, wanting to know where the kidnappers could have gone. Hearing a distant voice of the kidnappers, mentioning something about a submerged ruin west of here.

She knew what they were talking about, it was a lookout formerly used by the Kindence forces during a war with some dark elves a long time ago. “So that is where they are keeping the prince. Thank you Sar Echia.” Patting the large oak tree, walking off towards the direction of the ruins. The trip did not take long for Matilda, once she was a few meters from the ruins. She crouched down behind some trees. Watching the ruins to make sure there was no one patrolling the area. Her eyes looked over at the marking Henri made to her armour, remembering that she could hear every word. “If you hear me Henri, I have followed the trail to some submerged ruins. It does not look like they are any patrolling guards, so perhaps they could be hiding inside the ruins. The ruins are located west of the hunting grounds, I do not know where you are, but the ruins should be located by a large body of water. So just follow the river near you, which should lead towards the ruins.”

Heading carefully towards the ruins, noticing that half of it was submerged in the lake. It has not been abandoned for almost seventy years. Matilda searched for someway inside the structure. Finally finding the main entrance that was not submerged in the water. Moving as stealthfully as she could inside, finding it eerily silent. Part of her thought no one was here, becoming increasingly worried that the prince was not there.

Henri then headed towards the ruins at a walking pace, following from a distance Cedar who's naked and on all fours, inconspicuously posing as a bear. Well, by all accounts, he's at best part-bear, but this way he looks no different than actual bears in the wild.
Whether or not bears could actually be found in the marsh, Henri had never cared to remember.

Quite the quiet stroll. Nothing but the sounds of their gentle footsteps, the marsh insects, and the flowing lake not so far away from them. Dry footsteps even if they're in the marsh, as Henri actively rids the mud of its moisture with every step, via a combination of his telekinesis and temperature increase.

Suddenly, as they get closer, a peculiar voice starts to ring.

“...ou hear me Henri, I have followed the trail to some submerged ruins."

Matilda? Large body of water? No way... Henri smirked. She actually got to the exact place they were heading even if they took a different route? So, the kidnappers convened in there after all... Wait, she didn't rush in alone, did she? With merely the frail lanky man on his side?

Henri hurriedly skated with his oversized boots, reaching within Cedar's earshot. A steadily loudening ring of 'Cedar. Cedar.' could be heard, until Cedar turned his head towards Henri. "Cedar. Run. I can hear Matilda, she's already in there." It is quite urgent, but he's quite too chill to shout about it. It should come without saying too that no one's patrolling the entrance.

Cedar's ears popped up with alarm and his bright brown eyes sparkled with bits of white surrounding them. He shot a glance at Henri, blinked, then tore up the ground on a mad-dash sprint toward the ruins, sticking to areas he was certain were free of hazards, leaving the the odd man behind in a flurry of flying mud chunks.

Henri caught up shortly after, as Cedar was shaking off the last of the mud chunks from his feet. The man seemed eager to get the gunk off the boots he had borrowed as well, as he kicked it off, then scraped it on the few exposed paving stones of the ruins, before the two of them searched for the entrance.

Jazdia felt the sores building in her hand. If it was an idle insult, she would have tolerated it, but the man attacked her fair and square and trampled on the legal bindings that were supposed to be as sacred as the law itself. If she was her younger self, she would have reached for Maugrim in instant.

But while still contemplating whether she should let it ride or slice the man's neck open, That oriental knight suddenly made provocative actions, spewing threats, trying to assert dominance. The Constable reacted immediately, followed by his men.

Then it was the small lady's turn, intervening by sending one guard flying with a kick and jostling the others like a rag doll.
However, the escalation halted with an uneasy stalemate when the Rosenving noble secured the Samurai boy and had him standing up again, retreating from the impending brawl, but certainly not running from it.

Jazdia casually pushed aside one of the pointing spears and made her way to pick up her document back. Glared at the two troublemakers, she commanded; "Stay where you are."

Then she faced the constable, letting out a long breath before speaking.

"Now you have it, the show of force. Congratulations! Are you ready to be sensible now?"

But the Constable's wrath remained unhinged. He eyed his men, and Jazdia could feel the point of their pikes following behind her.

"Do you think I am playing games here, you elf bitch?"

"Yes, and the bad one I am afraid. Trespassing, that's the only infraction you can convict us with, and you had the entire platoon making an arrest before we could finish explaining ourselves. Ignorantia iuris nocet, your negligence of the correct procedure could cost you. Are you willing to take that bet?"

The constable tensed, but then reined his temper. "Look at how pathetic you are speaking about the law while you beguiling my men to get what you want."

"Can you prove it?!" scoffed the elf, then she turned around. "Can you all?"

"No, they can't. And here you are hell-bent on arresting us as if your life depended on it. You can try, Constable." she raised her voice so all soldiers could hear it too. "You all can try! But know this, we will not go quietly, we will cripple you and maybe kill some of you if we have to. And the worst thing that could happen to us is several days in your dungeon and a slap on the wrist. You are now assaulting those who work with your king. What is your defense?"

She retreated. A blade of one of the pikes touched her shoulder, but both the elf and the soldiers stood unwavering.

"What is your defense, Soldiers? Your captain is a noble gentleman. But you lot are not. Your captain will be fine. But you will be the one who takes the brunt of his unprofessional misdemeanor, in addition to suffering the aftermath of this hostile encounter. You saw what is sealed on that paper, and God is my witness you stand between fulfilling your duty as your captain commanded, or hindering the task given by His Highness. Make your choice!

The situation was escalating at a rapid pace. Constable Delving was hellbound on asserting his authority to the point that he even refused to take a look at the official documents which had the king’s seal on it. To Kaito the Constable’s behavior was rather suspicious. It almost looked like he wanted these nosy trespassers out of the scene at all cost. Could be an ego thing or something far more sinister.

This whole situation would be extremely funny if you could watch it from the sidelines. However the fox found himself on the frontline with a dozen pointy sticks facing in their direction. A rather peculiar situation he’d rather not be in. Getting turned into fox-kebab wasn’t something Kaito was looking forward to so the kitsune remained on guard all the time. Making sure he could dodge whatever the constable and his men would throw at him.

“Whoa, no need to turn violent here. There have already died more than enough good men on this sacred ground in service of his majesty in the past few days. The last thing we need is that we start fighting amongst ourselves with all the events that have transpired here recently. No need to lose your heads here. If we could all keep our calm I’m pretty sure we can work things out if you guys could read the document. Just like you royal guards, we are loyal servants of King Fredericus.” Spoke Kaito to the constable’s men in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

[NPC Post]

The day could've went better for one Constable Aaron Delving. It was supposed to be a quick check up to ensure no trouble had come to pass, yet it turned out there's a bunch of nosey no-gooders stomping around what's arguably the most important site under his responsibility. Unfortunately he had went in expecting a bunch of scammers that could be easily hauled into the dungeons with some harsh words, and that led to the noose of various circumstances tightening around his neck.

For one, he had the mistake of acknowledging the rabid dog of Rosenving as a noble. That alone massively reduced his options, considering that his men would be very much disinclined to dip hands into nobility conflict. Then there's the royal seal that now unfurled on the ground for all to see, and he could practically feel the unrest building up behind him. Just as the soldiers were stuck between a rock and a hard place, the constable too were torn between keeping his hard stance or accepting the implied ceasefire.

"Men, escort these people off the premise. No one is to enter until I personally permitted otherwise." The constable eventually said, stomping the butt of his pike twice on the paved ground. There's audible sigh of relief from the rank, but he pretended he didn't hear those. "The court will want explanations on how these mannerless scums managed to acquire a royal seal." It wouldn't be too late to arrest these lot after the king was pressured to deny the knowledge of their existence.

With a gruff snort, Constable Delving stomped off the premise as most of guards hurriedly jogged to follow. Was it sheer noble pride that caused this behavior, or were there more sinister motivation lurking underneath? Regardless, as the marching footsteps faded into the distance, the rest of the guards politely but sternly showed the party the exit. One of them even very carefully retrieved and patted the dust off the order before handing it back to Jazdia.

With the prickly constable gone, it's probably best to not cause any further disturbance for now.

[GM Post]

The fort by the river was, at one point, one of the various defensive installment to prevent unwanted naval presence from sailing inland and wreak havoc in the underbelly of Kindeance. As time passed and the kingdom's navy grew in strength, however, the facility gradually lost importance until a great season of deluge many decades ago caused the river to shift and engulfed most of the fort.

The wooden structures had long since decayed and swept away, leaving no more sign of the great hall. The outer wall had all but collapsed, though the two towers at the land-side still persistently stood albeit slowly sinking and tilting over time. The keep too had partially collapsed as the motte it stood on was eroded by water, but somehow it wasn't uncomfortably tilted unlike the two surviving towers.

Matilda entered through a collapsed wall, into what should be the lord or commander's mess hall. The entire place was devoid of furniture, any trace of it already taken away when the fort was abandoned. The stench of horse dung permeated through the room, coming from the far side where a pile of feed and an open barrel filled with now stagnant water.

The last bit seemed to be a slightly more recent addition to the aged fort.

Keeping up with Cedar's bear-like speeds, Henri was then caked in mud and it irritated him, slightly. Nothing that can't be fully undone, however. He began walking towards the entrance of the ruins. As he did so, steam rose up from the mud on him, drying up quickly into fine dirt which then began collapsing off of his body. It looked quite like Henri walked out of a dirt-coloured smoke cloud, and he was then fully clean again.

The amount of control it must have taken to remove every speck of dust at the same time... Training his control for decades with the thousand minuscule parts of this pocket watch is worth it. Truly, he can repair it himself without having to use Inorganic Repair.

He looked at the collapsed wall, then glanced at Cedar. This wouldn't quite do. He held out his hand and began tearing off as much brick as he could to make Cedar fit without collapsing the ceiling. At the same time, he cast Temperature Increase on Matilda's left shoulderplate that was affected by Core Spreading, not enough to burn her but just to signify that they've arrived. The cyan marking on the shoulderplate faded slightly, but it's still quite there.

He walked in, fully unable to smell anything, much less horse dung, but could at least tell that the water in the barrel is dirty and not potable. They haven't been here for far too long. He sighed. Even now, the only thing they could do is find more clues?

Invoking his Metal Sense to look for traps and anything useful in the ruins, as well as Matilda's unique armor.

As the situation settle downed by a ceasefire. Chōnan make a small bow on his party after exiting the park. By reflecting himself from action before, he keeps being quiet and focuses to guide the party as the team leader’s wish. Still on his awareness on his surrounding and never let his guard off.

He keep guiding the party with the shortcuts and will cover the fees for showing a compensation from his action and show more hospitality to his party.

Jazdia watched the man depart with mixed feelings but then decided not to make more fuss of it. Well, wasn't that just nice? That constable left, nobody got hurt and they both can preserve their pride. The only lamentable things about this state of affairs were Jazdia swatted hand and their access to investigate the site had been cut off.

She tied the ribbons and left, thinking about how Fredricus would deal with the incoming storm.

***

Nobody knew what Jazdia was thinking right now, not even herself. As they walked down the street of Rascade, the elf remained quiet, and her companions too until someone broke the ice by informing them that he will go for an errand. The Chounan guy did it again, asking to do questionable deeds at the worst possible time. It was apparent that Jazdia started to question the cohesion of her group.

"What a prick. That Delving." gruffed Yvonne, both seemed to ignore Chounan who already excused himself to God knows where.

"Oh, you know him? I guess such feud is indeed common amongst every house across this continent."

"Yeah. Not too well though, and it's been eight years." She shrugged. "The man wasn't incompetent or anything, but he's at best above average in just about anything he put his hands on. The Delving name carried him far though, and he ain't shy about flaunting it. From what I've seen, he's practically unchanged."

Yvonne hardly needed to remind Jazdia of that. Their brief investigation alone had revealed a sheer incompetency so blatant it looked very unnatural. The other half of the explanation suggested that it could be the case, however; a prominent house means great political bargaining power and support, something that Fredricus couldn't afford to lose. And Jazdia knew a man like him would not think twice to pander a noble oaf by giving him a strategic position. And that decision had almost proven to be his undoing five days ago.

Jazdia patted her shoulder. In order to give them a sense of progress, and encouragement Jazdia couldn't help but be technical with her words. "What happened back there was indeed regrettable, but let's not get sidetracked. We got what we needed, that Black Serpent sounds like a solid lead."

The elf looked at the red sundown at the west and wondered how was the investigation going on Matilda's side. She hoped they have reached Hdur as planned. It was such a shame that she, as the one who planned the rendezvous couldn't keep her word and be there as scheduled.

Their stroll from the Memorial park to the city boulevard, again, was uneventful, to say the least. Jazdia brought them to a place called Angel’s Share. A large, three-story building, with extravagant decorations that made it look like a bordello. There was a sign on its door that read Closed, but the lower windows showed lights behind thick curtains.

As they hesitated to get inside, a spacious common room greeted them, with a hearth, long tables, and the smell of ripe cheese, beers, wines, and fresh loaves that makes it feel homelike... or tavern-like? Upon closer inspection (if one could bother). the inn looked well-maintained and seemed to be designed with the utmost sense of hygiene in mind. The floor was tightly nailed, the tables were stainless, and the bar, Instead of wooden, its surface layered with granite tiles, ensuring no detritus or any kind of filthy scraps unfit to be mentioned resided. Jazdia told them beforehand that this inn underwent a partial facelift to make it more presentable and up to the standard she had back in Helvetia.

“Good afternoon, Miss Jazdia! The meeting went well I assume?”

At the counter was a handsome young man that seemed to be in his early twenties. He wore a dull evening shirt with a black tailcoat and had his face adorned with gold-framed glasses. Behind him were large cabinets with the usual assortments of kegs, flasks, and clean mugs shelved neatly. Among other things were a dozen or so bottles of wines that seemed to be added just recently, and a full-sized calendar nailed at the beam. The artwork for September presented a certain elven blondie clad in questionable two-piece swimwear posing with an irritated expression.

The elf immediately had herself seated. "Afternoon, Lucas. It was, yeah, as expected from Fredricus's court." Jazdia looked around before placing her bag on the table. "No angry mob stormed this place in my absence I assume?"

The bartender shook his head, smiling as he headed into the kitchen. When returned, he brought with him a tray laden with kettle and other crookeries. "I saw no patrons, let alone undesirable characters walking through our door today, milady."

The tea was served in a blue porcelain cup, followed by a slice of freshly baked Helvetian-style spekkoek not long after. Jazdia then asked for a pen and paper and requested Lucas to prepare a pair of homing pigeons.

After providing all of her requests and the elf began to compose her letters, the bartender faced Jazdia's newfound companions and humbly asked. “How can I be of service?”

@wierdw @A5G @Grade

Matilda was glad that her helmet was blocking out the smell of horse dung and mold. Scanning the area where she should go next, heading towards the middle door. Treading carefully as she made her way further into the fortress. The sounds of water drops and other strange sounds did not help with her paranoia. But she assumed that she could be heard, because of her heavy armour. Stopping to check her surroundings, making sure there was no one waiting to ambush her. After a few silent moments, she could see the mark on her shoulder plate starting to glow red hot. Signifying that the others had arrived, walking further out towards what she presumed was the commander’s office.

The large orc was searching everywhere for any kind of clue, it didn’t matter if it was some sort of paperwork. What would be even better if she could find one of the kidnappers to interrogate. She hoped that the culprits were here, just so she could give them a well deserved beating.

Shaking off the last bits of muck before heading through the widened wall opening, cedar wished he hadn't. The interior was rank with the stink of horse manure and urine. In the foul deposits on the floor, he spotted the recent footprints of who was most certainly Matilda, if Henri's report was accurate.

He traced them deeper into the compound and found his mark.

She was quite edgy, and rounded on him before scowling and hissing under her breath not to sneak up on her like that. He just dropped his ears a little and frowned at her, but got the hint about staying quiet for the moment, instead just shadowing her discretely. If there WERE any assholes in here, he would back her up with the little surprises he had sewn all over outside.

In fact, he paused a moment to help grow the root system deeper inside, through the gap in the wall, just to be on the safe side.

So far though, the search had turned up no sign of recent habitation besides their own presence there.

[GM Post]

Beyond the barren hall-turned-stables was the two sets of staircase, as well as what must've been the lavatory. The path down was filled with water after the third step, but the way up remained open with some bats scattering away upon sensing movement nearby. If one were to investigate the lavatory, they'd find a recent trace of use - all dried by now, but the stench was still present.

In the current floor the only trace of metal was the band around the barrel and Matilda's equipment. There's various presence above, small things roughly gathered on one side of the room. So far nothing moved beside the orc knight.

"Am I the only one who can explore this...?" Henri stared at the water-logged stairs to the lower floors. There's probably nothing to explore in there, unless the kidnappers were a certain breed of mermen... It wouldn't hurt to explore later.

He sees Cedar and Matilda convene, and chooses to merely pass by the room they were in silently. It's good that Cedar's boots don't make even a quarter of the sound that Henri's shoes with bronze soles would be making.

Right now, he'd rather climb the stairs above. He chose the closest one where he could sense the most metal objects.

They reconvened at... well, the name sounds like a brothel, the decoration looked like a brothel, and the way it's all closed up kinda feels like a brothel, but Sparky said it's an inn. The elf ignored the closed sign and went in, true to her words it was actually an inn in there. Hmm. Quite fancy one, if Yvonne had to say. None of those garishly pompous decor in an attempt to pander to nobility, but it's comfy and quiet and most importantly it's absurdly clean. Cant see a speck of dust or a drop of stain anywhere. As a frequent visitor to inns, the mercenary can confidently say that if the owner somehow managed to keep the common room spotless it's definitely a pleasant place to stay at.

"Food and cold drink, for starter. What you got?" Yvonne glanced around the room, considering potential defensible point and escape path should Delving try something stupid. For a moment her eyes stopped at a particular calendar, before she turned around to Sparky nearby and back at the calendar. This time she didn't hold back from cackling as she took a seat by the table, right feet almost naturally raised to rest on her left knee. "Why, I never took you for a daring sort there Sparky."

[GM Post]

The upper level was somewhat more intact. The yawning hole in the wall from below continued up here, but the collapsed section was decidedly smaller. They layout was roughly the same with the stairs continuing upward toward the battlement and there's better lighting with several holes on the ceiling. A marked difference, however, was the fact that this place showed sign of being lived on. Bedrolls were strewn on one side while several rolls of tools and backpacks sat against the wall next to it. One of the backpacks was on the floor, right next to what seemed to be the spot dedicated for cooking, with its content strewn all over the place. The cookpot had also been summarily kicked aside, where a pile of ashes mixed with tiny scraps of miraculously unburnt paper now sat.

None of the above was the most notable thing in the room, though. A stiff corpse laid face-down in the center amidst a dark pool of dried blood, a feast for flies and several crows. The clothing looked to be some leather tunic, a very common outfit among the peasants, an unstrung bow abandoned not far from the body.