"I think we'll call that an edge," I said, placing the staff back on the ground. I wiped my forehead with the sleeve of my borrowed button-up shirt. It was almost noon and I felt like I had run for miles at this point. Plus, I usually was not the biggest fan of death threats leveraged towards my person, particularly in such a short amount of time. My talented companion helped, even though I did feel for a second there she was going to leave me for the dogs. I can be quite dark sometimes, even though I loathe to admit it. I was contemplating making a final call to my God that would have ended my life but succeeded in causing everyone around me quite a lot of pain. Luckily cooler heads prevailed and I felt Camilla was merely playing a part. 

Perhaps next time we should discuss such things before a life and death situation? I thought to make a mental note, but I knew I would forget it. If the both of us lived out the day I feel I would be far too busy hallucinating Camilla was Shallya reborn, or something along those lines. The thought made me smirk for a moment, but I wiped it off my face immediately. The two of us, now accompanied by Herr Panio and good chamberlain Shultz could not stay here for long, lest we invite more trouble. Camilla was kind enough to un-gag him, which brought a heartfelt 'oh thank you, good woman' from the portly man. At least he was in good spirits.

"Does anyone know the layout of the palace?" I asked, stepping forward. I glanced around, seeing various doors next to the mosiacs and a double-door to the east that were likely the kitchens. The ceiling was beautifully ribbed, its ridges making two great octagonal stars where a multitude of chandeliers hung, sparkling in the light. It was quite a large room, but probably one of the smaller dining halls of the great fortress. 

Camilla shook her head, her chocolate waves of hair swaying. "I've only been here a day, same as you." She remarked in tilean, before she translated my words to Maximo Panio. He shook his head as well. 

"Well, erm, this is the dining hall, yes?" Hortiman Shultz asked, looking around as if there might be some small snack someone had missed during all the blood letting. I raised an eyebrow, but even as Camilla and the Luccini ambassador looked at him in confusion, it dawned on me. My mind went back a number of years ago, when I had deigned to look over the mapped layouts of the great tilean houses in order to impress a full figured patrizia named Dulce. It was a passing fling and I had been told she enjoyed touring all the great palaces of her home country, so I figured I would learn a bit to add some spice to our pillow talk. Unfortunately my memory was not so great that I recalled the Remas Palace's exact design, but I did notice some similarities to each great palazzo in question, and they were also much similar to the Imperial Palace at Altdorf. 

"If we are in the secondary dining hall, there is generally a ballroom close by..." 

"To the east!" Camilla exclaimed, eyes bright and slim fingers snapping, catching on quick as usual. I knew she likely knew far more than even I. She had made a career in these sorts of places. "And next to the ballrooms are the long galleries that connect to the main hall, which will lead us to the council room of the three, where we all met." 

"And from there we'll at least have a heading," I surmised, and clapped the chamberlain on the shoulder with a laugh. He gave a merry smile, glad to have helped in any small way. I knew I liked him, despite my jealousy of his station. 

"Then let us go," Maximo Panio said, stripping off the clothing of a dead man and grabbing a dropped crossbow. "I wish to end this so I may either kill the bastards who killed my men or go home and come back here to do the same!"