"What do you think he'll do when he runs out of spare sons and daughters to offer you?" Roger asked. For all he knew, this Baron might be offering his daughters to every border lord in Velt in hopes that someone would be foolish enough to be dragged into his scheme.

In the business of raising griffins, it was imperative to understand the importance of making good deals. Raising and training large apex predators was an time-consuming and resource-intensive investment, and the only reason that the Falkners had managed to keep it going for as long as they did was because they understood and appreciated the value of their work enough to not buckle when foolish or entitled nobles made unreasonably low offers.

Roger definitely did not envy Cadmon. For all his power and influence, the man was clearly drained by it. The responsibilities of running a fief bordering Ithillin (even if he could delegate it to others), the duty to Velvetica's father, the court intrigue that people like Baron Bridger were trying to drag people into, were all clearly eroding his spirit.

Hopefully, the company of his Least Griffin would help lighten the burden of Cadmon's duties.

@The Otter

"Oh, I couldn't stay in the cottage forever," Gisela answered, continuing to work on the rudimentary plan--absorbed enough that Krysia seemed perfectly happy to now set the offending circle on fire, holding the smouldering page without a care in the world, "If I saved long enough, I might be able to manage a few decades before needing to work for someone... but magic can get expensive."

Ritual ingredients, access to books (where they were even traded), supplies for enchanting... all of it added up. Plus the basic matter of sustenance and maintenance; focusing all your time on magical pursuits didn't really lead you to managing a secondary life as a farmer on the side. Certainly, magic could help, but was it really that interesting to research? Every time anything went wrong, that would still cost money anyway. Magic could draw the process out, but she'd need to eventually stop being a recluse.

"The rumours are definitely true. I've thought about how you could try to trap her when summoning, but I haven't thought of a working method yet."

Krysia let out a boisterous laugh, wiping her hands together now that the circle had burnt out. "If you live as long as I have, you have to develop some common sense about these things. There's only so many times even demons can make mistakes before there's consequences."

@Eisenhorn

Whenever Velvetica returned to her office that day, she would find herself with a few minutes of peace and paperwork before Kayliss made herself known. The Crownsblade stepped out from a corner one would swear had been completely unoccupied moments prior and waited until the princess noticed her before dropping to a knee in deference.

"My lady." Kayliss said in monotone, rising to her feet whenever she was bid to. "Reporting. Lord Demet's hound is possibly suspicious about the situation with my former employers." Velvetica knew the entire story, as Kayliss hadn't had any other choice but to risk the truth with her upon joining. But that didn't mean there wasn't the miniscule chance someone else was somehow listening in. Best to be safe.

"He may come to you sniffing for answers. Your orders?"

@VitaVitaAR

Urden would have cocked an eyebrow at the mention of a few decades savings before having to look for work again, if that had come from anyone other than a mage. He would blame the whole magic thing for the potential for long living. Well, that and being able to channel sufficiently potent amounts of energy into healing magic was probably doing wonders for Handy as well, though he knew better than to guess a woman's age. Lost him at least one job doing that, and he wasn't keen to make enemies of a healer. Made keeping a daemon around more sensible though, if one planned to live longer than most, you'd want company that could do the same. "I don't think anyone could stay in one place forever, though most of us don't have the expenses you apparently do. Well, the nobles might, but you never know what those bluebloods think they just cannot go without."

The smell of burning paper was certainly a welcome distraction from the aura that Handy had about her at all times. Why she couldn't just magic up all the resources she needed was a question he would save for another time, however, since it was probably not that simple. Pump some healing magic into a plant, bring it to maturity early, couldn't be that hard he figured. Well, not hard for someone capable of actually using magic, rest of the world got to keep toiling away the old fashioned way. Still, not sure he was grateful to have the rumors confirmed, though that wasn't really worth mentioning either. The remarks on trying to trap, of all things, Merophayal did get a genuine snort of amusement out of the mercenary. Better to laugh at the absurd, than balk at it outright. "Yeah, and if I was around half as long as she apparently has been, I'd know every trap someone pesky could possibly dream up in a single life. Not worth the hassle, near as I can tell."

There was some relief in the fact the ill advised summoning circle was nothing more than ashes and memories, so that would be a memory put squarely in the back of his head, unlikely not needing to be drudged up again anytime soon. "Funny thing, common sense, ain't all that common. Tell you what though, I ever find wisdom in old age, we can swap notes, see just how far behind the times I am."

@Raineh Daze

Certainly, reporting to her parents was important.

But after that, the first thing that Velvetica wanted to do after her arrival was to speak with her older brother.

Elroy Hraeslag was considerably taller then his younger sister, but shared her blond hair and blue eyes. Considered exemplary as a warrior, some of his admirers also favored his looks in addition to his skill with a blade.

For Velvetica, he was the brother who inspired her to step into the world that was the art of the sword.

"You encountered a Witch?"

She'd just finished telling him more of the details of their latest duty.

"I can't say I ever expected to hear those words coming out of my little sister's mouth," he continued, a good-natured smile on his lips.

"She was quite irritating, in all honesty," responded Velvetica, running a hand through her hair with a huff, "However, she did prove to be a source of valuable information, and it appears the doll she gave us may be quite useful. While she may be a heretical Witch, I can't say I'm dismayed by the encounter."

"Always thinking practically, Velvetica," responded Elroy, "Even when you were little, it was like you were always considering the best possible option to get the exact outcome you wanted. Were you just a born strategist?"

"Born with it or not, regardless, it's the duty that I seek to carry out."

Velvetica glanced upwards towards her brother's face.

Indeed, he was the figure that she admired. Certainly, while she utilized her agility and swiftness and he instead used his reach and physical prowess, it was his swordplay that inspired her own.

She had nothing but faith in her older brother, and thus he was one of her most trusted sources of advice.

"What do you think of the Morahti we encountered?" she asked.

"Hmmm..." her older brother paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, "I would think if they'd been hired by Ithillin's crown they'd have been forbidden to take slaves. There is much to be said about them, but Ithillin's people still worship the same goddesses as we do. At the very least I can't see Ithillin's King just allowing mercenaries on their payroll to engage in an abomination."

Velvetica nodded. Ithillin was their chief rival, one that had been testing them greatly as of late as it seemed like open conflict may be looming ever closer. But at the same time, she doubted that mercenaries engaging openly in slavery could be in the employ of the crown.

"Perhaps someone operating without consulting their King?" she asked, "Or perhaps without caring for appearances, if nothing else."

"Mm, maybe..." Elroy was still pondering the possibilities, when he suddenly looked past Velvetica, "Ah, I think there's someone here to speak to you."

Velvetica glanced back over her shoulder, and immediately recognized the nem merchant.

"Lady Lirrah? Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

@Octo

Lirrah forced a bright smile as she was once again forced to contemplate Velvetica's use of the 'lady' honorific in reference to her. Lirrah was relatively certain she had never tried to falsely pass herself off as a member of nobility, though her status could not be easily checked as a foreigner. What's more, Velvetica's older brother was nearby. She did not want him to have the impression that she made his younger sister refer to herself as such, but she also did not want to contradict Velvetica in front of her brother.

Nobility was confusing and dangerous. She'd normally assume she was being toyed with, but as always, she was willing to give Velvetica the benefit of the doubt. She seemed remarkably earnest, at least in contrast to that other noble. But earnest or not, there would always be a discrepancy in power between herself and the nobility that could not be bridged.

At least, it couldn't outside of making said noble emotionally reliant on her. That was doable, though Velvetica as a subject would probably take some work. She seemed almost comedically strong-willed. Might be best to slow-play this relationship. Either way, contradicting Velvetica in front of her brother was a complete faux pas, so it would probably be best to just not acknowledge it for the time being.

"My apologies, Lady Hraeslag. I did not mean to interrupt an important conversation. I merely wished to express my gratitude to you for treating me so well. I do not know if this is the sort of thing you might like, put I made it myself, and if nothing else, I think it would serve as a darling conversation piece for visitors," Lirrah said, holding the stuffed frog knight up to her. She allowed a demure sort of blush to creep up on her cheeks. Then, she turned to acknowledge Velvetica's brother.

"Good afternoon. I am Lirrah Matayannah, the head of the Matayannah Trading Company. I have peen in your sister's care for a couple of months now, and she is an apsolute delight. I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance."

@Crimson Paladin@The Otter

"With any luck, that might be when he finally loses nerve, and takes a hint." came the toneless reply from the doorway, rather than the depths of the chamber wherein the two-and-a-quarter Lions stood. The mugs in his grasp had, over the brisk walk from kitchen to guest lodging, cooled sufficiently from scalding hot to reasonable for palates not clad in iron. As such, Istvan's was already drained of a third of its contents in that span, the heat settling comfortably in his belly and polishing his voice. Lambert had been privy to an early morning's gravel and little more. "Yet we've far from proven to be lucky sorts, recently. Bridger would doubtless cycle back to the eldest still available, fancying his persistence over any sense."

He strode forward, eyeing the mass of fuzz and fluff currently attempting to nest within his charge's unkempt mane before meeting the gaze of Falkner.

"I suppose coaxing that one into captivity would be a job we could only leave to you." In another, slightly different circumstance, a sentence that would doubtless be mockery towards a man from a long, proud line of knights, of men who tamed beasts of heraldry and prestige. Here, the hammer of the north's expression betrayed little of the sort, dry enough that you could call it muted. Certainly, the scene that prompted this looked ridiculous. "I cannot imagine this was a peaceful flight on the return."

"News and Sirona," he grunted after a moment, sparing the griffin knight a nod. "This is a favor owed, if nothing else. We should see your good work compensated soon."

He didn't sound thrilled, but it was of course no fault of their courier's. Instead, the tightness in his brow proved to increase, if marginally, as he came to a stop beside the Demet heir.

"The Betrothal Merchant aside, what are we looking at?"

---

@Crimson Paladin@HereComesTheSnow

---

István's sudden arrival was met with a glance up from Cadmon, before returning to the papers that had been delivered while the large knight went about saying his piece. "You're only saying that because you've never convinced her to get in a carrier," he replied to the comments on Sirona, before the gryphon in question had a chance to hiss at the man in reply. He set the betrothal offer down, glancing over the next before passing it off to István.

"Frith and Saric haven't managed to run things into the ground without us keeping watch over them. I trust my cousins didn't give you any trouble, Sir Falkner?" Despite addressing the knight, he didn't look back up at him, still skimming over the next letter held in his hand. By the time he reached the end of it, any small smile Sirona had brought to his expression had dropped completely, brow furrowed in uncharacteristic consternation for the young man.

"István, I'm going to kill this man."

"..."

For several moments, as her eyes fell upon the stuffed frog-knight, Velvetica found herself unable to articulate any words.

Cute.

It was cute. It was really cute. Honestly, she'd managed to hold back her admiration for the doll back in the crypt, but now that there wasn't anything else to occupy her attention...

For a few moments she didn't actually manage to say anything at all.

It wasn't as if anyone who had never been to her room would know this, and simply intruding on the Steel Princess's private quarters was practically unfathomable.

But if anyone had gone in there, they would discover her collection.

The variety of stuffed toys she possessed.

Her brother was grinning.

No matter how she admired him, her annoyance at how amused she was exceeded it.

"... A-ahem, I... I certainly admire the craftsmanship," Velvetica began, trying to navigate the situation as best she could, "Plus, it's ad-aesthetically interesting."

To reveal the leader of the Hraeslag Lions so adored cute things would... what would people think, in the heat of battle?! She simply couldn't!

But at the same time, she couldn't ignore the cute look of the armored frog.

"I shall gladly accept this gift."

Her brother stepped forward, nodding his head and still smiling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lirrah," he began, "I'm Velvetica's elder brother, Elroy. I think you may have picked just the kind of gift my little sister finds aesthetically interesting."

Admiration didn't stop Velvetica from shooting him a brief glare as she moved to accept the frog.

@Octo

---

Ah, she hadn't even had time to put it away...

Later that day, once she had returned to her office, the frog knight was still seated on Velvetica's desk when Kayliss emerged from the corner.

Certainly, she understood the assassin's desire to keep things under wraps when it came to matters such as this, but at the same time she hoped this would never occur with her own personal quarters.

So, Sir István appeared to suspect that something had happened to the Crownsblades? That was difficult, given that the organization was all but destroyed.

"Hmmm... I see," she began, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her seat.

"To begin with, I would prefer if you didn't do anything that could lead to his death," she continued after a moment. To be honest, she would have hoped that those in her employ would also trust her judgement in terms of who she accepted into her service, but that was unfortunately something she simply couldn't count on. Especially given that someone had so clearly desired those who had served as the Crown's assassin's dead.

"As for the nature of your employment," she continued after a moment, "I don't particularly like the idea of lying about my own dealings with the crown. That is not the behavior of a champion of Velt and its people. Rather, I believe simply omitting some of the details if the best course of action."

It was the first possibility that came to mind, at least.

@Psyker Landshark

---

It was around that moment that the door opened once again.

The figure who stepped through it was a dark-haired woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, her blue eyes possessing an odd luminscence and her pale skin almost ethereal. Her slight features were not out of the realm of humanity, but the slight point to her ears implied ancestry outside of it. She wore red and gold robes over a frilled dress, and currently wore an irritable frown on her face.

It was likely that both of those present would recognize her as the mage employed by the Hraeslag family, Liletta Venn.

In her arms was the doll, Anisette, who had a slight scowl on her face.

"The report did say she could speak, didn't it?" began Liletta, exasperated, "Because she won't answer a single question I ask her. You were the one who got her name, do you-"

She paused on sight of smouldering paper, and the other sheets.

"What have you been doing in here?"

@Raineh Daze@Eisenhorn

Gisela turned when the door opened, giving Liletta a small smile, "Oh, I had just been planning a new summoning circle. But Krysia and Mr. Antiac here were certain that one would be a bad idea."

Crossing the room, the Hundi lowered herself slightly to inspect the doll. Definitely the same Anisette as before, she didn't seem to have been harmed in any way, so... "She can speak, but I don't think she wants to. Or maybe she just didn't want to talk to you?"

Maybe a bit like dealing with an intelligent but surly child. She'd had to deal with some of those when she was still around the college, although mostly in passing--Gisela had very little talent as a primary instructor for anything. Although, this one was a lot cuter than most of those. Probably because she was a doll? And doll-sized?

Reaching out, the summoner waited for Anisette to be transferred to her instead, then started absent-mindedly patting the doll's head. Still, now there were more people around... "Are any of you any good at architecture? I'm trying to design a cottage."

"Indeed, common sense is in terribly short supply. Mages, especially, don't seem to have it." Krysia noted, stage-whispering and smirking at the flick of Gisela's tail.

If she was going to keep being so easily distracted, why not tease?

At about that time the trio were interrupted by the arrival of one of the Hraeslag family retainers, one Liletta Venn. She was an odd one, almost certainly wasn't entirely human, but that was like stating the sky was blue. Painfully obvious and not at all helpful, so rather than chime in on that, he gave her an easy grin and half hearted wave, meeting the current scowl with his own usual demeanor. Seemed she was here with that Doll they'd been gifted, well, gifted might not be the right word. Loaned, tasked with caring for, babysitting? Hard to say, he'd had effectively zero dealings with the doll in this case. "Please, Mr. Antiac was my father's name, call me Urden. I'd ask how your faring with the family taskings, Ghost, but that scowl says it all. I'm surprised, truly surprised, to hear your glowing warmth and kindness has gotten vexed by the little doll right there."

Handy stepped forward to take the doll from Ghost, seeming to absent mindedly set to patting its head and, seemingly out of nowhere if you weren't privy to the previous rambling conversation, asked about architecture. He knew about as much about building houses as he did summoning daemons, in essence, he knew that it could be done. Still, he chimed in an off hand manner in response to the question on architecture, a chuckle rising from Red's theatric whispering and responding in kind before answering properly. "Must be displaced by all that magic, huh?"

"As for architecture, I could figure out how to knock a wall down sooner than build one up, so not terribly helpful there." One thing was becoming clear though, things were probably going to get incredibly complicated with two mages going back and forth on the matter of magic and dolls. He somehow understood more about the latter than the former, which wasn't saying much because he could at least rationalize a doll. Magic dolls though, that was right out. Still, he had gotten the healing he was looking for, one would hope his leg didn't end up being cursed, and now that there were two mages, well, the odds of the conversation leaving him utterly floundering was increasing by the moment. Odds of him having anything to contribute to the whole discussion on Dolls was slim to none, and he wasn't fool enough to think he could help with that at all. After all, all he was good at was smashing dolls, not playing nice with them.

"I'll leave you ladies to discuss the whole Doll situation, the slaughter doll from before was enough playing with dolls to satisfy me for the time being. Unless you need insight on how to fight a Doll, I suppose, though that isn't exactly the concern here I'd assume."

"She wasn't too much trouble," Roger replied to Istvan. Not too much trouble by his standards. He managed to pull it off without getting scratched or bitten, and without resorting to using a falcon's hood, so by his standards, it was not too much trouble. "Getting her in the carrier was a bit of a challenge since Griffins don't like being caged, but I managed to convince her into it. On a related note, you, err, shouldn't need to feed her for a while."

Sirona was probably capable of making the trip herself, but even if it was possible to somehow compel her to do so, it was far faster to use a full sized griffin to fly her here instead.

"As don't worry, Lord Cadmon, your cousins were no trouble at all. Having a chimerical apex predator at one's side tends to make people more agreea..." Roger's ramblings trailed off and ended upon seeing Cadmon's dawning anger, followed by a furious exclamation to Istvan.

Evidently there was something in Baron Bridger's letter that Cadmon had not anticipated, something that had made him livid.

@HereComesTheSnow@The Otter

Kayliss didn't know what she had been expecting, really. From her read on Lady Velvetica, doing something like ordering Sir Istvan's permanent silencing would have been wildly out of character. That didn't mean she wasn't at least a little disappointed that the lady wasn't offering any real solutions for the moment, but it was only to be expected.

"I understand." She bowed her head for a moment before looking back up at her employer. "I left the matter open-ended with Sir Istvan, but I directed the conversation in a direction that more or less implied the same as what you currently say." Kayliss's stare was blank as usual.

"Will there be anything else, my lady? Forgive my saying, but you've not exactly been making much use of me outside of the battlefield. So long as you work in service of the Crown, you continue to retain access to a resource that many nobles would literally kill to possess." She betrayed no hesitation in referring to herself as a mere tool. Evidently, Crownsblade indoctrination was extensive.

"I remain at your disposal rather than at the king's direct command for a reason."

@VitaVitaAR

Lirrah offered her syrup-laced smile to Velvetica as she handed the young woman the frog knight she had made. That was an interesting exchange. She had never seen Velvetica's persona crack quite like that. In fact, that it was a persona was entirely news to Lirrah. But what about her gift did it? Her brother hinted that some aspect of it was very in-line with Velvetica's interests. Perhaps it was time to insert herself into Velvetica's life a bit more, and there was nothing better than a shared secret to help that along.

"I am glad to hear my gift has hit a mark, Lord Elroy. Truly, it is a pleasure. From the way Lady Velvetica talks apout you, I feel almost as if this is not our first meeting," Lirrah said with a curtsey. Since Elroy referred to her as a 'lady' as well, it was either true that the entire Hreaslag family was in on the joke, or that their family was simply formal even to people who are scarcely fit to buff their boots.

Lirrah thought that the latter was more likely, and appropriately became a bit more at ease.

"I do not know if she has mentioned me, put your younger sister saved my life. My caravan was attacked py prigands, and I could have sworn, with her golden hair and sapphire eyes, that Reon herself had decided to take mercy on this tiny merchant. Opviously, I was delirious with fright, put the point stands that she continues to impress me every day. You must pe proud," Lirrah chirped brightly.

"Oh, and Lady Velvetica," Lirrah added, turning back to Velvetica, "you must know, you can share anything with me. My gratitude and loyalty are unimpeachaple. If there are things you like, and I can make them, I would love to fulfill your requests. All you need do is share the things you enjoy with me. I would pe happy to learn more apout you, and your family, of course. I should like for us all to pe close for a long time to come."

@Crimson Paladin@The Otter

Where Roger's sentence died in his mouth as he was taken aback, a new grumbled curse was born out of István's, freshly liberated from a Morahti archer's tongue only so few hours prior. A moment later, he spoke again in civilized tongue.

"Getting right into it with this shit, then." the big man droned, blithe as his tone went, stepping forward and thrusting the fuller mug of dark liquid forward, offering exchange between it and the current offending slip of parchment. "Drink. Murder is planned best with a vigorous, sharp mind. It'll give you a moment to take a step back, as well."

Inane babblings by washed up hedge knights, short-sighted requests by township "richfolk" that thought they could go past their own mayoral system for the sake of their pithy 'estate', neighboring lordlings trying to invoke Cadmon, himself, even Guillaume into petty squabbles, István had seen much over Cadmon's shoulder and in his own right in his days as advisor and mentor— whatever had been scrawled onto this sheet had to be a "good one" to even warrant threats idly made.

May as well tear free the bandage and get back to running on your slashed leg, lest the rat race pass you by.

---

@Crimson Paladin@HereComesTheSnow

---

"I don't need a step back," Cadmon snapped irritably, holding the paper out to István to peruse. "That dotard has been a thorn in my side since before I was even born, and evidently that isn't even enough to content him!" As the paper was taken, uncaring that Roger was still playing witness to it all, Cadmon seized the mug that had been pushed towards him, draining it from the moment he put his lips to it rather than waste any time arguing with his retainer over it.

And before any other party still in the room had a chance to speak up, he continued on in his own outrage: "Accusing me of betraying him, failing to fulfill obligations that don't even exist? By what right does he send me any letter like that? Father made it clear to him every time that we aren't beholden to him in any way, no matter what his demented mind may think, yet now he's threatening to invade my fief for my supposed insolence? I shudder to think how far up his diseased colon I'll have to reach before I can get my hands on his goblinoid little face and tear his head from his shoulders." With a contemptuous flick of his wrist he tossed the rest of the package of letters Roger had delivered him to one corner of his desk, drawing over parchment, pen, and ink rapidly to start drafting a response.

"I'm going to make it clear to Feldger, once and for all, that if he sets foot on my lands, I don't care that he's a duke, I wouldn't care if he was the king's own cousin, he'll be left trying to scoop his intenstines back into place before a week is out. Faster, even, if he's seen fit to try and correspond with Duke Hraesleg about me as well. Threatening me is bad enough, but if he's chosen to embarrass me as well, I'll make sure his grandson gets an early inheritance." He looked back up suddenly, stony grey eyes fixated on the Griffin Knight with more life and energy than the latter had likely seen out of Cadmon in the entire time they'd known each other.

"I'm larger than our merchant. Can Shortclaw carry the both of us, Falkner? I may have business to attend to, rapidly."

"Proud? Of course," Elroy responded, still smiling, "I'm not even sure if our parents could be more proud of Velvetica."

This, too, gave Velvetica pause. Her inspiration to pursue swordplay, to pursue her path as the Steel Princess, had been because of her elder brother. To hear those words come out of the mouth of the man she almost idolized momentarily stole her ability to speak.

It took her a few moments to clear her through and speak again, unconsciously holding the knightly frog plush against her chest as she did.

"Well, I am quite pleased to hear your profession of loyalty," she began, swiftly dodging every other topic that had been discussed to avoid any further awkward pauses, "It is only suitable, though you are not among the military forces of the Lions, that you have committed yourself to our cause. I'm glad to know that I can count upon you for the sake of Velt and its people."

Of course, internally, she was hardly unaware of who she was speaking to. She did not assume Lirrah to be a boldfaced liar, but she was a merchant. And a merchant wanted to build a relationship with their clients to maximize profits. It wasn't something she begrudged the nem for, far from it. Rather, it was something to be aware of. To understand that Lirrah's commitment was to the option that would earn her more librans rather then simply loyalty to the Hraesleg name.

Still, the nem's conduct had thus far suited her fine, and there was little reason to reject it.

"So, my little sister resembled the Lady of the Sun, hm?" Elroy commented, "I suppose that does suit her, doesn't it?"

While she idolized her elder brother, that didn't stop her from questioning that comment. Normally she would gladly take such praise as to be compared to the Goddess of the Sun, for whom justice was paramount, but his tone struck her as somewhat playful.

"Exactly what do you mean by that, elder brother?" Velvetica asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh? Can't you figure it out?"

@Octo

---

"Hm?"

Ah, so this was the viewpoint of an assassin. She didn't have explicit knowledge of exactly what the Crownsblades had been party to prior to their near total destruction, but it was plenty reasonable to assume that their operations had been rather less forward in nature. Focused on striking at quieter, more internal enemies then those without. Provided that they were enemies of Velt, and its people, Velvetica had little issue with such objectives.

Those who threatened Velt's stability and the peace of its citizens were not those who garnered her sympathies.

However...

"Well, my enemies are far more open, and far more straightforward, then you are perhaps accustomed to," she responded, leaning forward in her seat, "My opponents are of a military nature, rather then those who work in the shadows."

Her elbows rested on her desk.

"But that doesn't mean I won't require your skills as an assassin," she continued, "Pinpointing an enemy commander ahead of time gives me quite an opportunity, after all, to shatter the enemy's morale and remove their leadership. A troublesome mage makes for the perfect target, as well."

Using an assassin to remove problematic or high-value targets made perfect sense to her, and she had little attention of using Kayliss's skills for any other purpose.

@Psyker Landshark

---

"Architecture?" asked Liletta, incredulously, "I'm the Hraesleg family's mage, do I look like I have particular experience in architecture?"

It was clear she hadn't the faintest idea of why that question had come up in the first place. Why would she know how to build a cottage? On top of that, she'd already been in a bad mood because of the do-

Anisette's tongue was sticking out as Gisela patted her head.

"... Tch..."

Liletta's glare sharpened.

"Fine, if you want to be a bratty little child," she glared at the doll, who folded her arms and looked away, "All I was trying to do was learn more about you. That doll is completely impossible to work with. She came from a Witch? I'm not surprised in the slightest."

@Raineh Daze@Eisenhorn

Lirrah watched Velvetica like a hawk, but with a sweet and unassuming smile on her face. She noticed the woman's pauses, noticed her gently holding the frog knight close to her chest, and certainly noticed that she neglected to answer most of Lirrah's inquiries. Of course, Velvetica was under no obligation to do so, but her lack of address gave Lirrah something to work with regardless. The merchant wasn't exactly a novice when it came to reading people.

Her perpetual smile almost fell when Velvetica replaced what could have been some insight into her personal feelings with Veltan patriotism once again. Lirrah, despite what she was used to regurgitating, didn't really care about Velt except as a market. Well, as a market, and as the home of some of the people she had been building relationships with. It was the people that she was really interested in.

Lirrah had hoped to hear something out-and-out selfish for once. She wanted to hear Velvetica say that she wanted a huge berry pie for her personal dinner, or that she wanted Lirrah to make a cute octopus sailor plush just for her. She wanted joys and vices, because everyone had them. Perhaps Velvetica wasn't interested in being seen as more than a figurehead. You could do business with people like that, but it was hard to connect with them through their persona. Though Lirrah had no doubt that Velvetica's love for and loyalty to her country was genuine, it came at a cost.

Everything did.

Lirrah's slightly-fading smile was repaired in full when Velvetica's brother poked at her, however. This was something that she understood (though it seemed far more playful and far less cruel than her interactions with her own siblings), and gave her a bit of hope at knowing something more. At building a genuine rapport. It occurred to Lirrah that she and Elroy might be on the same side in wanting Velvetica to open up a bit. She silently thanked the man before interjecting.

"I pelieve, Lady Velvetica, that your prother is referring to yet another shared trait petween you and the Goddess Reon. Namely... your height," Lirrah revealed playfully, obviously stifling a laugh.

"Although, do not worry, Lady Velvetica. You will always pe tall to me! The tallest Nem ever recorded was only 3'7" in Veltan imperial units, and I will remain much shorter than that," Lirrah added, attempting a friendly and reassuring pat on the shoulder (which was about where she could comfortably reach).

She hoped she wasn't being too forward, but Lirrah doubted she'd get a better chance to try and crack that shell, and she'd never progress her relationship with Velvetica without making a play. Besides, Elroy was something of a safety blanket for her in this instance. She had heard that he was strong, but he seemed wise and empathetic as well. She would need to take serious note of him.

Well, either that or he just liked messing with his sister.

"It looks like you've been befuddled by a Witch's doll right now, if we are talking looks at the moment Ghost."

The mercenary got a laugh out of the doll sticking its tongue out at the family mage, as childish as the gesture was it did add some slight humanity to the whole situation. Granted, Urden wasn't going to be forgetting the slaughter doll any time soon, so no doubt the small one had plenty of nasty tricks up its sleeves if push came to shove as well, so maybe it was for the best that the small doll be in hands that it seemed happier to be in. Handy was more fitting than before, it seemed, though Liletta was certainly not happy with the circumstances of getting snubbed by the smaller doll, so he lingered until they got too deep into the weeds in regards to magical nonsense talk.

"If its any consolation, pretty much every doll has been some kind of difficult. Thinking about it, you could probably talk Boss into tagging along and doing some field research and not have to pick through first hand accounts and souvenirs that we picked up along the way. Besides, if I was a gambling man I would wager we'll run into either that Witch or other ones, given the way we sort of just stumbled into the Doll Witch."

Urden was wearing an easy smirk, enjoying the free entertainment being provided, even if it was at the expense of Liletta. He wasn't completely joking about petitioning Boss to tag along though, Liletta wouldn't be a retainer if she was only useful in bookish studies. Any magic could be turned to warfare with a bit of creativity, and it would certainly make their lives easier. Also in consideration was, at the current point in time, Handy was not exactly the most stable nor sensible mage he had ever crossed paths with, and he had a hunch Ghost was going to be a far more stable individual in that regard, even if the prowess was a fraction of Handy's. Put the two at a problem and it might get solved rather swiftly. Or Ghost would tear her hear out, he wasn't sure how well mages worked together. Still, was worth mentioning, plus he could continue getting a measure of Liletta as a person, which could always pay off down the line.

"You may find the nature of your enemies changing with each success in the field." Kayliss advised, remembering the nature of a good number of her targets. While she had been on a need-to-know basis, the nature of her work meant that discovering the deeds and motivations of some of her targets was inevitable. Thus, the nature of court politics and influence was very well known to a Crownsblade.

"Something to keep in mind. Victory will breed rivals and those who fear your influence. Those who value their own well-being above the nation's will seek to tear you down. When that day comes, remember your options." She said simply, returning to an at ease stance.

"As ever, I remain at your disposal. By your leave, my lady." She said, awaiting dismissal. When Velvetica did grant her leave to depart, Kayliss would be gone in the blink of an eye. More inscrutable Crownsblade tricks.

@VitaVitaAR