[center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5531101][img]https://i.imgur.com/X0wDZ0z.png[/img][/url][/center]
[center][h3]--Hathforth Castle - Gardens--[/h3][/center]

When the masked stranger's veiled gaze lingered on 'Melisande', Kronos just barely managed to suppress an inhuman grin as the Dremora's mind entertained the idea of Valor already knowing of its host's unique circumstances, that the silver-haired girl standing before her was no Lilim at all. Though Kronos preferred to remain unknown to all, it wasn't naive enough to not discern that some denizens of the material plane had discovered its existence, otherwise, he wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place. Regardless, the stranger was willing to proceed, good, she wasn't here just to waste their time.

[color=b9b5fa][i]Valor Teardrop... where have I heard that name before?[/i][/color]

[color=f68192][i]I can't recall her myself. One of the Feyling Abductor's many acquaintances perhaps?[/i][/color]

[color=b9b5fa][i]It is possible, Mother is nothing but well-connected after all, and considering she's willing to supplant Duke Rhinecliff for any benefactor most capable of realizing her ambitions...[/i][/color]

[color=f68192][i]Oho, so you're willing to conspire against the Human-Elven Tyrant, Feyling? I have no qualms, in fact, it pleases me, however... how sure are you that this whole farce isn't the Tyrant's way of 'testing' your loyalty? I certainly won't put it past her to resort to such paranoid measures.[/i][/color]

[color=b9b5fa][i]That's fair, Kronos, then let us at least hear what she has to say.[/i][/color]

Thus, the Lilim-skinned Dremora humored Valor's proposal. This person sought information about the Wizard Queen, a spy working for Duke Rhinecliff and his loyalists perhaps? Or a simple broker trading information to make a profit? From the way she carried herself, the former was more likely; lofty goals such as ushering a new world order were usually pursued by rebels and usurpers rather than coin-chasing brokers. 

...or as Kronos cautioned, she could be on the side of the Wizard Queen all along and this was all a ruse, a test of loyalty for the new court apprentice.

[color=b9b5fa][i]Let us claim inexperience and return the ball into their court.[/i][/color]

[color=f68192][i]Ha, sometimes I wonder why you inherit your mother's visage, yet not her personality.[/i][/color]

[color=f68192][b]"You flatter me, Lady Teardrop,"[/b][/color] Kronos giggled as it curled a small, humble smile, [color=f68192][b]"Alas, I am but a mere apprentice, barely made official only hours ago in fact, so even if I suffer from delusions of grandeur, the fact remains that I am a complete stranger as far as Her Majesty is concerned, unlike..."[/b][/color] The simulacrum turned its indigo gaze toward the dark-haired half-elven magus beside it, deliberately letting its words hang in the air for Lord Blackthorne to seize.

[@LunarParadox] [@Estylwen]