[IC] When the Flames Die

[Sightles]

As Eva charged forward, he allowed his long sword to be disarmed from him. The man then bent his knees, ready to jump into the air, but as he did so, an arrow collided with the man's knee, striking it's way clear through the flesh, causing him to buckle. Before Eva could strike, the man rolled to the side, dodging Eva's strikes in the process. The man came to skidding halt as he ended his roll. The man slowly stood up, and looked at the two of them, before changing his gaze to where the Princess had ran off too. The man, despite the arrow hit, seemed somewhat unaffected, although it was obvious he had been somewhat hurt. The man weighed his options for the moment. He had taken far too much damage as it was, and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer, and catching up to the Princess was pretty much out of the question. He started a slow backpedal toward the safety of the thick garden, watching the two of them carefully as he made his slow retreat.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Eva felt a silent triumph when the longsword slipped from the man's hand. Her heart stopped for a moment when she saw him preparing to leap into the air, but the twang of a loosed bowstring alleviated her worries. Gareth had struck true. The man rolled out of her way, and began retreating into the garden, away from Sophia surprisingly enough. She watched the man, both daggers gripped tightly in her hands. It seemed he genuinely meant to fall back, perhaps the fight with Jezin had caused him more trouble than she originally thought. That, added with the arrow in the knee, would definitely slow him down, if not cause him to abandon his mission, at least for the moment. Killing the man now might solve their problem, but Sophia blindly running out on her own was a larger concern. If they were safe for the time being, they needed to catch up with her. She backed away from the man, placing herself by Gareth. "That was a hell of a shot Mister Harker." Their opponent began fading into the darkness. "I think you slowed him down, at least. We should catch up with Sophia." She turned towards the quickly vanishing silhouette of the girl running in the opposite direction.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth sighed deeply as the warrior with nothing else on him but speed retreated into the darkness. That man couldn't charge them again without serious injury, but soon Harker knew he'd be on their trail again. The squire needed to prepare for that. Swords and bulky armor were no match for agility, and the assassin's only weakness seemed to be taking on two people at once with the proper positioning. The next time they challenged him, they needed to get him in the right spot. They needed to fight together as hard as they could and disarm him quickly to leave him with nothing to fight with. Most importantly, the next time they challenged him, they needed to kill him for good. Gareth decided that they finally had the upper hand in getting their vengeance. The identity of the third party was beginning to emerge from the shadows, and soon it would be unable to hide as the curtains withdrew. "Thank you." He said to Eva, in regards to his shot. "I wouldn't have made it without your help." He nodded and started running in Sophia's direction, calling her name. "Sophia! He has left us!"

[DrowsyPangolin]

Eva nodded, and followed Gareth in his pursuit of the girl. Despite the force with which she was running, her short legs could only carry her so fast, and they caught up with the Princess a short distance out of the garden. The Princess had slowed down, it seemed, and eventually came to a stop as her companions rejoined her. Eva looked up, to see the silhouette of the Great Hall nearby. She wondered what had happened in the rest of the palace during their encounters with the mystery man, but such things would be learned in due time. "We're safe, for now." She looked at the Princess with a tinge of guilt. "I'm sorry for what I had to do back there Princess, but it was the only option I had." Sophia shook her head. "No, thank you, thank you both... so much." The girl's tone was full of gratitude, if not for the two of them she'd have been doomed. Eva looked to the ground before speaking. "That being the case... there's the matter of what I was trying to tell the two of you..." She glanced towards Gareth. Telling him to keep quiet at this point was pointless, she trusted the boy, and he'd just risked his life to save the Princess. Sophia looked up at Eva, her eyes full of questions.

The Tauran took a deep breath and spoke, her eyes meeting Sophia's. "Sophia.. when we were sent to Keilaudrin, plans were made in secret in case things went downhill. Your mother knew the country's history. However, she didn't want to incite any conflict with the Keilauds, hence the secrecy. You were sent with a single bodyguard and three servants to show that Lyok had peaceful intentions in this land. However... for your protection, our group was followed, shortly after we left. The second group had strict orders to stay as far as was possible from you, and to not join your party in any way unless your life came into danger. I suspect they've been in Mullen, albeit probably outside of the palace, for the entirety of your stay here."

Sophia looked quite confused with the information she was given. No one had told her anything about a second Lyoki envoy. She also was curious as to why her handmaiden was privy to such information, for that matter, why was Eva armed? She looked up, her yellow eyes locking with the orange eyes of her friend. "Eva, how exactly do you know all of this?" The Tauran sighed. "I thought you'd ask that... You see, Your Grace, I'm a bit more than just your servant." She reached up to her neck, opening the row of buttons that closed the top of her dress. As the garment opened, a shirt of black scale mail became clearly visible on the woman's chest. Sophia gasped. Eva nodded and spoke again. "Eva Stonewater, Faceless Legion." Sophia's eyes widened. The Faceless Legion, more commonly referred to as the Blackcloaks, were a very secret order within the Lyoki military. They usually handled extremely sensitive matters that the standard legions could not, assassinations, espionage, and endeavors in foreign lands.

The Tauran re-buttoned her dress. "I suspect the group that followed us, or at least a particular member of it, will be arriving shortly, given what's transpired tonight." She glanced toward Gareth again. "I must ask, Mister Harker, that you don't share what I've told you with anyone. It'd likely end badly." Sophia looked around them, completely blown away by what had just been revealed. She looked up toward Eva. "Who exactly did my mother send, Eva?" A faint smile formed on the woman's face. "She sent the Sword, Your Grace." Sophia stopped and stared at Eva for a moment. The Sword of the Queen, one of the two highest ranks in the Lyoki military. The Sword was the Empress' personal enforcer, and was generally considered the most skilled soldier in the whole of the Empire. Sophia's hands dropped to her side. "She... she sent Celeste?" Eva looked towards the girl and nodded.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth's interest was peaked. Sophia didn't come to these foreign lands alone; she was unknowingly followed by a troupe of high-ranking Lyoki military members. "I swear on my life; anything to ensure Sophia's safety through this ordeal. I'm not strong, but I will at least keep the secret." He looked up to the moon, and to the great hall in the backdrop. He wouldn't let Jezin die in vain. He would help Eva and Sophia in mutually keeping each other alive. "So, we are to group with them soon?" They wouldn't be traveling in a small group anymore, they'd have a larger company with them. Travel would become much safer for them, and Sophia could remain in the country until she finished her duties. Once that was over with, Gareth had nothing to worry about in the way of his own safety; he was no prime target for the enemy, he was a simple squire. Not only would they be with a high-profile group in the Lyoki military, they'd be with the highest ranked soldier of the Lyoki military. So much turmoil in one night: earlier he thought they were doomed to die, but with this news, they could last far longer and not only defend themselves but also eliminate opponents, giving them mobility.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia smiled at Gareth's statement, the first smile she'd managed in a while. Even in the darkest of times there was a small light. "Gareth... thank you, thank you so much." She looked towards Eva, awaiting the answer to Gareth's question, which was shortly answered. The Tauran woman looked around them, making sure no one had approached. "They'll have to find a legitimate reason to be here first. I imagine they won't all show up at the doorstep. A group of Lyoki Blackcloaks at the gates would probably seem a bit off to the guard, for all we know they could take that as an act of war. No, my guess is that they'll be careful about this." She had been briefed on the general scheme of things, but not on how exactly the plan would be executed. "In the mean time, we should probably try to find out exactly what happened last night... A great deal has probably changed." There was an ulterior motive in her words. Though finding out what had occurred was important, getting themselves close to other people would probably prevent another attempt on the Princess, and they needed safety more than anything else.

Sophia nodded. "But where do we go? The Order of the Thistle? The Palace guard?..." From what they had gathered earlier, neither of their options were particularly trustworthy, but they couldn't stay out by themselves, they'd be in danger. Their pursuer had fallen back, but for how long? She looked towards Gareth, her lips twisting into a frown. "I... I imagine we should let someone else from the Order know about Walden..." She still was having difficulty accepting everything that had happened. It seemed like some terrible dream that she would wake up from at any moment. Alas, she knew it was all too real. Jezin was gone. Walden was gone. She looked between Gareth and Eva. They had saved her life by risking their own. It was a debt she could never repay. The Princess looked down at her arm, which had small streams of blood running down it from the thorns. For a moment she thought how lucky she was that it was the only injury she'd escaped with.

[Sightles]

Once again, Thomas reached out to strike Wallace across the face, while Lewyn held Wallace up, and in place, "I thought I told you to shut your mouth, Wallace." Thomas said, his voice rising in anger, "You have failed in your job as Regent, and have contributed to the conspiracy against the crown. I charge you with the death of Karl Lied, and Redwyne Cole. I also charge you with conspiring against the crown of my King Bard II. From this moment on, you are hereby removed from the regency of Keilaudrin, replaced by me until a suitable regent can be found." Thomas finished, his voice still possessing a violent and angry tone, "As my first order of business, I declare you a de facto enemy of the state, and will be judged accordingly." Thomas finished, as he nodded towards Sir Lewyn, and to two of the three knights standing near Maria. The knight all grabbed a hold of some part of Wallace, before making their way down the stairs. Thomas turned back to Maria, holding her gaze for a moment, before going on, "I killed Lexine Tristan. I suspected her of being an enemy of the state against King Bard II. She declared herself as a killer, sent here to kill another person." Thomas explained, as he took a seat, resting Harmony on the table, as he did so, "We had entered an interrogation room under the pretense we were to be completely unarmed. Once I revealed to her that I intended to arrest her for further questioning, she made a quick grab towards her foot, which started the scuffle that ended in her death." Thomas explained, keeping eye contact with Maria, "Her death only occurred last night, however."

[Epsir]

Wallace scowled and recoiled as he was struck, glaring defiantly at Thomas regardless of his current confinement. The man's expression softened as his list of offenses was read to him, and he seemed to take satisfaction with the growing list of accolades. "Good luck," he remarked behind a sneer, as Thomas named himself regent. It was good to know what they knew in full detail. The rest of the speech might as well have been irrelevant rhetoric to him, and he left the room cooperatively with his many captors. He didn't expect a trial, but he'd be able to make his move long before it came to whatever drastic decision Thomas was getting ready to make. If the two Lyokis were still in town, it'd be easier to simply flee under amnesty. The thought almost made him laugh.

Maria watched the spectacle with a slowly curling frown. It was quickly becoming apparent that she'd stumbled into the middle of some sort of internal power struggle, likely linked to the incident which spurred her presence. She'd seen it before, and what was making her uncomfortable was the list of possible relations between what she was seeing now and what she'd been told. The moment ended, the knights left with Wallace, and her eyes went left to Thomas to engage him for the time he spoke to her. Appreciative of the progress thus far, she pretended not to mind the fact that one of her own 'escorts' remained close at hand. His recounting of Lexine's death elicited a glance back towards her corpse. One particular detail stood out, and the knife tied around her left ankle suddenly felt just a bit more uncomfortable. Plenty of people did the same, she reassured herself that her appearance was the only oddity. She was punched twice in the same conversation when Thomas revealed the date of her death, and Maria's head came around quickly to lock eyes with the man, hoping to see some hint of a lie. The freshness of the body had already told her as much, but she had refused to believe given the strange circumstances. She didn't know what to say to the man, she'd been had just as hard as the Keilauds, and a tinge of fear crept in as she wondered what exactly was going on outside in her absence. Everyone had their orders, but... "I received notice that I was supposed to be dead in Keilaudrin. I'm the only person among the five names given who was in reserve. Inculpable. So I am responsible for the investigation. I have disproved their presence in-country, and I entered Mullen tonight. My company is offshore, I am accompanied here in Mullen only by my officer staff, who are recognized as a diplomatic party by the Crown," she explained the circumstances that lead to her presence, seeking to clear the air between the two parties. The more they talked, the worse the picture looked. "Only one place to start. Who sent that letter, ran Keilaudrin's investigation?"

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth frowned at the question. They were stuck between two factions, both of which they had difficulty trusting. "We have to choose between the two." He stared at the ground as he thought of where they could go. "The palace guard." It was the best option: a killer was on the loose in the Order. Even if trust in both waned, he'd rather an organization with less blood on its hands.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia nodded. Perhaps the Palace Guard could at least grant them some kind of protection. Wallace had said he would send a detachment of guards to add to her defense, after all. Still, with everything that had happened, she wasn't hasty to trust anyone. "Right, then. I suppose the best place to start would be the Great Hall." The civilians in the hall had probably been evacuated, just as she had, in the panic earlier. The guard, however, might still be inside. She hoped desperately that someone inside could at least tell them what was going on. So much had been lost in a single night. It wasn't fair... She started walking toward the nearest door of the Great Hall, which wasn't too far at this point. Eva followed the Princess in silence, her two daggers vanishing beneath her dress as they prepared to head out.

[ravenDivinity]

"Yes, let's go inside." Gareth followed the two, and he returned its bow to its original position on his back. With his hand, he wiped some blood and sweat off his face, and he sighed deeply. Desperately he hoped things would've calmed a little bit more by then, after much of the chaos seemed gone, or at least, tucked under the rug. Harker fixed his clothes again, as if their cleanliness could distract from his distraught face, covered in a few thin scratches made by glass and a thin, now-drying layer of sweat. The third hand in all of the troubles had made its move, and it didn't appear as much would happen going into the rest of the night, beyond the typical feud between the palace guard, the regency, and the Order knights.

[Epsir]

A trio of guardsmen were all that remained in the Great Hall, standing their silent guard before the king's table at the head of the room. Each man was garbed in the standard of the palace guard, rust colored brigandine. The fact that there were only three was a bit of an oddity, but it was testament to the priority of the palace guard placed on an empty room. The place was silent as a tomb for the first time it had been in days, and although it had yet to be cleaned up and organized the disheveled room still seemed eerily empty to the men who were stationed there for the entirety of the night. There had been sightings of cloaked strangers on the walls and in the corridors, and word of The Order's march on the regent had gotten around but there was little desire to retaliate and a few of the officers swore up and down that Canti had instructed them not to. Of course, everything three guys stuck in the great hall had heard from passing runners was hearsay. The appearance of strangers at one of the far doors immediately won the attention of each of them, their heads snapping up towards something when their entire night had been nothing. A quick exchange of shoulders convinced the man at the lead of the group to break off and walk towards the newcomers, calling out to them as he closed. "The palace grounds are closed.state your... What happened to you lot?" His tone shifted from official and impatient to alarmed as he looked over the trio, the surprise apparent on what little of the guard's face was visible under his helmet and coif.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia strode across the floor of the now deserted Great Hall. It seemed grimly appropriate that a place that had been so lively now felt more like a crypt than a hall for celebration. She looked up towards the guard as he approached, pushing her hair out of her face. "We were attacked, sir." She shook slightly, trying to recount the events of the night without breaking down. "A man attacked us shortly after the commotion earlier. He... he killed two men. Sir Walden, of the Order of the Thistle... and my bodyguard, Jezin Tremora." Sophia's strain to compose herself was apparent, her voice shaking ever so slightly. She looked up towards what she could see of the man's face. "We were lucky to escape with our lives." Eva remained a few steps behind the Princess, allowing the girl to explain the situation.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth stood behind the women as they recollected the recent string of events to the guard. "I'm a squire for the Order of the Thistle, and we were ambushed in my quarters." He frowned. "We ran as fast as we could." His voice was morose and low, and he looked at the ground with his last sentence. The hall was still and silent, and it was untidy as ever, this being immediately apparent as Harker entered behind Eva and Sophia. Quietly he gave the princess a gentle pat and a rub on the back to reassure her that she would be alright, even though he himself was uncertain of that.

[Epsir]

The guard looked between the two speakers as they gave an utterly astonishing report. If they didn't look the way they did, he would have never believed a single attacker was acting within the palace grounds when they'd had the cordon up so long. The Order of the Thistle may have been believed to be involved in some creepy things by the palace guard, but they didn't deserve to be getting offed in the middle of the night, same to whoever the Tremora fellow was. "No harm done, just stay here, this is what the Guard is for. Don't do anything silly with that bow and make me look like an idiot," he said, looking at Gareth in particular but sounding none the more serious for the remark. He didn't think any of the three were going to be up to anything. They had a Lyoki royal with them, not that they were hard pressed to offer shelter in the first place. Admitting someone who walked in with a bow on their shoulder just looked to be in poor taste given the recent circumstances. "Come back along, get away from the doors," he instructed, turning and motioning for the trio to follow him back towards the head of the room. "Sorry for your loss, but you picked a shit time to be here. Order just booked the regent and no one has a clue what's gonna happen now," he commented along the way.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia threw a glance back towards Gareth. Her hair concealed her eyes, and a rather forced smile held on her lips for no longer than a second. The Princess nodded when the guard told them to come to the front of the room. At least they'd found help. "Yes, thank you, sir. We'll be no trouble." She followed the man back up to the front of the room, listening as he spoke. The Order had arrested Canti, it seemed the feud between the two had escalated. She was a bit distraught that even the guards were unsure of exactly what would happen as a result, but now wasn't the time for such worries. When they reached the front of the room, Sophia slumped into a chair. Her legs ached, and she was sure a massive bruise was spreading across her side from being kicked. With Wallace imprisoned, she was curious what had happened to the provisional government. "You said the Order arrested Mister Canti, so who is regent, then?" The Princess looked up towards the guardsmen with tired eyes. Eva took her place behind Sophia, thankful they had made it out of the nightmare, at least for the moment.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth frowned. "Why arrest Mister Canti? He holds no ill will for the king." He doubted they had any good reason to take Wallace into custody other than some made-up excuse by Thomas, who was anything but completely logical. Harker then wondered where on earth the king could've gone during all the chaos. Who'd be in charge in Canti's absence? And for that matter, Gareth thought about the whereabouts of the Order beyond arresting the regent. The half-elf had a headache thinking about all of the details at such a late hour, no matter how critical they were. Even if he wanted to go back to his quarters, it wouldn't be safe for him with the window cracked open as it was, and he'd have to share a room with someone until they repaired it. They wouldn't let him retire to his quarters when the castle was short on guards.

[Epsir]

"I would assume Mister Canti is still regent unless the order is so bold as to think they can strip him of the title," the guard said, shrugging his shoulders. He tried to look casual about relaying the information but inside it was a troubling possibility that the knights really had gone so far as to challenge the word of the regent. Wherever Bard II was, he was badly needed now if the government was its own components' ability to rule. The second question he didn't have an answer to, other than pure speculation. Why would they go so far as to arrest a regent? There was nothing to be gained from such a move unless they wanted the poor reputation of challenging authority. The only thing that fit the Order's reputation and typical conduct was that they had determined Canti to be some sort of threat to the king; only when the blood was threatened did the order act in a frenzy. It was all a little bit beyond his post, the job of the guard was supposed to be simple: keep people safe. He wanted to have better answers for the tired looking people before him, but the short of it was he had no idea why the Order was fired up. "But about why? I don't know. I don't think anyone does except the Order, and I've heard the lot of them are holed up in their tower with the regent right now. It's not good," he said. "But nobody wants to be the first one to step up and go to the tower, and I don't blame them. All the guard can do is hold the grounds and hope for the best."

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia frowned. It seemed for the most part, everyone was just as much in the dark as they themselves were. All that was certain was that the Order had arrested Wallace Canti, the action regent of Keilaudrin, allegedly because he had some plot against the king. Sophia sighed softly. Everything had become such a large mess. It seemed they, like everyone else, would have to wait for definitive answers, if they could be called that, to come from the Tower of the Thistle. Regardless, whatever had transpired in the tower likely didn't bode well for anyone. Quietly, she was glad they had decided to go to the Palace Guard now. Going for the Tower would've placed them in the middle of whatever debacle was going on. "Maybe some answers will come soon." She glanced toward Gareth for a moment, wondering how his position in the Order would effect him now.

She had set to carefully removing the thorns that had been embedded in her arm earlier. She couldn't shake the image of the man from her head, if he was a man at all. Who was he? Why had he wanted her? He had obviously been desperate to accomplish his goal, going through the trouble of killing two people and risking life and limb. Her small hand curled into a fist, and she felt her teeth dig into her bottom lip. She'd find out why this happened. She wouldn't let Jezin die in vain. She cursed her fragile body. She wanted vengeance, a vengeance she couldn't achieve. A single tear of frustration ran down her face.

Eva listened intently to the guard's words, though she made no indication of this to the man himself, instead keeping her eyes on the Princess. The power struggle between Canti and the Order seemed to be the driving force behind the night's turmoil. She wondered if the attempt to kidnap the princess had been tied to it. It didn't seem likely. After all, what good would capturing a foreign princess do in a domestic dispute? Still, she couldn't just pass it off as being completely unrelated. It was unlikely that the man had been working on his own. She watched as the Princess set to work on removing the thorns from her arm. She still felt guilty for what she'd had to do. Striking royalty would've gotten her tossed into the viper pits if she'd done it in Lyok. But at least they were alive.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth sat himself in a chair next to Sophia, and he reclined on it, the muscles in his back and in his leg aching from all of the swift maneuvering they did while trying to escape. He found them acting more like outlaws than anything else, and suddenly he didn't feel so safe being a squire. The deformed appearance of the man who assaulted them haunted Gareth, and it wasn't easily shaken from memory taking in account how much fear it struck in those who saw it. He was almost certain Sophia couldn't forget that whatever it was from her head either. When she snuck a glance at him, his trained eyes caught it and blinked slowly at her to acknowledge what little her eyes could tell him. Understandably he'd be caught up in whatever power struggle was going on at that point in time, but being a neutral party, being a boy who didn't cared about having any of the power in the world, he couldn't put himself on a side. Harker hated what happened to him that pushed him into his current position, yet he couldn't undo what had already been done. Then it was just a matter of trying to live while prioritizing the safety of others and going along with the flow of things.