[IC] When the Flames Die

[Sightles]

"I understand that you have an investigation to lead, Maria, but you are on Keilaudrin soil. The Urien's soil." Thomas replied, as he shifted slightly, looking back at the knights taking Wallace downstairs, "I am leading the investigation, and I'm not at liberty to discuss any other parts of the events with you. I've shared all I can share at this point." Thomas stood up, picking up Harmony as he did so, "As I understood it, you were looking to find out what happened to Lexine. I explained what happened to you. Your investigation is over. I still have my own investigation to carry out." Thomas added, turning back to the remaining knights in the room, and nodding them over to himself, "I'd appreciate it if you could remove yourself from Keilaud soil, along with the rest of your company, and officer staff." Thomas nodded once more towards his knights, indicating them to leave, "You may take the corpse, but you may not take the documents. Those will remain with the Order of the Thistle until our own investigation has concluded." Thomas finished.

[Epsir]

Talk about Canti was fine and all but he certainly wasn't going to the Tower to ask for answers. Something he feared to be nearly universal among the regulars of the guard, mostly because it resided in him, was the idea that patience was not the answer. The Order were doing whatever they pleased beyond the veil of the law and if their power extended even to the regent then something was gravely wrong with the responsibility afforded them. He consoled the dangerous thought with the thought that it was perhaps the rivalry between two esteemed protective organizations speaking in what must be a panic. What should have been a panic, two people had been killed apparently. His eyes clicked back from the doors to the trio of newcomers. His curiosity had been piqued, and frankly duty demanded it but the implications of the attack made him shy away from turning it into his business. "So what about this attacker of yours? Where is he now? Did you get a look at him or any clue to affiliation or identity? He won't get out of the palace but I've got to send this up so the guard can move on it," he asked, slightly nervous on the topic but driven to do something for them.

---

So much for that. The investigator felt the political ramblings coming on, and her thoughts shifted back to business as Thomas began his tirade about rights and right. Morgan didn't have the answers she was looking for, he had been a useless risk but was, for the moment, an opening. Things were more complicated than she appreciated, if nothing else her sense of trouble had been agitated merely by the power struggle Thomas was seemingly engaged in. She knew nothing, and needed to know more. Disappear, that was the answer. It'd been poor fortune to arrive this night but if the palace kept on like this answers would become apparent from the outside. She looked around the room, taking in what few details were present. As silence took the room, she walked over to her emblem thrown on the table, and pocketed the patch. The action faced her to the corpse, and she was forced to contemplate that particular card on the spot. "No. I don't need it yet," she said, turning one her heel and walking away from the table to make straight for the door. "Take care," a dry remark that came impulsively as she rounded the corner, none of the parties in the room cared but that was what amused her.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia glanced up at the guard, her eyes wide and more than a bit fearful. A description of the man. That much she could do, but she didn't want to think about him. She began to stutter out the words. "He... he was..." She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. She had to manage a description, at least. "Short blonde hair. He wore mostly black, all ripped and tattered. He had a black bandana around his face, but it got taken off. His mouth... his mouth was sewn shut, but he was talking, and the rest of his face looked like it'd been... burned or something." The grisly image of the man held in her mind. She could see him staring into her soul. She shivered. "He first approached us in Gareth's quarters, but we fled through the window. My bodyguard stayed behind... Then... Then we ran for a while, and stopped in the garden. He showed up again there. Gareth and Eva fought to hold him off, and whatever they did worked, because he apparently fled. I was running away, so I didn't see exactly what happened." She had felt a hand clutch her shoulder rather tightly when Eva's name was mentioned. That was right, she wasn't supposed to talk about that. She glanced towards the ground. "That's all I really saw..."

Eva kept quiet during the Princess' recounting of their night, reaching out to touch her when her own name was mentioned. A lady-in-waiting fighting an attacker would raise questions, questions she didn't feel particularly comfortable answering. She looked towards Gareth, hoping the boy would fill in the blanks the Princess had left out. She hoped the guards would be able to help them, but she had a hunch the man was long gone by now, injury or no.

[Sightles]

After a slamming of doors and quick running, a fully armored knight of the Order of the Thistle barged into Great Hall. The knight was instantly recognizable as Sir Tyler. Tyler seemed to be panting, as if he had just completed a long run, but that wasn't the most noticeable thing about him. Tyler's breastplate was ripped completely open, with blood still dripping from the crease that was ripped into his breastplate. Scratches donned his entire armor, and there were cuts on his chiseled face. Tyler glanced around the room, clutching at his breastplate as he walked forward. Tyler soon caught a glance of Sophia, the princess he was suppose to guard, and Gareth, which caused him to smile, "Thank the Gods." Tyler mumbled as he managed to stumble towards the pair. It was obvious the man was wounded, but it didn't seem to be fatal, not with the way he walked, and they way he still carried himself in a slightly upright position. Tyler caught a glance now of the Palace Guard, through his slightly blurred vision, causing him to slightly pick up pace, "Princess Sophia, I'm glad to see you alive." Tyler finally called out, strength still holding onto his voice.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia's eyes ran down the length of the hall as the doors slammed, immediately recognizing the man hurrying towards them as Sir Tyler, the knight who had been placed in charge of her defense. She rose from her seat, a look of shock and concern coming to her face as she realized the man was injured, apparently rather severely. The man seemed happy to see her alive. Her thoughts raced for a moment. Had the situation in the Tower escalated this much? Or were Tyler's wounds the result of something else? "Sir Tyler, what happened to you?" She looked over the man's broken breastplate. She shook her head. "Yes, I'm alive, but we were attacked... Jezin... I... What happened?" Too much was happening at once, she couldn't piece everything together.

[Sightles]

Tyler smiled as he stumbled into a seat near Sophia and Gareth, still gripping his breastplate. It appeared the blood flow had stopped nearly completely, and the blood that was dripping appeared to now just be residue, "I came into contact with an old friend." Tyler replied, slightly smirked as he did so. It was apparent the man had lost some blood, and was hurt, but definitely appeared stable, for the moment. Tyler's eyes grew sad for a moment, as he turned to Sophia, "I know what he did to Jezin. I'm truly sorry for it." Tyler replied, as he shifted in his seat, "I caught the thing just as he was making his way out of the Palace grounds, but he got away from me once again." Tyler's excitement and joy at Gareth and Sophia's safety was now gone as he turned into a more somber person.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia's knees wobbled slightly, her yellow eyes widening. Her voice sounded shaky. "You...you know...that...that thing?" Tyler had referred to the man from earlier as an 'old friend'. It seemed that the man who had killed Jezin was also the one who had injured Tyler. Sophia sat back down in her chair, looking to the ground for a moment. She steadied her breathing and looked towards Tyler, her eyes filled with a sort of primal fear. "Sir Tyler... please tell me. Who is he? Who was that man? and what does he want with me?" Despite her best efforts, her voice cracked as the last words left it. She gritted her teeth in frustration, trying to hold back tears. Maybe Tyler could demystify the abomination, at least somewhat. The man himself had given no answers. She felt Eva pat her gently on the back.

The Tauran watched Sir Tyler carefully, listening to every word he said. An interest sparked in her eyes when he mentioned his acquaintance with their pursuer. Perhaps they would get some answers after all. She patted the Princess gently on the back, trying to calm her from her traumatized state. The gesture would do little good, though. She knew what such traumatic events could do to a child. Hell, she wouldn't be here without experiencing a few of her own.

[Sightles]

Tyler grimaced for a moment at Sophia's prying questions. He knew the answers to all of them, except why he wanted her. Tyler cleared his throat, prepared to tell everything he knew about the thing that had nearly killed him, and had killed Jezin:

"The Lording family is a family of hunters. We don't hunt with spears, we don't hunt with bows, we hunt with steel armor and a sword. We've been hunters hunting the same quarry our entire life. It was the reason I was invited to join the Order of the Thistle, as well, under a direct invitation by Sir Redwyne. You're from Lyok, so you've probably heard stories, or sometimes you over hear something in the royal court. People talk about creatures and monster, and you think to yourself “that isn't real. They're making it up, or they're mistaken, or they're crazy.” or something like that. You just can't believe it. As I said, The Lording family are hunters. My father told me about our quarry when I was a young boy. I never believed him. It took one fateful night for me to realize how real the quarry was. We were out 'hunting' one night. Back then, I was only 10. I came along to learn things with my father, and help out with the 'hunt'. I was still a dumb boy, and had no reason to believe that...that 'thing' was honestly true. I had even begun to think my father was crazy. Anyway, we were done making our rounds and heading home. We'd cut through the woods. That's when we came up on it. Blood, everywhere. Splattered on the trees, in the grass, in the creek, everywhere. For a moment, I swore I saw a glint in my father's eyes as he witnessed the scene in front of us. Something had killed city guards. Wolves didn't attack humans in this part of the forest, too much trouble. There were three, I think, three bodies. Just torn apart. You'd see a head here, a leg here, a torso there. Predators don't do that. They don't leave behind scraps. What had done this hadn't done it for food. It had done it for fun. I remember my dad telling me to go home, but I wasn't leaving him, and I damn sure wasn't walking through two miles of woods alone, with nothing but a canteen of water and a small knife. It took me a while, to convince him, but finally we began tracking whatever did that. It wasn't hard, either, we just followed the blood. Either that thing had killed another person before it got away, or it dragged someone for a mile. The most vivid thing I remember about my dad was how he had a maniacal glint in his eyes, and he kept muttering 'It's finally come time.' We started hearing noises. I heard things screaming. Heard stag, and fox, and rabbits and raccoons and birds, just scared. They were moving. I saw flocks of birds that night fly straight into trees just trying to get out of there. I should've put it together. That maybe whatever we were tracking, it wasn't something we were supposed to see, and it wasn't something we could kill. I don't know why we didn't just go home. I think that was my dads nature, to go toward the 'hunt', to fight. We finally get into a valley. It was a deep valley, with plenty of hills, but we could still make out the tracks in the soft dirt. And the blood. The tracks were shallow. Whatever it was couldn't have weighed more than one hundred pounds, but that didn't mean much. So we follow the tracks, and it doesn't take us long to find where it is. It laid in the middle of a creek that ran straight through the bottom of the valley. We get within fifty yards, and we hear this noise. A screeching kinda sound. It was sort of made up of two different sounds. One was a high pitched screech, another was a low pitched growl. It was making both, at the same time. My father looks at me, kneels down, and whispers that whatever happens, we had to kill whatever was in that creek bed. The plan is to sneak up on it while it was distracted, stab it from behind, and then keep stabbing it 'till it don't move anymore. We move up to the edge of the creek bed, and that's when I saw it. It was leaning over a carcass, tear off fingers from a person's hands, setting them aside in a neat pile with other bits of flesh it had acquired. It was pale white. Human looking, but not quite human. It had arms and legs like a human, but it was hunched over. And its skin wasn't normal, it was missing parts of flesh, and had rotted away bits of skin hanging from parts of it's body. The most visible thing about the thing was it's mouth. Even from behind it, I could see it's mouth. The mouth was unhinged, all the way down to the bottom of it's neck. Even in the pitch black, the hundreds of rows of teeth shined slightly. So we see this, and my dad pulls his second sword from it's sheath, causing a slight sound as he did so. I swear to every damn god in this world, all the noise just ceased. For two seconds, nothing, nothing, made any noise. Which made it all the louder when it turned around, and grinded it's teeth together, making the loudest screeching sound I'd ever heard. My father got a good slash in. I thought he had missed, because the thing didn't mind. But it was on him in a matter of seconds, taking huge chunks out of my father with it's rows of sword-like teeth. I stabbed and stabbed at the thing's back, drawing no blood with every stab. It didn't even register that I was there. It's biting into my dad. It starts on his torso, ripping off the skin, then it moves up. It tore off his throat, it tore off his nose, his eyes, it scalped him. Then it started digging in, ripped off the bottom half of his jaw, the little bones and that tube in your neck, then his ribs. I don't exactly remember what happened, but somehow, my dads sword ends up in this things shoulder, and my dad ends up on my back. I'm running, and by god I'm running faster than I'd ever run before or after. And its following me. I end up back in the woods, opposite the ones we been in. I'm heading' towards our neighbor's hut. I can hear this thing, screeching and moaning. I hear these tree branches crack and get thrown around. It sounds like someone's taking an ax to every single tree I pass, its cracking so loud and often, but I just ain't looking back. Finally, I trip into pig pen, and I look up and there's my friend and his own father, tending to the distressed pigs. I scream and I cry, and they come over. I'm telling them to call an ambulance, and he looks at me, and I'll never forget what he said. 'What is that on your back?' he asked me. Just as he said it, he saw. The Black Leviathan of House Lording marked onto a steel breastplate. It was what was left of my dad. Most of his head, his torso, but nothing after the waist. My friend and his dad pulled me inside, leaving what was left of my father in the pig's pen. Whatever had been following me had left me be, for now."

"Eventually, morning came and they took me back to my hut. My mother was waiting for me. That next night, as I laid motionless in my bed, with about three candles in the room with me, my mother told me the story of a thing called the Lording Curse. The Lording's had sworn to end this creature's life, and this seemingly endless hunt that had gone on for nearly 300 years always ended in the death of every male in the Lording family line, at some point. I swore from that day on, my father would be the last thing killed by this thing. That's what brought me here, to Keilaudrin. The thing was on the move, and following it's on business. That's what you saw tonight. Something that's not quite human, and not quite what it's physical appearance always makes itself out to be." Tyler finished, tears starting to welt up into his eyes, prompting him to wipe them away as he did so, "It's killed more people than an entire war could manage." He finally added.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia sat quietly, listening to Sir Tyler's tale. Her already quivering hands began shaking more and more violently as the story continued. So, it wasn't a man that had killed Jezin at all. It was some sort of monster, some abomination known only to fables. Something that would've been put in stories to terrify children, except it was real. She grew pale, and tears silently began to stream down her cheeks. Her eyes glanced to Gareth and then back to Eva. They'd had no idea just what they had been fighting. They had been in more danger than she could even fathom, but they had tried their best to save her. Her eyes returned to Sir Tyler as he finished his tale. For a moment, there was silence, then the Princess outstretched a hand, placing it on the knight's shoulder. The tears had stopped falling, though the wet paths they had followed still stained her cheeks. Her eyes had changed, it seemed. The fear was still there, but something else was beginning to seethe behind the yellow orbs as well. Something cold. She locked eyes with the knight, and after a silence of several seconds, spoke. "Sir Tyler... I will see that thing die. I swear it on everything I have. It. Will. Die." Her voice sounded odd, like someone else's voice was coming through her lips. Her face was like stone, unmoving.

Eva was shocked by the story, but it at least explained the inhuman ability the man had shown. She shuddered for a moment, realizing what terrible danger they had all been in. She grimaced for a moment. Tremora hadn't had a chance in hell. Her internal pondering on the knight's story was shaken by the Princess' reaction. Her eyes locked on the back of the girl's head. The way she spoke was completely out of character. There was hate there, a hatred she had never heard from the Princess before. The change in the girl bothered her slightly. It made sense to react in such a way, to want to harm something that had harmed you, but the coldness with which she spoke was strange.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth heard a door come ajar posthaste, and he darted his gaze to the door reflexively. He looked gaunt at the description that Tyler divulged to them, but he recollected that, indeed, what Sir Tyler described was exactly what they encountered. It was not human, it killed everything in its way. But it was different: what they saw had some sort of tactic. It was not incompetent like a beast. Harker, upon thinking about the creature they saw more, decided with equal resolve as Sophia, that they would see through to its death. He would not let any deaths come their way, no one in their group was to die, for their assailants they sooner sought to kill than to become prey for. He locked his eyes on Sophia. "We will eliminate that wretched thing." With their voices twisted with such bloodthirsty resolution, they themselves seemed like murderous beasts, but the half-elf knew they were justified in ending the life of something that ended generations of lives.

[Epsir]

The guard listened to Sophia's account of the night with a small measure of disappointment to go with the slowly receding nervousness brought on by acknowledging the attack. It wasn't much to go on, as far as identifying their attacker, but anyone dressed like that would stand out like a sore thumb just about anywhere. He'd been ready to assure them that something would be done and leave to find a corporal or section leader but then entered a grizzled looking knight that he vaguely remembered the face of from among the Order. His story was even more harrowing, partly because it sounded like the ramblings of a madman and he was suddenly leery about leaving the trio unattended in his presence, but also because if what he said was true then some kind of abomination was loose in Mullen. The section needed to know. "I have to tell the others. Take care, all of you, please don't leave the Hall just yet," there wasn't any point in asking the Order to comply after what they'd done that night, but if the quartet of roughed up survivors in front of him were right they had better things to worry about than politics, and maybe a token nicety would retain him better than an order. With that, the guard sped off, stopping briefly by his two fellows to tell them something that caused them to stiffen and look towards the doors, before sprinting off into the palace halls to find someone.

[Sightles]

Tyler watched with a slightly impressed look at Sophia and Gareth, admiring their determination to see the end of the same creature he wished to see the end of, "Killing that thing is going to be one hell of a mountain to climb. It has to be older than Keilaudrin itself, and yet it just keeps on killing." Tyler replied, as he shifted, gripping at his torso tightly, "And if it's going after you, Sophia, it won't stop." Tyler's face grew gravely serious, and his tone somber, "It will never stop." Tyler kept silent for a moment, before looking over to Gareth, "Gareth, thank you for keeping the Princess safe." He managed a small smile to the young squire.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Tyler's words were all too true. Sophia knew she had no chance of even harming the creature herself. Still, she wanted to destroy it. She wanted vengeance for Walden and Jezin. But such a goal seemed hopeless. Her gaze fell to the floor as Tyler reminded her that the monstrosity he'd spent the last few minutes talking about was likely still seeking her, for whatever reason. She looked towards Tyler. "Sir Tyler, do you have any idea why that thing would be after me? Any guesses at all?" She nodded when Tyler thanked Gareth. She was lucky to have such loyal friends...

Eva had remained silent through most of the conversation, pondering the monster that now pursued them. From what Tyler had said, killing it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Still, it'd have to die, one way or another. She frowned. She didn't think she could even hold the thing back for long, much less kill it. If it came down to it though, she'd stand for the Princess, even if it meant her death. She looked towards Tyler. "This thing, this monster, does it have a name?" The handmaiden spoke suddenly from behind Sophia, more thinking out loud than anything else.

[ravenDivinity]

"Ahm, well, life is valuable, Sir Tyler. The Gods demand that innocent lives are protected." Gareth professed. He was loyal to faith, friendship, and family, and he saw it right to put others before himself. Still, he felt Eva deserved some sort of credit for helping, alas he digressed because it would jeopardize her secrets. How much time did they have until that thing returned? No, they had to protect Sophia to the very end. She needed maximum protection at all times now, now that she was being stalked after by a vicious monster. It had to die somehow, though, for it couldn't live forever.

[Epsir]

The guard returned in short order, with another three similarly masked and helmeted men following him in and departing from him to take positions at the far corners of the room. Through the halls, sections could be seen passing through the palace grounds, whatever had transpired seemed to put them on alert or at least afforded them a situation they could actually act on. The Order could be left to do whatever they pleased so long as there was an immediate threat to be dealt with. By all accounts present, that threat had long since left, but that only meant they needed to move more people to the walls. It was fortunate that the gates were down, it gave them less ground to cover. The original guard, if one was observant enough to tell the difference between the armored men, returned to the group now swearing vengeance on their mysterious attackers. They were still asking Sir Tyler questions, and he hung back to let the man speak before he would deliver his own news. Now that orders were in availability, it was wanted that the civilians be returned to their quarters or otherwise put out of the Great Hall, a room that demanded far too many men to cover for the few people sheltered within it.

---

Leaving the grounds had been made simple enough, but she was leaving empty handed. So was everyone else, apparently, although a few names on the list had been at least freed. As always, they were all doing their own thing. The investigator walked the dark streets of Mullen alone, her head on a slow, perpetual turn over the dark alleys and cobbled roads. Perhaps she was a bit nervous, but more than anything she was homesick tourist enchanted by the familiar sights of a southwestern city. The last time she'd similar masonry, she'd still been running around in the uniform of the Abbey. Trading religious habits for a soldier's uniform had been the smallest change, though. She sighed, seeing the city was fun but she had a job to do. A job that started with lots of getting ready, and there was only one place to sit down and prep for people in her line of work. Abruptly, the wandering girl turned and strode into the first tavern she saw. The Cross-something, she didn't look up, and didn't spare the patrons any more of a courtesy before finding her way to the bar. Her plan was simple, check into a room and become someone else for a little while. After a drink.

---

The cells were just as he remembered them, although it had been at least a decade since Wallace Canti last ventured down to Castle Mullen's dungeons for observations. He'd been unheard of in this country at that point, and now here they were bickering like real professionals. He smiled in his cell, pressing his hand against the metal door of the stone room and feeling the cold steel under his hand. A smooth texture that spoke to the metallurgical skill of its creators. A well made part that created a whole less than the sum of his parts. That was a hard pill to swallow, but the acceptance of the idea that no matter the quality of one part the rest of the machine could be faulty was one of the core concepts of his life. A proper amount of time had passed, he didn't count on them coming so soon but he had to be ready and sitting with his face next to the door wasn't going to end well. Dragging his hand along the surface of the door, Canti stood up and backed away from the door to stand in the center of the room, waiting to see who would make their move first.

[DrowsyPangolin]

A petite blonde woman sat at the bar of the Crossroads Inn, nursing a flagon of ale. Her bright blue eyes rested on the wooden flagon. It'd been a stressful few days, and the drink, or drinks rather, she was on her third cup, were doing her nerves good. She ran her fingers through her curls and sighed. Waiting around was such boring business, and patience wasn't exactly her strong suit. She took a long swig of the ale and smiled slightly. It was bitter, but she felt the warmth in her stomach growing with every sip. She lowered the flagon back to the bar, being careful not to spill any on the navy blue tunic she had been so careful to keep clean. She tapped the heel of her boot against the side of the bar stool, her legs weren't long enough to reach the floor. Just as the boredom was beginning to overcome her, she noticed a woman approaching the bar. She looked her over. Her clothing appeared to be some sort of uniform, though it was difficult to determine her origins with a once-over. Maybe the newcomer would be able to give some information, all she'd heard were rumors, and most of them didn't seem particularly reliable. She turned towards the dark haired girl with a smile. "Rough night?" The blonde woman spoke with a warm, welcoming voice, but it had a bit of a foreign accent.

[Sightles]

The door swung open to the Crossroads Inn, allowing two newcomers to enter the inn. A woman with white bandages wrapped across her eyes, and around the back of her head. She was a scrawny, short haired, blonde. She wore a black robe, with slight tears in the fabric, allowing the small glint of armor underneath. The next person to enter the inn was a pale and skinny man, with stringy black hair, also wearing a black robe, but this one in a better condition than the woman's. The man looked fairly bored, as he scanned the room, before walking towards a corner of the room. The woman with the man followed dutifully behind him, almost like a clockwork machine as he did so. The man took a seat, and kept up his scanning of the room. The woman stopped, and seemed to take a long pause before pulling out a chair, and sitting down, placing her hands on her lap as she did so. Neither of them ordered a drink, with their only activity being the man scanning the room.

---

"I'd have no idea, Princess. The thing acts as unpredictably as you'd expect from something so feral." Tyler replied, as he stood back up slowly, supporting himself by placing a hand on the table, "Aye. It has a name. Many call the thing 'Taggerung', but the Lording family has always called it by it's actual name," Tyler explained, making sure he was stable as he finished standing up from his seat, "Cain." The name seemed to carry some weight, despite it just being a short word, and it seemed that Tyler almost grimaced saying the word, "Maybe it's time we all head back to our quarters." Tyler said, now with a small reassuring smile, "Gareth, I need you to stay with Sophia tonight. I will resume my guard duties tomorrow, and relieve you of your post."

[Epsir]

Trinan walked up to the bar, ignoring the seating arrangements for the moment and craning her head to look for the bartender over the many other bodies gathered around the counter. Absent, apparently, most probably fetching something from the back room. She sighed, trying to tune out a question that came from beside her but soon realizing that there was no simply getting her room alongside a bottle of spirits and retiring. Slowly, her head turned to see the woman speaking to her. Behind a calm, evaluating glare she puzzled at the stranger's motivations and decided whether or not to answer. The woman at the bar's tone was kind. There were people to doubt in the world and she was content being bitter, but a tiny voice cautioned 'not now' and she reluctantly pulled up a seat and consigned herself to waiting for the bartender. "Not very," she said quietly, leaning forward and searching among the hung up bottles for something familiar. It was funny in a sad way that she didn't even know half of her homeland's brews, and it was becoming fast apparent that they didn't drink the same where she lived now. "What about you?" She asked, trying to turn the topic and not quite aware of how silly it was.

[BingTheWing]

In a corner of the Crossroads Inn, two figures were conversing in whispers. One seemed to be a bulky thug, a belt of knives across his chest and a morningstar slung over his back. The other was a diminutive yet somehow intimidating figure hooded in black.
"Did you get him?" the figure started.
"What do you think?" the bulky thug replied.
"Yes. Or. No."
"Yes. Of course I got him."
"Proof?"
The thug stood up and abruptly threw two daggers of delicate make and stained to the hilt in blood onto the table, alarming a few guests.
"His own bodyguards' daggers?"
"What do you think they are?"
The hood gave a slight chuckle. "Brave man. The chief will be pleased. Now, I'm sure he'd like to have one o' these trinkets." He removed one dagger from the table and pocketed it. "Meanwhile, keep the other one."
"My man." The thug slid the other dagger into his belt.
"Alright, mate. Go enjoy yourself. We'll inform you of anything new." With that, the hood threw a bulging bag of gold onto the table, stood up and left. The thug greedily grabbed it, a 'tricksy' smile abreast his face.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia frowned as Tyler failed to illuminate what the creature's motivations might have been. It hadn't seemed feral. It's moves were cold and calculated, and that worried the Princess. She looked up towards Eva as the woman asked about the creature's name. Tyler answered. The Princess thought over the names. 'Taggerung' and 'Cain'. At least the abomination had an identity now, not that it made her feel any safer. She nodded as Tyler suggested they make their way back to her chambers. He'd put Gareth in charge of guarding her, likely so the knight himself would have time to treat his injuries. The girl rose from her seat. "You're right, maybe some rest would do us good..." It was a lie, she knew she wouldn't sleep a wink. "I'm ready if you are, Gareth, Eva."

The woman gave a curious smirk and took another sip from her flagon. "I guess you could say that." Her bright blue eyes drifted towards the door as two figures, both wearing black robes entered. Her gaze held only for a moment before returning to Maria. She noticed Maria's eyes scanning through the bottles that lined the wall across from them. "Whatever this is is alright." She motioned towards her cup. "I think the bartender called it 'Black Ale' or something like that. I just asked for the strongest ale they had. Really though, it's not bad." She took another glug of the ale and wiped the foam from her lips. She called out towards the bartender. "Oi, bartender, another drink for me, and one for this lass too, my treat." She was determined to start a conversation with the woman. Maybe buying her a drink would help. "Anyway, I'm Lilian Tosli, Lily if you like." She extended a hand towards Maria with a grin. "I'm a traveling merchant, if you need silver, I've got you covered." She gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, who am I kidding, this place is terrible for business, I haven't sold a damn thing, but until I make some money I'm stuck here." She propped her chin up with her arm, bracing her elbow against the bar. "So what about you, what's your story?" Across the room, she noticed some thuggish looking fellows conversing and evidently making a deal, if the bag of gold was any indication. She smirked at the sight before returning her full attention to Maria.