[IC] When the Flames Die

[DrowsyPangolin]

As they entered the Great Hall, Sophia was surprised to see the sea of bickering nobles inside. Though the conversations around them blended into a headache-inducing cacophony, she made out a few bits. It seemed no one knew where the king was. The thought was troubling, and it was obviously already having it's effect on the general populace, as the mood in the room was far from amiable. She turned away from the mass of arguing men. If they could get to Canti, asking him what had happened might help them out. Feril seemed to remember her way to the dungeon fairly well. The princess turned towards her, still worried about the girl's current situation. Even so, it was one of a very slim number of options. "Right, if we can get there maybe we can find something out." She glanced back to the crowd for a moment. "We should probably move quickly." She turned back to the group. "If you're sure you want to go back there... lead the way Feril."

Eva watched the crowd of nobles cautiously. At the moment they just seemed confused and irritable, much like anyone else at that point, but she knew how fast an irritable crowd could turn into an angry mob. She kept close to Sophia, putting herself between the princess and the crowd. Gareth seemed to think talking to Canti in the dungeon was the best idea. Though such an idea sounded dangerous, the now former regent was likely to tell them more than the Order would, if their previous encounters had been any indicator. The girl that had joined them at the tavern, Feril, seemed to remember the way to the dungeon rather well. Eva turned an interested eye towards the girl, a bit impressed with her eagerness to return to the scene of her imprisonment.

[ravenDivinity]

All manner of nobility greeted the group's eyes upon their entry into the grand hall; henceforth, it wouldn't be past Gareth to make a bewildered remark. "So many people packed in one room, ere they are like pigs in a pen." He ushered the group near the wall of the room, out of the dense, bickering throng, and inwardly he noted the king's continued absence after the death of Karl Leid. Harker turned to the courier as she opened her mouth to speak again, and the news that she could recall the location of the dungeon pleased his ears so much so that he clasped his hands together and grinned.

"Oh, splendid! Please, lead us." Harker stepped aside and allowed Feril to place herself at the front of the group. Hopefully no negative confrontation would meet them on their path through the castle. Perhaps they could return to the great hall in time to see whatever announcement or some other that the acting faction in control would deliver.

[Epsir]

Feril set to walking quickly, picking the door she remembered and leaving the great hall before their departure could draw any attention. The halls of the palace were more like its outer grounds, deserted and quiet. Only a lone guard ever passed them, heading off down the hallways at a hurried pace. The directions were already faded in her mind, although it had only been about a day ago the lack of sleep wasn't helping her concentration at all. Every now and then the girl would double back, looking for a familiar painting or urn to mark their location with what she remembered. It didn't take them long to come to the right place, however. The hallways gradually became less regal and more spartan as they entered the parts of the palace used more often by the garrison than the politicians. One heavy door stood, flanked by two guardsmen, as the centerpiece of one such hall, and upon spotting the sentries Feril stopped and looked around at the group. She'd just left the place, and while it had been the Order she wondered about the sanity of approaching ones own evaded jailors. With her voice kept down, although they stood within sight of the door, Feril spoke for the first time since leaving the great hall. "I don't know about going up myself. I guess we're just asking to see if the regent is allowed audience?" A cursory glance at the empty dungeon corridor in comparison to the packed great hall said enough about that answer, a legion of people who would have been happy to talk to the regent were standing around doing nothing.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia followed along, occasionally giving worried glances behind them. Thankfully, her paranoia seemed for naught, as they were alone for nearly the entirety of their brief journey. At several points during their search, she questioned whether Feril actually remembered where they were heading. Eventually, though, it seemed their guide's memory finally served her well, and they reached the entrance of the dungeon. Feril was justifiably concerned about approaching the guards. Sophia nodded. "I'll ask them." If she sounded a bit uncertain, it's because she was, but they needed information. She slowly approached the pair of guards, forcing a weak smile. "Hello, sirs. I was told Mister Canti was in the dungeon. I'd like an audience with him." Sophia spoke with much more confidence than she actually had, her court training coming in handy for once.

Eva followed quietly behind Sophia, looking between the two guards. With the number of people in the Great Hall, it was highly unlikely that anyone was seeing the regent any time soon, but still, maybe they had a chance. If they wouldn't let a foreign dignitary through, perhaps they'd let a squire of the Order. She looked back to Gareth. They needed answers. At the moment they were running in the dark, and clearly that had not been effective thus far. She remained silent, standing behind the princess.

[ravenDivinity]

In the back of the group with Eva, Gareth leaned over and whispered to the maiden, "By spirits, it is I who seeks audience with the regent, Sophia..." In reality, it was necessary for Harker to talk to Wallace in private; the one whom they sought for information would confide more in Gareth whom Canti would obviously trust more. He remained alert, his eyes scanning the area around them during Sophia's initial exchange with the guards, although an attack in the middle of the day was highly unlikely anyway.

[Epsir]

The slump in the man's shoulders was about as close as any observer was getting to a display of emotion, but the mix of frustration and mirth in the chuckle that followed was clear enough despite the helmet of the guard. "If Canti was here he'd be free, little miss. The Order took him, and they haven't come out of that little tower of theirs since they stormed in here. Between the strangers seen on grounds last night and the angry bastards out front today, all of the captains are content to sit around and wait for the situation to 'gain clarity.'" He smirked invisibly at the idea, he and every guard on the grounds knew the real reasoning behind their inaction. Nobody wanted to be the first against the Thistle, and nothing made enough sense to warrant action either way. "I don't imagine them offering out audiences when they were ready to kill for custody of the man last night, but they won't have long before someone else takes up the regency anyway."

Feril had elected to stay back from the group, letting them close with the guards at the door. She stood turned mostly away, as if her face was the most identifiable of her features and not the garishly colored jacket. At least the emblem upon the garment was also turned away. She overheard the conversation anyway, noting down the evidence although it meant little to her. The regent, the one they'd come all this way for, was apparently not being housed in the main palace. She supposed that made sense, assuming the Tower of the Thistle had a dungeon all its own. Perhaps a smaller one. That was a scary idea, given the accommodations she'd recently been sprung from.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia frowned slightly, her disappointment visible. It seemed they'd come all that way for nothing. They'd have to interact with the Order after all. Her eyes floated back to the group behind her as she shook her head. "Oh... thank you anyway, sirs." She gave a slight bow to the guards before turning and returning to the group. She looked towards Gareth with a sigh. "If Mister Canti is in the Tower, how do we get to him?" The guard had said the Order had been holed up in their tower all day, so it was likely near-impregnable at that point.

Eva glanced over to Gareth, then back to Sophia when he spoke. He was right. If anyone was going to get something useable out of Canti, it was more likely the squire than the Princess, but evidently the girl had not planned that part out. For a moment, Eva smirked, but she quickly hid the reaction. Regardless, her face curled into a slight frown when the guard gave them the bad news. It seemed Canti hadn't even been brought to the standard dungeon. If they wanted a chance to speak with him, they'd have to go through the Order. The Tauran glanced towards Gareth. "Looks like you'll get your chance after all."

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth sighed deeply as Sophia returned to the group. "I suppose we must go through the Order now, if we wish to learn anything."

This development significantly hindered progress; the adamance of the Order in its objectives was extremely difficult to break. Only a strong and adept speaker could cripple their resolution, and Gareth hardly considered himself versed in rhetoric, even if he put quite the effort in his formative years into understanding it. "How we pervade the shield of the Order I know not." Harker shifted on his feet and changed to a stance appropriate for departing from the dungeon corridor. "Arduous, however, it is." Yes, indeed the task proved laborious. Perhaps he could stall the group until the anticipated confrontation with the Order by engaging in banter with the nobles in the great hall and unraveling the mystery of the gathering there. The half-elf started the group off to the great hall. "Come, ah, let us go."

[Epsir]

Feril was more than happy with the group's choice to leave the dungeon and its accompanying wing. Everything had gone smoothly, with the exception of utterly missing their mark, and extending the length of their foray into the palace for no good reason just seemed reckless to her. While the thought continued to resurface in her mind that they were safe in such a civilized place, the sheer volume of what she did not know and had not bothered to ask the rest of the group about was the primary source of her troubles. Putting that aside, she fell in behind the group again on their way back to the great hall. The hallways of the palace remained bleak and sterile, though the din of the filled great hall increased in volume as Gareth lead the party back towards the crowd. It was impossible to tell when in the morning they had arrived, but they certainly didn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. No doubt, there would be more coming to the capital soon, those who had not attended the celebration or left early and were in transit abroad when the news reached them.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Gareth was correct, getting any information out of the order would be quite difficult, if not impossible. Still, it was what they had to do. Perhaps a few answers could be found within the multitude of arguing nobles in the Great Hall. The princess followed the squire towards their destination. She shook her head. It seemed they were destined for another long and stressful day, though hopefully one fraught with a bit less tragedy than the one that had proceeded it. She followed Gareth without a word, walking side by side with Feril. "So who was it that let you go?" She was curious as to what the circumstances regarding the courier's release had been, as she had escaped during the chaos of the previous day. Somehow she doubted Thomas had just let her go. The girl adjusted the helmet she had been carrying under her arm.

Eva brought up the rear of the group, pondering over the current situation. The Order was holed up in their tower, a multitude of distraught nobles were bickering in the Great Hall, and the regent was locked in some dungeon no one really knew anything about. For that matter, the king was missing as well. It seemed everyone was in the dark as much as they were. The handmaiden pondered over exactly what they would find out from the crowd in the hall. Her eyes fell to the princess, noting that she still carried Jezin's helmet. She frowned. She had to take up the man's position as her guardian. She had to keep her safe, it was her duty.

[ravenDivinity]

"Yes," Gareth chimed from the front of the group after Sophia as the quartet approached the exit of the corridor into the great hall, "please, indulge us, who catalyzed your escape?" He ran a hand through his hair and combed it over to the side, while he thought over the near-future. Feril likely sought to avoid confronting the Order, like Gareth, or at least for a little while. Harker didn't want to negotiate terms with Thomas, but it was necessary if the party wanted information from Wallace. The squire oscillated between flexing out his palm and balling up his hand during his mental detachment. Before he could register, his hands were opening a door for the group and holding it for everyone instinctively. Coming to, Gareth scoped out the crowd of nobles upon their entry into the great hall.

[Epsir]

'A knight' was perhaps the only information about the man she remembered. Maybe he had introduced himself, but the incident on the wall between him and the guardsmen had taken her attention far more than the specifics of the man handing her money and rope. The cloak he had been wearing was the most solid evidence. After a moment's contemplation, Feril replied in a voice just over the din of the great hall. "I think it was a knight from the Order. I really don't remember much but he was in quite a rush to get me out so I don't know if it was very official, considering he gave me a rope and told me to scale the walls. There was another man outside who was from the regular guard, I didn't get a chance much to talk with him but he told me the way to the nearest inn." Now that she was recounting the information, the smaller gaps started to fill themselves in. The crowd in the room was starting to boil down, perhaps the guards were finally getting word out or they had come to some semblance of agreement. As the din died down to conversational noise, she looked expectantly around the group, hoping for some positive sign from the others that she'd been helpful. It didn't seem like much to the courier but she figured they knew something themselves.