Milkman

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Jazdia’s comment about Kaito not looking too happy caught the fox by surprise. He was always under the impression that he was pretty decent about hiding his feelings but the elf once again cut through his mask like it wasn’t even there. For a moment he just stared at his companion wondering what he should say. Even though Kaito was generally the most talkative person of the group, talking about his feelings was something he was not particularly good at. Maybe it was because he has a history of manipulating others and was afraid of having his own feelings used against him. Or was it because he did not understand what he was feeling himself.

The fox turned his face towards the road again as their horses dashed forward. For a moment there was this eerie silence. He could not hide it and saying that there was nothing would surely not convince the elf. ”It’s just….” began the fox. ”It’s just that I saw this coming. I tried to talk some sense into Mathilda and you about that the Pesti info was too good to be true and most likely a trap. I understand that you want to cover all bases but it just feels like I'm being ignored and that my opinion isn’t valued. That kind of frustrates me and now stuff is a mess.”

Kaito paused and looked at Jazdia. Wondering if he somehow sounded like he was antagonizing her or as some entitled asshole. ”I’m not good at stuff like misdirection, manipulation and scheming because of my magic. It’s that I am good at my magic because I understand how to misdirect, manipulate, scheme and stuff like that. I understand to a certain degree how people think and how I can use that to my advantage. Our enemy does that too. That is why they set up a trap that Mathilda would walk right into, forcing us to take our eyes off Fanghorn.”

The kitsune turned his eyes to the road again, watching the trees move by as they made fast progress towards Pesti. ”Anyway….we should focus on the task at hand. The only intel we have is that there was an explosion. If we can’t get into contact with anyone on her team we should approach Pesti really carefully. Mathilda and the other could be all dead and our enemies could have set another trap for us to walk into. It is pretty obvious that our enemy's first priority for now is to get rid of us.”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

”What do you mean in trouble? What did she say, do you have any intel on their situation? Did they run into an obvious trap based on intel too good to be true? ” Spoke Kaito as he hurried to get on his horse. The last sentence the fox spoke was rather unnecessary. However he had been very vocal against splitting up and had shared his doubts about Pesti but got cut short on that. It seemed that it turned out that he was right all along. Something he could not help but to share with a sarcastic remark.

By what little information Jazdia was sharing it was pretty clear that Mathilda’s team did not locate the prince. Not that Kaito, Jazdia, Solomon and Cedar had any more success on that front. They did not manage to get confirmation that the prince was actually in the fortress. It was still a possibility that the prince was in Fanghorn but the decision was made to not further investigate but rather to rush towards Pesti.

Kaito wasn’t sure if he liked that decision. Their mission was to bring back the prince. Some losses on the way were to be expected. Rushing to Pesti meant that they would lose track of the only lead they had and with Jazdia blowing up the bridge, their enemies would be aware that Fanghorn was compromised. If the prince was being held in that castle, they would certainly consider relocating him and then the team would be back to square 1. However the kitsune decided to keep these concerns to himself as he was under the impression that his inputs weren’t valued.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Kaito followed Jazdia as they moved closer to the village. The riverbank provided them good cover from any prying eyes from the keep while still offering good visibility on their target. The elf had once again chosen a fine spot for the observation job at hand. However judging from her remarks there was some sort of magic barrier interfering the baron seemed to value his privacy.

”A magic barrier to keep your prying eyes out? That seems a whole lot more valuable than this rundown estate should be able to provide. That sure is suspicious. Sounds to me like we’ve come to the right place.”

The fox paused a bit to overthink the situation. It was indeed certainly suspicious that a lowly baron from by the looks of it an impoverished estate could afford such expensive magical devices. He was certainly hiding something. If it meant that he was hiding the prince, then Mathilda and her team were probably now in the process of running headfirst into a trap.

”It could be the prince he’s hiding. Or just something else he does not want the world to see. Anyway, since you can’t see past their barrier I guess we’ll have to do it the old fashioned way and get there up close. Entering the town should not be too difficult. We can just wait for the gates to open and pretend we’re travelers looking for a place to rest. I’m betting that Fanghorn has some sort of inn on the main road to the keep. We could go there and meet the local drunks who do nothing all day except downing grog and staring out of the window. Any word from the Orc?”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned they say but the material plane had something much worse. A Jazdia who’s decisions got questioned by one of her own. Her gaze was so fierce that it sended a shiver down Kaito’s spine. For a moment he just searched for the words as he wondered if he should continue to argue. However his string of thoughts got interrupted by Mathilda barking orders to move out. The usually talkative fox was remarkably silent during the trip to the outskirts of Fangorn.

When they arrived the kitsune took a quick look at the situation. There was a stone keep surrounded by a stone wall and a village surrounded by a palisade. Considering the time of day, getting into the village would be a bit more difficult as the gates were usually closed at this hour. One could not simply march upon the gate and ask entrance at night without drawing up a lot of suspicion. It would probably have been better to arrive during the day and pose as travelers to get entry to the town and work from there.

“Getting into the village and Otto von Krubers keep is going to be a challenge at this hour. We’re not exactly figures of authority to which the baron has to provide a certain degree of hospitality. It would have been nice to have Madame Mathilda here. Her presence opens doors. Nobody can refuse her when she demands entrance without insulting the king himself.” Spoke Kaito as his words were sort of a suggestion for a potential course of action as Jazdia was well aware about Kaito’s ability to impersonate people and a bit of a quip about his concerns with splitting up at the same time. However the fox had no intention arguing about that topic once more so he pushed his feelings about it aside and quickly spoke“Anyway, I'll follow your lead. Just tell me what to do.”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Kaito sighed. As usual Jazdia was drawing her own plans again without any regard for what others thought or said. That elf could be such a pain in the ass at times. And yet it was one of the traits the kitsune liked about her. She was never boring and complacent. It was truly a miracle that Madame Mathilda hasn’t exploded yet because of Jazdia’s way of communicating. It would surely be a sight to behold. However the orc showed a degree of remarkable patience that he hadn’t expected of her.

“I don’t believe in coincidences. I still think the fact that we suddenly broke through with scrying is entirely intentional from their side and that us splitting up is exactly what they want us to do. But hey, why listen to someone who specializes in trickery and misdirection…..” Spoke the fox mildly annoyed as he was convinced that this whole situation was an obvious trap.

For a moment he contemplated what to do next. The decision was already made to split up so there was little that could be done about that. The only thing that wasn’t clear yet was who would go to what place. “So about this splitting up thing. Who’s going to tag along with Mathilda to Pesti and who’s going with Jazdia to Fanghorn? Can I assume that you ladies have thought about what abilities you want on what front?”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Much to Kaito’s surprise, Veronica seemed to share his opinion about the potential of this whole situation being a trap and that it was safer to move in full force. However the point about what if the prince isn’t there is still valid. If they moved to one location and their target happened to be in the other that would be a drag. Their captors might relocate him and finding a lead again would take a considerable amount of time and time was the thing they were rather short on due to all the happenings in the capital.

The fox smiled. The presented dilemma was certainly entertaining. For him it was like a puzzle that was begging to be solved. ”Maybe we should take a few minutes to think this through. Have any of you ever wondered what the enemies' end game is? Like what they truly are trying to achieve? They tried to kill the king, right? But they only kidnapped his son? If you want to seize the throne, why let the prince live? As long as he’s around, he will always have a stronger claim than whomever wants to sit on Fredrik’s chair. It makes little sense to me to try to kill the king but keep his boy alive.”

Kaito paused a bit before he continued to speak. ” Anyway, what I am trying to say is that if they have kept the prince alive till this point, he represents more value alive to our enemies then dead. It does not seem logical to kill him if we moved to the wrong place. I think they will either stay put where they are or relocate if that were to happen. Someone could keep an eye on Fangorn while the rest move to Pesti or the other way around. If they move out, we spot them and can trail them to their next hideout.”

For a moment the kitsune thought deeply about the situation. Killing the father while kidnapping the son was a strange sequence of doing things. He could totally imagine that someone would kidnap the prince to gain leverage over the king but well, that required the king to be alive so in such a scenario the assasination attempt on the king made little sense. If they would try to take the throne, keeping a competitor alive seemed like a bad choice. Unless that competitor was actually running out of patience waiting for his father to kick the bucket. Could it be that the prince was involved in a different role than just a helpless victim? In Kaito’s mind that was certainly plausible but he decided not to share this string of thoughts with the rest of the group. Some of them seemed to be fiercely loyal to the king and would probably not like such insinuations.

Noticing how Jazdia had activated her eyes, Kaito quickly looked around just to see if the elf was looking at something specific. However that did not seem to be the case. The fox just guessed that it was a sign that he should shut up. ”I’ll shut up now and let you ladies decide our course of action.”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

The journey through the night had so far been rather uneventful. Sight was sufficient enough to not have the horses break their legs but the journey was still slow. Kaito could not help but find the whole ordeal of traveling through the wilderness at night rather boring. Rather odd considering he was born as a nocturnal predator. Throughout the years the fox had grown rather accustomed to the human way of life.

However the night was about to turn more eventful as the party stopped due to Veronica spotting the prince with her scrying. “Well, isn’t that convenient, that the captors of the prince drop their guard after learning that we are on their tail.” Spoke the kitsune sarcastically. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his teammates, however the result of the scrying was rather fishy.

“Aaron Delving has already seen us fight and should be aware of Mathilda’s prowess as well. He knows that he isn’t dealing with just the run of the mill soldiers. If I was him I would try to have us split up and ambush 1 group at a time with my full force. But that is just me. Maybe I give him and his cronies too much credit.”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Before Kaito had the opportunity to answer Solomon's questions a man walked in. He immediately grabbed all attention and started to shout some commands to Nina. Judging from the fact that he was an elf the fox figured that he’d be some old acquaintance of his boss.

For a moment the fox felt a slight discomfort about this elven man’s presence but he could not really place where it was coming from. Maybe it was the way he was talking to Jazdia? However she seemed to be just as cold and distant to this man as she was to pretty much every other person.

For a moment Kaito’s eyes followed them as they entered one of the back rooms. However he turned his head quickly around again to the others at the table. Whatever Jazdia and the other elf were going to discuss wasn’t his business. But it was still interesting enough that the fox turned one of his fluffy ears towards the open door before continuing to speak with Solomon.

“Oh? Is he actually real? Didn’t expect that. Scary. I better be on my best behavior. Don’t want to get sucked dry.” Spoke Kaito with a big smile.

The doctor’s question about his magic took the fox by surprise. Not that Jazdia had shared that information but the fact that Solomon seemed to be under the impression that you needed to study in order to obtain magic. That is probably the case for humans but not so much for him. “My magic? I’ve not studied with people in particular. It’s something that comes natural to me. More of a family thing really.“ Kaito paused a bit as he created two small illusionary knights performing a jousting match on the table.

“Of course you still need to practice the craft intensively. Mostly by opening yourself up to all the possibilities. Training your creativity and visualizing the details in your mind.” As the kitsune spoke those words he expanded the illusionary spectacle with rows of cheering crowds. Those with a keen eye could recognize many of the people they had encountered so far in the crowd. There was a tiny constable Delving, a tiny Gerald and some tiny soldiers and of course a tiny Jazdia, Yvonne and Chounan.

Kaito turned towards the doctor. “So what is your story? There is more to you than just being a doctor, right?”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

For a moment the fox observed Veronica Blackwater as he tried to get a bit of a read of her emotions. However the pale girl turned out to be pretty proficient at masking them. Not that it was too surprising for someone who was doing shady stuff for the king himself. The girl probably received pretty much direct orders from and directly reported to the guy on the throne himself. A loyal tool to the king was Kaito’s guess.

As Cedar made his way to the door, the kitsune noticed how just for a very brief moment her senses sharpened as she followed the movement of the bear. There was this slight change in her posture when the door was opened and it changed again the moment it closed.

”“Blackwater, eh? I’m pretty sure I've heard that name before somewhere not too long ago. Three, maybe four decades or so. There was this farmer who used a story about a certain Lord Blackwater to scare his kids into behaving. If you misbehaved he’d come out at night to take you back to his lair and feast on your blood.”

The fox paused a bit and gave Veronica a friendly smile ” It must be a total coincidence that you share a family name with a vampire from a folk tale. Just as the curtains happen to be closed in broad daylight for some added secrecy of our operation.”

Kaito could not help but wonder about the colorful cast of their party. The king certainly had gathered a bunch of outsiders and anomalies to search for his son. From a bearman to a presumably vampire to a mythical fox creature. Not to mention that the doctor seemed to have a funny smell around him. It sure made the orc and the elf look like normal ones.

”Anyway, since we’re departing half an hour before midnight. If there aren’t any specific questions you want me to answer I’m off to grab some extra food and take a nap.”

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

For a moment Kaito looked around the table. He had sort of expected that Jazdia would have received some flak for bringing in an outsider but that did not seem to have happened. ”Ooh, you guys were talking about me? My timing seems to be impeccable. I hope Jazdia has told you guys some good stories about me. Anyway, I’m Kaito. I work for Jazdia.” Spoke the fox as he put just a little bit of extra emphasis on the working for Jazdia part. It wasn’t that he had problems working for the crown or anything but if some sort of conflict would arise, his loyalty was with the elf.

The kitsune looked at the big orc, the doctor and the pale girl that had gathered around. ”I’m pretty sure that you’re madame Mathilda but from you two I haven’t catched your names yet.”