ACT COMPLETE Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 2

[Dandragon]

Serge stopped after that. She was right. If they were planning on something, they would have done it there and then. What was he worrying about? ...He still couldn't shake the feeling, though. But rather than let it control him, he put those thoughts aside, responded with a "Yes, ma'am." and kept walking towards the bridge.

[Xinnidy]

"...Thanks, for understanding." Owen returned the hug weakly, a bit relieved that he'd at least told it to someone. "I'll find a way, for now, but if I need your help I will say it, okay?" It was a few moments after releasing the hug that Sidney pointed out something that made the prince quickly flustered. "Ah-- I didn't mean, goodness." Owen shook his head, blushing. "I'm sorry, I mean..." He laughed rather awkwardly, "Ahh... Duty awaits me! I'll shut up and go now." H-How do I respond to that?! Waving goodbye and making his way outside at a brisk pace, Owen set out to Duke Herman's place, knocking at the door once getting there.

[Shin]

Everyone loves the Circus

The circus was still in rather bad shape. It was clear to Claire that they'd been struggling with shows, the entry cost had been slashed multiple times, and several clowns were sitting outside of the tent, looking rather despondent. It appeared work was going badly, the group were passing around a bottle of drink between them.

"The last show flopped, no bear, no dice." one groaned, taking another swig. "Don't got no chance, the ringmaster's at the end of his tether. Don't help that Slappy's come down with the sickness, the act ain't the same without him."

Another one of the clowns lit his cigarette, letting out a cloud of smoke. "Times are bad, brother. Didn't help that ponce conned us out of our money, the bear that punk sold us was already dead."

Bridging the Distance!

Dave nodded, accepting the paper graciously. "I be Dank Dav-... David... Engel bless yeh, Princess." he replied, leading his men to search the city. Larissa sighed again, relieved that they'd avoided a massive fight. "Even if they are a little rough, they still take royalty seriously" she remarked, following the others outside. The path to the bridge was pretty clear, the group thankfully didn't run into any trouble along the way.

After about ten minutes or so, the group arrived at the city's south bridge, a simple structure fording a reasonably narrow river. Smoke was piping out from underneath the bridge, Ratty could be seen toasting something over a fire. He hadn't quite noticed Cass' group, he seemed more intent on what he was cooking.

Mustache Visit

Owen was welcomed through the gates by Herman's men, holding more than enough authority to pass in uninterrupted. Met at the door by one of Herman's maids, the young woman didn't seem terribly interested in answering the door. However, she nearly jumped out her skin when she realised who Owen was. "Prince Owen! What a surprise!" she squeaked, hoping not to cause any offense. Nervously, she gestured to the door. "Please come in... Duke Herman is in his study, I shall take you straight to him... I believe he's having his afternoon tea with Lady Adeltrudis."

Leading Owen to the study, the maid sheepishly knocked on the door. "Duke Herman... Prince Owen has come to visit.. I apologise for dist-..." she began, only to be cut off by the Duke.

"Please, Mildred, it's fine, don't worry. Do let the Prince come in, I'm sure Adeltrudis and I won't mind." Duke Herman replied jovially. Mildred opened the door, stepping to the side to let Owen pass through.

[Nanami Touko]

Cass wouldn't be forgetting about David any time soon. And Serge was being compliant! Today was already wonderful, what could go wrong? Approaching the bridge, Cass put her hand out, stopping the rest of the group. "Serge, since you know him best, perhaps you should go and speak to him first. Try and get him to talk to us. The last thing we need is for him to run off because of a group of rather well dressed women suddenly approached him, you know? Go on, go get him." She trusted Serge to do at least this much, though she hoped Ratty wouldn't be scared of her, considering Adele had been so kind as to reward him with gold.

[Dandragon]

"Alright." He nodded. It was probably best if he got the conversation started. Serge slowly and casually walked over. "Hey there, Ratty," He said sitting down next to him. "What you got there?"

[Ether]

Owen was here? Hadn't he just finished a meeting with her Father only a short while ago...? Adeltrudis wondered what might have brought him to visit after such a short amount of time.

"Prince Owen? What brings you here, today?"

[scorri]

[spoiler=questions]Three days after Niko had talked with Serge, he had finally been able to arrange a meeting with both the prince and the princess. As he hesitated outside the door to the chamber they were meeting in, he debated internally if this was even a good idea. You're just getting further involved in politics. You said you weren't going to do this. But if we're going to be defending these people, we need to know what we're looking at... He sighed and entered the room. "Ah, hello your hignesses. I... I wanted to talk with you about the events that happened recently. While I was not directly involved with either of them, I was informed of what happened by Doug and Serge. I was hoping that, since Lady Adele is expecting us to help protect you two as well as her, that we could perhaps discuss these events in further detail for sake of figuring out exactly what we might expect to face in the upcoming days."


So Cass had to sit around and explain this whole situation to another person. She sighed, already sitting at the table, slowly slipping onto it in a flop. It was tiring, emotionally and mentally, to go over it again and again. But... If Niko was asking, then perhaps he cared, and Cass could at least explain it to someone that cared. Or maybe Owen could, until she had to fill in parts he hadn't been around for. Yes, that would work out the best for the both of them.

"You can call us by our names-- or mine, at least," she began, shaking her head a bit. "I'm going to let Owen explain what he can until I have to, because reliving this is rather taxing... I hope you understand, Niko. But, I will fill in what's necessary, rest assured." Cass sighed a bit, working herself up to getting ready for this.


"...Well met, Mister Niko." Owen spoke after a patient waiting to let the other two speak their peace. "You're serving under a trusted friend, you can address me by Prince Owen." He added, and inhaled deeply. "...Right, there was quite a bit that happened, that day." Figures it would be left for him to explain. Cassandra was understandably reluctant of the situation, but since Owen wasn't exactly present during it all, it felt a bit weird to summarize. "As they probably told you, Cassandra was kidnapped that night. She was taken away from the Lucky Goose's entrance by thugs... no, not all of them were thugs." He stopped himself, "One of them was the doorman to the establishment, didn't seem like the kind of person that would hang out with criminals... but I digress." The prince shook his head.

"Anyways, Adele and some members of your Reliants were able to find Cass in time, I'm very thankful for that." Owen actually bowed after that, one act he wasn't especially know for. "There almost seems like... a few eyes have been tracking Cass lately." The prince was notably a bit uncomfortable for saying that.


"Ah, I think there was a misunderstanding and I apologize for that. I already had the events of the situation explained to me. No, what I was asking... Not long ago, we were fighting against a rebelling noble. Then the jails catch on fire, the two of you risk your lives and the life of one of my men to rescue this man, assign me to guard him while you are not able to do it personally, and then the same night the princess is kidnapped. Add that into some of the discussion that Dettard and I had..."

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and stared at the two for a few seconds before continuing. "There is very clearly some sort of plot going on here. While I do not expect you to know everything since if you did, it would not be a plot, but I do expect to be given enough information to do my job. I never wanted to get my men involved in these sorts of politics but at this point I seem to have no choice if I wish to continue to be hired by Lady Adele. So."


Cass furrowed her brow a little bit, Niko's attitude on the matter a bit frustrating. No matter, she supposed, but hopefully he'd change his tune. "All we have to go on for this plot is it's someone higher up, as the conductor to this orchestra had access to the royal seal, and apparently is a Mr. E. Adele has written that off as a play on words. Not that I blame her. mystery is a rather easy way of hiding a name, and I'm inclined to believe her until we find anything else." Cass didn't want to get into her talk with Gewaint from the night before, mentioning Earl Valter. There was no need to rouse extra suspicion to Owen until there was something more concrete available.


"And so it was complete coincidence that there was a fire earlier that day where you were almost killed? And that someone who had been scheduled to die is now presumably headed for another country? There's more here than what you're telling me. And since that secret already almost got one of my men killed, I would appreciate if you gave us enough respect to either tell me what is going on or straight out tell me that you're not going to tell me." He was clearly getting frustrated, realizing he had probably wasted his time doing this. After all, he was just a commoner. A pawn. It was just like what he and Dettard had talked about.



"I don't know what you're getting upset at me for," Cass replied, a bit hard, almost snapping. "Do you think I'm any more pleased about this than you are? I was nearly raped! This is all I managed to get out of what happened that night. Owen might know more-- maybe he has a name to go on, but all I have to go on is to start looking for one of the men that was there that night." Cass groaned, looking away. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Owen, but whatever, if you're going to get all huffy. Gewaint came to see me last night. He mentioned that an Earl Valter was asking him if he would be interested in marrying me-- which is weird because I'm not his child, at all."

She glanced back at Niko, still scowling a bit. "And he told me to find someone called 'Ratty', who could take me to the thieves guild in town. Somewhere to start. That's all I know. Are you pleased? Now I'm going to get Owen poking around with nobles who probably aren't at all involved. I wished to find this man first, and get something more concrete, before I told anyone."

"As for Gewaint... Oh, I suppose you don't-- Dettard. He's my-- our brother. And he's not scheduled to hang anymore because my Father is a swine. If you want to know more about that, ask Owen. Makes my blood boil."


Oh, dear... "First and foremost, I am sorry that we got your men so involved that day, Mister Niko." Owen quickly prompted once Cass was done with her piece. "We... we haven't expected this sort of treachery among higher nobles, I beg your understanding. We didn't expect the fire, and I was even reluctant to jump in, but it only rose more questions, so Cass did --and I didn't stop her, but rather followed through, so I take blame." Owen bowed again, "I didn't call for help, which in hindsight was a very poor decision, but the pegasus rider from your company very bravely followed us, and most certainly helped." At this point, it was very clear that Owen was trying to make amends.

"Since Adele is your contractor, I've no doubt that one of her requests was to keep us safe. So our danger is your responsibility, and you deserve to know." The prince stopped to breathe deeply again, "The very truth is, one of the higher nobles is most definitely conspiring, but we don't have enough evidence to accuse anyone." Owen had a disgruntled face at the passing, "What we do know is making us believe that they want to force Cass into marriage, and get rid of me, but that last part is our speculation, and they definitely won't dare without taking care of Cass first." He noted, taking a glance at his sister. Hopefully that discussion wasn't bothering her too much. "And, personally, I think the noble must be here in Hull for the moment, due to their influence." Taking a pause, the prince sighed. "That is about how best I can summarize it." I suppose this is my fault, after all, I can't even guarantee my family's safety to mercenaries... "You... are free to ask more direct questions, if anything doesn't add up." Owen felt too liable to just ignore the mercenary leader.


"I already told you I knew enough details of what happened that night, I wanted--" He cut himself off as Cass finally explained what he'd been after. And then Owen spoke up and calmed the frustrated mercenary at least a bit. So he's related to them... That explains the kin comment Dettard made... Straightening slightly and uncrossing his arms, he nodded to the prince. "Thank you, your highness. I appreciate your comments about the risk to my men and I feel like I should explain slightly. While we risk ourselves on a regular basis in battle, it seemed like a ridiculous risk to go after someone that, had a battle gone differently, one of us would have killed and was in fact scheduled for death later that day. However... with the explanation your sister gave me, I understand why the two of you felt you needed to save him. And a bit of a hero complex and knowing that we're assigned to protect you explains the rushing in after you two. I... I think that is sufficient. I will be honest when I say that even asking this was getting more entangled in politics than I like to get. But I felt I needed to for the safety of my men and to allow us to do our job. But I think I will refrain from getting more entangled. The information you have given me, Prince Owen, should be enough for us to do our job. Thank you."


It was fine telling him, he deserved to know... "Are you sure? Alright, then." Owen nodded, "...I understand your frustration, then. It's true, Dettard is related to us, but..." There was a moment of hesitation, "I, had no idea during our campaign to his lands. Things would certainly be different otherwise." He looked to the side, avoiding both Niko and his sister. "So I apologize if it all seemed like another pointless risk, in hindsight." This position of asking for pardon was rather uncomfortable, but the prince steeled himself. "I'd just appreciate it if it is not mentioned to too many people, Mister Niko." To have it public knowledge that Owen had an older half-brother... He dreaded to think of it.


Cass calmed down considerably as Niko did, sighing. "I'm sorry for getting snappy... It was a bad experience for me, but... I suppose I missed what you were really asking about. Doug helped us out of his own volition, and he should be rewarded justly for that." Cass looked to Owen once he was finished speaking of Gewaint. "Can you think of anything suitable for what Doug did? He could have died in there, along with the rest of us. Surely that's worth something hefty, especially for saving our lives."


Hmm, this Doug could have died? The kidnapping certainly had some dire moments, then... "Of course, in fact, I was thinking of giving Adele a sum of money to pass onto the Reliants, for their troubles. I'm sure I could speak to my father and find a more fitting reward for Mister Doug, as well." Owen considered, "Since you are here now, I have a small compensation. Please give me a moment." And so Owen walked away at a brisk pace, and very quickly returned to the room with a small pouch of gold.

"This is what I have in my person, and what I intended to give immediately after the fire." Owen offers Niko his personal sum of 1000 gold. "For a more proper reward, I'll have to ask my father first." He bowed politely.


Niko sighed as well and nodded to Cass. "I apologize as well to you for not being more sensitive. Perhaps I should have talked only to Prince Owen for your sake." When the prince came back with gold, Niko blinked in surprise and then bowed. "Thank you, your highness. I'm sure that we will use this money to help protect you both in the future as it is needed. And I'm sure Doug will greatly appreciate any award you give him."


Cass watched the sack of gold, "that's rather generous... Though I can't say undeserved." One thousand gold seemed a petty value for their lives, but as Owen didn't exactly have more to give on hand, it would have to do for now. "It's fine. You were worried for the life of your friend, and you didn't overstep any boundaries... So let's leave it at that."


"Very well. I thank you both for your understanding and generosity. I am sure that we will see each other soon" Niko bowed to the siblings and left the room, headed back to his room where a few good books were waiting for him.

Niko glanced over at the barrier staff and sighed before shaking his head. "While I understand the desire for such a staff, it is as you mentioned. Many of our group is used to fighting magic users and those who aren't would not benefit significantly from such a staff. While it would be useful as a practice tool, we must be more practical with our resources, especially if we continue to get entangled in politics."

[Jotari]

Emmet shrugged. "It was just a thought. I leave all the important decisions up to you. I am quite content being a mere minion." Emmet looked around. "It seems the lady Claire has run off somewhere. I do apologise if I interrupted a conversation between the two of you. I best be off too. If you ever need anything from me, you know where to find me."

Emmet left the vendor's and found himself heading towards the library again. He thought he'd exhausted his search for the vial some time ago but when he heard Niko had worked for the royal siblings not long ago, a name popped into his mind. A name the princess had mentioned casually some days ago. Dettard. The enemy recently fought by the prince in a battle where the lady Claire almost definitely found the vial. He knew very little about Wyke's nobles but he figured the library was a good place to start if there was anything of note.

[Xinnidy]

Owen simply bowed at the maid's greeting and followed her, since she'd appear to catch onto the purpose for his visit quickly. Entering Duke Herman's study, though, Owen was surprised to see Adele already there. "Sorry to intrude so soon, Duke Herman, Adeltrudis." He took a step forward, nodding and acknowledging both nobles. "As soon as the meeting was over, a Raewalden diplomat came to speak on behalf of Queen Ethel again. It seems like they won't be able to hold off on a war with Deira for much longer." Explaining the situation, Owen crossed his arms. "The Queen is expecting me to see her within the month for a meeting, so I'll need to prepare to leave fairly soon. I'll also need a helping hand here at the capital until I come back, thanks to that." The young prince refrained from sighing, "I understand it's quite the timing, but ignoring Raewald now would be two steps back."

[riariadne]

"You can count on me whenever you need me- I'll be off to find the queen shortly, then," Sidney agreed, barely containing a giggle at Owen's stammering. "Ha! Don't worry, I know you didn't mean anything by it. See you soon, okay?" She returned his wave in kind, wandering around to try and find Queen Eowa as soon as possible.

[Shin]

Rat Burger

Ratty looked up, rather surprised to see Serge visiting his home... well, where he lived anyway. "Oh, Serge?" he replied, looking at the people with the young man. "I was just having lunch, the circus were kind enough to give me a few badgers to cook. I was getting awfully hungry... is everything OK?"

The man was rather confused, it was rare he got guests, normally it was just children who threw stones at him. He saw that the Princess was with Serge, so she hadn't been kidnapped again.

Planning Ahead

Duke Herman nodded, gesturing towards another one of the chairs. "Do take a seat, Prince Owen. It's not a problem at all. That's quite the happening. It would be wise for Kearney to start gathering men for the campaign. If war does break out, we may be forced to choose a side. I'm surprised we haven't heard from Deira, your father was on good terms with them."

Sebastian moved forward, offering Owen one of the remaining cups of tea, remaining silent as the Duke spoke.

"I can arrange a war chest with Earl Valter, as well as your route with the royal map master. We've got a little flexibility with funds, but do remember that your treasury is not unlimited - there have been several estates that haven't been able to provide this month. There's also the issue of the route. It would be fastest to pass through Magonsaete, but also more dangerous. Myrcia may be slower, but it's likely to be an easier route... providing war doesn't break out." he added, seeming a little uneasy about what to say next. "You could also try to circumvent Magonsaete, it would probably be somewhere in between the two, but we have no idea what lies to the south. I feel that it is not really the time for exploration."

Owen may choose a war chest of 15,000G, 30,000G or 50,000G!

Owen may choose a route, Magonsaete, Myrcia or Sea!

Queen's Read

Sidney soon found Eowa, the queen had been in the library, looking through a rather hefty book. It wasn't on par with Hull's Great Library, but it was still a sizeable collection, perhaps Oswald was a fan of reading? Looking up, she welcomed Sidney with a smile. "Oh? Charlotte? What a pleasant surprise." she chimed, politely closing her book. "Do come and take a seat, I was just thinking about you, it's so nice to have more girls around the palace."

Edited May 10, 2016 by Shin

[Dandragon]

Serge looked back at the ladies, then back at Ratty. "Well...I was just coming to make sure you were safe, to be honest. I, uh...heard some nasty things about you. But that's not important, right now." Serge quickly shook his head, getting away from the topic of the bounty he almost brought up. Now was not the time to ask. "As for the princess, well...she wanted to see you, actually." Serge then beckoned over the group. "Must be something important."

[Nanami Touko]

Good, he hasn't run off. Cass waited until Serge said his piece, calmly walking over. He didn't seem too startled to see her. "Ratty... Gewaint sent me. I need you to take me to the thieves guild." She laid it out flat, what her half-brother had told her. It was where she needed to go if she wanted a lead on any of this. "Can you do that for me? I really need to figure this whole thing out... Who tried to kidnap me. Gewaint said you would be able to help me." The smell of the place was rather... Pungent. But Cass put that aside, especially if he could indeed help.

[Ether]

So, it was about the excursion to Raewald, was it? Adeltrudis bit her lip as Owen spoke to her Father... It was difficult to feel at ease as she normally did around Owen, with the thick tension in the air, and in her Father's company. After all, even if it had just been in passing, they had been discussing things rather... pertinent to the royal family.

[Shin]

Name Game

Ratty flinched as Cass said her half brother's name, slowly gathering himself together. "I can take you there, Miss Princess, but only one person." he replied, looking around at the others. "I can't say any more than that, there's rules... you have to wear a blindfold on the way in. I'll take you there, but yous can't cause any trouble, there are some dangerous people in there."

[Nanami Touko]

"Only one?" Oh no... The day couldn't remain good forever. She looked back at Larissa and Freya, then to Serge, then back at Ratty. There was a pressing question before she gave an answer. "Is it safe?" If it wasn't safe, would she be able to send someone other than herself? But... If she went, and got into trouble again, in a place that you couldn't know the way to... Would anyone be able to find her? She bit her lip, struggling over the decision.

[Shin]

The One and Only

Ratty nodded his head. "Only one, princess. Even bodyguards aren't allowed." he replied. "Fancy people go there all the time, it's all about the rules. If you don't break the rules, nobody gets hurt. But if you do... well, I've seen fellas who have had their eyeballs peeled off... it's not pretty."

Larissa gave Serge a gentle prod, pushing him forwards. "Maybe you should go instead?" she suggested. "You'd draw less attention and you'd be able to handle yourself if things got ugly. He likes you the best anyway." There was the added matter that Serge was far more disposable, but that was unlikely to motivate him very much. "If you do it, I'll have a surprise waiting for you when you come back." she added, giving Serge a wink.

[Nanami Touko]

"All about the rules, is it?" But could she control herself enough to listen to whatever their rules were? Larissa had a suggestion, punctuated with something that made Cass blush a fair bit, but... "I... I think I should go. I know how important I am, I know that... But if I send one of you, and you get hurt-- or worse, that's on me. I don't care if Serge is just some mercenary, he's one of Niko's men, and he's put up with my bossing long enough to not set me off. Ratty, you're sure that if I follow the rules of the guild, I won't be hurt? Will you be there with me, in case something goes wrong? Just... To cover me, a little bit. I'm new. If not... Well, I... I'll still go, but... Gods, if Adele found out... Adele..." Cass thought of something.

"Is it alright if you meet me at the castle, Ratty? I need to speak with someone before I do this. Dank Dave's out looking for you, and he's got a piece of parchment with my signature on it, to give to you. You'll be able to get in, or get the guards to call on me, so I can get you in. Just... Please. If you can."

Edited May 10, 2016 by Melissa

[Dandragon]

Serge blushed for a moment at Larissa's comment, but she also had a point. Of course, Cassandra still wished to go, and even suggested Ratty arrive at the castle. But there was a problem... "Princess Cassandra, I mean no disrespect, and I appreciate you at least caring about me enough not to send me off to my possible death, but... well, first there's the problem of Ratty's bounty, which the guards are aware of." Thanks to me, he thought to himself. "So Ratty may not exactly be welcome at the castle, unless he no longer becomes wanted thanks to some sort of royal intervention, if you get my meaning." Serge crossed his arms as he spoke. "But there's also the issue that that might take a while before Ratty is safeto come to the castle. And we have no idea if what you're waiting for at the Thieves guild will still be there by that point."

"So, if you want this done sooner, rather than later, we need to decide this now. And if you really don't want Adele to find out about this or get worried about you, than it might be best if I go." He gave a confident smile to Cassandra. "Besides, if worst comes to worst, I can handle a few thieves. But, this is your decision. It ain't my place to tell you what to do." But should he? It didn't even have anything to do with him. What's more, he was contracted under Adele's service, not Cassandra's. Still, it wouldn't look good if he allowed the Princess of Wyke to go into such a dangerous situation and come out missing or dead. Plus, if he did this, than he could get Ratty cleared of all his supposed charges, no doubt. But it all mattered if she let him or if she went herself. Either way...Adele was not gonna like this...

[Juliette]

Freya followed along quietly but crossly. The whole situation was ridiculous. But Cassandra had started on some idea about volunteering to go off somewhere alone, blindfolded, to somewhere none of them knew- an idea that was obviously complete nonsense. "Princess, I must protest this. I'm here to protect you, and here you are volunteering to be whisked off at the soonest opportunity! You can't just volunteer yourself for this type of scenario, especially after you were apparently kidnapped so recently, a fact that everyone declined to inform me of. I cannot in good faith let you do this. Send me instead, if it's so vital that we must go through this ordeal- it is my duty."

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh... Oh, right... Ah..." Cass felt a familiar blush of embarrassment running onto her face, how could she have been so stupid? "Ugh, I'm sorry. I... Serge mentioned that when we started looking for you, but... Damn, I'm an idiot." Cass took a step back, putting her face in her hand for a moment before trying to analyze the situation. "I-I see; Ratty, can we meet outside of the castle, then? I--" Before she could finish, both Serge and Freya stepped up and offered themselves for this. "No! No no no, neither of you are going! I can't... I can't just do that, alright!? I'm already at odds with my head in sending myself, I can't send people I barely know off to something so dangerous. It's irresponsible... Why do you think I'm not going, right away? This is a serious situation, I just..."

Cass sighed, looking back at Ratty, as calm as she could get. "I just need to know if we can meet to do this later. Is that alright? There's still plenty of day left, so... It would be wonderful if you could do that for me, Ratty. If this all works out, like Serge said, I might be able to help with your bounty. You were just at the scenes of those crimes, right? You haven't done anything, not someone like you. If that's all, I can have you pardoned."

[riariadne]

"The pleasure is mine, Your Higness." Sidney sat down when offered a seat, bowing her head slightly at the praise. "It's very lovely here- I just had a nice stroll in the garden earlier. There's much to do in the palace and city, and plenty of people I've enjoyed spending my time with. I was just speaking with Prince Owen, actually. He wanted me to let you know he was planning on heading to Raewald soon, and that he hopes you're not too worried about him. I think the stress he's been in is getting to him a bit, but he's handling his situation the best that he can." She looked at the book the queen had been reading before, and it was enormous. "What is it you were reading? I haven't had a good read in a while myself, though I'm not sure I'm suited to something as long as that."

[Xinnidy]

"Thank you, Duke Herman." Owen took a seat as offered, as per etiquette. "It is indeed strange that Deira has made no effort to speak to us, at least to convince us not to take a side at all." The young prince remarked, "I wonder if they know about what's going on... They should, right?" Owen looked back at the Duke, hoping he'd have a better idea at all --he had a fair selection of... very skilled butlers, after all.

"The route is going to be of some concern... Myrcia would be slow enough that we could risk showing late, and I'm not sure I want that. On the other hand, the faster options involve Magonsaete... and truly, I don't want to drain the treasury for the sake of a diplomatic campaign." The prince sighed, clasping his hands, partly lost in thought. "I'll think on it and have a better answer soon, for certain. I'm sure you and Earl Valter can procure a reasonable war chest. However..." Owen fixed his posture, ready to touch another matter --slightly hesitant with Adele's presence, but a shift of glances steeled his resolve. "I reckon this is unfortunate timing for me to leave Wyke, Duke Herman. Especially if I take too long. What should we do if there are immediate decisions that need my response while I am away?" It was a concern that had been bugging the prince ever since the meeting with Sir Alain.

[Jotari]

Emmet soon reached the Great Library of Hull. A building he was quite familiar with by now. He doubted there would be any books exclusively focused on the Dettard family so he searched through the general history of Wyke's nobility to see if he could gleam any information.

[Shin]

Delayed Visit

Putting off the visit was probably a good thing for Ratty, it'd be a shame to waste all of his roast badger. "If you needs time, Princess, I can take you later." he replied, turning back to his fire. "I'll be here all day, just let me know when you're ready."

A World of Knowledge

Eowa was somewhat puzzled by the mention of Owen's trip, she hadn't heard of it at all. Her son had only returned so recently, was he to head out again? "I'm sure Owen will manage, he knows that he can ask his friends for help." she replied calmly, closing her eyes. "He just needs to be reminded that he's allowed to do so."

Laughing gently, Eowa opened up the book again. "It's nothing too interesting, just a collection of fairy tales. They can't be real, but it's sometimes nice to pretend they actually happened." she replied, brushing her hair from in front of her face. "My favourite's about a fountain that made a village smile, I used to read it to Owen when he was little."

An odd silence

Duke Herman looked to Sebastian, who shook his head. "Our iintelligencefrom Deira has been severely limited, messages from our spies and diplomats haven't returned at all. We haven't heard from our agents in several weeks." Sebastian announced, placing his tray down on the side.

"No, Prince Owen. Your father is still alive, and Earl Valter and I should be able to manage things in your absence. Hopefully Baron Esclabor will be able to make some headway with Magonsaete. Remember, if war does occur, we haven't made a formal declaration of allegiance yet, I'd avoid combat with Deira if it can be helped." Duke Herman replied, the man also rather uneasy about the situation. "You'll need to speak in your father's place. It's quite the legacy to live up to, but with support I'm certain you'll be able to pull through, Prince Owen."

What's a Dettard?

There were not many mentions of the Dettard family in the records, it appeared that they'd remained a relatively minor noble family for several generations. No real achievements, just reliable service to the crown. The records seemed to suggest that both the Kylanders and the Kearneys were relatively new nobles, families established from either foreigners or peasants who managed to claim fame and success.